Prior to each USC football game this season, I will be giving five predictions for the contest. In Week 1 against Missouri State, I absolutely nailed them. The past two weeks, however, have been more of a mixed bag.
Can I get back on track this week for the Trojans‘ Big Ten home opener? There is only one way to find out. Here are five predictions for USC vs. Michigan State:
Jayden Maiava throws for 300 yards
Michigan State’s secondary has not looked great through three games. Maiava and the Trojans’ offense take advantage of that.
Tanook Hines first career touchdown
Through three games, USC’s true freshman wide receiver has impressed. On Saturday night, he finds the end zone for the first time.
Eli Sanders over 100 yards from scrimmage
Last week against Purdue, the New Mexico transfer running back showed off his explosiveness. This week, he gets more touches both on the ground and in the passing game and makes the most of them.
At least three sacks
USC’s defensive line legitimately looks like it might be really good. The Trojans turn in another strong performance against Michigan State, racking up three more sacks.
Over 60 combined points
ESPN currently has the over/under for this game at 54.5. That feels too low.
There are big kickoffs and then there are big kickoffs — and Saturday’s Wrestlepalooza contribution surely belongs in the latter category. If you were looking to book a blockbuster match involving any two active wrestlers in 2025, then Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena has to be a contender for top of the list.
Aside from having two of the most recognizable names in pro-wrestling, the fact that this match has to be the most unpredictable of the year-long Cena retirement run makes it feel an even bigger deal. Some bookmakers have even given it the kind of coin-toss odds you’d expect to see in a big-time boxing bout.
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No doubt WWE would relish that comparison. Ever since the great changeover three years ago, when Triple H took over creative duties from Vince McMahon, one of the most visible shifts in WWE programming has been the shift toward a more sports-like presentation, driven by the hiring of the former ESPN executive Lee Fitting. Perhaps it’s no coincidence, then, that WWE’s PLEs are now shifting over to ESPN (at least in the U.S.) in a deal worth $1.6 billion. Come Saturday evening, Lesnar vs. Cena will be the first WWE match to be broadcast on the world’s biggest sporting network, as it opens the show for Wrestlepalooza.
Naturally, WWE seems to have dialed up the sports-esque imagery even further for the occasion. On the poster for Wrestlepalooza, the usual pro-wrestling spectacle has been dialed down in favor of stern-looking headshots of the two contenders alongside boxing-style block lettering of their surnames. In a parallel universe where Triple H ended up being put in charge of UFC, it’s hard to see what he’d do differently.
Presenting the match like a UFC title fight might be apt given Lesnar’s history, but it also places much higher expectations on the action itself. At this stage of their careers, neither man is going to be daunted by the spotlight, but the memories of WrestleMania 41 — and the fiasco of its Cena vs. Cody Rhodes main event — serves as a reminder of how quickly the hype can deflate when things go wrong.
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Cena’s past two matches have proven beyond any doubt that he can still work with the best of them. On the other hand, Lesnar saunters straight into his first match since his unscheduled disappearance from WWE programming two years ago — though WWE has been smart enough to use that fact to its advantage, ratcheting up the tension by having “The Beast” lurking in the background, rather than putting him front-and-center on the weekly shows.
What makes Saturday’s outcome so uncertain? It’s largely the fact that, unlike most big WWE matches this year, there are solid creative reasons in favor of either outcome. Given we’re in the feel-good part of the Cena retirement tour, you can see why WWE might choose to have its hero go over clean, earning another ovation like the one he had in Paris. Perhaps we could even see Lesnar raise Cena’s arm to pay his own tribute.
On the other hand, doesn’t the final stretch of the retirement run need a bit of tension? Having Lesnar emerge victorious would add a narrative twist to the whole project, giving Cena a roadblock to overcome in order to score his perfect sendoff. That could lead to him finally defeating his new nemesis in one of his tear-jerking final appearances in November or December. We’ve seen before how well Lesnar plays the role of “the mountain to overcome,” notably during his superb trilogy with Rhodes two years ago.
Given all that, you can see why this particular weekend feels so compelling. Could Cena vs. Lesnar even prove to be the single biggest wrestling match of the year? In an industry prone to tossing around hyperbole for its own sake, I think you could make a pretty solid case to that effect.
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Whether it delivers on those expectations will become clear when we get to Indianapolis on Saturday. One thing we can say for sure, though, it’s one hell of a way to kick off the new era of wrestling on ESPN.
The 2025-26 NBA season is on the horizon and that means fantasy basketball drafts will be taking place. There’s plenty you can do to prep for your draft, but the most important thing will be fantasy basketball rankings, which Yahoo analyst Dan Titus will be providing in a wide range of formats, including points leagues, category leagues as well as positional tiers. Be sure to bookmark this page and keep track of his full list of rankings all season long.
Dan’s Points League Rankings PG | SG | SF | PF | C
Frontrunners Napheesa Collier and A’ja Wilson are among the finalists in a hotly contested MVP race that the the WNBA announced Friday.
Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, Dream guard Allisha Gray and Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell round out the five finalists for the award. But the race is largely projected as a two-woman contest between Collier and Wilson.
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Collier, a five-time All-Star and two-time All-WNBA selection for the Minnesota Lynx, is seeking her first MVP. Wilson, a two-time champion, seven-time All-Star and five-time All-WNBA selection for the Las Vegas Aces, is seeking her fourth.
Wilson’s three MVPs are tied for the most all-time with Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson. If she prevails again, she’ll stand alone as the WNBA’s most decorated MVP.
A’ja Wilson, left, surged into the MVP race after Napheesa Collier emerged midseason as the clear frontrunner.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The case for Collier
Collier emerged as the standalone frontrunner as she led the Lynx to the WNBA’s best record. Coming off a trip to the 2024 WNBA Finals, the Lynx separated themselves from the rest of the league’s top teams as they raced out to a 20-4 record at the All-Star break. They entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed.
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Collier is the primary reason why. A force on both sides of the court, Collier averaged 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 53.1% from the floor.
She had a breakout season from long distance, while averaging 40.3% on a career-high 3.8 attempts per game. Her 30.2 player efficiency rating (PER) was the second-best in the league.
With Collier on the floor, the Lynx performed well against the league’s top competition, posting a 3-1 record against the Aces, Mercury and a Liberty team that edged them in last season’s WNBA Finals. The Dream (2-1) were the only team to win their season series against the Lynx.
A late-season ankle sprain sidelined Collier, who missed 11 of Minnesota’s 44 games. But she returned to close the season strong and led the Lynx into the playoffs as title favorites. For proponents of the philosophy that the best player on the best team is the MVP, Collier is the winner.
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The case for Wilson
For much of the season, the Aces were an afterthought among title contenders. As was Wilson’s MVP candidacy. That all changed following a 111-58 drubbing at the hands of Collier’s Lynx on Aug. 2. The loss dropped the Aces to 14-14, at risk of not making the playoffs.
Las Vegas didn’t lose again in the regular season. Led by Wilson, the Aces finished the season on a 16-0 tear to surge toward the top of the standings. That streak included a 97-87 win over the Lynx on Sept. 4. They finished tied with the Dream for the second-best record in the league and entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed behind Minnesota.
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Wilson’s renewal of her MVP form led the late-season surge. For the season, Wilson averaged 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals per game as a two-way force in the post. She shot 50.5% from the field and a career-high 42.4% on 1.5 3-point attempts per game.
Wilson led the league in points and blocks per game and finished second in rebounding average to Angel Reese. Wilson’s 33.4 PER was the only mark higher than Collier’s 30.2. An elite defender, she won her third Defensive Player of the Year award on Thursday in a split vote with Alanna Smith.
It adds up to compelling race at the top of the MVP ballot and one that very well could be relitigated in the WNBA Finals.
Manchester City will face off against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon as they look to secure a good result on the road in the Premier League. The Mancunian giants managed to earn a solid 2-0 win over Napoli in midweek, which should give them a ton of confidence ahead of this game.
Pep Guardiola will set his players up in a 4-3-3 formation and is expected to make some changes to his first team for this clash. John Stones and Oscar Bobb could play from the start of this game.
Gianluigi Donnarumma will feature in goal for Man City after keeping a clean sheet in his last appearance. Ruben Dias will function alongside John Stones at the heart of Guardiola’s defence as they look to keep the opposition at bay during the 90 minutes.
Stones is a slight concern ahead of this game, but he returned to training earlier this week and is in contention to start this game.
Abdukodir Khusanov will play as the right-back, while Josko Gvardiol hopes to give a good account of himself as the left-back. Guardiola will ask both of them to perform their defensive duties well before trying to offer some support to the front players.
Nico O’Reilly and Nathan Ake will be named on the bench as they provide cover for the defensive positions.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Phil Foden of Manchester City applauds the fans during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD1 match between Manchester City and SSC Napoli at City of Manchester Stadium on September 18, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Tijjani Reijnders, Rodri and Bernardo Silva will make up Guardiola’s midfield. Their main focus would be to make life tough for the opposition at the centre of the park.
Nico Gonzalez will have to be content with a place on the bench as he waits for his chance to make an impact in the second 45 minutes if required.
Jeremy Doku will try to impress as the left-sided wide player, while Oscar Bobb looks to make a difference from the right flank.
Erling Haaland will spearhead Man City’s attack up top. He has been scoring goals for fun of late and would fancy his chances of doing the same against Arsenal this weekend.
Savinho will be available for selection on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the final quarter of the game if needed.
The San Francisco 49ers continue their NFC West schedule, playing their second of three games against the division on Sunday in the first five weeks of the season, taking on the 2-0 Arizona Cardinals.
The 49ers started their division schedule with a win up in Seattle in Week 1, with Arizona opening the division play with the trip to Levi’s Stadium. This hasn’t been the first time in recent years that the 49ers have opened their home schedule against the Cardinals, with the two teams meeting in the season opener of 2020, with the Cardinals coming out on top in that one by a score of 24-20.
Sunday’s matchup will be the first of two against Kyler Murray, who had his fair share of success against Robert Saleh in the defensive coordinator’s first stint with the 49ers. These are the three numbers to know as the 49ers face Murray and the Cardinals:
Cardinals’ quarterback Kyler Murray averaged 66.75 rushing yards per game in four games against Robert Saleh’s 49ers’ defense from 2019-2020.
Robert Saleh is among the top (if not THE top) defensive minds in the game right now. But, 49ers fans will remember that his Achilles heel was the mobile quarterback. On Sunday against Arizona, he will get his first attempt of his second stint with San Francisco against a running quarterback, with Murray heading to Levi’s Stadium.
Murray – with his small stature – is one of the more slippery quarterbacks to bring down, and he always seemed to have a big game with his legs against the 49ers when Saleh was first here. In his four games against the 49ers in 2019 and 2020, Murray rushed for 267 yards on 34 attempts with a pair of touchdowns, averaging 66.75 rushing yards per game.
The Arizona quarterback has had his fair share of injuries, and because of that, he’s only played against the 49ers four times in the four seasons since Saleh’s original departure. In those four games since, the group of DeMeco Ryans, Steve Wilks, and Nick Sorensen has held Murray to just 155 rushing yards on 23 attempts – an average of 38.75 per game, nearly 30 yards fewer than Saleh – with only a single rushing touchdown.
Against Saleh, Murray had three games with at least 60 yards rushing, peaking with his 91-yard game in Week 1 of the 2020 season. In his four games since, Murray has rushed for more than 50 yards against the 49ers only one time, where he ran for 83 yards and a touchdown in Arizona’s Week 3 win over the 49ers in Santa Clara last season.
Murray arguably has as many weapons as he’s ever had in the passing game with Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride at hand, but preventing him from getting loose with his legs should be priority No.1 for Saleh.
The Cardinals’ defense averages 7.5 plays faced per drive, second-most behind the Dolphins.
Arizona’s defense was blessed with having two of the bottom-tier offenses in the league to open their season, facing the 20th-ranked offense in terms of yards per game, the Saints in Week 1, and the 22nd-ranked Carolina offense last week. And while Arizona only allowed 35 points in those two games – good enough to be in the top-ten of the league so far – they’ve had their fair share of struggles keeping the opposing offense off the field.
Those 7.5 plays per drive are boosted by Arizona’s inability to prevent first downs. The Cardinals have allowed 23.5 first downs per game in their first two games of the season, the second-most allowed in the league, only ahead of the New York Giants. And while the 49ers offense isn’t at full health, there’s still plenty of talent to exploit Arizona’s issues of allowing drives to continue.
San Francisco’s offense has 47 first downs this season, good for fourth-most in the league behind the Bills, Cowboys, and Colts. With that, the 49ers offense averages 6.6 plays per drive – tied for 10th-longest average drive in the league. While it’s evident that the 49ers prefer Brock Purdy to be healthy on Sunday, Mac Jones showed against New Orleans that he can keep drives going as well.
In Week 1 against Seattle, Purdy led the 49ers on 11 offensive drives. Two of those drives were one play, with the 49ers kneeling the clock out before halftime and the end of the game, leaving nine full drives left. On those nine drives, San Francisco averaged 8.1 plays per drive, with four lasting double-digit plays. In Week 2 against New Orleans with Jones at the helm, San Francisco ran 10 non-end-of-game drives with the offense, averaging 6.7 plays per drive. While there were fewer prolonged drives – only one double-digit drive – and plenty of shorter drives – two three-and-outs and two four-play drives ending in punts – the 49ers offense managed more points in Week 2.
It’s a Cardinals defense that allows longer drives against a 49ers offense that’s happy to have those extended drives. Although with injuries inflicting the Arizona secondary, the 49ers could look downfield for explosive plays, leading to potential short scoring drives.
Arizona is 3-3 at Levi’s Stadium since drafting Murray.
Only Seattle has done better at Levi’s in the span, going 4-3 in Santa Clara; however, the Seahawks are 1-3 since the boogeyman Russell Wilson left with the 49ers winning the lone playoff matchup between the two. The Rams also have had their fair share of struggles at Levi’s, going 2-4 in the same six seasons.
The Cardinals are the only team in the NFC West not to win the division since 2019, making the 49ers’ home struggles against them even more curious. San Francisco has dominated the Seahawks post-Wilson at home and has handled the Rams as well, but it’s been a coin flip against an Arizona team that has struggled to find consistency since taking Murray with the first pick of the 2019 draft.
While Arizona took advantage of the hobbled 2020 49ers and met the 49ers at the end of San Francisco’s 1-5 stretch in the middle of 2021, the 49ers returned to dominance against the lesser Cardinals, beating Arizona at home by a combined score of 73-29 in the two matchups in 2022 and 2023. Arizona returned to its winning form last season, giving the 49ers their first genuine concern that the 2024 season was going south with a 14-point second-half comeback to beat the 49ers 24-23 in Week 5.
To make the Levi’s struggles even more confusing, the 49ers are 4-2 when on the road against Arizona (3-2 in Glendale and 1-0 at Azteca Stadium). Regardless, Arizona tends to put up a fight, despite the apparent discrepancies in the two teams’ rosters over the last few seasons.
The Red Wings (WAS) got on the board early with a pair of solo shots in the top of the second inning off starter Jack Anderson. The Woo Sox got their lone run of the game in the bottom of the inning, when right fielder Karson Simas knocked in Nick Schnell with a single to center field. Anderson threw a couple of clean innings before running into trouble in the fifth, where he allowed two more runs and left trailing 4-1.
Wyatt Olds retired all four batters he faced before the game got out of hand fast. David Sandlin allowed three hits and two runs in the 7th. Noah Song started the eighth but was unable to finish it, allowing six baserunners, including a home run. It’s fair to wonder if Song is hurt or just has hit a wall at the end of the season, as he has now allowed nine runs and 12 baserunners over his last three appearances (five innings). The 28-year-old missed 2024 due to an elbow injury and has now thrown 53 innings on the season, with a 3-1 record, 4.42 ERA, and 1.47 WHIP across all levels.
The Woo Sox remarkably were only outhit 11-10, despite losing the game by nine runs. Simas, Nathan Hickey, and Corey Rosier all had two-hit efforts. Kristian Campbell had the day off.
Dean wondered what the long-term plan is with Campbell yesterday. When I look at the lifeless efforts that the Red Sox have put up at the plate over the last two weeks since Roman Anthony’s injury, I can’t help but wonder if Campbell is one of the few players in the organization who has enough upside to provide a spark to the roster. Keeping third catcher Ali Sanchez around has little benefit at this point, and every day that Wilyer Abreu is unable to return is another day that the team runs out a lineup that is simply not playoff-caliber.
With the Worcester season being the final affiliate to wrap things up this weekend, this will be my last Minor Lines of the season, and it is a pleasure writing these up every Friday. While the daily grind of watching and covering 162 needs a break for a bit, the end of the baseball season is always bittersweet. Follow me on Twitter at @BobOsgood15, or email me at redseatpodcast@gmail.com. Please reach out to me if you have any questions or just want to discuss baseball, and enjoy the minors offseason!
Amy Hunt won a superb silver medal with a coming-of-age performance in the 200m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The Briton had qualified third-quickest in a personal best time, and upgraded that to a brilliant silver as she held off defending champion Shericka Jackson by four-hundredths of a second.
The Jamaican was forced to settle for bronze behind Hunt and American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who became only the fourth woman in history to complete the 100m-200m double at a world championships.
Hunt screamed when she saw the result and burst into tears, heading to celebrate with family after winning Britain’s second medal of the championships, after Jake Wightman’s silver in the men’s 1500m.
She crossed the line in 22.14 seconds, with Jefferson-Wooden clear of her chasers in 21.68s. Britain’s other finalist, Dina Asher-Smith, came fifth.
The race required a restart after the Bahamas’ Anthonique Strachan, appearing with heavy strapping after pulling up in the semi-finals, was disqualified for a false start.
A beaming Hunt told BBC Sport: “I have not stopped smiling or crying! As soon as I saw my mum, I burst into tears.
“I knew I could do it – as long as I put in a good turn and was with them off the bend. I am so proud of myself. I just beat some amazing girls and I can’t believe it.
“Moments before the race, I just thought of my grandad. I knew he was watching over me, I knew he was going to guide me. I have a tattoo of his name on my arm.”
Asher-Smith was fastest out of the blocks in 0.147s and in bronze medal position at the halfway point behind Jefferson-Wooden and Jackson before Hunt found another gear.
Amy Hunt looks shocked after taking silver in the women’s 200 metres final in Tokyo (PA)
Hunt was part of GB’s bronze medal-winning squad in the 4x100m relay at the Paris Olympics last year and had demonstrated her potential as a junior, setting an under-18 200m world record in 2019.
But this was her maiden individual podium and an emphatic way to announce herself on the world stage.
The 23-year-old admitted that before these championships, she had fallen into quite “a few years of huge obscurity” after deciding to complete her English degree at Cambridge and recovering from major injury and surgery.
In her post-race interview, she spoke of her hopes of showing young athletes that it is possible to juggle a sporting career alongside academic excellence – in her words, being an “academic badass and athletic goddess” – saying: “I am showing you can do anything, if you set your mind to it, you can be the best at anything.”
Asher-Smith was thrilled for Hunt but a little disappointed with her race.
“Amy did incredibly, bless her,” she told the BBC. “I am a bit disappointed in my race. I could have done better with executing and I have to go away and work on that.”
No. 15 Tennessee (2-1, 0-1 SEC) will next play Saturday versus UAB (2-1, 0-1 AAC). Kickoff between the Vols and Blazers is slated for 12:45 p.m. EDT at Neyland Stadium.
SEC Network will televise the nonconference matchup with Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst) and Alyssa Lang (sideline reporter) on the call.
The Vols have won 16 nonconference regular-season games in a row, dating to a, 56-0, win over Tennessee Tech on Sept. 18, 2021. Tennessee’s last nonconference regular-season loss was to Pittsburgh on Sept. 11, 2021 at Neyland Stadium, Josh Heupel’s second game as the Vols’ head coach.
Ahead of Saturday’s matchup, Tennessee announced a game day timeline. Vol Walk will take place at 10:25 a.m. EDT.
Below is a game day timeline for Tennessee versus UAB on Saturday.
