Women’s college basketball wasn’t always the behemoth with storied programs like UConn, Tennessee and South Carolina dominating the headlines and the Final Four. A half-century ago, tiny Immaculata won the first three national AIAW titles and then Delta State did the same thing before the likes of Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion and Rutgers started a slow trend of bigger programs becoming the backbone of a fledgling sport that a nation was – and is – still learning to appreciate. The women’s basketball poll, founded by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Mel Greenberg in 1976, was there for all of it. It began six years before the first NCAA Tournament in 1982 as a roadmap. The upcoming season will be the 50th year of the women’s basketball poll with the AP rankings setting the table for the season.
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge's brilliant season wasn't enough to end the New York Yankees' championship drought. The Yankees lost to Toronto in the AL Division Series, marking their 16th consecutive season without a World Series title. Judge hit .500 in seven playoff games but couldn't carry the team to victory. Despite winning his first AL batting crown and being on a Hall of Fame track, Judge remains without postseason success. The Yankees' bullpen and rotation faltered against Toronto, and the team faces potential roster changes. Gerrit Cole, recovering from Tommy John surgery, expects to return by May, but the Yankees need a bullpen rebuild.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kyle Schwarber homered twice, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to an 8-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of their NL Division Series. The Phillies avoided a sweep with the win on Wednesday night. Schwarber's first homer cleared the right-field pavilion, the first allowed by the Dodgers in these playoffs. The Phillies add five more runs in the eighth inning, including a solo shot by J.T. Realmuto and a two-run drive by Schwarber. Clayton Kershaw struggled in his first postseason relief appearance since 2019. The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman went hitless, while Mookie Betts tripled and singled in four at-bats.
CHICAGO (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a tiebreaking two-run single and the Chicago Cubs avoided a sweep by holding off the Milwaukee Brewers for a 4-3 victory in Game 3 of their NL Division Series. Crow-Armstrong’s two-out swing was part of a four-run first inning for Chicago — continuing a wild trend. Michael Busch kicked off the rally by becoming the first player in major league history with multiple leadoff homers in a single postseason series. The matchup of NL Central rivals is the first postseason series in which both teams scored in the first in each of the first three games. Jake Bauers rallied Milwaukee with an RBI single in the fourth and a leadoff drive in the seventh.
DETROIT (AP) — Riley Greene and Javier Báez homered in a four-run sixth inning and the Detroit Tigers kept their season alive with a 9-3 win over the Seattle Mariners in Game 4 of the American League Division Series. The Tigers forced a Game 5 by winning at Comerica Park for the first time in more than a month. They went 0-8 after Tarik Skubal’s 6-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 6, including Seattle’s 8-4 win on Tuesday. The series decider will be on Friday in Seattle, with Skubal facing George Kirby.
NEW YORK (AP) — Forget the preseason prognostications. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the worst-to-first Toronto Blue Jays believe they’re as good as anybody. Hard to argue after the way they dispatched Aaron Judge and the powerful New York Yankees in their AL Division Series. And now, manager John Schneider’s pesky Blue Jays are set up pretty nicely for the next playoff round. Headed to its first American League Championship Series in nine years, AL East champion Toronto will host Detroit or Seattle in Game 1 on Sunday. Those teams are set to decide their Division Series on Friday in Game 5 at Seattle.
PHOENIX (AP) — A’ja Wilson made a turnaround jumper with 0.3 seconds left, capping a stellar 34-point night and lifting the Las Vegas Aces over the Phoenix Mercury 90-88 in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Wednesday for a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Aces are one victory away from winning their third title in four seasons. Game 4 is on Friday in Phoenix. Las Vegas looked like it had a comfortable 76-59 lead entering the fourth quarter, but DeWanna Bonner made two free throws with 1:01 left to tie it at 88. That set up Wilson’s heroics in the final seconds.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A soccer match between Argentina and Puerto Rico, initially set for next week in Chicago, has been moved to Florida. Chicago Park District spokesman Luca Serra confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday that the match won’t be played in Chicago. The friendly match was supposed to be played on Oct. 13 at Soldier Field in Chicago but will be moved to Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. An Argentine Football Association executive confirmed the move to the AP and said it was because of the situation in Chicago, where President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard to quell protests against the immigration crackdown. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the relocation had not been publicly announced.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville and Cleveland have swapped starting cornerbacks, with Tyson Campbell going to the Browns and Greg Newsome heading to the Jaguars. The teams also exchanged late-round draft picks in 2026, with Jacksonville getting a sixth-rounder from Cleveland and the Browns getting a seventh-rounder from the Jaguars. The swap should put both in better situations. The Browns play more man-to-man coverages than the Jags, a scheme that should fit Campbell. The Jaguars are in a mostly zone scheme that should highlight Newsome's strengths.
DENTON, Texas (AP) — The last time North Texas was undefeated this deep into a season was 1959. The team then was still known as the Eagles, and it was nearly a decade before “Mean" Joe Greene would be the school’s only consensus All-American. The Mean Green are now 5-0 with a redshirt freshman quarterback who never started a varsity game in high school and a roster with 50 new transfers. They host 24th-ranked South Florida on Friday night. Drew Mestemaker has thrown for 1,247 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s one of only three FBS quarterbacks with more than 1,000 yards and no interceptions.
Finals
AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Detroit 9 Seattle 3
Final Toronto 5 N.Y. Yankees 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Chicago Cubs 4 Milwaukee 3
Final Philadelphia 8 L.A. Dodgers 2