WORLD SERIES:
In the longest World Series Game 1 ever, the Kansas City Royals outlasted the New York Mets 5-4 in 14 innings to gain the early edge in the 111th Fall Classic.
Eric Hosmer hit a sacrifice fly that scored Alcides Escobar from third base to end it and give the Royals a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Series. The game took 5 hours, 9 minutes. The losing pitcher was 42-year-old Bartolo Colon, who escaped a bases-loaded jam in the 12th before running out of luck in the 14th inning.
The game had drama galore, and just about a bit of everything a baseball fan would want -- especially a Royals fan.
Kansas City forced extra innings when Alex Gordon homered off Mets closer Jeurys Familia with one out in the ninth to tie it. Familia had not blown a save since July 30 before Gordon sent a 97 mph pitch over the center field fence.
New York had taken a 4-3 lead when Gold Glove first baseman Hosmer let Wilmer Flores' grounder bounce past him for an error in the eighth inning that allowed Juan Lagares to score from second.
Escobar hit an inside-the-park home run on Matt Harvey's first pitch, but the Mets pulled ahead 3-1, helped by Curtis Granderson's tiebreaking home run off Edinson Volquez. That was the first inside-the-park World Series home run since Mule Haas of the old Philadelphia Athletics did it against the Chicago Cubs in 1929.
Game 2 is Wednesday night -- Jacob deGrom for the Mets against Johnny Cueto.
Terry Collins of the Mets was named NL manager of the year in a poll of fellow managers by the Sporting News. Earlier, Hall of Famer Paul Molitor was the AL winner in his first year with the Minnesota Twins.
The father of Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez died Tuesday in the Dominican Republic, shortly before his son took the mound to start Game 1 of the World Series against the New York Mets. Two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that 63-year-old Danio Volquez died from heart failure. His son was informed of Volquez's passing on the way to the ballpark, where he was scheduled to make his World Series debut. Volquez pitched six innings, allowing three runs on six hits, striking out three. He was not involved in the decision.
In news outside the World Series:
Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion has undergone surgery to repair a sports hernia. The Blue Jays expect the designated hitter/first baseman to recover in time for spring training. Encarnacion hit .333 with 39 homers and 111 RBIs for the Blue Jays, who lost to Kansas City in the AL Championship Series.
NBA:
For opening games in the NBA, Chicago topped Cleveland 97-95, Detroit bested Atlanta 106-94, and it was Golden State over New Orleans 111-95.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr is still experiencing symptoms caused by complications following back surgery this summer and isn't sure when he will resume his duties on the bench.
The second-year coach of the defending NBA champions has been on a leave of absence since having issues during the first week of training camp. He was on hand at Oracle Arena for Tuesday night's championship banner raising and ring ceremony as part of pregame festivities and planned to watch the game from the locker room. Luke Walton is coaching the team in Kerr's absence.
NHL:
In the NHL, Boston shut out Arizona 6-0, Buffalo edged Philadelphia in overtime 4-3, Columbus bested New Jersey 3-1, Carolina beat Detroit 3-1, Florida defeated Colorado 4-1, Minnesota slid past Edmonton 4-3, Los Angeles won against Winnipeg 4-1, St. Louis blanked Tampa Bay 2-0, Dallas edged Anaheim 4-3, and it was Vancouver over Montreal 5-1.
NFL:
Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and the New York Giants have agreed to a contract more than three months after he damaged his right hand in a fireworks accident in Florida. Pierre-Paul met with the Giants over the past two days and team doctors gave him the OK to play.
It looks like Ben Roethlisberger will be back as Pittsburgh's starting quarterback for the Steelers home game against unbeaten Cincinnati on Sunday. Roethlisberger has missed the last four games after straining knee ligaments back in September.
The unbeaten New England Patriots are preparing to face the Miami Dolphins tomorrow night. Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady has thrown for 2,054 yards and 16 touchdowns against one interception, helping to lead New England to a 6-0 start.
NASCAR:
NASCAR will race at Watkins Glen International for the next five years.
International Speedway Corp., which owns the storied racetrack in upstate New York, has inked a five-year sanction agreement with NASCAR, which again will stage both Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series races next Aug. 6-7.
Dramatic finishes and good weather the past four years have spiked interest in the Cup road race at The Glen, which announced its first sellout crowd in August when Joey Logano notched his first road course win in Cup.
The track is undergoing a repaving, and crews have finished placement of the asphalt on the 3.5-mile layout. Installation of concrete rumble strips, grading and grassing along the perimeter of the track, and completion of concrete placement on pit road still have to be completed.
USWNT:
Abby Wambach, the leading career scorer, male or female, in international soccer, announced her retirement from soccer shortly after the U.S. national team celebrated its Women's World Cup victory at the White House. The 35-year old, who grew up in Rochester, New York, has appeared in 252 international matches with 184 goals. She will play the final four matches of the national team's 10-game victory tour before stepping away from the team. Her final match will be Dec. 16 against China in New Orleans.
Tennis:
Serena Williams will play her good friend Caroline Wozniacki in a rematch of last year's U.S. Open final, and Stan Wawrinka will face Gael Monfils in exhibition matches at Madison Square Garden on March 8th. Tickets for the event go on sale on November 1st.
NCAA:
Hall of Famer John Stockton is joining Montana State as an assistant coach for the women's basketball team for the upcoming season. Among the players the former Utah Jazz point guard will be coaching will be his daughter, Lindsay, who is a senior guard for the Bobcats. Coach Tricia Binford says Stockton has coached four current players on the team already and is someone the program respects and trusts.
FIFA:
FIFA says there are seven official entries for the presidential election to replace Sepp Blatter, with former Trinidad and Tobago player David Nakhid not on the list.
Nakhid said this month he submitted his application with the required five nominations. However, Nakhid was left off the list of valid candidatures published by FIFA on Wednesday.
The seven are: Michel Platini, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, Gianni Infantino, Tokyo Sexwale, Musa Bility, Jerome Champagne and Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa.
Platini's candidature has been accepted pending a FIFA ethics committee investigation into financial wrongdoing.
The election is scheduled for Feb. 26.
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