Quick Hits

• Vikings settle their QB battle: Minnesota named Kyler Murray its starting quarterback this week after a training-camp competition, bumping former starter J.J. McCarthy to the bench.
• The Lakers were sold: One of the NBA's flagship franchises changed hands in a deal ESPN says values the team at a staggering $12.5 billion — and the league is still processing it.
• Russell Westbrook retires: The NBA's all-time triple-doubles leader called it a career, finishing 14th on the league's all-time scoring list.
• Reds ace hurt, badly: Cincinnati pitcher Hunter Greene needs a second Tommy John elbow surgery and will miss the entire 2027 season.
• LIV Golf wobbles: The upstart golf league reportedly canceled its $40 million season-ending team championship as questions mount about its future.

Minnesota Teams

Vikings: The quarterback competition is over, and it went to Kyler Murray. J.J. McCarthy — the former starter — broke his silence Wednesday, telling ESPN the decision was "out of my control" and that he wants to remain in Minnesota. How the backup situation plays out from here is the story to watch heading into the season.

Twins: Baseball's quirkiest event returned Thursday night: the Field of Dreams Game, a real regular-season game played next to the Iowa cornfield from the 1989 movie. The Twins "hosted" the Phillies in Dyersville — the first edition in four years — with rain threatening the made-for-TV ballpark all evening.

Otherwise a quiet day in the feed for the Wolves, Wild, Lynx, United and Gophers.

NFL

Preseason football — exhibition games that don't count in the standings — is officially underway, and nobody sounds less thrilled about it than Aaron Rodgers. Now the Steelers' quarterback, Rodgers called the preseason "not real football" ahead of Pittsburgh's opener against his old team, the Packers. It's also a reunion with Mike McCarthy, his former Green Bay coach now leading the Steelers.

Elsewhere: Cardinals rookie quarterback Carson Beck (rib injury from the Hall of Fame Game, the annual preseason kickoff) sits out against the Raiders, with fellow rookie Fernando Mendoza making his debut. And from the betting desks: CBS reports bettors are backing Joe Burrow for MVP, its experts like a rumored Aaron Donald comeback as a Comeback Player of the Year value pick, and it sees the Giants' John Harbaugh–Jaxson Dart pairing as an attempt to copy the