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🏈 Good morning to all but especially to …
THE NEWLY ANNOUNCED STARTING QUARTERBACKS
There’s a saying that if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t even have one. Monday, several football teams at both the NFL and college level decided on their “one” … for now.
We start in the pros, where the Browns announced Joe Flacco as their Week 1 starter against the Bengals. It’s hard to say this was really a “battle,” though. Flacco hasn’t played in the preseason and was never really pushed for the job, even with Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, Kenny Pickett, Tyler Huntley (and Deshaun Watson, technically) on the roster.
We’ll see how long Flacco, 40, keeps this role. Cleveland will undoubtedly want to see what Sanders and Gabriel can do and, including Pickett, will likely carry four quarterbacks on its 53-man roster. I wouldn’t be surprised to see all four play at some point this season, either.
Moving to the college ranks but staying in the state of Ohio, No. 3 Ohio State announced sophomore Julian Sayin as its starting quarterback, and he’ll get quite a welcome: The Buckeyes host No. 1 Texas to open the season.
- Sayin initially joined Alabama but transferred just weeks later, after Nick Saban retired.
- The No. 20 overall recruit (and No. 3 quarterback) in the 2024 recruiting class, Sayin beat out Lincoln Kienholz and true freshman Tavien St. Clair for the job.
- Sayin played in four games last year and completed five of 12 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 24 yards.
- Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has high praise for Sayin.
Cody Nagel has more on the Buckeyes’ newest signal caller.
- Nagel: “Sayin’s consistency, command of the offense and strong performance in fall helped him emerge from arguably one of the most competitive quarterback battles in the country ahead of the 2025 season. … He’s surrounded by elite skill talent, including preseason Heisman Trophy contender Jeremiah Smith — a sophomore wideout already being mentioned in the same breath as recent Buckeye greats — as well as a deep and explosive receiving corps that remains the envy of college football.”
As for some other notable battles …
- Freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele beat out Ohio State transfer Devin Brown for the starting job at Cal, even after Brown received an NIL deal in the high six-figures, sources told CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
- Notre Dame transfer Steve Angeli won the starting job at Syracuse, which opens the season against No. 24 Tennessee.
- Speaking of the Volunteers, here’s what they’re getting in new starter Joey Aguilar.
- Notre Dame’s quarterback battle is ongoing.
We’re tracking all of the most notable quarterback battles here.
😁 Honorable mentions
😒 Not so honorable mentions
🏈 Penn State edges Ohio State in CBS Sports’ Big Ten expert picks
In case you forgot, it’s college football game week! And that means our power conference preview series is getting underway, with the Big Ten — home of each of the last two national champions — leading the way. We have expert picks for overrated and underrated teams, projected order of finish and bold predictions.
Among our nine experts, there are three different conference champs: Penn State got five votes, Ohio State got three, and Oregon snuck in with one. Those teams make up the top three of every expert except for one. Brandon Marcello has Illinois as his No. 3 finisher and names the Illini the most underrated team in the conference.
- Marcello: “Call me crazy, but Illinois might have one of the nation’s five best offensive lines in the country. Couple that with a load of returning veterans, an offense that does things differently than most in the conference and a coach who was born to win in the Big Ten, and I’ve got Illinois as perhaps the third-best team in the conference this season. The Illini were one win away from a CFP spot last season. I can see them in that spot again this year, if not better, which places them in the top 10 at the end of the season.”
As much as it pains this Northwestern alumnus, I have to admit Bret Bielema has something good going on down there in Champaign.
🏀 Aces climbing WNBA Power Rankings
It’s all coming up Aces. Las Vegas won seven straight since a 53-point loss to the Lynx sent it below .500 on the season, with playoff chances in doubt. The recent hot streak has A’ja Wilson & company flying up Jack Maloney’s WNBA Power Rankings, where they’re now No. 3.
- Maloney: “The Aces continued their remarkable late-season turnaround with three more wins this week … Most importantly, they showed they could compete with other top teams this week with victories over the Liberty and Mercury. During the winning streak, Wilson is averaging 26.1 points, 13.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.4 blocks.”
In my humble opinion, Jack’s rankings are what are most important. But the WNBA has its own standings and a playoff picture that we’re tracking every day. Here are some storylines coming down the stretch:
- Let’s start at No. 1. The Lynx are 28-5 and in first place by 6.5 games over the Dream. Minnesota is the only team that has clinched a playoff berth.
- Seeds No. 2-5 (the Dream, Liberty and Mercury and Aces) are separated by 1.5 games.
- The Storm are holding onto the No. 8 seed, with the Sparks and the Mystics both a half-game out of the final spot.
The regular season ends Sept. 11.
🏀 NBA All-Quarter Century Teams
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: The offseason is the perfect time for lists. And boy oh boy do we have a list for you: the NBA All-Quarter Century Teams. Four players earned unanimous first-team selections, but there was a really tough battle at center between Nikola Jokić and Shaquille O’Neal, as Sam Quinn explains:
- “PG: Stephen Curry — He was arguably the key catalyst for the NBA’s 3-point revolution and, aside from the small forward on this team, is the most accomplished player in the NBA today.”
- “SG: Kobe Bryant — Kobe Bryant is this century’s stylistic analogue for Michael Jordan. Though not quite as accomplished or revered, he was the clear choice for First Team shooting guard.”
- “SF: LeBron James — Four MVPs. Four championships. More points than any player in history. Fourth in assists. Fifth in triple-doubles. Among the most versatile defenders the sport has ever seen.”
- “PF: Tim Duncan — He is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time, but he was a center in college and only moved to power forward in the pros because of David Robinson. The Admiral retired in 2003, though, and Duncan proceeded to spend far more of his minutes at center.”
- “C: Nikola Jokić — Jokić’s playoff numbers are a shade better. He averaged more points (27.4 to 23.3), rebounds (12.3 to 11.9) and assists (7.6 to 2.4) while scoring a bit more efficiently and never needing to leave the floor because of his free-throw vulnerability.”
The Jokić-O’Neal battle is truly a tough one to judge, and remember that we’re only talking about their play in this century. Although even with that this is a tough one. Both bigs are two truly one-of-a-kind forces. Stepping back, this entire project is a basketball junkie’s dream.
Oh, and if that’s not enough, we also picked All-Quarter Century Defensive Teams.
📺 What we’re watching Tuesday
⚾ Little League World Series: Mexico vs. Japan, 1 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Little League World Series: Honolulu vs. Irmo (S.C.), 3 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Little League World Series: Canada vs. Caribbean, 5 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Astros at Tigers, 6:40 p.m. on TBS
🏀 Lynx at Liberty, 7 p.m. on NBA TV
⚾ Little League World Series: Bonney Lake (Wash.) vs. Sioux Falls (S.D.), 7 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Guardians at Diamondbacks or Giants at Padres, 9:40 p.m. on MLB Network
🏀 Dream at Aces, 10 p.m. on NBA TV
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