The College Football Playoff selection committee announced it will place more emphasis on strength of schedule when determining the 12-team field. The schedule strength metric has been adjusted to apply greater weight to games against strong opponents. An additional metric known as record strength has been added to the analysis to go beyond a team’s schedule strength to assess how a team performed against that schedule. The metric rewards teams defeating high-quality opponents while minimizing the penalty for losing to such a team. There will be minimal reward for defeating a lower-quality opponent and greater penalty for losing to one.
DENVER (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani had a forgettable outing in his first career pitching start against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Ohtani left Wednesday’s game after giving up five earned runs and nine hits in four innings and batting in the fifth. Ohtani got hit by a 93-mph line drive off the bat of Colorado’s Orlando Arciao on his right leg in the fourth that caused him to limp and grimace in pain. After a mound visit from manager Dave Roberts and team medical personnel, Ohtani stayed in the game and got the last two outs of the inning. Roberts said Ohtani got hit on the thigh. The Rockies beat the Dodgers 8-3.
ATLANTA (AP) — Scottie Scheffler doesn't like the comparisons to Tiger Woods. He believes Woods stands alone in golf for inspiring so many players. Scheffler was one of them. On the eve of the Tour Championship, he tells about the only time he played with Woods. They were 11 shots behind going into the final round of the 2020 Masters and neither had a chance to win. Scheffler says Woods brought great intensity to the first hole. He says it taught him to pour everything into every shot and every round. Scheffler says that's what helped him reach No. 1 in golf.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. made a sensational leaping catch to rob San Francisco’s Rafael Devers of a home run. The left-handed Devers lifted a high fly ball off left-hander JP Sears with one out in the first inning. Tatis tracked it to his left, perfectly timed his leap and got his glove above the wall to make the catch. When he came back down, he landed on his backside and sat against the wall for a moment. He popped up and tossed the ball from his glove to his right hand and threw it in. Sears pointed and smiled at Tatis.
NEW YORK (AP) — Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori defended their U.S. Open mixed doubles title Wednesday night, keeping a traditional team on top of a revamped event filled with singles stars. The Italians beat No. 3 seeds Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud 6-3, 5-7 (10-6), winning four matches over two days to earn $1 million – a huge raise over their earnings in New York last year in a format that looked nothing like this one. Errani and Vavassori were among the many critics of the changes to the event that shut out every other traditional doubles pairing, but had nothing but smiles inside a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium.
ATLANTA (AP) — YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul and undefeated WBA world champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis have agreed to fight on Nov. 14 in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena. Most Valuable Promotions and Netflix, which announced the planned fight on Wednesday, are billing it as a bout to determine the future face of boxing. Davis would be the first star boxer in his prime to face Paul, the online celebrity who has become one of the highest-paid combat sports athletes despite never fighting an elite opponent. It’s unclear how this fight can be held competitively, because Paul typically weighs more than 200 pounds in the ring, while Davis is a 135-pound champion.
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — At least a couple of offshore bookmakers are offering odds on games at the Little League World Series. Team managers, and Little League itself, are not pleased. In news conferences throughout the Little League World Series, U.S. team managers have voiced their displeasure with gambling on their games — players at the tournament top out at 12 years old. Little League International also released a statement last week denouncing sports betting on youth competition.
SUNDERLAND, England (AP) — Ilona Maher’s mission at the Women’s Rugby World Cup is about more than just winning games. The world’s most followed rugby player on social media wants to get more eyeballs on the sport heading into the United States’ tournament opener against host England on Friday as rugby ramps up attempts to crack the market in America. Maher says “we want the fans in America to see us play here because we’ve got a World Cup there in eight years and we need to start building for that.” Rugby authorities see America as a vital new market for the sport. The United States will stage the men’s Rugby World Cup in 2031 and the women’s tournament in 2033.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR has announced its 2026 schedule, featuring a new street course in San Diego and the return of Chicagoland Speedway. The All-Star race moves to Dover, Delaware, and the season will conclude at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The schedule, released Wednesday, includes two off weekends and runs from February to November. The season kicks off with the Clash at Bowman-Gray Stadium on February 1, followed by the Daytona 500 on February 15. Chicagoland reopens after a six-year break, and the San Diego event will take place on a military base. NASCAR has dropped the Chicago street race and will not return to Mexico City.
Ten Democratic U.S. House members have asked the NCAA about its plans to protect female athletes' interests. They are concerned that most NIL and revenue-sharing payments go to male athletes. In a letter to NCAA President Charlie Baker, the lawmakers noted that Title IX guidance on NIL payments was rescinded during President Donald Trump’s administration. They want answers to questions about equitable payment distribution and support for women's sports. The NCAA did not directly address these questions but urged support for the “SCORE Act,” which aims to protect athletes' rights. The NCAA says its investment in women's sports has increased recently.
Finals
INTERLEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 2 Toronto 1
Final Philadelphia 11 Seattle 2
Final Arizona 3 Cleveland 2
Final Atlanta 1 Chicago White Sox 0
Final L.A. Angels 2 Cincinnati 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Detroit 7 Houston 2
Final N.Y. Yankees 6 Tampa Bay 4
Final Texas 6 Kansas City 3
Final Athletics 4 Minnesota 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Washington 5 N.Y. Mets 4
Final Miami 6 St. Louis 2
Final Chicago Cubs 4 Milwaukee 3
Final Colorado 8 L.A. Dodgers 3
Final San Diego 8 San Francisco 1