MLB
Kyle Schwarber hit two of Philadelphia’s three solo homers off Merrill Kelly, and the sweet-swinging Phillies pounded the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-0 for a 2-0 lead in the National League Championship Series. Trea Turner also connected and J.T. Realmuto had two hits and three RBIs as Philadelphia improved to 7-1 in the playoffs, moving closer to a second straight World Series appearance. Aaron Nola tossed three-hit ball and struck out seven in six innings. Game 3 is Thursday night at 5:07 at Chase Field.
Max Scherzer will be back on the mound for the Texas Rangers with a chance to put them up 3-0 in game 3 of the AL Championship Series against the Houston Astros at 8:03 tonight at Globe Life Field in Arlington. Scherzer has been out a month because of a muscle strain in his shoulder. The three-time Cy Young Award winner made only one more start after allowing seven runs on three homers in three innings against Houston on September 6. That was the end of a three-game series in Arlington when the Astros hit 16 homers and outscored them 39-10. Cristian Javier starts for the Astros. The Rangers have won all seven of their playoff games. This will be only their second one at home.
NHL
Mathew Barzal scored a power-play goal in the second period, and the New York Islanders beat the Arizona Coyotes 1-0. Ilya Sorokin had 14 saves in his first shutout of the season. Noah Dobson and Kyle Palmieri each picked up an assist on the game’s only goal in the Islanders’ second straight win. Karel Vejmelka made 30 saves for Arizona in its second straight loss. The Coyotes visit St. Louis on Thursday night and then play their home opener Saturday against Anaheim. Barzal connected on a one-timer at 3:47 shortly after Coyotes forward Barret Hayton was penalized for slashing Simon Holmstrom.
Dylan Cozens scored 1:46 into overtime, and after blowing a two-goal lead, the Buffalo Sabres came back to secure their first win of the season, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2. Zemgus Girgensons and Jeff Skinner also scored for Buffalo, and rookie goalie Devon Levi stopped 21 shots. Brandon Hagel scored twice for the Lightning, including the overtime-forcing goal with seven seconds left. Jonas Johansson finished with 28 saves as Tampa Bay battled back to avoid being swept on its three-game road trip following losses at Detroit and Ottawa. Buffalo improved to 1-2.
Sean Couturier scored on a penalty shot for his first goal in nearly two years, Carter Hart made 25 saves and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Vancouver Canucks 2-0 in their home opener last night. After being taken down by Elias Pettersson, Couturier beat Thatcher Demko to make it 2-0 with 2:37 remaining in the first period. Couturier scored for the first time since Dec. 10, 2021. He was sidelined for the second half of the 2021-22 season and all of last season because of a back injury. The Canucks lost for the first time after sweeping an opening home-and-home set with the Edmonton Oilers. Rookie defenseman Egor Zamula opened the scoring with his first NHL goal.
NBA PRESEASON
Boston 123 New York 110
WNBA
The WNBA Finals continue tonight with Las Vegas at New York 8 p.m. The Aces have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.
NBA
Kevin Porter Jr.’s time with the Houston Rockets is over. The Rockets have traded Porter and a pair of second-round draft picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Oklahoma City also sent Victor Oladipo and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to Houston. Porter's future in the NBA is uncertain because of serious legal issues. The Thunder say Porter will be immediately waived. Porter is owed nearly $15.9 million for this season and an additional $1 million that was guaranteed for next season. The Rockets already had told Porter that he was essentially barred from the team after his arrest on domestic violence charges last month.
NFL
The NFL is looking to eliminate the hip-drop tackle and will again discuss the “tush push” in the offseason. League executive Jeff Miller said Tuesday the hip-drop tackle increases risk of injury by 25 times the rate of a standard tackle. Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith briefly left a game against the Giants in Week 4 after getting hurt by a hip-drop tackle. The league made the horse-collar tackle illegal several years ago because a defender’s body weight ends up on the legs of the ball carrier, enhancing risk of injury. Rich McKay, the chairman of the NFL’s competition committee, called the hip-drop tackle a “cousin” of the horse collar.
Aaron Rodgers acknowledges he's ahead of schedule with his recovery from surgery to repair his torn left Achilles tendon. But he's still not ready to put a timetable on when he'll be able to play again. Rodgers took the field Sunday during pregame warmups and tossed several passes without needing crutches or a walking boot. It was less than five weeks since the injury. His coaches and teammates rave about his insistence to overcome doubters and credit his mere presence as an inspiration to them as they hit the bye-week break with a .500 record at 3-3 despite Rodgers not playing.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
LSU All-America forward Angel Reese says she's enjoying her surging fame and fortune. But while that's changing certain aspects of her personal life, she says it won't change the way she plays as she tries to lead the top-ranked Tigers to a second consecutive national championship. Reese says her rising profile only further empowers her to defy gender stereotypes with ferocious play on the court even as she embraces her feminine “Bayou Barbie” persona. LSU coach Kim Mulkey says she senses Reese is ready to recommit to basketball as she leads a roster that has been revamped with high-profile transfers Hailey Van Lith from Louisville and Aneesah Morrow from DePaul.
LSU is ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 women's basketball poll for the first time in school history. The defending champion Tigers were ranked second in 1977 and third twice in 2004 and 2005 in the preseason poll, but never No. 1 until now. LSU received 35 first-place votes. No. 2 UConn received the other top vote. Iowa team is ranked third with UCLA and Utah rounding out the top five. The season begins Nov. 6.
SOCCER
Gio Reyna scored his first two internationals goals since a family feud with coach Gregg Berhalter erupted at last year’s World Cup, leading the United States to a 4-0 rout of Ghana in an exhibition. Reyna put the U.S. ahead in the 10th minute, Christian Pulisic doubled the lead with a penalty kick in the 19th and Folarin Balogun scored in the 22nd. Reyna scored again in the 39th for sixth international goal and first two-goal game for the U.S. The 20-year-old midfielder’s first game under Berhalter since the controversy was in Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Germany.
Neymar was in tears as he left the field with a left knee injury at the end of the first half of Brazil’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying defeat at Uruguay. The 31-year-old striker tripped and fell during a run in the 44th minute at the Centenario Stadium and was immediately surrounded by players from both teams as he held his left knee. Neymar was carried off on a stretcher with both of his hands on his face. The Brazilian star left the stadium after the match using crutches, and did not speak to reporters. Brazil’s doctor Rodrigo Lasmar told reporters it was too early to determine the severity of Neymar’s injury.
GOLF
Lexi Thompson had a remarkable week in Las Vegas and still missed the cut by three shots on the PGA Tour. Expectations will follow her back to the LPGA Tour. One observation from AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson is how someone that talented can go more than four years without winning on the LPGA. Another observation? The PGA Tour needs to pursue more opportunities to get the men and women playing together. This should not be about women competing against the men. A female hasn't even made the cut on the PGA Tour in 68 years. It should be about women competing alongside them, Ferguson says.
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