The WNBA playoffs are completely stacked as the Minnesota Lynx were able to draw the New York liberty in the one seed verse the eight seed matchup. This season New York beat Minnesota two out of the three games that they played and everybody has this as one of the most watched playoff series in the whole entire playoffs. This is going to be one of the most watched three game series in this whole entire playoffs as both teams have a history going all the way back to their WNBA Finals matchup a couple years ago..
With week 1 of the NFL season right around the corner, there’s a lot in store. Never knowing which teams will rise to the occasion, or which will be a bust. New faces, personnel and coaches can make or break a season, some would say. Here are some key takeaways and predictions, as we approach Sunday’s matchups.
Bears vs. Panthers
Last season, both the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers clinched their divisions, but it came about in two totally different fashions. The Bears finished the season with an 11-6 winning record, while the Panthers on the other hand finished 8-9, matching records with the Buccaneers and Falcons. Although the Panthers were shaky at first, they managed to pull things together late in the season. Looking like a promising young team, going into the playoffs. With several new additions to both teams, this should be a good one.
But you also have to factor in how shaky the Bears secondary can get. On the other hand, Bryce still hasn’t shown his true potential, in the throwing game.
Score Prediction: Bears 17 – Panthers 20
Buccaneers vs. Bengals
Many are anticipating a high-scoring, close one. But with Joe Burrow at home, the favor is on their side. Baker Mayfield will be up against Cincinnati’s new look defense, which should show an improved pass-rushing game.
Baker ranked 10th in passing yards last year, throwing for 217.2 yards per game, totaling 3,693 on the year. So, he will have to show up if he wants to win against this new Bengals defensive front.
Score Prediction: Bucs 30 – Bengals 33
Saints vs. Lions
Coming into this matchup, the Lions are favored to win. But there are some key factors, making this one interesting. With the absence of defensive backs, Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph, this could create some opportunities in the secondary. Can Tyler Shough and the Saints step up and take advantage?
Shough passed for 2,384 yards last season, ranking 25th overall so he has to show up and prove himself.
Score Prediction: Saints 10 – Lions 17
Bills vs Texans
Two talented young quarterbacks on both ends, make for an action packed one. But you have to take into consideration that Josh Allen has gone 0-4 against Houston on the road. So, can he break that cycle?
Score Prediction: Bills 23 – Texans 30
Ravens vs. Colts
The Baltimore Ravens added rookie wide receivers Ja’Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt to provide Lamar Jackson some extra firepower. But will that be enough to make a deep run in the playoffs? Some would say, “we need more from Lamar now.”
As for the Colts, the return of Daniel Jones’ health plays a major role in how their season is determined. Daniel, suffered an achilles injury in December 2025 but made his way back, beating his initial recovery timeframe.
With that in factor, it seems safe to say that the Ravens will take this one in a close match.
Score Prediction: Ravens 23 – Colts 20
Browns vs. Jaguars
With a matchup between two former Prime time players, this should be an action packed one for the books. Although Shudaur Sanders and Travis Hunter are what we want to see from the start, the Browns decided to go another route. Watson, starter of week 1, shows that he gets rid of the ball quicker, whereas Sanders tends to look for the downhill play.
Will this be the right move, by the Browns?
As for their defense, the Browns acquired Mike Rutenberg in February 2026, as their new defensive coordinator. In addition, a blockbuster trade caused star defensive end Myles Garrett’s departure. Do they have what it takes with this new defensive look.
Score Prediction: Browns 7 – Jaguars 20
Falcons vs. Steelers
Just days after being named starter for week 1, Tua Tagovailoa suffered an injury himself, in practice on Thursday. Leaving Cooper Rush to start the season opener. Can they pull off what seems to be an abundance of bad circumstances?
As for the Steelers, Aaron Rodgers announced this will be his last NFL season, so they will be looking to make a deep run in the playoffs. This should be a good fundamental win to start that run.
Score Prediction: Falcons 10 – Steelers 23
Jets vs. Titans
With neither being projected as true contenders, who will step up and prove themselves, to take this one?
Both the Jets and Titans finished last year’s season, with a combined six wins. So, both are looking to establish a foundation for winning.
Score Prediction: Jets 17 – Titans 10
Cardinals vs. Chargers
The Cardinals enter this game as the underdog, beginning the season under a new head coach. The Chargers look to take control at home, having a tough defensive front to assist. They ranked 5th in total defense, allowing 285.2 yards per game.
Score Prediction: Cardinals 7 – Chargers 27
Dolphins vs. Raiders
Both teams start the season with roster changes, so you can expect a tight one. Establishing the ground game early will be crucial for either team, to make a statement here.
Key matchups include De’Von Achanes as being Miami’s focal point on the offensive end and being able to protect against the raiders pash rush game.
Minimizing errors is the essence for any team, but when you’re trying to build around new changes, you really want to focus on being sound and limiting those mistakes.
Score Prediction: Dolphins 14 – Raiders 7
Packers vs. Vikings
Both teams finished with nine wins in the 2025 season but came about it two totally different ways. Green Bay ended up losing in their last four games, including a first-round exit in the playoffs while Minnesota won five straight to cap off the season.
But none of that matters now. This is a new season for both teams to identify themselves quickly.
Score Prediction: Packers 17 – Vikings 20
Commanders vs. Eagles
The Eagles look for a controlled win, as the Commanders start the season with depth issues.
For the Commanders, they will have a healthy Jayden Daniels, and he is looking to make a statement. As last year’s season was cut short to only seven games played, due to injury. Throughout those seven games, Jayden passed for 1,262 yards, 8 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. If Jayden’s presence is there, we could see a hard fought one.
Score Prediction: Commanders 17 – Eagles 27
Cowboys vs. Giants
Last year the Giants went 4-13, but this year’s schedule looks to be a bit easier and with a new head coach, things are looking promising. Nobody is expecting a Superbowl contender or anything like that, but to double last year’s win column, would be a major step in the right direction.
As for America’s Team, for the past couple of seasons they have only been able to win just seven games each. With the amount of talent on both ends of the field, you’d think they’d be top 3 in the NFC every year.
Going by what we’ve seen over the years and by no surprise, I can see the Cowboys taking this one by a touchdown or two, but how will they perform as the season progresses, is the real question?
The Minnesota Lynx came into this game off of a back-to-back against the Las Vegas Aces where they beat them 98-87. About 24 hours later they had Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings coming into town trying to get a victory. Paige Bueckers is coming into today’s game average and 20.1 points per game for the Dallas Wings and she’s been an MVP candidate all season long. If the Minnesota Lynx were going to win this game it starts with shutting down the homegrown Paige Bueckers as the number one draft pick Azzi Fudd was still out due to injury.
The Minnesota Lynx have been finding a rhythm with Napheesa Collier back in the lineup after her injury. You can tell she’s getting her legs back as she’s been able to play alongside Olivia Miles who’s been spectacular throughout the whole season but both have been learning to play with each other. The great thing is Napheesa Collier can actually take her time with these games to get back into the swing of things but she’s using her defense to create offense for her teammates. Today against the Dallas Wings was a perfect example of that where she had multiple steals and deflections that affected the games outcome. In the first quarter both teams were playing great defense and the offense was stagnant but as soon as that second quarter hit things changed for the Minnesota Lynx. Napheesa has been getting back in the swing of things and when her defense catches up with her offense then the WNBA will be in serious trouble.
Kayla McBride put on a shooting display from three point land that no one has ever seen before in the WNBA. Some of the shots that Kayla McBride was making today were contested, and it didn’t even matter because she was out of this world with her performance. It seemed like Kayla was able to get her shot off whenever she wanted and she made the Wings pay. Every time the Wings went on a run it was Kayla McBride who was able to stop the bleeding with her clutch shooting ability. When it comes to mastering the art of the jumper people need to watch Kayla McBride as she was hitting 3 pointer after 3 pointer the Wings had no answer for her. Kayla was able to get to her spots and was cashing in on every defensive breakdown today.
KMac was on fire and when someone’s shooting as good as she is you definitely don’t want to go to halftime because sometimes the break will cool you down. Well in Kayla’s return to the court she continued to light up the Dallas Wings defense on her way to a historical 10 three pointers performance which was a WNBA single game record. The part that will get missed in all of this is the fact she was able to put up a career high 43 points while guarding Paige Bueckers. Even thought Paige finished with 23 points on 10/15 shooting from the field Kayla McBride was there with her every step of the way contesting every shot. This game defined who Kayla McBride is as a person and player as she was able to showcase why she’s one of the best in the world at what she does on the court.
Olivia Miles will be the side note to this game but the rookie was outstanding today as she finished with 20 points and 13 assists against the Wings. Olivia Miles has been able to grow as the season has gone along and she has let the game come to her. Nothing about Miles game seems forced and that’s what makes her special to watch on a nightly basis. You can tell she wants to get her vets the ball and she can take over at any moment if she needs to as well. Olivia knew KMac was on fire today and was giving her the ball whenever she had the chance. Olivia has some great players alongside her to learn from and she has been able to get in the driver seat when the team needs her to be aggressive.
The Lynx have the next couple of days off as they will be back in action in Portland on Wednesday night. It will be interesting to see how Kayla McBride follows up her 43 point performance today in Portland as wants to continue to stay HOT.
The Los Angeles Sparks defeated the Minnesota Lynx 89–82, ending Minnesota’s 10-game winning streak. The Lynx held an 82–81 lead following a Kayla McBride three-pointer with under five minutes remaining, but went scoreless the rest of the game after missing their final seven shot attempts. Los Angeles closed on an 8–0 run in the fourth quarter—outscoring Minnesota 23–11 in the final frame—behind late go-ahead plays from Nneka Ogwumike and Erica Wheeler. Rae Burrell led the Sparks with 17 points off the bench, while Dearica Hamby contributed 16 points and 9 rebounds. For the Lynx, rookie Olivia Miles led all scorers with 23 points alongside 8 rebounds, and Napheesa Collier added 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists.
The Minnesota Lynx were coming into this game, red hot after Kayla McBride and Olivia Miles combine for 70 points. This team has been special to watch all season long and they will be sending three players (Howard,Miles,Williams) and Coach Reeve to All Star Weekend in Chicago. The scary part of this whole situation is the fact that Napheesa Collier is on her way back sooner than later. The Lynx have been exceptionally good this season without her, but the return of the queen is on the horizon hopefully before All-Star break, but if it happens after the team is in good hands regardless.
Today, the Los Angeles Sparks were in town to face, Olivia Miles and the Minnesota Lynx during the day. The sparks came out aggressive today in Minnesota, which is kind of unheard of the sea as it would’ve been 10 AM in Los Angeles. Usually West Coast teams struggle with day games, but the Sparks were well prepared and ready to go. Minnesota, on the other hand, came out kind of flat as they weren’t able to hit too many shots in the beginning of the game. A huge shout out to Kosu who came in and gave this team instant energy with deflections steals and even had a breakaway layup to get the team going. That’s the beautiful thing about this Minnesota team. They have a lot of depth on the bench and that was on full display today.
The Lynx have a huge three headed monster offensively right now between Miles, Williams, and McBride. Speaking of McBride, she has been on a heater the last couple of games and she brought that into today’s game as well finishing with 24 points. McBride plays hard on both ends of the floor and it was on full display against the Sparks today as she wasn’t letting off the gas at all. The best part of Kayla McBride’s game besides her jumper is her defensive awareness with deflections and steals. She’s one of the best players on both ends of the floor when it comes to energy and hard work ethic and it pays off every game. Kayla is extremely smart when it comes to making her opponent foul her as well on a jumper as she throws the ball up as soon as she feels contact. You can tell she’s playing with a true sense of joy, especially with Olivia Miles passing heard the ball.
Courtney Williams really stepped up for the Lynx when Olivia Miles went down with a tweaked ankle as it looked like. William finished with 19 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists. Courtney brings that energy and that swagger when she’s on the court, and her mid range jumper is automatic. Courtney being one of the leaders on the team with Kayla. They both were able to hold it down when Olivia didn’t play much in the fourth quarter. This teams togetherness has been amazing all year, and it goes from coaching all the way down to the players. Olivia Miles tweaked her ankle and went out after playing 26 minutes but she finished with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Miles was finding her teammates and getting to the rim whenever she wanted to against the Los Angeles Sparks before leaving the game. The Minnesota Lynx have a clear path to the WNBA Finals once they get Napheesa Collier back in the lineup and there is nothing that the WNBA can do about it. All of the teams that Minnesota lost to this season if you add Collier to the mix, they probably would’ve won so get ready to buckle up for an amazing rest of the season if you’re a Minnesota Lynx fan.
The Los Angeles Sparks played really well today as Nneka & Rae combined for 47 points. They were able to get to their spots when they wanted too but the Lynx defense down the stretch in the 2nd and 4th quarters shut them down. The Sparks need to get back to 100% healthy to make sure they can make a late push in the 2nd half of the season. The Sparks were without Plum today and they still need to work on adjustments throughout the season.
The Minnesota Lynx play the Portland Fire on Saturday as they will be going for their 20th win of the season.
The Minnesota Timberwolves opened up the NBA Summer League against the New Orleans Pelicans. This will be the first of four games that we get to see the growth and the maturity in young core that the Minnesota Timberwolves have been developing. The summer league from Minnesota should be headline by Joan Beringer and Isaiah Evans, who has yet been able to be a part of any activities due to the Julius Randle trade that sent him to Brooklyn in the LaMelo Ball deal. Fans have been waiting to get a chance to see both and live action with extended minutes, but that will have to wait until things are finalized.
We knew we were gonna get a heavy dose of Joan today against the New Orleans Pelicans but what we did didn’t know was that Zyon Pullin was going to put on a show. Zyon was literally everywhere on the court today for the Minnesota Timberwolves as he was a scoring threat, passing threat, and a rebounding threat. Zyon was aggressive from the tip off as he was applying pressure on the defense while scoring at will and getting his teammates involved. We knew he had experience last year being on the roster, but it was impressive to see him putting in the work with a national audience watching instead of just the G league. Zyon’s a true point guard that is pass first which is rare to see these days in the NBA. Zyon finished with 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 12 assist as he flirted with the triple-double game one of the summer league from Minnesota. Every time Zyon touch the ball he was making a play for himself or for his teammates that was gonna put them in the best position to be successful. He was able to unlock a side of Joan that Minnesota Timberwolves fans are hoping to see all season long starting in October.
Joan Beringer was a true machine out there today against New Orleans as he took on all competitors trying to stop him today. The motor that he plays with is unmatched as it seems like he’s going 110% per play giving it his all. You can tell that he’s learning the art of rebounding and the tutelage from Rudy Gobert throughout the season has been paying off. Joan has been working on his push shot/hook shot and it looked pretty good today against New Orleans. We already know that he can block anything that’s in his area with ease but now he’s playing more poised and smarter without fouling. Joan was extremely special today for the Minnesota Timberwolves as he had a double double today with 18 points and 12 rebounds. These are the type of performances that the Minnesota Timberwolves fans want to see from him, especially if he’s going to get some time at the power forward spot this upcoming season. The growth and the maturity was on full display for his game today as this two men wrecking crew of Zyon and Joan put Minnesota on their backs.
Nate Santos was able to make the best of his moment here in Las Vegas at the Summer League for Minnesota. He finished the game with 20 points on 5/8 shooting from the field as he was able to put on a show in front of everyone. He’s one of those streaky players that were on the Iowa Wolves and we’re interested to see if his hot shooting continues out here in Vegas and if he can make a spot down the line.
The Timberwolves won the rebounding margin and they also shot 45% from the field today in this game. Those are two huge things that help them get the victory today in front of Coach Chris Finch, A-Rod and Bones Hyland just to name a few. The Pelicans had bright spots today with Peavy and Bufkin as both were able to score with ease combining for 46 points but Minnesota was able to shut that down late in the 2nd half to seal the victory.
The Timberwolves will be gearing up for game two on Saturday as they take on the Denver Nuggets. This won’t be like the playoffs, but both cities truly dislike each other so it’ll be interesting to see if it continues in the Summer League.
