MLB-WORLD SERIES
The Houston Astros have a little time to savor their American League Championship win before taking the field Tomorrow in Game 1 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Astros shut out the Yankees 4-0 in Saturday’s ALCS Game 7 in Houston.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have set their rotation for the first three games of the World Series against the Houston Astros.
Lefty Rich Hill will start Game 2 for L.A. after ace Clayton Kershaw pitches the opener against Astros ace Dallas Keuchel. Yu Darvish has the starting assignment for the third game.
Justin Verlander will start Game 2 for Houston.
The World Series begins Tuesday in Los Angeles.
NFL-SCHEDULE
The New England Patriots didn't need a 25-point comeback this time.
The Pats easily won a rematch of Super Bowl 51 as Tom Brady threw for two touchdowns in a 23-7 victory against the Atlanta Falcons. The Patriots scored the first 23 points of the game after scoring the last 31 to pull out a 34-28 overtime win over the Falcons in the Super Bowl.
Brady threw for 249 yards and completed 21 of his 29 passes despite a thick fog that shrouded Gillette Stadium.
New England's string of 54 straight points against Atlanta ended when Matt Ryan hit Julio Jones for a four-yard TD with 4:09 to play. Ryan was other ineffective while going 23 of 33 for 233 yards.
The Patriots improved to 5-2, while the Falcons slipped to 3-3.
In other NFL finals:
— Latavius Murray rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown, and Kai Forbath kicked six field goals in the Vikings' 24-16 victory against the Ravens. Forbath made kicks of 52, 51, 43, 43, 34 and 32 yards for as Minnesota improved to 5-2. Joe Flacco was sacked five times and Baltimore managed just 208 total yards in slipping to 3-4.
— Ben Roethlisberger passed for 224 yards and two touchdowns as the Steelers whipped the Bengals 29-14 to improve to 5-2. Le'Veon Bell added 192 total yards for Pittsburgh, which shut out Cincinnati in the second half while limiting the 2-4 Bengals to just one first down. Chris Boswell added five field goals to help the Steelers set a season high for points.
— Drew Brees threw for a touchdown and ran for another as the 4-2 Saints rallied to beat the Packers 26-17. Mark Ingram rushed for 105 yards and a score, and Will Lutz kicked two second-half field goals, including a 44-yarder to put New Orleans up for good 19-17 with 10:26 left. Brett Hundley finished 12 of 25 for 87 yards in his first start for the 4-3 Packers.
— Ezekiel Elliott gained 219 yards from scrimmage and tied a career high with three touchdowns in the Cowboys' 40-10 rout of the 49ers. Elliott had a 72-yard scoring reception and ran for 147 yards on 26 carries to lead Dallas to their third win in six games. Quarterback C.J. Beathard was sacked five times, lost two fumbles and failed to lead the 0-7 49ers into the end zone until he scored in the fourth quarter.
— Russell Wilson threw three second-half touchdown passes and the Seahawks limited the Giants' receiver-depleted offense to 177 yards in a 24-7 win at the Meadowlands. Wilson hit Doug Baldwin with a go-ahead 22-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and put the game away with a 38-yard TD throw to Paul Richardson. The 4-2 Seahawks limited the 1-6 Giants to 46 yards rushing, 14 first downs and just over 24 ½ minutes in time of possession.
— The Dolphins scored 17 unanswered points in the final 11 ½ minutes as backup quarterback Matt Moore led them to a 31-28 win over the Jets. Kenny Stills tied it with touchdown receptions of 28 and two yards before Cody Parkey drilled a 39-yard field goal with 22 seconds left following an interception by Josh McCown. Starting quarterback Jay Cutler left the game due to a chest injury with his team trailing 21-14 before the 4-2 Dolphins dropped the Jets to 3-4.
— The Bills also pulled off a late rally as they scored 10 points over the final 2 ½ minutes to beat the Buccaneers, 30-27. LeSean McCoy had 91 yards rushing and scored twice, including a seven-yard run that tied the score with 2:28 remaining. Rookie cornerback Tre'Davious White forced and recovered a fumble to set up Stephen Hauschka's 30-yard field goal with 14 seconds left, leaving the Bills 4-2 and dropping the Bucs to 2-4.
— The Rams were winners in London for the first time in three tries as Jared Goff completed 22 of 37 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown in a 33-0 shutout of the Cardinals. Goff also ran for a TD, Greg Zuerlein nailed four field goals and Todd Gurley rushed for 106 yards and a score for the 5-2 Rams. The 3-4 Cardinals finished the game without quarterback Carson Palmer after he injured his left arm in the second quarter.
— Travis Benjamin returned a first-quarter punt 65 yards for a touchdown and caught a 42-yard TD pass in the fourth as the Chargers silenced the Broncos 21-0. Joey Bosa had two of the Chargers' five sacks in the team's first home victory since relocating to Los Angeles. Denver dropped to 3-3, while the Chargers won their third in a row since an 0-4 start.
— The Jaguars were 27-0 winners against the Colts as Blake Bortles threw for a season-high 330 yards and one touchdown. Bortles finished 18 of 26 with a 124.7 rating to help the 4-3 Jaguars win without injured rookie running back Leonard Fournette, who has a sprained right ankle. Jacksonville also recorded 10 sacks against the 2-5 Colts.
— The Titans are 4-3 after pulling out an ugly 12-9 win at Cleveland on Ryan Succop's fourth field goal of the afternoon, a 47-yarder with 1:55 left in overtime. Tennessee safety Kevin Byard had two of his three interceptions against Deshone Kizer, who was benched in the second half. Browns rookie Zane Gonzalez forced overtime by kicking a season-long 54-yard field goal with 47 seconds left in regulation before Cleveland fell to 0-7.
Tonight’s Monday night football matchup will be the Washington Redskins at the Philadelphia Eagles at 8:30 PM.
NFL-SUPER BOWL
The NFL has confirmed that Justin Timberlake will headline the Super Bowl halftime show at Minneapolis next Feb. 4.
This will be Timberlake's third appearance on the Super Bowl halftime extravaganza, more than any individual entertainer.
MLB-MANAGERS
Astros bench coach Alex Cora just helped the team knock out the Red Sox in the AL Division Series earlier this month. He'll be changing sides after the World Series.
The Red Sox have announced that they have hired Cora to replace John Farrell as manager. He played four of his 14 major league seasons with Boston before retiring in 2011. The Puerto Rico native becomes the first Hispanic manager in Red Sox history.
Meanwhile, it appears the Mets have selected a manager as several media outlets are reporting that Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway has been offered the job. The New York Post was the first to report the Mets were in talks with Callaway, saying a deal is being finalized.
Terry Collins stepped down after seven seasons as manager and accepted a position as a special assistant to general manager Sandy Alderson.
The 42-year-old Callaway spent five years as pitching coach under Cleveland skipper Terry Francona. The Indians led the major leagues with a 3.30 ERA this season, one year after reaching the World Series.
Like Cora, Callaway has never managed at the big league level.
NBA-SCHEDULE
The Minnesota Timberwolves picked up an impressive road win on Sunday as they try to prove they are legitimate contenders in the NBA's Western Conference.
Andrew Wiggins drained a 3-pointer near halfcourt as time expired to send the Wolves past the Thunder, 115-113. The game-winning bucket came after Carmelo Anthony's trey with 5.1 seconds left put Oklahoma City in front.
Wiggins finished with 27 points as the 2-1 Timberwolves won their second straight. Karl-Anthony Towns also had 27 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and set a crushing pick that freed up Wiggins for the winning basket.
Also in the NBA:
— Anthony Davis had a team-high 27 points and DeMarcus Cousins had 22 as the Pelicans picked up a 119-112 win over the Lakers in Los Angeles. Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball had a game-high 13 assists and a team-high eight rebounds, but he also shot just 3-for-13 in scoring eight points.
— Allen Crabbe scored 20 points and DeMarre Carroll had 17 as the Nets beat the Hawks 116-104. Brooklyn blew an 11-point, fourth-quarter lead before Crabbe hit a pair of 3-pointers during a 7-0 run that put the Nets ahead 106-99. Atlanta point guard Dennis Schroeder had to be helped off the court after going down with an apparent ankle injury late in the game.
NBA-SUNS-COACH
The Phoenix Suns have fired head coach Earl Watson just three games into the season.
Former Raptors head coach Jay Triano is replacing Watson on an interim basis after serving as his assistant.
Watson went 33-85 in parts of three seasons with the team, including a 24-58 mark last year. The Suns' 0-3 start prompted point guard Eric Bledsoe to tweet Sunday: "I Don't wanna be here."
NBA-CELTICS-IRVING FINED
The NBA has fined Celtics guard Kyrie Irving $25,000 for responding to a fan with inappropriate language at halftime of Boston's 102-92 win over the 76ers on Friday.
NHL-CANUCKS/RED WINGS
The Vancouver Canucks won Sunday's only NHL game by dominating the second period of a 4-1 decision over the Red Wings in Detroit.
The game was tied 1-1 until the Canucks scored three times while outshooting the Red Wings 18-6 in the middle period. Sven Baertschi scored twice for Vancouver, which also got goals from Derek Dorsett and Jake Virtanen.
Anthony Mantha had the only goal for the Wings in their fourth consecutive loss.
NHL-MAPLE LEAFS-POLAK
The Maple Leafs have signed defenseman Roman Polak to a one-year deal that brings him back to Toronto.
The 31-year-old Czech spent parts of the last three seasons with the Leafs and was on a professional tryout deal with the club during training camp. Polak has 23 goals and 92 assists in 634 regular-season games with San Jose, St. Louis and Toronto.
NASCAR-KANSAS
Martin Truex Jr. completed an emotional victory for his Furniture Row Racing team at Kansas Speedway following the death of a crew member the previous night.
The season's most dominant driver calmly overcame a restart violation and a loose tire early on to win for the seventh time this season. The race began hours after the team learned that crew member Jim Watson had died of a heart attack while in town for the playoff race.
Kurt Busch finished second before a wave of playoff contenders headed by Ryan Blaney, whose car failed post-qualifying inspection.
Chase Elliott was fourth and Denny Hamlin fifth to advance to the next playoff round. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson also reached the Final 8. Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were eliminated.
FORMULA ONE-US GRAND PRIX
Lewis Hamilton has tightened his grip on the Formula One season championship by winning the U.S. Grand Prix ahead of title rival Sebastian Vettel.
The Mercedes driver continued his absolute dominance of the Circuit of the Americas, winning at the track for the fifth time since 2012 and fourth year in a row.
The victory extended Hamilton's championship lead over Vettel to 66 points with three races left.
T25-COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL
The top eight remain exactly the same in the latest Associated Press college football poll, with Notre Dame cracking the top 10 for the first time this season.
The Irish climbed four spots to ninth with Saturday's 49-14 rout of Southern Cal, which dropped to 21st.
Alabama remains the unanimous No. 1 team, followed by Penn St., Georgia, TCU and Wisconsin. Ohio State checks in at No. 6, ahead of Clemson and Miami. Oklahoma is just behind Notre Dame at No. 10.
Michigan has fallen out of the rankings for the first time in two years.
GOLF-TOUR CHAMPIONS
Bernhard Langer made a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th hole to win the Dominion Energy Charity Classic by one stroke over Scott Verplank at Richmond, Va.
Langer followed his second-round 63 with an even-par 70 to finish at 16 under in the first event in the PGA Tour Champions' Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs.
Verplank shot a bogey-free 6-under 66 to erase a five-shot deficit, but he missed short birdie putts on the 17th and 18th holes.
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