📰🏟️ Thunder-struck
Plus: CFB coaching carousel continues…
Good afternoon. Welcome back to another week of top sports stories and links in a quick, easy-to-digest format. Let’s dive right in.
—Kyle
1) The NFL’s new top dogs were bottom-feeders last year
The New England Patriots (11-2) and Chicago Bears (9-3) currently hold the #1 seeds in their respective conferences, with both teams just one year removed from having 12+ losses.
- If both leads hold—which is far from guaranteed—it would mark just the fourth time in NFL history that both #1 seeds didn’t make the playoffs the year before.
- The Patriots are riding a 10-game winning streak heading into their bye, while the Bears have won five straight ahead of a key matchup against the Packers on Sunday.
See the full NFL playoff picture
2) OKC Thunder are somehow better than last year
Just a few months after winning their first-ever NBA Finals, Oklahoma City has become the fourth team in league history to start the season with a 20-1 record or better.
- The team’s current 12-game win streak is also tied for the second-longest since the team moved to OKC.
- And next year could be even better. OKC owns the Clippers' (5-15) first-round pick, meaning the Thunder currently have a 10% chance of selecting #1 overall next year (40% to pick in the top-four).
How the NBA became Thunderstruck
3) College football coaching carousel continues
Lane Kiffin was officially introduced as LSU's new head coach on Monday, signing a seven-year, $91M contract that makes him the second highest-paid coach in CFB on an annual basis.
It’s one of several major moves announced yesterday:
- UCLA is hiring James Madison head coach Bob Chesney, who’ll finish out the season with JMU as they compete for a CFP berth.
- Kentucky is hiring Oregon OC Will Stein to replace Mark Stoops, while BYU’s Kalani Sitake is reportedly the focus of Penn State's coaching search.
- Michigan State officially announced the hiring of former longtime Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
4) Tiger Woods uncertain on timeline for return to golf
Earlier today, the 15x major champion told reporters that he’s not very far along in his recovery from surgery to replace a disk in his lower back, as Woods seeks to return to golf following an extended hiatus.
- He missed the entire 2025 tour season after he ruptured his left Achilles tendon while ramping up training in March.
- Woods, who turns 50 later this month, will be eligible to compete next season on the PGA Tour Champions circuit.
5) Platinum rapper Toosii puts music career on hold to play CFB
Toosii, legal name Nau'Jour Grainger, is a 25-year-old rapper/singer/songwriter best known for his 2023 double-platinum single "Favorite Song."
- But in an announcement yesterday afternoon, Grainger said he’s putting his music ambitions on hold to play wide receiver for Syracuse’s football team.
- Prior to signing with ‘Cuse, Grainger also reportedly drew interest from other D1 teams including USC, Maryland, NC State, and Duke.
How Toosii went from mic to Mike
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