MONDAY · SEPTEMBER 21, 2026 · SPORTS, IN SMALL SIPS

Ryan Blaney was out front for 202 of the 500 laps at Bristol on Saturday night, but with 41 laps left, he got hit from behind and wrecked. Afterward, he confronted the driver responsible, and Carson Hocevar responded in kind. Joey Logano, who led 93 laps and avoided trouble, ended up winning the race. What stands out is that the wreck didn’t cost Blaney much. Since NASCAR brought back the old Chase format and removed the elimination rounds, a crash like this no longer ends a driver’s season. Now, it just puts a dent in his points.

Kansas City needed overtime… to get past Indianapolis, 33-30. The Colts tied the game in the closing minutes of regulation, and both teams then traded field goals in the extra period. Harrison Butker ended it from 40 yards out with one second on the clock.

Lane Kiffin faced a tough welcome… in Oxford, where Ole Miss beat his LSU team 32-24. Ole Miss jumped out to a 24-7 lead, but LSU fought back to tie the game. Then Ole Miss scored again and chose to go for two points instead of kicking an extra point. With the playoff on the line, that call helped set up the dramatic ending. Kiffin used to coach the Rebels, and now his former defensive coordinator leads the team.

No one managed to score… a touchdown in Chicago. Minnesota won 9-3 in the rain, and every point came from a kicker. There were four field goals, no trips to the end zone, and that was the story all afternoon.

Ball control might not be the most exciting… way to win, but Notre Dame didn’t mind. They beat Michigan State 27-10 and kept the ball for 37 out of 60 minutes. The Spartans only managed 45 plays, which is about two-thirds of a typical game.

J.J. Spaun described himself as having a chip on his shoulder, and he had good reason. He finished tenth on the Presidents Cup points list this summer, but the captain still left him off the team. On Sunday, Spaun responded by winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, the DP World Tour's main event, by two shots. "I played with a huge chip on my shoulder," he said.

Manuel Elvira made things exciting by eagling the 17th hole and reaching the last needing a par to force a playoff. But he pulled his lay-up into a bunker, went long coming out, then chipped into another bunker. After missing a three-foot putt, he finished with a double bogey and tied for second. A birdie on that hole would have given him the win. Rory McIlroy birdied three of the last seven holes and ended up tied with Elvira.

In Asheville, Jacob Bridgeman began the day five shots behind the leader and shot a 61, the kind of round that wins tournaments—and it did. Bridgeman is 26, from South Carolina, and unlike Spaun, he is already on the Presidents Cup team.

On Thursday, the two players will be in very different situations when the Presidents Cup begins at Medinah, just outside Chicago. Bridgeman will be competing on the course, while Spaun will be watching from home. Team selection is always a judgment call, even if it looks like it’s just about points. This time, the decision will be judged in public, only four days after the player who was left out won a tournament.

— Landen Hull

NFL coaches rarely admit fault, so it stood out when Mike McCarthy spoke after New England beat his Steelers 20-3 and said, "Offense needs to be better. Mike McCarthy needs to be better." He referred to himself in the third person and was not downplaying his responsibility.

Aaron Rodgers broke down the numbers after the game. He was sacked four times, lost two fumbles, and the team only converted two third downs. Afterward, he said, "When they hold them to 13 points, we've got to win the game." He was right—New England's offense scored 13 points. The other seven came when a Patriots lineman forced a fumble and a teammate returned it for a touchdown.

This is the risk of signing a quarterback late in his career. You are not expecting him to get better; you are counting on the rest of the team to be ready. After two games, the team has only scored three points against an opponent that won just four games two years ago. McCarthy was right to say where the blame belongs.

Three and nothing: Brian Brobbey scored a hat trick for Sunderland, but his team still lost. Manchester City won 5-3 and now stand alone at the top of the table.

Two-sixteenth: Green Bay picked kicker Trey Smack late in the draft, and on Sunday he won the game in overtime.

Double-dipped: Stefon Diggs caught a touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels, then caught another from Marcus Mariota.

Closing shift... The final game of Week 2 features the Giants and Rams, wrapping up Monday night in Inglewood. New York won its opener with second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart, while Los Angeles lost its first game by 20 points.

Bottoms up. See you Wednesday.