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️ Gold Glove finalists: The Cubs lead all teams with six Gold Glove finalists, followed by the Blue Jays and Rangers with five each. The 20 winners (nine fielding positions plus utility in each league) will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 2.
Russ to the Kings: Russell Westbrook has agreed to a one-year contract with the Kings ahead of his 18th season. After spending his first 11 years with the Thunder, this is his sixth team in the last seven (Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, Rockets, Wizards).
️ Bregman opts out: Alex Bregman is opting out of the final two years of his three-year, $120 million deal with the Red Sox, as expected. The 31-year-old third baseman hits free agency after a bounce-back year that saw him make the All-Star team with his best OPS since 2019 (.821).
️ Press to retire: Angel City’s Christen Press, 37, will retire from soccer at the end of her NWSL season. The striker won two World Cups (2015, 2019) and scored 64 international goals, ninth-most in USWNT history.
️ Mercedes extends Russell: George Russell, who currently sits in fourth in the Formula 1 drivers’ standings, signed a contract extension to remain with Mercedes through at least next year.
We’re one third of the way through the NFL season, and our Week 7 power rankings, courtesy of Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab, look nothing like they did entering Week 1.
Here’s a quick peek at what we’ve seen from every team so far with six weeks down and 12 to go.
Seattle The Blue Jays teed off on the Mariners in a 13-4 rout on Wednesday, spoiling Seattle’s first ALCS home game in 24 years to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole. They’ll look to even the series tonight.
Historic power surge: The Jays and Mariners combined to hit eight homers, tied for the most ever in a playoff game. One of those came off the bat of George Springer, who’s now tied with Bernie Williams for the fourth-most in postseason history (22).
Salt Lake City After spending last year as the Utah Hockey Club, the Mammoth played their first home game with their new identity on Wednesday and emerged victorious. Final score: Mammoth 3, Flames 1.
New mascot: The team unveiled Tusky, a 6-foot-5 mammoth with blue fur. The name fits in with the team’s new “Tusks Up” slogan.
Baltimore The Rams are practicing at Camden Yards this week ahead of Sunday’s game in London, opting to stay in Baltimore following their game against the Ravens in order to shorten their flight overseas. Needless to say, the team had a blast acting like MLB players.
A first for OPACY: This is believed to be the first time that Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which opened in 1992, has hosted any non-baseball sporting event or practice.
There have always been imbalances in men’s college basketball from the power conference and high-major programs down to the mid- and low-major teams. But the gap between the “haves” and “have nots” widened significantly during the NIL/transfer portal era, which saw the best talent matriculate to the top in unprecedented fashion.
The growing divide: “The disparity between the high majors and the rest of college basketball has never felt bigger,” writes analytics expert Evan Miyakawa alongside his preseason rankings, noting that the conference strength drop off from the fifth-best league (Big East) to the sixth-best league (A-10) is larger than the gap between sixth and 17th (Sun Belt).
What they’re saying: “This was always going to be a cost of the NIL/portal era (with other benefits),” writes journalist Eamonn Brennan, “but the acceleration you’re seeing in 2025-26 preseason ranks is starting to get a little freaky.”
The defending champs look to continue their dominant postseason, having won seven of their first eight games behind a historically stingy rotation. The Brewers (down 2-0) will be hoping their bats wake up after collecting just five total hits so far this series.
Toronto will try to even the series tonight on the road. They’ll hand the ball to future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, who’s making his first playoff appearance since the 2023 World Series. Seattle will counter with Luis Castillo, who’s pitched six scoreless innings this postseason.
The Steelers (4-1) are 5.5-point road favorites over the Bengals (2-4) in a game that features a rare occurrence: For just the third time in NFL history, two 40-year-old QBs will square off as Joe Flacco (40) and Aaron Rodgers (41) get the start in Cincy. The other two instances came in 2020 when Drew Brees and Tom Brady faced each other twice.
The semifinals of the second annual Six Kings Slam an exhibition tournament featuring a $6 million grand prize are today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where two decent matchups are taking place: First up is Carlos Alcaraz vs. Taylor Fritz, followed by Novak Djokovic vs. Jannik Sinner.
More to watch:
Today’s full slate.
The ideal NBA lineup has a superstar, a deferential co-star, a third star who owns that role, a fourth option and a fifth starter to tie it all together. Today, Yahoo Sports’ Ben Rohrbach ranks the best No. 3 options.
Question: Can you name the five players pictured in the graphic above?
Hint: Thunder, Cavaliers, Nuggets, Kings, Magic.
Answer at the bottom.
We can safely say the MLB playoffs officially have the attention of the Vatican, writes Yahoo Sports’ Jack Baer:
As Pope Leo XIV appeared in a parade Wednesday atop the Popemobile, one attendee bravely yelled “Go Cubs!” at the Chicago native and lifelong White Sox fan. Leo responded by pointing at the man and yelling back in both Spanish and English. The message was the same in both languages: “Han perdido! They lost!” This is the stuff you can only get when an American is sitting on the papal throne.
Trivia answer: Chet Holmgren, Darius Garland, Aaron Gordon, Domantas Sabonis, Desmond Bane
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