Pac-12 conference realignment news, plus early NFL playoff worries

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Good morning! Rise like the Pac-12 today.

The Conference of Champions might have some life left.

The two-team Pac-12 is targeting Boise State , San Diego State , Fresno State and Colorado State for expansion, our Chris Vannini confirmed overnight.

The current Mountain West schools are expected to apply for membership shortly, joining Oregon State and Washington State in time for the 2026 school year and getting the league within range of the NCAA s eight-team minimum.

An official announcement could come today, per Vannini.

Read his full report for the eye-popping financial concessions this would entail, and stay tuned for more details.

Moving on: The list of athletes across major American sports with three MVP awards this century is not that long, roughly two per sport.

Aces star Aja Wilson is nearly guaranteed to join that club (shes the -10000 favorite, per BetMGM), and somehow, it doesnt feel like were talking about her enough.

Just last night, she set the WNBA single-season scoring record in a win over the Fever, the Aces 35th game, breaking Jewell Loyds mark from last season.

But the WNBA season only recently expanded to 40 games! some of you might counter.

Wilson wouldve had the record without that expansion: This is all while Las Vegas (23-13) is underperforming relative to its lofty expectations, though.

One other thought: This might also be the flipside of the Caitlin Clark effect.

Is Clark whos having an incredible rookie season overshadowing Wilsons amazing MVP run? We should discuss.

Hill calls for officer to be fired In a statement, Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill said Miami police officer Danny Torres who detained Hill outside Hard Rock Stadium before Sundays game should be fired, calling Torres actions excessive, escalating and reckless.

Torres has been placed on administrative duties while the department conducts an investigation.

This all comes after Hills arrest (and subsequent body cam footage) sparked a nationwide discussion.

See our full report .

More news Deshaun Watson will play this weekend against the Jaguars , less than a week after he was accused of sexual assault in a new lawsuit.

Shohei Ohtani hit his 47th home run of the season last night, a career high .

Three homers and two stolen bases from 50-50.

WNBA players and the WNBPA executive director criticized commissioner Cathy Engelbert for her comments earlier this week on Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese .

Full context here .

Manchester United announced a 113 million loss ($124 million) last year, despite record revenues .

Oof.

Missed this earlier this week: Kyle Larson will attempt the Indy 500/ NASCAR double again next year.

Earlier this week, we debuted a smart new feature: an NFL playoff projection simulator , which goes deeper than your normal look at a teams playoff chances.

Metrics include projected record, chance to make the postseason, Super Bowl odds and more.

Two teams I want to highlight from the full list: I encourage you to check out the full feature , which makes it easy to see your own teams advanced metrics in a neatly designed format.

Well be coming back to it plenty.

Were starting to feel the Halloween vibes, and there may be no bigger jump scare in sports right now than when you check the AL Central standings .

First four teams? Wow, a classic, competitive division led by one of the most pleasant teams in sports fun! Fifth team: Yes, thats a winning percentage in the two hundreds, and they are fifty-one point five games back in the division.

Boo, indeed.

As a reminder, after getting swept by the division-leading Guardians yesterday, Chicago is six losses shy of tying the single-season record with 15 games left .

They havent won at home in a month! We would usually suggest you keep an eye on their next stretch of games, but they play six straight against the As and Angels, so that might simply be too cruel.

(Or it might preserve a tiny bit of hope that Chicago can avoid the record.) Fittingly, Zack Meisel has a piece today that basically asks, Are White Sox fans OK? Answer: Uh ...

sort of! MLB : Red Sox at Yankees 7:15 p.m.

ET on Fox New York is clinging to the AL East lead while Boston is clinging to its wild-card hopes.

A walk-off win last night has the Red Sox four games back of a berth with 16 to go as this four-game series begins.

NFL : Bills at Dolphins 8:15 p.m.

ET on Prime Video An early test in the AFC East.

Both teams probably shouldve lost in Week 1, but found their way to victories.

Josh Allen already has a brewing MVP case (yes, an overreaction, but he was that good last week).

Stream games like these here and get tickets here .

The Athletic Football Show played Is this real? with host Robert Mays and Mike Sando, assessing Bengals panic and the Saints and Bucs offenses, among other situations.

C.J.

Stroud enters year two as a leader for the Texans .

As Zak Keefer details today, it began when Stroud was ripping the entire team after last years Week 2 loss.

It started a Texans turnaround that has them in full contender mode this year.

Great read this morning .

The vibes appear to be good in Tuscaloosa again, as Kalen DeBoer illustrated in an exclusive interview with The Athletic .

He knows it looks like he got his old band back together, but he insists he didnt plan it that way.

James Mirtle asked a simple question: How do you fix the NHLs boring regular season? Brody Miller has a fun story about a man in Mason City, Iowa, who disrupted the golf industry simply because he wanted a better bag for his toddler.

Now his garage side hustle has become a career.

Read the full story here .

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday : The story of Jason Whittle , who cant shake a silly internet rumor that overshadows his good deeds.

Most-read on the website yesterday : Mike Jones look at which 0-1 NFL teams should be worried .

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