The Kyler Murray Era Opens in Minnesota — Just as Football Season Roars Back

September 5, 2026 · 20 sources

Quick Hits

New quarterback in purple. Kyler Murray is the man in Minnesota now, and ESPN is asking the question Vikings fans have heard for decades: can he be the team's first true franchise QB since Fran Tarkenton? Big names like Moon, Culpepper, Favre and Cousins all came and went without ending the drought.
Football is back — twice. NFL Week 1 and the first full weekend of college football both arrive this weekend, with Oregon–Boise State and Ole Miss–Louisville headlining the college slate.
The NBA dropped the hammer on the Clippers. ESPN reports an enormous punishment after the Kawhi Leonard investigation, and points out the last team busted for the same offense — the 2000 Timberwolves — went nearly two decades without playoff success.
LSU benched two former NFL players for its opener. Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris sat out against Clemson while the SEC fights in federal court to keep professionals from returning to college football.
Carlos Alcaraz is back. The tennis star returned from a four-month injury layoff feeling better than expected — and says he plans to take more long breaks during the season going forward.

The Vikings' season-long storyline is set: it's Kyler Murray's team now, and ESPN has the definitive read on whether he and coach Kevin O'Connell can finally solve the franchise's decades-old quarterback problem — the one that survived Randall Cunningham-era flashes, Daunte Culpepper, Brett Favre and Kirk Cousins. The season kicks off this weekend, so we'll get our first real answer soon.
Nothing to pass along on the Twins, Timberwolves, Wild, Lynx, United or Gophers in today's batch — though Wolves fans will want to check the NBA section below for an unwelcome trip down memory lane.

Week 1 is here. If you want to sound sharp at a watch party, CBS Sports' Eric Cohen predicted the exact score of every game on the opening schedule.
The league ruled on the Patriots' viral video board trick: New England flashed disorienting "All-22" footage — a bird's-eye view showing all 22 players — on the stadium screens during opponents' field goal attempts. The NFL says it's legal, so expect more of it.
The Arizona Cardinals locked up wide receiver Michael Wilson with a massive extension, making him one of the NFL's top-paid No. 2 receivers after career-best numbers across the board in 2025.

The Clippers are in deep trouble. The NBA hit the franchise with an enormous punishment following the investigation tied to Kawhi Leonard — for "cap circumvention," which is finding sneaky ways around the salary cap, the league's limit on team spending. ESPN's grim history lesson: Minnesota was punished the same way in 2000 and then went nearly two decades without playoff success, which is the warning label attached to Steve Ballmer's team now. ESPN's Brian Windhorst's advice to the Clippers: accept the loss and move on quickly.
In basketball's other headline: WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is retiring. ESPN is weighing whether the league is better off than when she took over — and what her successor will need to bring.

The first full weekend of the season is loaded. Friday brings Miami–Stanford (yes, they're conference rivals in the ACC now). Saturday's headliners: Ole Miss–Louisville in Nashville, where the Cardinals under Jeff Brohm keep pulling off upsets of ranked teams, and Oregon hosting Boise State in a high-stakes rematch — Ducks quarterback Dante Moore skipped the NFL Draft to chase a national title, while Boise State brings a ferocious rushing game as the smaller-conference school hoping to crash the playoff again.
The strangest story of the week: LSU held ex-NFL players Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris out of its opener against Clemson while the SEC battles in federal court to enforce its ban on professionals returning to college ball. Stay tuned — this one's far from settled.
Off the field, the Big Ten says it's open to adopting the SEC's preferred scheduling standard — roughly 10 games against power-conference opponents — if that's what it takes to get a 24-team College Football Playoff approved.
North Carolina general manager Michael Lombardi, a former NFL executive and college football's highest-paid GM, resigned amid an ongoing university investigation into an HR complaint. He'd been on leave since July.
And for true-crime fans: a new Paramount+ docuseries covers the Brendan Sorsby gambling scandal at Texas Tech, the Big 12's threats, and Will Hammond taking over at quarterback.

The US Open is in full swing, and Alcaraz — back after four months away — says he'll actually schedule more breaks during the season to stay healthy. Meanwhile, ESPN published the tournament story everyone's giggling about: is the US Open the loudest and smelliest of tennis's four majors, thanks to rowdy crowds and a certain herbal aroma drifting through Arthur Ashe Stadium?
In soccer: Tottenham left Richarlison out of its Premier League squad, and Turkish club Trabzonspor is trying to sign him before the transfer deadline. In Italy, Inter host Napoli at the San Siro on Saturday in a big early test for coach Cristian Chivu and his new English signings — with a Champions League opener against Real Madrid right behind it.