Sports Digest.

Unbeaten Vikings Take Over No. 1 in NFL Power Rankings Ahead of Showdown with Detroit

Quick Hits

  • The Vikings (7-0) are the NFL's last unbeaten team and just took over the top spot in CBS's Week 8 Power Rankings. Next up: an NFC North showdown with Detroit, and oddsmakers are finally giving Minnesota respect.
  • The Brewers are one win from a World Series title. Milwaukee beat Tampa Bay in Game 3 on Monday to go up 3-0, with young star Jackson Chourio becoming the youngest player with a four-hit World Series game since Joe Garagiola in 1946.
  • Jay-Z announced himself as the halftime headliner for Super Bowl LXI in 2027 — yes, he picked himself.
  • The WNBA Finals are going at least six games, and CBS is blasting the league for scheduling a potential deciding Game 6 as a midweek matinee — calling it "an embarrassing end to a historic season."
  • Oregon quarterback Dante Moore will miss the rest of the season after a concussion last month — notable because he passed on the 2026 NFL Draft to return to school.

Minnesota Teams

Vikings (7-0): Pete Prisco moved Minnesota to No. 1 in his CBS power rankings, and the storyline everyone's chewing on is genuinely weird: the Vikings have one of the NFL's worst offenses and a defense playing at a historically dominant level. CBS explored whether that formula can actually win a Super Bowl, pointing to the 2015 Broncos as the blueprint — while another CBS column debates whether Minnesota even chose the right quarterback. The early Week 8 betting lines show the Vikings gaining respect ahead of their division showdown with Detroit.

Timberwolves: The Wolves took on the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night as the NBA season gets rolling. We don't have the final in this batch, but CBS's projection model crunched the matchup beforehand if you want a talking point for the water cooler.

NFL

Monday Night Football closed out Week 7 with Dallas visiting an injury-ravaged Philadelphia team missing quarterback Jalen Hurts. The Cowboys came in having dropped two straight, and CBS's betting expert liked the underdog Eagles getting 4.5 points.

The league's biggest non-game news: Jay-Z announced he'll headline the Super Bowl LXI halftime show, and CBS is already guessing which guests he might bring out.

Trade season is brewing. CBS reports that with the Raiders stumbling along at 3-4, star pass rusher Maxx Crosby could become available before the Nov. 10 trade deadline — with contenders like the Bears and Bills floated as possible destinations.

Scheduling note: The NFL made a rare "double flex," tweaking its Week 9 and Week 11 slates — essentially shuffling games into better TV windows down the stretch.

NBA

The Bucks had a fun Monday. Milwaukee beat Miami — dropping the Heat to an ugly 0-4 start — then trolled the Heat postgame while also tipping their cap to their stadium neighbors, the Brewers, for their World Series win.

WNBA Finals: The Dream-Valkyries series needs at least six games, and the star power extends past the floor — ESPN flagged Zendaya and Dinah Jane among the courtside celebrities, with Angel Reese and Veronica Burton headlining on the court.

Breakout watch: ESPN's Ben Golliver picked 30 players poised to level up this season, a list spanning rookies like Cooper Flagg and established names like Tyrese Maxey and Luka Doncic.

MLB

World Series: Brewers 3, Rays 0. Desperate and down 2-0, Tampa Bay turned to former Brewer Freddy Peralta for Game 3 on Monday — and it didn't help. Chourio's four-hit night made him the youngest player with one in a World Series game since 1946, and CBS has already anointed him the face of the franchise. Milwaukee needs one more win for the championship.

NHL

The Heritage Classic — the NHL's outdoor showcase — is coming: Canadiens vs. Jets at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg. Think football-stadium hockey, snow optional.

Busy week ahead: ESPN counts 11 games on Tuesday's slate alone, headlined by Bruins-Hurricanes, with Kings-Rangers, Leafs-Flames and Red Wings-Oilers also on the docket around the league.

College Sports

Oregon's season took a hit: Quarterback Dante Moore — who skipped the NFL Draft to return to Eugene — won't play again this year after a concussion suffered against USC on Sept. 26, coach Dan Lanning confirmed.

The college football top 25 got another makeover after an upset-filled Week 8, per ESPN's latest power rankings.

Basketball is creeping back: ESPN rolled out preseason March Madness tiers covering 75 teams, from title contenders to potential Cinderellas. And yes, there's football on a Tuesday — Delaware–Western Kentucky and Sam Houston–Missouri State kick off Week 9 on CBS Sports Network.

Other Sports

Golf: Weather wiped out the final round of the Bermuda Championship, forcing a rare Monday playoff between Austin Smotherman and Seamus Power — with a U.S. Open spot and PGA Tour status on the line.

UFC 333: Champions Alexander Volkanovski and Petr Yan both defended their belts; ESPN's post-event read suggests Volkanovski might be due for a change of scenery (possibly a new weight class) and Yan another rematch.

Gymnastics: The U.S. women were edged for team gold at the world championships, but Skye Blakely and Claire Pease showed the Americans' depth — and ESPN is already asking the big question: what about Simone Biles?

Soccer: ESPN ranked every Premier League club by money spent per point — a value-for-money audit framed around Manchester City's spending — separating the smart shoppers from the wasteful.

Sources

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