Portland International Raceway (Portland, Ore.) A year ago, INDYCAR drivers came to Portland knowing that Alex Palou could clinch the championship with a couple of races remaining in the season. He did clinch the title at Portland a year ago. It was his third consecutive and fourth in the last five years. The 1.964-mile, 12-turn Portland road course is earlier in the season this year, with five races remaining after the 110-lap affair on Sunday, Aug. 9 (4 p.m. ET, FOX). But it is the same in that the field is once again chasing Palou. Heres everything you need to know about this quest. What's left in the season? This weekend at Portland is a known commodity to the teams, as they have raced on the permanent road course for the last seven years. But the next two weekends are not as familiar. A new circuit in the Toronto suburb of Markham replaces the race at the Toronto exhibition center. The new layout is a 2.19-mile, 12-turn street course. And then comes a biggie. A 250-mile affair in Washington, D.C., where the course appears relatively simple at 1.7 miles and seven turns. But 250 miles will be the longest street course race since the series raced in the 1980s on the Cleveland airport. The series ends with a doubleheader weekend at The Milwaukee Mile, a 1-mile oval where they will race on both Saturday and Sunday of the weekend before heading to the 2.238-mile, 11-turn permanent road course at Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. How big is Palous lead? Its big but not totally insurmountable. There are 54 points available on a race weekend. There are 50 points based on finishing position and up to four bonus points (one for winning the pole, one for leading a lap and two for leading the most laps). The Chip Ganassi Racing driver already has more than a one-race lead on the field. He has an 83-point lead on Team Penskes David Malukas. Following Malukas, Palou has an 87-point edge on Andretti Globals Kyle Kirkwood and 104 points on Christian Lundgaard. Can anyone catch him, needing nearly to cut 14 points a race at a minimum? INDYCAR veteran Graham Rahal isnt convinced. "The championship, I hate to say it, but its over really. Unless something crazy happens, I just dont see it going the other way," Rahal told me Friday morning at Portland. Who has the best shot to catch him? I could give you my thoughts, but FOX Sports analyst and former INDYCAR driver James Hinchcliffe already has. So take a look here: 4 INDYCAR Drivers With Realistic Shots At Catching Alex Palou For The Title Is this the biggest margin with six races to go? No its not. That record belongs to Scott Dixon, who had a 117-point lead in 2020 with six races to go to win the championship. Palou had a lead of 106 points 23 more than this year at this point last season. What is the biggest comeback with six to go? Back in 2010, Dario Franchitt rallied from 50 points behind Will Power to win by five points. Power, by the way, is the defending winner at Portland. How does Palou feel? Palou very much displays an "it isnt over until its over" type of vibe. He knows anything can happen. He also understands that with a couple of unknowns at Markham and Washington coming up, that could change how things play out. But first things first. Portland is a place where he has to feel good. He has won twice and finished on the podium in four of his five Portland starts. Are his competitors confident? They are confident in their abilities. They just arent confident that Palou could make enough mistakes or have enough misfortune that they would need to catch him. Kirkwood sees the two upcoming races at Markham and Washington as ones where he could potentially close the gap. "If history repeats itself, weve been really good on new tracks and new street courses,especially," Kirkwood told me Friday. "Arlington [this year] was a new one. When we rolled out at Detroit a couple years back, we were definitely the cars to beat there. "So if that stays true, we have a really, really good opportunity at both Markham and D.C. to claw back some of the points' deficit that weve had. But weve got to tie together [strong runs] all the races. ... If we can do all of it, well have a chance at a championship." Does Palou think that the two races after Portland make him vulnerable? Palou, as mentioned earlier, never takes anything for granted. "I dont know," Palou told me Friday. "We never know, especially being a street track ... Hopefully that doesnt give them a chance to be any more competitive. "We know its going to be tough in terms of what are we doing on strategy, on setup, on how much can I push? It's going to be an adventure." How does Malukas focus on the championship vs. winning his first? Malukas doesnt have an INDYCAR win, so he is somewhat just trying to win as well as remain in the championship battle. He indicated as much on Friday. "There is still somewhat of a championship battle that we really want to focus on and thats kind of our main objective," Malukas told me and other reporters. "So nothing too risky. But if the opportunity arises, well go forward and try to get that first win." How is Malukas after Nashville crash? Malukas bruised his right knee in a crash at Nashville three weeks ago, but he said he is fine. "The knee is good," Malukas said. "Im pretty much back to 100 percent. I have full range of motion and was able to get back to the gym." What is painful is that Malukas will have a six-spot grid penalty at Portland for exceeding the engine limits this year. He had a grid penalty at Nashville and then ruined another engine in the crash. "It makes it tough considering obviously the championship battle," Malukas said. "This track is very qualifying important. We want to make sure we can qualify as good as possible considering the penalty on top of it." What are the keys at Portland? The key at Portland is like many other tracks have a good handling car and dont make mistakes. Thats exactly why it fits into Palous wheelhouse. And he was one of the few drivers who has actually tested at Portland. "I love this track," Palou said. "Last year was good. We were not the fastest but I just love this track. Im glad we tested here a couple of weeks ago. It allowed us to find some areas where we were missing last year."

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Running back Cam Skattebo made an early exit from Friday's practice, but Giants head coach John Harbaugh didn't show much concern about his condition after the workout. Skattebo left practice after a collision with rookie linebacker Arvell Reese and reporters at the session said he remained on the sideline stretching out his left leg. Skattebo's rookie season ended when he dislocated his right ankle and Friday's issue doesn't appear to be in the same ballpark. "It's natural. I think he's working through the football shape part of it," Harbaugh said at a press conference. "You know, he's coming off of rehab, so that's what that was. It won't be a serious injury at all."Center John Michael Schmitz and defensive end Brian Burns also left practice. Harbaugh said Schmitz got his bell rung and will be evaluated while Burns is managing a minor ankle injury.

The New York Mets have had the worst season they could have imagined. Entering the year, they were widely expected to not only make the postseason but also contend for the World Series. They backed that belief with one of the busiest offseasons in recent memory, spending enough to enter the year with the second highest payroll in baseball, trailing only the Los Angeles Dodgers.Unfortunately, it has all been downhill. Nearly every player has underperformed, they fired their manager Carlos Mendoza, and both Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto have spent time on the injured list. Entering Fridays series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York sits 16 games under .500 at 50-66.Jul 30, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (22) at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)While Lindor has been available for the Mets, Soto has not. Soto is currently on the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain suffered back on July 24 during a game against the Dodgers. The initial reaction was that he would miss a lengthy amount of time, and given how far out of the playoff picture the Mets are, it remains unclear if he will return this season at all. However, Soto took his first step toward returning on Friday.Speaking with reporters, interim manager Chad Green revealed that Soto has progressed to light baseball activities, though he admitted that Soto is not doing anything yet to stress the left calf.Before going down, Soto was as dominant as ever. Across 293 at-bats, the 27-year-old Dominican superstar posted a .283 batting average, .408 on-base percentage, .947 OPS, 21 home runs and 52 RBIs, numbers that had him firmly in the National League MVP conversation before the injury. Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter

PITTSBURGH (AP) The New York Mets claimed infielder Gabriel Arias off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians on Friday.Arias is out of minor-league options and must remain on the Mets active roster or be subject to waivers again. He is expected to join the Mets on Saturday night for their game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.The 26-year-old Arias hit .244 with five home runs in 42 games this season for the Guardians. He started 24 games at third base, 10 at shortstop and two at second base. He is a .219 career hitter over five seasons, all with Cleveland, and has 30 home runs.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

WESTFIELD, IN - JULY 29: Indianapolis Colts cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt (26) runs through a drill during the Indianapolis Colts training camp practice on July 29, 2026 at the Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, IN. (Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesIndianapolis Colts cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, who was signed as a free agent from the Cincinnati Bengals, will serve a one-game suspension for violating the the NFLs personal conduct policy earlier this offseason. He will miss the Colts regular season home opener against the Baltimore Ravens on September 13th, due to pleading guilty to reckless driving, while also driving without a license. He previously served 5 days in jail after pleading guilty to the charges. Originally a 2022 2nd round pick of the Bengals, the 26-year-old cornerback is coming off a season for Cincinnati in which he recorded 21 tackles (12 solo), a tackle for loss, and 5 passes defensed during 8 games (2 starts) in 2025, before suffering a season-ending Lisfranc injury. This offseason, Taylor-Britt reunited with Colts veteran defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who he played under with the Bengals defensively from 2022-24. So far, the early returns have been encouraging. While its still relatively early in training camp, Taylor-Britt has currently been operating as the Colts CB4, and figures to be the next man up on the outside if either Sauce Gardner or Charvarius Ward were to miss time due to an injurywhich given the latters recent head injury history, could be an important distinction going forward. At any rate, his suspension does not come at an opportune time (although would it ever?), as the Colts secondary will be tasked with slowing down 2x NFL MVP Lamar Jackson come Week 1 at homeand attempt to get off on the right foot at 1-0 to begin the 2026 campaign.

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 26: Payton Tolle #70 of the Boston Red Sox reacts after the final out of the the seventh inning of a game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on June 26, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images) | Getty ImagesAre we all alive from last night? How do we even top that? First Pitch: 7:10pm EDT Fenway Park, Boston MA TV: NESN Radio: WEEIRolling into Fenway Friday! pic.twitter.com/D0YTmQPDDq Red Sox (@RedSox) August 7, 2026Friday night in Beantown! pic.twitter.com/0HUobVJxjK Athletics (@Athletics) August 7, 2026

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Wilson has already won four MVPs and three WNBA titles before reaching the age of 30