A banger of a tennis match got spoiled, plus key QB battles decided
Good morning! We're making changes to multiple sports today. Let's start with news, though.
Football is here, but it isn't. Games are being played, but they don't matter, not yet. We are in football season, but we aren't. All makes sense, right?
Real, live, regular-season football begins in four days when Iowa State and Kansas State play in *checks notes* college football hotspot Dublin, Ireland. The time frame means we should probably have a daily check-in of where we are for both college and NFL teams. The real stuff is so close.
A few notes from a busy day yesterday:
I also found our college football quiz on simply what happened last year to be delightful and unfortunately challenging. I got 11 of 20 questions right and I do this for a living. Maybe I shouldn't admit that.
You can beat me here. Let's keep moving:
The Cincinnati Open has existed in a strange liminal space this week. The world's best tennis players went to Ohio to play in what some want to call the fifth Grand Slam, which happens to be played a week before an actual Grand Slam, the U.S. Open.
And the tennis was good! Emphasis on 'was.' Quickly:
Carlos Alcaraz signs the camera for Jannik Sinner after he retired from their match in the Cincinnati final:
'Sorry Jannik ☹️' pic.twitter.com/EnGGBFzAYR
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 18, 2025
Let's hope these two get to play again in the real Grand Slam this weekend. Onward:
Manfred talks MLB expansion
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the league's potential expansion to 32 teams would provide an 'opportunity to geographically realign' and reduce 'wear and tear' on players from travel. The setup could also be appealing for postseason TV partners, he noted, as the format would be more conducive to having clear East Coast and West Coast broadcast slots. Read more of his comments here — and check out Stephen Nesbitt's vision for how this could look. Yes, teams will change leagues and divisions.
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When a sport is deep in its offseason, we in the media turn to arbitrary lists and opinions to drive (hopefully) thoughtful discussion about said sport. Hockey is deep into this period.
But instead of a random list or a debate over the merits of some teams or players, our hockey writers endeavored for something bigger and more fun: fixing the entire league. Bold.
I'm cherry-picking two here:
Those are only two of 20 ideas our group — Sean McIndoe, Shayna Goldman, Mark Lazerus and Rob Rossi — selected in a snake draft.
See all of them here. You can even vote on who won.
📺 LLBWS: Mexico vs. Japan
1 p.m. ET on ESPN
A day's worth of elimination games starts here and runs through the 9 p.m. window.
📺 MLB: Astros at Tigers
6:40 p.m. ET on TBS
Tarik Skubal takes the mound in a game both of these teams desperately need, particularly Houston. Detroit has had a nice few games to widen the AL Central lead to nine, while Houston has just a 1.5-game lead in the AL West. Good game.
Get tickets to games like these here.
With the help of front-office members, scouts and coaches, Mike Jones ranked the top 25 NFL players who are 25 and under entering this season. Click.
I laughed multiple times during Mike Vrabel's 'Scoop City' interview, particularly his outrage over people falsely using handicapped parking spots. Read the transcript here.
Get caught up on the WNBA landscape with Sabreena Merchant's latest power rankings. Less than a month before the playoffs start.
Ahead of Thursday's launch of ESPN's new direct-to-consumer service, Andrew Marchand has a nice feature on the big bet by chairman Jimmy Pitaro during an era of huge shifts in the media industry.
You're probably wasting your fantasy football bench. Jake Ciely explains how to remedy the biggest mistake managers make.
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Ralph Russo endeavored to answer an important question: Is Penn State football coach James Franklin overrated or underappreciated?
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Zak Keefer's interview with Andrew Luck. So good.
Most-read on the website yesterday: ☝️
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