MLB
Four months after falling 11 games under .500, the New York Mets earned a playoff berth a day after the regular season was supposed to end. With a thrilling 8-7 win over the Atlanta Braves in the opener of a makeup doubleheader behind Francisco Lindor’s two-run homer in the ninth inning, the Mets advanced to a best-of-three National League Wild Card Series against the Brewers starting tonight at Milwaukee at 5:32. New York overcame an 0-5 start to reach the postseason for the 11th time in the team's 63 seasons.
The Atlanta Braves bounced back from a stunning loss in the first game of a makeup doubleheader, claiming the last postseason berth with a 3-0 win over the Mets in the nightcap Monday and take on the Padres in San Diego at 8:38 tonight. after New York clinched a playoffs trip with an 8-7 victory in the opener. With three teams in contention for the last two playoff spots in the National League, the Braves faced the Mets in a twin bill squeezed between the scheduled end to the regular season and the start of the Wild Card Series. The defending NL champion Arizona Diamondbacks could only watch from afar and were eliminated.
After a season that didn’t go nearly as planned, the Atlanta Braves find themselves back in a familiar spot. The postseason. The Braves overcame an interminable string of injuries — including the loss of their MVP outfielder and ace pitcher — to lock up their seventh straight playoff appearance with a 3-0 win over the New York Mets in the final game of the regular season. While Atlanta’s streak of six consecutive NL East titles was snapped by the Philadelphia Phillies, there were no complaints after all the team went through.
Banished baseball great Pete Rose has died. The longtime Cincinnati Red was the career hits leader and fallen idol who undermined his historic achievements and Hall of Fame dreams by gambling on the game he loved and once embodied. His 4,256 hits broke his hero Ty Cobb’s 4,191 and signified his excellence no matter the notoriety which followed. Rose was banned in 1989 after a major league baseball investigation determined he had bet on baseball, including on his own team. A spokesperson for Clark County in Nevada confirmed on behalf of the medical examiner that Rose had died.
NBA
Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, one of the best defensive players in NBA history and a longtime global ambassador for the game, has died of brain cancer. He was 58. His family revealed two years ago that he was undergoing treatment in Atlanta for a brain tumor. The NBA said he died surrounded by his family Monday. Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, who was born in Cameroon, says “it’s a sad day, especially for us Africans, and really the whole world.”
LeBron James is beginning his 22nd training camp this week with the Los Angeles Lakers, and this one will be a unique experience. The NBA’s career scoring leader is sharing a locker room and a court with Bronny James, his 19-year-old son and the Lakers’ second-round draft pick. They’ll soon become the first father and son in NBA history to play together, fulfilling an aspiration first expressed by LeBron several years ago. The 20-time All-Star didn’t downplay his excitement Monday to see one of his few remaining basketball dreams coming true.
WNBA
The WNBA will have its first expansion draft in 16 years in December as the Golden State Valkyries start to fill out their roster. The Valkyries will begin play in 2025. Teams will be able to protect a maximum of six players who will not be available for selection by Golden State. All other players on a team’s roster will be eligible for selection by the Valkyries. Players that are unrestricted free agents must be designated on a team’s list as such and must be either on the protected players list or the unprotected list.
NFL
Jared Goff threw a perfect game, setting an NFL record by completing all 18 of his passes to help the Detroit Lions beat the Seattle Seahawks 42-29 Monday night. Goff had a touchdown reception for the first time in his career, catching a pass from Amon-Ra St. Brown. He also threw one of his two touchdown passes to the All-Pro receiver. Goff and St. Brown are the eighth duo in league history to throw and catch a touchdown from each other. Kurt Warner had the previous NFL mark for the passes without an incompletion for Arizona against Houston in 2005.
Mason Rudolph led seven scoring drives after starter Will Levis left with a shoulder injury, and the Tennessee Titans beat the Miami Dolphins 31-12 on Monday night. Rudolph threw for 85 yards and completed 9 of 17 passes in relief of Levis, who attempted just four passes before running and diving for a first down on Tennessee’s second drive and coming down hard on his right throwing shoulder. He stood on the sideline with his helmet but didn’t return. Nick Folk made field goals of 53, 52, 47, 51 and 29 yards for the Titans, who won their first game of the season.
Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre is trying to expand his defamation lawsuit against Mississippi Auditor Shad White. Favre wants to include a book White wrote about the misspending of welfare money that was supposed to help some of the poorest people in the nation. White’s book, “Mississippi Swindle: Brett Favre and the Welfare Scandal that Shocked America,” was published in August. Favre’s attorneys wrote in court papers Friday that the title and the contents are defamatory. White says he has spent tens of thousands of dollars defending himself in the suit. He says he “will not back down from telling the truth.”
COLLEGE SPORTS
Former College of Saint Rose women’s and University at Albany men’s basketball coach Will Brown has been hired as Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts’ women’s basketball coach. He replaces David Bostick, who left to become head women’s basketball coach at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs.
© 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
