Believe it or not, the NFL season is now less than 10 weeks away, and training camps heat up at the end of the month. The Los Angeles Rams are widely expected to win the Super Bowl, especially after acquiring Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns.

And with the NFL season lurking around the bend, here are some bold takes to ponder.

The Patriots Regression Pick Leads a Spicy NFL Forecast

1. The Patriots Miss the Playoffs

New England had one of the easiest schedules in NFL history last year — luck of the draw — and that won’t happen again in 2026. The quarterbacking faltered in the AFC Championship and during the Super Bowl, but nobody seemed to care.

The Patriots won’t replicate their 2025 campaign, instead finishing 9-8 or 8-9 and missing the tournament in January.

2. Patrick Mahomes Wins MVP

Are you buying the smoke that smells like Josh Allen as the best quarterback in the NFL? That’s fair — he’s fantastic. But we’re quick to write Mahomes’s obituary. He will return, throw for 35-40 touchdowns, and voters will be eager to vote for him again as the MVP because of his adversity with injuries.

3. Sam LaPorta Traded to Patriots

The Patriots’ main tight end, Hunter Henry, is decent and actually played well in 2025. However, the Detroit Lions may not have the cash flow to extend LaPorta, who is scheduled to hit free agency in 2027.

In New England, he can pair with Drake Maye for the next 4-5 years. Everybody wins — besides the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and New York Jets.

4. The Cowboys Overtake the Eagles in NFC East

There’s something wrong with the Philadelphia Eagles, and 2026 may be when all the symptoms come to a head. The Dallas Cowboys, meanwhile, have spent the 2026 offseason improving their defense. Dak Prescott is solid, Javonte Williams cooked in 2025, and the aerial playmaking is there.

Dallas will surpass Philadelphia. The NFC East never stays in one form for very long.

5. The Packers Get the 8th Seed in NFC, Not Customary 7th

Green Bay has netted the seventh seed in the NFC for three straight seasons: 2023, 2024, and 2025. Is that sweet consistency, making the playoffs annually? Or getting lucky because the seventh seed didn’t show up until recently?

Regardless, the Packers will regress, earn the eighth seed, and search for answers in the 2027 offseason.

6. De’Von Achane Wins the Rushing Crown

The Dolphins have no business passing the ball much in 2026: their main pass-catchers are Malik Washington, Jalen Tolbert, Tutu Atwell, and Greg Dulcich. Out of necessity, Miami will run the football at an impressive clip, and Achane is the right guy for the assignment.

He’ll total over 1,600 rushing yards and win the crown.

7. Mac Jones Saves Somebody’s Season

The San Francisco 49ers are hanging onto Jones in case something happens injury-wise to Brock Purdy, a fair plan. But as the trade deadline looms in November, San Francisco will price-gouge Jones, who will be a free agent in March 2027, sending him to a club with an injured QB1.

There’s no way to know which team it is, but Jones will revive that squad’s postseason aspirations and will not disappoint.

8. Shane Steichen Is the First Coach Fired

The Colts are all-in to win a Super Bowl, particularly after trading two 1st-rounders for cornerback Sauce Gardner before the deadline last year. They’re also entrusting Daniel Jones to lead them to the Promised Land, and he’s coming off a torn Achilles, an injury without a straightforward recovery outlook.

By November, Indianapolis will have a 3-7 record or so and fire Steichen after four seasons. CBS Sports Jordan Dajani wrote last week, “The Colts had two major goals this offseason: extend Jones and pay wide receiver Alec Pierce. They accomplished both, as Jones signed a two-year, $88 million deal while Pierce became the highest-paid free-agent wide receiver in NFL history with a four-year, $116 million contract.”

“Jones is coming off the best season of his career while Pierce has established himself as an elite deep threat, but the question has to be asked: Are both players worth these contracts, and can they get the Colts back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020? If not, Indy could make a change at head coach.”

Indianapolis is 25-26 on Steichen’s watch, ranking 19th in the league since 2023 in win percentage. Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon will realize that’s not very good and put her handpicked coach in the saddle.

Sportsbooks expect the Colts to finish 7-10 or 8-9 this season.

Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker

Esteemed trainer Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre believes Canelo Alvarez could be in for a rude awakening when he faces Christian Mbilli in October.

The two super-middleweights will square off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Canelo entering his first outing since losing to Terence Crawford last September.

This unanimous decision relieved the Mexican of his crown at 168lbs, though now he is attempting to reclaim one quarter of the undisputed championship.

Looking to craft his own legacy, meanwhile, is Mbilli, who was elevated from ‘interim’ to full WBC champion following Crawford’s retirement in December.

Known for implementing a high-volume style, the Frenchman comes off an enthralling 10-round draw with Lester Martinez, which featured on the undercard of Canelo-Crawford.

As Martinez’s head coach, ‘BoMac’ knows more than most about the intensity and physicality that Mbilli brings to the ring, believing this could play a factor against the 35-year-old Canelo.

Not only that, but McIntyre has told FightHype that he suspects Alvarez was reluctant to take this challenge as part of his multi-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh.

“It’s no walk in the park for Canelo – I promise you that. Mbilli is a fighting motherf**ker, and he fights all the way to the end.

“Will his skills pull through or will Canelo’s skills pull through? That must be seen. If [Canelo wins], it’s probably going to take a toll on him.

“That motherf**ker Mbilli will fight you toe-to-toe. Does Canelo want that at this age? Probably not.

“Is he getting made to [take] fights like that with that guaranteed money [from Alalshikh]? Probably so.”

With Martinez defending his WBC ‘interim’ title against Luka Plantic on August 29, ‘BoMac’ is hopeful that his charge faces the winner of Mbilli-Canelo.

The American trainer has already faced both Mbilli and Canelo, albeit while occupying the corner of different fighters, and will likely be confident in guiding Martinez to victory.

Nations Championship

Fiji (10) 24

Tries: Sowakula, Canakaivata, Ravutaumada Cons: Armstrong-Ravula 3 Pen: Armstrong-Ravula

Wales (10) 39

Tries: Morgan 2, Carre, Adams, Elias, James Cons: Edwards, Costelow 2 Pen: Edwards

Six-try Wales recorded consecutive international wins for the first time in three years by defeating Fiji 39-24 in the Nations Championship opener at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Two tries from flanker Jac Morgan allowed Wales somehow to keep a rampant Fiji side to 10-10 at half-time.

Wales showed their fitness by scoring second-half tries from prop Rhys Carre, wing Josh Adams, hooker Ryan Elias and centre Eddie James.

Fiji managed tries from flanker Pita Gus Sowakula, number eight Elia Canakaivata and wing Selestino Ravutaumada, with fly-half Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula kicking nine points.

Wales followed up the Six Nations win against Italy at the Principality Stadium in March to win back-to-back Tests for the first time since the 2023 World Cup.

Morgan was named player-of-the-match for his two-try exploits and brilliant defensive display.

Fiji dominated the attacking statistics but Wales managed to contain them, while their set-piece superiority resulted in three of the six tries coming from driving mauls as head coach Steve Tandy’s game plan proved successful.

The only negative for Wales was the match was played in front of a disappointing crowd of 16,456 in the first rugby international played at Cardiff City’s football stadium.

This victorious Wales side, who beat a team two places above them in the world rankings, deserved to have celebrated that success in front of more fans.

Wales scored six tries in a game for the first time in a Test for five years which also came against Fiji.

Wales will now travel to face Argentina and South Africa, while Fiji face England at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool and Scotland at Murrayfield.

The build-up had been hampered by a dispute between the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and the players about match fees, which was only resolved three days before kick-off.

Captain Dewi Lake and former centre and current WRU board member Jamie Roberts both stated that should not have happened, but head coach Tandy insisted no training was missed.

This was officially a home game for Fiji, 10,000 miles from home, with Wales the visitors in their own capital city.

The Fijians are playing the three matches in July in the UK because they currently do not have a stadium to meet the Nations Championship criteria.

It is hoped the revenue raised from staging home games in Europe during the next two tournaments can help build that ground by 2030.

Tandy made six changes from the team that defeated the Barbarians that included the return of four English and French-based club players including Louis Rees-Zammit, who lined up on the wing rather than the full-back position he occupied during the Six Nations.

Jon Rahm will return to the Amgen Irish Open when he competes at Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg from September 10-13.

The Spaniard, a two-time Major Champion and former World Number One, has won the Amgen Irish Open twice, having claimed victory at Portstewart Golf Club in 2017 and Lahinch Golf Club in 2019.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back to Ireland for the Amgen Irish Open,” said Rahm the 31-year-old ten-time DP World Tour winner. “Winning this tournament twice means a lot to me and it’s always a place I enjoy playing. The courses, the fans and the challenge of links golf make it a special week.”

Six-shot winner at Portstewart

At Portstewart nine years ago, Rahm secured a dominant six-shot win for his maiden DP World Tour title, closing with a 65 to complete a commanding victory. He added a second triumph two years later at Lahinch, where a final-round 62 featuring eight birdies and an eagle saw him overturn a tie for ninth and finish two shots clear of Andy Sullivan and Bernd Wiesberger.

Rahm, who was joint runner up in the US PGA Championship at Aronimink last month, will be part of a strong group of players from Team Europe playing in this year’s Irish Open.

Team Europe players for Doonbeg

He joins Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Tyrrell Hatton, Rasmus Højgaard, and their captain Luke Donald, all of whom have been confirmed so far along with Pádraig Harrington and Séamus Power.

The Amgen Irish Open once again assumes a key position on the DP World Tour’s Global Schedule as part of the Back 9, which encompasses nine of the Tour’s most historic tournaments and national opens.

It features an esteemed roll of honour of champions, including Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Harrington, Lowry, McIlroy, Colin Montgomerie, José María Olazábal, Rahm and Sam Torrance.

LiveScores Now Available at IrishScores.com

Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor apparently do not believe in love at first sight.

The two superstars are the faces of a New York Mets team that was supposed to be a threat in the majors but is instead one of the worst teams in the league.

Lindor joined the Mets via trade in 2021 and signed a 10-year, $341 million extension, the first major move for new owner Steve Cohen signaling a true change of the guard; roughly four years later, though, Soto joined the fray on a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million pact.

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New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (22) reacts with shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) after hitting a two run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the third inning at Dodger Stadium. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)

Numerous reports circulated that the two did not get along last year, their first as teammates, and it was an issue that lingered into this season. Perhaps Soto’s deal, which includes boosted security, suites, and the potential to make another $50 million, caused a power trip between the two stars.

In any case, the story had begun to die down until this week, when Cohen all but confirmed the reports to be true but said they were getting along better.

“Frankly, I think that’s a story that was last year’s story,” Cohen told the New York Post. “I am told and believe strongly that these guys are getting along much better. And so, I just don’t see that as an issue anymore.”

That prompted both Soto and Lindor to be asked about their relationship on Friday night, and Soto, well, had an interesting comparison.

“When you meet a girl, you don’t start kissing her right away,” he told The Athletic.

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) celebrates with right fielder Juan Soto (22) after hitting a solo home run during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field on April 20, 2025 in New York City, New York. (Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)

METS BRUTAL SEASON COMES TO HEAD WITH 6-ERROR GAME IN DOUBLEHEADER SWEEP, CHANTS FOR FORMER STAR OUT OF ANGER

Soto, however, did say there were “no issues” between the two “at all,” despite reports continuing to say otherwise.

“The more time we spend together, it’s only natural that our relationship continues to grow,” Lindor told the outlet. “We’ve been teammates for two years now. Time has been on our side. I have nothing but respect for him. He’s my brother. He’s somebody I respected from a distance and respect here, inside.”

There have been reports that Lindor and Soto had their lockers moved to opposite sides of the clubhouse this season, and fans were taken aback when the two didn’t exactly share the friendliest of pleasantries on Opening Day.

The Athletic reported that the two stars recently had “hard conversations,” but Lindor shooed away that notion.

“It was just, we talked. We talk every single day, whether it’s hitting or different topics. But we definitely talk because at the end of the day, we are teammates and our job is to win games,” he said.

(L-R) Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor the New York Mets look on during the national anthem prior to the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Mets at Citi Field on Thursday, March 26, 2026 in New York, New York. (Dustin Satloff/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

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Lindor and Soto have played just 15 games together this season due to injuries, but they are slated to be teammates through 2032.

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Golf is not a game that tests players based on what they’ve lost, or how they got here; it only asks what they can do in the moment. It measures adaptability, execution and resolve without regard for background or circumstance.

At the U.S. Adaptive Open Championship — which this year is being held at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md., from July 6-8 — that standard is reinforced through a competitive structure that groups players among their peers, with outcomes earned through performance. 

Each year, the USGA accepts hundreds of applications for the championship from around the world. In 2024, the association introduced qualifying events in the U.S., allowing players an additional pathway to the championship. Eligibility is confirmed by medical assessors who assign a WR4GD Pass — the criteria and standards of which are closely aligned with those of the International Paralympic Committee. 

The USGA uses eight distinct impairment categories to determine the field of 96 professionals and amateurs, then collaborates with medical assessors from the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab to ensure appropriate placement of tees and hole locations. The categories in which prizes are awarded (along with an overall men’s and women’s champion) are as follows: 

Coordination Impairment: Players have one or more movement disorders that affect the central nervous system’s structure and function. 

Intellectual Impairment: Players have a restriction of general mental functions. Requires a WR4GD Pass and Virtus II1 eligibility. 

Lower Limb Impairment: Players have impairments affecting the leg, hip and/or spine. 

Multiple Limb Amputee: Includes players with limb deficiency in more than one limb. 

Seated Players: Players who make every stroke from a seated position because that is the only way they can play based on their impairment. 

Short Stature: Players have reduced height due to congenitally or developmentally reduced length of the bones of the upper and lower limbs (and may also have reduced trunk length). 

Upper Limb Impairment: Players have impairments affecting the arm, shoulder and/or spine.  

Vision Impairment: Players have reduced or no visual function even when using the best possible refractive or optical correction.  

These impairment categories are designed to create equity at the U.S. Adaptive Open. The championship, now in its fifth year, brings players together to compete among their peers and strives to ensure meaningful competition in which results are determined by performance, not circumstance. 

Full-back George Furbank has been ruled out of England’s Nations Championship opener against South Africa in Johannesburg on Saturday with appendicitis.

Furbank, 29, had been preparing for his first England game in nearly two years before falling ill on Friday evening.

Marcus Smith has replaced him at 15, with Henry Slade stepping up to the bench.

Steve Borthwick’s side face the world champion Springboks at 16:40 BST at the iconic Ellis park in Johannesburg.

Furbank’s inclusion had been one of the main talking points from Thursday’s team announcement.

“George Furbank has had so many little setbacks that would really test anybody’s character and resolve and he has come through it all,” head coach Steve Borthwick said on Thursday.

With that in mind, it is another desperately unlucky setback for the 29-year-old, who has suffered arm, calf, knee and concussion injuries since his most recent England appearance in November 2024.

“It feels like a significant blow to England’s attacking prospects, as well as the leadership a Prem-winning captain brings to the backfield,” said former England fly-half Paul Grayson.

Furbank impressed at full-back throughout the course of 2024, but was hit by a succession of injuries since his most recent appearance against Japan in November of that year.

However, he returned to hit top form at the back end of the latest Prem season, leading Northampton to the league title before a summer switch to Harlequins.

England: Smith; Feyi-Waboso, Freeman, Atkinson, Murley: F Smith, Van Poortvliet; Genge, George, Heyes, Coles, Martin, Chessum, Curry, Earl

Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Obano, Opoku-Fordjour, Ewels, Pepper, Pollock, Mitchell, Slade

England have been dealt a huge blow ahead of their clash with South Africa with George Furbank ruled out.

Furbank had been due to start at full-back in his first international appearance since 2024 after a wretched run of injuries.

But the 29-year-old, who led Northampton Saints to the Gallagher Prem title, has been dealt another setback after being rushed to hospital with appendicitis ahead of the game at Ellis Park.

Furbank is understood to have begun suffering symptoms after England’s captain’s run in Johannesburg, and has been ruled out of the encounter.

With Freddie Steward – England’s other specialist full-back on tour – nursing an ankle injury, Marcus Smith is promoted into the starting side from the bench. Henry Slade comes in.

It is a significant blow for Steve Borthwick and his side, with Furbank seen as a key figure in their attacking plans this summer.

The Harlequins-bound playmaker broke his arm at the end of 2024 before enduring a heavily-disrupted 2025 due to recurring calf and knee injuries. While included in the squad, he missed he Six Nations with Furbank not featuring in England’s worst-ever championship campaign.

Borthwick’s team take on the Springboks looking to end a four-match losing run as they begin a gruelling Nations Championship itinerary. England also face Fiji (at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium) and Argentina in Santiago del Estero this July.

South Africa have had their own late chaos to contend with as captain Siya Kolisi and lock Eben Etzebeth are ruled out.