NFL:
Drew Brees overcame a shaky start and threw for one touchdown and ran for another and the New Orleans Saints defeated the Carolina Panthers 28-10 to take over first place in the NFC South. The 4-4 Saints piled up 375 yards to snap a seven-game losing streak on the road that dated back to last November.
On Sunday at 1 p.m. the Jets are in Kansas City, then later at 4:25 Denver is in New England to face the Patriots. Monday Night Football features the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Giants in the Meadowlands. The Buffalo Bills have a bye week.
NBA:
The New York Knicks spoiled Lebron James' homecoming with a 95-90 victory over the Cavaliers last night. James struggled from the start in his first game with Cleveland in four years. He finished with 17 points on 5-of-15 shooting. He also committed eight turnovers. Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and buried a jumper with James in his face with 25 seconds left to give the Knicks a 92-87 lead.
Elsewhere Washington topped Orlando 105-98, Minnesota bested Detroit 97-91, Dallas defeated Utah 120-102, and the Clippers beat Oklahoma City 93-90.
NHL:
The Colorado Avalanche beat the New York Islanders 5-0 last night. Nathan MacKinnon scored his first two goals of the season, and Semyon Varlamov stopped 40 shots for his 14th NHL shutout. Varlamov was sharp against the Islanders, one of the NHL's highest scoring teams.
The Boston Bruins won their third straight road game with a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres last night. Brad Marchand had two goals, including at 1:20 of overtime. He added an assist on Adam McQuaid's goal. Niklas Svedberg made 13 saves for his second win of the season.
Meanwhile New Jersey beat Winnipeg in a shootout 2-1, Pittsburgh blanked Los Angeles 3-0, Chicago beat Ottawa in a shootout 5-4, Tampa Bay edged Philadelphia 4-3, St. Louis shut out Anaheim 2-0, Minnesota defeated San Jose 4-3 in a shootout, and Vancouver beat Montreal 3-2 in overtime.
NCAA:
UConn was the unanimous Number 1 in The Associated Press' preseason women's basketball poll. The Huskies received all 35 first-place votes from the national media panel. It's the 10th time that UConn has been the top team in the preseason. Six of those years they went on to win the title, including last season.
MLB:
Alex Rodriguez's season-long suspension is over. The New York Yankees reinstated the third baseman from the restricted list yesterday. Rodriguez was suspended by Major League Baseball for violations of the sport's drug agreement and labor contract and lost just over $22 million of his $25 million salary.
The Boston Red Sox have signed closer Koji Uehara for two more years. The All-Star reliever will earn $18 million through 2016. Uehara joined the Red Sox in 2013 and earned the closer's role midway through the season. He was a key part of the team that won the franchise's third World Series in 10 years.
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