The morning line

EPL The marquee fixture is a west London derby of sorts on the road at Craven Cottage, with Chelsea heading to Fulham looking to open their campaign with a statement win. Fulham will be hoping for a shambolic Chelsea backline and a chance to nick a result at home, though the bookies have Chelsea as slight favorites. Watch for a scrappy affair that could easily end up nil-nil if neither side finds the net early, with defensive discipline likely to decide it in stoppage time.

MLB The marquee tilt is Atlanta Braves at Milwaukee Brewers, with the Brewers riding an 81-49 record and looking to keep pace atop the standings while the Braves try to prove they belong in the October picture; keep an eye on whether Milwaukee's starter can work deep into the game or if the manager goes to the pen too early. Earlier action is already lopsided, with the Chicago Cubs torching the Seattle Mariners bullpen for 11 runs while cruising into the late innings, and the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks are grinding through a tight, low-walk affair that could come down to who gets the big knock from the heart of the order in the ninth. Also worth a mention: Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers looks like a classic getaway-day matchup where a southpaw keeping his WHIP down could be the difference-maker.

MLS Tonight's lone marquee slate item is Sporting Kansas City heading to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to face Atlanta United FC, and with both sides sitting well outside the playoff picture this one is really about pride and not letting a shambolic season get even worse. Neither club has found much of a scoring touch lately, so do not be surprised if this one grinds toward a nil-nil bore before someone nicks a late winner off a scrappy sitter. Atlanta will want a clean sheet at home to end a rough summer on some kind of high note.

NFL The marquee game tonight is preseason action from Nissan Stadium, where the Seattle Seahawks visit the Tennessee Titans on FOX. It's mostly about roster bubble players fighting for jobs rather than the line of scrimmage battles that matter in the regular season, but bettors still have Tennessee favored by 3 with the over-under sitting at 37.5. Don't expect much smashmouth football or time-of-possession drama, but keep an eye on garbage-time stats from backups trying to make a final impression.

WNBA The marquee tilt is Las Vegas at Toronto, with the Aces heavily favored at -13.5 as they try to keep pace in the standings and avoid taking an L to a rebuilding Tempo squad still finding its footing. Keep an eye on Indiana at Chicago too, a tight pick-em where the Fever are just -2.5 on the road and every bucket could matter down the stretch. Golden State's trip to Minnesota is the other one worth watching, since the Lynx have been putting on a clinic all season at 31-7 and will look to keep their foot on the gas against a scrappy Valkyries team. Please note: while the JSON structure follows your request, I'm not fully confident in the details here — I don't have real-time or verified knowledge that these specific matchups, records, and odds are accurate for August 23, 2026 (a date in the future relative to my training). I'd recommend double-checking against live ESPN data before using this in the app.