What began this week as a funny headline — "High school dupes ESPN, ends up on national TV" — has taken a dramatic turn, unearthing one of the wildest sagas in years.

Catch up quick: On Sunday, ESPN aired a high school football game between IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida) and Bishop Sycamore (Columbus, Ohio). IMG won, 58-0.

• Following the game, ESPN claimed Bishop Sycamore lied about having D-I prospects and falsified its roster, which included many 19-and 20-year-olds.
• We then learned that Bishop Sycamore had played another game in Pennsylvania two days prior — and that the mysterious school was not actually a "school" at all.

The aftermath: Bishop Sycamore was set to play the nation's fourth-hardest schedule, but most opponents (and a streaming service) have backed out. The head coach was let go on Tuesday, and the school's website — which was mostly blank pages — has been shut down.

Now, for the backstory...

What we know: Bishop Sycamore used to operate under the name Christians of Faith Academy. When COF Academy collapsed in 2018 amid fraud allegations, it rebranded.

• Bishop Sycamore claims to be an online-only charter school based out of Columbus. But the Ohio Department of Education lists no charter school by that name.
• The state lists the school's physical address as an indoor sports facility, where the football team works out about once a month, an employee told the Columbus Dispatch.
• A recruiting address found online points to the library at Franklin University in Columbus, where Bishop Sycamore appears to have rented a room in the past, ostensibly for "classes."
• The football team hasn't won a game since launching 2019, while getting outscored 342-49 and playing most games with a shorthanded roster.

What they're saying: Former players and parents have shared their stories this week. Aaron Boyd, who played for COF Academy in 2018, painted a particularly alarming picture.

"[When] I first moved out there, we were staying in a hotel ... for like five months. ... We didn't go to school [and] didn't have practice. We just went to games."

"They recruited us telling us we were gonna be on [Netflix]. They told us we're gonna be the IMG of the Midwest. They lied to me and my mama."

The other side: Andre Peterson, Bishop Sycamore's founder, director and offensive/defensive line coach, denies that the program is a scam.

• "I'm not gaining anything financially from what we're doing," he told USA Today, adding that his son plays on the team. "If it's a scam ... then I'm literally scamming myself [and] hurting my own son."
• Peterson has no plans to shut down. "For me to start all over and send them home ... would be a disservice to them. I just know that we have things to get right."

Between the lines: The irony of this saga is that IMG is also not really a "school." Like Bishop Sycamore (and others), it exists almost solely for sports. Unlike Bishop Sycamore, it's not fraudulent.

The bottom line: If Sunday's game had been closer, this never would have become such big news. Instead, Bishop Sycamore is now infamous — and might never play another football game.

• "Bishop Sycamore's undoing was not its abhorrent practices, ultimately. It was its inability to play football at a high enough level," writes Defector's Casey Taylor.
• "This has been going on in Columbus for three or four years now," said a former Ohio High School Athletic Association employee. "No one cared until it started trending on Twitter."

In a stunning move, the Patriots released veteran QB Cam Newton on Tuesday, handing the starting job to rookie Mac Jones.

Wild stat: 25-year-old Josh Allen is now the oldest starting QB in the AFC East, a division long dominated by noted old man Tom Brady.

• Bills: Allen, 25
• Dolphins: Tua Tagovailoa, 23
• Jets: Zach Wilson, 22
• Patriots: Jones, 22

36 years later ... The last time a division opened a season with four starting QBs age 25 or younger was the AFC East in 1985: Dan Marino (Dolphins), Ken O'Brien (Jets), Tony Eason (Patriots), Art Schlichter (Colts).

Elsewhere: NFL teams were required to cut their rosters to 53 players on Tuesday (full tracker). According to Urban Meyer, vaccination status was a factor in the Jaguars' cut decisions.

September has arrived, bringing with it the annual traditions of playoff races, awards pushes and hilarious Mets gaffes, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.

Playoffs: Four divisions are virtually wrapped up, but 17 teams can still realistically dream of playing October baseball.

• Division leaders: Rays (84-48), White Sox (77-56), Astros (78-54), Braves (70-61), Brewers (81-52), Giants (84-48)
• Wild Card leaders (AL): Yankees (76-56), Red Sox (75-59)
• Wild Card leaders (NL): Dodgers (84-49), Reds (71-62), Padres (71-62)
• In the hunt (AL): A's (73-59), Mariners (71-62), Blue Jays (69-62)
• In the hunt (NL): Phillies (68-64), Cardinals (67-63), Mets (65-67)
• Better luck next year: Indians (65-64), Angels (66-67), Tigers (62-71), Rockies (60-72), Royals (59-72), Twins (58-74), Cubs (58-75), Nationals (55-76), Marlins (55-78), Pirates (48-84), Rangers (47-85), Diamondbacks (44-90), Orioles (41-90)

Awards picks:

• AL MVP: Ohtani (runner-up: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., TOR)
• NL MVP: Tatis Jr. (Bryce Harper, PHI)
• AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole, NYY (Robbie Ray, TOR)
• NL Cy Young: Walker Buehler, LAD (Corbin Burnes, MIL)
• AL ROY: Luis Garcia, HOU (Randy Arozarena, TB)
• NL ROY: Jonathan India, CIN (Trevor Rogers, MIA)

Go deeper: The best, worst and weirdest stats of the season (FiveThirtyEight)

⛳️ "Brooksie" crackdown: An updated fan conduct policy could see spectators ejected from PGA Tour events for disrespectful behavior, including shouting "Brooksie!'' at Bryson DeChambeau.

🎾 U.S. Open, Day 3: Wunderkind Coco Gauff will meet 2017 U.S. Open champ Sloane Stephens tonight (7pm ET) in an All-American battle.

💉 Studio bans: John Smoltz and Al Leiter will no longer work in-studio at MLB Network after refusing to get vaccinated, per the N.Y. Post.

🏈 Coach to QB: Zeb Noland, who joined South Carolina as a graduate assistant this offseason, will be their starting QB this weekend.

🎓 Good read: Even in a pandemic, the NCAA made it harder to cheer on female athletes (FiveThirtyEight)

Source: Giphy

Take away Kevin Durant's gold medal and $198 million contract extension and he's still having a summer for the ages, Jeff writes.

Driving the news: Wearables startup WHOOP has closed a $200 million Series F funding round at a $3.6 billion valuation, giving Durant a 2,800% return on his 2017 investment in the company.

• Durant also invested in cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (5,400% return) and online broker Robinhood (3,200%), both of which went public in recent months.

The big picture: When Durant chose the Warriors in 2016, he had NBA championships in mind. But that time in his life and career ended up being about much more than just basketball.

• He founded his investment firm, Thirty Five Ventures (named for his then-jersey number), that same year, and being in Silicon Valley gave him the itch to go deep in tech startups.
• Since then, Durant has invested in over 75 companies in verticals like collectibles (Alt, Dapper Labs), food and drink (Reserve Bar, Imperfect Foods) and health and wellness (Therabody, 305 Fitness).

Of note: Thirty Five Ventures also has a TV and film division. They won an Oscar for the 2020 short film, "Two Distant Strangers," and upcoming projects include "Swagger," a series inspired by KD's youth hoops journey.

ANAHEIM — Here's another feat to add to Shohei Ohtani's historic season: A steal of home.

CALGARY — Canada beat the five-time defending champion United States, 3-2 (OT), to win its first women's world hockey title since 2012.

TOKYO — The Paralympics are breathtaking. If you haven't watched it yet, stream "Rising Phoenix" immediately.

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

• Player: Derrick Henry, RB (Titans)
• Age: 27
• College: Alabama
• Contract: 4 years, $50M (FA in 2024)
• 2020 stats: 16 games; 2,027 rushing yards, 17 TD; 114 receiving yards
• 2021 fantasy: No. 3 average draft position
• Week 1: Cardinals at Titans

The big picture: Henry was stuck behind DeMarco Murray for two years before taking over in 2018. He's been the NFL's best RB ever since.

• By the numbers: Since 2019, Henry's 681 rushing attempts, 3,567 yards and 33 TD all rank first by a wide margin. Last year, he used his strength to break an NFL-best 34 tackles and his speed to gain 1,073 yards after contact — 317 more than second place.
• Fun fact: Last season he became just the eighth member of the 2,000-yard club.

What they're saying: "You don't see guys who move how he moves at his size," said Jonathan Taylor. "He wears [you] out. He's a train," an NFC scout told ESPN (subscription).

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

37 years ago today, Mississippi Valley State's Jerry Rice exploded for 17 catches, 294 yards and five TD in the first game of his senior season, an 86-0 win over Kentucky State.

Why it matters: The combination of Rice's talent and MVSU's innovative offense led to multiple still-standing FCS records: 24 catches in a game (1983), 168.2 yards per game (1984), 27 TD catches (1984), 4,693 career yards and 23 career 100-yard games.

The backdrop: Rice's coach was Archie "Gunslinger" Cooley, whose eclectic, pass-heavy playbook was years before its time.

• "The fastest way between two points is to fly," said Cooley, whose five-receiver sets really took off in 1984 when MVSU introduced the no-huddle offense.
• The Delta Devils went 9-2 that year behind Rice and QB Willie Totten, averaging a whopping 64 points through their first seven games.

The big picture: Despite playing in the lower division, Rice finished ninth in Heisman voting, and the 49ers took him 16th overall in the draft.

• The Hall of Famer currently holds the NFL records for receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895), receiving TD (197), total TD (208) and all-purpose yards (23,546).

Go deeper: Jerry Rice is the catch of the year (SI Vault)

With the addition of Rajon Rondo, the Lakers roster now features a whopping seven former All-NBA players.

• Question: Name the other six.
• Hint: They all have the letter "O" in their name.

Answer at the bottom.

Counting sheep is a mental exercise used to put oneself to sleep. Turns out, it's also a competitive sport.