SI:AM | In the W, The Race for No. 1 Continues

Good morning, everyone! Fancy seeing you here—this is SI:CYMI’s Brigid Kennedy, ready to follow in Patrick Andres’s footsteps and fill in for our friend Dan Gartland. I hope you are greeting the day with the same energy as the Padres’ new owners, which is to say: with extreme enthusiasm and gusto.

In today’s SI:AM:

🏈 The Browns Make Their Choice at QB

📺 25 Must-Watch College Football Teams

⚾ Something Is Still Off for Paul Skenes

The Valkyries finally topple the Lynx

On Monday, the two best teams in the WNBA—the Lynx and the Valkyries—went head-to-head in a potential Finals preview that also served as a battle for the coveted No. 1 seed in the playoffs. To be clear, all Minnesota needed to do to lock up the top spot was win the game. The red-hot squad boasts the best record in the league, soon-to-be Rookie of the Year Olivia Miles, and is multiple dubs ahead of Golden State with just a handful of games left in the 2026 season. But the Valkyries proved victorious, staving off the Lynx (and limiting Miles to just eight points) in a double-digit victory that not only snapped Minnesota’s six-game win streak, but also kept the Valks’ hopes of a high (if not the highest) playoff seed alive.

Moreover, the win represented Golden State’s first-ever defeat of Minnesota in franchise history. Until last night, the Valkyries were a surprising 0–9 against the Lynx (though that becomes a bit less shocking when you consider that the team is just two years old). Despite the typically limited success of expansion teams in their first few years of existence, the Golden State franchise has now officially defeated every team in the league—yet another feather in the cap of reigning Coach of the Year, Natalie Nakase. Life is good in Ballhalla.

Watson gets the gig

On Monday, Patrick, my colleague and SI’s resident Cleveland fan, wrote about the Browns’ long-standing struggles at quarterback, which were only exacerbated when the front office signed the much-maligned signal-caller Deshaun Watson to a mega contract back in 2022. Even if they didn’t know what would happen in the years following—that Watson would play poorly and not much at all, thanks to both a sexual misconduct-related suspension and repeated injuries—it was still, at the time, a big gamble.

Now, the team and new coach Todd Monken are making a last-ditch attempt at salvaging something from the franchise-altering choice … which also happens to be the opposite of what fans want (or so it would seem). Despite sophomore Shedeur Sanders’s strong preseason performance over the weekend, Monken has now officially tapped Watson as the starter for the group’s Week 1 bout against the Jaguars, thereby bringing an end to the offseason-long battle between his top two QBs.

"I have another shot. I have another chance. So I wanna make sure I take full responsibility of this opportunity,” Watson told reporters on Monday. He also apologized for his poor attitude following Saturday’s game, saying, “I think my emotions got the best of me.”

Monken, for his part, said the franchise is “100% behind Deshaun.”

"I know what we think and what we see every day in our building and our players and the momentum we have.”

Where does this leave Sanders, you ask? "We met this morning for a good long time and all he had was a smile on his face, because he understands what really is in front of him, not really a short-term, maybe long-term decision," Monken said of the former Colorado star. "I mean, this is like a player: he's going to work his butt off to get better. And he has already.”

So there you have it. If Watson struggles like he did this weekend, a backup Sanders will be waiting in the wings, ready and willing to take the reins. And if he doesn’t play well, the franchise will be redirecting its attention toward the 2027 draft, where it hopes a solution awaits.

The best of Sports Illustrated

Zach Koons: They Might Not All Be Title Contenders, But These 25 College Football Teams Are Must Watch
Pat Forde: College Sports Has Abandoned Restraint With Its NFL-to-NCAA Pipeline
Bryan Fischer: Sports Illustrated’s Preseason College Football Bowl Game Projections for 2026
Tom Verducci: Jacob deGrom’s 2,000th Strikeout Strengthens a Fascinating Hall of Fame Case
Tom Verducci: Paul Skenes Made Another Major Adjustment—but Something Is Still Off
Conor Orr: Deshaun Watson As Week 1 Starter in 2026 Is Finally Peak Browns
Kevin Sweeney: Kentucky’s Roster Is Loaded After Mark Mitchell Addition. Can Mark Pope Deliver?
Ryan Phillips: Padres’ New Owners Map Out Familiar Goal With Unfamiliar Energy

The top five …

… clicks to start your day

5. It’s no secret that Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has had a rough season. On Monday, however, he finally got hot.

4. Monday, Aug. 24 was Kobe Bryant Day. In honor of that, please enjoy 70 seconds of a mic’d up Mamba, brought to you by the Lakers.

3. ESPN announcer Karl Ravech worked his last MLB game on Sunday night. He closed the chapter with a classy tribute to his broadcast crew. He will be missed.

2. It didn’t help the Lynx win on Monday night, but turns out Minnesota guard Maya Caldwell’s spidey senses were tingling all night long.

1. Honestly, this is just a really fun tweet from Pacers writer Caitlin Cooper.

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