This is the editorial version of our CBS Sports HQ AM newsletter, your ultimate guide to daily sports – sign up here to receive it in your inbox every weekday morning.
If you would like to subscribe please tick the opt-in box.
Thank you for subscribing!
Keep an eye on your inbox.
sorry!
An error occurred while processing the subscription.
Something shocking happened overnight. The Pac-12 Attempting to revive/survive According to CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcelo, the current “Pac-2” teams, Oregon State and Washington State, will be joined by Mountain West schools Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State and Fresno State. Click here for more detailsHow much will it cost, which school will I go to next, etc.
🏀 Good morning everyone. Especially…
Aja Wilson
The greatest scoring season in WNBA history is here. It belongs to A’ja Wilson. Ace Superstar Passed Jewell Loyd on Wednesday broke last season’s single-season record of 939 points. He scored 941 points this season with mid-range jump shots..
Wilson scored 27 points, giving her 956 points for the year, as the Aces defeated the Fever, 86-75. (She is also the first WNBA player to win a NBA title.) Earn 1,000 points in one season.
For those of you who believe points per game determines the true scorer, I agree, and Wilson is edging closer to that mark. With four games left in the season, Wilson is averaging 27.3 points, well above the 25.3 that Diana Taurasi averaged in 2006.
👍 Honorable Mention
👎 Not so honorable mentions
🏈 NFL and college football QB power rankings
With NFL and college football season underway, we can now release our power rankings of the professional quarterbacks of today and the future. Cody Benjamin’s NFL QB Power RankingsThe top three remain unchanged.
Patrick Mahomes (Previous: 1) Josh Allen (2) Lamar Jackson (3) CJ Stroud (5) Brock Purdy (6)
Joe Burrow, like his team, was one of the most disappointing performers in Week 1, dropping from 4th to 11th. Burrow has a tendency to get off to a slow start, so for my fantasy team, let’s hope he continues his tradition of playing better as the season progresses. Derek Carr (28th to 19th) made the biggest jump of any player, but we’ll see how he performs against teams other than the Panthers after Week 3. In case you were wondering, Carolina’s Bryce Young isn’t 32nd. But he is close.
In college football, Quinn Ewers, the quarterback of one of the most impressive offensive lines in the country, takes the top spot. Tom Fornelli ranking.
Quinn Ewers (previously: 5)Carson Beck (1)Cam Ward (2)Jalen Milroe (3)Nico Iamareva (6)
And what about this veteran player rising from unranked to seventh in a new environment?
Fornelli: “7. Kyle McCord, Syracuse University — It’s good when things work out for both sides. Ohio State is happy with their selection of Will Howard, and McCord is thriving at Syracuse. McCord threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns to lead Orange to an upset home win over Georgia Tech. This comes after McCord threw four touchdown passes in the season opener against Ohio State. (Did they add the word “State” for motivation?)”
Syracuse has already recorded as many wins against AP-ranked teams this season (1-0) as it did from 2019-2023 (1-12).
🏀 The biggest questions for NBA teams
We’re two weeks away from the first NBA teams assembling for training camp. All teams will be in place by the end of this month. The final few weeks of the offseason have been relatively quiet, but we’re slowly but surely getting back into basketball mode. Jasmyn Wimbish’s excellent “Biggest Questions for Every Team” series, organized by division, is a great place to start.
The Celtics and Nuggets are reporting early for their preseason games in Abu Dhabi, so let’s start with one of them. Despite reaching a title and a conference final the past two seasons, the Nuggets have real questions. Their 2024 first-round draft pick, Darron Holmes, Ruptured Achilles tendonKentavious Caldwell-Pope left the team as a free agent. Their biggest question:
Wimbish: “Is Christian Braun ready? The Nuggets can’t afford to wait for Braun to develop. The opportunity to win a championship is now, Nikola Jokic is in top form and most of the 2023 championship roster is still in place. It’s not unreasonable to think Braun can be up to the task, but it’s too much to ask of a third-year player who is expected to play high-level defense and make and shoot high percentages from three-point range.”
If it’s not Brown, someone else has to step up. The divisions are as follows:
Atlantic Ocean (Celtics, Knicks, 76ers, Nets, Raptors)Center (Bucks, Cavaliers, Pacers, Bulls, Pistons)Southeast (Magic, Heat, Hawks, Hornets, Wizards)Northwest (Thunder, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Jazz, Trail Blazers)Pacific (Clippers, Suns, Lakers, Kings, Warriors)Southwest (Mavericks, Pelicans, Rockets, Grizzlies, Spurs)
🏀 Men’s college basketball offseason winners and losers
It’s not just the NBA. College basketball is less than two months away from returning to play, and while it’s been a while, the NBA offseason has been crazy. Coaching Carousel and, Transfer Portal.
With classes starting and basketball games soon to come, who will win and who will lose? One state has two long-standing and proud programs in rebuilding mode.According to Kyle Boone.
Boone: “John Calipari’s surprising decision to leave Kentucky for Arkansas was virtually the first real news story of the offseason. Calipari’s move wasn’t necessarily a surprise, and truth be told, it seemed like a necessary change for both him and the Kentucky program. But anytime you lose a coach with a Hall of Fame pedigree, it’s hard to see it as anything other than a loss. That led to both Louisville and Kentucky being roundly rejected by Baylor coach Scott Drew within a matter of weeks.”
Kyle praised the Wildcats (Mark Pope) and Cardinals (Pat Kelce) for finding strong leaders for the next era, which will certainly look very different (Louisville especially hopes so).
You can see all of Kyle’s offseason winners and losers here.
📺 What to watch on Thursday
⚾ Red Sox vs Yankees or Rays vs Guardians, 7:15 p.m. on FOX
🏈 Arizona State vs. Texas State, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Liberty at Wings, 8pm on Prime Video
🏈 Bills vs. Dolphins, 8:15 p.m. on Prime Video