Quick Hits

• The Timberwolves' big offseason move is the NBA's buzz of the moment: LaMelo Ball is now sharing a backcourt with Anthony Edwards, and ESPN's season preview asks whether the pairing makes Minnesota a threat in the West.
• The National League MVP race has become a two-man sprint between Shohei Ohtani and the Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong — ESPN polled actual players on who's impressed them more as the race tightens.
• College football is back: the first AP Top 25 of the season has Ohio State at No. 1 and Oregon at No. 2.
• WNBA wrap: the Lynx clinched a playoff berth (one of the first three teams in, with Las Vegas and Golden State), and Caitlin Clark (24 points) and Kelsey Mitchell (29) set a WNBA record for a duo in Indiana's 101-95 win over the Tempo.
• The Padres have new owners: the sale to Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones was unanimously approved, and they say they want to "bring a World Series championship to San Diego."

Minnesota Teams

The Wolves' whole season may hinge on one question: can flashiest-passer-in-the-league LaMelo Ball mesh with franchise cornerstone Anthony Edwards? ESPN is rolling out team-by-team previews through Sept. 18, and Minnesota's is the fit test everyone will be watching once games start in the fall.

Good news on the court right now: the Lynx are officially playoff-bound, clinching a 2026 postseason spot alongside Las Vegas and Golden State. The rest of the league is still fighting for position — ESPN's power rankings have the Liberty climbing two spots and chasing a top-four seed.

NFL

Preseason football is underway, and the headline name for Minnesota fans is an old friend: former Viking Stefon Diggs is now in Washington, where CBS notes his history of joining young quarterbacks and giving them a boost — the Commanders are betting he does the same for Jayden Daniels.

Not everyone looked good in Week 1 of the preseason. CBS tagged Shedeur Sanders, Tua Tagovailoa and Quinn Ewers among the week's quarterback disappointments.

Meanwhile, New England is trying to bounce back from its Super Bowl loss with a heavily reshaped roster and, per ESPN, a renewed focus on "identity" heading into a tougher schedule.

NBA

The league is quiet in August, but not drama-free: a report says the NBA lacks evidence that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer funneled money to Kawhi Leonard to skirt the salary cap — and the league pushed back hard, saying a Monday story on the investigation contained "numerous and significant inaccuracies."

ESPN's Zach Kram is already playing historian, crowning the defining moment of last season — with the Knicks' Finals run ("Knicks in 5?") and Bam Adebayo's 83-point game among the headline candidates.

And for the future: ESPN's panel of insiders debated which top rookie — Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa or Cameron Boozer — reaches stardom first.

WNBA update: Tuesday night belonged to Indiana — Kelsey Mitchell dropped 16 points in the first quarter alone and finished with 29 while sitting out the fourth, Caitlin Clark added 24, and the Fever beat the Tempo 101-95 while setting a duo record. Elsewhere: Golden State was picked to host the 2027 All-Star Game at the Chase Center (nicknamed "Ballhalla"), and this week's marquee matchup has Angel Reese's Atlanta Dream visiting A'ja Wilson and Las Vegas.

MLB

The NL MVP race is the baseball story: Ohtani versus Pete Crow-Armstrong ("PCA" to Cubs fans), a battle ESPN says is tightening by the day — and the players who face them both are split on who's been more impressive.

The Padres made it official with their new ownership group, who didn't waste any time setting expectations at World Series-or-bust.

One to watch: Pirates ace Paul Skenes has been scuffling, and CBS floats that Wednesday's start against Detroit could be his last of the season if things don't turn around.

College Sports

The preseason AP Top 25 dropped: Ohio State opens at No. 1, Oregon (now a Big Ten school, if you've lost track of conference realignment) at No. 2, with Georgia No. 3, Texas No. 5, and the SEC grabbing five of the top ten spots.

Fun wrinkle from CBS: defending national champion Indiana — yes, the Hoosiers won it all — isn't even in the top 12 of college football's biggest roster spenders, and neither are Alabama or Texas Tech.

The rebuilt Pac-12 is back, adding six new members around Oregon State and Washington State, and ESPN says the retooled conference is "in a tier of its own." Also worth a smile: Oregon QB Dante Moore skipped the NFL draft to chase a title, crediting less social media and more golf for his mindset.

Other Sports

Golf: England's Jack Whaley survived a nail-biter just to make match play, then ran the table to win the U.S. Amateur at storied Merion. Bryson DeChambeau, facing an uncertain LIV Golf future as a free agent, committed to Gary Player's tournament in South Africa in December.

Soccer: Barcelona signed World Cup winner Rodri from Manchester City — where he collected a Champions League, a Premier League and a Ballon d'Or — and CBS makes the case he's the missing piece to end Barça's Champions League drought.

UFC: Six fighters punched their tickets to the big show, earning contracts with spectacular finishes on Tuesday night's Dana White Contender Series.