Paul George’s first night in green was memorable for all the right reasons, except for the final score. The nine-time All-Star delivered a record-setting performance during Tuesday's NBA opener, despite the Boston Celtics falling 121-113 to the Detroit Pistons.
George scored 38 points in 31 minutes during his Celtics debut, the most ever by a player in his first game with the franchise.
While the loss dampened George’s performance, it did give Boston an encouraging glimpse of what he can provide after injury-plagued stints with his previous teams.
George said the last time he felt this healthy was toward the end of his tenure with the Los Angeles Clippers, and admitted an injury lingered during his run with the 76ers.
"My stint in LA. I was pretty healthy to finish my last year there, and then, honestly, going to Philly, I just had a bad hyperextension that really set me back, and I couldn’t quite shake that one — it was an ongoing thing of my leg, my knee not feeling strong, and it was rough, right?" the 36-year-old said.
"Because I was trying to rest, but I was also trying to be available for the team, and just couldn’t quite find the time to let it all come together."
Injury setbacks and load management arguably became a theme of George's stints with the Clippers and Sixers. He's managed to play at least 57 games during the regular season just once since taking the court for 77 contests in the 2018-19 campaign. That year also marked his last season with Oklahoma City.
The Celtics visit New York City on Friday night to face the defending champion Knicks. Both teams are seeking their first win of the 2026-27 season after losing their openers.
The NFL has insisted multiple times this week that Sunday's game in France will be safe to play and safe for fans to attend amid civil unrest in Paris, but the Pittsburgh Steelers showed a different side to that confidence on Thursday by canceling one of their fan events.
The club confirmed to OutKick that it has canceled a Steelers House fan event scheduled for this week.
"Following recent events in the Bastille neighborhood and after careful consideration, we felt it appropriate not to move forward with the planned Steelers House fan event in Paris," the club announced.
This isn't the lone crack in the "all is well" armor the NFL has put on about this event. Earlier this week, Dani Watt, the wife of Steelers defensive end TJ Watt, questioned publicly why the game has not been moved.
This is an obvious break from the the league's narrative that the civil unrest in Paris and other parts of France will not hinder it from playing its game and, indeed, holding a fan event of its own.
The NFL on Thursday told OutKick that its own NFL Fan House event scheduled for Friday and Saturday remains as scheduled.
"It's happening," a league spokesman said.
So what we have is the NFL taking another bold step in virtually guaranteeing the safety of its players and fans during the game, but also doing the same for a fan event over a two-day span at 46 Rue Cambon in Paris.
And this is where you should know it's not only the NFL that seems confident about the safety of Americans tied to the game in France.
On Wednesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he's going to the game and he spoke with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the event in recent days about moving forward with the game.
Rubio told OutKick that the American embassy in France believes the game "will be fine."
So the NFL is moving ahead, including with its own fan event at which multiple thousand French and American football fans are expected in the days prior to the game.
"There's nothing more important from our standpoint than the teams' security, the fans' security, everybody involved with this game," NFL executive vice president Peter O'Reilly said at the League Fall Meeting this week.
"Again, we've made all the preparations," Goodell said. "We've been in touch with all the appropriate authorities."
Tony Romo's loss has been J.J. Watt's gain at CBS â and now it's permanent.
Watt on Thursday was named lead analyst for the NFL on CBS in a new multi-year contract agreement. The announcement was made by David Berson, Chairman of Skydance's Global Sports Group.
Watt will continue to call the networkâs top NFL games alongside Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson as CBS Sportsâ lead NFL announce team, including during the 2027 season when they call Super Bowl LXII in Atlanta.
"Iâve had a front-row seat to J.J.âs growth as a top-tier broadcaster, watching him tackle this role just like he did his Hall-of-Fame playing career," Berson said in a release by the network. "Heâs insightful, entertaining, passionate, meticulous in his preparation, and the ultimate teammate. He has a unique ability to see things and communicate to fans of all levels. We are thrilled to have him leading our NFL coverage."
Watt didn't start the 2026 NFL season in his current role. That belonged to Romo, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback.
But Romo ran afoul of his assignment when he was arrested on July 23, after a traffic stop on southbound Interstate 43 near downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He later pleaded no contest to a first-offense OWI, with the sentence including a six-month revocation of his driving privileges and an alcohol-assessment requirement.
CBS said on July 31 that Romo was on leave "until further notice," but then the network announced on Oct. 2 that it had "mutually agreed to part ways" with its long-time lead analyst.
Watt, meanwhile, was the next man up. He has served as the network's lead analyst since the start of the season and that now becomes a permanent role after what was obviously a successful trial period.
The network chose the man in the seat over other possible permanent replacements for Romo, Greg Olsen and others among them.
"I am incredibly honored and grateful to have the opportunity to represent CBS Sports and all of the fantastic people who make this place so special," Watt said in a statement. "From the brotherhood of The NFL Today to my crews calling games, I couldnât ask for better teammates alongside me on this television journey.
"I am thankful to David Berson for his leadership, vision and trust. I love this job and canât wait to see ya Sunday with Jim and Tracy and many more Sundays to come!"
Watt joined CBS Sports in 2023 as a studio analyst on The NFL Today. Last season, Watt moved to the booth to call games with Ian Eagle and Evan Washburn.
Watt was a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and was honored as the 2017 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year.
ATLANTA â Angel Reese helped the Atlanta Dream win a WNBA Finals game for the first time Monday. Two nights later, she helped them take their first lead in a Finals series.
Reese finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds as Atlanta beat the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 on Wednesday night at State Farm Arena, taking a 2â1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Reese has totaled 51 points and 28 rebounds in Atlantaâs two victories.
Reese became the youngest player in WNBA Finals history to record at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in consecutive games, joining Aâja Wilson as the only players to accomplish the feat.
And to give the Dream and their fans credit, I previously questioned whether Atlanta could fill State Farm Arena for the Finals. They answered that with a resounding yes on Wednesday night. Game 3 was a sellout, and the building was loud.
Before tip-off, both teams again left the court for the national anthem, marking their third straight absence in the series. They returned moments after the performance ended. The WNBAâs rulebook calls for players, coaches and trainers to stand and line up during the anthem, and the league has not answered OutKickâs questions about the absences.
Once the game started, Reese picked up where she left off in San Francisco. She scored Atlantaâs first basket and finished the opening quarter with eight points, including a three-pointer that pushed the Dreamâs lead to 22â12.
Golden State missed its first eight shots and didnât make a field goal until 4:38 remained in the first quarter. Atlanta led 23â15 after one.
Reese added another three in the second quarter and went into halftime with 15 points, matching her first-half total from Game 2. Naz Hillmon made three first-half threes of her own, helping Atlanta take a 46â40 lead into the break.
The Valkyries made a push to start the third. Cecilia Zandalasini hit two threes in the opening 68 seconds, and Golden State tied the game at 48, then again at 49.
Reese helped Atlanta answer. After Rhyne Howard put the Dream back in front, Reese made two free throws, assisted on an Isobel Borlase layup and scored on a running layup herself. That completed an 8â0 run and gave Atlanta a 57â49 lead.
Golden State cut the deficit to four, but the Dream kept scoring after Reese went to the bench with 3:31 left in the quarter. DeWanna Bonner hit a three to start a 12â2 finish to the period, scoring five points during that stretch.
Atlanta led 71â57 entering the fourth and Golden State never really threatened in the final period.
Hillmon finished with 15 points, while Jordin Canada added 8 assists. Rhyne Howard had her best offensive performance of the series, scoring 16 points.
Atlanta again held down Golden Stateâs Gabby Williams, who finished with 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting.
Atlanta entered these Finals without a win in its three previous appearances, then lost Saturdayâs opener. Now Reese and the Dream are two victories from a championship.
The LeBron James era in Los Angeles is officially in the rearview mirror, and Luka Doncic wasted no time introducing himself as the new face of the city.
Ahead of Wednesday night's season opener against the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers' superstar made an instant impression on everyday fans before even stepping onto the court.
Doncic bought out an entire parking lot outside Crypto.com Arena to give fans free parking and teamed up with Metro Bike Share to hand out free rides across Los Angeles all day long.
If you have ever tried driving into downtown Los Angeles on a game night, you know parking alone can feel like a shakedown.
Dropping 50 bucks just to leave your car on cracked asphalt for three hours is enough to ruin an evening before it even starts.
Anyone hoping Luka's generosity would carry over to the concession stands inside would be sorely disappointed. Free beer is definitely not on the menu, and you are still going to pay 20 dollars for a draft and 10 bucks for a soda once you clear security.
Taking a family of four to a ballgame is still a heavy hit on the bank account. Still, the gesture sends a clear message that this is Luka's team now.
For years, Lakers basketball was the LeBron show, complete with all the celebrity drama, roster turnover, and constant circus that came with it. With James gone, the keys to the most famous franchise in basketball belong entirely to Doncic.
Coming off a frustrating hamstring injury that cut his 2025-26 season short, he enters this fresh campaign with an enormous chip on his shoulder and the weight of 17 championship banners on his back.
Free parking and pedal bikes build quick goodwill, but hanging banner 18 is the only thing that truly matters. Wednesday night against Golden State is just the opening chapter of the Luka era.
Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs apologized to his teammates, while also speaking with reporters for the first time since returning to the team after being removed from the commissionerâs exempt list last week.
Jacobs missed the first six weeks of the 2026 season following an offseason domestic abuse arrest in May, which landed him on the commissionerâs exempt list on Aug. 30.
The league continues to investigate Jacobsâ situation despite pleading no contest to both misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor criminal damage to property. Jacobs being removed from the list doesnât hinder the investigation, the NFL has noted, but he is allowed back with the Packers.
Ahead of his potential season debut â the Packers havenât said whether Jacobs will be playing against the Detroit Lions on Sunday â Jacobs spoke with reporters, expressing remorse for his actions.
"Excited to be back with the team, with the guys," he said during his media availability. "I want to say thank you to the organization really for supporting me throughout this whole process and how everything played out.
"With that being said, I canât really get into a lot of things, like specifics of things, but obviously Iâm remorseful, and sorry for putting this time in this situation.
"Sometimes, when you go through life, situations occur, and a four-second, three-second decision can alter your life honestly. With that being said, still a human being, man, still trying to learn, still trying to grow from the whole process. Actually learned a lot throughout this whole process, legally and just personally."
As part of Jacobsâ plea deal, he was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, attend counseling, pay restitution for property he destroyed and have no further contact with the victim. As long as he meets those conditions for one year, the property damage charge will be dismissed.
Jacobs was arrested in Wisconsin following an incident that occurred three days prior, where he allegedly grabbed his ex-girlfriend trying to leave his garage and threw her to the ground.
Jacobs also filed a civil suit last week calling for an injunction and protective order surrounding evidence, specifically surveillance footage of the incident, which would restrict access to records of the case. Basically, Jacobs doesnât want the footage released to the public, as it was reported the video footage of the alleged battery would corroborate the victimâs claims.
Jacobs is trying to put the situation behind him, saying that he is "just trying to be better" moving forward.
"I know for some people this might be a stain on me and my character," he added. "I feel like I donât have to really speak on my character. A lotta people that know me in this locker room, or thatâs been around me, Iâll let them do that.
"For me, man, Iâm just trying to come back in here, play ball, learn from this mistake and move forward."
Head coach Matt LaFleur also addressed Jacobs returning to his squad during his news conference on Wednesday.
"I think a lot of times you get in a situation where you might not make the right decision," he said of Jacobsâ situation. "I think people learn from their mistakes. I think heâs extremely remorseful, and I do believe he is a good person. Iâve been around him quite a bit. I believe in second chances."
With Jacobs sidelined, LaFleur has seen an abysmal run game from his depth chart, which includes MarShawn Lloyd, Pierre Strong Jr. and Kaleb Johnson, who Green Bay traded for with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Packers are averaging just 59.8 yards on the ground per game, though they are top five in passing yards (269.3) with quarterback Jordan Love finding his rhythm amid a recent three-game win streak for his 4-2 squad.
LaFleur said he felt Jacobs was in a "pretty good spot" earlier this week in terms of playing against the Lions.
"Heâs been training, but heâs missed the exposure to football. [His availability] is going to be determined throughout the course of the week, see where heâs at, see how heâs feeling, and then weâll make a decision."
Last season, Jacobs rushed for 929 yards in 15 games, finishing fourth in the NFL in rushing touchdowns with 13.
The NBA slapped new Boston Celtics forward Paul George with a meager $2,000 fine for flopping during Tuesday’s 121-113 season-opening loss to the Detroit Pistons, the league announced Wednesday.
The penalty stemmed from a fourth-quarter sequence with roughly three minutes remaining in regulation. Pushing the ball in transition, George made contact with Detroit guard Duncan Robinson before dramatically collapsing to the floor in an Oscar-worthy attempt to bait a whistle.
On-court officials swallowed their whistles in real time, but the league office retroactively assessed the violation upon postgame video review.
Under NBA regulations, postgame flopping penalties begin at $2,000 on an escalating scale. For a superstar commanding nearly $50 million this season, the fine amounts to little more than loose couch cushion change.
Tuesday's physical opener frequently devolved into a four-quarter flop-fest with players repeatedly hitting the deck on contested shots, yet George was somehow the only player singled out to receive an invoice from league officials.
The slap on the wrist capped an otherwise strong Celtics debut for the nine-time All-Star, who was putting on an absolute clinic.
George poured in 38 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the floor, including 7-of-12 from beyond the arc. He added five rebounds, five steals, and three assists in 31 minutes, breaking the franchise record for points in a Boston debut previously held by Kristaps Porzingis.
George's individual performance was ultimately spoiled by Boston's collapse. The Celtics squandered a 22-point advantage, largely undone by a sickening 23-0 Detroit run in the fourth quarter led by Robinson and Cade Cunningham.
With Jayson Tatum struggling through a dismal 6-of-23 shooting performance, George carried the offense until Boston’s execution fell apart in the closing minutes.
Because the flopping infraction carries no suspension, George remains fully cleared to suit up Friday when Boston hosts his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers.
During his playing days, Ryan Fitzpatrick was known as a gunslinger, unafraid to push the ball downfield and take shots. As an analyst, he appears to have that same mentality.
Sometimes Fitzpatrick made throws he wished he could take back, throwing 169 interceptions during his NFL career. As an analyst, there are some takes he wishes he could take back, too.
Fitzpatrick eviscerated Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix after the team's 17-14 win last Thursday over the Seattle Seahawks on Prime Video's "Thursday Night Football" but said he regretted one remark from his rant.
"The line about being disrespectful to the quarterback position, it boiled over, and that’s the one phrase I wish I could have taken back, because I think my criticism was fair," Fitzpatrick said during a recent episode of "Fitz and Whit."
"I don’t think the effort and the competitiveness that he’s shown in the past, I don’t think he was showing that at the end of the game. That is somewhere I usually don’t go, but that’s what I felt."
The 17-year NFL veteran stood by his scathing criticism, saying Nix was not playing competitive football and that something appears to be wrong with the Broncos quarterback.
"Something’s going on with him. I don’t know what it is," Fitzpatrick said. "You watched C.J. Stroud and Trevor Lawrence in that game at Wembley, going toe to toe, one after another. Even Aaron Rodgers and Jalon Daniels in the fourth quarter. You had Josh Allen and Kirk Cousins, and you had Jacoby Brissett, and you had Matthew Stafford just going at it. That’s the type of competitiveness that the quarterback position deserves."
Despite the Broncos defeating the Seahawks and Sam Darnold throwing two interceptions, Fitzpatrick chose to focus on Nix in his postgame analysis.
"I don’t want to talk about Sam Darnold’s two interceptions because, look, playing quarterback is hard, and there are a lot of things that you can’t control," Fitzpatrick said. "But there are things you can control, and when you decide to turn it down, maybe that’s what really bothered me."
Former Broncos star Aqib Talib defended Nix and questioned Fitzpatrick's playing credentials to discredit his criticism. Fitzpatrick playfully responded to Talib in a video Sunday but did not fully address his criticism of Nix until appearing on his podcast.
The Los Angeles Angels’ new ownership era will bring another familiar change: a new manager in the dugout.
Only the Colorado Rockies finished the 2026 regular season with more losses than the Angels. Los Angeles’ 100 defeats ultimately ended Kurt Suzuki’s one-season tenure, with the team declining its 2027 option on his contract.
Baseball operations consultant John Mozeliak announced the decision in a statement Wednesday. "Kurt has earned tremendous respect in our clubhouse, and I’ve seen firsthand how much he cares about our players," Mozeliak said. "I do not believe our record this year was a true reflection of his true abilities as a manager."
Suzuki’s time with the Angels may not be over, as the team has offered him an opportunity to remain with the organization as a special assistant.
Mozeliak said he made the decision in coordination with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which agreed Sept. 1 to purchase a controlling interest in the Angels from Arte Moreno.
The sale is not expected to close until next year, but the group led by Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke is already making significant changes to the beleaguered franchise.
The Angels ended the season at 62-100 under Suzuki, which marked the first 100-loss season in franchise history. Suzuki ended his 16-year major league playing career as a catcher for the Halos in 2021-22. Suzuki had never been a manager at any level before he was hired exactly one year ago by general manager Perry Minasian.
Suzuki had previously worked as Minasian's special assistant for the previous three seasons.
Minasian was fired by Moreno last June, and longtime St. Louis Cardinals general manager Mozeliak stepped in on a temporary basis to run the front office while leading the search for a permanent GM to replace him. However, that transition plan has been thrown into flux by Moreno’s decision to sell
Mozeliak’s current contract ends in December, with the possibility of an MLB work stoppage looming.
Angels pitching coach Mike Maddux and two staffers were let go in August after Mozeliak determined the team was not fully leveraging the technology and analytics available to its pitchers.
Suzuki’s replacement will be the seventh manager to lead the Angels in nine seasons since it parted with Mike Scioscia after the 2018 season. The Angels have had 11 consecutive losing seasons and 12 straight non-playoff seasons, both the longest active skids in the major leagues.
Two other MLB teams, the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros, are also searching for new managers.
The San Francisco 49ers are red-hot to start the 2026 season, owning a perfect 6-0 record after a "Monday Night Football" victory over the Washington Commanders.
But tensions can run high even when things are going well. Just ask head coach Kyle Shanahan and quarterback Brock Purdy after the latter screamed toward his leader on the sideline in a now-viral exchange in Week 6.
Purdy was heard shouting, "Hey, Kyle!" with clear frustration, and the clip quickly found its way around social media. It appeared that Purdy wasn’t happy that Shanahan didn’t have the play-call in his ear in time.
Ahead of the 49ers’ matchup with the Atlanta Falcons this week, Shanahan told a different story on the exchange.
"Yeah, it’s actually not to call a play faster," Shanahan replied when asked about it by a reporter. "It’s, ‘I need it again,’ and it gets cutoff at 15 [seconds]."
Communications within a quarterback’s helmet can sometimes cause issues with getting play calls in on the sideline in time. That seemed to be the case here.
"Sometimes no one can hear it," Shanahan added. "… I always call a play and I just walk, and think. I don’t always watch the huddle. A lot of times. Mac [Jones] or someone will say, ‘We didn’t get it, it was chopped’ or somebody yells, ‘Brock’s yelling at you,’ which I can’t always hear. But I did hear him a couple times in this game, and I look up and try to do it again as long as it’s not past 15 seconds."
Shanahan is known as one of the best offensive play-callers in the sport, but it’s not always smooth sailing on game day. The clock is always playing a major factor, but the chemistry between play-caller and quarterback is what matters most.
So, there’s no disconnect on that front, as Shanahan has seen Purdy be one of the top signal callers in the game thus far through this undefeated start.
For quarterbacks who have played through all six weeks, Purdy owns the league’s best quarterback rating (118.1) while throwing for 1,460 yards with a 69.6% completion rate, 14 touchdowns and only two interceptions.
Vice President JD Vance is a longtime Cincinnati Bengals fan to the extreme that he watched his team lose an AFC wild card game to the Pittsburgh Steelers – while he was serving in Iraq in January of 2006.
Well, on Wednesday, the Veep got a closer look of his favorite team when he visited at their training facility and watched parts of practice.
Vance toured the team's locker room, shook hands with several players, coach Zac Taylor and others, and came away with a football. It is unclear if Vance brought the ball to be autographed or the club gave it to him as a memento.
The Trump administration is making a lot of campaign stops before the November 3 midterm elections and it seems athletes from all sports have been engaged and more than happy to tag along with the President and others.
Wednesday, meanwhile, wasn't the Bengals following Vance around. It was a Bengals fan following the team he's loved since he was a boy.
The strange thing about this visit, though, was that Vance didn't interact with quarterback Joe Burrow, who is undoubtedly the biggest star on the team.
The two didn't talk at all.
"We did not," Burrow told reporters. "We did not. He came with everybody and left with swiftness and efficiency before the end of practice, so I didn't get to."
Burrow turned a question about what happened while Vance was at practice into a statement about himself.
"Yeah, a lot of people, a lot of people around, you know, that's what I love about what I do is, it brings a lot of people together, and people want to take time out of their day to come and watch what we do, watch what I do, and watch all the work that I've put in to come and watch greatness, and that's everybody in the locker room," Burrow said.
"That's why we do what we do, and whether it's on the TV, whether it's in person, whether it's on the practice field, and that's what we do."
Yes, we now understand who Burrow believes the stars are when the vice president of the country visits.
Vance arrived in a motorcade befitting a world leader – six black SUVs, some police vehicles, and some motorcycle cops.
His SUV (mini-tank?) rolled past a back gate at the Kettering Health practice fields adjacent to Paycor Stadium.
Vance is a Middletown, Ohio native. He has a home in Cincinnati’s East Walnut Hills neighborhood so he was obviously feeling quite at home when he arrived in town to deliver a speech at the FBI's Cincinnati Field Office and then hold a campaign rally at the Sharonville Convention Center.
Login
