Three of American football's young quarterbacks were hurt in two days. Every man who replaced them had been signed months earlier.

The rest of the day

33 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   Baseball's last week begins with half the field open

   Major League Baseball's regular season ends on Sunday, and 17 of the 30 clubs can still reach the playoffs. [21] The three National League division titles are settled, and three American League places are taken by Tampa Bay, Boston and New York. [21] Twelve clubs qualify in all, and the first knockout round is scheduled for 29 September to 1 October. [22] Seeding decides who plays at home, and none of that is settled. [21]

   Why it matters — A week of games that usually decide nothing will decide half the field, and the clubs already through are the ones handing out the places.

2. 03

   Atlanta take the National League East

   The Atlanta Braves needed one more win to take their division after beating the Houston Astros 6-3 on Saturday. [23] Ronald Acuna Jr hit a grand slam in the seventh inning, his 20th home run of the year. [23] The division has now been clinched. [21] It is the first season in charge for the manager Walt Weiss. [23]

   Why it matters — A division title means Atlanta skip the first knockout round, which is three games long and often ends a good season in three days.

3. 04

   Toronto's chances fall to five per cent

   The Toronto Blue Jays were two and a half games behind the last American League playoff place after Sunday's win, with six games left; by Monday one count had them three back. [24][22] Winning all six would give them a 57 per cent chance, by one published projection, but they have not won more than four in a row all year. [24] Their pitching is down to two reliable starters. [24] Their overall chance is about five per cent. [24]

   Why it matters — Toronto's season now depends on results in other stadiums, played by clubs that have already qualified. In a seven-game series the first two starting pitchers matter far more than the rest, and Toronto is down to two. [28]

4. 05

   Boston are in, and still chasing a seed

   The Boston Red Sox secured a playoff place on Sunday. [21][25] They are now chasing the second of the three wild-card places, which decides who they meet first. [25] The New York Yankees are ahead of them. [25] Tampa Bay need one win in four games against the Yankees to take the division, the top seed and a bye into the second round. [21]

   Why it matters — The higher seed hosts all three games of the first round, so even a club that has already qualified plays its last week at full strength. [22]

5. 06

   A club finishes the year with 23 players injured

   The San Francisco Giants sent the outfielder Jung Hoo Lee and the first baseman Bryce Eldridge to the injured list on Monday. [26] Of the nine players in their opening-day batting order, three have been traded and the other six are hurt. [26] They now have 23 players on that list. [26] In their place the club promoted two young players from its own minor-league teams, Bo Davidson and Marcelo Mayer. [26]

   Why it matters — Baseball's trading deadline passed in July, so a club this late in the season can only use players it already owns.

6. 07

   The dearest team and the cheapest one

   The Los Angeles Dodgers have baseball's biggest wage bill and are chasing a third title in a row. [27] The Milwaukee Brewers, who have the 19th biggest, and the Tampa Bay Rays, who have the 23rd, have been among the best clubs all season. [27] The three are ranked first, second and third in one widely read power ranking. [27] Baseball's clubs and players start bargaining over a new labour deal this winter. [27]

   Why it matters — Whoever wins in October becomes the example both sides quote when they argue about whether baseball needs a wage cap.

7. 08

   Baseball's two biggest names are hurt

   The New York Yankees' Aaron Judge, a three-time most valuable player, has a strained right calf and will stay on the injured list until the last day of the regular season at the earliest. [22] The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani is also a doubt. [22] Both clubs have already qualified for the playoffs. [22] The first knockout round is scheduled for 29 September to 1 October. [22]

   Why it matters — Both clubs can rest their stars precisely because their place is safe, which is a luxury the clubs still fighting do not have.

8. 09

   Indianapolis lose a $114m receiver

   The Indianapolis Colts expect their main receiver Alec Pierce to miss several weeks with a heel injury, and hope he returns around midseason. [29] It is the same heel that was operated on in March, and the recovery from that ran long enough to cost him training camp. [29] Pierce signed a four-year deal worth $114m in March. [29] Laquon Treadwell, already on the roster, took most of his snaps against Kansas City. [29]

   Why it matters — Experienced receivers can still be signed in September in a way quarterbacks cannot, so Indianapolis had an option that Chicago and the Giants did not.

9. 10

   A broken ankle in a contract year

   The New England Patriots' guard Mike Onwenu broke his right ankle in the first quarter against Pittsburgh. [30] He is 28 and had played 100 of the club's last 102 games. [30] In the close season he agreed to cut this year's cap charge by $7.5m in exchange for $10m more guaranteed. [30] His contract ends in March. [30]

   Why it matters — The injury will probably cost him a long contract next spring, so the guaranteed money he took in the summer is most of what he ends up with.

10. 11

    Atlanta's quarterback returns on Thursday

    Michael Penix Jr will start for the Atlanta Falcons against Green Bay on Thursday night. [31] It is his first game since he tore a knee ligament in the eleventh week of last season. [31] He was cleared for full training on 24 August and split practice with the veteran Cooper Rush, who started the first two games. [31] Atlanta have lost both, including 34-3 to Carolina. [31]

    Why it matters — Atlanta paid three quarterbacks this year and has needed all three. Cooper Rush started the first two games as the third choice. [9][31]

11. 12

    Cleveland's quarterback has his best game there

    Deshaun Watson helped the Cleveland Browns beat Tampa Bay 23-19 on Sunday. [32] It was only his second league-average game or better for Cleveland since 2023, by one measure of how much each throw is worth. [32] He missed all of last season with an Achilles tendon that tore twice, and the opener was his first game in almost 22 months. [32] He was booed by his own crowd in a warm-up game in August. [32]

    Why it matters — Cleveland have no cheap way out of Watson's contract, so the outcome the club wants is the one it got on Sunday: him playing well.

12. 13

    Southampton's coach waits for a second ruling

    Southampton's head coach Tonda Eckert is waiting to hear whether England's Football Association will punish him further for spying on three rival clubs. [33] A separate English Football League panel found in June that he had run a deliberate plan to watch Oxford United, Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough before a play-off semi-final. [33] Southampton were docked four points. [33] Without that deduction the club would be fourth rather than 13th. [33]

    Why it matters — Two bodies are judging the same acts one after the other, so a club that has already been punished cannot plan its season.

13. 14

    Half of England's clubs are for sale

    At least half the clubs in England's professional divisions are either up for sale or looking for investors, and Chelsea announced a change to its ownership structure last week. [34] Nine of the ten lawyers and advisers asked replied, and all of them said they were unusually busy. [34] Liverpool's minority investors are expected to clear the league's approval process shortly. [34]

    Why it matters — Chelsea, Liverpool and clubs far down the divisions are all raising money at the same time, which is why the advisers say they are busy. [34]

14. 15

    Chelsea have not kept a clean sheet in 21 games

    Chelsea have taken seven points from their first five Premier League matches under their new manager Xabi Alonso. [35] They have conceded 12 goals, more than any other club in the division, and have let in at least two in every game. [35] They have now gone 21 league matches without keeping the other side scoreless. [35] They lost at Brentford for the first time since 1938. [35]

    Why it matters — Chelsea spent heavily on a new centre-back and a new goalkeeper this summer, and they have still conceded more goals than anyone else.

15. 16

    A study puts the Los Angeles Games at $40.6bn

    A study says the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles could add between $20.5bn and $40.6bn to the wider region and support as many as 224,000 jobs. [36] It also forecasts $5.1bn to $5.9bn in tax revenue for national, state and local government. [36] The work was done by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation. [36] It was commissioned by LA28, the body organising the Games. [36]

    12

    0 bn dollars22.5 bn dollars45 bn dollars

    1. 1Low estimate20.5 bn dollars
    2. 2High estimate40.6 bn dollars

    Why it matters — The organisers paid for the study, and its top figure is twice its bottom one, which is a wide range to build a public argument on.

16. 17

    The 2030 Winter Games send speed skating abroad

    The International Olympic Committee confirmed the venues for the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps. [37] Ice hockey goes to the LDLC Arena next to Lyon's football stadium, and a housing project in the city's suburbs becomes the athletes' village. [37] The downhill races are in Courchevel and the slalom in Val d'Isere. [37] Long-track speed skating will be held in Heerenveen in the Netherlands, about 600 miles away. [37]

    Where the rest of the 2030 events areFrench Alps

    vsvs

    600 miles awayWhere the speed skating will be

    Why it matters — France decided it was cheaper to borrow a Dutch rink than to build one, so a home Games will send one sport out of the country.

17. 18

    A women-only athletics meeting sells out London

    Athlos, a women-only track and field competition started in New York in 2024 by the Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, held its first event outside the United States at a sold-out StoneX Stadium in London. [38] The Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and the American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson were among those racing. [38] The BBC showed it live. [38] Ohanian says he wants four to six meetings a year. [38]

    Why it matters — It is the third meeting the series has ever held, and a sold-out ground and a national broadcaster are what a new competition needs before sponsors will pay.

18. 19

    A basketball club sells out every home game again

    The Golden State Valkyries finished the season with a sold-out crowd of 18,064 and a home record of 17 wins and five losses. [39] That is 397,408 people through the doors over the year. [39] The club has now sold out every home game in both of its two seasons. [39] No club in the history of the women's league has done that. [39]

    22 of 22

    Golden State Valkyries home games this season, and how many sold out

    Why it matters — Seattle, the visitors, finished 8-34 in one of the worst seasons the club has had, and the ground was full for that game too. [39]

19. 20

    New York's basketball club overcharged for seats

    Madison Square Garden Sports stopped selling single tickets for New York Knicks games after pricing them wrongly. [40] Some upper-tier seats for the 20 October opener against Philadelphia went on sale at more than $1,000. [40] Resale seats for that game started at $1,314 on one exchange. [40] The company said it would refund anyone who overpaid and reset prices at last season's level plus an average rise of 12 per cent. [40]

    Why it matters — The club won the title last season after 53 years without one, and the resale market is what set the expectation the seller then tried to match.

20. 21

    Biathlon's president leaves after a corruption case

    Dahlin is stepping down after eight years as president of the International Biathlon Union, the body that runs the winter sport of skiing and shooting. [41] He took over after his predecessor was sentenced to three years in prison for accepting improper benefits and acting in Russia's favour, including on doping cases. [41] That man denies wrongdoing and is appealing. [41] Dahlin set up an outside review of the union's past conduct. [41]

    Why it matters — Eight years is roughly how long it takes to rebuild a sport's reputation, and the next president inherits the result rather than the crisis.

21. 22

    Football's autumn break is now 16 days

    FIFA, football's world governing body, has reshaped the international match calendar. [42] National teams used to play two matches in each of three autumn breaks; now all six are squeezed into one break of three weeks and one of two, and the September and October windows have been merged. [42][43] The current break lasts 16 days and club football resumes on 10 October. [42][43] Wrexham's manager Phil Parkinson said the extra time lets injured players recover. [42]

    Why it matters — Clubs lose their internationals for longer in one go, and the ones with no internationals get a rest their rivals do not.

22. 23

    Messi's last Argentina game is set

    Lionel Messi will play his final match for Argentina against Benin in Buenos Aires on 6 October. [43] He announced his international retirement in August. [43] He is 39 and scored eight goals with four assists at the 2026 World Cup, which Argentina lost in the final to Spain. [43] He won the World Cup in 2022 and the Copa America in 2021 and 2024. [43]

    Why it matters — A farewell fixture against a small opponent at home is a national association's way of keeping the ticket money and the goodbye in the same place.

23. 24

    The United States go out of the under-20 World Cup

    The United States were knocked out of the Under-20 Women's World Cup in the last 16, losing 5-4 on penalties to Brazil after a 1-1 draw. [44] The country has not won the tournament since 2012, across six editions. [44] Emma Hayes, who coaches the senior United States women's team, has said publicly she is worried about how young players are developed there. [44]

    Why it matters — The United States built the women's game and is now being caught, and the under-20 result is the earliest place that shows up.

24. 25

    An American club hires Chelsea's women's chief

    Bay FC, a women's club in San Jose, California, named Paul Green as its chief football officer on Monday. [45] Green spent 12 years at Chelsea as head of women's football, working alongside Emma Hayes, and the team won 19 trophies in that time, including eight league titles. [45] He will run all of the club's sporting operations. [45]

    Why it matters — American clubs are now buying English football executives rather than the other way round, which is a change in where the money and the ambition sit.

25. 26

    Hibernian sack the manager who took them to Europe

    Hibernian have dismissed David Gray, who as a player was part of the club's famous 2016 cup win at Hampden Park. [46] As manager he was the first at the club to qualify for European football in two seasons running since the early 1970s. [46] He is also the only Hibernian manager to win at Ibrox, Rangers' ground, in three seasons running. [46] The club has made a poor start this season. [46]

    Why it matters — A record like that bought him nothing once results turned, which is the going rate for a manager at a mid-sized club.

26. 27

    A town has had no swimming pool since 2023

    Campaigners protested outside the town hall in Dewsbury, in northern England, over a leisure centre that shut in 2023. [47] It closed when a weak form of concrete was found in the building, and Kirklees Council closed it permanently last year. [47] The council says it has secured 35m pounds for a replacement, but it is still in planning and may not open until around 2031. [47] Campaigners want the old building repaired as a stopgap. [47]

    Why it matters — Children in the town have no local place to learn to swim, and the gap between closing and replacing is now heading for eight years.

27. 28

    33,000 young people are on waiting lists

    The charity Youth Music says more than 33,000 young people in the United Kingdom are waiting for a place at a youth club or music project. [48] It also says 37 per cent of the organisations it funds are at risk of closing. [48] One project in Totnes went from 15 young people before the pandemic to 100 now. [48] The UK government said expanding access was a vital part of what it spends on young people. [48]

    37 of 100

    Of every 100 organisations Youth Music funds, how many say they could close

    Why it matters — Demand and supply are moving in opposite directions, so the waiting list grows even where nothing has closed yet.

28. 29

    The fourth-ranked college team is an underdog

    Ole Miss are ranked fourth in American college football after beating LSU, but bookmakers make them 3.5-point underdogs at 21st-ranked Florida on Saturday. [49] Florida's coach Jon Sumrall said he did not understand the price and praised the Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss. [49] The fitness of the Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy is unclear after he left Saturday's 32-24 win. [49]

    Why it matters — A ranking is a vote by people and a betting price is money at risk, and when they disagree it is usually the ranking that is slow.

29. 30

    A coach sends his quarterback back on for a record

    Arizona led Northern Illinois by 32 points when coach Brent Brennan put his quarterback Noah Fifita back on the field for one more pass. [50] Fifita finished with 325 yards, taking his career total to 10,017 and passing Nick Foles's school record of 10,011 set between 2009 and 2011. [50] He completed 31 of 34 throws and scored five touchdowns as Arizona won 42-17. [50]

    Why it matters — The record was six yards away and would otherwise have been broken on the road, so the coach spent one snap of risk on it.

30. 31

    Ice hockey's players are choosing where they go

    The Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill said players in North America's main ice hockey league are now able to control their own moves more than before. [52] A proposed trade that would have brought the defender Zach Werenski to Dallas, with Thomas Harley going the other way, was blocked by Werenski himself. [52] Nill said the game had changed and that it affects everybody. [52]

    Why it matters — A player with the right to refuse a move can block a trade his club has already agreed, which is what happened to Dallas. [52]

31. 32

    England recall the league's form playmaker

    Morgan Gibbs-White is back in the England squad under the manager Thomas Tuchel. [53] No midfielder in England, Spain, Italy, Germany or France has scored more league goals in 2026 than his 13. [53] Since the start of last season he has been involved in 18 league goals, the next best among his rivals for the position being 12. [53] He also creates 1.9 chances a game. [53]

    Why it matters — He did it for the weakest team of any of his rivals for the place, which is the sort of record a national coach usually discounts. [53]

32. 33

    Ireland's manager and Israel's football body trade insults

    The Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson was asked about his players' focus for two Nations League matches against Israel, on 27 September and 4 October. [54] He said Ireland were playing against Israel rather than with it. [54] Israel's football association replied on social media, accusing him of ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity. [54] The Football Association of Ireland has not responded, and protesters gathered at the team hotel on Monday. [54]

    Why it matters — The fixtures were drawn by lot and neither association chose them, so both are being asked to answer for a calendar somebody else set.

33. 34

    Maryland lose nine of their ten biggest games

    Maryland have won only one of the ten best-attended home American football games since Mike Locksley became coach in 2019. [51] That win is more than five years old. [51] The other nine were defeats, several of them heavy. [51] The university's SECU Stadium draws some of the largest crowds in its history for those fixtures. [51]

    Why it matters — The games that fill the ground are the ones against the strongest opponents, so a rising programme's best crowds are also its hardest tests.