Quick Hits

• The Wolves wrecked a party. Minnesota opened the NBA season Wednesday by blowing out the Heat in Miami — a brutal welcome for Giannis Antetokounmpo, the superstar who joined the Heat this offseason. His postgame takeaway, per ESPN: the new-look Heat "got to trust each other more."
• The World Series is set, and it's an underdog special: Brewers vs. Rays, two small-budget teams that win without mashing home runs. ESPN says the "small-ball" label only scratches the surface of the matchup.
• The NBA's summer of musical chairs is official. LeBron James is a 76er and opened the season Tuesday at the Knicks — who were busy raising their championship banner — while Kawhi Leonard resurfaced in Toronto.
• NFL housekeeping: The Eagles won't be punished over how they handled quarterback Jalen Hurts's blood-clot clearance, and the league says the Saints' upcoming game in Paris will proceed despite escalating protests in France.
• WNBA Finals: The series moved to Atlanta for Game 3 on Wednesday between the Valkyries and the Dream — and Enes Kanter Freedom says he was kicked out of the arena after refusing a suite.

Minnesota Teams

It's all Wolves today, and it's all good news. Minnesota is 1-0 after going into Miami and blowing out Giannis's new team in both clubs' season opener Wednesday night. Anthony Edwards and company made it a miserable debut — Giannis said the Heat need to trust each other more, and CBS's winners-and-losers column noted he "got nothing" from his new teammates and that his first Miami season "could be a bumpy one."

The bright spot locally: LaMelo Ball, the flashy playmaker now running things in Minnesota, "was up to his old tricks" in his Wolves debut, per CBS's opening-night report card. Otherwise a quiet day — nothing notable on the Vikings, Wild, Twins, or Gophers in today's stack.

NBA

• LeBron's new chapter: The Knicks opened the season by raising their championship banner against LeBron James's 76ers on Tuesday — and, in an odd twist, CBS reports oddsmakers have already tabbed LeBron's new squad as the league's biggest "title liability." (No final in our feed.)
• Other new homes, per CBS's debut grades: Kawhi Leonard made his "great escape to Toronto," and Anthony Davis — finally — actually played a game.
• WNBA Finals: The Valkyries and Atlanta Dream shifted their series to Atlanta for Game 3 on Wednesday, with Dream star Angel Reese front and center in what CBS billed as another defensive battle. Separately, Enes Kanter Freedom claims he was ejected from Game 3 after refusing a suite; he was previously tossed from a WNBA game in August amid his involvement in the debate over transgender athletes.

MLB

The World Series matchup is Milwaukee vs. Tampa Bay — the Rays clinched the American League pennant, and ESPN credits a "trust the process" organizational culture that "nobody else can match." Both teams are small-market and home-run-averse, but ESPN cautions the "small-ball World Series" narrative only tells part of the story.

NFL

Week 7 kicks into gear this weekend — here's what matters:

• The Eagles are in the clear. The NFL concluded the process of clearing Jalen Hurts (blood clots) for that Week 5 game in London was handled appropriately — no punishment — and CBS reports the players' union has responded to the ruling.
• Paris stays on schedule. The league says it's continuing with its original plans for the Saints' game in Paris and monitoring the escalating protests in France.
• Injury watch: Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was limited in practice, and Jets running back Breece Hall didn't practice at all.
• Picks and upsets: CBS's Pete Prisco likes the Patriots to upset the Bears, the Lions to edge the Packers, and the Chiefs to beat Seattle in Kenneth Walker's "revenge game" against his former team. CBS's upset alert also flags the JJ McCarthy-led Giants over the Texans and the Falcons over the 49ers.
• Deadline chatter and stock watch: With the trade deadline approaching, CBS is floating deals like Saquon Barkley to Seattle, and arguing Jonathan Taylor and Jeffery Simmons deserve shots with contenders. Meanwhile, CBS's Super Bowl stock report says Caleb Williams has the Bears back in the title mix while the Rams "devolve into disaster."

NHL

The Los Angeles Kings are the league's only winless team, and they faced Alex Ovechkin's Capitals in Washington on Tuesday trying to fix that. Elsewhere, ESPN reports fighting is trending up: 34 of the season's first 120 games have included a fight, up from 25 and 26 over the last two seasons.

College Sports

• CBS's midseason College Football Playoff tiers put Miami and Georgia at the top of the sport, with everyone else sorted by résumé and remaining schedule.
• Former Cincinnati and West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, a Hall of Famer, is living with a "progressive cognitive condition" affecting his daily life, his family announced.

Other Sports

• Champions League: Harry Kane scored a penalty and ran the show as Bayern Munich drew Arsenal — CBS's headline: he showed the Gunners exactly what they're missing at striker.
• More Champions League gloom for Manchester United, which lost 4-1 at Como, ramping up pressure on manager Michael Carrick while tiny Como keeps shining.
• UFC 333 is this weekend in Abu Dhabi, headlined by Alexander Volkanovski defending against Movsar Evloev, who finally gets his title shot after years of watching others jump the line.