v Page 495 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Books backing Bills, Eagles, Ravens as Super Bowl favorites
The Philadelphia Eagles begin the 2025 season as heavy favorites to win their season opener Thursday night, but oddsmakers see significant threats in their pursuit of back-to-back Super Bowl titles.,The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens are the co-Super Bowl favorites at +600 at DraftKings, slightl...

Mets, Reds square off in key NL wild-card battle
For much of August, the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds looked as if they would be the two teams competing for the final National League wild-card spot.,But omnipresent issues for the Mets and Reds -- as well as the presence of the surging San Francisco Giants -- means this weekend's series in Cin...

Freshman QB leads Cal into clash with Texas Southern
California football fans will get to experience a rare sight - a freshman starting quarterback - when the Golden Bears make their 2025 home debut against Texas Southern in a nonconference game Saturday afternoon in Berkeley, Calif.,Making the first season-opening start for a Cal freshman quarterback...

Wisconsin likely to turn to QB Danny O’Neil vs. Middle Tennessee
Wisconsin is expected to turn to backup quarterback Danny O'Neil when it hosts Middle Tennessee in a nonconference game Saturday in Madison, Wis.,The Badgers (1-0) opened the season with a 17-0 nonconference victory at home over Miami (Ohio) but lost starting quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. midway thr...

Michigan State faces Boston College with fresh memories of last year's collapse
Michigan State hasn't forgotten how last year's meeting with Boston College slipped away - etched in memory is the final 88 seconds, when Eagles quarterback Thomas Castellanos connected with Lewis Bond on a 42-yard strike that sealed the game.,Four turnovers and a missed opportunity to close out the...

Excitement builds for historic clash between Arkansas State, Arkansas
At long last, the two top football teams in the state of Arkansas will square off. ,Saturday's matchup between Arkansas and Arkansas State in Little Rock marks the first time the programs will play one another. ,The Razorbacks (1-0) are the heavy favorites out of the Southeastern Conference. The Red...

Rutgers aims for better defensive effort against Miami (Ohio)
Rutgers' identity, particularly under second-term head coach Greg Schiano, is to run the ball and play tough, physical defense to win its games.,Last week's 34-31 win over Ohio in the season opener was an anomaly as the Scarlet Knights scored 31 points in the first half, passed efficiently and avera...

AFC West Primer: New season, same Chiefs
A one-game margin separated the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos from the Chiefs the last time Kansas City failed to finish a season first in the AFC West. ,That Peyton Manning-led outfit ruled the roost with 12 wins in the regular season, and then Kansas City began its current nine-year ...

Colorado seeking first win of season, welcomes new FBS member Delaware
Colorado missed a chance for a significant win in its opener last weekend and now turns the page and focuses on playing Delaware on Saturday in Boulder, Colo.,Colorado (0-1) took some positives from the 27-20 home loss to Georgia Tech on Aug. 29, most notably ball security. The Buffaloes didn't comm...

Georgia Tech ready for 'big challenge' from FCS team Gardner-Webb
After picking up one of the program's biggest nonconference victories in recent history, Georgia Tech is back in Atlanta for its home opener on Saturday against FCS opponent Gardner-Webb.,Georgia Tech (1-0) went into Boulder, Colo., on Aug. 29 and earned a 27-20 win over Colorado, despite committing...

Rested Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs take aim at Nationals
The Chicago Cubs are hoping three straight days out of the lineup will bring some life back to the bat of Pete Crow-Armstrong.,Crow-Armstrong is expected to be back in center field when the Cubs (80-60) open a three-game series against the visiting Washington Nationals (56-83) on Friday afternoon.,C...

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce on engagement: 'I got one more ring'
Travis Kelce delivered his best voice impression of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and discussed being off the market as an engaged man following a light workout in Sao Paulo before the Chiefs open the season Friday night. ,Kelce said his life has changed in some ways since he began dating Taylor Swift...

Border War renewed as rivals Kansas, Missouri meet after 13 seasons
Kansas coach Lance Leipold hasn't experienced his school's rivalry game against Missouri yet, but he will in a Saturday showdown in Columbia, Mo.,The Jayhawks (2-0) and Tigers (1-0) will meet for the first time since 2011, when Missouri won 24-10 in the 110th meeting between the teams. ,Before Misso...

Wake Forest intends to improve run game vs. WCU
Wake Forest will take the win, but wouldn't mind shedding the cliffhanger finish when the Demon Deacons play the second of a four-game homestand to open the season on Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C. ,Western Carolina is next up for the Demon Deacons (1-0), who used a late third-quarter Connor Calver...

Red Sox rookie Payton Tolle draws Diamondbacks in second start
Boston rookie left-hander Payton Tolle will make his second major league start on Friday, facing the Arizona Diamondbacks on six days' rest in Phoenix.,Tolle (0-0, 3.38 ERA) gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings but did not receive a decision in his debut, a 4-2 Red Sox home loss to Pittsburgh and right...

Reports: Billionaire Koch family to buy 10 percent of Giants
The Koch family, New York billionaires, plan to buy a 10 percent stake in the Giants at a reported valuation of $10 billion for the NFL franchise, multiple media outlets reported.,The deal, first reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday night, requires approval from league owners. They could vote on the i...

Reports: Broncos OLB Nik Bonitto agrees to 4-year extension worth up to $120M
Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto has agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Denver Broncos worth up to $120 million, including $70 million guaranteed, according to multiple media reports on Thursday morning.,Bonitto, who was entering the final season of his rookie contract and due $5.3 mill...

Defenses center stage in MNF test of Bears, Vikings prized QBs
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores never met a blitz package he didn't like, the type of hyper-aggressive approach prone to leaving a young quarterback rattled. ,Like-minded Dennis Allen begins his first season calling the shots for the Chicago Bears' defense on Monday night and un...
J.J. McCarthy NFL Debut: How Kevin O’Connell Plans to Develop His Franchise QB
J.J. McCarthy makes his NFL debut with the Vikings against the Bears. Here’s how Kevin O’Connell plans to guide his rookie QB’s development....

Sluggish out of blocks, Syracuse looks to have 'fun' vs. UConn
After a humbling season opener, Syracuse coach Fran Brown said he hopes a more relaxed atmosphere will lead to better results Saturday afternoon when his team hosts UConn in non-conference action.,Coming off a 10-win season in Brown's first year on the sideline, the Orange fell behind 17-0 against t...