NHL:
It’s officially hockey season. In the NHL, Ottawa beat Toronto 5-4, St. Louis won against Chicago 5-2, Edmonton bested Calgary 7-4, and it was San Jose over the Kings 2-1.
The Boston Bruins open the regular season on the road tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets and will be playing without center Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and did not make the trip for the Bruins.
Buffalo Sabres top-line center Jack Eichel is out indefinitely after being diagnosed with a high ankle sprain on Wednesday. The Sabres provided the update hours after Eichel was hurt in the team's final practice before it opens the regular season hosting Montreal tonight. Eichel was in front of the net when he got tangled up with a defenseman and his leg buckled beneath him. Bylsma says the injury occurred with less than 10 minutes remaining in practice. Eichel is considered a key to the Sabres future after being selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft. He is coming off a solid rookie season in which he had 24 goals and 32 assists for 56 points in 81 games last year. Eichel played one year at Boston University and became the second freshman to win college hockey's top honor, the Hobey Baker Award.
— Vladimir Tarasenko had two goals and an assist in the Blues' 5-2 triumph at Chicago. Kevin Shattenkirk and Paul Stastny each had a power-play goal and an assist for the Blues, who scored a pair of empty-netters and three goals with the man advantage. Ryan Hartman scored his first NHL goal for the Blackhawks.
— Brent Burns delivered the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and Logan Couture scored once and had an assist as San Jose topped Los Angeles 2-1. Burns tallied after Kings netminder Jonathan Quick left the game with a lower body injury in the first period. Martin Jones stopped 21 shots for the Sharks, who raised their Western Conference championship banner before the game.
— Wayne Gretzky is affiliated with the Edmonton Oilers again after being named partner and vice chairman of Oilers Entertainment Group. The team announced the appointment at an unveiling of the refurbished Gretzky statue that now sits in front of the Oilers' new arena, Rogers Place. The NHL's career scoring leader spent much of his Hall of Fame career in Edmonton, leading the Oilers to four Stanley Cup titles.
MLB:
And then there was one.
Just one major league division series has yet to be settled, and it won't resume until Thursday in Washington. The Nationals will host the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the NLDS, with the winner earning the right to head to Chicago to face the Cubs this weekend. The Dodgers extended the series by beating the Nats 6-5 on Tuesday.
Max Scherzer will take the mound for Washington. Scherzer was the losing pitcher in Game 1 of the series. The 4:08 p.m. ET game will be televised by MLB Network, with Bob Costas, Jim Kaat, and Jon Morosi on the call.
L.A. manager Dave Roberts still hasn't named his starter, though he has said Rich Hill and Julio Urias will pitch in the game. Hill took the loss in Game 2, and Urias has yet to appear in the series.
The Cubs advanced to the NL Championship Series with Wednesday night's wild 6-5 comeback over the Giants in San Francisco. The Cubs did it by scoring four runs in the ninth off the Giants' bullpen after Matt Moore held them to two hits over eight innings.
The American League Championship Series gets underway Friday, with Cleveland hosting Toronto.
NBA:
In the NBA preseason, Houston topped New Orleans 116-104, San Antonio beat Orlando 95-89, Indiana won against Milwaukee 101-83, Minnesota defeated Denver 105-88, and it was Phoenix over Utah 111-110.
Los Angeles police say a detective's death won't impede a rape investigation of Knicks star Derrick Rose. The LAPD says Nadine Hernandez was one of several detectives investigating the allegations. Police say the 44-year-old died from a gunshot wound to the chest in a suspected suicide.
New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis had to leave Wednesday's preseason game against Houston in Beijing after suffering what the team called a right ankle sprain. Davis fell to the court in the first quarter and then re-entered the game briefly before heading to the locker room. The first overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft is a three-time All-Star who averaged 24.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game last season.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver says talks on the collective bargaining agreement will resume next week, two months before a key deadline. In China, Silver says he plans to meet in an ongoing process with several team owners along with union leaders. The current deal runs to 2021 but either side could also decide to opt out next year.
NFL:
Tonight on Thursday Night Football, Denver takes on San Diego at 8:25 p.m.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton returned to practice and took reps with the first-team offense Wednesday after missing Monday night's game against Tampa Bay with a concussion. Panthers coach Ron Rivera said Newton remains in the league's concussion protocol and it's too early to know his status for Sunday's game at New Orleans. Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart also practiced Wednesday after missing the last three games with a hamstring injury.
Carson Palmer is practicing again with the Cardinals after sitting out a game with a concussion. He will be back at the controls when the team hosts the Jets on Monday night. Arizona managed to win with Drew Stanton running the offense last week.
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning says he'll take the blame after the team's third straight loss, telling reporters he must play better and make better decisions. Manning says he feels good physically, downplaying a tough hit he took against Washington last month.
The New York Jets have put wide receiver Eric Decker on injured reserve with a partially torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. He was initially injured against Buffalo in Week 2 and injury worsened at Kansas City the following week. He's expected to have season-ending surgery.
Brandon Marshall is wearing his motivation. The star wide receiver has his New York Jets teammates decked out in optimism, too. Marshall created gray T-shirts with the words "DUE SEASON" printed in green inside a green box on his chest. It's a reminder to himself and other players that there's still hope despite a 1-4 start. Marshall explained the meaning of the shirts, saying the phrase means it's time for the Giants. He also wrote on Instagram that the term "due season" comes from the Biblical passage Galatians 6:9 — "For in due season, we shall reap." Marshall has a tradition in which he picks a term to represent the year. He picked "Ju Go" last year — the No. 15 in Japanese — as a way to honor his late dog, who went by that name. Marshall also wears the No. 15, it was 2015, and his wife Michi is part-Japanese.
Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy says he's inviting 15-to-20 Buffalo police officers to an upcoming game at a time when the 49ers visit Buffalo next and quarterback Colin Kaepernick is protesting police and the treatment of African-Americans and minorities. McCoy says his gesture isn't a direct response to Kaepernick's kneeling protests during the national anthem, and that he has no problem with his protests. Instead he says it's an "appreciation type of thing" with police taking more heat. Kaepernick is set to start for the first time this year on Sunday against the Bills. McCoy said it has yet to be determined if the police officers will attend this weekend's game or Buffalo's following home game on Oct. 30 against New England. McCoy's gesture comes after he was involved in a fight with off-duty police officers at a Philadelphia nightclub in February. No charges were issued in the incident.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady wouldn't comment yesterday to a reporter's question about Donald Trump's so-called "locker room talk" -- only responding with a "have a good day" before walking away. Several other current and former athletes have spoken out about Trump's comments -- many saying real banter doesn't turn that crude.
NCAA:
Boston College's women's basketball team is expected to finish well back in the pack this season in the ACC, with three-time defending champ Notre Dame the coaches' pick to make it four in a row. Louisville and Florida State are second and third in the poll.
Tennessee coach Butch Jones says he expects Jalen Hurd to play Saturday against No. 1 Alabama after the junior running back missed last week's overtime loss at Texas A&M with an unspecified injury. Jones says that Hurd is "back full strength." Hurd was at Tuesday afternoon's practice and was wearing a green non-contact jersey. He leads the ninth-ranked Volunteers with 407 yards rushing on 107 carries.
Boxing:
British boxer Tyson Fury has vacated his WBO and WBA world titles. Fury released a statement saying he wants to concentrate on his treatment and recovery from drug use and other personal issues. His decision comes following his second withdrawal from a rematch with Wladimir Klitschko after being declared "medically unfit" and admitting to bingeing on cocaine and alcohol.
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