Bob Pettit, imposing Hawks great and first NBA MVP, dies at 93
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — NBA great Bob Pettit has died at the age of 93. His alma mater, LSU, says Pettit died Wednesday. Pettit was an imposing scorer and rebounder for the St. Louis Hawks and winner of the NBA’s first Most Valuable Player award in 1956. After starring at LSU, Pettit became an All-Star in all 11 of his NBA seasons. At 6-foot-9, he was one of the first big men to play facing the basket. Pettit led the Hawks to the 1958 title over the Boston Celtics. He was also the NBA MVP in 1959 and All-Star game MVP four times.
After three straight 100-loss seasons, the improbable White Sox are headed back to the postseason
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chicago White Sox are headed back to the playoffs, becoming the first team in big league history to make it after back-to-back 100-loss seasons. In fact, the White Sox were coming off three straight 100-loss campaigns, and even set a record for the modern era by losing 121 games a couple of years ago. They clinched no worse than an AL wild-card berth Thursday with a 9-1 victory in Kansas City. They are headed back to Chicago with a chance to win the division, too. They have three games against the last-place Rockies this weekend, while the Guardians — who began the day with a one-game lead over them — have three this weekend in Kansas City.
Pete Crow-Armstrong joins 40-40 club when he swipes base for Cubs in 1st inning vs. Marlins
CHICAGO (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong joined the 40-40 club when the Chicago Cubs star stole his 40th base of the season against the Miami Marlins. A favorite to win the NL MVP award, Crow-Armstrong became the seventh player with at least 40 homers and 40 steals in a season, joining a group that includes Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. Jose Canseco was the first with the 1988 Oakland Athletics. Crow-Armstrong hit his 45th homer during Sunday’s 9-1 win at Cincinnati, extending his career high.
A’Ja Wilson and Aces to face Caitlin Clark and Fever in opening round of WNBA playoffs
NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA playoffs will have a star-studded matchup between A’Ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark, thanks to a massive comeback by Golden State. Down 10 with three minutes to go, the Valkryies went on a 14-0 run to beat the Los Angeles Sparks 76-75 and move into to the No. 2 seed on the final day of the regular season. Golden State’s win and Indiana’s loss to Minnesota sets up a best-of-three series between the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever. The series that begins Sunday in Las Vegas will be a showcase between Wilson, the four-time WNBA MVP, and Clark, the 2024 rookie of the year and three-time All-Star. Golden State plays No. 7 seed Dallas, top-seeded Minnesota faces New York and No. 4 Atlanta plays No. 5 Washingon.
Scheffler and Burns finally win together and stake Americans to 3-2 lead in Presidents Cup
MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns finally won a match together as partners. It helped the Americans take a 3-2 lead after the opening session in the Presidents Cup. Their match against Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im came down to the 18th hole. Scheffler saved par from a bunker and Im narrowly missed a long birdie putt. Jackson Koivun also got a win in his Presidents Cup debut. The 21-year-old Koivun teamed with Justin Thomas for an easy win. The International picked up two convincing wins in fourballs. International captain Geoff Ogilvy says he can live with a one-point deficit.
Kyle Juszczyk gets fined for chugging celebration that NFL says was beer and he says was juice
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The NFL fined San Francisco 49ers All-Pro fullback Kyle Juszczyk for what it deemed an “offensive” celebration similar to one he had been doing for several years with no issues. Juszczyk was fined $14,926 after he imitated drinking a beverage following a catch in the third quarter of San Francisco’s win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Juszczyk’s nickname is “Juice” and he has been doing a version of that celebration throughout his career in response to 49ers fans chanting his nickname after catches or other big plays. But the league told him the celebration was an imitation of drinking a beer and was worthy of a fine.
Cubs clinch 2nd straight playoffs trip by beating Marlins 2-1 as Crow-Armstrong joins 40-40 club
CHICAGO (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong joined the 40-40 club by stealing his 40th base to go along with his major league-leading 45 home runs, and the Chicago Cubs clinched their second straight postseason berth a 2-1 victory over the Miami Marlins. Seiya Suzuki homered for the Cubs (88-71), who assured themselves of one of the NL’s three wild card berths. Chicago also was a wild card last year, when the Cubs beat San Diego in the first round and lost to Milwaukee in a Division Series. The Cubs will be making consecutive postseason appearances for the first time since four straight from 2015-18.
FIFA’s Infantino pledges ‘culture of dialogue’ after uproar over secretive World Cup sell-off plan
GENEVA (AP) — FIFA’s embattled president Gianni Infantino says he is committed to a fresh culture of openness at the soccer body that is “not about generating positive headlines.” It’s two months into a deep rift for global soccer because of Infantino’s now-dropped $4.2 billion World Cup sell-off plan. Infantino this week offered to his critics an independent review of how FIFA is run and makes decisions. He says he’s had “positive messages about it … and it is important that we keep listening to each other.” Infantino will chair an Oct. 15 meeting of the 37-member FIFA Council in Zurich.
Israel player Sayed Abu Farchi sent off for goal celebration in Nations League
LINZ, Austria (AP) — Israel player Sayed Abu Farchi has been sent off for his goal-scoring celebration after equalizing against Austria in the Nations League. The forward’s goal made the score 1-1 early in the second half. He then jogged to the corner, pulled out the corner flag, dropped his right knee to the grass and rested the pole on the back of his left hand before making a firing gesture. It wasn’t immediately clear if Farchi was simulating a pool cue shot or a weapon. The referee promptly showed the Colorado Rapids forward a second yellow card, just four minutes after his first, leading to a red card.