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Good morning and happy Wednesday, everyone! Carter Bahns here with your hump day newsletter.
We’ll take our first look at Week 2 of the NFL season today with John Breech’s score predictions, but first, there are a number of injury updates and acquisitions to address. Unfortunately, that includes an injured reserve stint for one elite tight end.
Let’s start there.
🩼 Five things to know Wednesday
- Injury updates from San Francisco. One is positive. The other, far from it. Starting with the good, 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings could play in Week 2 against the Saints after MRI scans on his shoulder came back clean. But get ready for life without George Kittle, at least for the next four games. The Niners placed the star tight end on injured reserve Tuesday due to the hamstring injury he sustained in the season opener. Kittle is first eligible to return in Week 6 against the Buccaneers.
- Bo Bichette is hurt, too. The Blue Jays shortstop is on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Sept. 7, with a left knee sprain. It is a significant blow to Toronto in the AL East hunt — they hold a modest three-game lead on the Yankees and Red Sox — given Bichette leads the majors in hits (181) and doubles (44) and is batting a sparkling .311 on the year.
- Jalen Carter gets good news and bad news. The NFL ruled that the Eagles defensive tackle must pay a $57,222 fine for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott during last week’s opener. However, he will not face a suspension as the league acknowledges his ejection from the contest as time served. He is available for Sunday’s Super Bowl rematch against the Chiefs.
- U.S. men’s national team notch much-needed win. The USMNT bounced back in the final friendly of the international break with a 2-0 shutout win over Japan, FIFA’s 17th-ranked squad. Mauricio Pochettino continues to tinker with his lineups and formations, and this one worked as the USMNT showed a hint of potential less than a year out from the World Cup.
- Josh Giddey gets paid. The Bulls and their star guard agreed to a four-year, $100 million contract extension, settling his restricted free agency. It is a near 400% raise for Giddey, who last season became one of just eight players in NBA history to average at least 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists per game.
🔔 Do not miss this: Kyle Schwarber joins the 50-homer club
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Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber became the second player this season, after Cal Raleigh, to reach 50 home runs with his seventh-inning blast against the Mets. He did it in style, too, with a 437-foot shot to center that rocketed off the bat at 110.4 mph. Take a look at the milestone round-tripper here.
Some context behind Schwarber’s 50th homer of the year:
- Schwarber is the second player in Phillies history to swat 50 homers in a season.
- He is now just eight long-balls away from matching Ryan Howard with a franchise-best 58.
- This is the 52nd 50-homer season in MLB history and the second of the year.
- No. 50 on the year was No. 334 for Schwarber’s career. And of that total, a whopping 181 came in the last four years since his arrival in Philadelphia.
☑️ Week 2 NFL picks and predictions
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John Breech looked into his crystal ball ahead of Week 2 and delivered his second batch of picks and score predictions of the NFL season. Making sense of things after some seriously surprising results in the opening week is quite the task. Are the Colts really this good? Are the Cardinals contenders in the NFC West? The answer to both of those questions is probably “no,” but that did not stop Breech from picking the Week 1 winners from improving to 2-0.
- Breech: “I don’t want to say that we were all wrong about Daniel Jones, but we might have all been wrong about Daniel Jones. You know how sometimes people are way better off after a breakup? Well, that’s Jones leaving the Giants. Apparently, all he needed was a chance to play for any team besides them.”
Need proof that our NFL expert knows his stuff? He correctly predicted that the Bills would win a wild shootout with the Ravens. Here is a peek at some other teams Breech likes in Week 2:
- Packers over Commanders, 30-27
- Ravens over Browns, 30-23
- Bengals over Jaguars, 27-20
- Eagles over Chiefs, 23-20
Take a look at the full slate of picks, both straight-up and against the spread.
🎽 2025-26 NBA uniform rankings
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The NBA season tips off next month, and some of the most popular City Edition uniform designs from the last few years are set to return for a second look. It is a major win for anyone who turned on a game and thought, “What in the world are they wearing?” With those more aesthetically pleasing jerseys back in rotation, some teams boast truly splendid ensembles for the 2025-26 campaign.
Sam Quinn tackled the meticulous task of ranking the best fits in the league. With primary attention on Association and Icon jerseys — but consideration to Statement and City Edition uniforms, too — here are his five favorite kits for the upcoming season:
- Chicago Bulls
- Boston Celtics
- San Antonio Spurs
- Charlotte Hornets
- Golden State Warriors
Don’t see your team in that elite tier? Find them in the rest of Quinn’s jersey rankings.
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
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- Court filings from Tyreek Hill’s estranged wife accuse the Dolphins star of multiple instances of domestic violence.
- Deion Sanders has not yet named his starting quarterback for the Week 3 matchup against Houston, but Ryan Staub is taking the most first-team reps for Colorado in practice.
- Angel Reese sat Tuesday’s game against the Aces with her nagging back injury.
- So much for “The Belestrator (Bill’s Version).” The U.S. Patent Office refused four of Bill Belichick’s trademark applications.
- Giants linebacker Micah McFadden will undergo foot surgery and miss a “significant part of the season.”
- Veteran defensive back Jabrill Peppers is Pittsburgh-bound. The Steelers agreed to terms with the former first-round pick after his surprise release from the Patriots this summer.
- Xander Schauffele will miss this week’s Ryder Cup tune-up at the 2025 Procore Championship to stay home with his newborn son.
- Stadium updates are on the way in the NFL and in college football. The Broncos announced a plan for a new home with a retractable roof, and it is set to open by 2031. Illinois renamed its venue (now Gies Memorial Stadium) after alumnus Larry Gies, who donated a record-setting $100 million gift to the athletic department.
- Christian Watson earned a one-year extension with the Packers amid his recovery from a torn ACL.
- Accountability! The Big 12 officiating crew that missed a rules violation in last week’s Missouri-Kansas rivalry game will not call its previously assigned Week 3 contest.
- The kicker carousel is spinning. Jake Moody lost his 49ers roster spot after missing a pair of field goals in the opener, and Eddy Piñeiro is in as a Week 2 signee. The Falcons signed John Parker Romo to their practice squad after Younghoe Koo missed what would have been a game-tying field goal.
- Ohio State coach Ryan Day is not a fan of the proposed January transfer portal window.
- Police arrested Texas Tech cornerback Amier Boyd for reckless driving after he allegedly did doughnuts in an intersection.
- USWNT midfielder Jaedyn Shaw is onto her third team in a calendar year with a trade between Gotham FC and the North Carolina Courage. Check out our trade grades.
- Iowa’s offensive woes continue as standout tight end Addison Ostrenga is now set to miss the season after an injury setback.
📺 What we’re watching Wednesday
⚾ Brewers at Rangers, 2:35 p.m. on MLB Network
🏀 Dream at Sun, 7 p.m. on WNBA League Pass
⚾ Tigers at Yankees, 7:05 p.m. on Amazon Prime
🏐 No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 9 Pittsburgh, 6:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏐 No. 2 Texas vs. No. 3 Louisville, 9 p.m. on ESPN