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The 2026 NFL Draft began as expected, with Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza going No. 1 overall to the Raiders. Alabama's Ty Simpson was the next QB off the board, going to the Rams at No. 13 in the most surprising pick of the night.
Historic crowd: 320,000 fans were present in Pittsburgh on Thursday night, shattering the Round 1 attendance record, per the NFL. That tops the 275,000+ fans who attended in Detroit in 2024.
Big boys up front: A whopping nine offensive linemen flew off the board in Round 1, underscoring the NFL's growing need at the position. This year's draft class also lacked the usual flashy, top-tier talent at other positions.
RB1 and RB2: For the first time in the Common Draft era, the first two running backs selected (Jeremiyah Love at No. 3 and Jadarian Price at No. 32) came from the same school (Notre Dame).
Ball in the family: Jordyn Tyson (No. 8 pick by the Saints) and Jaylon Tyson (No. 20 pick by the Cavaliers in the 2024 NBA Draft) are the first siblings to be drafted in the first round of two major North American sports.
Still available: Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy (No. 16 on our Big Board), Washington WR Denzel Boston (23), Clemson EDGE T.J. Parker (24) and Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald (26) are among the best players still available.
Atlanta β "After trailing for most of Thursday's Game 3, the Knicks had a chance to win it in the closing seconds, with the ball in the hands of Jalen Brunson β their captain, their closer, last season's Clutch Player of the Year. But it's not last year." β Dan Devine, Yahoo Sports
NBA scoreboard: Hawks 109, Knicks 108 (Atlanta leads 2-1); Raptors 126, Cavaliers 104 (Cleveland leads 2-1); Timberwolves 113, Nuggets 96 (Minnesota leads 2-1)
Boston β All three road teams won on Thursday, with the Sabres taking a 2-1 series lead over the Bruins while the Hurricanes (3-0 over Senators) and Avalanche (3-0 over Kings) both inched closer to a sweep.
Chicago β The Cubs walked off the Phillies, 8-7, in extra innings on Thursday as Chicago (16-9) won its ninth straight game and Philadelphia (8-17) lost its ninth straight, both the longest active streaks in baseball.
Houston β A dog relaxes in a golf cart as grounds crew prepare the course ahead of Thursday's opening round of The Chevron Championship. Over $9 million is up for grabs in the first LPGA major of the year.
The Knicks lost, the Mets blew a four-run lead and the Jets made a questionable draft pick during a wild 4-minute span for New York sports on Thursday night.
Tabloid fodder: The Mets went on to win, the Knicks could still win the series and Kenyon Sadiq could end up being a star tight end, "but let's just say the tabloids weren't hurting for material for today's issues," writes Yahoo Sports' Jack Baer.
The NL Central is on fire to open the season, with a combined record of 73-50 on the strength of all five teams being over .500. The NL West has the second-best record (69-57), followed by the AL East (60-63), AL West (59-69), NL East (58-69) and AL Central (58-69).
Consider this: The NL Central alone has nearly as many teams over .500 (five) as the entire American League (six), and its last place team (13-11 Brewers) would be in first place in both the AL Central and AL West.
A record 216 WNBA games will be broadcast this season in the first year of the league's new 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights deal. Those games will air on ION (50), USA Network (48), Prime Video (31), ABC/ESPN (30), NBC/Peacock (22), CBS/Paramount+ (20) and NBA TV (15).
The main draws: Caitlin Clark's Fever lead the way with all 44 of their games being broadcast nationally. The Wings, led by Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, are next on that list (36), followed by the Liberty (35) and defending champion Aces (33).
That's the combined worth of the 50 most valuable soccer teams in the world, according to Sportico's latest ranking. Real Madrid are by far the richest club, at $7.7 billion, while MLS side St. Louis City FC and the Premier League's Sunderland are tied for the final slot at $675 million.
By league: The top 15 clubs are all in Europe, but MLS has the most teams in the top 50, with 18. The Premier League is a close second (16), followed by Italy's Serie A (5), Spain's LaLiga (3), Germany's Bundesliga (3), Mexico's Liga MX (2) and one each in France's Ligue 1, Portugal's Primeira Liga and the Netherlands' Eredivisie.