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Statement wins highlight a pivotal late-August week
The week of Aug. 20-26 brought statement wins at nearly every turn. Golden State handed Minnesota its most decisive loss of the WNBA season, while Atlanta closed a perfect West Coast trip behind a record-setting rebounding night from Angel Reese. Milwaukee kept Major League Baseball’s best record, Puebla knocked the two-time defending champion out of the Mexican Baseball League playoffs, and América stayed unbeaten atop Liga MX. América and Tigres remained perfect in Liga MX Femenil, and Lando Norris won at Zandvoort for his second straight Formula One victory while Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes retained the championship leads.
WNBA
Golden State delivered the week’s sharpest check on the league leader. The Valkyries went into Minnesota on Aug. 24 and beat the Lynx 80-66, their first win over the franchise, holding Minnesota to a season-low 66 points and handing it its largest loss of the year. Cecilia Zandalasini scored 18, and Veronica Burton added 14 points, nine assists, and five steals. Golden State followed with an 89-64 win at Connecticut on Aug. 26 to improve to 27-11. Atlanta made its own statement, beating Los Angeles 124-88 on Aug. 20, Phoenix 99-89 on Aug. 22, and the Sparks 78-71 on Aug. 24. In that finale, Angel Reese grabbed a WNBA-record 26 rebounds and broke A’ja Wilson’s single-season rebounding mark, reaching 458. Dallas also clinched its first playoff berth since 2023 with a 96-78 win over Portland as Paige Bueckers had 22 points and 11 assists.
The Contender Story: Minnesota still owns the league’s best record at 31-8, but Golden State has climbed to 27-11 and Las Vegas is 26-13. Atlanta leads the Eastern Conference at 25-13, while Dallas is playoff-bound at 23-16.
MLB
Milwaukee kept the majors’ best record at 82-51 after an 8-1 win over the Mets on Aug. 26. Brice Turang hit a three-run homer, and Robert Gasser allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings as the Brewers stopped a two-game skid. The wildest finish came in San Francisco, where Cincinnati scored seven runs in the ninth to erase a six-run deficit and beat the Giants 10-9. Eugenio Suárez hit a grand slam, and Tyler Stephenson delivered the go-ahead single. Philadelphia also closed the week with a 6-0 win at Seattle: Kyle Schwarber hit his MLB-leading 40th home run, Bryce Harper homered for the 27th time, and Jesús Luzardo allowed one hit over seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. The Dodgers ended Aug. 26 at 80-53, Tampa Bay led the American League at 79-54, and Atlanta stood 78-55.
The Contender Story: The race behind Milwaukee is becoming a test of staying power rather than a scoreboard chase. Los Angeles and Atlanta have enough depth to keep the Brewers from coasting through September. With Tampa Bay leading the American League, the postseason picture has a fourth heavyweight alongside Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and Atlanta.
Mexican Baseball League
The Liga Mexicana de Béisbol playoff field narrowed sharply during the week. In the North, Toros de Tijuana and Sultanes de Monterrey each closed their Division Series in five games, with Tijuana eliminating Charros de Jalisco and Monterrey knocking out Caliente de Durango to set the North Championship Series. The South produced the bigger upset. Pericos de Puebla, who had built a 3-0 series lead before dropping two straight, went back to Mexico City on Aug. 26 and shut out the two-time defending champion Diablos Rojos del México 3-0 to win the series 4-2. Antonio Santos threw six scoreless innings and allowed two hits. The other South series went the distance: Olmecas de Tabasco beat Guerreros de Oaxaca 8-1 on Aug. 26 to tie the matchup 3-3 and force a winner-take-all Game 7 on Aug. 27.
The Contender Story: Tijuana and Monterrey are set to decide the North, while Puebla is the first team through to the South Championship Series. The Pericos now wait for the winner of the Oaxaca-Tabasco Game 7.
Liga MX
América held first place through Matchday 5 and did it with a milestone from its captain. Henry Martín scored both goals in a 2-1 comeback win at FC Juárez on Aug. 21, reaching 100 Liga MX goals for América. Atlas stayed one point behind by beating Cruz Azul 2-0, while Guadalajara moved into the leading pack with a 5-2 win over Tijuana. Toluca also stayed on 10 points with a 2-1 victory at Querétaro. The round’s most unusual moment came in San Luis, where Pachuca goalkeeper Carlos Moreno left his own goal and joined the attack for a late corner kick. Moreno then headed the ball into the net in the 93rd minute, tying Atlético de San Luis 1-1 in the final moments of the match. América ended the round unbeaten and atop the standings with 13 points, followed by Atlas with 12. Toluca, Guadalajara, Puebla and Tijuana were next, each with 10 points.
The Contender Story: América is still setting the pace at 13 points and remains the only unbeaten team in the top two. Atlas is one point back, while Toluca, Guadalajara, Puebla, and Tijuana give the table a four-team chase at 10 points.
Liga MX Femenil
The early title picture split around two perfect leaders in Matchday 4. América overwhelmed Necaxa 7-0 on Aug. 23 to move to 4-0 with 25 goals scored and only one conceded, with Geyse scoring four times to take the league lead with eight goals. Tigres beat Cruz Azul 3-0 to stay perfect in Group A. León delivered the round’s biggest upset by beating previously perfect Rayadas 3-2 in Monterrey, and Pachuca handed Guadalajara its first loss, 3-1. Pumas routed Querétaro 5-0, Atlético de San Luis won 5-2 at Puebla, and Atlas picked up a 2-0 victory over Tijuana. After four rounds, Tigres led Group A with 12 points, followed by Toluca with 10 and Rayadas with nine. América led Group B with 12, with Guadalajara next at nine and Pachuca at seven.
The Contender Story: América and Tigres are the only 4-0 teams and each has 12 points. América owns the league’s most imposing goal difference at plus-24, while Tigres is plus-13; Toluca, Rayadas, Guadalajara, and Pachuca form the next tier of challengers.
Formula One
Lando Norris turned the Dutch Grand Prix into his second straight Formula One victory. Norris started from pole at Zandvoort on Aug. 23, lost the lead to Kimi Antonelli after an early red flag caused by Max Verstappen’s crash, then chased down the Mercedes and retook first place in the final third of the race. Norris won by 11.536 seconds over Antonelli, with George Russell third. Russell had won the Sprint a day earlier ahead of Charles Leclerc and Norris. The weekend strengthened Mercedes’ championship position even without a Grand Prix win: Antonelli left Zandvoort leading the drivers’ standings with 242 points, and Mercedes leads the constructors’ standings with 425. Ferrari is second among constructors with 338, while Norris’ consecutive wins have lifted him to 159 points.
The Contender Story: Antonelli remains the drivers’ points leader with 242, and Mercedes remains the constructors’ leader with 425. Norris has won the last two Grands Prix, but Mercedes still controls both championship tables.
