2026 NFL schedule biggest winners; Scottie Scheffler co-leader at PGA Championship; Oilers axe Kris Knoblauch

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🏈 Five things to know Friday

1. The 2026 NFL schedule is here. While the official unveiling of the football schedule is always a bit anticlimactic because of all the leaks that precede it, excitement abounds after the league locked in all 272 games. The season starts with a Super Bowl rematch between the Seahawks and Patriots and continues across 18 weeks with countless marquee matchups and a few "firsts" like the NFL's inaugural Australia game. One of our favorite contests on the entire slate is the Thanksgiving matchup between the Bears and Lions on CBS.
2. There is a seven-way tie atop the PGA Championship leaderboard. The biggest name in that bunch is Scottie Scheffler, who made a statement and stands among some surprising co-leaders through 18 holes at Aronimink Golf Club. You won't find Rory McIlroy anywhere close to the top after he shot a 74 and called his first round "s---." Also absent from the top tier is Bryson DeChambeau after he posted a 76 in yet another disastrous round. Here are the pairings and schedule for Round 2 on Friday. And be sure to follow along with our live updates throughout the day's action.
3. Kris Knoblauch is out as Oilers coach. How quickly things change. Knoblauch led Edmonton to the Stanley Cup Finals in each of his first two years, but the Oilers announced his firing Thursday after a disappointing third campaign, which ended in a first-round loss to the Ducks. The issues in Edmonton arguably run deeper than the coaching staff, though, with general manager Stan Bowman drawing scrutiny for a string of costly roster moves.
4. Madonna, Shakira and BTS will headline the World Cup halftime show. Everything about the 2026 World Cup is bigger than usual, from the geographic footprint to the bracket and now to the halftime show. Three legendary artists will bring three different flavors to a performance curated by Coldplay's Chris Martin. Our James Benge (a noted opponent to the idea of a World Cup halftime show) graded the three-act lineup.
5. **The NBA's conference semifinals conclude this weekend.**The Cavaliers and Spurs would move on with victories tonight, but if it takes a seventh game to decide either series, those final contests will come on Sunday. The Knicks and Thunder await the winners of those respective matchups. Who would New York rather see: the Cavaliers or Pistons? We analyzed the possible head-to-head scenarios for the Eastern Conference Finals.

📅 Do not miss this: NFL schedule takeaways

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Before we determine which teams have the toughest and most favorable schedules, which games caused the biggest headaches for schedule-makers and which social media departments had the most fun with their schedule release videos, let's make sure you're up to speed with the games themselves. We compiled the schedules for every team, network and day of the week and put them into a few articles that are easier to digest than a 272-game grid.

• Team-by-team schedule
• NFL on CBS schedule (featuring more than 100 games)
• Ranking the best games on "Thursday Night Football," "Sunday Night Football," and "Monday Night Football"
• Holiday lineups for Thanksgiving week and Christmas Day

On to the analysis.

Reaching the Super Bowl comes with one downside: a tough schedule the following year. The Patriots learned that the hard way. Their first four games create the toughest season-opening stretch since 1986, and they will become the first team since 2019 to play three division winners in consecutive games to begin a campaign. That's why New England is the biggest loser of them all when it comes to schedule strength.

Building the schedule is a thankless job, as there will always be teams with tougher draws than others. NFL EVP of media distribution Han Schroeder spoke with our Jonathan Jones about the task of constructing the matrix and shed light on some of this year's quirks.

Lastly, it wouldn't be schedule release day without a few laughs. NFL teams' social media departments live for this occasion, and every single year they deliver. We ranked the 10 most creative schedule release videos from the Chargers' "Halo" theme to the Rams' flippin' sweet spin on the "Napoleon Dynamite" intro.

⚾ Kevin McGonigle tops this month's MLB rookie rankings

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Two months into their major-league careers, the top-performing rookies already look like stars. The swing-and-miss concerns that followed Munetaka Murakami from Japan are nothing compared to the 15 home runs he clubbed across his first 42 games, and Parker Messick incredibly maintained a sub-1.00 WHIP across 53.2 innings while striking out 58.

Neither of them has been as impressive as Kevin McGonigle, though. The Tigers shortstop is our new favorite rookie, up seven spots from the first batch of rankings just over a month ago. Our Dayn Perry laid out McGonigle's résumé.

• Perry: "The youngest player in our rankings is 41 games into his big-league career, and he boasts a slash line of .301/.409/.444 with 26 walks versus 22 strikeouts. Need more? He's seven for seven in steals, he's taken the base an impressive 62% of the time, and he's yet to hit into a double play."

Here's the new top five in our MLB rookie rankings:

1. Kevin McGonigle, Tigers (Previously: 7)
2. Munetaka Murakami, White Sox (9)
3. JJ Wetherholt, Cardinals (10)
4. Chase DeLauter, Guardians (2)
5. Parker Messick, Guardians(4)

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

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• Lisa Leslie will become the second WNBA player to receive a statue when she is immortalized outside Crypto.com Arena.
• The Braves are MLB's first team to 30 wins, and all of the numbers tell us this squad could make a dominant run to the postseason.
• Myles Turner aired some grievances with former Bucks coach Doc Rivers and specifically called out Giannis Antetokounmpo.
• With Florida State under immense pressure, Mike Norvell said he expects 2026 to be "the best year of my life."
• How much money will LeBron James make if he returns for his 24th season? Our Sam Quinn ran the numbers.
• The Spirit replaced the Thorns atop our weekly NWSL power rankings.
• Freshman safety Ja'Marley Riddle is the latest Georgia football player to run into legal trouble.
• Here's what you need to know about "Spygate," which could prevent Southampton from promotion into the Premier League.
• After virally calling out high-major schools for turning down games, High Point coach Flynn Clayman built a tremendous 2026-27 schedule.

📺 What we're watching this weekend

Friday

⛳ PGA Championship, second round, Noon on ESPN

⚽ Liverpool at Aston Villa, 3 p.m. on Peacock

⚾ Orioles at Nationals, 6:45 p.m. on Peacock

⚾ Blue Jays at Tigers, 6:45 p.m. on Apple TV

🏀 NBA playoffs: Pistons at Cavaliers, Game 6, 7 p.m. on Prime Video

⚾ Marlins at Rays, 7:10 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited

⚾ Red Sox at Braves, 7:15 p.m. on MLB Network

⚾ Yankees at Mets, 7:15 p.m. on Apple TV

🏀 Mystics at Fever, 7:30 p.m. on Ion

⚽ Dash at Current, 8 p.m. on Prime Video

🤼 Friday Night SmackDown, 8 p.m. on USA Network

🏀 NBA playoffs: Spurs at Timberwolves, Game 6, 9:30 p.m. on Prime Video

⚾ Padres at Giants, 9:40 p.m. on MLB Network

🏀 Sky at Mercury OR Tempo at Sparks, 10 p.m. on Ion

⚽ Spirit at Wave, 10 p.m. on Victory+

Saturday

⚽ FA Cup final: Chelsea vs. Manchester City, 10 a.m. on ESPN2

⛳ PGA Championship, third round, 1 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+

⚾ Blue Jays at Tigers, 1:10 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited

⚾ Royals at Cardinals, 2:15 p.m. on Peacock

🏇 Preakness Stakes, 4 p.m. on NBC

⚾ Orioles at Nationals, 4:05 p.m. on FS1

⚽ Fire at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. on Apple TV

⚽ Stars at Courage, 6:30 p.m. on Ion

⚾ Yankees at Mets OR Padres at Mariners, 7:15 p.m. on Fox

⚽ NYCFC at Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m. on Apple TV

🏒 Stanley Cup playoffs: Sabres at Canadiens, Game 6, 8 p.m. on ABC

⚽ Whitecaps at Dynamo, 8:30 p.m. on Apple TV

⚽ Pride at Summit, 8:45 p.m. on Ion

🤼 UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Costa, 9 p.m. on Paramount+

⚽ Galaxy at Sounders, 9 p.m. on FS1

⚽ Rapids at Salt Lake, 9:30 p.m. on Apple TV

⚾ Dodgers at Angels, 9:38 p.m. on MLB Network

⚽ Dallas at Earthquakes, 10:30 p.m. on Apple TV

Sunday

🏀 NBA playoffs: Cavaliers at Pistons, Game 7 (if necessary), TBD on Prime Video

🏀 NBA playoffs: Timberwolves at Spurs, Game 7 (if necessary), TBD on NBC

⚽ Lazio at Roma, 6 a.m. on Paramount+

⚽ Nottingham Forest at Manchester United, 7:30 a.m. on USA Network

⚽ Hellas Verona at Inter Milan, 9 a.m. on Paramount+

⚽ Brighton & Hove Albion at Leeds United, 10 a.m. on USA Network

⚽ Bologna at Atalanta, Noon on Paramount+

⚾ Marlins at Rays, 12:15 p.m. on Peacock

⛳ PGA Championship, final round, 1 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+

🏀 Aces at Dream, 1:30 p.m. on NBC

⚽ Torino at Cagliari, 2:45 p.m. on Paramount+

🏁 NASCAR All-Star Race, 3 p.m. on FS1

⚾ Diamondbacks at Rockies, 3:10 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited

⚾ Giants at Athletics, 4:05 p.m. on MLB Network

⚾ Dodgers at Angels, 4:07 p.m. on Peacock

🏀 Storm at Fever, 6 p.m. on NBC Sports Network

⚽ Timbers at Miami, 6 p.m. on Apple TV

⚽ Angel City at Thorns, 6 p.m. on ESPN2

⚾ Padres at Mariners, 7:20 p.m. on Peacock

⚽ LAFC at Nashville, 8 p.m. on Apple TV

**⚽ Louisville at Royals,**8 p.m. on Victory+