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Happy Tuesday! Brent Brookhouse here to take you through all the sports news you need to know to get your day going and prep you for a shockingly big day of live sports.
While the “Monday Night Football” doubleheader ended another week of football action in the college and pros, Tuesday brings the start of the MLB playoffs, a massive Game 5 to determine a WNBA finalist and the start of the second week of Champions League action. So have a cup of coffee and start thinking about lunch and dinner options because you can be strapped in for nearly a full day of meaningful sports action.
Before the games begin, let’s get you up to speed on all the news you need to know.
🏈 Five things to know Tuesday
- Star Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is out with a gruesome knee injury. Hill went down during “Monday Night Football” showdown with the Jets. While Miami picked up the team’s first win of the season — more on that later — Hill going down with a knee dislocation puts the already struggling Dolphins in a bad situation moving forward. To his credit, Hill is reportedly in good spirits after being taken to the hospital.
- Paramount+ will be the home of the new Zuffa Boxing promotion starting in 2026. Dana White claimed the 12 annual Zuffa Boxing events will be “destination TV.”
- The Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever will play a Game 5 to determine who advances to the WNBA Finals. We will have you covered with all the info you need to know ahead of Tuesday’s game, along with a prediction for who will move one step closer to a championship. On the other side of the bracket, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve missed the Game 4 loss that sent the Phoenix Mercury to the finals. Reeve had plenty to say about the WNBA’s officiating issues.
- European golfers faced a near-constant onslaught of verbal abuse on their way to winning the Ryder Cup. “I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf,” Rory McIlroy said of the situation. Former United States Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson agreed with McIlroy’s take, apologizing for the American crowd.
- Oregon and Ole Miss climb in polls. After a titanic weekend of high-profile college football matchups, there has been plenty of movement in the rankings. Oregon is all the way up to No. 2 in the CBS Sports 136, a ranking of every FBS team. The Ducks are also No. 2 in the College Football Power Rankings, though Ole Miss are one of the biggest risers, jumping eight spots to No. 4 after taking down LSU.
⚾ Do not miss this: The MLB playoffs are upon us
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The MLB playoffs get underway on Tuesday with four games on the schedule. The first game starts at 1 p.m. ET, with the Guardians hosting the Tigers after Cleveland’s ferocious late-season comeback to steal the AL Central from Detroit. While there is plenty of intrigue in that clash, much attention will be on the 6 p.m. battle between historic rivals when the Yankees welcome the Red Sox to New York.
Shohei Ohtani starting and closing a game for the Dodgers and Aaron Judge setting an American League record for intentional walks in a single postseason are among our bold predictions for the MLB playoffs. We also have eight picks for players who may see breakout moments during the playoffs.
Matt Snyder took a look at the offenses of each playoff team to rank them, with Cleveland’s small-ball approach ranking last, and the Yankees — by benefit of having Judge — at No. 1.
- Snyder: “While some other playoff teams are missing a superstar centerpiece, the Yankees have the best one. Yes, I’m declaring Aaron Judge the best hitter in baseball, with all due respect to Ohtani and what Raleigh has done this year. Judge led the majors in batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.457) and slugging percentage (.688). He homered 53 times, drove home 114 and scored 137 runs.
It isn’t just Judge, though. Cody Bellinger had a big year. Trent Grisham had probably the most unlikely breakout season of anyone, finishing with 34 home runs. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was a 30-30 guy. Ben Rice and Austin Wells both topped 20 home runs. And a now-healthy Giancarlo Stanton hit .273/.350/.594 with 24 home runs and 66 RBI in only 77 games.”
One team not in the conversation is the Mets, after the team suffered a brutal collapse and missed the playoffs entirely. Owner Steve Cohen called the result “unacceptable,” but the team chose to retain manager Carlos Mendoza for 2026.
🏈 Dolphins, Broncos pick up Monday Night Football wins
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The Jets outgained the Dolphins by more than 100 yards and averaged 7.1 yards per play to Miami’s 5.4, but it was the Dolphins who picked up the win in a battle of teams who entered “Monday Night Football” 0-3. The difference came down to turnovers (and the Jets committing 13 penalties for 101 yards), with New York losing three fumbles in the game, leading to a 27-21 loss in an otherwise winnable game. Miami now has a chance to enjoy picking up their first win of the season, but likely will have to figure out how to navigate the rest of the year after the aforementioned injury to Hill.
In the other “MNF” game, the Joe Burrow-less Bengals managed just a field goal in a 28-3 road game loss to the Broncos. Our Tyler Sullivan said Cincinnati’s issues run deeper than Burrow being sidelined by injury.
- Sullivan: “The conversation around Cincinnati’s offensive struggles will naturally gravitate toward the quarterback position. And while that’s certainly part of the problem, it goes deeper than Jake Browning. The Bengals repeatedly shot themselves in the foot with mistakes that had little to do with QB play. They committed 11 accepted penalties — six on offense (mostly on the offensive line), one on defense and four on special teams. That’s undisciplined football, and it falls squarely on coach Zac Taylor. On top of that, the defense couldn’t get off the field, allowing Denver to rack up 512 yards of total offense. The issues extend well beyond the deficiencies under center.”
⚽ Week 2 of the Champions League starts Tuesday
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The world’s biggest annual soccer competition resumes play with nine matches on Tuesday, all streaming live on Paramount+. Some titans of the sport will be in action, including Real Madrid, Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern Munich. The action will continue on Wednesday, which includes a massive showdown between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
Ahead of the start of Tuesday’s action, you can check out our Champions League burning questions as well as a look at our predictions and our picks for best bets.
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
- Monday was media day for most NBA teams, which meant we got some intriguing quotes from the likes of Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and others. By the way, Victor Wembanyama somehow grew another inch during the NBA offseason.
- As feared, Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers‘ injury was confirmed to be a torn ACL. We took a look at what the Giants’ options are moving forward, while Odell Beckham Jr. ripped the MetLife Stadium turf’s impact on the injury.
- Ravens coach John Harbaugh rejected the idea that Lamar Jackson could have re-entered the team’s loss to the Chiefs on Sunday. Meanwhile, Tony Romo said he is “extremely concerned” about Jackson’s hamstring injury.
- The beef between Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Micah Parsons is not finished. After the Cowboys game with Parsons’ new team, the Packers, ended in a dramatic 40-40 tie, Jones said he viewed quarterback Dak Prescott as “indispensable,” while Parsons was not. For his part, Parsons admitted to being “disappointed” at the result of Sunday night’s game.
- Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton‘s dog died after a battle with pneumonia.
- New York Giants president and co-owner John Mara put out a statement on Monday announcing a cancer diagnosis, though he said that he’s “feeling strong and optimistic.”
- The Giants were enjoying a 21-18 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, and they enjoyed a very different-looking offense with Jaxson Dart under center.
- As we continue to take a look at the upcoming NBA season, we have released our season preview for the Toronto Raptors.
- Three new MLB managerial positions are open after the San Francisco Giants parted ways with Bob Melvin, the Twins fired Rocco Baldelli and the Rangers decided to move on from Bruce Bochy.
- The Browns may have landed a starting offensive lineman after a trade with the Texans for tackle Cam Robinson.
- As the dominoes continue to fall after Arkansas fired coach Sam Pittman, interim coach Bobby Petrino fired defensive coordinator Travis Williams.
- 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy‘s status for Week 5 is up in the air after feeling toe soreness after the team’s loss to the Jaguars.
- The 2025 MLB regular season saw no pitcher manage to throw a no-hitter. This is unlikely to be the new norm, and rather a one-off fluke season.
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📺 What we’re watching Tuesday
⚽ Club Brugge at Atalanta, 12:45 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Real Madrid at Kairat Almaty, 12:45 p.m. on Paramount+
⚾ Game 1: Tigers at Guardians, 1 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Game 1: Padres at Cubs, 3 p.m. on ABC
⚽ Eintracht Frankfurt at Atletico Madrid, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Tottenham Hotspur at Bodo/Glim, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Benfica at Chelsea, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Liverpool at Galatasaray, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Slavia Prague at Internazionale, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Ajax Amsterdam at Marseille, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Bayern Munich at Pafos, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚾ Game 1: Red Sox at Yankees, 6 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Game 1: Reds at Dodgers, 9 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Game 5: Fever at Aces, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2