Coming into the season, everyone thought the NFC West would be a dogfight. With the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams, the division features the defending Super Bowl champions and the current favorites to win it all. The San Francisco 49ers are also legitimate contenders, especially after dominating the Rams in Week 1.
What few people expected was the Rams being in last place after the first week of the season. With their 27-7 loss to the 49ers, paired with wins by the Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals, the Rams are the only winless team in the division.
The Cardinals' double-digit win over the Chargers was particularly shocking, as former Rams OC Mike LaFleur led his new team to a 26-14 win on the road over Los Angeles. Perhaps the Cardinals won't be the easy out many people thought they would be.
It's only one week, but this certainly wasn't the way the Rams expected to start the season, sitting in the basement of the West.
49ers: 1-0

#west #division

LEXINGTON, Ky. — An Alabama football freshman defensive back is a game-time decision for the Crimson Tide's SEC opener against Kentucky.
Jireh Edwards, who has been questionable in the days leading up to Saturday's bout between Alabama and Kentucky with an arm injury, is a game-time decision. Edwards did not appear in Week 1 against East Carolina.
No other changes appeared on Alabama's final SEC availability report before kickoff.
Here is who is on Alabama's final SEC availability report in Week 2 of the 2026 season:
Out

#edwards

The Wisconsin Badgers were patiently waiting for Decelise Champion's debut, and it sure was worth the wait.
The 16-year-old sensation was originally set to join the Badgers next year, but she was able to reclassify and head to Madison for the 2026 season.
Despite missing the team's first six matches, she made her team debut in the Badgers' 3-2 win vs. No. 19 Texas A&M in a night she'll never forget.
The Aggies hosted their third-largest crowd in program history, and those near 10,000 fans witnessed Champion make an immediate impact in the second set.
Wisconsin trailed 1-0, but Champion came into the match late in the second set and helped the Badgers take that one, 25-23.

#badgers #debut #madison

Friday update – 1:00pm
The Buffalo Bills don't host the New England Patriots until Week 4, but we now know A.J. Brown's injury status for that game.
Drake Maye's presumed No. 1 receiver was placed on IR designated-to-return on Friday, meaning he will officially be out for the October 4 contest in Orchard Park
END UPDATE
A.J. Brown was held to three catches for 26 yards in the Patriots season loss to the Seahawks before he left the game with an ankle injury, and now we have more clarity on whether or not he'll be available for New England when they face the Bills early in October.

#game

The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings are preparing to kick off the 2026 regular season on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Both teams ended up with nine wins in 2025 but took very different ways of getting there. The Packers were, at one point, 9-3-1. The Vikings were, at one point, 4-8. Green Bay ended up losing five straight, including a playoff loss in Chicago, while Minnesota won five straight to end the season. Will any of that matter for Sunday? Momentum, or lack thereof, is difficult to carry over from one year to the next.
In a competitive, talented NFC North, every division matchup is a big one, and both the Packers and Vikings will want to open the season with a confidence-boosting win over a rival given how last year ended.
Five things to watch and a prediction for Week 1:
The Packers have new starters at left tackle (Jordan Morgan), center (Sean Rhyan) and right guard (Jacob Monk), and Morgan, left guard Aaron Banks and right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele are all either fighting through or returning from knee injuries. The first challenge for the 2026 offensive line? Brian Flores, a blitz-happy coordinator who thrives on creating havoc and uncertainty up front. The Packers offensive line got little to no time together during training camp, robbing the unit of cohesion entering the season. Can this group handle all the blitzes and stunts coming on Sunday? Communication and having confidence in the blocker next to you is so important to handling blitzes and movement, so the Packers front will likely be stressed early and often. Keeping Jordan Love protected, especially during the game's biggest situations (think: third down), will likely decide the winner of the opener.

#season #jordan

Caitlin Clark is on the verge of breaking a longstanding Team USA record at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.
She delivered 10 points and nine ******* ists as the United States beat Hungary 108-56 in the World Cup quarter-final on Thursday.
Besides an unusually bad performance against Italy in the group stage, Clark has consistently been one of the USA's best players.
Although her focus will be on the team winning the gold medal, she may also be interested in making some World Cup history.
Photo by Ronny HARTMANN / AFP via Getty Images

#team

Donovan Mitchell admits that Brooklyn Nets fans are lucky to have Mikel Brown Jr. originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The past few years have not been kind to the Brooklyn Nets as they went from being possible contenders to being a bit of a mediocre team. However, they are intent on building toward the future, and they might have found a franchise-level player in the 2026 NBA Draft.
That player is Mikel Brown Jr., who has garnered a lot of attention dating back to his college days. Now, he is set to have a big role in the Nets' future, and it seems there are a lot of people who are calling him a potential star moving forward.
The 2026 NBA Draft had a lot of top-level talent, which bodes well for the teams who drafted higher. As the sixth overall pick, Brown has a bright future because he is being set up for success with his position on the Nets' roster. With his ability to score and be a playmaker, he is in a good spot.
Of course, the Nets are not the best team just yet because they have plenty of young players. At the same time, they are still looking for a long-term vision that they want to follow. Brown could help with that, as he is a good example of a modern-day guard.

#Nets #brown #future

There's a new scholarship program for those interested in golf-course design and it's being started by one of the best in the game: Tom Doak.
According to a story in golfcoursearchitecture.net, the Doak Award will go out every two years to students who have showcased a commitment to a career in golf-course architecture.
"The purpose of the award is to further the education of promising young architects who have already demonstrated their dedication to a career in golf course design," Doak the publication. "It is really a write-your-own-award set-up, so that it's tailored to the gaps in each applicant's experience, whatever they think they are."
Doak has modeled this after the Dreer Award which he earned while at Cornell in the early 1980s. That award paid for him to travel and study golf courses. The Doak Award requires applicants to propose their own program of study and inlcude travel and educational pieces.
"I do expect travel to be an important part of the award, but I am keenly aware that it is much more expensive to see great courses today than when I spent nine months in the UK for about $10,000 in 1982," says Doak. "To that end, I am enlisting a bunch of my former clients to provide lodging and food in key locations, and asking fellow architects to host a student for a day or two if travelling to their part of the country."

#Career #study

It may have taken a long time for ESPN Unlimited to finally come to YouTube TV, but sports fans are quickly discovering that it was worth the wait, especially for college football fans.
When Disney and Google engaged in a bitter carriage dispute last fall, ESPN access on YouTube TV was at the center of it all. It was the rare time that games were actually missed during the middle of the football season. But when the two sides finally came to an agreement, ESPN Unlimited access was granted to YouTube TV subscribers.
However, that access was delayed due to the technological challenges of integrating the entire ESPN Unlimited platform into YouTube TV and, likewise, the requirements on ESPN's side to grant web access directly on ESPN.
Thankfully, the full system is ready to go in time for the 2026 football season. And as the college football season kicked off in full on Friday night and Saturday, fans were amazed at what they were experiencing with a full library of live sports available in one place at one time.
YouTube TV has long been favored as the MVPD platform for sports fans because of the litany of sports options, multiview features, and ease of use. But the ESPN Unlimited integration takes it to a new level.

#unlimited #Football #access

Communities across North Yorkshire are preparing to welcome the Tour of Britain men's cycling race on Saturday.
The fourth stage of the men's tour will start in Helmsley, with the cyclists travelling through Ripon on their way to the Yorkshire Dales before finishing in Leyburn.
Stretching approximately 103 miles (166km) with 8,800ft (2,699m) of elevation, it is expected to be the race's most challenging day and "could play a key role in deciding the overall winner" of the competition, according to British Cycling.
Almost £10,000 has been awarded to towns and villages along the route to enable them to create community displays and decorations celebrating the race's visit to the area.
After setting off from Helmsley in the North York Moors at 11:00 BST, the route passes through the towns of Easingwold at 11:35 and Boroughbridge at about 11:55, before reaching Ripon at about 12:20 and then heading into the Yorkshire Dales.

#tour #Cycling

On a night where plenty of his team-mates were panicking, Lawrence Shankland was a figure of calm for Rangers in Falkirk.
His two goals were decisive for Derek McInnes' side, earning a second Scottish Premiership win of the season days after the captain's penalty delivered the first at Pittodrie.
In an error-strewn game that lacked quality, Shankland was the difference maker.
His first whistled into the roof of the net off his weaker left foot, while his second - again on his left - was passed into the bottom corner with the game on a knife edge.
Falkirk boss John McGlynn summed up the Scotland striker's impact.

#shankland #game #lawrence

In 1980, Duke was in the market for a new coach. Bill Foster was unhappy, and for some reason, thought that South Carolina was a solid move.
It wasn't: South Carolina had left the ACC on June 31, 1971 and was still an independent, a disastrous decision made by then-AD Paul Dietzel and basketball coach Frank McGuire. South Carolina joined the SEC in 1990, and has never really been much of a factor there.
Duke AD Tom ******* ers made what appeared to be a curious decision, hiring Army Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who had just come off of a 9-17 season.
Butters introduced Krzyzewski, calling him as "the brightest young coaching talent in America." Time would prove that ******* sment correct, but not many people believed it at the time. The Duke Chronicle actually ran a headline that said "This is not a Joke."
Coach K said that that he was coming from one great school to another, and that "Duke basketball is excellent, has been excellent, and we hope to continue that tradition."

#coach #decision #made #Basketball

The Miami Dolphins had to clear nearly 40 roster spots this weekend to make sure they were down to 53 players by the league's deadline, but during that process, general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan swung a trade.
On Sunday, Sullivan called up his old team and acquired quarterback Kyle McCord from the Green Bay Packers for a 2028 sixth-round pick. The 23-year-old just completed 65.7% of his passes for 446 yards and four touchdowns in his three preseason appearances.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Sullivan explained his decision to acquire the former Ohio State Buckeye.
"I've always been a fan of his," Sullivan said. "I feel like when you watch the kid play, he's a keep the train on the tracks kind of guy. I think he processes the game quick. I think he throws an accurate catchable football. He runs the offense, and I know he's a smart guy. I know he's a competitive guy. Scouted him in college, obviously followed him and tracked him through the preseason, and I thought he had an opportunity to come in here. We obviously want No. 2 out there, but if something happened, I thought he could run the offense and help give us a chance to win games."
Interestingly, the Dolphins had three other quarterbacks on their roster that they let go of over the weekend, as they released Cam Miller and Mark Gronowski and traded Quinn Ewers, who served as the team's backup last year, to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

#weekend #three #preseason

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is set to take another step toward a Week 1 return.
ESPN's Pat McAfee on Monday reported Kittle is set to participate in team drills for the 49ers in Tuesday's practice after only participating in the individual portions of practices since being activated off the PUP list.
It isn't necessarily a surprise that Kittle is going to work out in team drills since clearing that hurdle will be paramount to the team being comfortable flying him to Australia to play in Week 1. Kittle will first have to get through the team drills without a problem, and then they'll see how his body responds to going through the closest thing he's had to live football since January.
Barring a disaster, all signs have pointed toward Kittle playing in Week 1 vs. the Los Angeles Rams in Australia. There's been optimism about it since early in the offseason and there's never been any counter reporting to indicate Kittle and the team are eyeing anything but a Week 1 return.
There's always a chance Kittle doesn't quite feel right after Tuesday's practice and the team shuts him down until they're gearing up for Week 2, but it sure seems like the 49ers and Kittle are staying on the timeline that gets him in uniform for their 2026 opener.

#week #toward

Detroit Lions safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph are beginning the 2026 season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, meaning the earliest either player can return is Detroit's Week 5 contest at the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 11.
The first four weeks of Detroit's schedule include games against the New Orleans Saints (Week 1), Buffalo Bills (Week 2), New York Jets (Week 3) and Carolina Panthers (Week 4). After playing the Cardinals on the road, the Lions have a bye in Week 6 before hosting the Green Bay Packers in Week 7.
Branch (Achilles) and Joseph (knee) haven't practiced this offseason. Lions coach Dan Campbell on July 29 said Branch could potentially begin practicing "late (in) training camp, maybe early September," and he added Joseph was "on the Branch plan a little bit, and that's if everything goes well and everything goes according to plan with him and we've got everything on our side."
The latest update from Campbell came on Aug. 27, when he was asked if any decisions had been made regarding whether Branch and Joseph would start on the PUP list: "Brad (Holmes) and I will discuss all that over the next, call it, three or four days here. We're going to start kind of meeting this afternoon after all this and start going through it. I'm not going to be able to give you a definitive answer right now. Both of those guys are doing well right now."
A new rule this season that could be relevant: Players who begin the season on PUP still have to miss four games, but they can start practicing with the team after Week 2. Previously, those players couldn't return to practice until after Week 4.

#week #branch #four #everything

The Baltimore Ravens have waived undrafted rookie cornerback Lardarius Webb Jr. as they continue trimming their roster, according to Brian Wacker of The Baltimore Sun.
Webb's arrival in Baltimore created one of the Ravens' most compelling offseason stories. His father, Lardarius Webb Sr., spent his entire nine-year NFL career with the organization, recorded 15 interceptions and helped Baltimore win Super Bowl XLVII.
The younger Webb signed with the Ravens after completing his college career at Wake Forest. He recorded 36 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and seven pass breakups during his final college season.
Webb continued making plays during the preseason despite limited opportunities. The 5-foot-9, 177-pound cornerback finished with two solo tackles, one forced fumble and one pass breakup. His ability to play outside, in the slot and on special teams gave him some positional flexibility.
Baltimore's depth at cornerback created a difficult path to the initial 53-man roster. Nate Wiggins, Marlon Humphrey and Chidobe Awuzie lead the group, while T.J. Tampa, Bilhal Kone, Keyon Martin and fifth-round rookie Chandler Rivers entered the final weekend competing for reserve roles.

#tackles #roster

'I didn't work hard': Suryakumar Yadav admits he is 'disappointed' over biggest regret of his Indian cricket career originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
India star Suryakumar Yadav admitted that a lack of hard work stopped him from succeeding in one-day international cricket.
His ODI career spanned just 37 matches, yielding 773 runs at a modest average of 25.76.
He took full responsibility for his ODI struggles, rejecting excuses around timing or team management decisions.
Suryakumar Yadav's dominance in T20 cricket has never really been in question, but his relationship with the 50-over format tells a completely different story, and the Mumbai batter has now opened up honestly about exactly why that gap exists.

#Cricket #Indian

Training camp practices have now wrapped up for the Jacksonville Jaguars. All that remains is the preseason finale on Friday with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Then on Sunday, it's roster cutdown day. By 6:00 PM ET, GM James Gladstone must whittle his roster down to just 53 players.
The final preseason game presents several players who are on the roster bubble one last opportunity to give their stock a boost.
Here is how you can watch this matchup.
Stream Jaguars v. Bucs (free trial)

#roster #training

When it comes to veteran defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr., the Chicago Bears are open for business. Should anyone be interested between now and the start of the 2026 NFL regular season, they're ready to trade away the defensive lineman and recoup value (because they're probably not going to bring him back beyond this year).
Unfortunately, both the Bears and Dexter have just hit an unfortunate injury snag as they try to find the defender a new home elsewhere. Per Bears head coach Ben Johnson, Dexter has a new hamstring injury. It will keep him out of joint practices with the Tennessee **** ans at the tail end of this week, as well as the two teams' preseason matchup this Saturday (where, as a current starter, he would've been unlikely to play anyway, but still).
Given the tricky nature of hamstring injuries in themselves, it's unclear what Dexter's recovery timeline is at the moment. It's probably safe to say, though, that he's not getting traded until he's fully recovered. That, for all intents and purposes, is a **** mer for everyone trying to get him to a new city:
Dexter is in the last year of his rookie contract with the Bears. We'll see whether he plays it out in Chicago or elsewhere soon enough.
Shemar Turner is listed as Dexter's backup on the Bears' depth chart. The 2025 second-round draft pick is currently on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list with a knee injury.

#probably #year

Dodgers have a big outfield problem headlined by Kyle Tucker's bad season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are likely the World Series favorites; Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell are back in the rotation, and Shohei Ohtani might be joining them soon.
There's probably not another team in better shape than the Dodgers. But that does not mean there aren't some issues worth worrying about. Specifically for the Dodgers, it all revolves around their outfield.
Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller highlighted the outfield as the team's biggest problem, which is thanks mainly to Kyle Tucker's struggles, which headline this issue, and the recent injury to Andy Pages.
As Miller noted, "Los Angeles Dodgers: Outfield Is Looking Mighty Bleak These Days." The reason why is simple: Pages is hurt, and Tucker is struggling.

#outfield #kyle #source

Alter said Freedom is not allowed back into Wintrust Arena "unless sometime in the future, he's able to prove to us that he's able to abide by our rules without being a potential threat." A Sky spokesperson confirmed Freedom is banned indefinitely from the team's home games. A league source with knowledge of the situation told Front Office Sports that the WNBA does not intend to impose a league-wide ban on Freedom.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: A league source with knowledge of the situation told …

#freedom #league #able #source

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — RJ Luis Jr., a former St. John's standout who recently signed with LSU after spending time with two NBA clubs, was cleared by a court Monday evening to start practicing and potentially play for the Tigers this season.
Luis, who briefly was under contract with the Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics but never played in an NBA game, hugged LSU coach Will Wade after the ruling by East Baton Rouge Parish District Court judge Ronald R. Johnson.
After a five-hour hearing, Johnson granted the player's request for a preliminary injunction against the NCAA, which had argued Luis was unlikely to win reinstatement after leaving college to turn pro in 2025.
"This is precedent. It's monumental," said Baton Rouge-based attorney Tony Clayton, who represented Luis along with Elliot Abrams of Raleigh, North Carolina. "This allows him to go practice, go play and we'll let the legal process work itself out."
The timeline for that process was not immediately clear.

#luis #process #Monday

A high school coach in Simi Valley was fired after an incident during a practice session.
Before Royal (California) High School started the season, it was announced that Adam Brubaker would no longer continue as the school's head coach.
Brubaker was seen in a video being upset with some of his players before kicking a football on the field. The ball he kicked hit a player in the groin and he was visibly in pain.
"I kicked the ball and it hit him in the groin area and instantly I felt like I was going to pass out," Brubaker told ABC7. "I feel obviously a great deal of remorse for what happened. It's a one in a million shot."
Brubaker also told ABC7 that he apologized to the player after the practice.

#high #practice #ball

As long as injuries pile up for the San Francisco 49ers, it'll continue to be a talking point of the season.
Of course, not all injuries are the same. And being injured is not the same as being hurt. Guys play hurt all the time, while typically it's injured players who sit out. The Niners have a mix of both.
The injury report grew after practice on Saturday, Aug. 22 with multiple dings and injuries.
Wideout option Christian Kirk (calf) is questionable as he continued to work on a side field at Saturday's practice, Vic Tafur of The Athletic reports. Linebacker Nick Martin (hamstring) is questionable after he didn't participate in practice, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Rookie receiver De'Zhaun Stribling is questionable and considered day-to-day due to a shoulder injury, according to Maiocco.

#practice #same

Barcelona may be heading back towards a more traditional look for the 2027/28 season, with an early leak offering a first glimpse of what could become the club's next home kit.
An image shared by the X account memorabilia1899, which specialises in Barcelona-related kit and product leaks, points towards several major changes from the design being used during the 2026/27 campaign.
The account behind the leak has also acknowledged that early kit designs can change before production, placing the reliability of its information at around 80%.
The proposed shirt features darker, more traditional shades of blaugrana, narrow vertical stripes and, most notably, a ****** on-down collar.
Barcelona have experimented with several different home kit designs over the years, but a ****** on-down collar would give the shirt a distinctly classic feel and mark a clear break from the more modern look of recent seasons.

#several

The Dolphins signed inside linebacker Stephen Dix Jr. on Friday, the team announced.
In a corresponding move, the Dolphins waived offensive guard James Ester with an injury designation.
Dix signed with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent on May 14.
He spent the past two seasons at Arkansas and played at Marshall and Florida State before that. He had 79 tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack for the Razorbacks last season.
Ester joined the Dolphins as a waiver claim on May 14.

#dolphins #ester #cardinals #marshall

Juventus confirm Arthur Melo's contract termination, 'an operation that generates a negative economic impact of approximately €6m.'
Juventus confirmed Arthur's contract termination on Friday.
The Brazilian midfielder had returned to the club after a one-season loan spell at Gremio but had not played a competitive game for the Bianconeri since the 2021-22 campaign.
Juventus confirmed the midfielder's contract termination on X, formerly Twitter, adding more details through an official statement, as quoted by Sport Mediaset: "This operation generates a negative economic impact of approximately €6m as a result of adjusting the net book value of the player's right to sporting services," the Bianconeri said.
Arthur moved to Juventus from Barcelona in the summer of 2020 in a player-plus-cash swap deal involving Miralem Pjanic.

#contract #arthur #generates #economic

Back at Real Madrid for the 2026/27 season, Brazilian forward Endrick has attracted interest from Liverpool. as confirmed by ESPN Brasil.
The English giants have expressed interest in the Brazilian, but no official offer has been made so far. However, the 20-year-old attacker has no intention of leaving the Spanish capital club.
Real Madrid invested heavily in Endrick back to sign him from Palmeiras, but minutes proved hard to come by for him in his first year and a half.
As such, he was loaned out to Lyon in January, where he excelled and earned a spot in the Brazil squad for the World Cup.
Having returned to Real Madrid, Endrick's future has been a constant subject of speculation, especially with the club signing Carlos Espi and Yan Diomande to reinforce the attacking department.

#real #back

Xabi Alonso is at Stamford Bridge with the Blues. Chelsea and Napoli are in contact over a potential transfer for striker Nicolas Jackson, according to Gianluca Di Marzio.
Napoli manager Max Allegri has made signing a new striker his top priority for the final weeks of the transfer window. Following Romelu Lukaku's permanent move to Fenerbahce, Napoli are keen to add depth and competition for Rasmus Hojlund. Alongside exploratory enquiries for ***** nal's Gabriel Jesus and Manchester United's Joshua Zirkzee, Jackson has emerged as a highly feasible and attractive option for the Partenopei.
Chelsea are open to selling the Senegal international, provided their steep valuation is met. Jackson spent the 2025/26 season on loan at German champions Bayern Munich, but they opted not to make the deal permanent. Since returning to West London, Jackson's place in Xabi Alonso's plans is uncertain, especially after being omitted from Chelsea's final pre-season fixtures.
With the Blues keen to trim their squad and generate funds, Chelsea have placed a £65 million price tag on the forward. Napoli's entry into the race could prove highly beneficial for the Blues, as it threatens to spark a genuine bidding war.
Atletico Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa have all monitored Jackson's situation this summer, but so far, interested parties have been reluctant to meet Chelsea's asking price.

#napoli #final #keen

On Tuesday afternoon (18), Santos defeated Internacional 3-0 at CT Rei Pelé, on the coast of São Paulo. Ignácio Salmon (2) and Yago Keven found the net in the win that left Peixe two points behind the top eight in the Brazilian U-17 Championship. The eight best-placed teams in the table at the end of the tournament's first phase advance to the knockout stage.
The 12th round of the competition began on Monday (17), with a 2-2 draw between Botafogo and Flamengo. The matches continued on Tuesday, with seven more games.
The final two matches will be on Wednesday (19), between Corinthians and Fluminense, and Thursday (20), between Palmeiras and Cruzeiro. Check out all the information about this round's matchups:
Monday (17)
Botafogo 2 x 2 Flamengo - Nilton Santos, Rio de Janeiro (RJ)

#flamengo #matches