Sports News Today: NFL Preseason Finale, College Football Returns, MLB Drama & WNBA Playoff Push
August 27, 2026
The American sports calendar is shifting into one of its busiest stretches of the year.
The NFL is playing its final weekend of preseason football. College football officially returns today. Major League Baseball is entering the final month of the regular-season race. The WNBA is fighting over playoff positioning, while tennis stars are arriving in New York for the U.S. Open.
Here's what sports fans need to know today.
NFL Preseason Enters Its Final Weekend
The last major audition before the NFL regular season begins tonight.
All 32 teams are scheduled to play during the final preseason weekend from Thursday through Saturday, with coaches making their last evaluations before final roster decisions.
Thursday's schedule begins with the Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills at 7 p.m. ET. The San Francisco 49ers visit the Las Vegas Raiders and the New England Patriots face the Cleveland Browns at 8 p.m. ET.
The night concludes with the Los Angeles Rams visiting the Los Angeles Chargers at 10 p.m. ET.
For many established starters, playing time may be limited. The real drama will come farther down the depth chart, where rookies, backup quarterbacks, special-teams players and veterans on the roster bubble are competing for jobs.
Friday brings another loaded schedule, including the Saints at Cowboys, Seahawks at Chiefs, Bengals at Eagles and Giants at Jets. Saturday closes the preseason with Lions-Colts and Bears-Titans.
College Football Is Back
Yes, the wait is over.
The 2026 college football season officially begins Thursday, August 27, with Week 0 games kicking off around the country.
The opening-night schedule consists largely of FCS matchups, but Saturday delivers the first major national television slate.
One of the weekend's headline games takes place overseas when TCU faces North Carolina in Dublin, Ireland at noon ET Saturday on ESPN.
Other games Saturday include San Jose State at USC, NC State at Virginia, Hawaii at Stanford, New Mexico State at Florida State and Memphis at UNLV.
The return of college football also brings another storyline worth watching: the sport continues to navigate major changes involving player eligibility, conference structure, transfers, NIL compensation and the College Football Playoff.
The new-look Pac-12, for example, is introducing an unusual late-season scheduling strategy designed in part to strengthen its College Football Playoff positioning.
MLB Delivers Another Wild Night
Baseball provided more late-inning chaos Wednesday.
The Cincinnati Reds scored seven runs in the ninth inning to stun the San Francisco Giants 10-9, preventing a Giants sweep.
Eugenio Suárez delivered a grand slam during the comeback, while Hector Rodriguez also homered.
Elsewhere, Toronto shut out Kansas City and ended the Royals' nine-game winning streak. Atlanta defeated the Dodgers on a pinch-hit walk-off single by Ha-Seong Kim, while Baltimore rallied past St. Louis.
Philadelphia shut out Seattle 6-0 behind a strong outing from Jesús Luzardo, and Arizona blanked the Cubs 2-0.
With September approaching, each game carries more weight for teams fighting for division titles and Wild Card positions.
MLB Games to Watch Today
Thursday's schedule is smaller than a typical full MLB slate, but several games carry intrigue.
The Houston Astros visit the New York Yankees at 7:05 p.m. ET, while the Kansas City Royals face the Toronto Blue Jays at 7:07 p.m.
At 7:10 p.m., the Milwaukee Brewers visit the New York Mets.
One of the night's biggest matchups arrives at 7:15 p.m. ET when the Los Angeles Dodgers face the Atlanta Braves on FS1.
Arizona and San Francisco close the schedule at 9:45 p.m. ET.
Milwaukee entered Thursday at 80-51, while the Dodgers were 80-52 and Atlanta 77-55, making the late-August race particularly interesting.
WNBA Playoff Race Heats Up
The WNBA schedule features two games Thursday.
The Golden State Valkyries visit the New York Liberty at 8 p.m. ET at Barclays Center.
Golden State enters the game on the second night of a back-to-back after beating Connecticut. The Valkyries have already secured a postseason spot, but playoff seeding remains important. New York is also battling to improve its postseason position.
Later tonight, the Washington Mystics visit the Phoenix Mercury at 10 p.m. ET.
With the WNBA postseason approaching, games that appeared ordinary on the calendar months ago now carry considerably more weight.
U.S. Open Tennis Moves Into the Spotlight
New York is preparing for another Grand Slam.
The U.S. Open qualifying tournament concludes Thursday, while the singles main draw begins Sunday, August 30 and runs through September 13.
Coco Gauff enters the tournament with momentum after capturing her first title of the season in Cincinnati. The former U.S. Open champion has also reached finals in Miami and Rome and made a Wimbledon semifinal this season.
Aryna Sabalenka will attempt an even rarer accomplishment: winning a third consecutive U.S. Open women's singles championship.
Meanwhile, Karolína Muchová and Jakub Menšík captured the revamped U.S. Open mixed doubles championship, defeating Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli in the final.
PGA Tour Championship Begins at East Lake
Golf's FedExCup season reaches its conclusion this week.
The TOUR Championship runs August 27-30 at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, bringing together the leading players from the FedExCup Playoffs.
Unlike an ordinary tournament, the stakes extend beyond winning one event. The week determines the season-long FedExCup champion and closes the PGA Tour's playoff run.
Upcoming Games and Events to Watch
DateEventTimeAug. 27Steelers at Bills7 p.m. ETAug. 27Patriots at Browns8 p.m. ETAug. 2749ers at Raiders8 p.m. ETAug. 27Valkyries at Liberty8 p.m. ETAug. 27Astros at Yankees7:05 p.m. ETAug. 27Dodgers at Braves7:15 p.m. ETAug. 27Mystics at Mercury10 p.m. ETAug. 27-30PGA TOUR ChampionshipEast Lake Golf ClubAug. 28Saints at Cowboys8 p.m. ETAug. 28Seahawks at Chiefs8 p.m. ETAug. 28Bengals at Eagles8 p.m. ETAug. 29TCU vs. North CarolinaNoon ETAug. 29San Jose State at USC3 p.m. ETAug. 29NC State at Virginia3:30 p.m. ETAug. 29Memphis at UNLV10 p.m. ETAug. 30U.S. Open singles main draw beginsNew York
What to Watch This Weekend
The biggest story may simply be football's return.
NFL preseason games will decide careers before rosters are finalized. College football finally moves from predictions to actual results. MLB contenders are entering the stretch where losing three games can suddenly alter an entire playoff race.
Meanwhile, the WNBA is moving closer to postseason basketball, the PGA Tour is crowning its FedExCup champion, and the U.S. Open is preparing to bring Grand Slam tennis back to center stage.
Summer sports are not disappearing quietly.
They're handing the microphone directly to football season.
Full source links
- NFL.com: 2026 NFL Preseason Week 3, 10 things to watch
NFL.com full report - FOX Sports: Complete NFL Preseason Week 3 schedule
FOX Sports schedule - MLB.com: August 27 MLB schedule
MLB.com schedule - Reuters: MLB roundup and Reds' seven-run ninth-inning comeback
Reuters MLB roundup - WNBA: Golden State Valkyries vs. New York Liberty
WNBA game page - WNBA: Washington Mystics vs. Phoenix Mercury
WNBA game page - NCAA: 2026 college football opening schedule
NCAA college football schedule - PGA Tour: TOUR Championship leaderboard and schedule
PGA TOUR Championship - U.S. Open: 2026 tournament information
Official U.S. Open site - Reuters: Coco Gauff enters U.S. Open with momentum
Reuters tennis report