Jen Pawol will be MLB's first woman umpire.

Good morning, and welcome to the first day of the NFL preseason -- the real first day of the NFL preseason. I might've dismissed the Hall of Fame Game last week, but that won't be the case today. We're allowed to get excited for these games. The smell of football is in the air.

Though the starters won't be playing much, we'll still see a plenty of familiar faces through the three games Thursday night, including Joe Burrow, Anthony Richardson and a return to Seattle for Pete Carroll and Geno Smith. That'll continue through the weekend when we get to the preseason debuts of top draft picks Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter. There's a lot to look forward to.

Even with all that, though, something peculiar happened as I scanned the slate of games for the week... something I'm not used to happening. Something I'm sure will never happen again. The game I found myself anticipating the most was one between two of the worst teams in the NFL. Two teams I almost never anticipate watching -- and it was all because of a fourth-string quarterback.

Y'all. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really can't wait to watch the Cleveland Browns play the Carolina Panthers. And it ain't because of Bryce Young. I need to see how Shedeur Sanders looks out there.

I'm not sure there's ever been a more interesting fourth-stringer in the history of the NFL than Sanders, who opened Browns camp behind Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel. I don't think there's ever been a player so far down on a depth chart with a wider range of opinions on whether he's good or not. Hell, people don't even usually have an opinion on fourth stringers. But that's not the case with Sanders. So many of us think he's better than his QB4 status, and he'll get a chance to prove it right away because injuries have forced him into a position to start Friday.

Listen, I know we'll have to grade Sanders' performance on a curve. He unfortunately hasn't received many first-team reps because, ya know, he's the fourth-string quarterback. It almost seems like the Browns are setting him to fail in this situation, which would be very Browns-like. But if he goes out there and lights it up? Wooo boy. That quarterback room (that also just added Tyler Huntley) becomes so much more interesting than it already is.

How did we get here with Sanders? It's all because of the NFL draft, where I'm still not sure how so many people got it wrong. Sanders ended up a fifth-round pick and sixth quarterback drafted after many analysts projected him to be a first-rounder and no less than the second quarterback off the board. Instead, he was only the second quarterback selected by his own team. Now nobody knows what to make of Deion's kid.

But none of that matters now. Sanders has a chance to again prove himself on the field, and I'm completely glued. I think he can be every bit as good as the first-round projection he once had. We'll start to find out Friday.

MLB's first woman umpire to make her debut

Jen Pawol is set to become the first woman to umpire an MLB game this weekend when she takes the field for a double-header between the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves on Saturday, then goes behind home plate for the third game on Sunday.

It'll be a long time coming for Major League Baseball, which has had women umps for Spring Training but never in the regular season. Here's more background on Pawol and the history she's about to make.

Quick Hits: Fantasy sleepers ... South Park back at it ... and more

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  • Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull took to TikTok to try to land a swimsuit brand deal, which of course meant it was only a matter of time before Caitlin Clark roasted her Indiana Fever teammates.

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This article originally appeared on For The Win: Shedeur Sanders is the most interesting 4th-stringer of all-time

Reporting by Prince J. Grimes, For The Win / For The Win

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