Tom Brady threw touchdown passes to Rob Gronkowski and Mike Evans, lifting Tampa Bay to a 25-23 victory over the New York Giants, and giving the Buccaneers quarterback the career lead in TD throws once more. The Saints' Drew Brees had passed Brady on Sunday, but now the six-time Super Bowl champ is back on top with 561.
Evans' diving 8-yard catch provided the go-ahead points. But Tampa Bay had to sweat it out. Daniel Jones drove New York 70 yards in 13 plays and connected with Golden Tate for a 19-yard touchdown with 28 seconds remaining. The 2-point conversion failed. The Bucs move to 6-2 for the season. The Giants are now 1-7.
In NFL news:
The NFL suspended Chicago Bears receiver Javon Wims two games Monday for punching New Orleans Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Wims was ejected in the third quarter Sunday, after Allen Robinson caught a 5-yard pass from Nick Foles. On the other side of the field, Wims approached Gardner-Johnson from behind and appeared to reach for his mouth or neck. He threw a right-handed punch to his helmet and then another before both teams joined the scrum, and he wound up at the bottom of a pile. The penalty against Wims pushed the Bears back to a second-and-20. And Foles got intercepted by Marshon Lattimore on the next play. The Saints went on to win 26-23 in overtime.
The Supreme Court says an antitrust challenge to the way the NFL sells the rights to telecasts can go forward. The league's 32 teams typically pool the rights to telecast their games, negotiating packages with the major networks as well as the DirecTV satellite service to do so. A lower court ruled that the NFL's contract with DirecTV may limit competition in violation of federal law. The arrangement has been in place for more than 25 years. The lawsuit was filed by businesses and individuals who say they purchased a package of games from DirecTV.
The Buffalo Bills signed linebacker Darron Lee to their practice squad after the former first-round draft pick opened the season serving a four-week NFL suspension for an undisclosed reason. It's unclear why Lee was suspended this offseason by the NFL for a second time in his career. He also served a four-game suspension in 2018 for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
The San Francisco 49ers will be without quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and All-Pro tight end George Kittle for an extended period of time after they got hurt against Seattle. A person familiar with the injuries says on condition of anonymity that Garoppolo's ankle injury and Kittle's foot injury will sideline them indefinitely. ESPN first reported the severity of the injuries.
Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Damontre Moore has been suspended six games by the NFL for violation of the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances. Moore will be eligible to return to the Seahawks' roster following their Week 14 game against the New York Jets.
Browns defensive star Myles Garrett didn't suffer any structural damage to his knee during Sunday's 16-6 loss to Las Vegas and is not expected to miss any games. Coach Kevin Stefanski said the team "dodged a bullet" and he was relieved after an MRI revealed that Garrett wasn't seriously hurt. Garrett will have two weeks to get healthy as the Browns have a bye before hosting the Houston Texans on Nov. 15.
The Tennessee Titans think defensive back Desmond King can help their defense, and now coach Mike Vrabel says they will have to wait until possibly Saturday at the earliest to see him work in person and help as someone who's been an effective blitzer. Tennessee currently has the NFL's worst defense on third down and needs help in a banged-up secondary.
There's more positive cases in the NFL. Arizona Cardinals linebacker Devon Kennard says he has tested positive for COVID-19 but feels "completely normal so far." Baltimore Ravens All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey says he also has tested positive for the coronavirus. Humphrey missed practice last Wednesday but returned Thursday and played in Sunday's 28-24 loss to Pittsburgh. The Steelers say that tests on their players all came back negative. Green Bay also reported having a player test positive. In Arizona, Cardinals linebacker Devon Kennard says he has tested positive for COVID-19, but feels "completely normal so far."
Las Vegas Raiders tackle Trent Brown remains in Cleveland undergoing tests after being hospitalized following an IV mishap before a game against the Browns. Brown was sent to the hospital shortly before the game between the Raiders and Browns started. NFL Network reported that a pregame IV caused air to enter Brown's bloodstream. Coach Jon Gruden says he's glad to report that Brown is doing well.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The Southeastern Conference has fined Florida football coach Dan Mullen $25,000 for his role in a benches-clearing brawl against Missouri. The league also issued half-game suspensions for Missouri linebacker Chad Bailey, offensive lineman Dylan Spencer and defensive lineman Markell Utsey. Each of them will sit out the first half of Missouri's next game, against No. 5 Georgia on Nov. 14. Florida defensive lineman Zach Carter and linebacker Antwuan Powell, who were ejected for fighting, will be suspended for the first half against the Bulldogs on Saturday in Jacksonville. Missouri linebacker Tre Williams won't be punished further. The suspensions could be significant for the No. 8 Gators (3-1), who were without 15 players against Mizzou. Some of the absences stemmed from injuries, others because of COVID-19 test results and contact tracing. It's unclear how many of them will return against the Bulldogs. The melee started Saturday night when Missouri's Trajan Jeffcoat delivered what looked like a high, late hit on Florida quarterback Kyle Trask on the final play of the first half. The Hail Mary pass fell incomplete, and Trask landed hard on his back. His linemen came to his defense. So did Mullen, who started screaming at officials and the opposing sideline.
Also, the NCAA latched on to a grassroots movement and made Election Day an off day for college athletes across the country. Prioritizing voting over sports has drawn praise, though it is an inconvenience for football teams. Some coaches say their players voted long ago. The day off probably has more value symbolically as a way to emphasize the importance of being civic-minded than practically helping athletes cast ballots.
NBA
The Philadelphia 76ers have officially named Daryl Morey president of basketball operations and extended the contract of general manager Elton Brand. Brand was named general manager in September 2018. He helped lead the hiring process that landed coach Doc Rivers early last month. Morey stepped down as GM of the Houston Rockets this month after blockbuster moves that failed to lead the franchise to the NBA Finals. Houston went 640-400 under Morey and won a franchise-record 65 regular-season games in the 2017-18 season.
MLB
Infielder Ryon Healy has opted for free agency, refusing an outright assignment by the Milwaukee Brewers off their 40-man roster to their Triple-A affiliate. at San Antonio. The 28-year-old played just four regular-season games for Milwaukee this year and batted .143 with no homers, runs or RBIs. He started the second game of the Brewers' NL wild-card series loss to Los Angeles and went 0 for 3. Healy has batted .261 with 69 homers and 214 RBIs in 405 career games while playing primarily first base and third base.
Also, a Honus Wagner rookie baseball card has sold for more than $1.4 million. The price was a record for the rare T-206 card of the Pittsburgh Pirates great, the highlight of the weekend Goldin Auctions October Legends Auction. Also fetching a record price was the basketball rookie card of Michel Jordan, which sold for more than $124,000. Other notable sales included a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card that sold for more than $584,000 and a 1958 Pele card that topped $295,000, a record for a soccer card.
SLIDING
On-ice training for the American national sliding programs started Monday in Lake Placid, though how the rest of the season will ultimately play out amid the coronavirus pandemic remains unclear. USA Luge hit the ice first on a snowy morning at Mount Van Hoevenberg. USA Bobsled and Skeleton was scheduled to hit the ice later in the day, but those runs were canceled by snowy conditions. All three national teams are planning — for now — to miss the first half of their respective World Cup seasons starting later this month and rejoin those circuits in January. The U.S. was to host three major sliding events this winter — two in Lake Placid and the third in Park City, Utah. They’ve all been moved to Europe because of the pandemic and travel concerns. All three national teams are scheduled to be in Lake Placid for at least the next few weeks. There are plans for some bobsled rookies to slide in Park City in an introductory camp starting later this week.
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