NBA
Damian Lillard was traded by Portland to play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee on Wednesday. The deal ends his 11-year run with the Trail Blazers and a three-month saga surrounding Lillard's wish to be moved elsewhere in hopes of winning an NBA title. The seven-time All-Star goes from the Trail Blazers to the Bucks in a three-team deal that sends Jrue Holiday from the Bucks to Portland, Deandre Ayton from Phoenix to Portland and Jusuf Nurkic from the Blazers to the Suns.
NFL
To the NFL and Thursday night football where the Detroit Lions are going back to Lambeau Field for the first time since ending Aaron Rodgers’ career in Green Bay. The Packers look just fine with Jordan Love. The two 2-1 teams meet tonight at 8:15 in an early season battle for first place in the NFC North. Love, who led an impressive comeback win over the Saints last week, watched from sideline when the Lions knocked the Packers out of the playoffs with a win in the final regular-season game in 2022. The Packers haven’t had running back Aaron Jones and wide receiver Christian Watson the past couple of games because of hamstring injuries. If they can return on a short week, that’ll boost an offense that has played well behind Love.
Ezekiel Elliott is set for a Dallas homecoming when his New England Patriots visit the Cowboys. Elliott figures there will be emotions when he returns to the place where he was a star for seven seasons alongside quarterback Dak Prescott. The two-time rushing champion believes he can keep the focus on getting the Patriots a victory. The Cowboys released the club's No. 3 career rusher in a cost-cutting move in the offseason. A slow start for Elliott is turning around after a short training camp. He's coming off a season-high 80 yards in a win over the New York Jets.
Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce calls Taylor Swift’s appearance at the Chiefs' victory over the Chicago Bears bold but wants to remain private about any relationship with the superstar singer. Speaking on his podcast “New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce,” Kelce discussed Swift’s well-publicized appearance in a suite at Arrowhead Stadium with his family during Sunday’s 41-10 victory. The 12-time Grammy Award winner sat next to Kelce’s mom, Donna, and yelled during the game. While he acknowledged being more vocal in the media spotlight than Swift, he said he wanted to respect both of their lives and keep the discussion focused on football.
MLB
Gerrit Cole pitched a two-hitter to near his second AL ERA title, Aaron Judge homered twice and the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-0 to ensure they won’t finish with a losing record. Cole (15-4) faced two batters over minimum, allowing a single and double to Brandon Belt. He struck out five and walked none. Cole finished his season with 222 strikeouts in 209 innings. A top candidate to win the AL Cy Young Award, Cole lowered his ERA to 2.63. Toronto is left in position for the second AL wild card, a half-game ahead of the Houston Astros.
The Miami Marlins pulled even in the race for the final National League playoff spot, beating the New York Mets 4-2 for a doubleheader split after falling 11-2 in the first game. Jesús Sánchez also went deep and the Marlins took advantage of an error by rookie third baseman Brett Baty to score twice in the ninth inning. Miami is tied for the third NL wild card with the Chicago Cubs, who lost 6-5 in 10 innings at NL East champion Atlanta. Francisco Lindor had three homers and six RBIs in the doubleheader, becoming the fourth Mets player with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a season.
Tyler Glasnow pitched five scoreless innings in his final start before the postseason, combining with four relievers on a three-hitter and leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a 5-0 victory over the Red Sox. Josh Lowe had three hits, including a homer. Isaac Paredes also homered for Tampa Bay. The Tampa Bay Rays have clinched an AL wild-card berth and can still catch the Orioles for the AL East title. The Rays are 2 ½ games back with three games to play. Meanwhile, with their 82nd loss, the Red Sox are guaranteed to finish below .500 for the third time in four seasons. They have clinched last place in the division — also for the third time in four seasons.
Bryce Harper hit a go-ahead solo homer in the seventh inning as one of the few regulars in Philadelphia’s lineup and the Phillies rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6 last night, a day after clinching the NL’s top wild-card spot. Rookie reliever Orion Kerkering struck out two in a scoreless inning of relief and earned the win. Gregory Soto struck out the side in the ninth for this third save. Connor Joe had four hits for the Pirates. Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, third baseman Alec Bohm, catcher J.T. Realmuto and right fielder Nick Castellanos all took the night off.
Champagne sprayed, cigar smoke wafted through the air and the Tampa Bay Rays passed around a fancy glass decanter of liquor while hip hop music blared from the speakers in the visitor’s clubhouse at Fenway Park. It was time to celebrate. What they were celebrating wasn’t obvious. The Rays donned ski goggles, covered their lockers with plastic and danced a victory dance for the traditional party that comes when a baseball team clinches a spot in the postseason. There was just one minor quibble: They didn’t clinch anything at all by beating the Boston Red Sox 5-0 on Wednesday night. The Rays secured a playoff spot 10 days earlier on a day they lost to Baltimore.
Shane Bieber shut down Cincinnati for six innings and the Cleveland Guardians sent manager Terry Francona off with a victory in his final home game, 4-3 over the Reds, whose playoff hopes are hanging by a thread. Bieber limited the Reds to one run and five hits in just his second start since July 15. The right-hander missed more than two months with elbow inflammation, one of several key injuries that contributed to the Guardians not defending their AL Central title. The Reds are 1 1/2 games behind Chicago and Miami for the last NL wild card with just three games left.
NHL PRESEASON In NHL preseason action,
Toronto 5 Buffalo 2
N-Y Islanders 2 Philadelphia 1
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Michigan State has fired Mel Tucker, saying the suspended football coach failed to present adequate reasons why he should not be fired for cause after having what he described as consensual phone sex with an activist and rape survivor. The school said Wednesday that it terminated what’s left of Tucker’s $95 million, 10-year contract for acknowledging actions that subjected the institution to ridicule, among other reasons. The woman said Tucker sexually harassed her during the phone call in April 2022. Michigan State informed the 51-year-old Tucker that it planned to fire him on Sept. 18 and gave him a week to respond, which he did on Monday.
RYDER CUP
The Ryder Cup is no exhibition. That's how Rory McIlroy referred to it before playing in his first one and he laughs at those words now. McIlroy read comments he made 14 years ago about how it wouldn't mean all that much to him and he wouldn't be fist-pumping. That changed when he played his first one in Wales in 2010. And now he's the most experienced Ryder Cup player at Marco Simone and a de facto leader of Team Europe. McIlroy wants to be sure younger players look over to him without looking up to him.
U.S. OPEN CUP
Lionel Messi was not on Inter Miami’s roster for the U.S. Open Cup final against Houston on Wednesday night, marking the fourth match for club and country that he’s missed in recent weeks while dealing with some sort of leg issue. It’s unclear if Messi will continue to be sidelined with Inter Miami resumes its push to make Major League Soccer’s playoffs this weekend. Without Messi, Inter Miami struggled and lost the title match 2-1. NBA star James Harden is part of the Houston club's ownership group and was at the match to see his team win the trophy.
ASIAN GAMES
The centuries-old card game of bridge is being played at the Asian Games. Esports, chess, and bridge are among the so-called mind sports with full medal status at the two-week long, multi-sports event with more than 12,000 participants. The games offer all the traditional Olympics sports, but bridge gives the event a different look. At least nine players in the field of about 200 are over 70. The oldest is 78-year-old Masood Mazhar of Pakistan, a sharp contrast with 13-year-old Chinese skateboarder Cui Chenxi who won gold earlier in the week.
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