The National Football League, the nation’s most popular sport by far, has the shortest season of any professional sport, with the fewest number of games. But the season is finally upon us again. This potent combination of short seasons and long layoffs creates a sort of fan feeding frenzy and ravenous appetite for the game by the time it rolls back around every September.
Hated rivals, the Cowboys and Eagles, kick off the season
What better way to commence the NFL season than with arguably its most vicious gridiron rivalry between the defending Super Bowl champs, the Philadelphia Eagles, and their arch-nemesis, the Dallas Cowboys?
The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles kick off the 2025 NFL season for Thursday Night Football (TNF). The Eagles are better than a 7-point favorite, according to ESPN BET.
Philadelphia is the defending Super Bowl LIX champions, but Dallas boasts a retooled roster and a quarterback with a proven track record of beating the Eagles.
Naomi Osaka returns to the semifinals of a Grand Slam
Two-time U.S. Open victor and Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka has returned to the killer tennis form that made her a global icon.
Osaka, 27, easily vanquished the younger Coco Gauff, 21, in the Elite Eight, 6-3, 6-2, and then outlasted No. 11 Karolina Muchova, 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Wednesday night to return to the semifinals at Flushing Meadows for the first time since winning the title five years ago.
The 23rd-seeded Osaka improved to 5-0 in major quarterfinals and has a chance to extend her streak of winning every Grand Slam she has reached the semifinals of.
“It means so much. I’m actually surprised I’m not crying,” Osaka said in her on-court interview, according to ESPN, which is televising the US Open. “It’s been so much hard work that you guys haven’t seen, I’m just grateful to my team and happy to be healthy.”
It’s been a long and arduous climb back up the mountain since Osaka welcomed her daughter, Shai, in July 2023, which resulted in a 17-month maternity leave.
Osaka, 27, will square off against No. 8 American Amanda Anisimova, who dethroned No. 2 Iga Swiatek on Wednesday.
WNBA showdown between superstars A’ja Wilson and Napheesa Collier
This is the battle between last year’s runaway unanimous MVP, A’ja Wilson, and this year’s projected MVP, Napheesa Collier.
Both passionate fanbases believe their superstar is the best in the league. But there is no doubt among hardcore fans, casual observers, and the media that Wilson and Collier sit atop the WNBA Pyramid.
Moreover, and more importantly, the two icons are leaders of their teams with the two best records in the league as of Wednesday, Sept. 3.
Collier is leading the league in scoring average at 23.5 points per game, one tenth of a point above Wilson, who sports a 23.4 ppg. Collier also averages 7.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game on efficient shooting splits of 53.4% from the field, 38.5% from three-point range, and 90.9% from the free-throw line.
Wilson is right on Collier’s heels for the WNBA MVP. She is averaging 23.4 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.6 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game, with shooting percentages of 49.4% from the field and 84.9% from the free-throw line. She also leads the league in Player Efficiency Rating (32.3). Other milestones include becoming the first player to ever record a 30-point, 20-rebound game during a win over the Connecticut Sun, and becoming the fastest and youngest player in WNBA history to reach 5,500 career points.
AloJapan.com