Sports
Boston College, Louisville try to brush off recent losses
Sep 14, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Boston College Eagles quarterback Thomas Castellanos (1) hands off to running back Kye Robichaux (5) against the Missouri Tigers during the second half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images Boston College will host Louisville in a matchup of Atlantic Coast Conference teams hoping to return to the winning track on Friday in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The Eagles (4-3, 1-2 ACC) have had peaks and valleys throughout their back-to-back losses at Virginia and Virginia Tech, including turning the ball over three times in each. In last Thursday’s game, which followed a bye week, Bill O’Brien’s team trailed 28-0 before a second-half comeback by the Thomas Castellanos-led offense fell short.
“These are tough games, right? All of them are tough,” O’Brien said. “We have to limit our mistakes. … If we can limit our turnovers, penalties, stop the run better, obviously we’ll be in these games. If we don’t, we won’t.”
The Boston College defense allowed 532 total yards last week, but this season has intercepted nine passes — one more than its total from all of last season. Cameron Martinez added to that latter total last week while posting a fumble recovery and seven tackles, including a sack and two tackles for loss.
However, the status of a defensive anchor in linebacker Kam Arnold (40 total tackles) is uncertain after he was spotted in a sling at practice earlier this week.
“I think that sling is kind of a precaution,” O’Brien said. “I’ll probably know more in a few days, but that’s probably a day-to-day deal.”
Louisville (4-3, 2-2) opens a three-game road swing after falling in a 52-45 Saturday shootout against Miami. The home loss came despite the Cardinals accounting for 400-plus yards of total offense for the fifth time this season.
“If you’re not prepared for the ups and downs going into (the season), it’s going to catch you off guard and you’re not going to be able to adjust,” Louisville coach Jeff Brohm said. “So, we talk about simple things: it’s got to be a one-game season … no matter whether we win or lose.”
Quarterback Tyler Shough was 31 of 51 for 342 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions against the Hurricanes. Ja’Corey Brooks had two scores in his third 100-yard receiving game.
The Cardinals also saw Caullin Lacy return a 100-yard kickoff for a touchdown, and they sacked Miami’s Cam Ward three times, but the flip side was allowing a season-high 538 yards.
“I just think all of us need to continue to work through some things that have not gone well, address it, work hard at improving on it because every little thing matters and we just in some of the losses we haven’t been good enough overall to get it done,” Brohm said.
–Field Level Media
Sports
2026 Rocket Classic: Preview, Props, Best Bets
Jake Knapp’s 61 in the second round in 2025 is the lowest 18-hole score in the history of the Rocket Classic. Twenty-one of the top 50 players in the FedEx Cup standings are in Detroit for this week’s Rocket Classic, which is the penultimate regular-season event before the start of the playoffs.
It’s a critical two-week stretch for those attempting to secure spots in the playoff opener. Our golf experts preview the event and provide their favorite prop picks along with best bets to win this week.
ROCKET CLASSIC
Location: Detroit, July 30-Aug. 2
Course: Detroit Golf Club (Par 70, 7,328 Yards)
Purse: $10M (Winner: $1.8M)
Defending Champion: Aldrich Potgieter
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS, Paramount+)
Streaming: Thursday-Friday: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (ESPN+)
X: @RocketClassic
PROP PICKS
–Jake Knapp Top 10 After Round 1 (+400 at BetMGM): Knapp has the ability to go very low — it’s just a matter of pegging when that’s going to happen for one of the tour’s streakier players. He closed with a 62 last week and owns the lowest 18-hole score in tournament history with his 61 in last year’s second round.
–Ben Kohles Top 20 Finish (+275 at BetRivers): Kohles has rocketed up — pun intended — to 97th in the FedEx Cup standings with four consecutive top-25 finishes. That includes a solo ninth last week and a T3 at the John Deere earlier this month.
–Hideki Matsuyama to Beat Patrick Cantlay (+105 at DraftKings): Cantlay is the -138 favorite in this tournament matchup, but has missed two of his past four cuts and hasn’t finished better than T17 in his past six starts overall. Matsuyama climbed five spots to No. 25 in the world rankings with his T3 last week — going 65-65-64 after his opening 70 — and has three consecutive top-15 finishes. He also finished T13 here last year while Cantlay was T32.
BEST BETS
–Cameron Young (+1100 at BetMGM) is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 3 and is coming off a solo second at The Open.
–Xander Schauffele (+1800) is seeking his first win of the year and doesn’t have a top-10 since the PGA Championship. He is making his event debut.
–Chris Gotterup (+1800) already owns three victories this year, including the John Deere Classic earlier this month.
–Jackson Koivun (+2000) claimed his maiden tour victory last week just 24 days after turning professional.
–Si Woo Kim (+2200) enters with consecutive top-10s, including a T6 at The Open.
–Wyndham Clark (+2200) has a pair of wins this year, including the U.S. Open. In four previous event starts he has a best finish of T8 in 2022.
–Jake Knapp (+2800) is recovered from a nagging thumb injury and has a history of going low on this course. He finished T4 last year, going 61-66-68 after opening with a 72.
NOTES
–The top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings after next week’s Wyndham Championship will qualify for the first playoff event at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Koivun is No. 70 currently, followed by Andrew Putnam, Mac Meissner, Johnny Keefer, Jason Day and Austin Smotherman.
–The Detroit Golf Club underwent a $16.1 million renovation since last year. The course will play to a par 70, down from a par 72 in previous years, with Nos. 7 and 17 now playing as par-4s.
–Rickie Fowler’s most recent PGA Tour victory came in this event three years ago.
–Brooks Koepka is making his tournament debut. His best finish in 15 starts this season was a T9 at the Cognizant Classic.
–Cam Davis (2021, ’24) is the only two-time winner in tournament history.
–Matsuyama has the longest current active streak on tour with 29 consecutive made cuts.
–Potgieter is seeking to become the first player to successfully defend his title at the event, but has missed three of his past four cuts.
–Sponsor exemptions include Good Good content creator Brad Dalke, Detroit native Joe Hooks, Alabama sophomore William Jennings and YouTube star Ryan Ruffels.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Nuggets offer Peyton Watson 5-year, $70M deal
Jan 22, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Peyton Watson (8) attempts a dunk over Washington Wizards guard Tre Johnson (12) during the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images The Denver Nuggets have offered restricted free agent Peyton Watson a five-year, $70 million contract, The Athletic reported Tuesday.
The Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers have expressed interest in acquiring the 23-year-old forward in sign-and-trade deals, per the report.
Watson averaged a career-high 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists and shot 41.1% from 3-point range in 54 games (40 starts) in 2025-26, his fourth season with the Nuggets.
He has averaged 8.7 points and 3.5 rebounds in 225 career games (64 starts) since being acquired at the 2022 NBA Draft from the Oklahoma City Thunder, who picked him 30th overall.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Draymond Green returns to Warriors on $27.7M deal
Mar 21, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) reacts to a call against the Atlanta Hawks in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Veteran forward Draymond Green has agreed to a one-year, $27.7 million contract to remain with the Golden State Warriors.
Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul confirmed the details of his client’s deal to ESPN on Tuesday. The deal does not include a no-trade clause, per ESPN.
It is just $100,000 more than the salary Green opted out of earlier this summer to give Golden State the financial flexibility to pursue LeBron James, who signed with the Philadelphia 76ers instead.
Green, 36, is a four-time All-Star and four-time champion who will be entering his 15th season with the Warriors in 2026-27. The nine-time All-Defensive team member was the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2016-17.
Green averaged 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 68 games (all starts) in 2025-26. He owns career averages of 8.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 949 games (794 starts) since Golden State drafted him in the second round in 2012.
–Field Level Media
2026 Rocket Classic: Preview, Props, Best Bets
Report: Nuggets offer Peyton Watson 5-year, $70M deal
