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🏒 Ovi's last dance:Capitals legend Alex Ovechkin, the NHL's all-time leading scorer, announced Monday that this will be the final season of his career . As you might expect, ticket prices for Washington's final regular-season games have soared since the announcement .
⛳️ PGA Tour backs bill:In a letter to President Trump, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp voiced his support for the Sunshine Protection Act , a bill currently stalled in the Senate that would create permanent Daylight Saving Time. Why? It would allow golfers to play an hour later, expanding access "at a time when the game is more popular than ever."
🏈 Hill eyes return:Tyreek Hill has begun negotiating with teams about his potential return to the NFL after last season's knee injury resulted in his release from the Dolphins. One possible landing spot for the eight-time Pro Bowler? A reunion with the Chiefs, whose wide receiver room is thin following a rash of injuries.
🎾 An expensive DQ:Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his China Open semifinal match against Novak Djokovic after hitting a spectator with a ball that he struck in frustration. Djokovic was three points away from winning anyway, but the DQ means Medvedev must forfeit the $220,000 he earned by reaching the semis.
🏈 NFL suspends officials:The NFL has suspended referee Adrian Hill one game and line judge Jeff Seeman two games for "unprofessional conduct toward a player" stemming from separate incidents on Sunday, both of which involved heated exchanges and choice words.
(Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The Rays moved within a win of the ALCS after Monday's 5-2 win over the Yankees , using their patented small-ball attack to hand presumptive Cy Young Cam Schlittler his first loss since July. Also working in Tampa Bay's favor? New York had the same number of errors (4) as hits.
Can history repeat itself?The Pinstripes are undoubtedly in a hole as they face an 0-2 deficit that just 10 teams (out of 93) have successfully come back from in a five-game series. But good news, New York: The last team to rally from such a deficit and win the series was… the Yankees in the 2017 ALDS.
Closer Grant Taylor celebrates the win. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
The White Sox rallied for a 4-2 victory over the Guardians to take a commanding 2-0 lead on the road in their ALDS. Cleveland's Gavin Williams was excellent (5 IP, 11 K, 4 H, 2 R), but Chicago's Sean Burke (5.1 IP, 6 K, 1 H, 1 R) earned the win out of the bullpen after retiring a historic 13 straight batters .
Who needs starters?The White Sox are the first team in MLB history to win four straight postseason games in which their starter went four or fewer innings in each. And if that weren't impressive enough, all four wins came on the road. The atmosphere tomorrow in Chicago is going to be electric .
(Morgan Simmons/Getty Images)
The Falcons ran wild in Monday's 45-24 rout of the Saints , compiling 205 rushing yards and a franchise record-tying 5 rushing touchdowns courtesy of Bijan Robinson (145 yds, 2 TD) and Brian Robinson Jr. (62 yds, 3 TD).
Setting the tone:Robinson (of the Bijan variety) erupted for a 59-yard score on his first touch of the night, giving him three career rushing touchdowns of 50+ yards in five career "MNF" games. Seems good.
VJ Edgecombe skies for a dunk. (Matt Slocum/AP Photo)
The new-look 76ers cruised to a 120-97 win over the defending champion Knicks in their preseason opener on Monday behind Jaylen Brown, who scored 22 first-half points in his first game as a Sixer.
No LeBron, yet:Philly's other major offseason addition sat out in what was likely the first of many load-management DNPs for the almost-42-year-old James. 23 NBA seasons (and an NBA-record 73,476 minutes) have left him with chronic arthritis in his left foot and sciatica, both of which require an extensive training regimen.
(Hector Vivas/FIFA via Getty Images)
Lionel Messi's incomparable international career will come to an end tonight in Buenos Aires, where he'll represent Argentina for the 208th and final time in a friendly against Benin (7pm ET, ViX) , which will try to avoid becoming the 45th country to surrender a goal to the GOAT.
All good things must end:"It was a decision that hurt — and still hurts — deep in my soul, but I realize that the time has come," Messi wrote back in August when announcing his decision. "I love, have loved and will always love being a part of the national team."
(Chris Unger/Getty Images)
Kenneth Walker III's 537 rush yards are the most by any player through four games in the last 15 years, and he's just the fourth player in NFL history to rack up 175+ scrimmage yards in three of the first four games in a season. Decent offseason addition by the Chiefs!
Have a year, kid:Since last November, Walker has won 14 consecutive games, claimed Super Bowl MVP (the first running back to do so since 1998), signed a $43 million contract and emerged as an early OPOY frontrunner.
(Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
Freddie Freeman has reached base safely in 24 consecutive postseason games, one shy of matching the third-longest streak ever . If he gets on base tonight he'll tie Juan Soto (active streak), Jose Altuve, Pablo Sandoval and Boog Powell at 25 straight, trailing only Chase Utley (27) and Miguel Cabrera (31).
But wait, there's more:Freeman's home run on Sunday was the 13th game-tying or go-ahead blast of his postseason career, second only to Altuve (14) for the most ever.
(Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
🏈 Dan Wolken: College football has never been more chaotic — and its fans are losing their minds because of it
College football has been disrupted more quickly and violently than perhaps any sport in modern times, and there's a lot of good that has come from it. But the transition from what it used to be to what it is now hasn't been perfect.
It has created a different set of winners and losers, and it is producing a level of angst that fans, coaches and administrators are struggling to deal with and the media is struggling to capture in its full context.
Everyone has an opinion on what college football should look like, but we all have to accept that it is changing in some ways we will like and others we will hate. Whether we can adjust to that reality before demanding that everyone be fired remains to be seen.
(Sarah Stier/FIFA via Getty Images)
⚽️ Steven Goff: Jesse Marsch, Canada want to challenge USMNT, Mexico for CONCACAF supremacy
The U.S. and Canada will meet in a friendly tonight in St. Paul, Minnesota. And while the road-weary Americans will seek to continue their fine run of form, the Canadians — and their outspoken American coach — will resume their quest to change the perception in the CONCACAF region.
"Institutionally, CONCACAF still looks at this as a region that's about Mexico, or U.S. and Mexico, probably in that order right now," said Wisconsin-born, Princeton-educated Jesse Marsch, who guided Canada to the World Cup's Round of 16 this summer.
"We need to continue to establish ourselves and show we are also part of this mix. We want to be the beacon of the region, and we believe we can be."
(Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
🏒 Adam Proteau: The NHL's early-season scoring surge is a breath of fresh air (The Hockey News)
There's nothing wrong with a feisty, low-scoring battle in the NHL, but most fans love to see a ton of goals. So far this season, fans have to be delighted.
In the 39 games played through Sunday's five-game slate, 16 had at least seven goals scored in total and five games had nine goals or more. By contrast, only five of the 39 games had three goals or fewer.
There's clearly a trend toward high-scoring hockey, and there are at least a couple of factors playing into the barrage of scoring. The biggest factor, we believe, is the NHL's first year with fewer preseason games.
The explosion in team values has primarily increased the paper wealth of billionaire team owners, centi-millionaire minority investors and a growing group of private equity firms. But retail investors still have some access, and soon they'll be able to express their investment views more precisely.
ICYMI:The board of Madison Square Garden Sports has approved the proposed spin-off of the Knicks and Rangers into separate publicly traded companies. The transaction is expected to be completed Oct. 26.
Choose your fighter:Once the spin-off is complete, public investors can own pure-play stakes in franchises in three of the four major North American leagues:
⚾️ MLB:Braves ( BATRA )
🏀 NBA:Knicks (MSGK)
🏒 NHL:Rangers (MSGR)
Plus:Manchester United of the English Premier League also trades alongside them on the NYSE. Each company has outperformed significantly in 2026.
Don't get used to it:Access could be short-lived. Braves investors have lobbied for a sale , while the MSGS spin-off would make taking the Knicks or Rangers private more straightforward. MSGS' current enterprise value is approaching $11 billion, well below the teams' estimated combined value. The Knicks alone are worth $11.75 billion, per J.P. Morgan .
(Dillon Minshall/Yahoo Sports)
Just 15 of 138 FBS teams remain undefeated entering Week 6, with exactly three hailing from each Power Four conference.
SEC:No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Georgia, No. 6 Alabama
Big Ten:No. 7 Indiana, No. 21 UCLA, Nebraska
ACC:No. 4 Miami, No. 25 Pittsburgh, Duke
Big 12:No. 8 BYU, No. 11 Texas Tech, No. 12 Utah
Outside the Power Four:The other three unbeatens are independent Notre Dame and two Group of 5 teams that only recently made the leap from the FCS to the FBS: James Madison (joined the Sun Belt in 2022) and North Dakota State (joined the Mountain West this season).
The JMU effect:20% of the remaining undefeated teams are led by current or former James Madison head coaches: Billy Napier (JMU), Curt Cignetti (Indiana) and Bob Chesney (UCLA). Harrisonburg, Virginia: Come for the mountains, stay for the coaching tree.
On the flip side… Charlotte, Northern Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe are still searching for their first wins.
(Dillon Minshall/Yahoo Sports)
(Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports)
The Braves host the Dodgers today (6pm ET, FS1) with the series knotted up and a tantalizing pitching matchup : Chris Sale vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Then it's off to San Diego (9:30pm, FS1) , where the Padres must beat the Brewers to stay alive.
Look away, Padres fans:MLB teams with a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five postseason series have gone on to win the series 83 of 93 times (89%), and teams like Milwaukee that won the first two Division Series games at home under the current 2-2-1 format have gone on to win 33 of 36 times (92%).
The Americans will look to complete a perfect international break tonight in St. Paul (8pm, TNT) , where they take on the Canadians after beating Peru, Chile and Mexico in the past couple weeks.
Youth movement:Six of the USMNT's 11 goals during this break have been scored by teenagers (Julian Hall 3x, Cavan Sullivan, Justin Ellis, Mathis Albert), and their oldest goalscorer, Chris Richards, is just 26.
More to watch:
🏒 NHL:Islanders at Rangers (7:30pm, ESPN) ; Panthers at Kings (10pm, ESPN) … The Battle of New York headlines tonight's doubleheader.
⚽️ MLS:Chicago vs. Vancouver (8:30pm, Apple) … Former Bayern Munich teammates Robert Lewandowski (Chicago) and Thomas Müller (Vancouver) meet for the first time in MLS.
🎾 China Open:Men's Final (7am, Tennis) … Novak Djokovic is battling Alex de Minaur as he seeks his 34th straight win and seventh title in Beijing.
🏀 NBA Preseason:Nets at Hornets (7pm, NBA) ; Lakers at Warriors (10pm, NBA) … The season tips off two weeks from today.
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