Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

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? ON THIS DAY SEPT. 18, 1996: 20 K'S FOR CLEMENS (Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images) 28 years ago today, Red Sox ace Roger Clemens tied his own MLB record with 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game, Jeff writes. ‌ By the numbers: The 34-year-old threw 151 pitches, allowing five hits and no walks in a 4-0 win over the Tigers. Every Tiger struck out at least once, including notable names like Hall of Famer Alan Trammell and MLBPA executive director Tony Clark. ‌ 20-strikeout club: Three pitchers (Kerry Wood of the Cubs, Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks, Max Scherzer of the Nationals) have since matched Clemens. None of them walked a single batter — further evidence of the ridiculous command each pitcher had that day. ‌ April 29, 1986: Clemens (20 K, 0 BB, 3 H, 1 R) Sept. 18, 1996: Clemens (20 K, 0 BB, 5 H, 0 R) May 6, 1998: Wood (20 K, 0 BB, 1 H, 0 R) May 9, 2001: Johnson (20 K, 0 BB, 3 H, 1 R) May 11, 2016: Scherzer (20 K, 0 B, 6 H, 2 R) Farewell, Boston: This was Clemens' 192nd win with the Red Sox, tying Cy Young for the most in franchise history. It was also his last, as he signed with the Blue Jays that offseason. ‌ The rarest feat in baseball? Sure, there are ridiculous achievements like hitting two grand slams in one inning... but among reasonable feats, a 20-strikeout game is hard to beat. For context: 13 players have hit two grand slams in the same game, there have been 15 unassisted triple plays, and 24 pitchers have tossed a perfect game.

? PLAYOFF HUNT WATCHLIST: AL CENTRAL CLASHES Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has been lights out this season. (Jason Miller/Getty Images) Four AL Central teams are firmly in the playoff hunt (we don't talk about the fifth team), and all four of them play each other tonight, Jeff writes. ‌ Twins at Guardians (6:40pm ET, MLB.TV Free Game) … Cleveland (87-65) is closing in on the division title while Minnesota (80-71) is trying to hold onto the final wild card spot. Tigers at Royals (7:40pm, MLB) … Kansas City (82-70) has a solid grip on the second wild card spot, while Detroit (79-73) trails Minnesota by just 1.5* games. More to watch: ‌ ⚽️ Champions League: League Phase (12:45-3pm, Paramount+) … Manchester City vs. Inter Milan headlines the six-game slate. ⚽️ U20 Women's World Cup: USA vs. North Korea (5:30pm, FS2); Netherlands vs. Japan (9pm, FS2) … Semifinals. ⚽️ MLS: Orlando vs. Charlotte (8:15pm, FS1); LAFC vs. Austin (10:30pm, FS1) ? Women's Volleyball: No. 4 Louisville at No. 11 Kentucky (7pm, ESPN) *A comeback and a collapse: Detroit trailed Minnesota by 9.5 games on August 22. Since then, the Tigers have gone 17-7 (while the Twins have gone 9-15) and suddenly have a real shot at making the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

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The WNBA will return to Portland in 2026

Rose City will be home to a WNBA team once again. The league announced Wednesday that Portland was awarded the league's 15th franchise, which is set to start playing in 2026.

https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2024/09/18/portland-wnba-team-expansion-2026?

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⚾️ Brewers, Yankees clinch: Milwaukee captured its second consecutive NL Central crown, while New York secured at least a Wild Card berth, while also moving five games ahead of the Orioles atop the AL East. ‌ ? One last Woj bomb: NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, who spent many years here at Yahoo, is retiring from journalism to become the men's basketball general manager at his beloved alma mater, St. Bonaventure University. ‌ ? WNBA to Portland: The WNBA is expanding to Portland for the 2026 season. This will be the league's 15th franchise, with expansion teams in Golden State (2025) and Toronto (2026) also debuting soon. ‌ ⚾️ Immaculate inning: Rays pitcher Ryan Pepiot threw an immaculate inning on Wednesday, striking out three Red Sox batters on nine pitches. With only 117 in MLB history, an immaculate inning is rarer than a no-hitter or a cycle. ‌ ? Class of 2025: The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced 167 modern-era nominees for the 2025 induction class. Headlining the 16 first-timers are Eli Manning, Marshawn Lynch, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri.   ? THROUGH THE UPRIGHTS HAVE NFL KICKERS GOTTEN TOO GOOD? (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) Through two weeks, NFL kickers have attempted 39 field goals from 50+ yards. They've converted all but four of those kicks (89.7%), with the most accurate kicker in league history, Justin Tucker, improbably responsible for two of the misses. ‌ It didn't used to be like this... As recently as 2006, NFL kickers made only 40 fields goals from 50+ yards in an entire season. And as recently as 2007, they missed more 50+ yard field goals than they made. ‌ From Yahoo Sports' Jeff Eisenberg: ‌ Many NFL coaches appear to trust modern kickers from distances they once would have deemed too big a gamble. And with the NFL's new touchback rule giving the receiving team the ball at its own 30-yard line, teams need only a single explosive play or a couple first downs to cross midfield and give their big-legged kicker a chance. (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) No longer an afterthought: The stereotype of the scrawny, soccer-playing kicker has gradually eroded over time. Nowadays, many NFL kickers are elite athletes who specialized in the position as early as middle school. And as the caliber of kickers entering the NFL has improved, so have the conditions they encounter when they arrive. ‌ Advances in grass maintenance and field turf have provided kickers a pristine surface. The K-balls used for kicking are less slick and better broken-in. And then there are the other specialists who snap and hold the ball. ‌ Ex-Pro Bowl kicker Mike Hollis told Yahoo Sports he seldom had a full-time long snapper when he played for the Jaguars from 1995-2001. Rather than expend a roster spot on a specialist, the Jaguars preferred to train a tight end or offensive lineman to handle long-snapping duties. ‌ In the modern NFL, teams value the kicking game too much to repeat those mistakes. The field-goal unit develops timing and continuity through daily practice reps because the long snappers are now specialists and punters typically serve as holders. ‌ The big question: Have kickers gotten too good? Might the NFL need to explore doing something to make field goals less automatic? ‌ One potential change... Narrowing the goal posts. The league already experimented with it during the 2015 Pro Bowl, when they narrowed the width of the goal posts from 18.5 feet to 14 feet and moved extra points back to the 15-yard line (a rule they formally adopted months later).   ? ON THIS DAY SEPT. 19, 2011: MO STANDS ALONE (Rob Tringali/MLB via Getty Images) 13 years ago today, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera earned the 602nd save of his career, breaking Trevor Hoffman's record for the most in MLB history, Jeff writes. ‌ "For the first time in my career, I am on the mound alone. There was nobody behind me, nobody in front of me, and I'm still surrounded by so many people. I can't describe that feeling. It was priceless." ‌ — Rivera, after the game ‌ All-time saves leaders: Rivera compiled 50 more saves before retiring in 2013, giving him 652 for his career. No one else besides Hoffman has even 500 saves, much less 600. ‌ Rivera: 652 (1995-2013) Hoffman: 601 (1993-2010) Lee Smith: 478 (1980-97) Kenley Jansen: 446 (2010-present) Craig Kimbrel: 440 (2010-present) Consider this: Even if Jansen pitches four more years (until he's 40), he'd need to average over 50 saves per year to catch Rivera — a mark he hasn't reached even once. (Apologies to Kimbrel, who hasn't saved more than 24 games since 2018 and was just DFA'd by the Orioles). ‌ The GOAT: Rivera, baseball's only unanimous Hall of Famer, used his signature cutter to compile a 2.21 lifetime ERA, the best mark among all pitchers since integration. He was even better in the playoffs, with an MLB-record 0.70 postseason ERA (min. 30 IP) across 96 appearances. ‌ Did you know? More people have walked on the moon (12) than scored an earned run off Mariano in the postseason (11).

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⚾ 1 fun thing: Watching baseball history

Baseball fans are watching two polar-opposite and historic events play out in real time:

1. Shohei Ohtani wrapping up one of the greatest feats the sport has ever seen.
2. The Chicago White Sox cementing their status as the worst team to ever step foot on a modern MLB field.

? Ohtani — the L.A. Dodgers star — last night became the first major league player to hit at least 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in one year.

• Only five others have hit 40 home runs and stolen bases. Until this year, 50 was unthinkable.

? The White Sox must win six of their last nine games to avoid breaking the record for most losses in a season.

• Watch Ohtani's record-breaking homer: "Greatest day in baseball history."

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? Jets 24, Patriots 3: Aaron Rodgers was brilliant in the Jets' home-opening win over the Patriots, throwing for 281 yards and 2 TD in his first game at MetLife since last season's four-play appearance that ended with a torn Achilles. ‌ ⚾️ Clinched: The Guardians and Dodgers clinched playoff berths on Thursday, joining the Brewers and Yankees who did the same on Wednesday. Playoff tracker/clinching scenarios. ‌ ⚽️ Yamal makes history: Barcelona lost to Monaco, 2-1, but wunderkind Lamine Yamal made history as the second-youngest player ever (17 years, 68 days) to score a goal in the Champions League. ‌ ⛳️ LIV eligibility update: The PGA of America, a distinct organization from the PGA Tour, announced that LIV Golf players will be eligible to play in the Ryder Cup and the PGA Championship — a significant thaw in the ongoing split in golf. ‌ ? Arch's first start: Arch Manning, who dominated last week in relief of injured QB Quinn Ewers, will make his first start for Texas on Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe as Ewers continues dealing with an abdominal strain.   ? WNBA POSTSEASON BRING ON THE PLAYOFFS (Stefan Milic/Yahoo Sports) The WNBA regular season came to an end last night, and for Caitlin Clark and A'ja Wilson that meant the conclusion of two of the greatest campaigns in league history, Jeff writes. ‌ Best rookie season ever? Six months ago, Clark wrapped up perhaps the best career in women's college basketball history. And while some felt it would take time to adjust to the professional game, all she's done is put together arguably the best rookie season the WNBA has ever seen. ‌ The Fever point guard averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 8.4 assists and 3.1 three-pointers per game, with her assist and three-point marks both leading the league. She broke the single-season assists record (337) and the rookie scoring record (769), hit the second-most threes ever in a season (122) and became the first rookie to record a triple-double (which she did twice). Now, after a regular-season finale that was the most-attended game in WNBA history, she has Indiana back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016. And the presumptive Rookie of the Year would also be an MVP favorite if not for Wilson's own historic campaign. Best season ever? Wilson is all but guaranteed to become the WNBA's fourth three-time MVP after putting up what looks a lot like the best season in league history. ‌ The Aces center set the records for most points (1,021) and rebounds in a season (451), and became the first player ever to lead the league in points, rebounds and blocks. She averaged a WNBA-record 26.9 points per game (no one else this season even averaged 23), 11.9 rebounds per game (second to Angel Reese's 13.1), and she might win a third straight Defensive Player of the Year award after leading the league in defensive win shares, too. The only thing she has left to do is lead red-hot Vegas — the two-time defending champs who've won nine of their last 10 — to the second three-peat in league history (Comets, 1997-2000). Bring on the playoffs: The first round begins Sunday, with the higher seed hosting the first two games in each best-of-three series. ‌ No. 1 Liberty vs. No. 8 Dream (1pm ET, ESPN) No. 3 Sun vs. No. 6 Fever (3pm, ABC) No. 2 Lynx vs. No. 7 Mercury (5pm, ESPN) No. 4 Aces vs. No. 5 Storm (10pm, ESPN) Championship odds (via BetMGM): Liberty (+120), Aces (+225), Lynx (+240), Sun (+800), Fever (+3000), Storm (+4000), Mercury (+15000), Dream (+25000).

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? WNBA's stellar season

One of the most consequential — and fun — seasons in the WNBA's history is now in the books. And it lived up to the hype.

• A'ja Wilson, who may be the unanimous choice for the league's MVP, set new records for the most points (1,021), rebounds (451) and blocks (98) in a single season. No one else has ever held all three records at the same time.
• Caitlin Clark set a record for most assists in a season, and became the first WNBA rookie ever to notch a triple-double. (She had two, actually.) Putting together her average scoring, rebounding and assists per game, she's one of the best rookies the league has ever seen.
• Attendance was up 44%, mostly driven by tickets to see Clark's team.

Go deeper.

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Caitlin Clark unanimously named AP WNBA Rookie of the Year after record-breaking season

Caitlin Clark has continued to reap the rewards from her remarkable debut season in the WNBA, most recently being unanimously chosen for the Associated Press’ (AP) Rookie of the Year.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/23/sport/caitlin-clark-wnba-rookie-of-the-year-spt-intl

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HEADLINES

⚾️ 36-120: The White Sox lost their 120th game of the season on Sunday, tying the 1962 Mets' single-season record for the most losses in modern MLB history (since 1901).  ‌ ? Embiid's huge extension: Joel Embiid signed a three-year, $193 million extension with the 76ers, expanding his total deal to five years and $299.6 million — the third-richest in NBA history. ‌ ⚾️ No 100-win teams: No MLB teams will reach 100 wins this season for the first time since 2014, when the Angels led baseball with 98. The Dodgers (93-63) can come closest with a maximum of 99. ‌ ? Jágr's first goal: Jaromír Jágr, 52, scored the first goal of his 37th professional season on Friday for Rytíři Kladno, the Czech team he's owned since 2011. The future NHL Hall of Famer plans to retire at the end of this season. ‌ ⚾️ A costly gamble: Nationals All-Star CJ Abrams was sent down to the minors after reportedly spending all Thursday night at a casino in Chicago, returning only hours before their Friday afternoon game against the Cubs.

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⚾️ Farewell, Oakland: The Warriors left Oakland in 2019. The Raiders left in 2020. Now the A's are saying goodbye. They play their final home game there today. ‌ ? NIL feud in Vegas: After leading UNLV to its first 3-0 start in 40 years, QB Matthew Sluka is ditching the team over an NIL dispute. He claims he was promised money he never received; UNLV says his agent made "financial demands" to continue playing. ‌ ? History for sale: Shohei Ohtani's 50th home run ball will be sold at auction by Goldin, with bids starting tomorrow at $500,000. There's also a $4.5 million buy-it-now option, which disappears if bidding reaches $3 million. ‌ ⚾️ 140 RBIs: Aaron Judge hit his 57th home run on Wednesday, while upping his RBI tally to 142. That makes him the first player to drive in 140 runs in a season since Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard in 2009. ‌ ? Hunt's KC return: Six years after he was cut by the Chiefs, Kareem Hunt is back on their active roster and will play in Sunday's game against the Chargers.   The 2024 MLB season was already headed for a chaotic finish given how tight the AL and NL Wild Card races are. Now, thanks to Hurricane Helene and the league's decision to ditch "Game 163," the final days could descend into complete chaos, Jeff writes. ‌ What's happening: Yesterday's and today's Braves-Mets games in Atlanta were postponed in preparation for Helene's landfall, so the two teams separated by just one game in the wild card race will now play a doubleheader on Monday with the final playoff spot on the line (unless the race is already settled by then). ‌ It's a nightmare scenario that probably should have been avoided: Both teams were off Monday and seemingly could have played a game to get ahead of the storm. Instead, the Mets must escape Atlanta during a hurricane for their final series in Milwaukee, then most likely return to Atlanta for a doubleheader on Monday — a day before the playoffs begin. Max chaos scenario for the Mets… Sunday in Milwaukee, doubleheader Monday in Atlanta, then a wild card game Tuesday in San Diego or Los Angeles. Four games, three days, three different time zones. ‌ Wild Card races: ‌ NL: Padres (91-67), Mets (87-70), Diamondbacks (88-71), Braves (86-71) AL: Orioles (88-70), Tigers (84-74), Royals (84-74), Twins (82-76), Mariners (82-77) What to watch: MLB has done away with "Game 163" in the case of any ties, so there could be a mathematic logjam if this weekend plays out just right.   ? WNBA PLAYOFFS CLARK SENT PACKING, FINAL FOUR SET (Yahoo Sports) Caitlin Clark's historic season came to a close on Wednesday, with the Fever falling 87-81 to the Sun. The rookie filled the stat sheet (25-6-9), but so did Alyssa Thomas (19-5-13) as Connecticut completed the 2-0 sweep. ‌ What's next for Clark? "I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow or what I'm going to do the next day," she said when asked about her offseason plans. "So, maybe play some golf. That's what I'm gonna do until it becomes too cold in Indiana. I'll become a professional golfer." ‌ Meanwhile, in Minnesota… Napheesa Collier tied the WNBA record for points in a playoff game (42) to lead the Lynx past the Mercury, 101-86, and into the semis. Did we just watch Diana Taurasi's final WNBA game? ‌ Final Four: The top four seeds have advanced to the best-of-five semifinals, which begin Sunday with (1) New York vs. (4) Las Vegas and (2) Minnesota vs. (3) Connecticut.

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⚾️ Farewell, Oakland: The Warriors left Oakland in 2019. The Raiders left in 2020. Now the A's are saying goodbye. They play their final home game there today. ‌ ? NIL feud in Vegas: After leading UNLV to its first 3-0 start in 40 years, QB Matthew Sluka is ditching the team over an NIL dispute. He claims he was promised money he never received; UNLV says his agent made "financial demands" to continue playing. ‌ ? History for sale: Shohei Ohtani's 50th home run ball will be sold at auction by Goldin, with bids starting tomorrow at $500,000. There's also a $4.5 million buy-it-now option, which disappears if bidding reaches $3 million. ‌ ⚾️ 140 RBIs: Aaron Judge hit his 57th home run on Wednesday, while upping his RBI tally to 142. That makes him the first player to drive in 140 runs in a season since Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard in 2009. ‌ ? Hunt's KC return: Six years after he was cut by the Chiefs, Kareem Hunt is back on their active roster and will play in Sunday's game against the Chargers.   The 2024 MLB season was already headed for a chaotic finish given how tight the AL and NL Wild Card races are. Now, thanks to Hurricane Helene and the league's decision to ditch "Game 163," the final days could descend into complete chaos, Jeff writes. ‌ What's happening: Yesterday's and today's Braves-Mets games in Atlanta were postponed in preparation for Helene's landfall, so the two teams separated by just one game in the wild card race will now play a doubleheader on Monday with the final playoff spot on the line (unless the race is already settled by then). ‌ It's a nightmare scenario that probably should have been avoided: Both teams were off Monday and seemingly could have played a game to get ahead of the storm. Instead, the Mets must escape Atlanta during a hurricane for their final series in Milwaukee, then most likely return to Atlanta for a doubleheader on Monday — a day before the playoffs begin. Max chaos scenario for the Mets… Sunday in Milwaukee, doubleheader Monday in Atlanta, then a wild card game Tuesday in San Diego or Los Angeles. Four games, three days, three different time zones. ‌ Wild Card races: ‌ NL: Padres (91-67), Mets (87-70), Diamondbacks (88-71), Braves (86-71) AL: Orioles (88-70), Tigers (84-74), Royals (84-74), Twins (82-76), Mariners (82-77) What to watch: MLB has done away with "Game 163" in the case of any ties, so there could be a mathematic logjam if this weekend plays out just right.   ? WNBA PLAYOFFS CLARK SENT PACKING, FINAL FOUR SET (Yahoo Sports) Caitlin Clark's historic season came to a close on Wednesday, with the Fever falling 87-81 to the Sun. The rookie filled the stat sheet (25-6-9), but so did Alyssa Thomas (19-5-13) as Connecticut completed the 2-0 sweep. ‌ What's next for Clark? "I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow or what I'm going to do the next day," she said when asked about her offseason plans. "So, maybe play some golf. That's what I'm gonna do until it becomes too cold in Indiana. I'll become a professional golfer." ‌ Meanwhile, in Minnesota… Napheesa Collier tied the WNBA record for points in a playoff game (42) to lead the Lynx past the Mercury, 101-86, and into the semis. Did we just watch Diana Taurasi's final WNBA game? ‌ Final Four: The top four seeds have advanced to the best-of-five semifinals, which begin Sunday with (1) New York vs. (4) Las Vegas and (2) Minnesota vs. (3) Connecticut.

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⚾️ A's say goodbye

The Oakland Athletics' grounds crew gets the field ready today for the final game at the Coliseum. Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images The Oakland Athletics will say goodbye to Oakland this afternoon, after more than 50 years. The A's are moving to Las Vegas within the next few years. They'll play at a minor league stadium in Sacramento until then. Fans were lining up outside Oakland Coliseum as early as 7am today ahead of the A's final home game. Extra security is on hand just in case. A fan enters Oakland Coliseum today before the final game. Photo: Eakin Howard/Getty Images

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⚾️ MLB playoff tracker: The Yankees beat the Orioles to clinch the AL East crown; the Dodgers beat the Padres to clinch the NL West; the Mariners were officially eliminated. ‌ ? D-Rose retires: Derrick Rose is retiring from the NBA after a 16-year career that saw him reach incredible highs (No. 1 pick, youngest-ever MVP) and depressing lows (countless injuries). He walks away having averaged 17.4 points and 5.2 assists in 723 games played. ‌ ? Cowboys 20, Giants 15: It wasn't pretty, but Dak Prescott has now won 13 straight games against the Giants. Meanwhile, Daniel Jones has still never won on a weekday (0-13). ‌ ⛳️ Americans take early lead: Scottie Scheffler and the U.S. Team pulled off an opening session sweep to grab a 5-0 lead at the Presidents Cup entering today's foursomes matches. ‌ ?️ Red Bull fires Ricciardo: F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo was released by Red Bull Racing, likely ending his career. He'll be replaced by Liam Lawson for the rest of the season.   ⚾️ RARE MILESTONE 400 BASES: OHTANI JOINS THE CLUB, JUDGE IS CLOSE (Giphy) Shohei Ohtani made more history on Thursday when he became the 19th player in MLB history (and first since 2001) to reach 400 total bases in a season. ‌ Meanwhile, in New York: Aaron Judge went yard for the fifth straight game to give him 58 home runs (12th-most ever), and he's now just eight bases away from joining Ohtani in the 400 club. ‌ Folks, we are currently witnessing two of the best offensive seasons in baseball history…

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? KAT to New York: Karl-Anthony Towns is reportedly headed to the Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick. The trade has yet to be finalized. ‌ ⚾️ Third straight batting title: Padres 1B/DH Luis Arraez (.314 AVG) became the first player in MLB history to win three straight batting titles for three different teams (Padres, Marlins, Twins). ‌ ⚽️ Club World Cup venues: New Jersey's MetLife Stadium will host the 2025 Club World Cup Final, and venues in 10 other U.S. cities will host matches in the expanded 32-team tournament. ‌ ? Lynx duo snag awards: Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier and head coach Cheryl Reeve were named the WNBA's Defensive Player and Coach of the Year after leading Minnesota to 30 wins and the No. 2 seed. ‌ ? Tragedy in Zurich: Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer died on Friday after sustaining a head injury in a crash during the Cycling Road World Championships. She was 18.   ⚾️ DOUBLEHEADER PLAYOFFS ON THE LINE IN ATLANTA (Gregory Hodge/Yahoo Sports) The MLB regular season concluded on Sunday — for 28 of 30 teams. The American League bracket is set, while the National League will be finalized today. ‌ Who's in? ‌ AL: The Yankees (94-68) and Guardians (92-69) earned byes, with the Astros (88-73), Orioles (91-71), Royals (86-76) and Tigers (86-76) slotting in behind them. NL: The Dodgers (98-64) and Phillies (95-67) earned byes, with the Brewers (93-69) and Padres (93-69) behind them. The final two spots will be determined today. Three teams, two spots: The Braves host the Mets today in a doubleheader (1:10pm ET and 4:40pm, ESPN2) to determine not only their postseason fates but also the fate of the Diamondbacks, notes Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz… ‌ How did we get here? ‌ Mother Nature is the simple answer. Rain in Georgia last week left Truist Park unplayable. The league could've forced the Braves and Mets to play at a neutral site but opted not to do so. Surely the league was hoping the results over the final weekend of games would make playing today's doubleheader unnecessary. ‌ Had the Diamondbacks not stormed back for 11 runs on Sunday after going down early against the Padres, MLB would've gotten its wish. Arizona would've been eliminated with a loss, propelling New York and Atlanta into the October tournament. ‌ A Braves win Sunday would have activated perhaps the most unsavory scenario, in which Atlanta would've clinched a wild-card spot but still would've had to play New York twice today because the Mets would've needed to win both to clinch and eliminate the D-backs. Thankfully, that's not how it went down. We're left with ample mayhem nonetheless. ‌ Scenarios: If the Mets or Braves win both games, they're in the playoffs alongside the Diamondbacks. If they split the doubleheader, they're both in and the Diamondbacks are out. To break it down a bit further… ‌ Atlanta gets in with a win. The Braves can be only the No. 5 seed. New York gets in with a win. If the Mets win one Monday, they are the No. 6 seed. If they win both, they are the No. 5 seed. Arizona gets in if either Atlanta or New York sweeps the doubleheader. The D-backs can be only the No. 6 seed. Doesn't that create a bizarre set of incentives? ‌ Yes. The winner of Game 1 today clinches a playoff spot with that victory, making Game 2 irrelevant for that team. Conversely, whichever team loses Game 1 faces a win-or-go-home situation in Game 2. ‌ That means it would behoove the winner of Game 1 to (1) lose Game 2 as quickly as possible and (2) do so while relying on the least important group of players available. And that's understandable, given the outrageous travel involved in all of this and the zero days off between this doubleheader and the start of the playoffs on Tuesday. ‌ For instance, if the Mets win Game 1, it would be pointless for them to deploy flame-throwing closer Edwin Díaz in Game 2. Doing so would leave him more taxed for a Tuesday playoff game. And similar to what can happen on a getaway day during the regular season, there's a chance that the Game 1 winner's hitters will swing early and often to make Game 2 skedaddle along. ‌ Projected starters (per MLB.com): The Mets plan to start Tylor Megill (4-5, 3.98 ERA) and Luis Severino (11-7, 3.91 ERA), while the Braves plan to start Spencer Schwellenbach (8-7, 3.47 ERA) and NL Triple Crown winner Chris Sale (18-3, 2.38 ERA).   ? WEEK 4 NFL SUNDAY: BY THE NUMBERS (Michael Owens/Getty Images) 43: The Bills' NFL-record streak of 43 consecutive regular-season games without a loss by six or more points came to an end with their 35-10 loss to Derrick Henry (199 rushing yards), Lamar Jackson (3 TD) and the Ravens. ‌ 4-0: The Vikings beat the Packers, 31-29, to move to 4-0 for the first time since 2016, and Sam Darnold (three more passing TDs to give him an NFL-best 11) kept his surprise MVP candidacy alive. ‌ 82.1: Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels was superb once again in a 42-14 beatdown of the Cardinals. No QB has ever had a higher completion rate (82.1%) through the first four games of a season (min. 75 attempts). ‌ 58: The Falcons beat the Saints, 26-24, on Younghoe Koo's career-long 58-yard field goal with two seconds left. He's now a perfect 15-15 on all kicks this season. ‌ 60: Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix set the NFL record for fewest passing yards in a win (min. 20 pass attempts), finishing with just 60 yards on 25 attempts in a 10-9 victory over the Jets. ‌ 2-2: The Eagles went 6-0 across the last two Septembers, but fell to 2-2 this year following their 33-16 loss to the Buccaneers. ‌ 39: Joe Flacco led the Colts past the Steelers after replacing an injured Anthony Richardson, whose mom is eight days older than the 39-year-old QB. ‌ 0-4: The Jaguars lost to the Texans to become the league's only 0-4 team. The Titans, also in the AFC South, can join them tonight. ‌ Scoreboard: ‌ Favorite won: Ravens 35, Bills 10 // Bears 24, Rams 18 // Texans 24, Jaguars 20 // Bengals 34, Panthers 24 // Falcons 26, Saints 24 // 49ers 30, Patriots 13 // Chiefs 17, Chargers 10 Underdog won: Colts 27, Steelers 24 // Buccaneers 33, Eagles 16 // Broncos 10, Jets 9 // Vikings 31, Packers 29 // Commanders 42, Cardinals 14 // Raiders 20, Browns 16

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⚾️ Padres' season for the record books

The Padres just finished one of the most successful regular seasons in franchise history.

Driving the news: Sunday's loss brought their record to 93-69, second only to the 1998 World Series team's 98-64 record.

• Their playoff run begins Tuesday, with game one of the Wild Card Series against either the Atlanta Braves or New York Mets, depending on the outcome of their double header today.

Why it matters: This is what former owner Peter Seidler had in mind when he reinvented the franchise by doubling payroll from 2019 until he died last year.

By the numbers: Padres fans set a franchise record for attendance for the second consecutive year, with 3.3 million people attending a game at Petco Park, up from 3.2 million last year.

• The 41,117 fans per game was the 4th highest in Major League Baseball, the fourth consecutive year they've finished in the top five.

Tell us: What was your best memory of the Padres 2024 regular season?

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? F*ck cancer: Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo passed away at age 58 due to brain cancer. Rest in peace to a shot-blocking legend, a beloved teammate and "just a great human being." ‌ ? MNF doubleheader: Jared Goff set the NFL record for most pass attempts without an incompletion (18-for-18, 292 yards, 2 TD) and added a TD catch in the Lions' 42-29 win over the Seahawks; the Titans cruised past the Dolphins, 31-12, for their first win. ‌ ⚾️ Back to the basics: MLB players will return to wearing team uniforms for the 2025 All-Star Game. The league is ditching the annual ASG-specific jerseys that debuted in 2021. ‌ ? Expansion draft rules: WNBA teams will be limited to six protected players for the Golden State Valkyries expansion draft on Dec. 6. The rest of their rosters will be exposed for the Valkyries to choose from. ‌ ⚾️ President Posey: Giants icon Buster Posey is the team's new president of baseball operations. He replaces Farhan Zaidi, who was fired after six years at the helm (403-506 record, one NL West title). ‌ ? 1-5 POWER RANKINGS: NBA STARTING LINEUPS (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) An ideal NBA lineup has a superstar, a deferential co-star, a third star who owns his role, a fourth option and a fifth starter to tie it altogether. How close does your team come to checking off those boxes? ‌ Methodology: Yahoo Sports' Ben Rohrbach ranked the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 options on each NBA team, then averaged those individual player rankings to get a cumulative starting lineup score. ‌ Cream of the crop: The defending champion Celtics blew away the field, with an average player ranking of 2.4. Jayson Tatum was fourth among No. 1s, Jaylen Brown was third among No. 2s, Kristaps Porziņģis was third among No. 3s, Jrue Holiday was first among No. 4s and Derrick White was first among No. 5s. ‌ Celtics (2.4): Tatum (4), Brown (3), Porziņģis (3), Holiday (1), White (1) Thunder (6.4): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (5), Jalen Williams (13), Chet Holmgren (4), Alex Caruso (8), Isaiah Hartenstein (2) Timberwolves (6.8): Anthony Edwards (?, Julius Randle (14), Rudy Gobert (2), Jaden McDaniels (6), Mike Conley Jr. (4) Knicks (7.2): Jalen Brunson (11), Karl-Anthony Towns (8), Mikal Bridges (8), OG Anunoby (3), Josh Hart (6) Mavericks (8.8): Luka Dončić (2), Kyrie Irving (7), Klay Thompson (19), P.J. Washington (11), Dereck Lively II (5) Of note: These rankings assume that the Knicks and Timberwolves finalize the reported blockbuster trade that will send Karl-Anthony Towns to New York. ‌ Full rankings.   ⚾️ WILD CARD WATCHLIST: THE PLAYOFFS ARE HERE (Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports) The MLB postseason begins today with a quartet of Wild Card matchups. As a reminder, these are all best-of-three series hosted by the higher seed, Jeff writes. ‌ Tigers at Astros (2:30pm ET, ABC): Detroit manager A.J. Hinch returns to Houston, where he won the 2017 World Series — perhaps with the help of some trash cans. Royals at Orioles (4pm, ESPN2): It's KC's Bobby Witt Jr. (age 24) vs. Baltimore's Gunnar Henderson (23) in a battle of young, superstar shortstops.* Mets at Brewers (5:30pm, ESPN): This is the first-ever postseason meeting between these two 1960s expansion franchises. Braves at Padres (8:30pm, ESPN): Expect a lot of whiffs: Atlanta and San Diego finished top-two in the NL in strikeouts per nine innings pitched. More to watch: ‌ ⚽️ Champions League: Matchday 2 (12:45-3pm, Paramount+) ? NHL Preseason: Devils at Rangers (7pm, TNT); Golden Knights at Avalanche (9:30pm, TNT) *Pregame reading: How did 29 MLB teams pass on Gunnar Henderson? … How Bobby Witt Jr., always expected to be an MLB star, delivered on that promise   The Astros and Tigers meet today in the first-ever playoff matchup between Houston and Detroit in any of the four major sports. ‌ How has this never happened? It's actually not that surprising given (a) Houston doesn't have an NHL team and (b) the two cities have been in different conferences or leagues for most of their existence. ‌ The Rockets and Pistons would have to meet in the NBA Finals, and their title windows never overlapped in the 80s/90s. The Lions and Texans would have to meet in the Super Bowl, and they're two of the four franchises to never appear in one. The Astros and Tigers were in different leagues until Houston moved from the NL Central to the AL West in 2013. So who ya got: Space City or Motor City? H-Town or Motown?

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? SO MANY SPORTS WELCOME TO OCTOBER Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. celebrates after hitting a two-run home run. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) The best month on the sports calendar is upon us, and October began with a bang on Tuesday, with six playoff games (four baseball, two basketball) running all afternoon and through the night. ‌ MLB Wild Card: The Mets (8-4 over Brewers) and Padres (4-0 over Braves) won in the NL; the Royals (1-0 over Orioles) and Tigers (3-1 over Astros) won in the AL. WNBA semifinals: The Liberty beat the Aces, 88-84, to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five series; the Lynx beat the Sun, 77-70, to even their series at one game apiece. Meanwhile, across the pond… Some of the world's biggest soccer clubs were in action during Champions League play. It was a day full of blowouts, with the seven victorious teams winning by a combined score of 27-1 (!!). There were also two 1-1 draws. Sabrina Ionescu (24 points) has the Liberty on the verge of another WNBA Finals. (Elsa/Getty Images) Coming up this month: The MLB and WNBA playoffs continue, with the World Series starting on Oct. 25 and the WNBA Finals ending no later than Oct. 20. We also have more Champions League, NFL, NWSL, some of the best college football games of the season, F1 (U.S. Grand Prix on Oct. 20), MLS playoffs (starting Oct. 23) and NASCAR playoffs (through Round of 8). ‌ Plus, two major sports return: ‌ Oct. 4: NHL season begins (two days away!) Oct. 22: NBA season begins Looking ahead: There will be a Sports Equinox on Oct. 28, with the NFL (Giants-Steelers), NBA (11 games), NHL (eight games) and MLB (World Series Game 3) all in action on the same day.

? CHIEFS KINGDOM NFL POWER RANKINGS: WEEK 5 (Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports) The undefeated Chiefs and Vikings sit atop our Week 5 power rankings, courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Frank Schwab. But the top-ranked Chiefs, in particular, face questions regarding the sustainability of their hot start, Jeff writes. ‌ Survive and advance: While Minnesota's scoring differential (+57) is tied with the Saints for the NFL's best, Kansas City (+20) is ranked seventh thanks to a quartet of wins by a single score. ‌ That trend would be more concerning for Chiefs Kingdom, though, if it hadn't already proven successful. They’ve won 10 games in a row dating back to last season, and only one came by double digits. That includes, of course, their second straight Super Bowl. What to watch: It won't get any easier for the Chiefs, who've now lost starting RB Isiah Pacheco (leg) and No. 1 WR Rashee Rice (knee) to injuries and face the high-scoring Saints and 49ers in their next two games. ‌ Risers and fallers… ‌ Risers: The Buccaneers (+6) shot up the rankings after blowing out the Eagles, followed by the Commanders, Titans, Bengals, Bears and Broncos (+5). Fallers: The Jets (-8) plummeted after after their dud against Denver, followed by the Rams (-7), Cardinals (-5), Dolphins (-4) and Browns (-4). Yahoo Fantasy: How to manage Bye Week Season

⚾️ 121 LOSSES ARE THE 2024 WHITE SOX THE WORST TEAM EVER? (J'Kel Anderson/Yahoo Sports) Now that the White Sox's dismal season has mercifully come to an end, it's worth asking: Was this the worst baseball team ever? ‌ 121 losses: The easy answer is yes, as the 2024 White Sox (41-121) set the modern MLB record (since 1901) for most losses in a season. But let's dig a little deeper, Jeff writes. ‌ By the numbers: The South Siders narrowly passed the 1962 Mets (40-120-1) for most losses, but their .253 winning percentage is actually just the fifth-worst in the modern era behind the 1916 A's (.235), 1935 Braves (.248), those '62 Mets (.250) and the 1904 Senators (.252). ‌ Similarly, while their -306 run differential was atrocious, it was 33 runs better than last year's 112-loss Athletics and just the 16th-worst of the modern era. That's thanks in part to going 4-10 in extra innings and an MLB-worst 13-29 in one-run games They even had a couple bright spots, most notably lefty fireballer Garrett Crochet (3.58 ERA, MLB-best 12.9 K/9), and finished the season on a relative high note with five wins in their final six games. Yes, but: Watching this team for six months straight was an exercise in masochism, and makes it hard to imagine another club was ever this bad. ‌ They won more than three consecutive games just once and had losing streaks of 12, 14 and 21 games, the last of which is the second-longest in the modern era. Their offense had MLB's worst AVG (.221), OBP (.278) and SLG (.340), and their position players were worth a combined -6.3 wins above replacement, nearly five times worse than any other team this century and the fourth-worst in the modern era. Their bullpen blew an MLB-high 37 saves for an MLB-worst 36.2% save percentage. No other team this year was below 55%, and it’s the worst mark in baseball in the last 75 years. Wild stat: The AL Central had four teams over .500, yet the division as a whole finished 35 games under .500 thanks to Chicago's historic ineptitude. Tim Anderson celebrates clinching the AL Central in 2021. (Ron Vesely/Getty Images) First to worst: The 1962 Mets had a built-in excuse to be terrible: It was their first season as an MLB franchise. But these White Sox won 93 games and a division title just three years ago, with a young core of controllable stars that provided plenty of reason for optimism. Instead, the team became a punch line. ‌ The fall-off was brought on by a combination of institutional rigidity, a barren farm system that failed to restock the big-league roster and a wave of underperformance, natural aging and injuries that chipped away at multiple core pieces. ‌ — Jordan Shusterman and Jake Mintz, Yahoo Sports ‌ So, was this the worst team ever? It's hard to compare teams across eras, but I say yes. Even the worst clubs should be able to win about a third of their games, yet this roster boasted a mind-boggling 35 players who were worth negative WAR.   ⚾️ WILD CARD WATCHLIST: ELIMINATION GAMES Triple Crown winner Tarik Skubal was brilliant again in Detroit's win. (Tim Warner/Getty Images) The Wild Card round continues today with four teams facing elimination. ‌ Tigers (up 1-0) at Astros (2:30pm ET, ABC) Royals (up 1-0) at Orioles (4:30pm, ESPN) Mets (up 1-0) at Brewers (7:30pm, ESPN) Braves (down 1-0) at Padres (8:30pm, ESPN2)

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Second fan files lawsuit claiming ownership of Shohei Ohtani’s 50-50 baseball

MIAMI (AP) — The claim to Shohei Ohtani’s potentially lucrative 50th home run ball grew more complicated this week, with a second fan filing a lawsuit asserting he had possession of the historic baseball.

https://apnews.com/article/shohei-ohtani-ball-auction-50-50-d66db2a4b955f6e9d58d7efb87319ad0?

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⚾️ AND THEN THERE WERE NINE...

MLB PLAYOFFS: TIGERS, ROYALS, PADRES SWEEP

(Yahoo Sports)

Just one more Division Series spot is up for grabs after the Tigers, Royals and Padres completed sweeps on Wednesday. ‌ Scoreboard: ‌ Tigers 5, Astros 2 Royals 2, Orioles 1 Padres 5, Braves 4 Brewers 5, Mets 3 Notes: ‌ Get the brooms out: Since the Wild Card Round debuted in 2022, 10 of the 12 three-game series have been sweeps. Home-field advantage? Seven of the 11 Wild Card Round series that have been completed were won by the road team. KC loves the playoffs: The Royals are 27-9 in their last 36 postseason games and 9-1 in their last 10 postseason rounds dating back to 1985. $18.8 million: That's the combined 2024 salaries of the Tigers' Wild Card roster, which is less money than 62 MLB players made this season. O's are cursed: The Orioles have lost 10 straight postseason games dating back to 2014, which is the fourth-longest playoff losing streak in MLB history. The streak is over… The last five World Series all ended in Texas (Houston in 2019, Arlington in 2020, Houston in 2021 and 2022, Arlington in 2023). The Astros' elimination brings that run to an end. ‌ Good read: Orioles, Rutschman wilt in limelight, stumble out of playoffs again   ? DAY 1 FOOTBALL HEAVEN IS UPON US (Taylar Sievert/Yahoo Sports) Buckle up, football fans: Today is the first of 55 consecutive days with at least one NFL or college football game. ‌ That's right: The next time you won't be able to sit down and enjoy a game is Wednesday, Nov. 27, the day before Thanksgiving.   ⚾️ WILD CARD WATCHLIST: WIN OR GO HOME Milwaukee's American Family Field. (Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) The Brewers and Mets play a decisive Game 3 tonight (7pm ET, ESPN) to wrap up the Wild Card Round. The winner advances to play the Phillies in the NLDS. ‌ More to watch: ‌ ? NFL: Buccaneers at Falcons (8:15pm, Prime) … Atlanta is a 1.5-point favorite. ⛳️ Korn Ferry Tour: Championship* (1pm, Golf) … At French Lick Golf Resort. ? NCAAF: Texas State at Troy (7pm, ESPNU); Sam Houston at UTEP (9pm, CBSSN) ? NHL Preseason: Devils at Flyers (7pm, NHL); Avalanche at Golden Knights (10pm, NHL)

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? No-brainer of the year

Caitlin Clark grabs a rebound during a WNBA playoff game against the Connecticut Sun on Sept. 25. Photo: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBA via Getty Images Caitlin Clark is officially the WNBA's Rookie of the Year. The decision was almost unanimous — she received 66 out of 67 votes. ? Clark set new WNBA records for the most assists in a season and in a single game. and set new rookie records for points and three-pointers. She led the league in 3s, became the first rookie ever to record two triple-doubles, and steered the Indiana Fever to the franchise's first playoff berth since 2016.

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⚾️ HISTORIC BLAST

ALONSO PLAYS THE HERO, METS ADVANCE

(John Fisher/Getty Images)

Pete Alonso played the hero on Thursday, hitting a three-run home run in the ninth inning to lift the Mets past the Brewers, 4-2, and into the NLDS. ‌ Historic blast: This was the 10th go-ahead home run in the ninth inning or later in a winner-take-all game in postseason history — and the first ever with that player's team trailing. New York was down 2-0 when Alonso came to the plate. ‌ From Yahoo Sports' Russell Dorsey… ‌ No player needed a big moment more than Pete Alonso. Throughout the Mets' incredible September run to reach the postseason, they'd gotten plenty of big hits. But none had come from their star first baseman. ‌ In fact, nothing seemed to be going right for Alonso going into his ninth-inning at-bat in Thursday's Game 3. His timing looked off; he didn't look comfortable in the batter's box. ‌ Frankly, with the Mets' season on the line, there were probably other guys fans wanted up in that moment. But in baseball, especially in the postseason, the moment finds you.   What's next: The ALDS and NLDS begin tomorrow with series openers in Cleveland, Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles. ‌ Tigers at Guardians: The first-ever postseason meeting between AL Central teams is also the first between Detroit and Cleveland. Mets at Phillies: Like their AL Central counterparts above, these NL East rivals have surprisingly never met in the postseason. Royals at Yankees: AL MVP frontrunners Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. headline this rekindling of a once-fierce rivalry. Padres at Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani's playoff debut should be a doozy, as these NL West foes square off for the third time in the last five postseasons. Offseason preview: What do the Brewers need to do to stay atop the NL Central?

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? ICYMI

HEADLINES

? WNBA semifinals: Las Vegas beat New York, 95-81, to avoid elimination; Minnesota beat Connecticut, 90-81, to take a 2-1 series lead. ⛳️ History for Hatton: Tyrrell Hatton tied the course record at historic St Andrews with a third-round 61 during the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. ? Ewing returns: Knicks legend Patrick Ewing is returning to the franchise as a basketball ambassador. He'll work directly with both head coach Tom Thibodeau and the front office. ?? Coming to America: Tomoyuki Sugano, the most successful Japanese pitcher of his generation to have spent his whole career in Japan, will come to MLB as a free agent this winter, ESPN reports. Sugano, 34, posted a 1.64 ERA in 24 starts last season. ? Sixth Player of the Year: Tiffany Hayes, who came out of a brief retirement in May to join the Aces, was named the WNBA's Sixth Player of the Year. ⚾️ DIVISIONAL ROUND MLB PAYROLLS: THE FINAL EIGHT (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) Of the eight remaining MLB teams, four were in the top 5 in payroll this season and four were in the bottom half. The rich: The Mets ($318M) ranked first in payroll, per Spotrac. The Yankees ($309M) ranked second, the Phillies ($247M) were fourth and the Dodgers ($241M) were fifth. The not-so-rich: The Padres ($172M) ranked 15th, the Royals ($123M) ranked 20th, the Guardians ($107M) were 23rd and the Tigers ($99M) were 25th, ahead of only the Marlins, Rays, Pirates and Athletics. Today's slate: Cleveland: Tigers at Guardians (1pm ET, TBS): Tyler Holton (7-2, 2.19 ERA) vs. Tanner Bibee (12-8, 3.47 ERA) Philadelphia: Mets at Phillies (4pm, Fox): Kodai Senga (1-0, 3.38) vs. Zack Wheeler (16-7, 2.57 ERA) New York: Royals at Yankees (6:30pm, TBS): Michael Wacha (13-8, 3.35 ERA) vs. Gerrit Cole (8-5, 3.41 ERA) Los Angeles: Padres at Dodgers (8:30pm, FS1): Dylan Cease (14-11, 3.47 ERA) vs. Yoshinubu Yamamoto (7-2, 3.00 ERA) 18 years later… Today is the first time in 18 years that the Mets and Yankees will play a postseason game on the same day. The lead-off hitters the last time they did? José Reyes and Johnny Damon. Preview: Key matchups, series predictions

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? 1 hoops thing: LeBron + Bronny

The Lakers' LeBron James, 39, and his son, Bronny, 20, made NBA history last night when they became the first father-son duo to play together in the same NBA game, let alone on the same team.

• They played just over four minutes side-by-side in the second quarter of the preseason game in Palm Desert, Calif.

Watch the moment ... Keep reading.

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? ICYMI

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? Father and son: Bronny James celebrated his 20th birthday on Sunday by sharing the court with his dad for the first time in the Lakers' preseason game against the Suns. ‌ ⚽️ Still unbeaten: The Orlando Pride beat the Washington Spirit, 2-0, on Sunday to clinch their first NWSL Shield (best record). The Pride (17-6-0) are now three games away from the first unbeaten season in league history. ‌ ? Photo finish, historic crash: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. beat Brad Keselowski in an overtime photo finish at Talladega after the biggest crash in NASCAR history (28 drivers involved) wiped out nearly everyone at the front of the field with less than five laps left. ‌ ? Pereira's reign continues: Alex Pereira defeated Khalil Rountree Jr. by fourth-round TKO to defend his light heavyweight crown for the third time in 175 days, a new UFC record. ‌ ? Swayman extended: The Bruins signed goalie Jeremy Swayman to an eight-year, $66 million extension, ending their contract standoff two days before the season-opener.   ⚾️ INSTANT CLASSIC A BALLGAME FOR THE AGES (Hunter Martin/Getty Images) Are you not entertained?! Bryce Harper ignited the offense and Nick Castellanos hit a walk-off single to lift the Phillies past the Mets, 7-6, in one of the best baseball games you'll ever see. ‌ Back-and-forth: The Mets led 2-0 in the third and 3-0 in the sixth before the Phillies tied it. New York retook the lead in the seventh (4-3), Philly jumped in front in the eighth (6-4), then the Mets tied it in the top of the ninth (6-6) before Castellanos called game. ‌ "I said it to the guys, I said, 'Rocky would be proud.' Never-die mentality, man. Just a great game." ‌ — Harper, ever the Philadelphian (Phillies) Sports, man… Castellanos ran over to his son, Liam, to celebrate his game-winning hit. "When I'm old and no one cares about me as a baseball player anymore, we're going to be home and be able to remember and look back at that," he said postgame. ‌ Where it stands: Sunday's dizzying Game 2 came on the heels of the Mets' come-from-behind victory on Saturday that saw them score six runs in the final two frames to win 6-2. The series is now tied and heads to New York tomorrow. ‌ The Cardiac Mets: Entering this year, no team had ever played three straight playoff games in which the team that led entering the eighth inning went on to lose. The Mets have now played four straight such games. ‌ Meanwhile, in Los Angeles… The Dodgers beat the Padres, 7-5, on Saturday behind Shohei Ohtani's three-run blast (and bat flip), but San Diego responded in a big way on Sunday with six homers (tying the MLB postseason record) and a 10-2 victory. ‌ ALDS: ‌ Yankees-Royals: New York beat Kansas City, 6-5, on Saturday in the first-ever MLB playoff to feature five lead changes. Guardians-Tigers: Cleveland scored five runs before recording an out on Saturday en route to a 7-0 win over Detroit. ? Things got heated: Dodgers fans throw stuff at Padres outfielder   ? WNBA SEMIFINALS LIBERTY ADVANCE, SUN STAY ALIVE Sabrina Ionescu celebrates the victory. (Ian Maule/AP Photo) The Liberty got their revenge, eliminating the Aces on Sunday to clinch a spot in their second straight WNBA Finals a year after Las Vegas won the title at their expense, Jeff writes. ‌ New York's 76-62 win was powered by Sabrina Ionescu (22 points, 7 rebounds, 5 threes) and Breanna Stewart (19 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists), who combined for 158 points in their 3-1 series victory. The Aces' quest for a three-peat is officially over, leaving the Houston Comets as the only team in league history to win three consecutive championships (four straight from 1997-2000). Meanwhile, in Connecticut… Alyssa Thomas (18 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists) and the Sun beat Napheesa Collier (29 points, 13 rebounds) and the Lynx, 92-82, to force a winner-take-all Game 5 tomorrow night. ‌ ? Good read: Stewart embodies Liberty's emotional center   ? WEEK 5 NFL SUNDAY: JACKSON TOPS BURROW IN EPIC DUEL Lamar Jackson loves to play the Bengals. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images) Well, that was fun. The Ravens beat the Bengals, 41-38 (OT), on Sunday in a truly epic duel. Lamar Jackson (348 pass yards, 4 TD; 55 rush yards) improved to 9-1 against the Bengals and 5-1 against Joe Burrow, who was stellar in defeat (392 yards, career-high 5 TD), Jeff writes. ‌ Elsewhere… ‌ Trouble in SF: The Cardinals erased a 13-point second-half deficit to stun the 49ers on the road. San Francisco, a preseason title favorite, is now 2-3 with their only wins coming against the Jets and Patriots. Daniels stands alone: The Commanders routed the Browns behind another strong start from rookie Jayden Daniels, who became the first player in NFL history with 1,000+ passing yards and 250+ rushing yards through five career games. Kings of England: The Vikings picked off Aaron Rodgers three times and beat the Jets, 23-17, to improve to 4-0 in London (wins in 2023, 2017, 2022, 2024) and 5-0 on the season. Dallas wins nightcap: Dak Prescott hit Jalen Tolbert for the go-ahead touchdown with 20 seconds left as the Cowboys beat the Steelers, 20-17, on "Sunday Night Football." Winless no more: Trevor Lawrence got his first win in 315 days, and the Jags got their first win of the season in a 37-34 victory over Joe Flacco (he's still got it!) and the Colts. More scores: ‌ Texans 23, Bills 20 Giants 29, Seahawks 20 Packers 24, Rams 19 Bears 36, Panthers 10 Broncos 34, Raiders 18 Dolphins 15, Patriots 10 ? Walk-off kick: Fairbairn's 59-yarder wins it for Houston   ? CHIEFS VS. SAINTS WATCHLIST: CAN KC STAY PERFECT? What magic will Mahomes and the Chiefs conjure tonight? (David Eulitt/Getty Images) The injury-riddled Chiefs put their undefeated season to the test tonight (8:15pm ET, ESPN) at home against the 2-2 Saints, Jeff writes. ‌ New WR1: With Rashee Rice (knee) on the IR and Travis Kelce off to a slow start, rookie speed demon* Xavier Worthy could emerge as Patrick Mahomes' new favorite target. The Chiefs are also reportedly looking to trade for WR help, as they've done in each of the last two seasons. ‌ More to watch: ‌ ⚾️ ALDS: Tigers (0-1) at Guardians (4pm, TBS); Royals (0-1) at Yankees (7:30pm, TBS) ? NBA Preseason: Magic at Pelicans (1:30pm, NBA); Thunder at Spurs (8pm, NBA) *Fastest-ever: Worthy ran the fastest 40-yard dash ever recorded at the NFL combine (4.21 seconds) this past spring.

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⚾️ 1 for the road

Photo: Hunter Martin/Getty Images Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the N.Y. Mets in an instant-classic game last night that featured five lead changes and six home runs. The series is now tied 1-1. Keep reading.

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? ICYMI

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? Chiefs stay perfect: The Chiefs beat the Saints, 26-13, on "Monday Night Football" to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 2018 — Patrick Mahomes' first year as their starting QB. ‌ ? Shams replaces Woj: Shams Charania is leaving The Athletic for ESPN, where he'll replace Adrian Wojnarowski as the network's new Senior NBA Insider. ‌ ⛳️ Clark hits the links: Caitlin Clark will compete in the pro-am next month at The Annika, the penultimate event on the LPGA schedule. ‌ ? Expensive celebrations: Vanderbilt and Arkansas both received six-figure fines from the SEC after fans stormed the field following their upset wins over Alabama and Tennessee on Saturday. ‌ ?️ Milton's impact: Several college football games this weekend could be impacted by Hurricane Milton, expected to make landfall in Florida by Wednesday. The Buccaneers are also evacuating Tampa and spending the week in New Orleans before playing the Saints on Sunday.   ? PUCK DROP THE NHL IS BACK (Gregory Hodge/Yahoo Sports) The NHL season begins in earnest tonight with a tripleheader on ESPN, as the 2024-25 campaign gets underway stateside after the puck officially dropped in Prague this past weekend, Jeff writes. ‌ Familiar favorites: The Oilers and Panthers, last year's finalists, open the season as Stanley Cup favorites ahead of a quartet of teams sitting not too far behind in a tie for third. ‌ Oilers (+800 at BetMGM): Just four months removed from their heartbreaking Game 7 loss, Edmonton will again try to snap their three-decade championship drought behind the superstar duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Panthers (+900): Fresh off their first Stanley Cup title and second consecutive appearance, Florida could become the second team this century to reach three straight Finals (Lightning, 2020-22). Avalanche (+1100): Only the Bruins (163 wins) and Hurricanes (158) have more wins in the last three years than Colorado (157), who seek an eighth straight trip to the playoffs. Stars (+1100): Dallas has made at least the conference finals in two consecutive years, and three of the last five, but still haven't won the title since 1999. Is this the year they get over the hump? Devils (+1100): New Jersey has made the playoffs just twice in the last decade, but got off to a great start by sweeping the Sabres in the Global Series over the weekend. Rangers (+1100): New York won the Presidents' Trophy* (best record) and reached the conference finals in their first year under Peter Laviolette (third-most wins among active coaches). What does Year 2 hold? More on the season ahead: ‌ Welcome to Salt Lake City: The Utah Hockey Club debuts tonight after the Arizona Coyotes were sold and relocated to Salt Lake City. They share an owner (Ryan Smith) and an arena with the NBA's Jazz. Coaching carousel: Eight of 32 teams have a new head coach this season: Blue Jackets (Dean Evason), Sharks (Ryan Warsofsky), Kraken (Dan Bylsma), Jets (Scott Arniel), Devils (Sheldon Keefe), Maple Leafs (Craig Berube), Senators (Travis Green), Sabres (Lindy Ruff). 4 Nations Face-Off: In lieu of this season's All-Star Game, top players from the USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland will play a week-long tournament in February as an appetizer for the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will include NHL players for the first time since 2014. Chasing Gretzky: Alex Ovechkin (853 goals) is 42 goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky (894) for the most in NHL history. The 39-year-old scored a career-low 31 goals last year (not including shortened-seasons), but he scored 42 just one season earlier. *Beware the curse: The Rangers were the 11th straight Presidents' Trophy winner that failed to win the Stanley Cup. In fact, none of those 11 teams even reached the Finals.   ⚾️ ALDS TIGERS TIE THE SERIES ON CARPENTER'S CLUTCH BLAST (Jason Miller/Getty Images) Not all postseason home runs are created equal, and Kerry Carpenter's game-winning blast on Monday in Cleveland is one Detroiters will be talking about for years, Jeff writes. ‌ ICYMI: The Tigers DH hit a 423-foot, three-run bomb in the ninth inning to give Detroit a 3-0 win over the Guardians and tie the ALDS at one game apiece. ‌ Carpenter's moonshot came off his bat at 110.8 mph — the hardest-hit ball of his career — and it made him the first MLB player with a two-out, two-strike, go-ahead postseason HR in the ninth inning since Kirk Gibson's iconic homer in the 1988 World Series. It was all the more unlikely because it came against all-world closer Emmanuel Clase, who'd gone 16 straight appearances without allowing a run and didn't give up a HR to a lefty all season. Wild stat: Clase allowed nearly as many earned runs on that one swing (3) as he did the entire regular season (5). ‌ Yes, but: This is what Carpenter has done all year. Only four players had a higher OPS than him against RHP this season (min. 250 PA). Their names? Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Bobby Witt Jr. and Juan Soto. ‌ Shoutout to Skubal: Triple Crown winner Tarik Skubal was yet again untouchable for Detroit, striking out eight and allowing just three hits in seven innings to extend his scoreless streak to 24.1 innings. ‌ Meanwhile, in New York… The Royals used a big fourth inning to beat the Yankees, 4-2, and tie their ALDS at one game apiece, too.   ? ON THIS DAY OCT. 8, 1956: LARSEN'S WORLD SERIES PERFECTO Yogi Berra leaps into Don Larsen’s arms after completing their perfecto. (Diamond Images/Getty Images) 68 years ago today, Yankees righty Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in MLB postseason history, beating the Dodgers, 2-0, in Game 5 of the World Series, Jeff writes. ‌ Completely in control: Larsen threw 71 of his 97 pitches for strikes and reached just one three-ball count. Vin Scully, calling the game for the visiting Dodgers, summed up Larsen's achievement with his patented gravitas and simplicity: "Ladies and gentlemen, it's the greatest game ever pitched in baseball history." ‌ World Series MVP: The Yankees went on to win the series in seven games and Larsen was named MVP, an award that had been introduced just one year earlier — and one you'd never have expected him to win just three days earlier. Larsen delivers a pitch during his perfect game. What an incredible photo. (Bettmann Archives/Getty Images) The unlikely hero: Larsen was hardly a bad pitcher, but the man with a 30-40 career record to that point was an unlikely candidate to make this kind of history. As sportswriter Dick Young said, "Damn. The imperfect man just pitched a perfect game." ‌ Larsen had allowed nine runs in 5.2 innings across his only two postseason starts before the perfecto. That included the Yanks' Game 2 loss three days earlier, when he got chased in the second inning after walking four batters and allowing four runs. In fact, after his Game 2 dud he didn't even expect to pitch again in the series. He learned he was starting only after arriving to the clubhouse that morning to find the warm-up ball in one of his shoes — a Yankees ritual. Another reason his feat was so unlikely? No MLB pitcher had thrown a perfect game since 1922, a 34-year drought that is by far the longest ever between perfectos. ‌ Exclusive club: There have been just two other postseason no-hitters in MLB history: Phillies RHP Roy Halladay in the 2010 NLDS and a quartet of Astros (Cristian Javier, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly) in the 2022 World Series.   ? WNBA SEMIFINALS WATCHLIST: WIN OR GO HOME Alyssa Thomas defends Napheesa Collier in Game 4. (Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images) The Lynx host the Sun tonight (8pm ET, ESPN2) in a winner-take-all Game 5, with the victor securing a trip to the WNBA Finals against the Liberty, Jeff writes. ‌ Superstars face off: Minnesota's Napheesa Collier (27.2 pts, 9.3 reb, 3.8 ast, 1.7 blk through six playoff games) and Connecticut's Alyssa Thomas* (16.2 pts, 8.7 reb, 10 ast, 1.2 stl) — both top-five MVP finishers — have been superb this postseason. ‌ More to watch: ‌ ⚾️ NLDS: Phillies (1-1) at Mets (5pm, FS1); Dodgers (1-1) at Padres (9pm, FS1) ? NHL: Blues at Kraken (4:30pm, ESPN); Bruins at Panthers (7pm, ESPN); Blackhawks at Utah (10pm, ESPN) ⚽️ Women's Champions League: Matchday 1 (12:45-3pm, YouTube) ? NCAAF: FIU at Liberty (7pm, CBSSN) ? NBA Preseason: Pacers at Hawks (7:30pm, NBA) *Triple-double machine: Thomas recorded her WNBA-record fourth playoff triple-double last month. No one else in league history has more than one. Her 15 career triple-doubles (regular season and playoffs) are also nearly four times as many as second place (Sabrina Ionescu, 4).   ? ROOKIE QBs THE KIDS ARE (BETTER THAN) ALRIGHT Jayden Daniels has been otherworldly so far, leading a talented crop of rookie QBs. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images) Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams and Bo Nix have already combined for 10 wins, the second-most by rookie QBs in the first five weeks of a season since the 1970 merger, Jeff writes. ‌ Daniels* (4-1) has led the Commanders to their best start since 2008 while powering the league's highest scoring offense (31 ppg). Williams (3-2) has as many 300-yard games in the past three weeks (two) as all other Bears rookie QBs ever. Nix (3-2) is the first Broncos rookie QB to win three consecutive starts. *MVP watch? Daniels' MVP odds are up to +1000 at BetMGM, fifth-best in the league behind only Patrick Mahomes (+300), Josh Allen (+600), Lamar Jackson (+650) and C.J. Stroud (+700).     Jets fire Robert Saleh after 2-3 start, tab Jeff Ulbrich interim FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Upset by the team's 2-3 start, Jets owner Woody Johnson made a stunning and unprecedented move Tuesday morning, firing coach Robert Saleh and naming defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich as the interim head coach. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/41679781/jets-fire-coach-robert-saleh-2-3-start-sources-say

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? Jets fire Saleh: The Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh, replacing him with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich in the interim. Saleh's 20-36 record in New York wasn't great, but this mess wasn't all his fault. ‌ ⚽️ Chicago hires Berhalter: The Chicago Fire hired former USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter as their head coach and director of football. This is Berhalter's second MLS head coaching gig, having previously coached the Columbus Crew from 2013-18. ‌ ? Maye gets starting nod: The Patriots will start rookie QB Drake Maye on Sunday against the Texans, demoting veteran Jacoby Brissett in favor of this year's No. 3 overall pick after the team's punchless 1-4 start. ‌ ? JuJu's huge deal: Nike reportedly signed USC superstar JuJu Watkins to an extension that includes "one of the richest shoe endorsement deals in women's basketball." Watkins, a sophomore at USC, scored 27.6 ppg last year, second only to Caitlin Clark. ‌ ⚾️ RIP, "El Tiante": Beloved Cuban pitcher Luis Tiant, who won 229 games across a 19-year career mostly with the Red Sox and Indians, died on Tuesday. He was 83.   Minneapolis — The Lynx will face the Liberty in the WNBA Finals after dominating the Sun, 88-77, behind another huge game from Napheesa Collier (27 pts, 11 reb, 4 ast, 4 blk) — the first player in WNBA history with 25+ points and 10+ rebounds in three straight playoff games. San Diego — The Padres beat the Dodgers, 6-5, to take a 2-1 series lead at a raucous Petco Park in a game that saw all 11 runs scored in the first three innings. Fernando Tatis Jr, who homered again, is absolutely scorching in this series: 6-12 with 3 homers, 2 doubles and 5 RBIs. New York — The Mets crushed the Phillies, 7-2, to take a 2-1 series lead behind a brilliant start from Sean Manaea (7 IP, 6 K, 3 H, 1 R) and another home run from Pete Alonso — his third in his last four games. Seattle — Kraken assistant coach Jessica Campbell made history in Seattle's season-opener* on Tuesday, becoming the first woman ever to serve as a full-time coach on an NHL bench. ‌ *NHL scoreboard: The Blues beat the Kraken, 3-2; the Panthers began their title defense with a 6-4 win over the Bruins; the Utah Hockey Club beat the Blackhawks, 5-2, in their inaugural game. Aaron Judge is almost certainly going to win his second MVP award this season, but the Yankees could be in trouble if they don't get that version of him in the batter's box soon, Jeff writes. ‌ Strikeout machine: Judge is 1-for-7 with four strikeouts this postseason, giving him 70 strikeouts in 46 career playoff games for a 33.8% strikeout rate — the second-worst in MLB history among players with at least 200 postseason plate appearances. ‌ He used to be able to get away with all those strikeouts because he did so much damage in his other at-bats, with a .910 OPS in 27 playoff games from 2017-19. But he's been downright bad in his last 19 playoff games dating back to 2020, with an abysmal .143 AVG, .559 OPS and nearly three times as many strikeouts (29) as hits (11). And tonight's matchup could be more of the same: Judge is 0-8 lifetime against Seth Lugo, tonight's starter for the Royals. That includes 0-3 with two strikeouts this season. ‌ Fresh pod: Can Judge handle the pressure of the postseason?   ? DIVISION SERIES WATCHLIST: LET'S PLAY FOUR (Yahoo Sports) Today is bittersweet for baseball fans: It's the last day of the season that will feature more than two games, with all eight remaining teams taking the field in the Division Series, Jeff writes. ‌ ALDS Game 3s: Guardians (1-1) at Tigers* (3:08pm ET, TBS/Max); Yankees (1-1) at Royals* (7:08pm, TBS/Max) NLDS Game 4s: Phillies (down 2-1) at Mets (5:08pm, FS1); Dodgers (down 2-1) at Padres (9:08pm, FS1) … The Phillies and Dodgers need a win to keep their seasons alive. More to watch: ‌ ? NHL: Rangers at Penguins (7:30pm, TNT/Max); Avalanche at Golden Knights (10pm, TNT/Max) ⚽️ Women's Champions League: Matchday 1 (12:45-3pm, YouTube/DAZN) ? NCAAF: New Mexico State at Jacksonville State (7:30pm, ESPN2) ? NBA Preseason: Rockets at Thunder (8pm, NBA); Warriors at Kings (10:30pm, ESPN) *Welcome back: This is the Tigers' first home playoff game since 2014 and the Royals' first since 2015. Those crowds are going to be *electric*.