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Happy Tuesday, sports fans. Brent Brookhouse here, still coming down from a wild day of sports. With Monday as 2025’s sports equinox, featuring major action across MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL, there was no shortage of action to follow. Luckily, things won’t slow down much on Tuesday.
Many of the top stars in sports were in action on Monday, including heroic performances from Patrick Mahomes, Sidney Crosby, Victor Wembanyama, and, of course, Shohei Ohtani, Will Klein and Freddie Freeman. Let’s take a look at what you need to know — and what’s coming today — in the sports world.
🏈 Five things to know Tuesday
- Freddie Freeman’s 18th inning home run gives Dodgers World Series 2-1 lead. The two longest games in World Series history have been played at Dodger Stadium, and the home team won both. Monday’s game was an instant classic, and in addition to Freeman’s heroics, Shohei Ohtani — Tuesday’s scheduled starting pitcher — reached base safely all nine times he came to the plate in Game 3.
- Chiefs down Commanders on Monday Night Football. After a rocky start to the season, the Chiefs are now in the thick of things in the AFC after a 28-7 win on Monday night. The Chiefs earned an “A-“ for their winning performance. Kansas City is 5-3 and still has two meetings with first-place Denver in the fight for the AFC West.
- Rankings, rankings, rankings! It’s Tuesday, and that means we have you covered with a variety of college football rankings. From the CBS Sports 136 to the College Football Power Rankings, find out where we think your team ranks.
- Cam Skattebo undergoes surgery. The Giants’ rookie sensation underwent surgery in Philadelphia Sunday night for a dislocated ankle. Skattebo released a statement, saying the situation was “just the beginning of my journey.”
- Carson Wentz is out for the season. Wentz needs season-ending shoulder surgery after making five starts following an injury to Vikings starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Minnesota now hopes to get McCarthy back under center for Sunday’s game against the Lions.
⚾ Do not miss this: Game 3 had all of the drama Hollywood could ever want
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Like any classic film, Monday’s epic 18-inning Game 3 between the Dodgers and Blue Jays delivered dramatic scene after dramatic scene. Fans witnessed unsung heroes, a redemption arc in the form of a would-be goat turned hero, plot twists, jaw-dropping moments and a spectacular ending. In the end, Los Angeles defeated Toronto, 6-5, on the strength of a Freddie Freeman walk-off home run — the second such blow Freeman delivered in the Fall Classic in as many seasons.
Freeman’s blast in the bottom of the 18th inning ended a marathon game for the ages, and the second-longest World Series game ever played in terms of time. It fell a few minutes shy of the record, also played by the Dodgers against the Red Sox in 2018. Also a Game 3. Also played at Dodger Stadium. Also 18 innings. Also ended by the long ball.
But on Monday night — or Tuesday morning for many — the only way to even get to Freeman’s shot is by acknowledging Shohei Ohtani‘s night (tying an MLB mark of reaching base safely nine times in one game on two doubles, two home runs and five walks), Will Klein (four scoreless innings in relief when he had never thrown more than two) and Tommy Edman making key defensive gems after an earlier error led to Toronto taking a 3-2 lead. The list goes on and on.
Our Matt Snyder likened the game to a Hollywood production, one that almost felt scripted.
- Snyder: “This was the type of game where you drop to your knees and thank heavens you decided, at whatever point, to become a baseball fan. I found myself thinking in the seventh inning that if you just randomly brought a non-baseball fan to this game, they’d immediately become a die-hard fan, hooked for the rest of their life. It was almost like — just a few miles from Hollywood — the game was scripted for maximum entertainment.”
And if you’re wondering what will be done for the encore, well, Ohtani is scheduled to start Game 4 in just a few more hours.
🏈 Patrick Mahomes leads Chiefs’ second-half turnaround to beat Commanders
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The first half of the Chiefs‘ “Monday Night Football” game felt reminiscent of how Kansas City’s season began, snakebit and confounding. Patrick Mahomes threw two interceptions against the Commanders in the first half. The first came on a fantastic play by Marshon Lattimore and the second after a ball ricocheted off of Travis Kelce‘s hands and landed in the clutches of Bobby Wagner. Despite the rocky first half leading to a 7-7 tie heading into halftime, the Chiefs exploded in the second half to win 28-7.
With the win, Kansas City is now 5-3 and right in the thick of the hunt in the AFC. That’s a big turnaround since a 0-2 start to the season that had many wondering if Mahomes and the Chiefs’ run of dominance came to a screeching halt. Mahomes finished with 299 passing yards and three touchdowns to go along with the two early interceptions. He also rushed for 30 yards as the Chiefs bring plenty of momentum into a marquee Week 9 game against AFC rivals Buffalo.
In good news that will soothe no wounds from the loss, Commanders tight end Zach Ertz became only the sixth tight end in NFL history with at least 800 career receptions.
🏈 Fallout continues from LSU’s firing of Brian Kelly
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In an already tumultuous year of major programs firing coaches, LSU rocked the college football world with Sunday’s dismissal of coach Brian Kelly. The decision to let Kelly go was met by plenty of reactions from LSU alumni, with most expressing satisfaction at Kelly’s firing. LSU also followed up on firing Kelly by firing offensive coordinator Joe Sloan.
CBS Sports took a look at 10 candidates who could replace Kelly and the odds of their being hired. Among those candidates is Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, who said that money wouldn’t drive his decision as the LSU and Florida jobs become available.
CBS Sports’ John Talty broke down why things never worked with Kelly at LSU.
- Talty: “You’ll hear the word fit — or lack thereof — thrown around a lot in hindsight of LSU’s decision to fire Kelly. From the early weird pronunciation of “family” mishap to calling out LSU fans for being spoiled, Kelly never seemed to understand how to authentically connect with the LSU fanbase. It always felt like a politician trying too hard to be something he wasn’t. LSU is one of the best jobs in college football because of how much the state of Louisiana adores their Tigers. There’s no other Power Four team in the state to divide attention and loyalty the way there is in neighboring states Alabama and Mississippi. There’s a reason why the three coaches who preceded Kelly all won national championships in Baton Rouge. When everyone is pulling in the same direction, that’s what’s possible at LSU.”
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
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- Victor Wembanyama is a delight for NBA fans and we took a look at his best blocks and dunks early in the season.
- Penguins star Sidney Crosby became the fourth-fastest player to register 1,700 career points.
- There’s great news for Ravens fans, with the team expecting superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson to return to action on Thursday night against the Dolphins.
- The 2025 NFL season produced several wild comebacks, already. CBS Sports ranked the eight craziest comebacks of the season so far.
- The Bills suffered a big blow on Monday, as it was confirmed that star defensive tackle Ed Oliver will undergo surgery for a torn biceps.
- There is no doubt that Texas has had a disappointing season, but the Longhorns could throw a wrench into the national championship race. That said, Arch Manning could be sidelined after suffering a concussion, so it’s time to get to know Matthew Caldwell.
- Unfortunate news for Texas Tech, as quarterback Will Hammond suffered a torn ACL during Saturday’s win over Oklahoma State. Former starter Behren Morton is “ready to go” with Hammond done for the season.
- Trade hype swirls around Jaguars wideout Brian Thomas Jr. in recent days. However, coach Liam Coen says the team has “no plans” to trade Thomas.
- Former UFC lightweight champ Islam Makhachev said that, if he wins the welterweight title in his UFC 322 bout with 170-pound champ Jack Della Maddalena, he would be open to a White House card fight with current lightweight king Ilia Topuria.
- Myles Garrett was a force of nature on Sunday, racking up five sacks and a forced fumble. Despite Garrett’s performance, the Browns lost 32-13. Garrett may be frustrated, but the Browns won’t be looking to trade their star pass rusher.
- College football lost a great rivalry when Notre Dame and Michigan stopped playing their annual game. Both Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman and Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore said they’d like to see the rivalry played more frequently than the home-and-home scheduled for 2033-2034.
- Kevin De Bruyne is set for a lengthy spell out after Napoli confirmed a hamstring injury for the star striker.
- Three-time NBA dunk champion Mac McClung signed a multiyear contract with the Pacers.
- Broncos star cornerback Patrick Surtain II suffered a pectoral strain in the team’s game against the Cowboys.
- The Jets may have picked up their first victory of the year, but Aaron Glenn did not commit to keeping Justin Fields under center.
- Take a look at the top teams, players and storylines beyond college basketball’s Power Five.
- Browns leading tackler Carson Schwesinger suffered a high ankle sprain and will be reevaluated after the team’s bye week.
- Who is a breakout candidate for your favorite NBA team? CBS Sports took a look at each team to identify who could develop into a game-changing force this season.
📺 What we’re watching Tuesday
⚽ Napoli at Lecce, 1:30 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ AC Milan at Atalanta, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
🏒 Penguins at Flyers, 6 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ MLS playoffs, first round: New York City FC at Charlotte FC, 6:45 p.m. on FS1
🏀 Knicks at Bucks, 8 p.m. on NBC
⚾ World Series, Game 4: Blue Jays at Dodgers, 8 p.m. on FOX
🏈 James Madison at Texas State, 8 p.m. on ESPN2
🏒 Capitals at Stars, 8:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Clippers at Warriors, 11 p.m. on NBC
🏒 Kings at Sharks, 11 p.m. on ESPN
