A lot of the time, fantasy football experts are listing Vikings WR1 Justin Jefferson down in the 2nd Round of fantasy drafts. That’s madness.

Nobody has generated more air yards across his opening six NFL seasons than Jefferson. That’s despite starting as a backup for Mike Zimmer. That’s despite seeing all of these passers throw him the ball since 2022: Kirk Cousins, Nick Mullens, Jaren Hall, Sam Darnold, Joshua Dobbs, J.J. McCarthy, Max Brosmer, and Carson Wentz. Now with Kyler Murray, Jefferson is looking to prove many naysayers wrong.

Vikings WR1 Justin Jefferson & The Fantasy Football Madness

Consider just a trio of spots that list Justin Jefferson in some fantasy rankings:

Nobody truly knows how fantasy leagues are going to unfold. What’s crystal clear, however, is that crushing the ADP is a surefire way to give a team an edge. Jefferson offers potential for this kind of advantage.

Last season was pretty poor, at least for Jefferson. Understand, though, that Jefferson’s bad isn’t bad.

With 84 receptions, Jefferson finished off at 13th in the NFL for that stat category, giving him a ton of value in PRR leagues. His 1,048 receiving yards were similarly modest compared to what the WR1 has done in the past. Just note that he still finished at 12th in the NFL with that total.

Where he could be said to have done legitimately poorly was in his touchdown caches, or lack thereof. Boasting just 2 scores is a shortcoming that needs to get fixed. The receiver sits in a tie for 118th with the 2 scores.

Nobody has ever mistaken Jefferson with Davante Adams when it comes to touchdowns. A scoring assassin he is not. What happens, though, if he’s just good rather than great in this area? Where could he go with his game if he gets within the 8-10 touchdown range?

Elite catches and yards can do wonders if he finds a way to get back to good with touchdowns.

Kyler Murray isn’t a perfect quarterback. However, he is a good quarterback. Seeing him form some nice chemistry with Jefferson should be the expectation. At 29, Murray has accumulated plenty of experience, meaning he’ll know where his bread is buttered. He’ll look to his WR1 regularly.

As it relates to numbers, Justin Jefferson could very plausibly climb up to 100 catches, 1,500 yards, and 8 touchdowns. That’s an eye-popping fantasy season (especially in PPR) that’s sometimes being priced at a “very good” rather than an “elite” level.

Justin Jefferson is 27.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

Once the Washington Huskies’ celebration of beating bitter rival Oregon in the 2023 Pac-12 Championship Game — and clinching a spot in the College Football Playoff — finally calmed down, an awkward reality began to set in.

This was the end of Pac-12 football as we knew it.

Michael Penix Jr. and Washington celebrate winning the Pac-12 Championship in 2023. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)

One of the oldest conferences in college sports, dating back to the formation of the Pacific Coast Conference in 1915, was about to disappear. Its demise had been years in the making, with the inability to secure and improve its media rights deal at the center of the problem. As name, image and likeness transformed college football, the premier programs knew they could no longer afford to fall behind the Big Ten and SEC.

Washington, Oregon, UCLA and USC headed to the Big Ten. Reacting to their departure, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah joined the Big 12. Left hanging, Cal and Stanford scurried to find a home in the ACC. The movement diminished the Pac-12 to a two-team conference of Washington State and Oregon State. 

Gone were the days of Pac-12 basketball tournaments in Las Vegas. The Apple Cup rivalry between Washington and Washington State moved to the beginning of the season. The tradition of staying up late to watch the ever-chaotic “Pac-12 After Dark” ended. 

Now, after two years of the Pac-12 conference essentially ceasing to exist, it’s back. 

So back. 

The new-look Pac-12 in 2026 looks much different than it did in the past. There will still be rivalries, heated competition, and late-night shockers, but it’s no longer viewed as a power conference. Now, a team must be ranked higher than every other Group of Six opponent in the final top 25 to reach the College Football Playoff. 

Another fun fact: Every Pac-12 football team has the word “State” in its name. 

The new members include five teams from the Mountain West — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State — and one from the Sun Belt Conference, Texas State. They join Oregon State and Washington State to complete the eight-team Pac-12.

The Broncos have long been one of the premier Group of Six programs, and now bring their famous blue field to the bright lights of the Pac-12. Fresno State and Utah State each qualified for bowl games in 2025, while Colorado State will look to turn things around under former UCLA coach Jim Mora. Texas State, meanwhile, has won a bowl game in each of the past three seasons.

One wrinkle: Gonzaga will join the conference for college basketball, bringing the Pac-12 to nine members in that sport. The Bulldogs have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of the past 17 seasons, including trips to the national championship game in 2017 and 2021.

The new-look Pac-12 might not have the luster or level of competition of its predecessor, but it should be one of, if not the, strongest Group of Six conferences in both football and basketball.

Hang on. We’d seen that goal before, hadn’t we? We’d seen Martin Odegaard just there, lurking undetected in a pocket of space between defence and midfield. We’d seen Christos Tzolis drive inside and fire that exact pass into the centre. We’d seen Riccardo Calafiori’s decoy run and Kai Havertz intelligently leave it. We’d seen Odegaard’s little dart, the velcro control, the poise as he waited just a beat before pulling the trigger.

If Odegaard’s winning goal against Chelsea felt familiar, that’s because he’d scored a carbon copy against Manchester City in the Community Shield three weeks earlier. The same players, the same movements, the same outcome, with a world-class goalkeeper – then Gianluigi Donnarumma, now Emiliano Martinez – left beaten on the ground as the ball hit the net.

The prevailing question at the start of the season was not who would win the league so much as how Arsenal would win it. Will they roll out the 2025/26 blueprint, bludgeoning teams to death by a thousand corners, strangling possession, smothering all routes to xG? Or would we see something altogether more free-flowing and spontaneous now the weight of a 22-year wait had been lifted?

You can already feel a buzz in the air outside the Emirates, a sense that the brittleness of past years has disappeared in the wind. Music blaring from the megastore DJ could be heard down every road leading to Armoury Square three hours before kick-off. Inside, hundreds queued to buy an Arsenal scarf or pyjamas or a cushion with Declan Rice’s face on. Outside, content creators jostled for space while fans videoed fellow fans being interviewed by other fans on YouTube.

It is that strange time of the season when the leaves are still green and summer is clinging on. The transfer frenzy has only just ended and, really, we don’t know anything yet. The sample sizes are small and in this twilight window, we inevitably draw bad judgments. At exactly the same stage last year, three games in, the champions Liverpool beat the pretenders Arsenal and the title race was surely over.

What sort of Arsenal might we get? The first few games of the season had not served up a definitive answer, but this game felt different. It was no doubt influenced by Chelsea’s decision to play basketball, by Morgan Rogers’ early goal which forced Arsenal to show urgency, by Martinez, chief s***house of the Premier League, whose presence poked the Emirates into furious noise. Even so, this was a performance full of roving positions, slick interchanges and seamless rotations which felt thrilling at times, and Chelsea struggled to follow them.

There was a moment late in the first half when Havertz was on the right wing, Calafiori was galloping into the right half-space, Odegaard was the striker and Bukayo Saka was inside as the No 10. Only David Raya, Ezri Konsa and Gabriel Magalhaes could claim to have been at their stations. And Odegaard’s goal was a product of a higher tempo that this Arsenal side had at times abandoned in the final months of last season, understandably so through tension, through fatigue, perhaps even through sheer fear at what they might lose.

It didn’t help that Arsenal played without this version of Odegaard last season, a campaign derailed by injury. He rediscovered his flow captaining Norway at the World Cup and has continued that form with three goals in four Arsenal games, if you like to count the Community Shield as a game. Where he has sometimes fallen into a rhythm of taking the easy option, being Arsenal’s playmaker on the fringe of a match, here there was a boldness to his runs, getting closer to Havertz, nearer the goal, demanding the ball in tight spaces where his close control can hurt opponents.

“He’s fit, his confidence is one of the highest that I’ve seen him and he has a point to prove,” said Arteta. “Kai the same, Bukayo the same. We missed so many attacking players last season for long, long periods, and I don’t know how many times they’ve played together, those three, in the last few years. Probably not much. You feel the chemistry that they have between them and what they can produce. You have to play with real intent and that’s what I loved seeing today. He was running forward, he took shots, he created so many situations for his teammates.”

Are Arsenal about to unleash a season of wild, entertaining chaos-ball? Probably not. Arteta is not about to abandon the positional principles that have served his coaching career so well. Arsenal will not play a team as frantic as this Chelsea side every week. But there is a paradox here, that the cohesion and connections in this team are so well honed by now, so sharply refined, that Arsenal can produce pre-planned patterns as mesmerising to watch and difficult to defend as anything off the cuff.

Perhaps this is the next evolution of Arteta’s team, to be as meticulously well-drilled in the disorder of open play as they are standing over the certainty of a set-piece. The fact Odegaard scored the same goal twice in a month suggests that, even within the confines of their manager’s highly tuned system, Arsenal might be unlocking some new attacking verve.

Nigerian clubs recorded contrasting results in the CAF inter-club competitions on Sunday, with Rangers International held to a 1-1 draw by AS SOBEMAP, while El-Kanemi Warriors claimed a convincing 3-0 win over UDIB.

Rangers Held to Draw in Abeokuta

Rangers International were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against AS SOBEMAP of Benin Republic in the first leg of their CAF Champions League first preliminary round tie at the MKO Abiola Sports Arena in Abeokuta.

The Nigerian champions took the lead through defender Chidozie, who continued his impressive goalscoring form to put the Flying Antelopes ahead.

AS SOBEMAP, however, responded strongly, with Emmanuel Ali scoring the equaliser to deny Rangers a home victory.

The draw leaves Rangers with work to do in the second leg as they look to secure a place in the next round.

Rangers are hosting their continental matches in Abeokuta because of the ongoing renovation of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu.

The second leg will take place in Benin Republic on September 11, with coach Fidelis Ilechukwu and his players needing a strong performance away from home.

El-Kanemi Warriors Shine Against UDIB

El-Kanemi Warriors, meanwhile, enjoyed a more positive outing in the CAF Confederation Cup, beating União Desportiva Internacional de Bissau (UDIB) 3-0 in Ikenne.

The Maiduguri-based club stepped up their performance after a goalless first half, scoring three times after the break to secure a comfortable victory.

The result gives El-Kanemi a strong advantage heading into the second leg in Bissau next week.

The Warriors will now look to protect their three-goal lead away from home and complete their qualification to the next stage.

With Rangers facing a tough return leg against AS SOBEMAP and El-Kanemi holding a healthy advantage over UDIB, Nigeria ended Sunday’s CAF fixtures with mixed results.

Lamine Yamal struck twice for Barcelona as they demolished Valencia 5-0 on Sunday to maintain their 100 percent start in La Liga. The reigning champions moved three points clear at the top of La Liga, after Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid lost 1-0 at Real Betis on Friday. Fermin Lopez, Raphinha and Pedri were also on target for Hansi Flick’s swaggering visitors on a hot afternoon on Spain’s east coast. Yamal did not take part in the team training session on Saturday after a knock but showed no signs of it during a dazzling display against Carlos Corberan’s Los Che.

Barcelona, the only team in the top flight to win their first four games, took control from the start to the upset of Valencia’s fans at a persistently bad-tempered Mestalla stadium.

“We played a fantastic game, it was nearly perfect, we controlled, we were dominant and this is what I want from the team,” said Flick.

“We stay calm and then if it’s possible to score we try to do it — it was a fantastic game for us.

“Nothing is perfect, you always can improve. If it’s perfect then you can stop working.”

Yamal opened the scoring with a clever lofted finish in the sixth minute after Lopez dinked a superb ball over the top for the teenage star.

The 19-year-old slammed home at the near post for what he thought was Barca’s second goal but the goal was disallowed for a tight offside after a VAR review.

Lopez netted the second with a crisp finish in the 22nd minute after former Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon teed him up.

Barcelona suffered a blow when Eric Garcia had to go off hurt midway through the first half after a collision with team-mate Rodri’s shoulder, on the midfielder’s first start since arriving this summer from Manchester City.

Yamal fired narrowly wide and Lopez struck the post as Flick’s side continued to dominate. Barca goalkeeper Joan Garcia made a smart save to thwart Arnaut Danjuma at his near post before the break.

Raphinha, starting again as the team’s centre-forward, tapped home his sixth goal of the season from close range after Lopez fed him.

Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski saved from Rodri before Pedri netted Barcelona’s fourth after an exchange of passes with Dani Olmo.

New arrival Gabriel Jesus came on for his Barca debut as a substitute in the final 10 minutes and sent a low effort just wide.

Yamal stayed onside to collect another Olmo pass and put away Barca’s fifth and conclude a profitable afternoon for both the World Cup winner and the Catalan giants.

“We have a very young team, with the right transfers we made, but it’s the beginning of the season, it’s not the end,” added Flick, telling his team not to get too excited yet about their strong start.

“We have to go a long, long way.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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India Ends CWG Boxing Campaign With Record-Breaking Seven Gold Medals

After weeks of delays and behind-the-scenes attempts to cobble something meaningful together, UFC 332 in Salt Lake City, Utah finally has a championship main event: Natalia Silva vs. Wang Cong for the vacant women’s flyweight belt.

Wait, what? The flyweight belt that Valentina Shevchenko has defended a whopping nine times since 2018 across two title runs? That’s now vacant? When announcing Silva vs. Cong, they cited a “Bullet” injury but didn’t really get into details on how the belt was put back up for grabs. A statement from Shevchenko’s coach Pavel Fedotov gave a bit more info.

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“We were supposed to fight on October 3 against Natalia Silva, but due to an injury to the ligaments in the shoulder and back, we decided not to push things and postpone the fight,” Fedotov wrote (via Ushatayka). “Given that the recovery will take a long time, we’ve made the decision to temporarily vacate the belt, and once she recovers, she will fight for it again.”

PLDT’s Savi Davison during a game against Creamline in the PVL Invitational Conference.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Nxled made its first-ever PVL Finals appearance thanks to dethroned champion PLDT.

Already out of title contention, the High Speed Hitters played spoiler and denied the Creamline Cool Smashers’ bid to claim the last ticket to the title match with a 25-17, 23-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-12 win on Sunday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Nxled did its part in the first game by beating Farm Fresh before PLDT’s comeback victory sealed the Chameleons’ place in the final against Thai club EST Cola.

READ: PVL: Nxled beats Farm Fresh in must win, awaits fate

PLDT coach Rald Ricaftort and Savi Davison after stunning Creamline. #PVL2026 @inquirersports pic.twitter.com/aoznLaky9e

— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) September 6, 2026

Nxled, PLDT, and Creamline actually finished the elimination round with similar 3-2 records, but the Chameleons held the tie-break with 10 points.

Nxled takes on top seed EST Cola in the winner-take-all final on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

PLDT mounted a 13-9 lead in the fifth set after Kianna Dy’s clutch kill. With Jaja Santiago-Minowa entering the rotation, she made it a two-point game before Dy scored again off the block to reach match point, 14-11.

Minowa saved a point, but Savi Davison ended the match with a cross-court hit. Davison unleashed a new career-high 37 points on 35 attacks and two blocks. The reigning Invitational MVP also had stellar floor defense with 24 excellent receptions and 18 digs.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get the result we wanted,” said PLDT coach Rald Ricafort in Filipino.

“But the mindset of the players and the team is that we’re not going to pick and choose which games to fight for. Especially against Creamline, they’re a very challenging team to play against. They really bring out the best in each of us. So we’re going to take this win, keep fighting, and prepare for them again on Tuesday.”

Kianna Dy and Jovy Prado had 14 points each. Mika Reyes had 11 points, highlighted by five blocks. 

Creamline missed the Invitational Finals for the second straight time despite adding Minowa, a former league MVP and resident Japan SV.League import.

Minowa tallied 25 points built on 15 kills, nine blocks, and an ace. Jema Galanza had 20 points, 16 digs, and 16 excellent receptions, while Michele Gumabao added 11.

PLDT and Creamline battle for bronze on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

The Vikings will be looking to overcome some widespread doubt about their abilities (or lack thereof) in 2026. Doing so will largely come down to answering some questions.

In particular, onlookers will want to know how things get sorted out at quarterback. Kyler Murray is now the QB1, meaning he’s working into the best situation he’s ever been in within his NFL career. Minnesota does have a football team beyond just the modestly-paid passer who is looking to play well in the Twin Cities.

The Vikings Will Be Looking to Answer Some Questions

Question No. 1 — Can a Draft Class Finally Be Helpful?

Caleb Banks doesn’t lack for potential. However, there’s some concern about his lack of polish, a possible problem that has commonly been described as a “pad level” issue.

All of LB Jake Golday, DT Domonique Orange, CB Chuck Demmings, and FB Max Bredeson have ignited optimism in training camp and the preseason. How that translates to the regular season is somewhat murky. Others, such as OT/OG Caleb Tiernan, S Jakobe Thomas, and RB Demond Claiborne, have struggled more.

Already, a draftee has been set free. 7th-Round Center Gavin Gerhardt has been cut and released from the practice squad. The Vikings are desperate for youth to shine, but they’re down to eight out of nine draftees.

Question No. 2 — Can Health Cooperate at Key Positions?

So much of last year’s problems could get worked back to health.

Consider, for instance, positions other than quarterback. Each of the top two edge rushers, Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, missed time. So did the OT starters, LG1 Donovan Jackson, and C1 Ryan Kelly. Aaron Jones had injury issues and so did Josh Metellus. Blake Cashman played well but wasn’t out there the whole time. All of these absences added up.

And then, of course, there were the quarterback injuries. Needing to start a UDFA rookie in Max Brosmer was never in the plan. Can Kyler Murray start all seventeen games? He has never been mistaken for Cal Ripken out there.

Question No. 3 — Can the Vikings Achieve Playoff Success?

There can be no playoff success unless a few issues get fixed. Most notable is the lack of balance on offense between the passing and ground game. At some point, the issue needs to get fixed.

Usually, the Vikings’ defense has been a stingy crew but that’s not always so. There have been times when runners have consistently found running lanes, creating a scenario where it’s tough for Brian Flores to get his guys off the field. Again, something to monitor.

Bringing things down to football basics might involve looking at the trenches in the final tournament. Losing to the Giants following the 2022 regular season and Rams following the 2024 season was largely the result of the Vikings getting walloped at the line of scrimmage. Fixing that reoccurring issue is a must.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc competes at the start of the race during the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit in Monza, northern Italy on September 6, 2026. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP)

The Italian Grand Prix at Monza was halted after just two laps on Sunday after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc slid off the track and smashed into barriers.

The Monegasque, who is a two-time winner at Monza, lost control on the exit of the parabolica at the end of lap two, going straight into the gravel and flying sideways into the barriers.

Leclerc stepped out of the car, looking winded but otherwise unhurt.

READ: F1: Charles Leclerc rules British Grand Prix, Ferrari gets 250th win

Huge impact for Charles 🎥

A reminder that he’s out of the car and okay#F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/AYTRyQn0gI

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 6, 2026

The race was red-flagged with Mercedes’ George Russell in the lead, having overtaken pole-sitter Pierre Gasly of Alpine.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third ahead of Franco Colapinto in the second Alpine.

Lewis Hamilton, who started fourth, lost ground when he was forced off the track by teammate Leclerc at the first chicane, and was running eighth.

READ: Charles Leclerc signs new multi-year deal with Ferrari in F1

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli began at the back of the field after exceeding the permitted number of power unit changes but had already moved his way up to 12th in his Mercedes by the time the race was suspended.

The race will resume once the tire barrier has been repaired.