Warriors, Jonathan Kuminga reach contract agreement; Napheesa Collier slams WNBA commissioner

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Good morning, happy Wednesday and welcome to October! Carter Bahns here to help kick off spooky season with today’s edition of your morning newsletter.

Things are getting scary for the four teams that lost in MLB Wild Card action, as they face elimination in today’s second batch of games. It’s a frightening time to be WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who took loud criticism from one of the league’s biggest stars. The Browns’ quarterback room might be haunted with another change on the horizon.

Not everything in the sports world is spooky today, though. Let’s get started with some slightly less eerie news featuring Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors.

🏀 Five things to know Wednesday

1. Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors finally settled their contract standoff. At long last, the saga that largely defined the NBA offseason is complete. Kuminga and Golden State reportedly agreed to a two-year, $48.5 million deal with a team option for the second season. Meanwhile, coach Steve Kerr is set to enter the season on an expiring contract and will not begin negotiations with the Warriors until the campaign is done.
2. Teams made leadership changes in MLB and the WNBA. On the baseball side, manager Ron Washington and interim manager Ray Montgomery are no longer with the Angels. Washington left the team in June to undergo quadruple bypass surgery, and the Angels announced Tuesday that he will not return to the team. On the hardwood, the Wings fired coach Chris Koclanes after just one season. He went 10-34 at the helm.
3. Kirill Kaprizov became the highest-paid player in NHL history. Kaprizov and the Wild signed an eight-year, $136 million extension that is set to pay the star forward $17 million per season. It is the largest deal by total dollars in league history, outdoing the 13-year, $124 million contract Alex Ovechkin signed in 2008.
4. MLB Wild Card action is underway. The Tigers, Cubs, Red Sox and Dodgers are all in the driver’s seat of their respective Wild Card Series after their victories in the first day of the MLB postseason. Each team has a chance to clinch a berth in the Division Series on Wednesday while the Guardians, Padres, Yankees and Reds seek to force a winner-take-all Game 3.
5. The Aces are on to the WNBA Finals. And the Fever’s unlikely run fell just short. Las Vegas defeated Indiana, 107-98, in an overtime thriller in Game 5 of their semifinal series. A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young willed the Aces to the finals for the third time in four years with a combined 57 points.

🗣️ Do not miss this: Napheesa Collier blasts WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert

WNBA officials have been at the center of criticism throughout the 2025 season, but the outward frustration with league operations reached a whole new level Tuesday when Lynx star Napheesa Collier went public with her disdain for commissioner Cathy Engelbert. In a lengthy statement during her end-of-season exit interview, Collier spent four minutes bashing Engelbert over issues ranging from the aforementioned officiating issues to player compensation.

You can read Collier’s full statement here. Below is a brief excerpt.

“I’m not concerned about a fine,” Collier said. “I’m concerned about the future of our sport. At some point, everyone deserves to hear the truth from someone who I hope has earned the benefit of the doubt to fight for what is right and fair for our athletes and our fans. We have the best players in the world. We have the best fans in the world. But right now we have the worst leadership in the world.”

WNBA players stood by Collier’s side after she made her frustrations known. Angel Reese, Lexie Hull and numerous others voiced their agreement with Collier. Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve did, too, on the same day she received a $15,000 fine for last week’s outburst and critiques of WNBA officials.

📈📉 Pete Prisco’s NFL Week 5 Power Rankings

Are the Ravens really a bottom-half team in the NFL? A stunning 1-3 start and an injury to Lamar Jackson have Baltimore teetering on the brink of that status in Pete Prisco’s Week 5 power rankings. Equally as surprising in the AFC North is the Steelers’ climb to the top of the division. One month into the season, Aaron Rodgers has Pittsburgh in the driver’s seat and now inside the top 10 of the league-wide power rankings.

Those two teams are not the biggest movers in this week’s pecking order, though. That would be the Seahawks (up 10 spots to No. 6) and Commanders (down eight spots to No. 15), whose differing quarterback situations have them trending in opposite directions.

• On Seahawks: “Winning on the road at Arizona gets them to 3-1 behind a good defense and Sam Darnold playing well at quarterback. Maybe letting Geno Smith go was the right move after all.”
• On Commanders: “They need Jayden Daniels back. But the defense let them down in the loss to the Falcons.”

Here are the top 10 teams in Prisco’s latest NFL Power Rankings:

1. Eagles (previous week: 1)
2. Bills (2)
3. Lions (6)
4. Buccaneers (3)
5. Rams (10)
6. Seahawks (16)
7. Packers (5)
8. Chargers (4)
9. Steelers (18)
10. Chiefs (12)

🏆 UEFA Champions League Matchday 2 rolls on

Most of the top clubs in action in the Champions League on Tuesday took care of business. Inter Milan made a statement with a 3-0 win over Slavia Praha and looks increasingly like a contender, and each of Real Madrid, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid notched victories, to name a few of the triumphant sides. Liverpool, however, was not so fortunate. A 1-0 loss to Galatasaray was the story of the day and marked a second straight loss for Jurgen Klopp and his side.

Speaking of Chelsea, former manager Jose Mourinho — aside from the warm welcome from his old fans — had a return to Stamford Bridge to forget as his Benfica squad fell in 1-0 fashion to the Blues.

Matchday 2 continues Wednesday on Paramount+ with a slew of key matchups. Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain headline the slate in a clash of titans, even with a couple of critical players questionable to suit up, including Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé. Arsenal and Olympiacos square off in another one of Matchday 2’s highest-profile matches. Check out our predictions for these two contests and the rest of Wednesday’s fixtures.

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

📺 What we’re watching Wednesday

⚽ Copenhagen at Qarabag, 12:45 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Newcastle United at Union Saint-Gilloise, 12:45 p.m. on Paramount+
⚾ Gam 2 Tigers at Guardians, 1:08 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ Olympiacos at Arsenal, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Paris Saint-Germain at Barcelona, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ PSV Eindhoven at Bayer Leverkusenb, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Athletic Bilbao at Borussia Dortmund, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Manchester City at Monaco, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Sporting CP at Napoli, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Juventus at Villarreal, 3 p.m. on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network
⚾ Game 2: Padres at Cubs, 3:08 p.m. on ABC
⚾ Game 2: Red Sox at Yankees, 6:08 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ Nashville FC at Austin FC, 8 p.m. on CBS Sports Network/Paramount+
🏒 Preaseason: Avalanche at Golden Knights, 9 p.m. on NHL Network
⚾ Game 2: Reds at Dodgers, 9:08 p.m. on ESPN