Sports Digest.

After Years of Saying No, Kevin Garnett's No. 21 Is Finally Going to the Rafters in Minnesota

Quick Hits

  • The Timberwolves are finally retiring Kevin Garnett's No. 21. The best player in franchise history refused the honor for years, but with new ownership in place, the ceremony is set for February.
  • A rookie did something baseball has never seen. Cardinals outfielder Joshua Báez homered in his first three major league at-bats Saturday — an MLB first — as St. Louis beat the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
  • NFL preseason Week 1 is in the books. Rams rookie quarterback Ty Simpson looked great in his debut, while Giants QB Jaxson Dart got yanked for a concussion check against the Vikings and was not happy about it.
  • The Lynx are the hottest team in the WNBA, winners of 13 of their last 14, and they faced the Las Vegas Aces on national TV as they chase the league's best record.
  • Basketball's Hall of Fame welcomed its 2026 class, headlined by Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne, with NBA names like Doc Rivers, Mike D'Antoni and Amar'e Stoudemire joining them.

Minnesota Teams

The KG news is the story of the day locally. Garnett, who played more than a decade in Minnesota and won an MVP there, had declined to have his jersey retired for years — reportedly tied to his strained relationship with the previous owner. With new ownership running the team, that's resolved, and No. 21 will go up in February.

The Vikings hosted the Giants in preseason action Saturday, and the memorable moment belonged to the other team: New York quarterback Jaxson Dart took a big hit, got sent to the sideline "blue tent" (the NFL's on-field medical checkpoint), and said afterward he was "puzzled" by the repeated concussion checks. He returned to the game and threw a touchdown, per CBS Sports.

Minnesota United drew 1-1 at Real Salt Lake Saturday night. It looked like a loss until Joaquín Pereyra equalized in the 89th minute, and goalkeeper Drake Callender kept it level with six saves.

The Lynx keep rolling. Winners of 13 of 14, they took on the Las Vegas Aces on CBS as they pursue the WNBA's No. 1 overall playoff seed — a game with real stakes in mid-August.

NFL

Preseason Week 1 delivered the usual mix of promise and struggle. CBS Sports flagged Pittsburgh's rookie quarterback as a big winner, while Tennessee's Cam Ward struggled. The standout stat line belonged to the Rams' Ty Simpson, who went 21-of-25 for 190 yards and two touchdowns against Kansas City — an encouraging debut for the second quarterback drafted this year, per ESPN.

Seattle's Devon Witherspoon is now the NFL's highest-paid cornerback, agreeing to a four-year, $132 million extension — a deal CBS notes now sets the price for New England's Christian Gonzalez.

The league handed down four suspensions before the preseason slate. The harshest went to Falcons pass rusher James Pearce Jr. (eight games). The most unusual: Titans defensive back Nazeeh Johnson got six games for a PED violation, but he says it stemmed from fertility medication he unknowingly took while he and his wife were trying to conceive.

And in the strangest story of the week: Bengals cornerback Ceyair Wright left the team mid-preseason to take a lead role in a movie. You may have seen him before — he played LeBron James' son in "Space Jam: A New Legacy."

NBA

The Hall of Fame's 2026 class was celebrated this weekend. Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne headlined a group heavy on women's basketball greats, alongside NBA figures Doc Rivers, Mike D'Antoni and Amar'e Stoudemire. D'Antoni marked the occasion with an ESPN interview full of nostalgia, calling his Lakers stint "doomed" and reflecting on "Linsanity" and his high-flying Suns teams.

Journeyman guard Dennis Schröder was traded again — from Cleveland to Charlotte — the ninth trade of his career, second-most in NBA history. CBS Sports speculates the Cavaliers made the move to clear room for something bigger.

Hall of Fame debates are already raging for active players. CBS pegs Joel Embiid and Draymond Green as first-ballot locks, with Kyrie Irving possibly waiting; ESPN lists 11 future candidates, including newly retired Russell Westbrook.

MLB

Joshua Báez's debut was genuinely historic. The Cardinals rookie, who led the minor leagues in home runs before his call-up, went deep in his first three at-bats — something no player had ever done — in a win over the Cubs. CBS is already ranking it among the best debuts in baseball history.

A cloud is gathering over the sport, though. With another MLB lockout looming, ESPN's Tim Kurkjian looked back at the 1994 strike — the one that wiped out the World Series — for lessons on what a work stoppage costs everyone.

On a lighter note: the Field of Dreams Game is coming back in 2027, with the Red Sox facing the Royals on August 12 in Dyersville, Iowa — the actual farm from the movie.

Other Sports

UFC 330 went down in Philadelphia on Saturday, headlined by Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Garry with two title fights on the card. Earlier results: hometown fighter Jeremiah Wells pulled off a massive upset with a late submission of Myktybek Orolbai (and hinted he might retire on top), while fan favorite Edson Barboza tearfully retired after a knockout loss to Esteban Ribovics.

UFC 333 is already set for October, per CBS: featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski defends against Movsar Evloev, and Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili meet for a third time.

LeBron James has a YouTube golf channel now. His first video documents a Scotland trip with his 2016 Cavaliers championship teammates — because apparently retirement boredom is real.

Sources

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