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🚨 Headlines

🏈 Falcons 22, Eagles 21: With 1:57 left in the fourth quarter, the Falcons had a 0.7% chance to win. But Kirk Cousins rose to the occasion, leading a surgical 70-yard TD drive to lift Atlanta to an improbable victory.

🏒 Crosby extended: Penguins legend Sidney Crosby has signed a two-year, $17.4 million extension that will keep the 37-year-old in Pittsburgh through the 2026-27 season.

⚾️ Monday was good to the Mets: New York moved back into playoff position with a walk-off win over the Nationals (and a Braves loss to the Dodgers). Even better news: Star shortstop Francisco Lindor (back) won’t require a trip to the IL and should return soon.

🏀 Stalker arrested: An Oregon man has been arrested for allegedly harassing, stalking and threatening UConn women’s basketball star Paige Bueckers for months.

⚽️ Comeback kids: Down 2-0 to Germany with two minutes left, the U.S. scored twice in stoppage time and won in a shootout on Sunday to advance to the semifinals of the U-20 Women’s World Cup. They play Japan tomorrow.

🏈 Young Benched: Worst trade ever?

16 months after they traded up to draft him No. 1 overall, and 18 starts into his NFL career, the Panthers have benched QB Bryce Young. Veteran Andy Dalton is now the starter in Carolina.

Worst trade ever? “There have been plenty of bad, lopsided, franchise-crushing, what-were-you-thinking trades in NFL history. You’d be hard pressed to find one that fell apart quicker and more decisively,” writes Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel.

To recap: In March 2023, Carolina traded WR DJ Moore, first-round picks in 2023 and 2024, and second-round picks in 2023 and 2025 to Chicago to move up from No. 9 to No. 1 overall, where they selected Young out of Alabama.

• Since then, the Panthers are 2-17 and Young has been pretty awful. He finished 29th among starters in Total QBR last year and has completed just 55.4% of his passes this season, while throwing three picks and no TDs.

• Meanwhile, Moore has been a stud for the Bears and they used the picks to land QB Caleb Williams (No. 1 in 2024), OT Darnell Wright (No. 10 in 2023) and CB Tyrique Stevenson (No. 56 in 2023), each of whom started on Sunday. (The 2025 second-rounder is still to come.)

In other words: “That’s four or perhaps five important players — including a potential franchise QB — for one guy who is now backing up the Red Rifle,” writes Wetzel.

Draft day fumble: Despite all the talent Carolina gifted Chicago, the worst part of this trade may not end up being the swap itself, but rather the use of the assets the Panthers acquired. Remember: They had the pick of the litter on draft night and chose Young over C.J. Stroud, who went to Houston with the very next pick.

Stroud was, for a long time, the betting favorite to go as the first choice. Instead Carolina went in the other direction, believing in a 5-foot-10 QB who became the shortest in the league at his position the moment he got picked.

While Young struggled, Stroud became the Offensive ROY, led the Texans to the playoffs and has the look of a future All-Pro. And he was right there for the taking — worth giving up all those assets to go get. Only Carolina chose not to get him.

Parting thought: While Young’s alarmingly bad play certainly warrants some “bust” chatter, it’s worth considering his work environment. The Panthers have been a dysfunctional mess for years, and the QBs who preceded Young (and also struggled) in Carolina — Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold — are thriving with their new teams.

⚾️ American League playoff picture

With just under two weeks left in the regular season, the American League divisional and wild card races remain undecided

AL East: It’s a two-team race between the Yankees and Orioles, with the loser all but guaranteed to take a wild card spot. Their series next week in the Bronx should be electric.

1. Yankees (87-63): 3 at Mariners, 3 at A’s, 3 vs. Orioles, 3 vs. Pirates

2. Orioles (84-66, 3 GB): 3 vs. Giants, 3 vs. Tigers, 3 at Yankees, 3 at Twins

AL Central: The Guardians can put the Twins away during this week’s four-game set, while the Royals are hanging around with a chance to win their first division title since 2015.

1. Guardians (87-64): 3 vs. Twins, 3 at Cardinals, 2 vs. Reds, 3 vs. Astros

2. Royals (82-69, 5 GB): 2 vs. Tigers, 3 vs. Giants, 3 at Nationals, 3 at Braves

3. Twins (79-71, 7.5 GB): 3 at Guardians, 3 at Red Sox, 3 vs. Marlins, 3 vs. Orioles

AL West: Hard to believe the Mariners held a 10-game lead in mid-June. Now, their last real chance to catch the Astros is next week’s high-stakes clash in Houston.

1. Astros (81-69): 2 at Padres, 4 vs. Angels, 3 vs. Mariners, 3 at Guardians

2. Mariners (77-73, 4 GB): 3 vs. Yankees, 3 at Rangers, 3 at Astros, 3 vs A’s

AL Wild Card: The Orioles (if they lose the division) and Royals (ditto) have more or less locked up the first two spots, but the Twins’ recent slide has opened the door for the Tigers (1.5 GB), Mariners (2 GB) and Red Sox (4 GB) to contend for the final berth.

Notes:

• Houston is inevitable: The Astros are on track to win their seventh consecutive division title (not counting the COVID year). Their last one before this run? 2001.

• Championship hangover: Barring a miracle, the Rangers will be the first defending champion* since the 2020 Nationals to miss the playoffs, and the fifth to do so in the last 10 years.

• Worst team ever? With 11 games left, the White Sox (36-115) are five losses shy of tying the 1962 Mets‘ modern record for losses in a season (40-120).

*The drought continues: No MLB team has won consecutive World Series since the Yankees’ three-peat from 1998-2000. Since then, there have been four repeat NBA champions (2000-02 Lakers, 2009-10 Lakers, 2012-13 Heat, 2017-18 Warriors) and two each in the NFL (2004-05 Patriots, 2023-24 Chiefs) and NHL (2016-17 Penguins, 2020-21 Lightning).

⚾️ National League playoff picture

The National League offers less intrigue than the AL, with the East (Phillies) and Central (Brewers) all but decided. But the West and the Wild Card are still up for grabs.

NL West: This the Dodgers’ race to lose, and their schedule looks pretty easy the rest of the way. But if the Padres keep things close, their head-to-head series next week in L.A. could decide the division. The Diamondbacks are alive but may have to win out for a real chance.

1. Dodgers (89-61): 3 at Marlins, 3 vs. Rockies, 3 vs. Padres, 3 at Rockies

2. Padres (86-65, 3.5 GB): 2 vs. Astros, 3 vs. White Sox, 3 at Dodgers, 3 at Diamondbacks

3. Diamondbacks (83-67, 6 GB): 2 at Rockies, 4 at Brewers, 3 vs. Giants, 3 vs. Padres

NL Wild Card: The Padres (86-65), Diamondbacks (83-67), Mets (82-68) and Braves (81-69) are separated by 4.5 games and fighting for three spots. To make things even more exciting, San Diego plays Arizona and Atlanta plays New York next week.

Notes:

• Juggernaut out West: The Dodgers* are on track to claim their 11th NL West crown since 2013, which is more division titles than all but eight other franchises have won in their history.

• The wait continues: The Pirates will have to wait at least another year to snap their NL-worst playoff drought dating back to 2016 (one year better than the AL-worst Tigers and Angels), but at least they got to root for Paul Skenes every fifth day this summer.

• Improvement! The Nationals finished dead last in four straight seasons following their 2019 World Series title, but they’ll finish fourth this year behind an exciting young core, and might be ready to start contending again next season.

*Help on the way? L.A.’s injury-riddled pitching staff suffered another setback with Tyler Glasnow unlikely to return this season, but there’s a chance Shohei Ohtani could pitch in the playoffs.

📸 In photos: Laytown Races

Thousands of people descended on the small seaside town of Meath, Ireland, on Monday to watch fully-sanctioned horse racing… on the beach. Welcome to the Laytown Races.

The event dates back to 1868, when it was held in conjunction with a rowing regatta. The boats would race during high tide, then the horse racing began when the tide receded.

The setup starts early in the morning, and races are held on a tight schedule to ensure they fit them all in before the tide rolls back in and washes the course away for another year.

The best way to describe the annual event: “It’s just a little bit of magic,” says Joe Collins, chairman of Laytown Racecourse. “It’s so different. The thunder of the hooves on the beach, that sound, it’s unbelievable.”

📆 Sept. 17, 1920: The NFL is born

104 years ago today, representatives from 11 pro football teams met to form the American Professional Football Association. Two years later, that league was renamed the NFL.

Organize or perish: Pro football, confined largely to Midwestern industrial cities, was vastly overshadowed by the college game at the time. Rising salary demands also strained teams’ budgets, and owners realized pro football wouldn’t survive much longer without organization.

• Canton Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay had already brought together a smaller faction of owners one month earlier to come up with a broad outline for a league.

• With that in place, he invited representatives from 10 pro football teams to his automobile dealership to hash out an agreement.

Among those in attendance? Olympic gold medalist and Bulldogs star Jim Thorpe, who was elected president. A $100 fee was instituted to join the association, and teams were instructed to mail in a copy of their roster.

The famous Hupmobile: Without enough chairs, some of the future NFL owners sat on the running boards of the Hupmobiles parked in Hay’s showroom. And when they were ready to formally establish what would become the crown jewel of American sports, they leaned on the hood of one of the cars to sign the papers.

Founding members: One team (the Massillon Tigers) withdrew during the meeting, and four others joined later that fall, giving the APFA 14 teams for its inaugural 1920 season.

1. Akron Pros (Ohio)

2. Buffalo All-Americans (New York)

3. Canton Bulldogs (Ohio)

4. Chicago Cardinals (Illinois)

5. Chicago Tigers (Illinois)

6. Cleveland Tigers (Ohio)

7. Columbus Panhandles (Ohio)

8. Dayton Triangles (Ohio)

9. Decatur Staleys (Illinois)

10. Detroit Heralds (Michigan)

11. Hammond Pros (Indiana)

12. Muncie Flyers (Indiana)

13. Rochester Jeffersons (New York)

14. Rock Island Independents (Illinois)

Only two still exist today: The Decatur Staleys (now the Chicago Bears) and the Chicago Cardinals (now in Arizona).

The last word: “Thinking back to September 17, 1920, and that meeting in Canton, Ohio, I am pretty sure none of us had the remotest idea what we were starting,” said Bears founder George Halas (who was there on behalf of the Staleys) on the 50th anniversary of that fateful day.

📺 Watchlist: The new-look Champions League kicks off

The Champions League, which features a new format* for the first time since 2003, kicks off today with six matches streaming on Paramount+.

• 12:45pm ET: Juventus vs. PSV; Young Boys vs. Aston Villa

• 3pm: Sporting CP vs. Lille; AC Milan vs. Liverpool; Real Madrid vs. Stuttgart; Bayern Munich vs. Dinamo Zagreb

More to watch:

• ⚾️ MLB: Phillies at Brewers (7:40pm, TBS); Astros at Padres (9:40pm, truTV)

• 🏀 WNBA: Liberty at Mystics (7pm, NBA); Aces at Storm (10pm, NBA); Mercury at Sparks (10:30pm, CBSSN) … Penultimate day of the regular season.

*New format, explained: The Champions League now features 36 teams, up from 32, and the group stage has been replaced by a “league phase.” Teams will play eight games against eight different opponents instead of a six-game round robin against three opponents. The top eight from the league phase qualify for the Round of 16, while those finishing ninth to 24th enter a playoff for the remaining eight spots.

🏒 NHL trivia

The newly-extended Sidney Crosby is entering his 18th season as Penguins captain, which is the second-longest tenure in NHL history.

Question: Who is the only player with a longer tenure as captain?

Trivia answer: Retired in 2006.

Answer at the bottom.

🇫🇷 Should they stay or should they go?

The Paris mayor wants to keep the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower until at least 2028, but her plan has been met with opposition. That includes the family of Gustave Eiffel, the engineer who designed the iconic structure, who want the rings taken down by the end of the year.

What do you think? Should the Olympic rings stay or go?

Trivia answer: Steve Yzerman (19 seasons as Red Wings captain)

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