MLB
Nathan Eovaldi pitched six gutsy innings, Mitch Garver broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the seventh and the Texas Rangers won their first World Series championship by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 in Game 5. Marcus Semien homered late and the Rangers, held hitless for six innings by Zac Gallen, finished a record 11-0 on the road this postseason after capping an all-wild card World Series with three straight wins in the desert. In his first season with Texas, manager Bruce Bochy won his fourth title 13 years to the day after his first, which came in 2010 when the Giants beat the Rangers. He also won with San Francisco in 2012 and 2014. Texas shortstop Corey Seager took home his second World Series MVP award.
Corey Seager was voted the World Series Most Valuable Player after leading the Texas Rangers over the Arizona Diamondbacks for their first title. Seager joined Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson as the only two-time World Series MVPs. He also won the award in 2020 for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Seager hit three two-run homers in the Series, then broke up Zac Gallen’s no-hit bid with a leadoff single and scored in the Rangers' 5-0 victory in Game 5, giving Texas the World Series in five games.
Zac Gallen spent six innings looking like Don Larsen, the possibility of a World Series no-hitter flashing through his mind. It just didn't work out. Gallen surrendered three hits in the seventh, including Mitch Garver's RBI single, and the Arizona Diamondbacks were eliminated with a 5-0 loss to the Texas Rangers in Game 5. A 28-year-old right-hander, Gallen retired his first 14 batters before walking Nathaniel Lowe on a low 3-1 fastball. He lasted one more batter after Garver’s single, striking out six in 6 1/3 innings.
NBA
Mikal Bridges scored 21 points, Lonnie Walker IV and Armoni Brooks each added 17 and the Brooklyn Nets erased a 15-point second-half deficit to beat the Miami Heat 109-105. Dorian Finney-Smith scored all 15 of his points in the second half for Brooklyn, and Cam Thomas scored 13 for the Nets. Tyler Herro scored 30 points for Miami, which has dropped four straight to fall to 1-4. That's the team's worst five-game start since opening 0-5 in the 2007-08 season.
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a three-game skid with a 95-89 win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night. Caris LeVert scored 19 and Eric Mobley added 14 for Cleveland, which was again missing starters Darius Garland (strained hamstring), center Jarrett Allen (ankle bone bruise) and backup guard Ty Jerome (sprained ankle) with injuries. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 24 points. Immanuel Quickley scored 18, Donte DiVincenzo had 16 and Mitchell Robinson finished with 16 rebounds.
Jayson Tatum had 30 points and 12 rebounds in less than three quarters and the Boston Celtics used a blistering start to pull away from the Indiana Pacers, winning 155-104 on Wednesday night to remain unbeaten. The 155 points was the second-most in a regular-season game in franchise history, behind a 173-139 victory over Minneapolis in 1959. One game after blowing out the Wizards in Washington, the Celtics returned home and beat the Pacers even worse, opening a 10-point lead in the first three minutes, making it 20 in the second quarter, 30 in the third and 53 in the fourth. T.J. McConnell scored 18 points for the Pacers.
The Los Angeles Lakers snapped an 11-game losing streak against the Los Angeles Clippers with a 130-125 victory. LeBron James had 35 points and 11 rebounds, and Austin Reaves scored seven of his 15 points in overtime. D’Angelo Russell scored 27 points and Anthony Davis had 27 points and 10 rebounds for the short-handed Lakers, who beat their local rivals for the first time since July 2020 in the Florida bubble. With James Harden watching in street clothes on the Clippers’ bench, Kawhi Leonard scored 38 points and Paul George had 35.
James Harden is a superstar joining a team already loaded with stars. The Los Angeles Clippers’ top brass believes he will thrive in their galaxy. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue says he isn’t sure when Harden will make his debut following the blockbuster trade that brought the 10-time All-Star and 2018 NBA MVP home to Los Angeles from the Philadelphia 76ers. But Lue believes that when Harden plays alongside Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook this season, all four will make the adjustments necessary to turn the Clippers into a prime contender for Harden’s first NBA title.
NHL
Owen Power scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, Tage Thompson had a goal and two assists, and Brandon Biro scored twice to help the Buffalo Sabres beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2. Casey Mittelstadt also scored and Alex Tuch had two assists to help the Sabres get their third win in four games. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had a season-high 38 saves — including two from point-blank range in the third. Joel Farabee and Cam Atkinson scored for the Flyers, who have lost three in a row and five of their last six games. Carter Hart gave up two goals on five shots and left the game midway through the first period with a ‘mid-body’ injury. Sam Ersson finished with seven saves the rest of the way.
Jason Robertson, Evgenii Dadonov, and Mason Marchment scored in Dallas’ three-goal second period and the Stars held on to beat the Calgary Flames 4-3. Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist, and Roope Hintz had two assists as Dallas won its second straight and improved to 6-1-1 this season. Jake Oettinger had a season-high 43 saves — including 21 in the third period — to improve to 5-0-1. MacKenzie Weegar had a goal and an assist, and Connor Zary and Andrew Mangiapane also scored for the Flames, who have lost six straight — all in regulation. Calgary’s streak without a point is its longest since a seven-game stretch March 16-29, 2018. Jacob Markstrom finished with 26 saves to fall to 0-6-1 in his last seven starts.
Ivan Prosvetov made 28 saves in his first start for Colorado, Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist, and the Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 3-1. Ross Colton, Artturi Lehkonen and Bowen Byram also had goals, and Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon had two assists apiece as Colorado snapped a two-game losing streak. Rob Thomas scored and Jordan Binnington stopped 24 shots for St. Louis, which came in having scored just 14 goals in seven games — the second- fewest in the NHL, ahead of only winless San Jose (nine in nine games).
Troy Terry scored with 1:33 remaining on the clock in overtime to complete the second hat trick of his career and the Anaheim Ducks rallied to beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-3 Wednesday night for their fifth straight win. Terry had a career-high four points on the night. The forward had a pair of power-play goals in the first period and assisted on Leo Carlsson’s third-period tally, which sent the game into overtime. Lawson Crouse scored twice and Logan Cooley got his first NHL goal for Arizona, which has dropped two of its last three.
NFL
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin says he has nothing to worry about in preparing to return to Cincinnati for a game against the Bengals some 10 months since his near-death experience. Hamlin tells The Associated Press he's thrilled while expecting to experience numerous emotions in returning to the stadium where he went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on Jan. 2. The 25-year-old enjoyed a remarkable recovery and completed a courageous bid to resume his playing career. Hamlin is not expected to suit up after being a healthy inactive in all but one of Buffalo's eight games this season.
The Las Vegas Raiders fired offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi on Wednesday. Quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree was promoted to offensive coordinator. Aidan O’Connell has replaced starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The chances came the morning after the club fired coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler. Antonio Pierce is the Raiders’ interim coach and Champ Kelly the interim GM. Las Vegas hosts the New York Giants on Sunday. Pierce played for the Giants from 2005-09.
On Thursday night football, Tennessee is at Pittsburgh at 8:15 tonight.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Turbulent and brilliant basketball coach Bob Knight has died at 83. Knight's family made the announcement Wednesday night on social media, saying he was surrounded by family at his home in Bloomington. Knight led the Indiana Hoosiers to three NCAA championships. He was among college basketball’s winningest coaches, with 902 victories in 42 seasons at Army, Indiana and Texas Tech. He coached the U.S. to the 1984 Olympic gold medal. His temper was legendary: In 1985, he tossed a chair across the court. But he took pride in his players’ high graduation rates and never was accused of a major NCAA violation.
Indiana Hoosiers basketball fans always waited for Bob Knight to erupt. On a winter night in 1985 it didn't take long. Five minutes into a game against rival Purdue, Knight drew a technical foul then nonchalantly turned around, picked up a chair and hurled it past Boilermakers guard Steve Reid. It became the defining moment in the storied career of the always combustible Knight, who died at 83, his family announced Wednesday. The sports world was outraged by Knight’s conduct, but not his players. They had seen it all before.
TENNIS
Iga Swiatek says she and other women’s tennis players are more united than in the past as they seek changes on the WTA Tour, including improvements to prioritize the athletes’ well-being. Swiatek said at the WTA Finals on Wednesday that players are not happy with some things. Some players recently outlined various concerns in a letter to WTA CEO Steve Simon and during two meetings with tour leadership. Among the topics were a guaranteed income and coverage for maternity leave and injury absences, along with an objection to a planned change in rules governing mandatory tournament appearances. Swiatek is a four-time Grand Slam champion who was ranked No. 1 until September.
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