Football is finally back.
Yes, technically it’s only the NFL preseason, and the Hall of Fame Game isn’t exactly going to feature a parade of superstars playing four quarters of meaningful football. Most established players will spend considerably more time watching from the sideline than smashing into anyone on it.
But after months without NFL football, nobody needs to be picky.
There is, however, another set of games arriving this weekend that might be considerably stranger: President Donald Trump’s “Patriot Games.”
The competition is part of the celebration surrounding America’s 250th anniversary and will bring together young competitors from across the country for events including kickball, dodgeball, tug-of-war and Pop-A-Shot basketball, along with activities drawing inspiration from the Presidential Fitness Test.
And there’s an unexpected media partner involved.
ESPN and Disney are carrying the competition through the ESPN app and ABC, putting companies that have had their share of friction with the Trump administration directly into the middle of one of its signature America 250 events.
Trump announces the creation of the “Patriot Games,” an “unprecedented four-day athletic event” with “one young man and one young woman from each state and territory.”pic.twitter.com/EsmUlrkalF
— Molly Ploofkins (@Mollyploofkins) December 18, 2025
According to Freedom 250, the competition will feature one boy and one girl representing each state.
“Freedom 250 announced that the 2026 Patriot Games will bring together outstanding young Americans from across the nation to compete, inspire, and showcase the values that have shaped the United States for nearly 250 years,” the organization said.
There is serious money involved, too.
“The competition will award a $250,000 scholarship prize pool to one male and one female champion, creating life-changing opportunities for young Americans while inspiring millions across the country.”
For anyone who endured the old-school Presidential Fitness Test in gym class, the entire concept should trigger some memories.
There was the mile run, when the athletic kids disappeared into the distance while everyone else reconsidered every decision that had led them to that track. Then came push-ups, sit-ups and the pull-up bar. Depending on the school and era, there were other exercises seemingly designed specifically to establish a permanent hierarchy during PE class.
Now some of that spirit is returning with television coverage.
The ESPN and Disney involvement is particularly interesting because Disney-owned ABC and the Trump administration haven’t exactly enjoyed a consistently friendly relationship. That history inevitably raises the question of whether carrying the Patriot Games represents an attempt to improve relations.
Maybe.
But without evidence of Disney’s motives, calling it an olive branch goes further than the facts allow. What is clear is that a Trump-backed competition tied to the country’s 250th anniversary is getting distribution through some of the biggest names in American sports and television.
Dodgeball, kickball, Pop A Shot.
The Patriot Games — the Freedom 250 event where one boy and one girl from each state/territory will compete — announced its slate of events. Starts this weekend in Ohio. pic.twitter.com/r2s1RGlpEO
— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) August 6, 2026
Meanwhile, the actual NFL is returning as well.
The Hall of Fame Game means preseason football, which means unfamiliar numbers, backup quarterbacks, roster-bubble players and announcers desperately trying to explain why the fourth-string linebacker battling for a special-teams job is suddenly the most important person in Canton.
None of that will stop people from betting on it.
The over/under sitting at 34.5 points will undoubtedly tempt football-starved bettors into convincing themselves they’ve discovered a preseason edge. Kenny Pickett can throw a football, after all. Surely that’s enough research for an August wager.
What could possibly go wrong?
Baseball also supplied some entertainment while football prepared for its return.
A rookie pitcher making his debut in Cleveland generated attention with an unusually animated celebration after recording a strikeout. It was the sort of display that instantly produces two competing reactions: one group loves the swagger, while another begins wondering how long it will be before an opposing team decides the celebration has become a little too enthusiastic.
Then Philadelphia produced something even better.
The Phillies brought a fan into the radio booth and let him handle some play-by-play. Instead of freezing once the microphone went live, he produced a remarkably polished baseball-announcer voice that sounded as though he’d spent years calling games.
Sometimes the guy sitting in the stands really can do it.
Danica Patrick, meanwhile, generated another round of social-media chatter after posting photographs showing off the results of her fitness routine.
Patrick, 44, received plenty of positive responses, but inevitably attracted commenters telling her she needed to eat more.
“Someone needs to take you to dinner,” one wrote.
Another suggested tacos, while a different commenter prescribed a considerably more elaborate regimen of burgers, fries and chocolate shakes.
Patrick hardly appears to need strangers on the internet designing her meal plan. She has spent months traveling through Europe and continues to document an extremely active lifestyle.
