The Stanford Cardinal put on a show as they dispatched Washington State, 94-65. Four players scored in double figures for the Cardinal, led by Elena Bosgana's 19 points. Nunu Agara scored 18 points on 7-12 rebounding with 8 rebounds while Tess Heal added 14 points and Chloe Clardy chipped in 13 points in the win.
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The Vikings lost to the Titans, 23-13, during their preseason finale on Friday night, but the score is hardly what matters in these exhibition games. It's all about the various individual performances from players who are fighting to make the 53-man roster on Tuesday — or in some cases, making a push for a significant role when the regular season begins. Here are four takeaways from the action in Nashville (plus some other notes at the end). Brosmer continues to shine It's difficult to overstate how impressive Max Brosmer was on Friday night. The Vikings' undrafted rookie quarterback has assuredly locked up a roster spot with his play, and there's a real discussion to be had about whether or not he might already be suited to be Minnesota's No. 2 QB behind J.J. McCarthy. Brosmer has played well all throughout training camp and in the first two preseason games, but this was his best showing yet. He went 15 for 23 for 161 yards and a touchdown, and his numbers would've been even more impressive if not for a drop on perhaps his prettiest throw of the evening. Everything the Vikings like about Brosmer was on display in this game. The former Gopher operated the offense smoothly and was both decisive and accurate with the football. He faced a tough task early against Jeffery Simmons and Tennessee's first-team defense, but he handled it admirably. And when the Titans' starters departed, Brosmer lit them up. He rifled a hole shot to Dontae Fleming for 36 yards. He then capped that drive with a touchdown pass to Bryson Nesbit. As mentioned earlier, neither of those were Brosmer's best throw of the game. That came on a fourth down later in the third quarter, when he floated a perfect deep ball to Fleming for what should've been close to a 40-yard gain. Unfortunately, the rookie receiver was unable to complete the process of the catch as he fell to the ground. Brosmer has given the Vikings a lot to think about — not in terms of his roster status, but in terms of how high he might climb on the depth chart. Rypien not as sharp The Vikings played two quarterbacks in a rotation on Friday. Brosmer got the start, but Brett Rypien also handled plenty of work. And while the former shined, the latter was far less sharp. Rypien's final line was 7 of 14 for 62 yards and a pick. He made a few nice throws, but it wasn't particularly smooth overall. Rypien's interception actually wasn't his fault, as former Vikings defensive tackle James Lynch hit him while he threw, causing the ball to float easily into the arms of a Titans defender. However, he should've thrown a second pick in the fourth quarter (it was overturned to an incomplete pass upon review), so it evens out. With Brosmer having seemingly secured his roster spot, Rypien's fate appears to be sealed. Unless the Vikings decide to waive Sam Howell, who didn't play in this game, Rypien figures to be waived and brought back to the practice squad as QB4. The punter battle might be over This game may well have ended the Vikings' punting competition — and not because of any punt. The role of holder is perhaps just as important for a punter as their primary job description. As such, it was quite notable when rookie Oscar Chapman bobbled a hold, resulting in Will Reichard missing a 55-yard field goal wide left. And it was similarly notable when Ryan Wright's quality hold led to Reichard drilling a 58-yarder not long after. Chapman has done well as a punter to make this a real competition. But if the Vikings can't trust him as a holder, he can't win the job. Wright seems likely to retain his job for a fourth season, with Chapman remaining on the practice squad via the International Player Pathway program (which grants a bonus 17th practice squad spot). Price remains fascinating as a returner One of the more intriguing players from this year's Vikings preseason has been wide receiver Myles Price. He caught a touchdown pass in the opener, but more notably, he's turned heads with his skills as a returner, including an 81-yard kick return in the second game last weekend. Price had another nice return in this game, a 28-yarder that didn't count due to a penalty. He looks confident with the ball in his hands and is able to make people miss in the open field. But there's one concern: his ability to actually catch the ball without issue. It's been part of the equation throughout training camp and the preseason, and in this one, he nearly muffed a punt before managing to hold on. Price seems to have real juice as a returner, but if he's going to make the roster and potentially earn that role, the Vikings have to be able to trust that he can catch it cleanly. Lightning round Outside linebacker Chaz Chambliss stood out. He had a team-high seven tackles, showing up both on defense and special teams. RB Zavier Scott had a big 23-yard carry early on, but he may have gotten injured shortly after that? It's not totally clear. Fleming (two catches for 53 yards) could've had quite the receiving line if he had held onto the deep ball from Brosmer. Jeshaun Jones played well, catching all four targets for 41 yards. Levi Drake Rodriguez, Austin Keys, and Jonathan Harris recorded sacks. Jay Ward got hurdled by a Titans running back, but made up for it with an impressive TFL later. Zemaiah Vaughn had a rep that he'll really not enjoy watching on film. He slipped and whiffed badly on his tackle attempt against Van Jefferson, who raced up the sideline for a 65-yard touchdown. Cornerback depth is a serious question for the Vikings. It's not great for Mekhi Blackmon that he was playing in this game at all. Reichard came up just short from 63 yards out to end the first half. Later, Titans kicker Joey Slye drilled one from 63 that would've been good from 70. The preseason has come to an end. Let the real games begin. More Vikings coverage
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has suggested on multiple occasions that he is "one hundred percent" confident he will "be throwing some passes to" wide receiver Terry McLaurin during the 2025 season. It seems Daniels may have had some inside information. NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated revealed Friday that the situation involving the Commanders and McLaurin "is in a better spot than it’s been" since the 29-year-old requested a trade on July 31. "The sides started out pretty far apart," wrote Breer, "so there was a lot of ground to make up. Maybe the deadlines in the next couple of weeks will help push an agreement through." The "pretty far apart" line may be referencing a previous report that claimed "one person with knowledge of McLaurin’s contract negotiations" said he had "asked for more than" the average annual value attached to DK Metcalf's five-year, $150M deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That same story insinuated that Washington may be more comfortable paying McLaurin around $27M or $28M per season via a multiyear extension. Coming off their trip to this year's NFC Championship Game, the Commanders likely won't be trading McLaurin's rights anytime soon. At this point, Washington acquiring a suitable replacement for McLaurin and getting him familiar with the team's offense in time for the Commanders' Week 1 game against the New York Giants is unrealistic. For an article published on Aug. 18, ESPN's Ben Solak wrote that he believed the McLaurin-Commanders standoff would eventually end "with a compromise extension before Week 1." It's unclear what McLaurin will do if this does not occur before the Giants matchup on Sept. 7, but it sounds like the two sides could work something out.
The Cincinnati Bengals do not have the best reputation when it comes to their willingness to spend money. They have been regarded as one of the cheapest teams in the league over how much they are willing to pay players, over their front office, coaching, scouting staff and for pretty much anything else that comes with running a professional sports franchise. Now, one of their all-time greatest players is putting them on blast for the way they invited him to the team's Ring of Honor ceremony in October. Former quarterback Boomer Esiason revealed on his radio show on Friday that his invite to the Oct. 26 ceremony wasn't exactly one that made him willing to jump up and rush back to Cincinnati. Instead of a personal invite, Esiason revealed that he received a form-letter email that he had to RSVP with for the ceremony, two tickets to the game with the opportunity to purchase more on his own and a group rate for a hotel that he would have to book himself, while also providing his own transportation. Here is the entire story from Esiason. On one hand, the common fan is not really going to understand his gripe here, and he might even come off as a little entitled. Maybe spoiled. Maybe even something of a jerk. But, is he wrong when you consider the context? The context being, he is a former professional athlete who is already in the Bengals' ring of honor and a player who made significant contributions to the franchise. He is one of the top quarterbacks -- and players -- to ever suit up for the team. Usually, teams go out of their way to roll out the red carpet for those players and bring them back for events like this. At least, that is probably the type of treatment players are accustomed to from multi-billion-dollar professional sports teams. Could Esiason afford his own plane ticket and hotel room? Could he buy his own tickets to the game? Absolutely. He was a starting quarterback in the NFL for over a decade and is one of the highest-profile radio hosts on the top sports talk channel in the country. He's probably doing fine financially. A trip to Cincinnati probably is not out of his budget. Still, it's the lack of effort from the Bengals that really stands out here, and it's not a great look for a franchise that doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to spending money. Yeah, Esiason can afford it. But so can the Bengals. And if they wanted him — and any other player — to show up, they could at least make it worth their while and a little easier for them. This story also caught the attention of former Bengals running back Corey Dillon, who delivered his own shot at the team on social media. Tough look all around for the Bengals to have former players — all-time great players for the franchise — calling them out.
A pair of NASCAR Cup Series teams will be at a major disadvantage when the green flag flies for Saturday's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. An unapproved adjustment made by the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team led to William Byron's crew chief, Rudy Fugle, being ejected from the speedway. The No. 24 Chevrolet initially passed inspection before the adjustment was made. Byron will also have to drop to the rear of the field before the start of the race, and will also have to serve a stop-and-go penalty on pit road after taking the green flag. Byron's team also lost pit stall on selection for Saturday's race. The No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports team also incurred a penalty after inspection on Friday. B.J. McLeod's Chevrolet failed inspection twice, with car chief Lee Leslie also being ejected from the speedway. McLeod also lost pit stall selection, though he will not have to serve a stop-and-go penalty like Byron. Byron, the two-time defending Daytona 500 champion, will have a much tougher road to his fourth Daytona victory. He's looking for his first win in Daytona's summer race since 2020, when he earned his first career win in the 2020 Coke Zero Sugar 400. Ryan Blaney will start on the pole for Saturday's race, which serves as the Cup Series regular season finale.
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