This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ AM Newsletter, the ultimate guide to every day in sports. You can sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday morning here.

👀 Five things to know Tuesday

1. The 49ers held off a furious rally from the Commanders. What was originally shaping up to be a blowout wound up being a great football game. After trailing 20-3 at halftime, the Commanders had a chance to win the game in the final minute but came up short in a 23-17 loss. San Francisco moved to 6-0, but it's in desperate need of some wide receiver reinforcements after Mike Evans left the game with an Achilles injury. The same thing could be said for the Commanders, which lost Terry McLaurin to a knee injury.
2. The Rays are going to the World Series. With the Guardians on the brink of elimination in Game 6, the Rays weren't going to let them off the ropes. Tampa Bay ran away and hid for a 7-3 win to clinch the AL pennant. Prior to the game, Yandy Diaz guaranteed a Tampa victory, and he delivered with a two-run homer in the eighth inning. Freddy Peralta was named the ALCS MVP after holding Cleveland to one run in 5.1 innings on Monday. The Rays will now face the Brewers in the World Series, guaranteeing a first-time winner. On the other side, the Guardians face big questions about Jose Ramirez.
3. Angel Reese helped the Dream even up the WNBA Finals. Atlanta entered Game 2 of the WNBA Finals needing a response, and it got one. The Dream rolled the Valkyries en route to a 79-65 victory to even the series. Angel Reese paced the Dream with 30 points and 16 rebounds, and she finished with one of the best box scores in WNBA Finals history. Reese knew she had to step up for her team after a disappointing showing in Game 1.
4. Jalen Hurts is out for the season due to blood clots. Hurts' health was even worse than originally feared, with doctors finding blood clots in his lungs as well as his calf. Hurts will now begin treatment with blood thinners, which will keep him out for the rest of the season. The good news is that Hurts is expected to make a full recovery. Without Hurts, the Eagles' chances of winning the NFC East and reaching the playoffs are slim. The rest of their season could be decided by these three key games.
5. The Colts have fired GM Chris Ballard. The Colts haven't been to the playoffs since 2020, and they're coming off a humiliating loss to the previously winless Titans. With the franchise trending downward, the Colts fired Ballard in the midst of his 10th season as general manager. Ballard had been on the hot seat for a while, and his fate was ultimately sealed by seven big missteps. With Ballard gone and the Colts sitting at 2-4, a fire sale could be on the way ahead of the trade deadline.

🏀 Do not miss this: NBA season predictions

It's time to play some basketball!

A new NBA season tips off this afternoon, and our team of roundball experts has everything you need to know in order to get ready. That includes our 2026-27 NBA season predictions, which include everything from conference standings to Finals champion.

Although none of our six experts picked the Knicks to repeat, three of them chose the defending champs to reach the Finals. Sam Quinn was one of those who had the Knicks coming out of a wide-open East before falling to a loaded Thunder squad.

• Quinn: "There are eight teams with credible Finals cases, and how you order them says as much about their depth and durability as it does their quality. Ultimately, I trust the champs to hold off their challengers, with Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors posing the biggest threat in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Thunder simply lack the vulnerabilities that the Knicks exploited in the Spurs last postseason. They're older, deeper and less tied to the performance of a single player. They have wave after wave of star defenders to throw at Jalen Brunson, and they can defend Karl-Anthony Towns on the perimeter without sacrificing rim protection."

Again, check out our full predictions here, but I'll give you a look at Brad Botkin's conference final selections:

• East: Knicks over Pacers
• West: Spurs over Thunder

And what would the preseason be without a few bold predictions? Brad Botkin called his shot on a number of topics -- including the Celtics finishing atop the Eastern Conference standings. The 76ers are also in the running for that No. 1 seed, and the stakes of an all-in season for Philly are simultaneously thrilling and terrifying.

🏈 BYU asserts itself in CFB Power Rankings

Following a wild weekend of college football, the latest edition of our CFB Power Rankings looks quite a bit different.

BYU made the biggest jump (12 spots) -- and for good reason. The Cougars took down No. 2 Notre Dame in one of the biggest wins in program history, and the win was no fluke. As our own Brandon Marcello explains, BYU has the bodies to win at the line of scrimmage, which means it should be considered a championship contender.

• Marcello: "BYU has what it takes in the trenches to win a championship. It survived Notre Dame as a pass hit the turf with one second remaining on the final play of a 28-24 win, its highest-ranked win since Ty Detmer beat No. 1 Miami in 1990. Bear Bachmeier ran, threw and caught TDs."

The full rankings are here, but I'll share a peek further down the list:

16. Texas (-10)
17. Houston (+4)
18. Oregon (+2)
19. Northwestern (--)
20. Wake Forest (+3)

Coming off two straight losses, the Longhorns were one of our biggest fallers in the updated CBS Sports 138. Texas is reeling on offense, and Steve Sarkisian says his team needs a "better version" of Arch Manning with Ole Miss on deck.

As we turn the page and look ahead to the second half of the season, Brad Crawford has some bold predictions about what will unfold as the stakes rise each and every week.

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

• Star WR Davante Adams is set to miss 6-10 weeks with a ruptured hamstring.
• Drama in LA? Kyren Williams had some interesting comments about the Rams offense.
• Now, with all that in mind, can Sean McVay save his team's season?
• Bills DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson has been suspended for spitting on Raiders TE Brock Bowers.
• Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame are in a familiar spot after their first loss of the season.
• Drew Mestemaker is giving NFL scouts a lot to think about as they look ahead to the 2027 draft.
• Bad sign: Bronny James is the last survivor of the Lakers' 2024 draft class.
• Indiana has elite size and other takeaways from marquee CBB scrimmages.
• PSG and Barcelona should provide peak Champions League drama.
• Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry have been reunited in the first-ever TGL trade.
• Roman Reigns officially joined The Bloodline in its feud with 946.

📺 What we're watching Tuesday

🏀 Celtics at Pistons, 3 p.m. on NBC
⚽ PSV Eindhoven at FC Porto, 3 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏀 76ers at Knicks, 7 p.m. on NBC
🏈 MTSU at FIU, 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏈 Missouri State at Delaware, 7 p.m. on ESPNU
🏈 South Alabama at Marshall, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2
🏒 Bruins at Stars, 8 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Thunder at Spurs, 9:30 pm. on NBC
🏒 Lightning at Golden Knights, 10:30 p.m. on ESPN