WNBA
The New York Liberty finally have a WNBA championship after beating the Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in overtime of a decisive Game 5 last night. Jonquel Jones scored 17 points to lead New York, which was one of the original franchises in the league. The Liberty made the WNBA Finals five times before, losing each one, including last season. This time they wouldn’t be denied, although it took an extra five minutes. The win gave the city of New York its first basketball title since 1976 when the Nets won the American Basketball Association title.
Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said the WNBA championship was “stolen” from the Lynx during her complaints about the officiating. The New York Liberty beat the Lynx 67-62 on Sunday night in Game 5 in overtime, getting there after a disputed foul gave Breanna Stewart two free throws that tied the game with 5.2 seconds remaining in regulation. Reeve, who has led the Lynx to four WNBA championships and coached the U.S. women to an Olympic gold medal this summer in Paris, said she was aware there would be headlines about her complaining. But she says to “bring it on, “because that s—- was stolen from us.”
MLB
Tommy Edman and Will Smith homered to send Shohei Ohtani into the World Series for the first time, and the Los Angeles Dodgers eliminated the New York Mets with a 10-5 victory in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series. The Dodgers clinched their record 25th NL pennant and first at home since 1988, when they beat the Mets in seven games. They moved on to their 22nd World Series — 13th in Los Angeles — and first since 2020, when they beat Tampa Bay during the pandemic-delayed season. Next up for Ohtani and company is Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees, who are back in the World Series for the 41st time. Game 1 is Friday at Dodger Stadium.
NFL
Saquon Barkley made a memorable return to MetLife Stadium, rushing for 176 yards and a touchdown and turning early jeers to cheers as he led the Philadelphia Eagles to a 28-3 victory over the offensively inept New York Giants. Jalen Hurts scored on two tush-push quarterback sneaks and threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown as the Eagles beat the Giants for the sixth time in seven games and 14th in 17. Philadelphia’s defense was just as good, recording eight sacks and limiting New York to 119 yards. The Giants are 2-5 overall and 0-4 at home. Philly is 4-2.
Amari Cooper scored the go-ahead touchdown in his debut with Buffalo and Josh Allen overcame a sluggish first half to throw two touchdown passes in his 100th career start to help the Bills rally from a 10-point deficit and beat the Tennessee Titans 34-10. Cooper’s 12-yard TD catch was his first reception for the Bills and came five days after being acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Browns. Ty Johnson also scored on a 4-yard catch, and James Cook and Ray Davis rounded out the rout with touchdown runs. After being limited to 4 of 11 for 65 yards in the first half, Allen finished 21 of 33 for 323 yards.
Russell Wilson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another score in his Pittsburgh debut to lead the Steelers to a 37-15 win over Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets. The 35-year-old Wilson, who spent the first six weeks watching from the sideline while recovering from a calf injury, completed 16 of 29 passes for 264 yards as Pittsburgh won its second straight. Rodgers threw for 276 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Davante Adams has three receptions for 30 yards in his Jets debut. The Steelers are 5-2. The Jets dropped to 2-5.
Patriots coach Jerod Mayo told his players what he thought about their performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. And then he told everyone else. He says “We’re a soft football team across the board.” New England squandered an early lead, gave up 171 yards on the ground and allowed a punt return for a touchdown to lose their sixth straight game — 32-16 at Wembley Stadium. It’s the team’s longest losing streak since 1993.
Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered an Achilles tendon injury that is likely season-ending in the first half of Cleveland’s 21-14 loss to Cincinnati. Watson’s leg crumpled on a non-contact play as he dropped back to pass with 1:26 left before halftime. He covered his head with a towel as he was carted off the field. Meanwhile, Joe Burrow got his first road win against the Bengals’ in-state AFC North rival on Sunday. Burrow threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter as the Bengals ended a six-game losing streak at Cleveland. Cincinnati has won three of four since dropping three straight to start the season.
Jake Bates kicked a 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds left to lift the Detroit Lions to a 31-29 victory that handed the Minnesota Vikings their first loss in a back-and-forth game befitting of the NFL’s strongest division. Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 116 yards and two of Detroit’s three second-quarter touchdowns. Jared Goff guided the Lions 48 yards in four plays to get in range for Bates and force the Vikings to burn their timeouts. Bates is 10 for 10 on field goals. He was in the UFL last season. Both teams are tied for the division lead at 5-1.
Brandon McManus kicked a 45-yard field goal as time expired in his debut with Green Bay to lift the Packers past the Houston Texans 24-22. Green Bay overcame three turnovers to win its third straight and snap the Texans’ three-game win streak. Houston’s Joe Mixon rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Ka’imi Fairbairn was 3 for 3 on field-goal attempts and put the Texans ahead with a 35-yarder with 1:44 left. Green Bay’s Jordan Love was 24 of 33 for 220 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Houston's C.J. Stroud was just 10 of 21 for a career-low 86 yards and was sacked four times.
Tyler Goodson ran for one touchdown and Anthony Richardson led the Indianapolis Colts on two fourth-quarter scoring drives to earn a 16-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins. Indy has won four of its past five and three straight home games. Matt Gay’s 22-yard field goal with 8:41 to play gave Indy its first lead. A defensive stop at the Indianapolis 33-yard line in the final minute sealed the victory over the NFL’s lowest-scoring team. The Dolphins had a chance to tie the score at 13 on a 54-yard field goal with 5:14 to go, but Jason Sanders’ kick hit the left upright and bounced harmlessly into the end zone. Miami has lost four of five.
Geno Smith passed for two touchdowns and Derick Hall returned a fumble 36 yards for a clinching score as the Seattle Seahawks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 34-14 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. The 4-3 Seahawks ended Atlanta’s run of three straight victories, shutting down a Falcons offense that averaged 37 points the two previous weeks. Smith completed 18 of 28 passes for 207 yards, his second-lowest output of the season but more than enough to throttle the Falcons. He connected with Kenneth Walker on a 17-yard touchdown and a huge 31-yard scoring play to DK Metcalf just before halftime.
Kam Curl returned a fumble 33 yards for a touchdown and Kyren Williams rushed for 76 yards and two more scores in the Los Angeles Rams’ 20-15 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. Cobie Durant had an interception and later caused the fumble returned for a TD by Curl for the Rams, who forced four turnovers by Gardner Minshew. The Raiders’ backup quarterback was forced into action by an early hand injury for Aidan O’Connell. Minshew passed for 154 yards for the Raiders, who have lost three straight.
The Washington Commanders blew out the Carolina Panthers 40-7 after losing rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels to a rib injury. Concern over Daniels' status overshadowed the lopsided victory. Marcus Mariota replaced him and threw two touchdown passes. Washington improved to 5-2 this season after not allowing Carolina to score until garbage time early in the fourth quarter. The Panthers lost their fourth in a row to fall to 1-6. Andy Dalton threw two interceptions, including Dante Fowler's pick-6.
Patrick Mahomes overcame two interceptions to deliver a few big plays with his feet and the Kansas City Chiefs remained the league’s only undefeated team after beating the San Francisco 49ers 28-18 in a Super Bowl rematch. The stakes and the quality of play weren’t at the same level as eight months ago when Mahomes and the Chiefs beat the 49ers 25-22 in overtime for their third Super Bowl title in five seasons. The game came with a potentially heavy price for San Francisco with star receiver Brandon Aiyuk getting carted off after getting hit on his right knee while making a catch late in the first half.
Jayden Daniels will undergo further tests Monday after leaving the Washington Commanders' game against the Carolina Panthers with a rib injury. Coach Dan Quinn said that was the only update he had on the rookie quarterback, who was forced out of a 40-7 blowout win. Daniels slammed his helmet on the turf before going to the locker room early in the second quarter. His mother posted on social media that he’s fine. Part owner Magic Johnson said he was praying Daniels’ injury was not serious. Daniels has been among the NFL’s most exciting players this season and is the favorite to be the offensive rookie of the year.
Deshaun Watson’s tumultuous tenure with Cleveland has taken another significant turn. His third season appears to be over. The embattled quarterback was carted off the field Sunday with a right Achilles tendon injury he suffered on a noncontact play against the Cincinnati Bengals. Following the game, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said it “looks like” Watson’s injury is serious and will end his season. The team was still awaiting test results, but all indications are that Watson won't play again in 2024. Several Browns players expressed disappointment that some fans cheered when Watson went down. Cleveland signed him to a $230 million, fully guaranteed contract in 2022.
On Monday Night Football, the Baltimore Ravens face off against the Buccaneers at 8:15 tonight in Tampa Bay, while the Los Angeles Chargers are in Glendale taking on the Arizona Cardinals at 9 p.m.
NHL
Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton scored a pair of quick third-period goals to help the Winnipeg Jets defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3 to remain the only unbeaten NHL team. The victory extended Winnipeg’s franchise-record, season-opening win streak to five games. Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Vladislav Namestnikov and Nino Niederreiter scored for Winnipeg. The game was tied at 3 in the third period before the Jets scored three consecutive goals to win. Both teams had backup goaltenders starting for the first time.
Adrian Kempe, Alex Laferriere, Kevin Fiala and Mikey Anderson all scored in the third period and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-1. Vladislav Gavrikov had two assists and David Rittich made 15 saves for Los Angeles. Ryan Strome scored for Anaheim with 1:46 remaining to bring the Ducks within a goal, but Fiala and Anderson followed with empty-netters 31 seconds apart to put the game away. Lukas Dostal finished with 34 saves for Anaheim.
Ross Colton scored twice, Justus Annunen made 25 saves in his first start of the season and the Colorado Avalanche beat the winless San Jose Sharks 4-1 on Sunday. Cale Makar had an empty-net goal and two assists, and Joel Kiviranta also scored for Colorado. William Eklund scored for San Jose. Colton has five goals in his last three games, also scoring twice Friday night in Anaheim in Colorado’s first victory of the season. He gave Colorado a 2-0 lead in the first period, connecting on a power play at 6:23 and at even strength with 3:23 left. Makar has 10 assists through six games, and has points in each one.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Oregon has become the fourth team this season to hold the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press college football poll. The Ducks moved into the top spot for the first time in 12 years after Texas lost at home to Georgia. Vanderbilt at No. 25 makes its first appearance since the 2013 season and defending national champion Michigan is out after a second straight loss. Unbeaten Oregon followed its one-point home win over Ohio State with a 35-0 rout at Purdue. The Ducks received 59 of 61 first-place votes. Georgia got the other two.
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