NFL
Robert Spillane intercepted Green Bay’s Jordan Love twice, Amik Robertson made a game-sealing pick in the end zone, and the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Packers 17-13 to stop a three-game skid. The Raiders’ offense did just enough, with Jimmy Garoppolo completing 22 of 31 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown while throwing his NFL-high seventh interception. Jakobi Meyers caught seven passes for 75 yards and a TD. Love was 16 of 30 for 182 yards and the three picks. Both offenses struggled. The Raiders gained 279 yards and the Packers finished with 285. Las Vegas ended an eight-game skid against the Packers.
The deposition in the civil lawsuit against retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre in connection with Mississippi’s welfare scandal has been pushed back at the request of the athlete’s attorneys. A court document filed Friday shows the hearing has been rescheduled from Oct. 26 to Dec. 11 based on a request by Favre’s lawyers. Favre is set to answer questions under oath about the misspending of $77 million of federal welfare money in Mississippi, where public funds intended to help some of the nation’s poorest people were allegedly used to fund pet projects he and other well-connected people supported. Favre has denied wrongdoing, sued the state auditor who investigated the misspending for defamation and says he paid back misspent welfare funds.
MLB
After being held hitless into the sixth inning, the Atlanta Braves rallied for an improbable 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies to even the NL Division Series at one win apiece. Travis d’Arnaud and Austin Riley each hit a two-run homer, and a game-ending double play for the ages wrapped things up for the Braves. D’Arnaud gave the Braves hope with his shot into the left-field seats in the seventh, cutting Philadelphia’s lead to 4-3. Riley won it with his homer into the Phillies bullpen with two outs in the eighth. A great catch by Michael Harris II and an alert backup and throw by Riley ended the game on a double play.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks made quick work of another Dodgers starter, beating Los Angeles 4-2 behind Zac Gallen for a 2-0 lead in their NL Division Series. The young Diamondbacks, who earned the final National League wild card despite losing their last four regular-season games, improved to 4-0 in these playoffs — all on the road against division winners. They’ll try for a stunning sweep of the 100-win Dodgers when the best-of-five series shifts to Arizona for Game 3 Wednesday. Gallen allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings for his second win of the postseason. Gurriel laced an RBI single to cap a three-run first, and the Diamondbacks chased rookie starter Bobby Miller in the second.
Today’s playoff action includes Houston at Minnesota at 4:07 p.m. and Baltimore at Texas 8:03 p.m.
NHL
Nashville at Tampa Bay 5:30 p.m.
Chicago at Pittsburgh 8 p.m
Seattle at Vegas 10:30 p.m.
One of the NHL's biggest stars and one of its newest stars will meet for the first time when Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins face Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks in the season opener. The 36-year-old Crosby is entering his 19th season in the NHL and knows a thing or two about the challenges the 18-year-old Bedard faces. Crosby arrived in Pittsburgh in 2005 as hockey's next big thing. Over the years he's won three Stanley Cups while serving as an ambassador of the sport. It's a challenge Crosby believes the teenaged Bedard is ready to embrace.
Detroit desperately hopes to snap its seven-year playoff drought and becomes part of an NHL trend. The Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins are, too. At least five teams have been in the playoffs after missing out the previous year since the league’s current playoff format started a decade ago. The Vegas Golden Knights were one of those teams last and they won the Stanley Cup in their sixth season, a year after not making it to the postseason for the first time. Detroit doesn’t suddenly seem like a title contender, but it should be able to compete after making moves.
NBA PRESEASON
New York 114 Boston 107
L.A. Lakers 129 Brooklyn 126
WORLD CUP
Saudi Arabia has formally informed FIFA of its wish to host the men’s World Cup in 2034 in a bidding contest that increasingly looks designed for the oil-rich kingdom to win. The Saudi Arabian soccer federation says it “submitted a letter of intent and signed declaration to FIFA to bid” in a vote open only to Asian and Oceania countries. FIFA fast-tracked starting the 2034 contest last week after also agreeing to accept only one candidate for the 2030 World Cup. That unprecedented six-nation, three-continent co-hosting plan in Europe, Africa and South America removed those continents from bidding to get back-to-back tournaments.
NASCAR
AJ Allmendinger finds the pressure of racing at NASCAR’s top levels so intense that he once took a two-year mental health break just to alleviate the constant stress and anxiety engulfing him every week. Five years later, he played the spoiler in NASCAR’s playoff elimination race on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
OLYMPICS
The NFL’s ongoing push for worldwide exposure got another boost when organizers for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics delivered a proposal to put flag football on the program when the Summer Games return to the United States for the first time in 32 years. The International Olympic Committee will vote on the proposal at meetings in India that begin later this week. Also on the L.A. proposal were baseball and softball, which have been bouncing on and off the program for decades; lacrosse; squash; and cricket. Flag football involves 5-on-5 action in which players tackle their opponents by stripping flags off belts worn by all players. It is viewed as a less-violent, faster-paced version of the game that has captured imaginations in the U.S. for decades.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Miami coach Mario Cristobal reiterated Monday that he takes full responsibility for the Hurricanes not taking a knee in the final seconds of their loss to Georgia Tech. That came even as offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson revealed that he actually called the play in which the ball was fumbled away. Miami wasted a late 20-17 lead and lost 23-20 on Saturday night.
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