by Joel Piton Sportz Nation - 9/22/2026 Photo: Scott Wachter-ImagnImages Training camp is in session, the offseason is officially in the rearview mirror, and basketball is finally starting to feel here again. It’s time to turn our attention to one of the most fascinating teams in the NBA: the defending Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs. A year ago, San Antonio went from a young team overflowing with potential to standing just two wins away from an NBA championship

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 9/22/2026 Photo Credits to Christian Petersen via Getty Images Quarterbacks Drew Lock - SEA Lock is on my Waiver pickups for the 2nd week in a row and after his display in Arizona I think this will be the last because he should be rostered by at least 50% of leagues. His 23.88 points ranked 8th among Quarterbacks in Week 2 and his connection to Jaxon Smith-Njigba more than makes him worth a Fantasy start as long as Darnold is out. Kirk Cousins -

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 9/21/2026 Photo Credits to Justin Ford via Getty Images 1. Texas 2. Georgia 3. Ohio State 4. Ole Miss /\ 4 5. Miami \/ 1 6. Indiana \/ 1 7. Notre Dame \/ 1 8. Alabama /\ 2 9. LSU \/ 2 10. BYU /\ 2 11. USC 12. Oregon /\ 1 13. Penn State /\ 2 14. Texas Tech 15. Michigan /\ 2 16. Louisville /\ 8 17. Utah /\ 5 18. Florida /\ 2 19. Iowa /\ 2 20. Texas A&M \/ 11 21. Tennessee /\ 2 22. SMU \/ 6 23. Washington \/ 4 24. Missouri /\ 1 25.

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 9/18/2026 In our FN Noche Silva v Delgado Predictions, which you can find here, Zak went 4-2 in picks with 3 methods for 7 points. Matt went 4-2 in picks with 0 methos for 4 points. Points To Date: Zak: 185 (122-68) Matt: 164 (108-76) *All odds courtesy of Caesar's Sportsbook on 9/18 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Graphic by ufc via sports.yahoo.com Joshua Van vs Alexandre Pantoja 2 Flyweight Championship (Van -140) Zak

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 9/19/2026 Photo Credits to Justin K. Aller via Getty Images Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons (CAR -2.5) The Falcons plan to start Cooper Rush again, meanwhile the Panthers' offense looked great last week and should easily do it again. This may be the easiest bet of the week. Prediction: Panthers -2.5 Pittsburgh Steelers @ New England Patriots (NE -5) A great defense in Pittsburgh against a Patriots team with decent-to-good offense and defense

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 9/18/2026 Photo Credits to Robert F. Bukaty via Associated Press For their 2026 home opener, the Patriots will host the Steelers Sunday afternoon. Losing their first game of the season in true heartbreaking fashion, the Pats lost to the Seahawks in Seattle by a score of 13-10 and the Steelers come into this game 1-0 after beating the Falcons at home, 20-13. Pats-Seahawks Takeaways The Patriots season opener was a morale defeat as much as it was

Photo: David Gonzalez-ImagnImages NBA coaches have the most thankless job in basketball. Win 55 games? You had a loaded roster. Lose in the second round? You got outcoached. Make one questionable rotation change in May? Congratulations—thousands of fans are now calling for your job before the postgame press conference even starts. We know the best coaches leave their fingerprints everywhere, sometimes long after they're gone from their franchise. They build up a culture, groo

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 9/17/2026 Photo Credits to Ole Miss Athletics At 7:30pm EST on Saturday, September 19th, quite possibly the most important game of the 2026 CFB season will take place in Oxford, Missouri. If you don't follow College Football or you just live under a rock, Lane Kiffin's transition from Ole Miss's Head Coach to LSU's after the 2025 regular season but before the Playoffs was one of the most controversial and scrutinized moves in history. Only 8 mon

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 9/16/2026 Quarterbacks Start 'Em Photo Credits to Carolyn Kaster via Associated Press Baker Mayfield vs CLE Baker Mayfield is coming off a modest performance in week 1, where we threw for 216 yards but zero touchdowns. The Buccaneers struggled to get things going against the Bengals, but should have a bounce back game against a Browns defense that just let up 34 points to Jacksonville. Jaden Daniels at DAL In what was a very tough

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 9/14/2026 Photo Credits to @ufc on Instagram Jean Silva vs Aljamain Sterling Matt Hylen - I understand that a lot of the media believes Silva deserves a title shot next, but I still think he's a fight away from proving he deserves one. This win doesn't move him up in my eyes, plus he has lost to the only top-ranked guy he has faced in Diego Lopes. This may be a hot take for some, but Silva hasn't accomplished more than what I thin

Photo: Jordan Greer-Getty It’s September. The gyms are empty, the season is still a few weeks away, and mixtape season is right around the corner. The Class of 2026 has taken its fair share of criticism, with many questioning whether they have the same star power, depth and overall talent to take over the NCAA this season. But if you thought high school basketball was entering a down period, think again. The future is a whole different ball game—and it’s looking VERY bright.

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 9/15/2026 Quarterbacks Photo Credits to Troy Hull via The Charlotte Post Bryce Young I know the Panthers just let up 59 points to the Bears but their offense looked like the best version we've seen in years. Young's 32.03 points saw 4 total TDs, 361 yards through the air and only 1 turnover. The Panthers have given Young a better O-line and more weapons to throw to and I don't think he will keep this up all season but he's clearly a Top-20 QB in

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 9/15/2026 Photo Credits to Alamy Stock Photo 1. Buffalo Bills /\ 1 Last Week: 36-31 Win at HOU The Bills defense didn't look great in allowing 274 passing yards to CJ Stroud but the offense was spectacular. Josh Allen is already in MVP talks especially with DJ Moore as his new top receiver and when it came down to the 4th Quarter, this team just knows how to win big games. 2. Baltimore Ravens /\ 3 Last Week: 41-23 Win at IND A lot of people w

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 9/14/2026 Photo Credits to Eric Gay via Associated Press Zak Drapeau's Update Top-25 1. Texas (4) Last Week: 24-23 Win vs Ohio State 2. Georgia (2) Last Week: 70-20 Win vs Western Kentucky 3. Ohio State (1) Last Week: 23-24 Loss at Texas 4. Miami (5) Last Week: 77-7 Win vs Florida A&M 5. Indiana (6) Last Week: 55-0 Win vs Howard 6. Notre Dame (8) Last Week: 52-0 Win vs Rice 7. LSU (7) Last Week: 45-14 Win vs Louisiana Tech 8. Ole Miss (11) Last

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 9/11/2026 In our FN Paris Hooker v Parnasse Predictions, which you can find here, Zak went 4-2 in picks with 4 method for 8 points. Matt went 3-3 in picks with 2 method for 5 points. Points To Date: Zak: 178 (118-66) Matt: 160 (104-74) *All odds courtesy of Caesar's Sportsbook on 9/11 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Photo Credits to Cooper Neill/ Zuffa LLC via Getty Images 6Jean Silva vs Jose Delgado (Silva -420) Zak Dra

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 9/12/2026 Photo Credits to Jonathan Jones via Getty Images New Orleans Saints @ Detroit Lions (Lions -7) This game has one of the largest spreads of the weekend and that comes from the better team over the past few years being at home; the Detroit Lions. After a down year in 2025, the Lions will look to get back to their "trench-heavy" style of play on both sides of the ball against a Saints team that are more of a pass heavy team. The Saints ha

Photo: GettyImages Shooting has never been more polarizing in the NBA, and the talent around the league has never been more absurd. Gone are the days when being called a great shooter simply meant standing behind the three-point line and waiting for an open look. Today’s best marksmen are elite from the mid-range, pulling up from the logo, sprinting to get open off screens, burying contested jumpers and torching defenders from all-three levels. There are catch-and-shoot speci

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 9/10/2026 Check out my CFB Week 1 Review and updated Top-25 (and Next 5) list here Week 2 of College Football starts tonight and with it comes a HUGE weekend of football. There are at least 5 games that could shape the rest of the college football season this week including a Top-5 clash with two Heisman favorites. After an eventful Week 1 that saw National championship contenders assert their dominanace, three Top-25 schools lose and one of the

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 9/9/2026 Quarterbacks Start 'Em Photo Credit to Jeferee Woo via Tampa Bay Times Baker Mayfield vs CIN Now that his contract dispute is officially come to an end, Baker Mayfield can put his full focus towards his week one matchup against the Bengals. Sure, the Bengals' defensive line has improved and Mayfield lost his #1 target in Mike Evans, but I still believe this game has all the makings to be high scoring. I do not trust the B

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 9/8/2026 Photo Credits to Jeff Bottari via Zuffa LLC Salahdine Parnasse vs 6Benoit Saint Denis Zak Drapeau - Welcome to the UFC Salahdine Parnasse! We were expecting a lot from the French superstar in his UFC debut and a brutal sub-3 minute knockout of Dan Hooker was exactly what we wanted. Parnasse debuts in the Lightweight rankings at #9 and should definitely get a fight up in the rankings next. Saint Denis makes a lot of sense