MLB
Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, and Nick Castellanos homered to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. Zack Wheeler struck out eight in six innings to help the defending National League champions win their seventh Game 1 of the last two postseasons. Arizona was handed its first loss of the postseason after ripping off five straight wins against the Brewers and Dodgers. Game 2 in the best-of-seven playoff is tonight at 8:07 in Philadelphia.
Jonah Heim homered, Nathan Eovaldi pitched six effective innings and the Texas Rangers beat Framber Valdez and Houston Astros 5-4 for a 2-0 lead in the AL Championship Series. Game 3 is Wednesday night at 8:03 in Arlington. Adolis García, Mitch Garver and Nathaniel Lowe each hit an RBI single during Texas’ four-run first inning against Valdez, and José Leclerc closed it out for the Rangers after Yordan Alvarez powered an Astros rally. Eovaldi struck out nine, including two in a row after Houston loaded the bases with none out in the fifth. He was charged with three runs and five hits in his third win this postseason. The Rangers improved to 7-0 in the playoffs, including six wins on the road.
Bryce Harper wants to take a swing at the Olympics. The Philadelphia Phillies slugger said it would be a dream to play for Team USA when baseball returns for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Harper has long been an advocate of MLB taking a break during the season to let major leaguers play in the Olympics. Harper turned 31 on Monday. Harper spoke of his Olympics dreams ahead of Game 1 of the NL Championship Series against Arizona.
NFL
Dak Prescott threw for 272 yards and a touchdown, and the Dallas Cowboys rebounded from a rout a week ago, beating the Los Angeles Chargers 20-17 last night. Prescott completed 21 of 30 passes and also had a rushing TD. He connected with Brandin Cooks for a 2-yard score with 11:19 remaining in the game to give the Cowboys a 17-10 lead. Los Angeles tied it at 17 with 7:11 remaining when Gerald Everett caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Justin Herbert. After Brandon Aubrey gave the Cowboys a 20-17 lead with a 39-yard field goal, the Chargers had one last chance to send it into overtime. But Stephon Gilmore picked off Herbert at the LA 33-yard line with 1:22 remaining to seal the victory.
The NFL’s last two undefeated teams beat themselves. The San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles struggled on the road against inferior opponents with backup quarterbacks and tough defenses. That allowed Larry Csonka and his teammates from the 1972 Miami Dolphins to pop the champagne bottles in October. They’ll remain the only perfect team in league history for at least another year. The Buffalo Bills, the NFL’s biggest favorite so far this season, also had problems facing a losing team and a backup quarterback but they held on at the 1-yard line for a 14-9 win over the New York Giants.
The Las Vegas Raiders received encouraging news on Jimmy Garoppolo’s injured back. But coach Josh McDaniels said Monday he didn’t know if the quarterback would be healthy enough to play at Chicago on Sunday. Garoppolo was injured in Sunday’s 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots. McDaniels said Garoppolo was examined to see if “there was an internal issue.” If Garoppolo doesn’t play against the Bears, McDaniels can turn to Brian Hoyer or Aidan O’Connell.
Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields will likely miss at least one game because of a dislocated right thumb. Coach Matt Eberflus says it's “doubtful” Fields plays this week when the Bears host the Las Vegas Raiders after he was injured in Sunday’s 19-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Rookie Tyson Bagent figures to start in his place. Eberflus also says the Bears hired former Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Phil Snow as a defensive analyst. He fills a position created after former defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned last month. Fields was hurt on Chicago’s first possession of the third quarter against Minnesota. He seemed to land awkwardly on his hand trying to throw the ball away while getting sacked by Danielle Hunter.
NHL
Vincent Trocheck scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and Igor Shesterkin stopped a penalty shot with under five minutes remaining as the New York Rangers beat the Arizona Coyotes 2-1 to win their home opener last night. Chris Kreider also scored for the Rangers, who won for the second time in three games this season. Trocheck’s deflection at 8:26 on the power play snapped a 1-all tie. Adam Fox and Artemi Panarin assisted on Trocheck’s first goal of the season. Shesterkin finished with 26 saves. He denied Jason Zucker on a penalty shot at 15:12 of the third to preserve the one-goal lead. Clayton Keller scored for Arizona.
Sam Reinhart moved up to the top line and scored two goals and the defending Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers held off a late rally by New Jersey in posting a 4-3 victory over the Devils last night. Carter Verhaeghe and Niko Mikkola also scored goals and Matthew Tkachuk had two assists for the Panthers, who had opened the season with losses at Minnesota and Winnipeg. Sergei Bobrovsky carried a shutout into the third period but saw Erik Haula, Michael McLeod and Jesper Bratt tally to get New Jersey within a goal with 2:23 to play. The 35-year-old finished with 31 saves.
NBA PRESEASON
Philadelphia 127 Brooklyn 119
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Thousands of soccer fans were kept inside Belgium’s national stadium for about 2 1/2 hours after a game between Belgium and Sweden was suspended at halftime following the fatal shooting of two Swedes in Brussels before kickoff. The European Championship qualifier on Monday was being played 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the shooting in the Belgian capital. More than 35,000 fans attended the match. With the suspected shooter still at large, Belgian authorities kept fans inside the venue for security reasons before they started the evacuation around midnight local time. Fans chanted “All together, all together” inside the King Baudouin Stadium after the match was halted. Thousands of supporters from both sides shouted “Sweden, Sweden!”
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Kansas is the preseason No. 1 in the AP men's college basketball poll. The Jayhawks received 46 of 63 first-place votes to outdistance second-place Duke and third-place Purdue. It's the third time since coach Bill Self's arrival in 2003 that his team will start the season on top. The Blue Devils received 11 first-place votes and the Boilermakers earned three. Michigan State was fourth with one first-place vote while Marquette rounded out the top five. Defending national champion UConn was sixth and runner-up San Diego State was No. 17. The season begins Nov. 6.
Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton got questions about the same topic more often than he could remember this summer: The money, the money, the money. As NBA salaries grow, so too does the spotlight for those who get the biggest paychecks. That's a club that players like Haliburton, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball and Memphis’ Desmond Bane will soon be entering for the first time. Those four players all signed extensions this summer that will kick in next year and could be worth around $1 billion combined.
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