Caleb Williams has a habit of making us — the NFL world — uncomfortable. 

He doesn’t care about optics. He doesn’t waste thought on what the average NFL fan (or GM or coach) might think. He reacts authentically.

He’s sensitive. He feels. He hurts — publicly.

You don’t see that often in the NFL. You don’t see that enough, frankly.

Think back to when he sought out his mother to cry in her arms at USC. Think back to when he used to let his mother paint his nails. Think back to that photoshoot where Williams was sitting in a — how to put this? — vulnerable position. 

And, of course, think back to Sunday when he sat on the injury cart and pumped his fist with tears in his eyes.

That’s the incident that’s all over social media.

You can guess by now: I don’t have a problem with it.

And it’s hilarious to watch people crying on social media with criticisms about … another man crying. But it’s no surprise. Hypocrisy isn’t hard to find on X, Instagram or TikTok. 

The criticism is getting absurd.

The memes — well, some of them are objectively funny. The silliness is fair, now that we know he could play again in Week 3. This is 2026. Williams isn’t just a public figure — he’s the NFL’s rising superstar, fed to fans all offseason through the media and Madden hype. He has opted into some of that, but not all. (The Bears and Williams, for example, declined a one-on-one interview when I visited camp this summer, in part because the buzz was going too far.) After putting up 59 points in Week 1, the Bears’ matchup against the Vikings was the most anticipated matchup of Week 2.

When he does something objectively theatrical, people will respond with good-natured jokes.

But the genuine pearl-clutching and hand-wringing? 

The idea that the injury cart is somehow sacred and reserved only for career-ending injuries?

Get out of here.

Let’s go back to the play where the injury happened for context. 

Trying to escape a sack late in the fourth quarter, Williams slid. He held his hamstring and screamed, captured clearly by the broadcast. He banged the turf with his fist in frustration. The team got out the cart, and — this part you’ve surely seen — he covered his face with a towel, eventually pulling it away to show his red, watery eyes. He pumped the air, like he was Kobe Bryant after tearing his Achilles.

This is high drama worthy of reality television.

But folks, I hate to break it to you. The NFL is reality television. 

The NFL is all about its drama. It’s no mystery why Madden wanted to put Williams on its cover. He’s fascinating on and off the field. He’s a great football player. But he’s also unique. And it’s this sensitivity that — I think — makes him different than the average NFL player, coach or fan.

I can see why Williams was upset. It’s not all that different than the last time we saw him publicly crying after that big loss at USC. It was the sheer disappointment of a missed opportunity. He was on the 6-yard line — just a handful of yards away from a go-ahead touchdown. In an ugly game. Against a division rival. If he and the Bears had scored, no one would have cared that the Vikings won the X’s and O’s and stymied what was supposed to be a historic Bears offense. That’s a tough thing for an injury to take away.

Caleb Williams has worn his emotions on his sleeve dating back to his college days. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

We also have no idea what that injury might have felt like — the level of pain. But I’m sure everyone can relate to a disappointment of this magnitude. The season looked so promising, even in that ugly game. For the rest of the fourth quarter, it looked like Williams’ season might be in jeopardy. Williams had to reconcile with his game — and his season — ending in major disappointment.

Then we got the first sign of good news.

“I’m actually happy it’s nothing with the knee. That was my first inclination,” coach Ben Johnson said during a postgame press conference. “But yeah, the hamstring could be pretty damaging as well. So, we’ll see how bad it is tomorrow and we’ll go from there. … We need the points desperately at that point. It’s a shame.”

Now here’s a criticism that I’ll buy: Williams’ theatrics distracted the team’s focus at the game’s most crucial moments.

“Everybody wants to keep morale up,” Bears defensive lineman Grady Jarrett told reporters after the game. “Because Caleb is the guy here, and so nobody wants to see him go down. Definitely have got to rally up, do more. We’ve got to finish the game at the end of the day.”

Caleb Williams didn’t have an impressive performance against the Vikings, but the team’s issues run beyond him. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

It’s a bit hypothetical for my taste to wonder if the Bears would’ve won if Williams hadn’t taken the cart, hadn’t pumped his fist and didn’t have tears in his eyes?

If the answer is yes, then the Bears have to examine their team-wide focus before examining Williams’, because one man’s tears should not leave the other 47 players without resolve. 

Football is a sport where toughness is — quite literally — on a player’s scouting report. Obviously, this series of events left us questioning Williams’ toughness. But bigger than that, if Williams is a superstar and he isn’t “tough,” can he be successful in the NFL? 

The way I see it: The tears don’t matter. The hamstring injury does.

If there was a way for Williams to play through the injury, then there’s a problem there, because his departure worsened their chances. If there was no way for Williams to get back on the field, then what are we arguing about? The manner that he left the field?

Again, get out of here.

Let’s all take this opportunity to take a deep breath and try to get comfortable with seeing a grown man cry. From my vantage, that’s what this is about. People don’t like seeing their quarterback cry. I’m not one of them. I’m all for it. 

The Houston Astros and Texas Rangers each lost on Friday so the AL West remains tied, although Houston owns the tiebreaker.

What can happen in final two games:

AL West standings

Houston Astros: 79-81
Texas Rangers: 79-81

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Houston Astros schedule

Saturday: at Athletics
Sunday: at Athletics

Texas Rangers schedule

Saturday: at Minnesota
Sunday: at Minnesota

How Astros can win AL West

Houston is AL West champion no matter what Rangers do.
If Astros go 1-1: Rangers must win two games to win West.
If Astros go 0-2: Rangers must win two games to win West.

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This article originally published at Houston Astros playoff scenarios: Where things stand with 2 games left in regular season.

Stephen Curry has agreed to a contract extension with the Golden State Warriors, the team announced. The deal is worth $116 million over two years, according to ESPN. It’s structured similarly to the extension Kawhi Leonard just signed with the Toronto Raptors as it includes a player option for the 2028-29 season. 

“We couldn’t be more excited about reaching an agreement with Stephen and extending his historic career with the Warriors,” Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy said. “Personally, I don’t think there has ever been a better face to a franchise in professional sports history, both on and off the court, than Stephen Curry with the Warriors. He embodies everything this organization strives to represent through his legendary play on the court, his unique leadership and sacrifice, and his unmatched impact in the community. We’ve been incredibly blessed to experience 17 years of Stephen’s artistry and are thrilled that our fans will continue to have the opportunity to watch him perform and write additional chapters to his illustrious story.”

This contract takes Curry, 38, to roughly $650 million in guaranteed career earnings in the NBA, according to Spotrac. For now, that would make him the highest-paid player in league history. The irony of that distinction is that Golden State’s dynasty was built with Curry playing under his rookie extension, perhaps the single most team-friendly contract in NBA history. Because of early-career ankle issues, Curry was only able to sign a four-year, $44 million deal after his third season. During that contract, he won two MVPs and two championships, and his deal helped Golden State afford Kevin Durant as a free agent in 2016.

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While this contract is obviously far more lucrative than that one was, it still represents a discount from what Curry could have made. With a projected $176 million salary cap for the 2026-27 season, most players with 10 or more years of experience (like Curry) would be eligible for a deal starting at 35% of the cap. That would pay $128 million over two years.

However, an individual player’s max salary is never less than 105% of his previous salary. As Curry is already the highest-paid player in the NBA at $62.6 million for the 2026-27 season, he would have been eligible to start a new contract above the 35% max and ultimately earn close to $137 million in total over two years had he sought the most money possible. Instead, he took more than $20 million below his max as the Warriors attempt to put one last championship contender around him in the twilight of his career. 

Curry, in a recent ESPN interview, indicated he was considering the Warriors’ financial flexibility in his contract negotiations. 

“We’re in a very interesting situation,” Curry said. “All the different salary cap conditions of whether I sign for a max or less or whatever it is, I want to be on a competitive team. I want to have an opportunity to have some flexibility because we haven’t had that in years past, the recent past. … This team should have flexibility to make necessary moves if things happen. Those are always just the considerations. For me, information and patience is key. It’s just a very unique situation all the way around based on where we’ve been the last four years, where I’m at in my career, what our team looks like this year and the absolute desperation to win. Trying to balance all that.”

Curry is entering his 18th NBA season, all with the Warriors. Since winning their last championship in 2022, the Warriors have made the playoffs just twice in the last four years and haven’t returned to the Western Conference Finals. With Curry’s future now settled, the Warriors can focus on rebuilding the roster around him.

What this deal means for the Warriors

Before Curry’s extension, there were scenarios in which Golden State could have entered next offseason with over $100 million in cap space. The appeal in possibly delaying Curry’s extension would have been the flexibility to structure his ultimate deal around whatever other moves the team needed to make next summer. Now, with Curry settled, the Warriors are currently looking at around $72 million in cap space before accounting for their first-round pick or keeping their own free agents or partially guaranteed contracts, according to Cap Sheets.

In theory, the Warriors could use that space to sign a star free agent in 2027. Nikola Jokic headlines a prominent group of stars in their 30s with player options for the 2027-28 season that also includes Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, though Jokić and Towns are widely expected to re-sign with their current teams. The same holds true for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is technically able to become a free agent in 2027 through a player option, but has already moved to the team he sought in the Miami Heat and is currently waiting out the NBA’s six-month extend-and-trade restrictions. The class won’t be quite as star-studded in reality as it looks on paper, but there will inevitably be talent available.

Five burning questions for NBA media days: What does Kawhi have to say? How will LeBron fit in Philly?

John Gonzalez

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Based on the projected $176 million salary cap, the 35% max for the 2027-28 season will be $61.6 million, meaning Golden State, for now, has the ability to sign any 2027 free agent it wants. However, there are other factors to consider here. Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Brandin Podziemski are all slated for 2027 free agency, and if the Warriors want to keep any of them, they will have to account for their money. The same goes for Kristaps Porziņģis, who has a $20 million player option with only $3 million guaranteed. They’ll also have a first-round pick in the 2027 NBA Draft that, in this post-lottery-reform world, could be quite high. Such a pick wouldn’t be cheap.

In other words, Golden State could drastically remake its roster in the summer of 2027. It could also make subtler changes if it intends to bring some or all of those players back and make a high draft pick. Curry’s cap figure will come in at $55.7 million for the 2027-28 season, according to ESPN. In terms of quality of play when on the floor, Curry still warrants such a salary. The key here will be health. Curry missed almost half of last season, largely dealing with a runner’s knee. If that persists and he can’t stay on the floor, any hope of the Warriors returning to contention vanishes.

We’ll have to see how the 2026-27 season plays out before saying anything definitively. At this moment, the Warriors are expected to compete for a Play-In berth. What happens this season will determine not only how eager the Warriors are to keep their own free agents, but how attractive they are to external ones. The only certainty was that one way or another, Curry would be re-signed. His contract has now been settled, and the Warriors can move on to planning for the final years of his career.

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European MMA promotion Oktagon has pledged to host one massive stadium show per year before staging a fight card in front of nearly 60,000 fans this weekend, pushing the boundaries of what regional companies can achieve in the sport.

Oktagon set the all-time attendance record for an MMA event outside of Japan in October 2024 when it hosted 59,148 fans at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt – a feat that surpassed the largest attendance ever recorded by the UFC.

The promotion returns to the home of Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt two years on to mark its 10-year anniversary at Oktagon 94, putting on a stacked event headlined by a heated clash between hometown hero Christian Eckerlin and former champion David Kozma.

Ahead of the spectacle, the company announced its new Oktagon Infinity events, confirming these type of showpiece fight cards will become yearly. Düsseldorf’s 50,000 capacity Merkur Spiel-Arena will host the first Oktagon Infinity show in May 2027.

“The demand is growing here in Germany,” co-founder Pavel Neruda told The Independent. “That’s what we want to use.

“We have this amazing deal with RTL [major German broadcaster] which supports our efforts, and we bring them a lot of fans.

“It’s the perfect environment so people really now are on this wave of MMA, of Oktagon, and I think that this [Oktagon Infinity] is the result.

“Even announcing another stadium next year, you can clearly see that we feel that this is the right time to do such an ambitious project.”

Neruda also hinted at a future event at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena, which hosted the 2025 Champions League final.

“It can happen, yes,” he added. “I mean, it’s not something what we have on our plans for next year, but it can happen, definitely.”

For now the focus is on Frankfurt and Oktagon 94, which also pits “The Neanderthal” Frederic Vosgrone – who went viral for his unrelenting fight style and likeness to Paddy Pimblett – against Czech legend Karlos Vemola, with former UFC fighter and two-weight Oktagon champion Vémola coming out of retirement at 42 to give Vosgrone the biggest test of his career so far.

British fighter Marc Diakiese, an eight-year veteran in the UFC until 2024, meanwhile makes his promotional debut in a matchup built on bad blood with 22-year-old prospect Fedor Duric, with both men trading barbs in a tense press conference on Friday after an earlier face-off altercation.

With an emphasis on making their fight cards as entertaining for the fan as possible, Oktagon will also put on a half-time show fronted by multi-diamond and platinum DJ Robin Schulz.

The sizeable stage for this musical showpiece meant Oktagon couldn’t break the attendance record they set in 2024, but Neruda says he was happy to sacrifice a bit of history for the sake of the spectacle.

“To cross the record by a few hundred [people] would not be that big a deal,” he said.

“But to bring Robin Schulz on the huge stage and make a great show for fans is more important for us, and I think this is an even better message to the world. I’m 100 percent sure that this is the better option for everyone.”

The latest episode of WWE SmackDown was a mixed bag. CM Punk, Gunther, and Finn Balor had a great main-event triple threat match. The rest of the bouts, however, weren’t nearly as good.

Trick Williams beat Baron Corbin again. The only benefit is that the feud is hopefully finally over. Nikki Bella got in WWE Women’s Champion Chelsea Green’s face about a title shot.

The former Divas Champion played a role in Green’s match later in the night. Damian Priest attacked R-Truth at the Performance Center earlier this week.

Randy Orton demanded Michael Cole interview him after he did the same for Cody Rhodes last week. Some storylines moved along while others did not. WWE made the next four mistakes on SmackDown from Indianapolis.

#4. No mention of the WWE Tag Team Championships

WWE is in another cycle of ignoring its tag team champions. Bron Breakker and Austin Theory were in Money in the Bank qualifiers instead of defending the World Tag Team Titles.

Part of the problem is that Triple H has done next to nothing to build the tag divisions on both RAW and SmackDown. The MFTs fought Shinsuke Nakamura and Kyoki last week in a non-title match.

This week’s SmackDown didn’t address last week’s showdown. There weren’t pre-taped promos or a backstage segment. Money in the Bank is obviously more important, but WWE could give a few minutes to one of the brand’s champions.

#3. Paige gets pinned again

Paige’s return to WWE at WrestleMania 42 was an exciting moment. She won the Women’s Tag Team Titles with Brie Bella but has done nothing but lose since dropping those titles.

The Anti-Diva has fallen in her last five matches and has been pinned in her last four contests. Nikki Bella cheated in a one-on-one showdown by pulling the tights during the pin attempt.

Nikki then tripped her rival on SmackDown, leading to Jacy Jayne getting the pin. This booking is usually reserved for someone at the bottom of the roster. That isn’t Paige.

#2. The Lone Wolf has dull teeth

Baron Corbin came back to WWE earlier this summer. He immediately targeted United States Champion Trick Williams. Corbin eventually defeated Trick for the title at SummerSlam. He beat him in another messy rematch.

Trick “earned” another shot because his rapper friend lasted for five minutes in a match with Corbin at Sunday Night’s Main Event. Corbin lost twice that night. He lost to Williams yet again, only this time inside of a steel cage on SmackDown.

The match quality has been mediocre and marred with interference. The money may be good, but Corbin doesn’t seem like a threat to anyone. He lost to a non-competitor in one contest. Corbin looks like a wolf without teeth after losing again.

#1. Did CM Punk really need to qualify?

Finn Balor, CM Punk, and Gunther battled for a spot in next month’s Money in the Bank match. The Best in the World has already held both the WWE and World Heavyweight Titles this year.

He’s also been part of the ongoing chaos around the Undisputed Championship. Since he’s held both major titles this year, Balor or Gunther should have earned the spot in Money in the Bank.

Punk beat The Prince twice this year already, but Balor hasn’t had a fair one-on-one title shot since moving to SmackDown. Gunther had plenty of title opportunities this year but would have been a key part of the ladder match.

Most fans would root against him winning the briefcase. Instead of allowing a different veteran to qualify for Money in the Bank, Triple H handed another big spot to a guy who’s had plenty of them this year. Gunther also loses more steam after another big loss. He’ll probably blame Danhausen.