The NFL schedule drops tonight. Here's what we already know.
A Super Bowl rematch opens the season, Netflix gets the first-ever Thanksgiving Eve game, and the full 272-game slate lands at 8 p.m. ET.
In Today’s Issue: Jordan Schultz, Roger Goodell, Adam Silver, Stephen A. Smith, Ronald Acuña Jr., Jalen Williams, Ajay Mitchell, Mark Daigneault, Jared McCain, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Gabriel Landeskog, Paige Bueckers, Kirk Ferentz, and Tom Moore.
WHAT TO READ
The 2026 NFL schedule will be released at 8 p.m. ET tonight, but the leaks are already pointing to one of the most compelling openers in recent memory. NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported yesterday that Seattle will begin its title defense against New England in what would be a Super Bowl rematch to open the season. Netflix revealed the matchup for the league’s first-ever Thanksgiving Eve game: Packers at Rams. CBS Sports noted that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell didn’t finalize the schedule until Tuesday, which is one reason the leaks got off to a slow start before accelerating ahead of the full reveal. (John Breech, CBS Sports)
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has a plan to make tanking less appealing to his league’s worst teams. Silver told Stephen A. Smith that he’s bringing a proposal to team owners later this month that would flatten the odds to win the NBA Draft lottery and implement “something we’re calling draft relegation, that if you’re one of the bottom three teams in the league, you’ll actually have worse odds than teams that sort of are four through up until teams make the playoffs.” As ESPN reported, the four teams that did the best in this year’s lottery all clearly purposely lost toward the end of the season, and the league’s current fines are less than the value of adding potential top picks. (Tim Bontemps, ESPN)
The Braves are the first team in baseball to reach 30 wins after four straight victories against their top competitors for the National League pennant: the Dodgers and Cubs. Atlanta is already up nine games in their struggling division even with former NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. out with an injury since May 3rd. The surprising Rays have MLB’s second-best record to start the season, just 1.5 games behind Atlanta and two up on the Yankees in the division and league. (Paul Newberry, Associated Press)
ESPN spent seven days inside Oklahoma City’s practice facility and found a basketball operation built on obsessive consistency, which is one of the reasons why the Thunder are 8-0 to start the playoffs. After sweeping the Suns and the Lakers without Jalen Williams, who is out with a hamstring injury, OKC enters the Western Conference finals as the favorite to repeat as champions. Coach Mark Daigneault runs an operation where bench players can go from watching an entire first round to starring in the next series: Reserve Ajay Mitchell averaged 22.5 points in the Lakers series in Williams’ place and Jared McCain posted 18 points in 18 minutes in Game 2 against Los Angeles. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander told Tim Keown that the message to teammates is simple: “Treat every game like Game 7 and they’re about to beat us.” (By Tim Keown, ESPN)
Colorado’s locker room runs on camaraderie — and apparently a healthy obsession with Survivor — as the Avalanche push toward the Western Conference Final. The NHL’s best regular season team has built a team-bonding ritual around the CBS reality show, with players gathering every Thursday to watch together, a running joke that captain Gabriel Landeskog leaned into when asked about playoff preparation. Colorado has lost just one game in the postseason after sweeping the Kings in round one and beating the Wild 4-1. The “last one standing” mindset has clearly translated to the ice. (Tracey Myers, NHL.com)
WHAT TO WATCH
7pm — Canadiens vs. Sabres on TNT: Buffalo dealt Montreal its third home loss in five playoff games to tie the series at two, so the Canadiens might feel better in this Game 5 road matchup since they’ve won four of six outside of Montreal this postseason. (MTL +102, BUF -122)
8pm — Lynx vs. Wings on Prime Video: Dallas looks much more competitive in year two of the Paige Bueckers era, so much so that the Wings are actually favored against the consistently playoff-bound Lynx in the third game of the season. (DAL -3.5, Total: 177.5)
9:30pm — Golden Knights vs. Ducks on TNT: Vegas can advance in Game 6 if they can get another win in Anaheim, which the Golden Knights did to the tune of 6-2 in Game 3. (VGK -112, ANA -108)
WHAT TO TRACK
The Cavaliers can close out the series against the Pistons in Game 6 in Cleveland on Friday, and on Kalshi the four seed is heavily favored to beat the East’s regular season champ: The prediction market gives Cleveland a 74% chance to win the series.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I am grateful that a four-time Super Bowl champion will share his wisdom and perspectives with us — coaches and players.”
— Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz on bringing longtime NFL and college assistant coach Tom Moore to the Hawkeyes as a senior consultant to the head coach and offensive adviser. The 87-year-old Moore played for Iowa from 1959-1960.
See you tomorrow,
Abe