CONCACAF's World Cup qualifiers kick off today, as eight nations begin their quest for Qatar 2022, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.

Tonight's slate:

• 8:05pm ET: Honduras at Canada (Paramount+)
• 9:05pm: Costa Rica at Panama (Paramount+)
• 10pm: Jamaica at Mexico (Paramount+)
• 10:05pm: U.S. at El Salvador (CBSSN)

How it works: Between now and March, each team will play 14 games (seven home, seven away). The top three qualify for the World Cup, while the fourth gets one more chance in June's inter-confederation playoff.

• This process is normally a six-team "hexagon," but was increased to an "octagon" due to the pandemic, transforming what is typically an 11-month, 10-game event into a seven-month, 14-game gauntlet.

Team notes:

• Mexico (No. 9 FIFA world ranking): El Tri will play in an empty stadium tonight as punishment for the homophobic slurs hurled by fans at Olympic qualifiers in March.
• U.S. (10): The USMNT will be without forward Christian Pulisic (COVID-19) and goalie Zack Steffen (back) tonight. Pulisic could return for Sunday's game against Canada.
• Costa Rica (44): Los Ticos made a surprise run to the 2014 World Cup quarterfinals, and now they're hoping to make a third straight World Cup for the first time ever.
• Jamaica (50): Many believe this is the most talented group of "Reggae Boyz" that Jamaica has assembled since their 1998 World Cup trip.
• Canada (59): New England Revolution stud Tajon Buchanan headlines a group of 11 MLS players on a squad led by Bayern Munich star (and Vancouver Whitecaps product) Alphonso Davies.
• Honduras (63): Los Catrachos have had an up-and-down season. But history, with four straight Olympic berths and trips to two of the past three World Cups, is on their side.
• El Salvador (64): Hugo Pérez, a U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer, became head coach of his native country in April. With some help from a gifted fan, these scrappy underdogs won't make life easy on anyone.
• Panama (74): Los Canaleros made their World Cup debut in 2018, and will need their famously rambunctious fans to come out in full force for a shot at two in a row.

📆 Coming up: Following tonight's matches, teams play again on Sunday and Wednesday. The remaining 11 matches will be played during international windows in October, November, January and March.

With a month left in the season, several MLB players are vying to etch their names in the record books. And unlike last year, no asterisks are required, Jeff writes.

Hitters:

• Shohei Ohtani, LAA: The likely AL MVP is on pace for 51 HR and 27 steals. There has never been a 50-25 season in MLB history. Heard he also pitches…
• Juan Soto, WSH: He's the only qualified hitter with more walks (105) than strikeouts (78), and is on pace to become just the fifth player this century with at least 130 BB and fewer than 100 K.
• Fernando Tatis Jr., SD: With ~12 more bombs, Nando should become just the 12th qualified hitter ever to record a season with fewer than 10 at-bats per HR.
• Salvador Pérez, KC: He's two dingers shy of becoming the sixth catcher to hit 40 in a season — and eight shy of breaking Johnny Bench's single-season record.
• Yasmani Grandal, CWS: He's on pace to become the first player in history (min. 250 PA) with a sub-.220 average and an OPS above .900 (currently: .217/.923).

Pitchers:

• Corbin Burnes, MIL: His 1.58 FIP (fielding independent pitching) is the 10th-best mark in MLB history, and second-best since 1945 (Pedro Martínez's 1.39 in 1999).
• Adam Wainwright, STL: He's vying to become just the fourth qualified pitcher this century with a sub-3.00 ERA past the age of 39 (currently 2.97).
• Walker Buehler, LAD: MLB's ERA leader (2.05) could become the 15th pitcher with a sub-2.00 ERA and 200+ strikeouts (currently 183) since the mound was lowered in 1969.
• Austin Adams, SD: He leads the league with 18 hit batsmen despite throwing just 45.2 innings in relief. The next-fewest innings pitched in MLB history with that many hit batters? 122.2!
• Brent Suter, MIL: His 12 wins rank fifth in the NL, but here's the catch — he's only started one game! Just two other pitchers this century have won as many games in as few starts.

College football kicked off last Saturday, but the real action takes place over the next five days, with 83 FBS games between tonight and Monday.

Coming up: There are 16 games today, eight tomorrow, 57 on Saturday, and one each on Sunday and Monday. The must-see matchups:

• Tonight: Boise State at UCF, 7pm (ESPN); No. 4 Ohio State at Minnesota, 8pm (FOX)
• Friday: No. 10 UNC at Virginia Tech, 6pm (ESPN); Michigan State at Northwestern, 9pm (ESPN)
• Saturday: No. 19 Penn State at No. 12 Wisconsin, 12pm (FOX); No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 14 Miami, 3:30pm (ABC); No. 17 Indiana at No. 18 Iowa, 3:30pm (BTN); West Virginia at Maryland, 3:30pm (ESPN); No. 23 Louisiana at No. 21 Texas, 4:30pm (FOX); Texas Tech vs. Houston, 7pm (ESPN); No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 3 Clemson, 7:30pm (ABC); No. 16 LSU at UCLA, 8:30pm (FOX); Arizona vs. BYU, 10:30pm (ESPN)
• Sunday: No. 9 Notre Dame at FSU, 7:30pm (ABC)
• Monday: Louisville vs. Ole Miss, 8pm (ESPN)

Go deeper: Season preview, predictions (ESPN)

🏈 WTF of the day: Raiders owner Mark Davis is building a 15,000-square-foot mansion in Henderson, Nevada, that looks strikingly similar to the team's practice facility — and could easily house a Bond villain.

⛳️ Tour Championship: 30 players tee off today in the FedEx Cup finale. Patrick Cantlay starts at 10-under par, followed by Tony Finau at 8-under, Bryson DeChambeau at 7-under and world No. 1 Jon Rahm at 6-under.

⚾️ Max makes history: Max Scherzer has now gone 50 consecutive plate appearances this season without reaching base, an MLB record. The Dodgers don't mind, though: He's 4-0 (1.55 ERA) in five starts with L.A.

🏀 Unlimited range: Despite having played just three seasons (two of which were shortened), Trae Young has scored more points from 35+ feet than any player over the last 25 years. Wild.

🏁 Kimi's final laps: Kimi Räikkönen, who has started more F1 races than any driver in history, will retire at the end of the season, his 19th.

Coronavirus infections continue to climb all across the U.S., with few new solutions on the horizon, Axios' Sam Baker writes.

• On average, about 160,000 Americans now test positive for COVID-19 each day — a 14% increase, nationwide, over the past two weeks.
• About 60% of eligible Americans are fully vaccinated, and roughly 72% have at least one shot.

Sports headlines:

• NBA arena bans: Unvaccinated Nets, Knicks and Warriors players won't be allowed to play in home games barring a medical or religious exemption, in accordance with local government policies.
• New poll: Over 25% of unvaccinated U.S. adults say they would get vaccinated if it were required to attend a sporting event or concert, per a new Morning Consult survey.
• Nats firings: The Nationals parted ways with multiple employees over their refusal to get vaccinated, becoming the first MLB team to do so.

FARO, Portugal — Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 109th and 110th international goals in Portugal's 2-1 win over Ireland, passing Iran's Ali Daei for most in men's soccer history.

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers swept the Braves, and the Giants were swept by the Brewers, vaulting L.A. into first place in the NL West for the first time since April 25.

NEW YORK — The U.S. Open was briefly delayed Wednesday due to flash flood warnings, with water falling onto the court in Louis Armstrong Stadium despite the roof being closed.

The NFL season is fast approaching. While we eagerly await its arrival, we're counting down the league's top 20 players.

• Player: Quenton Nelson, G (Colts)
• Age: 25
• College: Notre Dame
• Contract: 4 years, $23.9M (FA in 2023)
• 2020 stats: 16 games; 78.9% run-block win rate (best at position); 95.5% pass-block win rate (third)
• Week 1: Seahawks at Colts

The big picture: Offensive guards may not sell jerseys, but they'll win you football games. Nelson, a first-team All-Pro in each of his three seasons, is the best of the bunch.

• Nelson has never missed a start, and in only four games has he even missed a snap. In 659 pass-blocking snaps last year, he allowed just 13 QB pressures and one sack, per PFF.
• It's no mistake that among QBs with more than 500 pass attempts in 2020, only noted escape artist Ben Roethlisberger was sacked fewer times than Philip Rivers.

What they're saying: "It's power, athleticism and want-to," a veteran linebacker told ESPN (subscription). "He came out of the gate saying, 'I'm the best and I'm gonna [pummel] you.'"

ICYMI: 20. Dalvin Cook; 19. Trent Williams; 18. Bobby Wagner; 17. Tyreek Hill; 16. Jaire Alexander; 15. Stefon Diggs; 14. Myles Garrett; 13. Jalen Ramsey; 12. George Kittle; 11. Josh Allen; 10. Russell Wilson; 9. T.J. Watt; 8. Derrick Henry

50 years ago today, 16-year-old Chris Evert and 19-year-old Jimmy Connors won their first U.S. Open matches.

• Evert went on to win six U.S. Open women's singles titles, tied with Serena Williams for most in the Open Era.
• Connors went on to win five U.S. Open men's singles titles, tied with Roger Federer and Pete Sampras for most in the Open Era.

Behind the scenes: Evert and Connors were tennis' royal couple in the 1970s and were set to marry in 1974 before the wedding was called off.

El Salvador, which hosts the USMNT team tonight, is bordered by two countries.

• Question: Name them.
• Hint: The two most populous nations in Central America.

Answer at the bottom.

Get ready to hear some incredible names during college football broadcasts this season. 10 of our favorites...

1. Fish McWilliams, DL, UAB
2. Brodarius Hamm, OL, Auburn
3. Storm Duck, DB, UNC
4. Smoke Monday, S, Auburn
5. Pig Cage, DB, LSU
6. Phat Watts, WR, Tulane
7. Bumper Pool, LB, Arkansas
8. Charleston Rambo, WR, Miami
9. Terrence Salami, OL, Rutgers
10. Ieremia Ieremia, LB, Cal

Go deeper: The Athletic's Manny Navarro has a longer list (subscription)