In about two weeks, EA Sports will release Madden NFL '27 ahead of the 2026 NFL season.
Every year, before the latest edition of the game is released, Madden's player rankings are made public for gamers. Their calculation process for these rankings is extensive, and each position has measurements weighted differently. A lot of the ranking has to do with their performance over the last season, which is why Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels finished with only a 79 overall rating, while 2024 classmates Drake Maye and Caleb Williams finished inside the top 10.
Yes, Daniels was wildly disrespected, but he only played in seven games last season. Even in the games he played, Daniels was nursing injuries, so his game wasn't up to par with his 2024 season.
Daniels isn't the only one disrespected by Madden this year, though. In the rookie rankings, first-round draft pick Sonny Styles ranks 13th overall. He is the highest-ranked MIKE, but he landed behind guys like Keldric Faulk, Malachai Lawrence, and Akheem Mesidor, all of whom were drafted after him in the 2026 NFL Draft. Styles was the No. 7 overall pick, and many believed he'd go somewhere in the top five.
Styles received an overall grade of 78. The breakdown is as follows: Speed - 90, strength - 74, agility - 81, change of direction - 77, injury - 87, and awareness - 78.

#only #draft

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is still in the running to earn the No. 1 overall spot on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026 list this summer.
According to the NFL's Grant Gordon, Maye is one of 12 contenders with viable shots at earning the top spot in this year's NFL 100 rankings after his superb season in 2025.
"2025 AP NFL Most Valuable Player runner-up was youngest player in NFL history to lead league in completion percentage (72.0, team record); Pro Bowler also led league in passer rating (113.5) and passing yards per attempt (8.9), ultimately guiding Patriots to Super Bowl LX," Gordon wrote.
Maye had a season of note in 2025. He was one of the most successful players in the league from an individual and team standpoint last season. In only his second NFL season, he racked up 4,394 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions, earning All-Pro honors for his efforts.
Los Angeles Rams star and AP MVP Matt Stafford, as well as Rams star and AP Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett have the best chance to claim the top spot on the NFL 100 this year.

#player #spot #league #year

Coming off a walkthrough on Monday, the New England Patriots turned the tempo and intensity up a notch on Tuesday. The two-hour session behind Gillette Stadium was the most competitive so far this training camp, and quite an eventful one.
To recap the action, please head over to the latest version of our Patriots training camp notebook. For who caught our eye, please keep reading.
WR Kayshon Boutte: Boutte continues to make big plays on a daily basis. On Tuesday, his biggest moment came when he caught a deep touchdown from Drake Maye during 11-on-11s. Lining up in his typical spot as an X-receiver, the fourth-year man was able to get a step on safety Kevin Byard on a go route and showed some tremendous ball tracking and concentration skills to complete the over-the-shoulder catch for a score of 40-plus yards.
It was not Boutte's only reception on the day. He also caught a throw from Maye over the middle during 7-on-7s and added pair of catches when backup Tommy DeVito targeted him on out routes. It was an active day for a player who, through four practices, has been New England's most impactful wide receiver.
QB Drake Maye: The Patriots' quarterback started a bit slowly and his connection with A.J. Brown remains a work in progress, but he overall had a good day — an encouraging development after struggling with accuracy during the last full-speed practice on Sunday. Maye got into a rhythm during 11-on-11s, finding Boutte on his long touchdowns and also connecting with Hunter Henry and Rhamondre Stevenson for long completions.

#maye #Patriots #boutte #please

After holding a lighter practice on Tuesday, the New England Patriots are expected to ramp back up the intensity for Day 4 of training camp on Tuesday.
The defense got the better of the offense during the last competitive team period, and quarterback Drake Maye threw his first interception of training camp on an intended pass to star wide receiver A.J. Brown. Safety Craig Woodson, who has continued to show significant growth as an NFL defensive back, came up with the takeaway.
All eyes will be on Maye and the offense to see how they bounce back against the stingy Patriots defense. Can the third-year quarterback finally get things clicking with Brown on the field? Will some of the other new faces, like wideout Romeo Doubs and tight end Eli Raridon make more of an impact?
Check back for live updates from practice.
Tuesday, July 28: 10:15-12:15 p.m. ET

#back #brown #practice #training

Once upon a time (although it wasn't just once), the Braves used Carlos Carrasco in a close game. Ronald Acuña Jr. got injured in that game and ended up missing about six weeks of play. The use of Carrasco turned sinister, the Braves lost that game, and then ended up mired in a funk that lasted for a good chunk of Acuña's absence.
Tonight, Ronald Acuña Jr. made his return to the lineup. It could have been a triumphant time, building on the Braves' recent strong run of results. Instead, amid some rain and another indifferent outing from Martin Perez, the Braves opted to insert Connor Thomas, the "last guy" in their bullpen, into a tie game. It went south almost immediately, and then it kind of ran out south to go, as the Mets just pummeled Thomas into oblivion. To the Braves' credit, they let Thomas wear it and didn't use another pitcher, avoiding a double-down mistake of using Thomas to save the rest of the bullpen but then not actually saving the rest of the bullpen. (Jorge Mateo got the last out in lieu of Thomas, after the score had ballooned to 14-3 in favor of the Mets.)
Before all that, though, the game was pretty cool. In his first major league PA in a while, Acuña fell behind 0-2 against Zac Thornton, battled back to 3-2, and then teed off on a pitch down the middle, knocking it 108 mph to center for a solid single. Drake Baldwin followed followed with a hard liner single of his own, and the Braves seemed to be in business. Unfortunately, Matt Olson hit into a double play, but Ozzie Albies, as part of a measure of personal revenge for possibly a career-worst game on Sunday, legged out an infield hit to plate his buddy for the first run of the game.
Martin Perez did not have a shutdown first inning. A hard-hit grounder went for a leadoff hit, and then Francisco Lindor got his arms extended on a cutter on the edge away and nearly hit it out of the park. The play ended up being kind of weird, as it looked like it was just going to be a double, but the ball bounced far enough off the wall that Lindor ended up getting an RBI triple. But, Perez pachinko also cuts the other way, as a grounder to third, a strikeout, and flyout to center kept the game tied at one run apiece.
Nothing much happened in the second or the top of the third. In the bottom half of the inning, after a leadoff single, Lindor again took a Perez pitch on the outer edge, this time a changeup, and pulled it into left for a two-run homer. Perez was hitting his spots, but it didn't matter. That score didn't last long: after Olson drew a leadoff walk in the fourth, Albies victimized Thornton by crushing an elevated fastball for a definitive non-cheapie homer. Michael Harris II singled and it looked like the Braves might've solved Thornton, but that didn't end up being the case, as Mauricio Dubon popped out and Austin Riley hit into a double play.

#thomas #play #double #lindor

The "NFL Top 100 Players" is an annual NFL offseason tradition. A few names from the Kansas City Chiefs are expected to make the cut, but many opponents are featured in this year's rankings. Player No. 66 is a player they are scheduled to see across from them this coming season.
No. 66 is Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London.
London started 12 games for the Falcons in 2025 and finished with 68 receptions for 919 yards and 7 touchdowns. He averaged an impressive 13.5 yards per catch and, during the offseason, signed a four-year, $141 million contract extension, including $100 million guaranteed, to stay with the Falcons through 2030.
London and the Falcons will host the Chiefs in Week 10 on Sunday, November 15, at Mercedes Stadium.
Produced by NFL Films and the X Original Series, the new season of NFL Top 100 features short-form episodes that reveal the league's top players, as voted on exclusively by current NFL players. Episodes debut on X on weekdays through Friday, September 4, and will air later on NFL+, as well as on other NFL-owned and operated social media platforms.

#episodes #offseason

Based on the New England Patriots' 2026 offseason moves, the organization made improving quarterback Drake Maye's offensive weapons a priority. In the process, the Patriots added to a previously aging tight end room.
Following an Austin Hooper exit to the Atlanta Falcons in free agency, New England signed hybrid tight end Julian Hill. It also selected Notre Dame's Eli Raridon in the third round of the NFL Draft. However, a season-ending injury to Hill during a spring practice left a void in the group that remains unresolved.
In the final edition of our Patriots training camp preview series, we'll take a look at New England's tight end corps in its entirety and discuss the biggest takeaways heading into the summer practices.
*Denotes player on the Pats Pulpit 53-man roster projection
Starters: Hunter Henry (31)*, Eli Raridon (22/R)* | Backups: Tanner Arkin (22/R)*, Jack Westover (27), C.J. Dippre (24), Mitch Van Vooren (25), Jeremiah Franklin (22) | IR: Julian Hill (25)

#hill #tight #drake

Soulja Boy (born DeAndre Cortez Way) typically takes pride in accomplishing firsts in life. He allegedly became a dad for the first time when he welcomed a baby boy with his ex-partner Jackilyn Martinez in 2022, but now the rapper is saying that isn't so sure he's the father.
According to California court documents viewed by Billboard, Soulja Boy filed on Wednesday (July 22) to have a DNA test for his alleged 3-year-old son, KeAndre Way.
More from Billboard
Soulja Boy Claims He Was the First Rapper to Drop 3 Projects on the Same Day, Not Drake
Soulja Boy Channels His Inner-Beyoncé With 'Swag 7' Surprise Album Release

#first #california

Jerod Mayo's one-year stint as New England Patriots head coach was mostly forgettable, but there are a few exceptions. One, of course, is selecting Drake Maye third overall in the draft. And while that decision will shape the franchise for years to come, it is not the only one still impacting the roster to this day.
The Patriots' top interior offensive line backup, for example, was also acquired under Mayo.
Name:Ben Brown
Position: Interior offensive line
Jersey number: 77

#offensive #england #name

The Los Angeles Rams have one of the best front offices in the NFL, and as a result, they have been one of the best drafting teams in the league since general manager Les Snead took control in 2012.
Exemplifying their success is their status in CBS Sports' rankings of the best first-round picks since 2020. Despite only having one first-round pick from 2020 to 2025, their selection of Jared Verse was ranked 11th. Verse, a 2024 selection, won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He was the 19th selection in his class and the third-highest member (Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels) of his class in the rankings.
"The Rams' ******* ysis is easily the funniest of any in the NFL," wrote CBS Sports' Mike Renner. "They had only one first-round pick from 2020-25, and it was one of the best picks over that span, with Jared Verse checking in at No. 11 out of 191. In an ironic twist of fate, he's no longer on the Rams after the Myles Garrett trade this offseason. The Rams' attitude toward the draft is truly one of one."
While convention might state that the Rams should keep and use their first-round picks if they have such success, every first-round pick flipped since 2019 has been for a star player, including Jalen Ramsey, Matthew Stafford and Trent McDuffie.
Rams cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr., who the Commanders drafted, was ranked 184th. Forbes had a redemptive 2025 after a struggling start to his career in Washington.

#since

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota coach Niko Medved has received a one-year contract extension with a slight raise after a promising first season at his alma mater.
The university board of regents approved the contract amendment at its regular monthly meeting, giving Medved a $100,000 pay **** p on top of the $100,000 annual increase in his initial six-year deal. Medved is now signed through the 2031-32 season and will make $3.2 million in 2026-27, which ranks 17th out of 18 head coaches in the Big Ten, according to university documents.
The Gophers went 15-18 overall and 8-12 in Big Ten play in Medved’s first year, with a lineup depleted by injuries. The former student manager and **** istant coach for the Gophers was hired last year after seven seasons at Colorado State. He’s entering his 14th year as a head coach, including stops at Drake and Furman.

#medved #gophers #university

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota coach Niko Medved has received a one-year contract extension with a slight raise after a promising first season at his alma mater.
The university board of regents approved the contract amendment this week at its regular monthly meeting, giving Medved a $100,000 pay ***** p on top of the $100,000 annual increase in his initial six-year deal. Medved is now signed through the 2031-32 season and will make $3.2 million in 2026-27, which ranks 17th out of 18 head coaches in the Big Ten, according to university documents.
The Gophers went 15-18 overall and 8-12 in Big Ten play in Medved's first year, with a lineup depleted by injuries. The former student manager and ***** istant coach for the Gophers was hired last year after seven seasons at Colorado State. He's entering his 14th year as a head coach, including stops at Drake and Furman.
___
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-... and https://apnews.com/hub/col...

#year #Basketball #gophers #contract

The Atlanta Falcons did not have a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but they added two players in Round 1 of last year's draft. Edge rushers Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. both impressed as rookies (on the field), however, the team still missed the playoffs last season.
The Falcons' blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Rams to acquire Pearce in 2025 left general manager Ian Cunningham a bit shorthanded in his first draft taking over for Terry Fontenot. The team's philosophy on draft capital has shifted under Cunningham, but Fontenot definitely hit on a few of his first-round picks.
The Falcons drafted Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Bijan Robinson in consecutive years. While the jury is still out on Michael Penix Jr., most of Fontenot's Round 1 picks were solid.
CBS Sports' Mike Renner ranked all 191 first-round draft picks since 2020. The Falcons have had seven first-round selections over that span, so let's see where they were ranked.
22: CB A.J. Terrell

#falcons #picks #pearce

It's been a good half-decade for wide receiver play in the NFC South, with both the New Orleans Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers racking up Pro Bowls and All-Pro recognition over the years. Many of the division's best wideouts have gone on to sign lucrative contract extensions, too, reflecting their importance to their teams and the rising expectations put in front of them (as was the case for Drake London and the Atlanta Falcons). While the Carolina Panthers were left on the outside looking in, here are our picks for the All-NFC South Team of the 2020s (so far) at wide receiver.
One key stat we're relying on is Approximate Value from Pro Football Reference, which PFR defines as "an attempt to put a single number on the seasonal value of a player at any position from any year." In practice, that means giving higher numbers to player who start more games, play more snaps, and do more to help their team win by racking up yards, scoring touchdowns, creating turnovers and sacking quarterbacks, and so on. We're also **** igning point values to being named a first-team All-Pro (ten points), second-team All-Pro (five points), and Pro Bowler (three points). And then we're adding those numbers together. Remember, these are all-decade teams for the NFC South, which didn't exist until 2002, and only contributions on the four teams in the division factor into our formula. So Drew Brees earning a Pro Bowl nod with the San Diego Chargers in 2005 doesn't help him, for example.
Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2020 to 2025)
AV: 49
Awards: All-Pro second team (1), Pro Bowler (3)

#team #south #buccaneers #decade

The Atlanta Falcons have been strangely quiet in the days leading up to training camp, but those around the NFL continue to churn out content at an alarming rate. Thanks to the Falcons' quarterback battle between Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa, the team has been a frequent topic of training camp preview lists.
In today's Falcons Wire Recap, ESPN and Bleacher Report weigh in on the quarterback competition, The Athletic ranks Atlanta among the NFL's most underrated teams, and second-year safety Xavier Watts makes CBS Sports' under-the-radar players list for 2026.
Bleacher Report's Alex Kay feels the Falcons' QB competition is leaning heavily in Tua Tagovailoa's direction as the team prepares to kick off training camp next week.
"While Miami was understandably ready to move on from Tua after two straight down years, the quarterback is still just 28 years old and should have plenty left in the tank for 2026," wrote Kay. "Tagovailoa gives new head coach Kevin Stefanski his best chance to hit the ground running and make Atlanta a top contender in a wide-open NFC South race. If Tua can avoid injury and establish a rapport with the likes of Drake London and Bijan Robinson in camp, Penix will be relegated to the bench in 2026."
ESPN's Ben Solak shared his two cents on Atlanta's QB1 battle, and despite predicting Tagovailoa would win the job, he feels Penix has the better chance at being the team's long-term starter.

#penix #team

LIMA — A Lima youth track and field team will send 22 city athletes to the 2026 American Athletic Union Junior Olympic Games, as announced Wednesday at Mayor Sharetta Smith’s media briefing in council chambers.
The former C2K Striders Track Club featured an expanded roster of nearly 90 kids this season, ages 5 to 18, after combining with the Columbus Panthers Track Club. Through the athletes’ perseverance in challenging weather conditions, Coach Roderick Simpson Jr. said, the now-C2K Panthers placed 45 athletes — 22 from Lima — in the youth track and field national championships, which run Saturday, Aug. 1 to Saturday, Aug. 8 at the Drake University stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
The C2K Panthers are taking donations to fund their national championship trip and future travel. To donate, funds should be dedicated to the group through the Lima Community Foundation at 207 W. Elm St., Lima.
Simpson said that the team merger helped solidify the Lima club while they were “lacking certain things” to compete at the highest level. The personnel connections with the Columbus group played a large role in that fortification, Simpson said.
“That coach (in Columbus), he’s the one who started the program in Lima. He just ended up leaving for job purposes,” Simpson said. “That’s when (Coach Chris Jackson) took over. So, you know, it’s one big family.”

#simpson #columbus #saturday

One week from today the Atlanta Falcons will hold their first training camp practice ahead of the 2026 NFL season. The only story that's likely to get any real attention from the media will be the quarterback competition between Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa.
As it happens, this is also the only QB battle around the league that's actually compelling. Kyler Murray seems destined to beat out JJ McCarthy in Minnesota and former Falcons veteran Kirk Cousins will almost certainly start over No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza out in Las Vegas.
So, who will win the Falcons' quarterback competition? Many ******* ysts believe it will be Tagovailoa, including Alex Kay at Bleacher Report. Here's why he's picking Tua to win the QB1 spot over Penix.
"While Miami was understandably ready to move on from Tua after two straight down years, the quarterback is still just 28 years old and should have plenty left in the tank for 2026... Tagovailoa gives new head coach Kevin Stefanski his best chance to hit the ground running and make Atlanta a top contender in a wide-open NFC South race. If Tua can avoid injury and establish a rapport with the likes of Drake London and Bijan Robinson in camp, Penix will be relegated to the bench in 2026."
Tagovailoa's best trait is accuracy, which is something that head coach Kevin Stefanski covets in his quarterbacks. When he was playing well in Miami, Tagovailoa was one of the more accurate passers in the entire NFL. In 2024, he completed nearly 73 percent of his passes.

#tagovailoa #atlanta #stefanski #camp

Baltimore Beatdown is proud to introduce this four-part series on Lamar Jackson from former Ravens running back Femi Ayanbadejo! He is a member of the 2000 Super Bowl championship team and an 11-year NFL veteran. He also holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins, with executive credentials from Harvard and Wharton, and has worked in sports media as an NFL ******* yst since 2013. Ayanbadejo is currently part of the radio team at 105.7 The Fan Baltimore.
Lamar Jackson trades like a meme stock in the marketplace of media and executive opinion. His perceived value surges after an MVP season, crashes after a playoff loss, and resets with almost no institutional memory of the underlying fundamentals. The film, the production, and the total body of work change gradually. The narrative price moves overnight.
Lamar Jackson is judged differently than any quarterback in recent memory. His accolades take the stairs up while his critics put him on the elevator down. Every achievement is earned slowly, scrutinized at every floor, and met at the top with a new reason it was not enough. Every criticism arrives instantly and is amplified before anyone checks whether it is true. Old narratives are zombie-like in their refusal to die. Evidence of underperformance is weighted against his entire body of work, while evidence of growth is often treated as temporary. When the facts change, the framing simply finds a new form.
That narrative volatility is visible right now. In the player-voted NFL Top 100, Jackson fell 67 places—from No. 2 to No. 69—after an injury-disrupted season in which he still finished fourth in passer rating at 103.8. Trevor Lawrence ranked 62nd and Bo Nix 59th, while ESPN's survey of more than 70 executives, coaches, and scouts placed Jackson fifth among quarterbacks. Colin Cowherd's movement was even more revealing: he ranked Jackson seventh in May, then 11th in July, choosing the "ascending" Drake Maye over an "expensive, declining" Jackson and announcing that he was "selling his stock." Skepticism about Jackson in major postseason moments is fair; declaring him a depreciating ******* et after one injury-marred season is not. He is 29. Matthew Stafford just won MVP at 37, Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning won at 37 or older, and Tom Brady won at 40. Meanwhile, Baltimore's supporting cast was ranked 22nd. When Jackson produces an MVP-caliber season, critics say he is loaded with talent. When preseason rankings arrive, that same supporting cast is considered below average while Jackson's individual value collapses. This is not consistent evaluation. It is narrative volatility. If every NFL player were available in a franchise draft today and the objective were to win now, I do not believe five players would be selected before Lamar Jackson.
People underestimating Jackson is not an occasional occurrence. It is his norm. The hyperbole surrounding him since before the draft has helped create a man largely impervious to nonsensical commentary. He rarely res

Cam Newton doesn't sound like a man nursing a grudge.
Hours after ESPN cut ties with him in the same round of layoffs that ended Ryan Clark's 11-year run at the network, the former Carolina Panthers quarterback framed his brief run at First Take as something closer to an internship than a second career.
"Working alongside some of the most talented journalists and sports individuals that cover sports was something that got me to realize I have a newfound respect for the skill," Newton said. "You can't make me hate ESPN. What I've learned, it was an internship. I am a former athlete that did not study journalism, so now when you see how production actually works, you'll be a fool not to take your notes."
Newton signed a multi-year deal with ESPN last August to expand his role on First Take, stepping into the seat vacated after Shannon Sharpe's departure amid a ***** ual ***** ault lawsuit and settlement. From there, Newton became a fixture alongside Stephen A. Smith through the football season, a run that included a manufactured feud with New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and widely criticized comments about women's value being tied to how many children they have. Criticism even came from colleagues within ESPN after he had Stephen A. Smith's arch-enemy, Jason Whitlock, on his podcast. In response, Smith stated that there were a number of reasons why Newton's First Take presence could be questioned, but that he was still supportive of his appearances on the program.
And yet, Newton's time with ESPN and First Take is now surprisingly over before the beginning of the 2026 football season, as he was one of several names caught in a wave tied to the network's absorption of NFL Network, a list that also included Karl Ravech, Charles Davis, Tom Pelissero, and Clark, who learned of his firing while on-air.

#espn #newton #first #year

We've covered Quarterback and Running Back in our Upgrade/Downgrade series, and both position groups seem to be a likely upgrade. It helps when you return your best player at that position, but now things start to get interesting for the offense. Aireonte Ersaey was a 2nd-round draft pick, Phillip Daniels left for NIL at Ohio State and then you lost 60 combined starts between Quinn Carrol and Tyler Cooper.
As per usual, the offensive line unit improved throughout the season, but it was not a strength in 2025. So after a down year, can this year's unit be an upgrade?
2025 Starter: Nathan Roy, Greg Johnson, Ashton Beers, Tony Nelson, Dylan Ray
2026 Starters: Roy, Johnson, Beers, Tony Nelson, Bennett Warren
Depth: Jerome Williams, Brett Carroll, Jaden Ball, Daniel Shipp, Kaveon Lee, Mark Handy
The good news here is that four starters return, and a nice transfer piece has been added.
Nathan Roy was the starter at left tackle last year for 12 of the 13 games and he had a nice season. And if you factor in that he was just a redshirt freshman, there is reason to believe that he is going to be an excellent blind-side protector for Drake Lindsey.

#tony #starter

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye arrived for training camp the same day as the rookies on Tuesday.
The All-Pro gunslinger is looking to lead by example as the franchise quarterback, arriving ahead of the mandatory reporting date. It has been a successful two-season run for Maye, who experienced a Year 2 leap the likes of which few expected.
In a snap of a finger, he went from a promising young quarterback to a Super Bowl contender and runner-up for the 2025 NFL MVP award. He'll be heading into his third NFL season looking to prove last season wasn't a fluke and that the Patriots truly belong among the NFL's upper echelon of teams.
Maye and company will need to hit the ground running with one of the hardest schedules in the league awaiting them in 2026.
Along with Maye returning for work, the Patriots' social media team also captured the rookies arriving for their first NFL training camp.

#training #rookies

Canadian singer Drake has wagered $1.5 million USDT on Argentina to beat Spain in regulation time at Sunday's World Cup final. A win would pay the rapper $5,175,000.
He placed the bet through the crypto gambling platform Stake and announced it on Instagram. In contrast, Spain enters the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium as the favorite.
Soccer fans have already invoked the Drake Curse, the belief that teams he backs publicly falter at the worst moment. A similar regulation-time bet cost Drake his last World Cup payout, even though Argentina won it in extra time. The wager only pays out if Argentina wins within 90 minutes, excluding extra time and penalties.
The rapper's crypto ties run deeper than betting slips. He referenced Bitcoin (BTC) on his new Iceman album this year, calling himself a "crypto big-timer." This bet, however, relies entirely on a stablecoin rather than a volatile token.
Kalshi's regulation-time market prices Spain's win probability at 43%, compared with 28% for Argentina and 32% for a tie. Meanwhile, that gap mirrors how World Cup betting markets have leaned toward Europe throughout the knockout rounds. The Kalshi contract for Sunday's World Cup game had already logged more than $2.8 million in trading volume.

Canadian Rapper Drake has placed a $1.5 million bet on Argentina beating Spain in the 2026 Fifa World Cup final.
The "God's Plan"rapper, born Aubrey Drake Graham, shared a screenshot of the online bet he placed on Stake ahead of the final at New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday.
The 39-year-old put his money behind the South American team which, if they win, will see a payout of more than $5.1 million.
Sharing a screenshot of his bet on Instagram he said: "What's that saying??? Better luck next time…"
It comes after the artist previously lost a $1 million bet he placed on Irish Conor McGregor fighter winning his UFC bout against Max Holloway.

The 2026 All-Star Game has come and gone, and the American League defeated the National League 4-0. Though the final score was not ideal, the Atlanta Braves had five All-Stars, four of which played. Ozzie Albies, Drake Baldwin, Matt Olson, and Raisel Iglesias each made an appearance.
Albies and Baldwin earned the starts for the National League but were unable to spark the offense, while Olson went hitless after entering later in the game. Iglesias, meanwhile, turned in one of the better performances of the night for Atlanta, tossing a scoreless inning in his first career All-Star appearance. Chris Sale did not pitch, as the National League managed just three hits in the shutout loss.
The Braves have just a few days left of the All-Star break before hosting the Texas Rangers.
Here is everything you need to know about the Braves' draft picks and their sign-on value.
Which prospects make your Top 30 list?

The American League and The National League took the field at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia for the ninety-sixth All-Star Game. This is the fifth All-Star Game in history hosted in Philadelphia, and the first since 1996.
Speaking of the number five, the Atlanta Braves had five representatives on the NL All-Star roster. Drake Baldwin and Ozzie Albies were starters, while Matt Olson was a reserve. On the pitching side of things, Chris Sale and Raisel Iglesias were active for the game.
Small little side nugget, Braves legend Hank Aaron holds a tied for the record for most All-Star Games played with twenty-four. It should be noted that for part of his career they played two All-Star Games per year, but it is still a fun Braves stat.
The NL struggled mightily with their bats against the elite AL pitching. Other than the first inning the NL pitching did great as well. Let’s break down what each Braves player was able to accomplish in the game.
Albies, who is having his best season since 2023, was elected as a starter. It is his first All-Star appearance since the aforementioned 2023 season. He hit sixth in the lineup and the first pitcher he saw was Parker Messick in the second inning. Albies swung on the second pitch he saw, which was an outside change up, and grounded out sharply to Bobby Witt Jr. at SS.

The Sacramento Kings were bothered by the Brooklyn Nets' length and defensive activity — as they forced 28 turnovers in their 115-83 blowout victory on Tuesday evening at the Thomas and Mack Center.
Sacramento falls to 1-2 in the Las Vegas Summer League, and Brooklyn improves to 2-1. The Nets also had 21 steals, a plus-14 advantage over the Kings.
Kings rookie guard Darius Acuff Jr. led all scorers with 26 points on 9-for-18 shooting and five ***** ists. Egor Dëmin was Brooklyn's leading scorer with 22 points on 5-for-12 shooting and eight ***** ists.
Sacramento drew first blood after nice ball movement that ended in a Dylan Cardwell dunk (assisted by Alex Karaban). Cardwell's first points were the only easy offense for the Kings, as the Nets' defensive pressure often forced turnovers.
Brooklyn went on an offensive avalanche, responding with an 8-0 run. Once the lead was taken, it was secured for the rest of the game. Drake Powell, who did not hit a three in four summer league games, drained a few in the first quarter.

PHILADELPHIA – The involvement from the team with the second-best record in baseball during the All-Star Game was sparse.
With Jacob Misiorowski not pitching and Brice Turang, despite being 10th in baseball in WAR, not selected, William Contreras was the lone representative from the Milwaukee Brewers to take the field July 14 at Citizens Bank Park.
Contreras entered the game on defense in the top of the fourth, replacing Braves backstop and Madison native Drake Baldwin.
His lone at-bat came in the bottom of the sixth against Cleveland closer Cade Smith. Contreras saw three pitches, swung at each of them and flew out to right.
Misiorowski did take the field as part of a segment between innings in which kids took the field on bikes and went to a spot on the diamond. Misiorowski was stationed at home plate, where he showed the kid he was paired with each of his pitch grips while Ray Charles' "America the Beautiful" played in the back.

I hope every MLB fan gets used to Bobby Witt Jr. in the All-Star Game. This is already Witt’s third All-Star Game, and Witt just turned 26 last month. The Kansas City Royals record for most All-Star selections is George Brett with 13; Salvador Perez is second with nine. After that, multiple Royals are tied with five selections, and it seems at least that Witt is on track to move into third place as soon as 2028.
Joining Witt is Michael Wacha, making his second All-Star appearance. Wacha’s first All-Star Game? All the way back in 2015, when he was but a wee 23-year-old with the St. Louis Cardinals.
It’s an All-Star Game with some new faces (Ben Rice, Drake Baldwin) and some old faces (Mike Trout, Freddie Freeman). May the best team win—and may the on-field interviews be as least cringy as possible.

The Baltimore Ravens are coming off an extremely disappointing season that saw them miss out on winning the AFC North and making the playoffs after missing a last-second 44-yard field goal. It appears that one playoff without two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson is all it’s taken for the general public, and even Jackson’s peers, to forget just how dynamic he is when he’s healthy.
A year after he finished second on the NFL’s Top 100 list, in which the players themselves vote on the top 100 players in the league, Jackson came in at the 69th spot for the 2026 offseason. On Tuesday, Colin Cowherd said openly that he doesn’t trust Jackson anymore.
“Now remember, this is voted on by players. Those are his peers. That’s always been his number one support group. Anytime there was criticism about him and I defended him forever. It was always his peers, his teammates,” Cowherd said of Jackson’s 67 spot fall on Tuesday’s episode of The Herd.
“There’s other franchise quarterbacks I like— Drake Maye now, and Caleb Williams, and Bo Nix,” Cowherd added. “And there’s just more good young quarterbacks coming into the league. I mean, about the only quarterback who I think is like declining— and it’s hard to say Matt Stafford is declining, but he’s old— that’s about it. There’s just too many good young quarterbacks. So I mean, Lamar Jackson as a starter used to average 10 rushes a game. Last year it was 5.”
Cowherd was not shy in his **** sment: Jackson has already begun his physical decline.

Listen, if Conor McGregor had smoked Max Holloway in his return fight, here's guessing at least one of our Uncrowned MMA Pound-for-Pound voters would've slotted him in the top 10 of this month's list.
(We're mostly kidding.)
Yet given the anticlimactic nature of the ending of Saturday's UFC 329 main event, the more realistic question was whether Max Holloway would break back into the top 10 ******* e on the men's side of the ledger, and the answer is … no. Holloway got the 69-second victory, but he didn't need to do much in Las Vegas to secure it.
So as we enter the dog days of summer, the MMA pound-for-pound list stays steady with Islam Makhachev and Valentina Shevchenko holding down the top spots.
The panel of Ben Fowlkes, Chuck Mindenhall, Shaheen Al-Shatti, Petesy Carroll, Drake Riggs, Eric Jackman and Conner Burks have ranked both the men's and women's pound-for-pound best, one through 10, using a weighted points system to determine the final rankings (being voted No. 1 equals 10 points, No. 2 equals nine points, down to No. 10 equaling one point).