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Good morning and happy Wednesday! Carter Bahns here as we make our way into the second half of the week. We have a lot of good baseball and some UEFA Champions League soccer to help us get through the day, and the WNBA playoffs continue tonight to put a bow on what is a pleasantly busy midweek slate across the sports world.
Here’s the rundown.
🏆 Five things to know Wednesday
Congratulations to Paige Bueckers, the WNBA Rookie of the Year. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft lived up to the hype. Bueckers received 70 of the 72 possible first-place votes with Sonia Citron taking the other two. It was a historic campaign for Bueckers, who set the Wings’ rookie scoring record with 19.2 points per game and ranked in the top 10 in the WNBA in scoring, assists and steals.
The UEFA Champions League is underway. Six matches kicked off the hunt for European glory, and Matchday 1 did not disappoint. Juventus and Borussia Dortmund played to an entertaining 4-4 draw. Real Madrid, Tottenham and Arsenal are all off to strong starts. The biggest surprise of the day? Meet Qarabağ, the Azerbaijani champions who upset Benfica for the first Champions League win in club history.
Terence Crawford earns the top spot in our boxing pound-for-pound rankings. And where else should Crawford rank after Saturday’s victory over Canelo Alvarez to become the undisputed super middleweight champion? But also find out how far Alvarez fell and who rounds out the top 10.
The injury bug bit the Buccaneers. Standout defensive lineman Calijah Kancey is reportedly feared to have a torn pectoral muscle, which would bring his season to a very premature end if further testing this week confirms the diagnosis. But that’s not all. Offensive tackle Luke Goedeke could reportedly miss multiple weeks after aggravating the foot injury that he has been dealing with early in the season.
A couple of MLB stars are on the shelf, too. Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez will miss time with a “pretty significant” ankle sprain, according to manager Joe Espada. Elsewhere in the American League, the Blue Jays ruled out shortstop Bo Bichette — MLB’s hit leader — for the rest of the regular season with the PCL sprain he sustained earlier this month.
💥 Do not miss this: Cal Raleigh makes more home run history
Records seem to fall by the day as Cal Raleigh racks up a historic home run total. The Mariners catcher smashed two round-trippers, on consecutive pitches, against the Royals on Tuesday to reach 56 on the year. In the process, he tied and then surpassed the great Mickey Mantle for the most home runs in a season by a switch-hitter.
“Big Dumper” made team history with his pair of big flies, matching Mariners legend Ken Griffey Jr. for the franchise record. He needs four across the final 11 games of the regular season to notch the 10th 60-homer season in MLB history.
Take a look at the landmark No. 56:
In the process, Seattle won its 10th consecutive game to maintain its recently acquired spot atop the AL West.
📈📉 Pete Prisco’s Week 3 NFL Power Rankings
The Chiefs are 0-2 for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era. Daniel Jones has the Colts off to a perfect start. The Steelers’ defense is in shambles. Jake Browning is the Bengals’ quarterback for the foreseeable future. What in the world is there to make of the NFL through two weeks?
Pete Prisco contextualized all of the shocking developments in his weekly NFL Power Rankings. The biggest takeaway: Kansas City is by far the best winless team in the league. See where the Chiefs rank at their early season crossroads.
As for the top five, here’s how Prisco stacked the best teams in the league:
Philadelphia Eagles (2-0): “They haven’t looked as crisp on offense the first two weeks as they did last season, but it will come. They are too talented on that side of the ball.”
Buffalo Bills (2-0): “They dominated the Jets and clearly have staked a claim as one of the best teams after two weeks. The defense impressed in beating New York.”
Green Bay Packers (2-0): “That defense is special. I loved this team to get to the Super Bowl before Micah Parsons got there, and now I love that pick even more.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0): “That was a big-time game-winning drive for Baker Mayfield with two backups on the offensive line. Two road victories to open the season has this team off to a great start.”
Baltimore Ravens (1-1): “After their tough loss to the Bills, they responded in a big way against the Browns. That’s the Ravens team we expect to see.”
🔥 NFL hot seat rankings
Two games might be a small sample size in the grand scheme of an NFL season, but it is plenty large enough to cause concern for the teams off to 0-2 starts. It has never been more important than right now for a handful of coaches to right their respective ships, as their leashes will only get shorter as the year progresses. For those who entered the season with pressure to deliver results, it may only be a matter of time before they see a pink slip on their desk.
Jeff Kerr delivered our first NFL hot seat rankings of the season and painted a bleak picture for the five coaches who must turn things around quickly. Here are the coaches on the hottest seats entering Week 3:
Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins
Brian Daboll, New York Giants
Brian Callahan, Tennessee Titans
Dave Canales, Carolina Panthers
Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
For McDaniel, who stands at 28-25 in Year 4 at the helm in Miami and has the hottest seat of them all, Kerr said his act is wearing thin.
Kerr: “He’s 8-11 over his last two seasons and has yet to win a playoff game in his four seasons in Miami. Injuries to Tua Tagovailoa have hurt his progression as a quarterback, and the Dolphins’ star players appear to be fed up with how things are going above them. The road doesn’t get any easier for the Dolphins with the Bills in Week 3, which is the definition of a must-win game. Doesn’t seem McDaniel will survive the season, but when will he be let go?”
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
Free agency rumors are flying in Philadelphia, where National League home run leader Kyle Schwarber could be on the verge of landing an extension with the Phillies.
Against all odds, the Fever won their first postseason game since 2015 with a season-saving victory over the Dream.
Justin Herbert for MVP? The Chargers quarterback is on a different level so far in 2025.
The 2026 NFL Draft could be light on elite quarterbacks, especially with Arch Manning trending downward.
Rams coach Sean McVay suffered a torn plantar fascia during the Week 2 win over Tennessee and said to expect a “cool little limp” on the sideline.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver pledged to “get to the bottom” of the Kawhi Leonard salary cap allegations.
Vikings running back Aaron Jones is headed to the injured reserve due to the hamstring injury he sustained on Sunday, according to multiple reports.
Dabo Swinney had a blunt message for the Clemson administration and his doubters amid the Tigers’ bleak start to the season.
Jedd Fisch brushed off questions about the UCLA vacancy, and Michael Vick dismissed the Virginia Tech talk.
In the aftermath of their quarterback injuries, the Bengals and Vikings will reportedly add some new backup options. Mike White and Sean Clifford are headed to the Cincinnati practice squad, while Desmond Ridder is Minnesota-bound.
The quarterback uncertainty continues at Colorado, where Deion Sanders made his pick for the Week 4 starter but did not reveal his choice.
Josh Allen will don a visor on his helmet in Week 3 after taking a blow to the nose against the Jets.
Eagles offensive lineman Jordan Mailata hears your criticism of the “Tush Push,” and it makes his “blood boil.”
Victor Wembanyama, aka “Wem-ben-yum-yum,” made an animated cameo as a basketball-playing alien in Futurama.
B1G Time! We’re looking forward to a showdown between two young standout quarterbacks in Bryce Underwood and Dylan Raiola.
One more year? Not so fast, said Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia despite his lawyers’ argument for a seventh season of eligibility.
In the wake of Sunday’s costly kickoff gaffe, the Steelers demoted Kaleb Johnson off their special teams unit.
Florida assistant coach Jabbar Juluke will serve a three-game suspension for his involvement in an altercation before the Gators’ loss at LSU.
📺 What we’re watching Wednesday
🏃 World Athletics Championships, 5:05 a.m. on USA Network
⚾ Cubs at Pirates, 12:35 p.m. on MLB Network
⚽ Olympiacos at Pafos, 12:45 p.m. on CBSSN / Paramount+
⚽ Ajax at Inter Milan, 3 p.m. on CBSSN / Paramount+
⚾ Giants at Diamondbacks, 3:40 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Guardians at Tigers, 6:40 p.m. on FS1
🏐 No. 5 Pittsburgh at No. 13 Penn State, 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network
🏀 Game 2: Mercury at Liberty, 8 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ U.S. Open Cup semifinals: Minnesota United FC at Austin FC, 8:30 p.m. on CBSSN / Paramount+
🏐 No. 9 TCU at No. 2 Texas, 9 p.m. on ESPNU
🏀 Game 2: Lynx at Valkyries, 10 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Phillies at Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. on MLB Network