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Happy Tuesday! Brent Brookhouse here to walk you through all the news you need to know this morning.
If the world feels a little bit upside down as you drink your coffee, maybe it's because the AFC playoff picture looks a bit wonky after three weeks of this NFL season. After all, the Ravens have joined the Chiefs as 1-2 teams after Baltimore's Monday night defeat to the Lions.
As a lifelong Bills fan, I admit to some degree of joy in seeing a path open up to home-field advantage for the playoffs. And, as all Buffalo fans know, there's no reason for us to ever be hesitant when feeling a bit of optimism.
All that aside, let's get into it and work through everything you need to know in the world of sports, from the Lions victory to a look ahead at this weekend's Ryder Cup.
🏈 Five things to know Tuesday
- Lions take down Ravens on Monday Night Football. After a disappointing showing in a Week 1 loss to the Packers, the Lions are now 2-1 and look to have worked out their offensive kinks while the Ravens now sit at a shocking 1-2 three weeks into the season. Is it an overreaction to think Baltimore is not a Super Bowl contender despite entering the season as one of the betting favorites to take home the Lombardi Trophy? We're going to take a look at all the angles from Detroit's win on Monday night.
- We're still not over the Eagles wild win over the Rams. We took a deeper look into Jordan Davis' blocked field goal and Fred Johnson's improbable move to right tackle during the game. After the dramatic win, A.J. Brown is asking the Philadelphia coaches to open up the playbook.
- One of the biggest awards in sports was handed out on Monday, as PSG's Ousmane Dembele won the Ballon d'Or. On the women's side, Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati became the first woman in history to win three straight Ballon d'Ors and just the third player of any gender to achieve the feat. It's only September, but we've taken a way too early look at the favorites to take home the award in 2026.
- A college football rankings shakeup. It was a big weekend for Oklahoma and Indiana and both teams valuted up the CBS Sports 136 rankings of every FBS team. Meanwhile, Miami now holds the No. 1 spot in the college football power rankings after a dominant win over Florida.
- Shedeur Sanders did want to avoid being a Raven. After reports that his son did not want to be drafted by the Ravens, Deion Sanders seemed to confirm the situation, saying, "How in the world can somebody fault him for saying or thinking, 'Why in the world would I go back up Lamar [Jackson] for 10 more years?'"
🏈 Do not miss this: How college football is embracing AI
AI, or at least the curiosity surrounding its potential uses, has become an unavoidable part of day-to-day life. It's not different in the sports world, as coaches, teams and leagues are always looking to gain any edge possible.
CBS Sports' Richard Johnson took a look at how AI is impacting the world of college football and found a multitude of different possibilities being explored -- and even some resistance to embracing the controversial technology. From recruiting and scouting potential for coaches to revenue analysis for athletic departments, the search is clearly on to find how AI can help programs in any possible way.
- Johnson: "AI isn't at a point where it's recruiting for your favorite team with a chatbot posing as a coach, but there are small ways people use AI. One Big Ten recruiting assistant said he uses ChatGPT to check the text messages and graphics they sent to players; another staffer says he uses it to synthesize a scouting report into a quick bulleted list to give to the coaches he works with."
It's a fascinating look at how college football is looking to utilize a technology that seems destined to be a part of the game in one way or another in the future.
🏌 Looking ahead to this weekend's Ryder Cup
The 45th edition of the Ryder Cup draws near. The biennial event is one of the biggest and most intriguing in golf. If you're unfamiliar with the event or simply want to know the full schedule, CBS Sports has you covered with all the info on the dates and formats. The United States is favored to regain the cup on home soil after Europe's win in Italy two years ago.
We also have you covered with a breakdown of both teams, with a very familiar-looking European squad taking on a new-look American team, as well as a breakdown of all 24 golfers set to compete at New York's Bethpage Black.
The United States team started practice for the event on Monday and U.S. captain Keegan Bradley said that he thinks about playing "every second."
🏆 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
- MLB may be facing a no-win situation in fan's eyes when it comes to the AL MVP. Here's what Cal Raleigh needs to do down the stretch to take the award over Aaron Judge.
- Fred VanVleet suffered a torn ACL. Now, the Rockets star could miss the entire upcoming season after signing a two-year deal to remain in Houston.
- In similar long-term injury news, Chargers running back Najee Harris will miss the remainder of the NFL season after tearing his Achilles.
- Are you looking to stir up a bit of controversy at the water cooler? How about an argument that Kobe Bryant is not a top 25 player of the 21st century?
- Nick Bosa is out for the season after suffering a torn ACL on Sunday that will require surgery. We took a look at how the 49ers' star's injury is impacting the futures market.
- A winner of more than 700 games, Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl announced his retirement on Monday, ending an 11-year run with the Tigers. Steven Pearl, Bruce's son, has been promoted to full-time head coach.
- Fernando Mendoza is suddenly a major player in the Heisman conversation after leading the Hoosiers to a dominant win over Illinois. Get up to speed on the new Heisman favorite before he potentially runs away with the award.
- Ahead of the release of The Smashing Machine, Dwayne Johnson said that he got his "bell rung" when he demanded to be punched for real for one of the climactic scenes.
- Malik Nabers is "bummed" after the Giants got off to a 0-3 start to the NFL season, saying, "How frustrated do you think? We're 0-3. We can't win a game. It's frustrating. We can't win."
- Itching for some NBA content? How about a season preview for a very intriguing Trail Blazers team?
- Syracuse wasn't particularly subtle with faking injuries against Clemson and the program has now been fined $25,000 by the ACC. Still, Syracuse got the win on Saturday, and the fine won't dampen fan enthusiasm for such a big win.
- It's time to start getting ready for the NHL season and we've got you covered with a look at potential fantasy busts for the 2025-26 season.
- The Packers' disappointing 13-10 loss to the Browns tamped down some of the excitement of Green Bay's aggressive move to land Micah Parsons ahead of the season. Parsons was clear about his feelings on the loss, saying, "It's hard as hell to win football games."
- USA Basketball women's national team has a coach set for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after Duke coach Kara Lawson was named to the role.
- Chiefs coach Andy Reid and star tight end Travis Kelce got into it during the first half of Kansas City's 22-9 win over the Giants on Sunday. Despite the visuals of their argument, Reid brushed off any concerns over the situation.
- The hits keep coming for the Gators as defensive back Dijon Johnson will undergo knee surgery to repair a meniscus injury.
- The Liberty dream of back-to-back WNBA championships came crashing down after a Game 3 loss to Phoenix. Here's what happened to take down the defending champions.
- And there was tragic news in the world of college football on Tuesday as Shawn Clark, the UCF assistant and former Appalachian State coach, died at age 50.
📺 What we're watching Tuesday
🏀 Mercury at Lynx, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Mets at Cubs, 7:40 p.m. on TBS
🏀 Fever at Aces, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN
