LOS ANGELES — There is no timetable for when Southern California women’s basketball star JuJu Watkins could return after suffering a season-ending injury in March.

Coach Lindsay Gottlieb gave an update on her guard’s status with reporters on Thursday, Sept. 18. She said Watkins has been “doing great” during her recovery and has been with the team during the summer. Gottlieb added, “JuJu is going to be back at some point,” but there is no answer if it will be this upcoming season.

“She’s doing well, I don’t have too much more to elaborate on that,” Gottlieb said. It’s a long process, and I’m just trying to be here for her to make sure this time when she’s not able to play the game that I’m still what she needs me to be.

“I have no other update in terms of timetable, so just to preemptively say I don’t know anything else other than that, other than she’s attacking her rehab and in a really good, good place with that,” she added.

What happened to JuJu Watkins?

Watkins suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament against Mississippi State. The injury happened early in the first quarter as Watkins suddenly went down without any noticeable contact. She immediately grabbed her right knee and was in visible pain before she was taken off the court.

The injury sidelined Watkins for the remainder of the tournament. It was a devastating blow for a Trojans team that had national championship aspirations after a 28-3 regular season in which it won the Big Ten regular season title and was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans advanced to the Elite Eight, where they were eliminated by eventual national champion Connecticut to deny USC its first Final Four appearance since 1986.

The hometown kid, Watkins continued to build off her dazzling freshman season with a sophomore year that solidified her as one of the faces of the sport. She averaged 23.9 points per game − sixth most in Division I − with 3.4 assists and 6.8 rebounds per game. Watkins scored in double figures in 32 of the 33 games she played. She was named Big Ten Player of the Year, was a unanimous first-team All-American selection and named the women’s 2025 Naismith National Player of the Year.

When could JuJu Watkins return?

While there is no definitive timeline for when Watkins could return, there is a chance she could play in the 2025-26 season.

ACL tears typically require 8-12 months of recovery, and since Watkins suffered her injury in March, there is a chance she could return as early December before conference play begins.

However, it’s unlikely Watkins returns that soon and she could end up not returning until March around the 2026 NCAA Tournament. She could also sit out the upcoming season and return for 2026-27 campaign.

USC women’s basketball 2025-26 outlook

With Watkins still recovering from injury, USC will be without its star in some of the most notable matchups of the 2025-26 season. The Trojans play North Carolina State on Nov. 9 and South Carolina on Nov. 15, as well as a road trip to Notre Dame on Nov. 21 and a home game against Connecticut on Dec. 13.

Despite missing Watkins, USC still remains a loaded team that will contend in the Big Ten and for a spot in the Final Four. Breakout guard Kennedy Smith is back and it has added consensus five-star recruit Jazzy Davidson and UCLA-transfer Londynn Jones.

Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar announced on Thursday, Sept. 18, that he will retire after the 2025-26 season.

The upcoming season will be his 20th in the NHL, all of which he has spent with the Kings after they drafted him in the first round (11th overall) in 2005.

Kopitar, 38, ranks in the top three all-time on the team in major offensive categories and won Stanley Cup titles in 2012 and 2014. He has been captain since the 2016-17 season.

He made the announcement on the first day of practice at training camp.

‘I want to get this out of the way now, where I’m not a distraction for the team,’ he said during a news conference with his family. ‘If we’re in a fight down the stretch, the last thing I want to do is take attention from the team and put it on myself.’

The first Slovenian to play in the NHL and to win the Stanley Cup is in the final year of a two-year, $14 million contract that he signed in 2023.

He was the second Los Angeles athlete to announce a pending retirement on Thursday, following Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw. Kopitar said that news caught him by surprise.

‘It must have been something in the universe for us to decide (on the same day),’ Kopitar said.

Where does Anze Kopitar rank on Kings’ scoring list?

Kopitar ranks second all-time on the Kings’ regular-season scoring list with 1,278 points and could finish the season as No. 1. He trails Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne by 29 points heading into the Oct. 7 opener.

He also leads the franchise in games played (1,454) and is first in assists (838) and game-winning goals (78) and third in goals (440). He’s second to Dionne in even-strength and power-play points and could pass him in those categories this season.

Kopitar leads Kings players in playoff games (103) and has 62 assists and 89 points and has the potential to pass leader Wayne Gretzky in those categories.

‘Yes, the numbers are good, but the goal that I’m trying to achieve and we’re trying to achieve is winning,’ he said. ‘The highs of winning surpass every high from your individual stats and individual numbers.’

Why is Anze Kopitar retiring?

Kopitar said he will retire so he can spend more time with his wife, Ines, and two children, Neža and Jakob.

‘We have a figure skater and a hockey player on our hands, so I want to be present for them,’ he said.

The family plans to move back to Slovenia, where his parents and extended family live.

Though the timing of the announcement could set up a retirement tour, Kopitar said his focus will be on the season and trying to win a third championship.

‘I’m looking extremely forward to this next season,’ he said. ‘I still have a lot of motivation. I’ve got a lot of energy and desire to compete at the very highest level.’

Will Anze Kopitar be a Hall of Famer?

Yes and potentially on the first ballot. In addition to the two championships (as an alternate captain), he has won the Selke Trophy twice as top defensive forward and the Lady Byng Trophy (sportsmanship) three times, including in 2024-25. He also won the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award in 2021-22.

He was captain of Team Europe in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which lost to Canada in the final.

Survivor island has no vacancies.

Few people have been voted off the island through the first two weeks of the 2025 NFL regular season and big favorites continue to thrive. To this point, it’s been a party as friends, family and rivals all remain.

USA TODAY NFL Survivor Pool (free to play)

Without those pesky challenges to weed out the competition, no one is sweating just yet. The Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals almost faltered during the second week of the season before ultimately winning in the end.

As we turn the page to Week 3, we will see no shortage of big favorites to pick from. The Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks all have favorable matchups, which could help another big chunk of contestants get through.

Of course, anything can happen on any given Sunday. Here are our survivor picks to get you through to Week 4.

NFL survivor picks Week 3

Buffalo Bills (vs. Miami Dolphins)

We begin our tour around the slate with a stop in Buffalo. The Bills are likely to be the top survivor pick in Week 3 – and for good reason. They already completed an improbable 15-point comeback win over the Ravens with less than five minutes to go in Week 1. They followed it up by dominating the Jets on the road in Week 2.

Now they return home for a date with the Dolphins, facing off against a defense that might win an award for their generosity. Miami’s defense – if that’s what you want to call it – allowed points on their first 10 drives of the season before Drake Maye kneeled to end the first half on Sunday. They eventually stabilized, but could be steamrolled by a Bills offense that can put up points in a hurry. It would take a higher power getting involved for the Dolphins to win in Week 3, but we can understand the hesitancy to take Buffalo with the wackiness that these games sometimes present on Thursday night.

Seattle Seahawks (vs. New Orleans Saints)

If Buffalo is the top team for survivor pools in Week 3, the Seahawks won’t be far behind. Once again, we find ourselves checking in with Spencer Rattler and the Saints. The quarterback is now 0-8 as a starter in his career, but has looked much better than expected in the young season. Granted, expectations couldn’t be much lower. Kellen Moore’s team has played two competitive games to begin their season and is just a touchdown underdog in Seattle for their first road test as a group.

There’s something fishy about Seattle, especially with no major survivor upsets to this point. If it wasn’t for Kaleb Johnson’s miscue on the kickoff that gifted the Seahawks a touchdown, Week 2 might’ve seen a different result. The Seahawks are certainly a solid selection, but don’t be shocked if it’s closer than expected.

Green Bay Packers (at Cleveland Browns)

Based on the first two weeks of the season, flights from Green Bay to San Francisco are about to be a lot more expensive in February. The Packers have introduced themselves as a Super Bowl contender in the early stages of this season, dominating the Lions and Commanders. Now they get a treat, matching up with the lowly Browns in Week 3.

If Green Bay made Detroit and Washington look silly, imagine what they’ll do to Cleveland. Enough said.

Atlanta Falcons (at Carolina Panthers)

Atlanta held tough against the Buccaneers in Week 1 before losing in heartbreaking fashion thanks to a missed field goal. They didn’t feel sorry for themselves and instead took that frustration out on the Vikings, winning convincingly on Sunday night in Minnesota. Now they travel to Carolina for a divisional matchup against the Panthers, who might want to unplug this season and plug it back in again.

What team should you avoid picking in NFL survivor pools this week?

The Kansas City Chiefs.

We know you’re thinking about it, but don’t do it. Conventional wisdom suggests that the Chiefs won’t go 0-3 to start the year. After all, they are the Kansas City Chiefs.

‘Being due’ is not a strategy, even though bad process sometimes leads to good results. Kansas City has struggled with its passing attack thanks to the absences of Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy, while this version of Travis Kelce has struggled mightily. Without a great rushing attack, the Chiefs offense relies on one thing – how far can Patrick Mahomes run?

As for the Giants, their offense started clicking against the Cowboys in Week 2 and now gets the chance to put on a show in front of the home faithful for the first time this year.

The Giants may not be a good team, but they have the pieces to pull off an upset.

What team should you pick in NFL survivor pools this week?

The Atlanta Falcons.

Carolina has been dominated for the better part of two weeks and the Young of from the end of the 2024 season isn’t walking through that door. With injuries along the offensive line, Atlanta’s pass rush should have plenty to say before this game concludes.

According to Next Gen Stats, the Falcons pressured J.J. McCarthy on 53.3% of dropbacks in Week 2, totaling six sacks. A wounded offensive line in Carolina could lend itself to an encore performance.

On offense, Michael Penix Jr. has no shortage of weapons that will make life difficult for a young Carolina defense.

After surviving to this point with the Cardinals and Cowboys, we still haven’t seen a significant cut in survivor pools to this point. Whether that becomes the case in Week 3 is anyone’s guess, but we’ll zig while everyone else zags.

The ‘Dirty Birds’ should have no issue getting a win in Charlotte.

Tom Brady’s dual role as NFL broadcaster and minority owner is raising questions for the league.
Brady’s ruthless competitiveness was part of his brilliance, but caused the NFL numerous headaches.
The NFL has spent much of the week addressing Brady’s latest moves, a position it can expect to remain in for the long term.

Even in retirement, Tom Brady is giving the NFL heartburn.

Oh, the league is saying all the right things. It’s fine! just fine! that Brady seems to be a de facto member of the Las Vegas Raiders coaching staff while his job as a FOX analyst gives him behind-the-scenes access to their future opponents. His new flag football tournament in Saudi Arabia that will feature NFL players, and possibly pose a threat to the NFL’s bottom line down the road, is totally cool, too.

But NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell must be wondering what black cat he ran over. It’s been a decade since Deflategate, and Goodell is still dealing with Brady and his penchant for stretching the game’s norms and rules like a rubber band.

“This should not happen with him being a commentator of NFL football games,’ ESPN analyst Marcus Spears said Tuesday, referring to Brady sitting in the Raiders coaches’ booth with a headset on during Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

‘It actually questions the integrity of the NFL.”

Well, yes. But when has that ever bothered Brady?

Look, Brady is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. A seven-time Super Bowl champion who ran roughshod over the rest of the NFL in January for two decades. No one squeezed more out of their talent and intellect than Brady.

But part of Brady’s brilliance was his ruthless competitiveness. This is a man who wouldn’t eat tomatoes or mushrooms, for heaven’s sakes, not wanting to mess with the strict diet he believed helped give him an edge. (Strawberries, either, though that turned out to be because he hated their smell.)

And if Brady sometimes played fast and loose with the rules in his zeal to win (Deflategate), or turned a blind eye when others did to his benefit (Spygate), that was somebody else’s problem.

Usually Goodell’s.

The NFL expected to see Tom Brady in the booth. But the coaches’ booth?

When Brady agreed to become FOX’s lead analyst, signing a $375 million, 10-year deal even before he retired, it probably seemed like the ideal scenario to Goodell and the NFL. Brady would remain around the game — yay! ratings! — but would be unlikely to cause any mischief doing one, maybe two games a week.

Before he called his first game, however, Brady reached a deal with Raiders owner Mark Davis to buy a stake in the NFL team.

Just like that, the NFL’s Brady headache was back.

Brady was on good behavior last season, his first calling games for FOX. He abided by the NFL’s restrictions that kept him out of other team’s practice facilities and the production meetings a broadcaster has with the coaches in that week’s game. He didn’t single out the Raiders’ rivals, or the referees, for undue criticism.

“I think he’s serious that he separates these two and he doesn’t put the league or anyone in a position of conflict,” Goodell said at the Super Bowl.

So much so that the NFL lifted some of its restrictions this season. Brady is still barred from other practice facilities, but he can join production meetings remotely. He also can interview players off-site.

“We feel really good about the rules and guidelines and that we have in place for this year,” Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution, said on a conference call with reporters Sept. 2. 

How did Brady repay that faith? By parking himself front and center in the Raiders coaches’ booth the first opportunity he got. You can practically picture Goodell blanching when he saw him, thinking “Why can’t you just be like Peyton?”

Raiders coach Pete Carroll tried to downplay Brady’s involvement, but did acknowledge Brady “regularly” talks to him and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.

“I mean, we have a tremendous asset,” Carroll said. “… We talk about life and football and whatever it comes. And he has great insight. So we’re lucky to have him as an owner.”

Asset. Interesting word choice there, Pete.

The NFL spent a good part of Tuesday doing damage control, saying in a statement that nothing prohibits an owner from being in the coaches’ box or wearing a headset. Which is fine if you’re an ordinary owner.

Which Brady is not.

Advantage, Brady: TB12’s latest move keeps NFL on its heels

On Sunday, Brady will call the Dallas Cowboys-Chicago Bears game for FOX. The following week, the Bears will be playing Brady’s Raiders.

“I’m really not worried about it,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said Wednesday. “It’s not like I’m going to sit down with (Brady) and say, ‘Hey, don’t do this to Caleb Williams or you might get it!’ Like, there’s not going to be any trade secrets that are going to be exchanged.”

That underestimates Brady’s ability to turn pretty much anything to his advantage.

But the larger issue is that Brady continues to be … an issue.

On the same day he was being an “asset” to the Raiders coaches, Brady announced a three-team flag-football tournament in Saudi Arabia that will begin next year. In addition to Brady and fellow retiree Rob Gronkowski, current NFL players including Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey and CeeDee Lamb are expected to play.

Which meant the NFL had to clarify that, no, this was not a league venture and, yes, players need their team’s approval to participate.

The NFL is used to doing what it wants, when it wants, and getting little pushback. So, too, is Brady, and he’s not going anywhere. If Goodell is smart, he’ll stock up on the aspirin and antacids.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders revealed Thursday the next big possible career move for his middle son Shilo after he failed to make the roster of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If Shilo doesn’t land a roster spot with another team, Sanders said Shilo has has “opportunities” in the acting profession.

Shilo, 25, has worked as a model and actor previously, having modeled clothes in Paris in 2024 and having portrayed his father in an episode of ‘BMF’ on the Starz premium cable channel.

Deion Sanders said on the Colorado Football Coaches Show Thursday that Shilo has had a “couple interviews” related to acting.

“I was gonna go down that avenue once upon a time,” Deion Sanders said on the show. “I think that’s the avenue that … or streaming … that Shilo’s gonna go down, because he has that gift, man.”

Shilo Sanders spoke of his ‘other interests’

Shilo played safety at Colorado under his father in 2023 and 2024 and signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent before he was waived. He posted a video on YouTube Aug. 28 that noted the NFL is also known as the “Not For Long” league.

“You always want to have other interests that you’re interested in,” Shilo said then. “I’ve always done that my whole life playing football, with music, acting, modeling. I’m well-versed, and my parents make sure of that, so I’ve been prepared for anything that happen, cause you never know what could happen.”

Deion Sanders detailed how he once almost went into acting himself many years ago when he was playing football and baseball.

“Once upon a time, I was gonna surrender one of the sports − I’m not going to say which one − to go into acting,” Sanders said. “It’s almost like God pulled the carpet out of it because the movie was gonna be shot in New Orleans. I was gonna be like this undercover cop infiltrating this corrupt police.”

It never happened. Sanders is now preparing the Buffaloes to play Saturday againt Wyoming at home at 10:15 p.m. ET. His team is 1-2 and is expected to change quarterbacks again, this time going back to Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter, who started the first two games before being benched in favor of former third-string quarterback Ryan Staub.

“This is a much better team,” Sanders said. “But we’ve got to have stability from the quarterback position, and we’ve got to have consistency on the defensive side of the ball, stopping the run first and foremost. But we just got to do the things we’re capable of doing, because we have the personnel. But the personnel, they got to ball, man.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

Kershaw, 37, was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a skinny kid out of Dallas and will retire as one of the most decorated pitchers in the franchise’s long history. He led the major leagues in earned run average four times and the National League five times, and recently recorded his 3,000th strikeout. 

Kershaw won his first Cy Young Award in 2011 and added titles in 2013 and 2014, throwing the lone no-hitter of his career in the latter season. He has 222 career wins and seemed ticketed for much more, but back problems in the middle of last decade curtailed some of his greatest seasons. 

Still, he has a half-dozen top three Cy Young finishes and 11 All-Star appearances to his name. 

His 2.54 career ERA ranks first among active pitchers, and 47th all-time. 

The Dodgers were such frequent postseason participants – currently on their way to a 13th consecutive appearance – that Kershaw almost had an additional career in October.

For much of that span, he was forced to shoulder a disproportionate load, pitching too deep into games to cover for an inadequate bullpen early in his career, or forced to take on relief roles in tight spots later in the 2010s.

The results could at times be tragicomic – such as the two late-inning home runs he gave up in the decisive Game 5 of the 2019 NLDS to the Washington Nationals – yet Kershaw always took the ball.

He pitched in 12 postseasons, 22 series overall, and finally reaped the reward of a championship in 2020, when the Dodgers powered past four opponents to win the World Series not far from his Dallas Metroplex roots during the COVID-19 shortened season.

Kershaw got another ring in 2024, but was injured for their playoff run that ended in a vanquishing of the New York Yankees.

This year, he got healthy and again has been great – 10-2 with a 3.53 ERA, the beguiling break on his slider returning as Kershaw gets by with a 90 mph fastball a half-dozen ticks below his career peak.

And there’s one more playoff date coming, the Dodgers likely to win the NL West and host a wild card series. Before then, though, he’ll bring down the curtain on his regular-season Dodger Stadium career – with a Sept. 19 start against the rival San Francisco Giants. Tickets for that engagement just got a lot more expensive.

Clayton Kershaw stats

222-96 career record in 2844 ⅔ innings
3,039 strikeouts
2014 National League MVP
2011, 2013 and 2014 NL Cy Young winner

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

The Buffalo Bills’ quarterback added a visor to his helmet ahead of the team’s practice session on Tuesday. The change comes after Allen suffered an injury to his nose in Week 2’s clash with the New York Jets, when defensive tackle Micheal Clemons’ left hand wacked him in the face as Allen took a sack.

The injury caused Allen to miss about a minute and a half of the first quarter – just two plays. He returned to the game for the start of the second quarter with cotton gauze shoved up his left nostril.

After the game, Allen, with some visible bruising around his nose, told reporters, ‘We can breathe, so it’s good.’

Allen has not been listed on the Bills’ injury report at all this week, meaning he’ll be a full go for Thursday night’s divisional matchup with the Miami Dolphins.

Josh Allen injury update

Allen returned to his Week 2 face-off with the Jets after only missing a couple of plays with a bloody nose. He also stayed off the Bills’ injury report all week.

The Buffalo quarterback has been practicing with a visor on to provide some extra protection for the upper half of his face and told reporters Tuesday that he plans to wear it during the game. Allen has never previously worn a visor on his helmet in an NFL game, though he said he did wear one while at Wyoming during his collegiate career.

Allen should be a full go for the Bills’ ‘Thursday Night Football’ meeting with the Dolphins barring any drastic status change.

Bills QB depth chart

Josh Allen
Mitchell Trubisky
Shane Buechele (practice squad)

Trubisky is in the second year of a two-year deal he signed with the Bills in 2024 to join the team for a second stint as Allen’s backup. He appeared in Sunday’s game against the Jets after Allen’s injury and completed one of two pass attempts for 32 yards.

Buechele re-signed with Buffalo on a one-year deal in January, was cut from the 53-man roster ahead of the late August roster cut deadline, then re-signed to the team’s practice squad. After initially signing with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2021, Buechele has yet to appear in a game.

OK, this is officially getting scary.

Because nothing is coming easy or effortless right now for the Detroit Tigers. It’s like watching somebody walk across a sheet of ice. The Tigers are slipping and sliding and crashing and getting back up with a bloody knee and an aching back.

Yes, we have officially entered a hold-your-breath moment after the Cleveland Guardians beat the Tigers, 3-1, on Thursday, Sept. 18, finishing off a three-game sweep of the Tigers.

A devastating sweep.

‘We got our (butt) kicked in pretty much every aspect, and they swept us,’ Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. ‘We know how important these games are. We’ve got some work ahead of us to do this right.’

Everything feels like it has flipped inside out. Just from a year ago.

In 2024, the Tigers jumped on a magic carpet ride, soaring out of a hole and going 17-8 in September just to make the playoffs.

This year, it’s completely the opposite. Thursday marked the 179th day that they have been in first place. I mean, think of it this way: They had a 14-game lead on July 8. Those are all great things if only they’d stop losing. But they can’t make it across that ice right now.

In what felt like a must-win game Thursday, the Guardians came out on top. Cleveland has now won 12 of 13. Meanwhile, the Tigers have lost 15 of their last 22.

It’s like they are living the same life. One year apart.

Tigers have a lot to lose

OK, let’s take a deep breath and think of the big picture.

Right now, the Tigers have three different goals.

No. 1. They want to get back into the playoffs. And let’s face it, it would take an absolutely epic collapse for this team not to make it. But yeah, they are doing their darndest to muck this up.

No. 2. They want to win the American League Central. They entered this game with a 4½-game lead over the Guardians. The Tigers held a magic number of 7. So, any combination of Detroit wins and Cleveland losses that add up to seven would give the Tigers their first Central title since 2014.

No. 3. They want to finish with one of the top two seeds in the American League. They entered this game with the second-best record in the AL, four games behind the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays (89-63) and 1½ games ahead of the AL West-leading Houston Astros (84-69).

By finishing in the top two, the Tigers would get to skip the best-of-three AL wild-card series and advance to the best-of-five ALDS.

Yeah, I know.

It seems complicated. It’s a lot of this-or-that.

But this is all you need to remember. They just need to win.

And that’s the problem.

‘It’s going to be kind of a sprint to the finish line,’ catcher Dillon Dingler said. ‘We could have put ourselves in a little bit better the position if we were taking care of business this week. But now that we are in this position, we have to make sure that we play good baseball from here on out.’

Tarik Skubal did his job

All of this set up an amazing drama. Thursday turned into a massive, must-win game, and the Tigers couldn’t have had a better pitcher on the mound.

They rolled out left hander Tarik Skubal — the 2024 AL Cy Young Award winner and 2025 favorite.

‘This is an incredible stretch of games that we have in front of us to play our way into the playoffs,’ Hinch said late Wednesday.

But there was some uncertainty around Skubal. In his last start in Miami, he had to leave the game after 45 pitches because of left-side tightness.

How would he hold up? That was the big question.

This was playoff baseball under a blue sky and warm temperatures.

In the second inning, Colt Keith hit a double, knocking in Spencer Torkelson, giving the Tigers the early lead. But it came with a twist. After the inning, Keith walked toward the dugout holding his side. He was shaking his head and let out a sigh, clearly in obvious pain. So, Hinch removed him from the lineup, moved Zach McKinstry to third and put in Trey Sweeney at shortstop.

‘All he was saying to me is, ‘I got to come out of the game,” Hinch said. ‘So that, in itself, is pretty alarming.’

He went for tests.

As the game unfolded, every moment felt magnified.

Then, Cleveland answered in the most surprising way. In the fourth inning, Skubal had Jhonkensy Noel right where he wanted him on an 0-2 count. But Noel crushed a changeup over the left-field fence, which was stunning. It was the first time that Skubal had given up a homer on an 0-2 count all season.

But the game was still tied, and Skubal opened the sixth inning with a couple of strikeouts.

Then, everything went sideways. Actually, it went right off Wenceel Pérez. Brayan Rocchio hit a ball down the right-field line. Pérez had a long run and tried diving for it. The ball bounced off his body, off the wall and scooted away from him. It was like the corner of Comerica Park had turned into a pinball wizard. Rocchio scampered around to third. Then, Skubal walked Austin Hedges. So, this game that had drama on top of drama, was left with this: two guys on, two outs, Nolan Jones at the plate.

And Skubal struck him out with a 99-mph fastball. The crowd in Comerica Park gave him a standing ovation. He walked off the mound and low-fived Dingler.

‘Obviously the loss is kind of probably what I’m more focused on, then kind of how I’m feeling physically right now,’ Skubal said.

So, the Tigers ace did his job; and if the story ended right there it would be perfect for Tigers fans.

But Skubal was replaced by Troy Melton, a 24-year-old rookie, who began the year at Double-A Erie.

In the seventh inning, he walked Ángel Martínez and faced José Ramírez, who had 28 homers.

It was yet another edge-of-your-seat moment then spun out of control. On his second pitch, Ramirez jacked a homer over the fence, which would prove to be the difference in this game.

One swing of the bat.

One more slip on the ice.

And suddenly, this feel-good movie has taken a dark twist.

‘These are tough times when you go through these stretches at the wrong time of the year, but it’s going to take the games to figure ’em out,’ Hinch said.

What’s next?

The Tigers have just nine games left: three against Atlanta this weekend in Comerica Park, three at Cleveland and then three at Boston.

‘Now they’re going to get another shot of us, or we’re going to get another shot at them, whichever way you want to look at it,’ Hinch said, of playing Cleveland.

Do they have time to turn this around and start winning? Of course.

But nothing feels certain right now. The pressure has ratcheted up. Uncertainty is everywhere you turn. Everything is cold and frigid, as they sprawl out on the ice. And the Tigers have only one way out of this: to win their way into the playoffs.

‘At some point we’re going to run out of games,’ Tyler Holton said. ‘So it’s time to buckle up and strap in. Because we’re in the middle of a fight.’

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season is here, and with that comes plenty of difficult fantasy football lineup decisions.

Week 2 saw six quarterbacks drafted outside the top 16 at the position finish inside the top 10:

Russell Wilson (QB2)
Drake Maye (QB3)
Daniel Jones (QB7)
Bryce Young (QB8)
Mac Jones (QB9)
Spencer Rattler (QB10)

We also had two running backs (Javonte Williams and Rhamondre Stevenson) drafted outside the top-40 finish as the RB4 and RB6, respectively. At wideout, three players drafted as the WR69 or later finished inside the top eight — Wan’Dale Robinson (WR5), Hunter Renfrow (WR7) and Troy Franklin (WR8). Finally, at tight end, only three with a positional ADP inside the top-12 finished as a TE1 — Tucker Kraft (TE1), Trey McBride (TE5) and Tyler Warren (TE7).

All that’s to say that fantasy football is hard, and our team is here to make your decisions easier:

Start/sit:Overall | Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | Kicker | D/ST

Trades:Trade value charts | Buy low, sell high

Waiver wire:15 players to add | 5 players to drop

Analysis:Week 2 winners and losers | 20 risers and sleepers

Given the volatility of this league and fantasy football in particular, these rankings will be updated up to a half hour before the Sunday afternoon games kick off. Let’s get to it.

Fantasy football quarterback rankings Week 3: Best matchups

Baker Mayfield vs New York Jets – From Week 6 and on last year, only four teams ceded more fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks than the Jets. New York surrendered more than 20 fantasy points seven times during that stretch. In Week 1, the shell of Aaron Rodgers dropped 244 yards and four tuddies on this defense.
Caleb Williams vs Dallas Cowboys – Only the Carolina Panthers were more generous to passers last year than the Cowboys, and that was with Micah Parsons terrorizing offensive lines. Dallas gave up at least 23+ fantasy points to quarterbacks in 10 of their 17 games, and they only limited them to fewer than 16 points on three occasions. This is also the defense that allowed Russell Wilson to finish as the QB2 last week.
Other plus matchups – Jared Goff at Ravens, C.J. Stroud at Jaguars, Carson Wentz vs Bengals, Jake Browning at Vikings.

Fantasy football running back rankings Week 3: Best matchups

Kenneth Walker vs New Orleans Saints – From Week 3 and on last year, only two teams fared worse against running backs than the Saints. A whopping 13 backs racked up at least 15 half-PPR points against them over their final 15 games.
Isiah Pacheco at New York Giants – In 2024, the Giants gave up the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing backfields. Seventeen backs totaled double-digit half-PPR points against them, including 10 with at least 15 points. Through two games this season, New York has given up the most fantasy points to runners.
Other plus matchups – Javonte Williams at Bears, Jordan Mason vs Bengals, Jaylen Warren at Patriots, Nick Chubb at Jaguars.

Fantasy football wide receiver rankings Week 3: Best matchups

Rome Odunze vs Dallas Cowboys – Odunze is the current WR4 in half-PPR formats, and he gets a mouth-watering matchup in Week 3. Dallas allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to receivers in 2024, but it got particularly ugly at the end of the campaign. Over their final seven games, no team was more generous to wideouts than Dallas. They’ll also be coming off a game in which they gave up 309 yards and three touchdowns to Malik Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson.
Tet McMillan vs Atlanta Falcons – From Week 5 and on last year, no team ceded more fantasy points to wide receivers than the Falcons. Eight wideouts eclipsed 16 fantasy points during that stretch. While Atlanta did a good job limiting Minnesota’s receivers in Week 2, they did give up 76 yards and two scores to fellow rookie Emeka Egbuka in Week 1.
Other plus matchups – A.J. Brown vs Rams, Courtland Sutton at Chargers, Garrett Wilson at Buccaneers, George Pickens at Bears, Chris Olave at Seahawks.

Fantasy football tight end rankings Week 3: Best matchups

Zach Ertz vs Las Vegas Raiders – Over their final 10 games of the 2024 season, the Raiders yielded an average of 2.3 more half-PPR points per game to tight ends than any other team in the league. Ertz is the TE2 through two weeks and should get plenty of work regardless of who’s behind center for the Commanders.
T.J. Hockenson vs Cincinnati Bengals – On the season, the only team that surrendered more fantasy points to the position than Vegas was Cincinnati. Eleven tight ends garnered double-digit half-PPR points against the Bengals.
Other plus matchups – Jonnu Smith at Patriots, Kyle Pitts at Panthers, Jake Ferguson at Bears.

Complete Week 3 fantasy football rankings: PPR and non-PPR