Oncast Sports · The Pregame

LeBron's Sixers debut vs Cavs

· Fact-checked before it aired. Unconfirmed claims from this segment are not shown.

The 2026 World Series opens Friday night at Milwaukee's American Family Field. The Brewers, who led MLB with a franchise-record 103 wins, host the 97-win Rays. Milwaukee swept the two-time defending champion Dodgers in the NLCS; Tampa Bay swept the Yankees and beat the Guardians in six. Game 1 is Friday at 8 p.m. ET on FOX, with Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski — MLB's regular-season leader in ERA (1.80), strikeouts (252) and WHIP (0.80) — facing Rays right-hander Nick Martinez, a surprise Game 1 choice over Drew Rasmussen.

Both teams are among five franchises that have never won a World Series, so a first-time champion is guaranteed. The matchup pairs two analytically driven, lower-payroll clubs that outperformed bigger-market rivals, and the series is notable for being the first played with robot umpires.

LeBron James and Jaylen Brown will make their Sixers home debuts Thursday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The 2026 World Series is a Brewers vs. Rays matchup, and both are small-market franchises that have never won a title.

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What the hosts said

LKeith Smith on Bluesky says half the NBA has an open standard roster spot.
MMeaning two-way guys are about to get a lot of run. That's a huge early season story nobody's talking about.
LHe tracks it daily over at Spotrac. Teams get 15 active games for each two-way player. After that, they're stuck.
MSo when you see some undrafted kid drop 30 in a random Tuesday game, this is why. Opportunity.
LSixers have a full roster, so no two-way drama tonight. But watch the injury reports across the league.
MTwo-way rules are the new CBA's hidden lever. Smart front offices are already gaming it.

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