Aug 29, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Kevin Gausman (12) delivers the ball during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images

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The Pac-12 had four great opportunities to show it could compete with Power Four teams and made good on three.

Boise State made the Ducks nervous until the final minutes in Eugene; Washington State gave the Huskies all they wanted in Seattle; and Oregon State had the Cougars on the ropes late in Houston.

Four more big opportunities await the conference this week.

WSU travels to Kansas State, Boise State hosts Memphis in a potential Playoff play-in, San Diego State tests UCLA on the road, and Oregon State hosts Playoff contender Texas Tech.

Here are my game previews in order of their TV broadcast times.

Washington State at Kansas State

Saturday, September 12th
9:00 AM PT, TNT

Washington State played decently in their opener against Washington. It hurt the eyes, but the Cougars were a third-down stop away from an opportunity to tie the game.

If WSU wants to find success this weekend, however, they need to find a playmaker on offense. That side of the ball proved non-existent until the fourth quarter last week.

The Cougs also lost their top receiver in Tony Freeman, who is also their best offensive player.

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The key to their matchup against Kansas State is to run the ball more efficiently. The Wildcats feature one of the best defensive ends in the Big 12, Wendell Gregory. If they don’t keep Gregory off balance, it’ll be a repeat of the Apple Cup.

Kansas State probably feels confident that scoring points in the first quarter would decide the game. Avery Johnson is a veteran quarterback but an iffy leader. Johnson’s a five-tool athlete but lacks some of the intangibles to play the position.

New KSU coach Collin Klein should work well with him, though; Klein was Johnson’s offensive coordinator his freshman year. If Johnson plays solid, the Wildcats should have enough talent to handle the Cougars.

The best way to summarize this matchup is that KSU is a slightly worse team than Washington.

WSU can hang, but can they win?

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Memphis at Boise State

Saturday, September 12th
3:00 PM PT, USA Network

Boise State’s the best team in the conference, which makes this game against Memphis dangerous. No matter how well the Broncos played against Oregon, if they lose, they’re 0-2 and probably out of the College Football Playoff.

And the Tigers showed last week they can come out West and get a victory. But maybe not the Wild West. BSU only allowed three sacks against the Ducks in the opener.

U of M played well on offense against UNLV, but their defense won them the game. They finished with six sacks and held the Rebels to 3-of-15 on third downs. It feels unlikely they can replicate this against Boise State.

The Broncos offensive line should be able to control the tempo of the contest. The combination of Roger Carreon, Jason Steele, and Daylon Metoyer is elite. With these three moving furniture for Sire Gaines and Dylan Riley, the duo should put up some big numbers.

Memphis defensive linemen Elijah Kinsler and J’Mond Tapp are excellent players, but Boise just faced the No. 2 team in the country. Tigers quarterback Marcus Stokes is also phenomenal in his own right, but Will Smith won’t let Stokes win twice.

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Look it up. Boise State—with a hat tip to the Far East Movement’s song—can still “fly like a G6.”

San Diego State at UCLA

Saturday, September 12th
4:15 PM PT, Big Ten Network

This is another game that could transform the perception of the Pac-12, one way or the other—especially after UCLA’s win at Cal.

If San Diego State gets thrashed by the Bruins, some will argue that the conference is pretty much the same as the Mountain West, except for Boise State.

But if the Aztecs win, the Pac-12 feels more credible.

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The key to this contest is for SDSU to find their identity. If the offense can replicate what it did against Portland State, then Aztec FAST is coming to life. But Jayden Denegal will need to do more to knock off the Bruins.

It feels unlikely that SDSU will be able to run for 237 yards again. UCLA only allowed 119 yards against the Bears, and Cal running back Adam Mohammed is a bruiser with speed who can play.

Denegal needs to make some downfield throws to keep the Aztecs in this matchup. UCLA scored 45 points against Cal, and Nico Iamaleava had an off game.

San Diego State will also need to find a way to stop the Bruins halfback duo of Wayne Knight and Anthony Woods. They combined for 189 rushing yards and five touchdowns in the opener. This is concerning because SDSU only returns two starters on defense.

If the Aztecs are going to pull off the upset, they’ll need other skill players to support Lucky Sutton and Denegal. No one needs this more than the SDSU, but UCLA be fighting to protect their turf.

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No. 13 Texas Tech at Oregon State

Saturday, September 12th
4:30 PM PT, CBS

Oregon State made a marvelous comeback against Houston.

If Amare Thomas didn’t make an elite catch in the fourth quarter, the game could’ve swayed. The Beavers offense had some crests and troughs in their initial outing.

OSU has to find a way to move the ball on the ground better. The Beavs only finished with 26 total yards rushing. The number looks worse because of four sacks, but they got stuffed.

However, on the positive side, Oregon State quarterback Braden Atkinson might be a stud. If he can play the way he did against the Cougars, anything could happen this week.

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Texas Tech is the best team OSU will face all season, but maybe the Beavers can catch them exhaling from the Brendan Sorsby thing.

The Red Raiders feature three standouts in their front seven. The most notable is A.J. Holmes Jr., a second team All-American last season. Jamond Mathis and Ben Roberts can also wreak havoc at linebacker.

Another thing to consider is that Tech’s quarterback Will Hammond hasn’t proven much at the collegiate level. They have a pack of wolves around Hammond, but he’s gotta be successful on this hunt.

And if TTU falls behind early in Reser, the leader might get shaky.

Writes about football and basketball as a Senior Writer and hosts “The Nick Bartlett Show” for SuperWest Sports.

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Head coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead have built the Los Angeles Rams into a juggernaut. 

The duo has won a Super Bowl, made two Super Bowl appearances and three NFC title game appearances since Snead hired McVay in 2017. McVay’s 10 career playoff wins are the most in NFL history before age 40, and the next-closest coaches have half that number, with five. With +500 odds to win Super Bowl LXI, their 2026 squad is just the fifth team in the last 50 seasons with preseason Super Bowl odds shorter than 10-1.

So what is McVay worth to the Rams’ franchise? Snead reveals the answer in a 60 Minutes sit-down with correspondent Jon Wertheim, who also speaks with McVay himself and 2025 NFL MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford in an inside look with the Super Bowl favorites. The conversations were recorded during a preseason practice and will air on the Season 59 premiere of 60 Minutes on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 7:30 p.m., after NFL football, on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

“If I could write on this whiteboard here, I would write, ‘There’s– there’s no trade chart for Sean McVay,’” Snead told Wertheim. 

Doesn’t matter how many picks? 

“Not on the table,” Snead replied.

Wertheim said artificial intelligence felt McVay was worth three first-round picks. That’s the bounty the Houston Texans used to revitalize their franchise after trading away three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns. Snead still wouldn’t take that return package for McVay.

“Still not pullin’ the trigger, not for four, not for five,” Snead said.

Tune in: The Season 59 premiere of 60 Minutes is Sunday, Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m., after NFL football, on CBS and streaming on Paramount+

It makes sense considering the duo’s success and that they’ve been able to assemble the most star-studded roster the NFL has seen in years after trading for edge rusher Myles Garrett, fresh off setting the league’s single-season sacks record in 2025, and coaxing three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year defensive tackle Aaron Donald out of a two-season retirement. 

Los Angeles will look to join the 2018 New England Patriots, the team they lost Super Bowl LIII against, as the only squads in the last 50 seasons to win the Super Bowl with preseason odds shorter than 10-1. If they do, Snead, McVay, Stafford, and Co. will be hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy at home in SoFi Stadium for the second time in six seasons. 

Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland ⁠and Lionel ​Messi have all made the 30-man shortlist for the 2026 Men’s Ballon ​d’Or, while Cape Verde’s World Cup hero Vozinha has been nominated for the Yashin award, organisers France Football announced on Tuesday.

Real Madrid’s Mbappé did not win a trophy with his club this season but he scored 10 goals for France at the World Cup to become the tournament’s all-time leading scorer.

Read more‘This might be the year’: Mbappé embraces Ballon d’Or talk after World Cup exploits

Kane had a stunning season ​with Bayern ‌Munich and England, scoring 73 goals for club ⁠and country in 65 matches and helped secure a treble of Bundesliga, German Cup, and German ‌Super Cup as well as leading his nation to the ⁠World Cup semi-finals.

Haaland netted 58 goals in 64 games for Manchester City and Norway, while eight-times Ballon d’Or winner Messi ​had 75 goal contributions in 49 matches for Inter ‌Miami and Argentina, who he helped to reached the World Cup final.

Also among those on the shortlist are Jude Bellingham, Ousmane Dembélé and ‌Lamine Yamal but not five-times winner Cristiano Ronaldo despite the Portugal forward lifting the Saudi Pro ​League title with Al-Nassr.

The women’s shortlist includes Poland’s Barcelona quadruple-winner Ewa Pajor, Alexia Putellas, who featured for Barca and Spain but has now ​joined London City Lionesses, and Manchester City’s prolific Jamaica striker Khadija ‘Bunny’ ​Shaw.

Cape Verde’s Vozinha was nominated for the Yashin ​Trophy awarded to the best goalkeeper, with his standout World Cup performances putting him on the ​10-man shortlist after he helped his country advance from the tournament’s group stage.

He will compete against Spain’s World Cup-winner Unai Simon and Argentina’s Emi Martinez plus fellow African nominees Yassine Bounou and Edouard Mendy.

The 70th edition ⁠of the Ballon d’Or will be staged in London for the first time at a ⁠ceremony on ​October 26 as a tribute to Stanley Matthews, who won the first Ballon d’Or.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)

Mexico had so many memorable moments as co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup and one of their most dynamic players has made the short list for soccer’s most prestigious awards. 

Julián Quiñones has earned a spot on the 2026 Ballon d’Or shortlist, making him only the second Mexican player in history to be nominated for the award. Recently retired goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa was the first, earning a nomination in 2007.

The 29-year-old forward, who plays for both the Mexico national team and Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah, put together a season that combined individual scoring records with a standout World Cup run.

Quiñones closed out the 2025 Saudi Pro League season with 33 goals in 31 appearances, winning the league’s Golden Boot ahead of Ivan Toney and five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

He carried that form into the World Cup, where Mexico served as one of three co-host nations. In the tournament opener against South Africa, Quiñones scored Mexico’s first goal of the tournament, becoming the first player from a CONCACAF nation to score the opening goal of a World Cup. 

Julian Quinones celebrates during Mexico’s 2026 World Cup run, in which he scored four goals and added an assist — tying the record for goals by a Mexican player at a single World Cup. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Quinones went on to score three more goals and add an assist as Mexico advanced to the round of 16, where the team was eliminated by England. England went on to finish third after an appearance in the semifinals.

Mexico also managed to end a 40-year drought in knockout stage matches with a round of 32 win over Ecuador. With four goals at the tournament, Quiñones joins Luis Hernandez and Javier Hernandez as the only Mexican players to score four goals at a single World Cup, tying the national record.

Quiñones switched his international allegiance from his native Colombia to Mexico in 2023. 

Before moving to Saudi Arabia, he spent nearly a decade in Liga MX with Tigres UANL, Venados, Lobos BUAP, Atlas and Club América, appearing in 258 matches, scoring 94 goals and winning nine LIGA MX titles, including back-to-back championships with Atlas in 2021 and 2022 that ended a 70-year title drought for the club.

The Ballon d’Or winner will be announced on Monday, October 26, 2026. The ceremony will be held at the London Palladium in England, the first time the event has taken place there.

There’s a little less than three weeks to go in the regular season. But somebody in Major League Baseball could qualify for a playoff spot this week.

Two somebodies: the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League and the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League. Fun? Depends. But first, some math.

The Brewers, with a functional magic number of four, can clinch a playoff spot as soon as Wednesday. The Rays, whose magic number is five — functional, dysfunctional, we want the functional, give us the functional — can clinch a spot as soon as Thursday.

Both of these teams also lead their respective divisions, but neither is likely to clinch this week.

By the way, you might be wondering: What the heck is a “functional magic number”? And how does it differ from a plain, old magic number?

The easiest answer is “just go with it.” But for you sticklers, because of how the remaining regular-season schedule shakes out among the Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres, Milwaukee’s actual magic number to clinch a playoff spot is four, not six as it might appear after doing the typical magic number math.

As most MLB fans need to be reminded annually, the magic number is calculated like this:

Take the leading team’s games remaining. The Brewers have 17 games remaining. Add 1. Just do it. That makes 18.

(Within these parentheses, take the number of losses by the pursuing team and subtract the losses by the leading team. The Padres and D-backs have 68 losses apiece, and the Brewers have 56 losses. That’s 68-56=12.)

Subtract 12 from 18 (remember the 18 from before the parentheses?) and you get six.

But it’s not six, it’s four, because Arizona and San Diego play each other in a three-game series to wrap up the regular season. This guarantees the Brewers at least two additional losses by one of their opponents in the clinching formula. Subtract those two inevitable losses from the Brewers non-functional magic number of six and you get a functional magic number of four. Now that’s a magical conjunction of function. The wonders of math, or maybe it’s physics. There seems to be a wormhole involved.

The D-backs/Padres series was already fixing to be compelling and rich because the last playoff spot figured to be on the line. But it’s even more interesting because of… math. Raise your hand if you love math. Use all of your fingers, please.

What about ties? Tiebreakers could matter, but they’re dwarfed by Arizona and San Diego having to play each other at the end of the season.

Nobody else can clinch a spot before next week. The Los Angeles Dodgers have a magic number of seven to clinch a spot. The Atlanta Braves, eight. The New York Yankees, nine.

Here’s where a few notable others stand:

Coming off three straight 100-plus loss seasons in the AL Central, the Chicago White Sox lead the Cleveland Guardians by four games in the loss column. But they also have three games at Cleveland next week, so there’s time for chaos. Not to mention Cleveland’s slim lead on the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers for the last AL playoff spot.

And if they don’t fizzle, the Sox also have a good chance for a first-round bye because they lead the Houston Astros by three games in the loss column. The Astros lead the AL West by two games in the loss column over the Rangers.

The Baltimore Orioles, Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers aren’t cooked, but they can’t lose more than three or four games the rest of the way, or else they are.

The 2026 Akwa Ibom State Sports Festival will officially begin on September 22, with the closing ceremony scheduled for September 27.

Governor Pastor Umo Eno is also expected to light the Festival Torch on Thursday, September 10, as the state begins the final countdown to the sporting event.

The festival will bring together athletes from the 31 local government areas of Akwa Ibom State, with participants expected to compete in different sporting events.

The 2026 edition follows the successful 2025 Sports Festival, which ran from September 8 to September 13 and ended with a colourful closing ceremony at the Uyo Township Stadium.

The 2025 festival produced 627 medals, made up of 196 gold, 189 silver and 242 bronze medals. Every local government area won at least one medal.

Itu Local Government Area emerged as the overall winner after recording an impressive 70 gold, 17 silver and 19 bronze medals, giving it 106 medals in total.

Uyo finished second with 22 gold, 11 silver and 14 bronze medals, while Nsit Atai took third place with 19 gold, 13 silver and seven bronze medals.

Other strong performers included Etinan, Ikot Ekpene, Onna, Oruk Anam and Uruan, which also recorded impressive medal hauls.

The festival provided an opportunity for young athletes across the state to showcase their talents while promoting unity and sports development.

At the closing ceremony last year, Governor Umo Eno described the event as a celebration in which “Everyone is a winner.”

With the 2026 edition set to begin on September 22, attention will now turn to the athletes and local government teams as they battle for honours and look to produce new champions.

The New England Patriots will be without one of their options in the backfield for Wednesday night’s Super Bowl LX rematch against the Seattle Seahawks. 

TreVeyon Henderson has been ruled out for the season opener after missing all three practices this week with an ankle injury. 

Henderson suffered the ankle injury on Aug. 24 and hasn’t practiced since. The Patriots also ruled out center Ben Brown with a knee injury, and no other players carry injury designations heading into Wednesday’s game. 

Henderson was a finalist for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year last season, leading the Patriots in scrimmage yards and touchdowns. He rushed for 911 yards on 5.1 yards per carry and nine touchdowns, adding 35 receptions for 221 yards and a touchdown. The 39th overall pick in the 2025 draft out of Ohio State didn’t miss a single game as a rookie, making Wednesday’s setback a rare piece of adversity in his young career. 

With Henderson sidelined, veteran Rhamondre Stevenson is expected to assume the lead-back role, a job he already took over down the stretch of New England’s playoff run last season. 

New England opens its 2026 campaign in Seattle after falling to the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. Now, the Patriots will try to get off on the right foot without one of their offensive contributors from last season.