Author: Michael

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When the New York Yankees decided, in essence, to run back a very familiar team they had at the end of last season, there was some unease from their passionate fanbase. After all, this was a team that was eliminated by division rival, the Toronto Blue Jays, in the ALDS and didn’t look particularly threatening. Fast forward to this season, and those same fans might be thankful for the strategy, as it has the Bronx Bombers holding the best record in the American League.

Wisconsin volleyball has announced the finishing touches on a daunting 2026 nonconference schedule.
The Badgers will finish their nonconference slate at home against Marquette on Sept. 17 and UW-Milwaukee on Sept. 18, the team announced on May 4.
That follows eight already-announced matches against a gauntlet that includes each of the other three Final Four teams from 2025 – Kentucky, Pittsburgh and Texas A&M – along with Louisville, Stanford, Florida, Auburn and Texas.
Eight of UW’s 10 nonconference opponents appeared in the 2025 NCAA tournament.

Qualifying for next season’s Champions League is now a near-impossible dream for a Chelsea side whose campaign is ending in disarray.
Monday’s 3-1 home defeat by Nottingham Forest leaves the managerless Blues ninth in the Premier League as their campaign continues to collapse.
Joao Pedro’s injury-time overhead kick did save Chelsea the humiliation of losing six matches in a row without scoring for the first time in their history, but it was scant consolation.

It’s not often that college programs get a “two for the price of one” prize during the recruiting process, but Notre Dame appears to have struck gold.
The Fighting Irish have landed four-star tight end Titus Hawk for its football team, and a proven run-producer for its baseball team in the class of 2027.
As Fighting Irish Wire covered last year, Notre Dame has been hot on Hawk’s trail for a while now, and got their man over several other blue-chip schools. Alabama, Florida, Michigan and Miami, among others, were also seriously interested in Hawk.

It may be hard to envision the Minnesota Vikings repeating their horrific offensive output in 2025. They ranked 28th in total yards and had to overhaul their entire game plan during their five-game winning streak to end the season.
But adding Kyler Murray in free agency isn’t enough to make them a top unit in the league again. They have yet to replace Jalen Nailor in free agency, and the draft focused on defense early.
That led Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report to rank the Vikings 25th in offense heading into 2026.

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Failing grades for playoff favorites?! We break down whether your favorite team is acing — or flunking — the early part of the 2026 season.

Who is rising in every major league farm system a month into the season? Kiley McDaniel digs in.

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