Undrafted free agent and former UMaine and UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano got his first regular-season action this past weekend for the Baltimore Ravens against the Buffalo Bills in their 36-10 loss.

Fagnano entered the game in relief of both starter Lamar Jackson and backup Tyler Huntley, who both left with injuries in a crazy first half.

Jackson broke his thumb in his return to Baltimore after a three-week absence with an ankle sprain. Huntley, who signed back with the Ravens this offseason, went down with turf toe, meaning third-string Fagnano was next up. He threw for 91 yards and an interception.

The Ravens being down to their third string would seem to end an already sinking ship of a season. The team is 4-4 and has now lost three straight games. However, Fagnano has shown some signs of slinging the football with a solid preseason and a very good college career. In his final season with UConn, he threw for almost 3,500 yards and threw only one interception, along with 28 touchdowns.

Fagnano said he hated seeing the injuries to the rest of his QB room. He also said he was ready to go because you never know when your number is going to be called.

Both Huntley and Lamar are expected to miss Thursday night’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but Fagnano is far from fully healthy himself, and head coach Jesse Minter did not commit to naming him the starter. “We’re kinda working through some things. To Joe’s credit, he’s kinda fighting through a couple things. Expect him to have a chance to play Thursday,” said the head coach.

With Huntley’s timetable unconfirmed and Jackson out at least four games, Fagnano could be in charge of keeping the ship afloat in Baltimore, if he is healthy and the team doesn’t explore a possible move.

The Los Angeles Chargers fell to 0-7 this past weekend after another loss to the Los Angeles Rams in an uncompetitive fashion, losing 24-9.

The misery has no signs of stopping for Chargers fans, who, on paper, would be tough to believe could have a worse record than teams like the Tennessee Titans or Miami Dolphins. They still have promising QB Justin Herbert, but head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel could be on the hot seat at the rate they are losing football games this season.

Los Angeles’s historic start marks the first time the team has started 0-7 in 26 years, with some interesting parallels. This is eerily familiar territory for Harbaugh, who was the Chargers’ quarterback 26 years ago when they last started this poorly. On top of that, the Chargers haven’t scored a touchdown in nine consecutive quarters across 27 possessions, the longest drought since McDaniel’s Dolphins went 30 possessions without scoring a touchdown in 2024.

Now the two, who have seen similar situations before, are past the idea of saving the season. Now they are trying to save their jobs, which begs the question: what needs to happen in the last 10 weeks for them to do so? Do they even need to do anything, or will the Chargers stick with them long term anyway?

When the Chargers hired Harbaugh, they were looking to restore a championship pedigree after years of mediocrity since the days of Phillip Rivers. He is dedicated to turning the ship around. “It’s a team effort; we’re going to look at the film and see where we can get better. We’re the only ones who can fix it.” It starts at the top, however, and the reality is that the Chargers do not have a roster that should be 0-7.

The Washington Commanders are next up for the Chargers, who will try to get their first win again next week.

Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell was hospitalized for a neck injury that is being monitored.

Campbell was carted off the field in Sunday’s 19-15 win over the Minnesota Vikings, taken to the hospital and remained there as of Monday morning.

Campbell was originally motionless on the ground after awkwardly hitting tight end T.J. Hockenson while going for the tackle. He remained down, and the delay lasted around 10 minutes.

The Lions released a positive statement Monday afternoon saying the initial signs and tests are positive and that Campbell is continuing to recover. Head coach Dan Campbell mentioned this in his Monday press conference, also asking for continued prayers as they work through it. He also said the situation was difficult for everyone involved, and the team has yet to release more information out of respect for the linebacker’s family.

“I got to go see him last night,” the head coach said. “It’s about the recovery. It’s a small setback. That’s the family. They’re very positive, so that’s good in that regard.”

The team signed Campbell to a four-year contract extension in May and picked him 18th in the 2023 NFL draft. He received All-Pro honors for his play, his first selection of his career.

No timetable has been released yet regarding Campbell’s return, but the loss is another hit to a defense that has slowly been improving over the last few weeks. The Lions have allowed under 22 points in each of their last three games, all wins.

The Dallas Cowboys looked like they were building on their primetime win against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday when leading the 2-5 Arizona Cardinals, but after giving up 20 points in the fourth quarter, they suffered an overtime loss that pressed a lot of panic buttons for the team.

The problem starts with the coaching, which set the team up for disaster. Brian Schottenheimer found a way to blow their lead with their second-half play calling.

The team didn’t help either, with Dak Prescott disappointing again in big spots. The offensive line didn’t help his cause, but Prescott rarely wins games. He doesn’t take them over or add to the cause in far too many circumstances for the money he is making and the trust the franchise has put in him.

The good news for Cowboys fans is that somehow, even at 3-5, they are hardly out of contention even after the rough start. They are second in the NFC East behind the New York Giants, who are keeping their season alive even after franchise QB Jaxson Dart went down with an injury early in the season that will keep him out for the year.

Owner Jerry Jones was blunt following the game, showing tons of frustration. “That (loss) really is glaring in a negative way — where we were and how we ended up losing that ball game,” said Jones. “We just did not play well enough, at all, to win that ball game. Not well enough at all after you had to lead the way we did and had the opportunities we had to win that ball game. So it’s an indictment of the whole show.”

The Cowboys will travel to Indianapolis this weekend to take on the Colts. A strong bounceback will be much needed, or the season that they’ve been given a lifetime to turn around will start slipping away.

After closing out Game 5 of the World Series to win the Milwaukee Brewers their first title in franchise history, Trevor Megill took some shots at his former team, the Chicago Cubs, in his postgame interview.

Megill was asked what he had to say to all the Brewers fans in attendance at Tropicana Field; he said, “Have fun talking [expletive] to Chicago next year. We have a ring.” 

Megill isn’t wrong; the Brewers now have their championship and current bragging rights over the Cubs until next year. The Cubs made the playoffs this year but were quickly eliminated by the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card round.

Megill played a pivotal role in this championship run. He posted a 2.00 ERA in the playoffs, recorded five saves in eight appearances, and pitched nine innings.

His time with the Cubs has meaning for Megill, as he was with Chicago from 2019 to 2021 after the Cubs selected him in the Rule 5 Draft. Megill pitched for the Cubs only in 2021, and he struggled, finishing with an 8.37 ERA in 28 appearances.

Megill has been with Milwaukee since the 2023 season and has become a reliable reliever for the Brewers, adding to the Cubs’ frustration, knowing a division rival has now gotten a player they discarded in the past.

The Chicago Bears have moved to bolster their defensive line by trading for All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons from the Tennessee Titans.

The Titans are receiving 2027 and 2028 first-round picks and a 2027 fourth-round pick; the Bears are receiving a 2028 fifth-round pick with Simmons.

According to ESPN Research, Simmons is the first defensive tackle in the common draft era to be traded for multiple first-round picks.

Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi said he had no intention of trading Simmons until receiving a call the night before the trade from Bears general manager Ryan Poles. Borgonzi and Poles worked together for the Kansas City Chiefs. The offer was the first one that made Borgonzi consider trading the All-Pro defensive tackle.

“At no point anytime since I’ve been here did we ever try to trade Jeffrey Simmons,” Borgonzi said. “We’ve gotten a lot of phone calls on Jeff really since I’ve been hired here, but it’s never really crossed my mind. And I got a phone call late last night from a person that I’ve known for a while, Ryan Poles … We considered the compensation, and it was too good to pass up.” 

Borgonzi said he spoke with Titans head coach Robert Saleh about the trade on Wednesday night and they agreed it was a good move.

“I told our guys, when you don’t close out games, and you’re standing here at 1-6, teams are going to start fishing,” Saleh said Thursday. “And eventually a team threw a hook big enough that I don’t think any of us could have said no to.”

Simmons has been the Titans team captain for six consecutive seasons, this season he has recorded four sacks, six tackles for loss and four passes defended all lead the team this season through seven games.

“There are few people like Jeff Simmons. We are forever grateful for all he has given this team and this city. His formidable presence on the field was surpassed only by what he did off it. He gave Nashville more than football. The Give ‘Em A Reason Foundation has changed lives in Middle Tennessee and in Mississippi, and I have no doubt it will continue to wherever he goes. Jeff — thank you. For how you played, how you led, and how you represented our team,” Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement.   

The addition of Simmons has upgraded a struggling Chicago defensive line that has failed to generate pressure since Dennis Allen was hired as defensive coordinator in 2025.

Under Poles, this trade is considered one of the most aggressive; the last aggressive trade was when the Bears traded away the first overall pick to Carolina for wide receiver DJ Moore and four draft picks. One of those picks would become the first overall pick the next year, when the Bears selected Caleb Williams.

The Titans and Simmons agreed to a three-year $105.8 million contract extension that guaranteed $100 million before the start of the season. After the Titans dropped to 1-6, Simmons’ name popped up around the league as a potential trade target ahead of the upcoming deadline.

Before the trade, Simmons told reporters he had no indication he would leave Tennessee anytime soon.

“Each and every day I wake up, my goal is to be where my feet are at,” Simmons said. “I’m never looking ahead, just being in the moment each and every day. I don’t worry about the things that I can’t control. Those types of things are also a distraction – that’s a lot of fans and outside media. I haven’t heard anything from my agent; I haven’t heard anything from this organization. As far as I know, I am going to be here.”

During a highly anticipated game between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers, the game was not decided by high-powered offenses or suffocating defense. Instead, the game was decided by questionable calls from the officials.

Several questionable flags were thrown during the game; the most questionable of them all went against the Packers. During the team’s postgame media session, safety Xavier McKinney made his frustrations known, calling the officiating “bulls–-.”

McKinney should expect a fine after sharing his opinion about the officiating, as the league has a strict policy prohibiting public criticism of game officials and may fine and/or suspend players or club employees who do so.

“I don’t know how the NFL [is] going to treat it, but I’m not a big fan of the refs right now,” McKinney told reporters in the locker room. “I don’t think it’s great officiating if I’m being completely honest. I think it’s bulls–- a lot of the times.”

McKinney pointed to a call in the third quarter when Lions receiver Amon-Ra St.Brown was wrapped up in what looked like a tackle, but because he was on top of a Packers defender, he thought he wasn’t down yet.

St. Brown got up and kept running as if the play wasn’t dead. No audible whistle, so Packers defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt tackled St. Brown.

As this happened, St. Brown’s leg hit umpire Terry Killens Jr. in the groin. Killens Jr. went down and threw a flag while on his back. Unnecessary roughness on Wyatt.

The Lions used the penalty to march down the field and score a touchdown, taking a 17-14 lead.

“I think there are drives where they make calls that don’t even make any sense,” McKinney said. “We tried to get him down and then their player hit the ref, and he falls. He gets mad on the ground, and he just throws the flag. He don’t even know who hit him.

“So it’s just like, it just be bulls–t that’s going on, bulls–t calls.”

Packers coach Matt LaFleur spoke carefully about the officiating at first, but he made it clear he was unhappy the team was penalized when there was no clear whistle to end the play.

“There was no whistle blown, and the guy continued to run, and our guy didn’t hear a whistle. He continued to play too, and then we get called for a penalty,” LaFleur said. “So, I don’t know. They were trying to tell me the play was obviously dead. I’m like, ‘How do you know if you don’t hear a whistle?'” 

Referee Alex Moore didn’t hear a whistle either. In a post-game report, he stated the play was over as if it was known by all the players on the field.

“We ruled that the play was over,” Moore said. “I can’t honestly hear if there was a whistle or not, but the tackler made the tackle; the play was over. Then, there was an additional action, and he basically tackled him again with force after the play was over.” 

While this was the most controversial call made during the game, several flags were thrown against the Packers for roughing the passer.

Packers defensive tackle Karl Brooks was called for one of those roughing penalties; he declined to speak with reporters after the game.

He’s one of the few Packers players who received questionable calls during the game; those who did not speak know they will not get fined by the NFL for talking about the officials.

Stephen Curry proved that Father Time is a myth to some players. In six minutes, Curry exploded for 17 points, highlighted by a 31-footer from downtown.

Curry finished the night with 44 points; the Warriors needed it from their star after the Minnesota Timberwolves refused to stay down despite trailing by 24.

Curry joined LeBron James in an exclusive company of two. It was his 15th 40-point game since turning 35, tying James for the most in NBA history.

“I just see him doing what Steph Curry does,” coach Steve Kerr said after the 119-114 win. “I’ve been watching him for so long that it never surprises me when he gets hot. What makes him special is that it can happen at any time.” 

Curry started the night cold, shooting 2-of-8 from the field; three minutes into the second quarter, he changed that after hitting his first three-pointer. The next possession, he hit another three and shouted at his bench, who loved seeing the emotion from their leader.

Curry started cooking after that, making six of his next eight shots and ending the half with 23 points as the Warriors led 64-48.

In the third quarter, the lead grew to 78-54, but the Wolves still had life. Curry would need to put on his chef’s hat and start cooking again.

Curry scored 16 points from the foul line, 14 of them to keep Minnesota from completing the comeback. It was Curry’s second-highest total ever from the foul line. He has shot 16 free throws only three times in his career; this was the first time he would make all of them.

“They were pressuring pretty much all the way out to half court, so you’re gonna have those driving lanes,” Curry said. “Thankfully it helped us in a couple lulls that we had, getting to the line, getting easy buckets, which we needed all of them.” 

After missing games last season due to injuries, many thought father time had finally come for Curry, except that wasn’t what happened. In the second half, Curry showed his age didn’t matter after diving for a loose ball and nearly getting his lower half hit. Curry said he wasn’t even thinking about his knees.

“I think that’s just more indicative of how good I feel, considering the age and miles and how last year went that I even tried it, I had a confidence that I could get down there,” Curry said. “There’s situations where you find yourself in where you’re just playing basketball and reacting, and that’s one of those.” 

Curry has been on a minutes restriction by the Warriors coaching staff to manage the player’s workload. He is capped at 32 minutes, but as the Wolves slowly came back, they let him play up to 31 minutes and 35 seconds. It was his first 30-minute night of the season.

“I honestly didn’t know until after the game, which was nice that we were just kind of in the moment, playing,” Curry said. “A little different flow to it when I got hot in the second; had to play a little bit of a longer stretch. So it’s nice to keep building and feel good coming out of it.”

William Contreras has had a year he will never forget, from winning his home country Venezuela’s first-ever World Baseball Classic to winning the Milwaukee Brewers their first World Series championship.

Contreras became the eighth catcher voted the World Series MVP; he joined Gene Tenace, Johnny Bench, Steve Yeager, Darrell Porter, Rick Dempsey, Pat Borders and Salvador Perez as catchers to win the award.

“I don’t want to offend any of the other catchers in the league. The last thing I want to do is offend any of them,” he said through an interpreter. “But sitting up here today, champion of the world, I feel like I’m the best catcher in the league. Again, that’s no disrespect to any of them. That’s the last thing I want to do. But today I feel like I’m the best catcher in the world.” 

“He’s our pit bull. You don’t just walk up and pet him. There’s a chance you get nipped,” manager Pat Murphy said.  

After being awarded the MVP trophy, Contreras embraced his 34-year-old brother, Boston Red Sox first baseman Wilson Contreras, who won the World Series in 2016 with the Chicago Cubs.

“My brother is my role model. I don’t have a lot of friends. He’s my friend,” William Contreras said. “If I have something to ask somebody, I ask Willson.” 

Contreras teared up when talking about his home country, Venezuela. Contreras and teammates Jackson Chourio and Antonio Senzatela joined Alex Bregman and Luke Gregerson of the 2017 Houston Astros in winning the WBC and World Series that year.

“It means everything because that’s the first time Venezuela guys win the WBC and the World Series,” William Contreras said. “It’s history, history for my country. I love Venezuela. It’s my country.” 

This season, Contreras hit .270 with 18 homers and a career-best 94 RBIs as the Brewers won their fourth straight NL Central title.

“Think about what he’s achieved, and he’s disappointed his numbers aren’t better,” Murphy said. “He’s disappointed that he isn’t Gold Glove.” 

Contreras was the best when it came to ABS; he led Major League Baseball with 185 challenges and 105 overturns during the regular season. During the postseason, he won 22-of-33.

“It’s not magic,” Contreras said. “I think it’s the experience of playing every day throughout the season.” 

Contreras showed up in big moments for the Brewers this postseason. He batted .444 with a pair of solo homers in the NLDS against the San Diego Padres, hitting a tie-breaking, seventh-inning drive in the opener and another homer in Game 3. In the NLCS, he batted .357 with one homer and three RBIs to complete the sweep over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“I told him before the game: You will be the MVP of the World Series,” Murphy said of Contreras. “People recognized what that kid did for us. There was no doubt in my mind. Yeah, he’s special.”

The Dallas Cowboys’ season hasn’t gone the way they wanted for America’s team. Heading into their Monday night game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the team understood that a win could bring some spark to their season.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has been around long enough to understand that, after losing two straight games, Prescott ended that losing streak. Prescott threw three touchdown passes in the Cowboys’ 38-21 win.

The win has kept the Cowboys in pace with the 4-2-1 New York Giants in the NFC East and temporarily shut down the negativity that has been building around the team.

“We say the division’s right in front of us. It is as long as we win,” Prescott said. “And if you lose another game, then you’re probably checking to see what New York’s doing. You’re probably checking and watching the other teams more than we should. So yeah, I mean you got to win games, got to win division games. How big of a game this was, understanding how much they’re hurt on their offensive side, yeah, huge road win for us.” 

The biggest concern for the Cowboys over the past two seasons has been their defense; entering Monday, the biggest questions were about the offense, which scored a combined 29 points in its past two games. Prescott threw four interceptions in those games, while head coach and playcaller Brian Schottenheimer received pressure from the fans after he said during the week.

“I know how great of a coach I am,” head coach Schottenheimer said on 105.3 The Fan, despite his 9-13-1 record and his being an “elite playcaller,” despite the recent woes.

After the victory, Schottenheimer had his normal postgame celebration inside the locker room with the players. He highlighted key plays on offense and defense and kept his postgame comments reserved.

“Had nothing to do with desperation,” Schottenheimer said. “Our guys just played good.” 

When asked why he wasn’t as expressive after a win and if he was OK, Schottenheimer said, “I’m great. Excited for our guys.”

Prescott said he did not discuss the criticism with his coach; he noticed a “definitely hungry, pissed-off version of Schotty.”

“It’s not like he’s naive,” Prescott said. “It’s not like he hadn’t heard some noise about him and whether it’s the call in the games or whatever doubt that’s been out there. But we’ve got his back. He knows that. He’s a guy that takes a lot of pride in his job, a lot of pride in his team. Everybody handles everything different, so I don’t blame him to an extent. We’ve got his back. More importantly, it’s just about us going out there and executing on Sundays.” 

The Cowboys’ last win before the losing streak was on October 4 against the Houston Texans, a team that is struggling more than they are. Now the Cowboys face off against the 2-5 Arizona Cardinals. Dallas has not won back-to-back games since a three-game winning streak in Weeks 11-13 last year.

“Nobody’s going to give it to us. Nobody’s going to say, ‘Yeah, you’re the better team. You got it,'” Prescott said. “That’s what’s so great about the NFL, so we’ve got to come out and earn it each and every week, and there’s going to be no difference coming next Sunday.” 

According to ESPN Analytics, the Cowboys have a 57% chance of winning the division.

“I think it gets us right back into the hunt in the NFC East,” Schottenheimer said.

Trophyless seasons and empty stats – those were the words always connected with Harry Kane. Finally, in 2026, those narratives no longer follow Kane; now, when you think of the English striker, you remember him as a Ballon d’Or winner.

Kane’s journey hasn’t been easy, having been released from Arsenal’s academy at a young age. Kane later joined the Tottenham Hotspur academy, where he eventually got called up to the senior team. 

However, his rise to the top would not be quick; he had several loan spells at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich City and Leicester City. It took until the 2013-14 Premier League season for him to break into Spurs’ first team. A year later, he was named PFA Young Player of the Year at 21.

Kane spent nine seasons at Spurs, where he became the club’s top goalscorer. Kane scored 280 goals in 435 appearances for Spurs while breaking Wayne Rooney’s all-time goal-scoring record for England. He is on pace to break Peter Shilton’s appearance record of 125 caps.

Year after year, he led the club into the top 4 of the Premier League and competed for the league, domestic cups, and the UEFA Champions League. Despite all of that, in nine years, not a single trophy was won.

During the 2023 summer transfer window, Kane joined German club Bayern Munich for €120 million ($134 million). In 156 matches played for the club, Kane has scored 158 goals.

This past season, Kane scored 73 goals in 65 matches, won the German Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal, the German Supercup and led England to their best FIFA World Cup finish in 60 years with third place, scoring six times at the tournament. 

Before his move to Bayern Munich, Kane understood he was not regarded as one of the top stars in world football. 

Former Spurs manager Jose Mourinho alluded to this in a conversation with Kane in the “All or Nothing” series by Amazon that covered the 2019-20 campaign for Spurs.

“The world looks to English football with an incredible respect, but they still think that the movie stars of football belong to other places — and I think we have to build also your status in that direction,” he said.

Kane replied: “That’s my aim. When you are at a club like Tottenham, of course we’ve done well, personally I’ve done well, but I want to be Ronaldo, Messi …”

All of this leading up to the Ballon d’Or ceremony in London, Kane, along with Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal, were the top three choices to win the award. The award’s official website posted three separate articles before the ceremony, congratulating all three players on winning the award. This would lead to the awards being pushed back an hour.

The Ballon d’Or is voted by one journalist per country from FIFA’s top 100 ranked nations. Kane has never finished higher than 10th in the Ballon d’Or vote (2024). The criteria for the award are: individual performances, decisive and impressive character; collective performances and titles won; class and fair play.

Despite the Premier League being the best league in the world, English players have won it only five times (Sir Stanley Matthews, Sir Bobby Charlton and Kevin Keegan twice), and the last winner was Michael Owen in 2001.

LaLiga has dominated the award over the past two decades, mainly through Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. A few players have won the award once during this stretch, like Luka Modric and Karim Benzema, both of whom won the award while playing for Real Madrid. Players from Real Madrid and Barcelona have won it 12 times each. Mbappe and Yamal, who Kane was competing against for the award, both play for Madrid and Barcelona. Manchester United are the most successful English club in Ballon d’Or history with four. The last United player to win the award was Ronaldo in 2008.

Kane left England to win trophies; losing cup finals and the highest league finish of second would only build frustration at Spurs. Now at Bayern, Kane has won five trophies since the 2024-25 season. Now he can add the Ballon d’Or to that list.

“I am almost speechless,” he said. “Being here in London has made it extra special. It made it a good omen for me tonight.” Now standing on the stage, all the eyes are on him.

Portland Trail Blazers star Ja Morant says he plans to appeal the technical foul he received for flopping at the end of their 136-129 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night.

Morant was one of three players to receive technical fouls for flopping. Toumani Camara of Portland and Ziaire Williams of Los Angeles were the other two players to receive them.

Both teams were upset, but the Trail Blazers and head coach Micah Nori were especially upset about how the referees handled the situation.

“Good job by the NBA. Point of emphasis. Great job. There were (71) free throws,” said the head coach, who was upset at how involved the referees were in the outcome. It was a tense, chippy game regardless, but the flopping calls seemed unnecessary, according to the players, given how easily everything else was called.

The NBA introduced the flopping technical foul rule in 2023. It seems players needed a season to learn the new rule. The exact numbers are disputed, as it is not a stat the NBA tracks, but there were many calls at the start of the first season the rule was introduced, and last year they were less frequent. Nori noted how unusual it was to have three flopping technicals in one game, when there were only “27 flops called last year in 2,000 games total,” as Nori quoted.

This is even more the reason why players were upset: why are three being called in one game when 27 were made in the prior year?

After the game, Morant was upset about the call, saying he took a bump to the chest. “I’ll try and appeal it,” Morant said.

Bad news for the Minnesota Timberwolves as superstar guard Anthony Edwards is set to miss up to two months with a knee injury.

Edwards tweaked his knee in the home opener against the Toronto Raptors and had been dealing with knee problems since last season. He was shown grabbing at his knee in pain and discomfort. He was listed as questionable and called day-to-day before an MRI showed worse damage than he originally thought, even though he was cleared to play on Monday, played 41 minutes and scored 47 points.

“They get to Miami in the season opener, and he’s playing and playing well, but from what I’m told at some point in that game, there was a tweak of some sort that happened with his right knee. They got new imaging with an MRI, and it revealed a worse situation than had been examined this last summer in July,” said Athletic senior writer Jon Krawczynski.

Edwards missed 21 games last season, around a fourth of the season. None of his missed time proved costly, as he played most of the playoffs.

This year is a different story, and could be quite costly.

Edwards needs to reach the 65-game threshold this year to be eligible for a $304 million supermax contract extension if he finishes as All-NBA.

The focus for the Timberwolves and Edwards, who will not struggle to make a nice chunk regardless, will still be winning a championship. They won’t rush him back if he’s not ready.

The role becomes larger for LaMelo Ball, who will need to step up in Edwards’ absence. In Edwards’ 21 missed games last season, the team went 12-9 and held up their end of the bargain, and the challenge resurfaces for the team’s 2026-2027 campaign.

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed kicker Justin Tucker to their practice squad after being out of the league since 2024.

The move likely aims to provide a backup in case starter and longtime Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker gets injured or his poor season continues.

Tucker last played for the Ravens, where he spent his entire career until the team released him in May 2025. The decision ended his 13 years with the team after Tucker was accused of sexual misconduct by spa and messaging therapists. There were 16 allegations, and Tucker has denied them, calling them “unequivocally false.”

The NFL suspended Tucker for 10 games over the allegations.

Controversy on the Chiefs’ special teams unit is nothing new. Butker faced controversy for some comments he made calling a woman’s primary role the “homemaker.” The Chiefs also signed punter Matt Araiza, who faced serious assault allegations when he entered the league with the Bills. The league dropped all of Araiza’s charges and lawsuits.

Tucker, 37, is widely regarded as one of, if not the greatest, kickers ever. In his prime, he was essentially automatic from any distance. He was the highest-paid kicker of all time when the Ravens released him.

In his later years in Baltimore, his level had certainly dipped, and he began missing some uncharacteristic kicks. He posted just a 73.3% rate in 2024, the worst of his career. He ranked 31st in the NFL.

Butker is currently the only starting kicker on the 53-man roster. Tucker still has high upside if Butker goes down with an injury, but it doesn’t seem likely that a continued poor start would be enough for the team to bail on Butker and take a chance on Tucker after his most recent season. The Chiefs are 5-1 even with Butker’s struggles.

Look away, Arsenal fans.

The Gunners, who are at the peak of their powers under manager Mikel Arteta, have just suffered their worst loss in possibly the entirety of the team’s 140-year history, and certainly their worst in England.

Fleetwood Town pulled off one of the most incredible upsets you will ever see in sports, taking down the champions of England and Champions League finalists on penalties in the fourth round of the EFL Cup, a tournament between the English soccer pyramid’s top four tiers.

They aren’t even four tiers apart. Arsenal sit atop the Premier League while Fleetwood Town sit 18th in the fourth tier, League Two, where relegation threatens their place in fully professional football. 84 spots lower in the pyramid, Fleetwood had won just three games this season.

Fleetwood Town were 28/1 to win in regulation, which, looking back, certainly could have happened. They were 12/1 to advance to the next round.

It may have been written in the stars for the home team, who were on their back heels for the first few minutes before a stoppage occurred for a blinking light in the sky. An unidentified drone caused the seven-minute delay, forcing the players off the pitch for safety reasons until it was sorted out.

A stretch, maybe, but this delay might have given Fleetwood Town time to settle against the champions. They went on to look very competitive with Arsenal for the next twenty minutes and capitalized with a goal from Aaron Loupalo-Bi, who sent just over 5,000 fans at Highbury into chaos.

If you asked the fans whether they would leave the game happy after that moment, no matter the score, they’d say yes.

Arsenal dominated the rest of the first half, looking more like their usual selves. They didn’t have their starters playing, but their depth is some of the best in the world, and their mix of second and third strings should have had plenty of quality to blow out Fleetwood Town.

They couldn’t capitalize in the first half thanks to strong defending from Fleetwood Town, but they removed the threat of a second goal.

Arteta had had enough at half-time, subbing in a few starters to try and take over the game. He didn’t want to do that, needing rest for the weekend’s match against Liverpool in the Premier League.

Viktor Gyökeres finally broke through for Arsenal in the 50th minute, scoring his first goal of the season.

The match seemed to be in Arsenal’s hands until chaos broke out late, as 16-year-old Max Dowman went down and retaliated, earning an iffy, yet still immature, red card. Arsenal had to play the last 5 minutes and change without their star prodigy, and Fleetwood Town held them off to get to a penalty shootout to decide who would advance.

Fleetwood Town had already won, drawing the Premier League Champions as a fourth-tier side. But the Cinderella story didn’t end there.

The first seven penalties were taken and scored before Bruno Guimarães stepped up for Arsenal, only for Fleetwood’s Jay Lynch to save his stutter step kick. The crowd was on cloud nine. It was not Arsenal’s night. Conor Haughey smoked it into the top left corner, and the fans rushed the field as Arsenal were officially knocked out of the tournament.

A story of how amazing sports can be: Fleetwood Town’s roster earned just $2.8 million, compared with Arsenal’s $1.4 billion. Around 500 times the amount. Theoretically, Fleetwood Town could be relegated to the National League at the end of this year and never return to fully professional soccer, less than a year after beating the country’s top team. That’s the beauty of the English soccer system.

A night that neither team will forget. One of the darkest nights in Arsenal’s storied history is the greatest night Fleetwood Town may ever see.

The Indianapolis Colts traded DT DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers for a fourth-round pick. The 49ers traded Buckner to the Colts in 2020.

Buckner will become a free agent in the offseason, but the 49ers are looking to make a strong push at a Super Bowl run if they can stay healthy, and acquiring a former pro-bowler for a fourth-round pick seemed like a no-brainer, especially with the love that GM John Lynch has expressed towards Buckner, who said trading him away to the Colts was the toughest decision of his career.

Star guard Quenton Nelson was also recently traded to the Seattle Seahawks, so the Colts are in full rebuild mode. The deal isn’t terrible for them either, with Buckner unlikely to re-sign at the end of the year anyway.

It seems unlikely this will be it for the Colts now that two major moves have been made, on top of their recent move at the top, firing long-term GM Chris Ballard, citing “necessary change” after a disappointing last few seasons, and especially after their start in 2025.

Buckner has 11 tackles and four sacks so far this year. He earned one of his three Pro Bowl selections with the 49ers in 2018.

San Francisco’s defensive line has dealt with injuries at every position. Four players, Andrew Farmer II, Alfred Collins, C.J. West and Sam Okuayinonu, are all on the IR. Buckner will go straight to the top of the depth chart.

The 49ers have let seasons slip over the years due to injury. Their star offensive players, though, have dealt with injuries but have avoided anything major or long-term so far. Injuries, and possibly other moves, will remain key if the 49ers are going to finally get it done with this core.

The Tampa Bay Rays stormed back in extra innings last night to walk off the Milwaukee Brewers and stay alive in the World Series by a score of 4-3.

The tightly contested game went to extra innings, tied 2-2, before Milwaukee’s Cooper Pratt hit a go-ahead home run in the 12th inning. The solo shot sent Brewers fans, who had a strong presence in Tampa, into a frenzy, amplified by the Tropicana Field dome.

Fans began to lick their chops at the thought of not only a sweep, but their first World Series in franchise history. It would have been the Brewers’ ninth straight win and would have capped one of the most incredible World Series runs in history. The team had won eight straight, and both of their playoff losses came by a single run. They had yet to lose uncompetitively.

The Brewers were three outs away.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy wanted Shane Drohan in that spot to get the last three outs. He didn’t record an out before the Rays ended the game in walk-off fashion.

The inning started with a ground-ball error at third base. The throw to first was low, and NLCS MVP Jake Bauers couldn’t pick it for the out at first base.

From there, a pair of hits drove the runner around the bases to tie the game, and Drohan still hadn’t recorded an out. With the bases loaded, Ben Williamson hit a high chopper over Bauer’s head at first base and into right field to win the game. The Rays’ season was saved.

Much controversy surrounds the pitching decision and why Murphy didn’t put in ace pitcher Jacob Misiorowski to close out the series. Murphy stuck by his decision and just chalked it up to the Rays making clutch plays. He also said that if it were a three-run game, the decision might have been different.

Drohan faced the music post-game. “I failed,” the reliever said.

The Rays still have plenty of work to do. No team has ever mounted a 3-0 comeback in the World Series, and only one in MLB history: the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who came back to beat the New York Yankees en route to their World Series title.

Game 5 is Wednesday in Tampa before it returns to Milwaukee, with Misiorowski getting the call this time as the Brewers’ starter. The Rays won’t name a starter and will go with an “all hands on deck” bullpen game.

Kylian Mbappé has apologized after a remark about a meme portraying him as Mao Zedong prompted several Chinese companies to cut ties with the Real Madrid star.

The 27-year-old France captain, who brushed off an ankle scare during France’s World Cup quarterfinal win over Morocco this summer and has accused former club Paris Saint-Germain of moral harassment, lost deals with beverage maker Dongpeng, dairy giant Mengniu and cheese producer Milkground on Tuesday.

The controversy began with a clip circulating on X that appeared to show Mbappé being interviewed ahead of an appearance on the French online talk show The Bridge. Asked about his favorite meme of himself, he described it as a video of “a guy, I think he was a Chinese dictator.” The clip then cut to an edited image placing Mbappé’s face on Mao’s blue-suited body.

Mao, who founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and ruled until his death in 1976, remains revered by many in the country, and jokes about him are widely considered taboo.

In nearly identical statements, the three brands said they oppose any words or actions that “hurt national sentiment.” None directly cited the Mao comment, but the timing left little doubt. Mbappé’s image has been plastered across China, from subway stations to elevators, in campaigns ranging from Dongpeng’s Bushuaila electrolyte drink to a Mengniu ad alongside Lionel Messi.

The fallout went beyond sponsors. China Media Group said it was suspending broadcasts of La Liga matches and other games involving Mbappé, pulling ads featuring him and demanding apologies from both the player and Real Madrid. Social media platform RedNote said it would remove promotional material tied to a content partnership with Mbappé that ended in December 2024, and his account on the app was blocked from gaining new followers.

China’s Foreign Ministry also weighed in, with a spokesperson warning that remarks that hurt Chinese people’s feelings would face opposition from across Chinese society.

On Weibo, hashtags about brands ending their partnerships with Mbappé topped the trending list, alongside calls for soccer fans to boycott the forward.

Mbappé responded quickly, posting an apology on X in French, Chinese and English.

“My comment was ill-judged,” he wrote, adding that he now understands it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world. He said upsetting anyone “was absolutely not my intention” and that he has “deep respect for the Chinese people and their history.”

La Liga moved swiftly to protect its lucrative television business in China. League president Javier Tebas apologized on X, and the league said the comments were made in a personal capacity and did not reflect La Liga’s views. It also pledged to create a “communication protocol” for players and clubs and to work with partners in China to prevent similar incidents.

Soccer fans have long jokingly called Mbappé a “dictator” because of his outsized influence over his teams, and memes depicting him as Mao and other authoritarian leaders have circulated widely online for years.

The firestorm capped a rough week for the French superstar, who watched Harry Kane win the Ballon d’Or on Monday.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams left Monday night’s game on a stretcher in their 108-101 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Williams suffered a significant lower left leg injury, and he had to sit on the stretcher to leave the floor. The injury’s severity was unknown after the game, but head coach Mark Daigneault didn’t seem optimistic in his post-game press conference.

Williams looked down at his leg after the injury in disgust and shock, covering his mouth as his left foot was turned to an unusual degree. The injury happened as the game neared its end, with just 1:14 left when he fell awkwardly. The rest of the players on the floor couldn’t bear to look at Williams’ left leg.

The feeling after the game was one of sympathy from his teammates. Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said he felt bad for Williams, but also said they knew he’d be “back better than ever.”

The Thunder are one of the deepest teams in the NBA, but there is significant concern that Williams’s gruesome injury is a season-ender and will affect their chances going forward. The San Antonio Spurs are now the favorites to win and defend their Western Conference Championship after the injury.

Daigneault mentioned the impact on his team. “That’s tough on the guys… so yeah, not doing great,” the coach said. “I know they’ll be hungry to know how he’s doing and stuff like that… But, at this point, you’ve just got to allow yourself to feel the way you do.”

The official diagnosis on the injury is still to come. Daigneault said that the team would be briefed Monday.

The Thunder play the back end of a back-to-back Monday at home against the Phoenix Suns.

Pat McAfee visited the University of Utah during ESPN’s College GameDay. A few days later, McAfee said he was “very, very uncomfortable” with the experience.

McAfee was unhappy with how he was treated in Salt Lake City; it started with a social media post from the Utah Student Experience account, along with the school’s official account, asking students to do an impression of him.

He grew frustrated during the show when a student participating in the kicking contest said he was only attempting to kick for $1 million instead of the $3 million a BYU student got the week before.

“Alright, I hate this place. I hate this place,” an already frustrated McAfee said.

McAfee later addressed his problems with Utah on his show. While referencing the video posted on the account’s social media.

“One kid goes, ‘Ah, he’s corny.’ Another kid calls me ‘creepy.’”

“OK, if these kids would have done this on their own blogs, all good. I mean, everybody’s taking shots at me anyways for everything; I get it.”

“Then the university puts that out. Like, as I’m about to go out and do an infomercial for the place, and then I’m walking in front of thousands of these people.

“This is how the university feels about it. It’s an uncomfortable feeling. I’m like, I’m getting a lot of shrapnel from a lot of places. The university is putting this out? That something I just had never experienced really in my entire life.”

During the show at Utah, McAfee took a chance to mess with the fanbase that had made it known they didn’t like him.

“It’s hard to pick against this mighty Utah student section, but I’m gonna do it 10 times out of 10,” he said to an eruption of boos. “Give me Houston coming out of here with a big-time ‘dub’ and proving that Utah hasn’t had to play anybody yet. 

“Congrats to Houston getting a huge win here in Salt Lake City. Thank you, guys. I’ll never see you again, hopefully.” 

Utah would go on to defeat Houston 21-13.

McAfee also referred to the assassination of Charlie Kirk while discussing his hate for the University of Utah on his show.

 “I thought to myself, has anything like really scary happened at a college gathering in the state of Utah recently?”

“Like, do we think we should be amplifying reasons for why people hate my guts as a university? I don’t know.”

“So it was just, it was a lot of mixed feelings for me going out there.”