OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Wyatt Langford and Adolis García homered to help the Texas Rangers spoil the final scheduled night baseball game at the Oakland Coliseum, beating the Athletics 5-1 on Wednesday. An animated crowd of 35,270 came out on a chilly late September evening, regularly chanting “Sell the team!” as a message to owner John Fisher. The A’s have played in the Coliseum since 1968 and are scheduled to move to Sacramento for at least the next three seasons while waiting for a ballpark they hope to open in Las Vegas. A tribute video to the Coliseum played on the big screen before the game, and the grounds crew has written “Thank You Oakland” into the outfield grass for the final series. Fireworks were shot off in the parking lot outside after the game as fans lingered inside as long as possible with music blaring — just not wanting to leave this one-of-a-kind old gem of a venue.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer has been diagnosed with dementia, he announced on social media. The 69-year-old Kramer, who played 13 of his 14 seasons in the NFL with the Vikings and made the Pro Bowl after leading the league in passer rating in 1986, posted on his X account Wednesday that he was formally diagnosed with the cognitive decline a little more than year ago at the Cleveland Clinic as part of a health and wellness program for former NFL players. Kramer said he was inspired to share about his condition after the revelation Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre made Tuesday during a congressional hearing that he has Parkinson’s disease. Kramer said his doctors told him at his one-year checkup that the dementia hasn’t advanced and that he has stopped consuming alcohol to better cope with it.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Alyssa Thomas and the Connecticut Sun were happy to finally close out an opening round series at home in two games. Thomas had 19 points and 13 assists to help the Sun sweep rookie sensation Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever out of the playoffs with an 87-81 win Wednesday night. Since the league changed its playoff format in 2022, the Sun have needed to win a decisive third game on the road in the first round to advance, which they did both years. This time, they were able to do it at home.
The convoluted way college athletes are paid for the use of their name, image and likeness and a dispute between player and coaches over money appears to have cost an undefeated team its quarterback three games into the season. UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka has decided to sit out the rest of the season over a $100,000 NIL payment that was promised but never paid after he agreed to transfer to the Rebels from Holy Cross last winter, Sluka’s agent told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “I think there was some kind of breakdown in communication,” Bob Sluka, Matthew’s father, told AP. Sluka’s decision sent shockwaves throughout major college football, where the old rules of amateurism have fallen, leaving schools and the NCAA grappling with how to regulate the way players can be paid. Just how much regulation is part of a $2.8 billion antitrust settlement agreement involving the NCAA and the nation’s top conferences that is before a federal judge in California. Sluka’s agent, Marcus Cromartie of Equity Sports, said Sluka was promised $100,000 by a UNLV assistant coach who recruited the quarterback last winter when he agreed to transfer in January.
WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
Major League Baseball
(Kansas City and Detroit main a two-game lead over Minnesota in the AL Wild Card race)
American League
Kansas City 3, Washington 0
Seattle 8, Houston 1
Minnesota 8, Miami 3
Detroit 7, Tampa Bay 1
Toronto 6, Boston 1
Baltimore 9, NY Yankees 7
Texas 5, Oakland 1
Chicago White Sox 4, LA Angels 3
National League
Philadelphia 9, Chicago Cubs 6
Pittsburgh 2, Milwaukee 1
LA Dodgers 4, San Diego 3
St. Louis 5, Colorado 2
Arizona 8, San Francisco 2
Interleague
Cleveland 5, Cincinnati 2