NFL's Wild New Schedule + Preakness is Wide Open and Spieth Looks for Elusive Career Grand Slam
Plus Wembanyama enters all-time playoff company and why tennis is college sports' biggest casualty
In Today’s Issue: Jordan Spieth, Golden Tempo, Cherie DeVaux, Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards, and Patrick McEnroe.
WHAT TO READ
The 2026 NFL schedule continues the sport’s evolution to a nearly week-long event at times, opening on a Wednesday and packing the holiday calendar with a first-ever Thanksgiving Eve game, five games across four days, and a Christmas triple-header. Released last night, the slate features nine international games across four continents and seven countries, including first-time visits to Australia and France, and kicks off September 9th with a Super Bowl LX rematch between the defending champion Seahawks and the Patriots on a Wednesday. The league has aggressively packaged rivalry games and postseason rematches into “event windows” that feel closer to playoff broadcasts than regular-season inventory, while Netflix streams the inaugural Thanksgiving Eve showcase. (Rowan Fisher-Shotton, Newsweek)
The 151st Preakness Stakes will be run Saturday at Laurel Park, the first time the race has left Baltimore since 1908, after Pimlico Race Course was demolished for a $400 million reconstruction. Pimlico had hosted the Preakness continuously from 1909 through the 150th edition in 2025, and the move to Laurel is a one-year detour while the new venue is built, with the new Pimlico expected to reopen for 2027. The ownership picture is also shifting: Churchill Downs Incorporated has agreed to purchase the rights to the race for $85 million, a deal set to close after Saturday’s running. The race is wide open with Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo not competing, making it the second straight year the Derby champion skipped the Preakness. (Ross Kelly, CBS Sports)
Jordan Spieth is making his 10th attempt at the career Grand Slam at the PGA Championship, and for the first time in years, the question of whether he can finally win it feels genuinely open. CBS Sports examined why Spieth, now 32, remains golf’s most compelling needle-mover despite the inconsistency that has shadowed him for a decade: He has led strokes gained in putting, driving, and ball-striking in different weeks this season but has not been able to combine all three. His last major win came in the 2017 Open Championship, and his best result at his elusive fourth major was second back in 2015. The piece frames this week at Aronimink as both a last-best-chance narrative and a legitimate contention window given his improved form. He starts the second round in a tie for 15th at -1, two back of co-leaders Scottie Scheffler and Alex Smalley. (Patrick McDonald, CBS Sports)
Victor Wembanyama’s Game 5 performance against Minnesota put him in historic company that includes only Magic Johnson and Luka Doncic, and now the Spurs are one win away from the Western Conference Finals. The 22-year-old posted 27 points, 17 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks in the Spurs’ 126-97 win, becoming only the third player ever to record 25 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists in a playoff game. The Spurs lead the series 3-2 heading into Game 6 on Friday in Minnesota, where Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves will try to force a Game 7. (Debmallya Chakraborty, Yardbarker/Total Pro Sports)
College athletic departments are cutting tennis programs at an alarming rate as they redirect money toward the $20.5 million revenue sharing cap, with 18 schools across NCAA divisions eliminating tennis in a 10-week stretch. Arkansas, Saint Louis, Illinois State, North Dakota, and Gardner-Webb are among the programs discontinued, a wave that Patrick McEnroe called a shock given that the trend had previously been confined to lower-division schools. Since Division I revenue sharing began last year, athletic departments have redirected resources to football and basketball players, and tennis has become a target partly because of the high cost per player and the large proportion of international athletes on rosters. Sports Illustrated reports that the trend shows no signs of slowing as departments zoom past the revenue sharing threshold. (Tim Capurso, Sports Illustrated)
WHAT TO WATCH
3pm — Aston Villa vs. Liverpool on Peacock: Both Premier League clubs are likely heading to the Champions League next season, but Villa would love to steal a point here to make it even more unlikely that Bournemouth can pass them in the final two games. (Aston Villa +175, Draw +255, Liverpool +150)
7pm — Pistons vs. Cavaliers on Prime Video: Cleveland can knock out the East’s top regular season team with a home win in Game 6 after taking three straight in this series. (CLE -3.5, Total: 210.5)
9:30pm — Spurs vs. Timberwolves on Prime Video: After dropping Game 1, San Antonio has won every game in the series where Victor Wembanyama wasn’t kicked out. The Spurs can avoid a Game 7 at home with a win in Minnesota tonight. (SA -5.5, Total: 218.5)
WHAT TO TRACK
With the full NFL schedule released, Kalshi has the Rams at an 11% chance to win the Super Bowl, followed by the defending champion Seahawks (8%) and the Broncos (7%). FanDuel also has the Rams as the favorite (+700), followed by three teams at +1000: the Seahawks, Ravens and Bills.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“If you look at the stats, yeah, it’s a whack-a-mole situation. I have had weeks where I’m leading in putting, weeks where I’m leading in driving, weeks where I am leading in ball-striking, and then I just haven’t been able to put them all together.”
— Jordan Spieth describing his inconsistency as he makes his 10th attempt at the career Grand Slam at the 2026 PGA Championship.
See you on Monday,
Abe