A tipping point for the WNBA? Plus, a wildly confusing baseball play

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Good morning! Watch out for the pitfalls today. Coming:

Spectra: Feelings, everywhere

Basically, the real appeal of sports is the shared emotions. Joy in success. Marvel at incredible feats of athleticism. Loss pain, either from blowing out or biting nails. Anger over a bad call. etc.

I couldn’t get that idea out of my head as I took a look at the sports landscape yesterday. Full Monday’s worth of feelings, spread across the emotional spectrum. Let’s start with the biggest speaker.

Exhaustion: WNBA
I briefly mentioned this feeling in video yesterday, but W has been the source of national conversation for the past two weeks. And as Candace Buckner wrote in a star column this morning, it becomes a source of extreme fatigue.

It’s not a simple matter either. There is a complicated and lean nuance embedded in a political struggle that seems binary in the spotlight. here is the quote:

“Sports is really supposed to be a diversion, something we think of as entertainment, a reprieve from real life, but it’s like psychological warfare just to get into the WNBA. It’s getting to the point where you have to brace yourself for an impact every time ‘WNBA’ comes up in the algorithm.”

I agree with every word Candace wrote. Make time for her column today.

Angst: The Bills
The Bills opened their new digs, Highmark Stadium, to fans over the weekend, expecting plenty of adoration. Instead, what dominated social media were photos showing poorly visible lines, small video screens and the general anger of Bills season ticket holders arriving in their new seats. The team claimed yesterday that the vitriol was simply a vocal minority of fans, which may be true. But it’s hard to get some of those images out of your mind. Check out the whole saga here.

Consolation: Matt LaFleur
The Packers head coach has had a rough year. There were calls for his job last season despite a stellar record. He also recently faced grief off the field, as the wife of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich — Kristina, a dear friend — died at just 48 years old.

In a really well done feature, LaFleur opened up to our very own Jourdan Rodrigue about the personal changes he’s gone through over the past year. He sounds like a man who knows himself better, and that certainly makes me feel good for the Packers — who have another loaded team coming into 2026 — this year.

Read that story here.

Confusion: How many cars?
For what I can only guess seemed like hours (but was actually 15-plus minutes), confusion reigned over Toronto’s Rogers Center after a scoreboard error contributed to one of the strangest series of events I can remember. Essentially, MLB hitters recorded one out as a double play, causing the scoreboard to show two outs instead of one. Players from both the Red Sox and Blue Jays proceeded as if there were two outs, which, after a routine flyout, somehow led to Boston scoring, but how it happened remains… complicated.

Our full story has an explanation of the rules. This emotion would have been much worse if Boston had won the game.

Let’s move on:

News you need to know

David Salazar / AFP via Getty Images

Infantino still under fire
Despite FIFA reaffirming its support for president Gianni Infantino, the three major member leagues – UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation – remain steadfast in calling for Infantino’s resignation. The trio issued a joint letter yesterday criticizing both Infantino’s original blunder, the failed FIFA Forward Enterprise plan, and Infantino’s subsequent face-saving moves. I wonder how long this has been going on. Read our full update.

USA Swimming’s CFO arrested
Police have arrested Cory Hilliard, the current CFO of USA Swimming, for embezzling nearly $10,000 while Hilliard was working for the University of Colorado. USA Swimming then placed Hilliard on leave. This is the second recruiting scandal for USA Swimming in two years. Read our full story.

More news:

• Head offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy returned to training camp after a two-week absence following a shooting at his home that injured his wife. More here.
  
• I’m coming to NFL on the side this fall: official challenge flag throwers.
  
• Cade Mays Lions Center hurt his wrist in camp and could miss eight to 10 weeks. That’s a huge blow.
  
• meanwhile, He carries wide receiver Luther Burden III is expected to miss the preseason with a groin injury. Uh oh.
  
• The Citizens promoted one of his own top pitching prospects just in time for a possible playoff run. Read more at Jackson Kent here.
  
• Tim Andersonwho won a title and won two All-Star awards while playing for the White Sox, retired yesterday at 33
  
• Unique card case signed Michael Jordan sold for $1.48 million. See here.
  
• Jonah Koech, hopes to run for the US at 2028 Olympics, accepted a three-year ban for blood dopingwhich ends that hope. More details inside.

📰 Find more news here 24/7.

Oh no: Ecstasy, agony and trap

If you’re on any sports social network, you’ve probably seen a video of a Brazilian soccer player embarking on one of the most memorable and darkly funny celebrations we’ve seen. Here’s a clip, with an edit made by his team:

Jacy, don’t go! 😭 pic.twitter.com/D15sptguAm

— Coritiba (@Coritiba) August 9, 2026

It’s Coritiba defender Jacy Maranhao skipping some commercials on the pitch to celebrate his rare goal… and falling straight into the hole. In the process, he injured his ankle, although he said after the game that he was fine.

The worst part? The goal is disallowed. Read our full report on it.

Viewing Guide

📺 MLB: Mariners at Yankees
7:05 PM ET on TBS
New York is in a luxurious but unenviable spot: really good at baseball, 14 games over .500, still well out of the AL East lead, but well ahead of anyone else in the AL standings. The club needs bats to wake up.

📺 WNBA: Freedom in a fever
7:30 PM ET on ESPN
Two star-studded playoff teams should be good enough for Tuesday’s televised cards. But add crowd outside the fieldand makes for must-see TV, for better or for worse.

📺 League Cup: FC Juárez at Real Salt Lake
9:30pm ET on Apple TV
Juarez is tied atop Liga MX in the League Cup standings, while Salt Lake is lower in the MLS standings without yet being eliminated. We still have a few days of matches before the first stage ends and the knockout group is decided. Get involved.

Pulse Picks

F1 drivers they’re getting a well-deserved break, which is the perfect time to rank them again. It’s wild how much better a a teenager is of all others at present.

Here they are fantasy football players avoid in this year’s draft cycle. Essential reading.

The key to Sonny Gray’s great year in Boston? The little black book.

What if Congress I can’t save college sports? Time for plan B, right? As Stewart Mandel writes, there is no plan B.

I loved this story Middlesbroughsecond division English club with three USMNT players who now share a house. They hope the next stop is the Premier League.

Most clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Teddy Bridgewater’s departure from lions.

Most read on the website yesterday: List of freaks in college football.