LOS ANGELES (AP) — Orion Kerkering made a wild throw past home instead of tossing to first after mishandling Andy Pages’ bases-loaded comebacker with two outs in the 11th inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 to win their NL Division Series 3-1. Kerkering hung his head and put hands on knees after his throw sailed past catcher J.T. Realmuto as pinch-runner Hyeseong Kim crossed the plate, advancing the Dodgers to the NL Championship Series against the Chicago Cubs or Milwaukee. Realmuto had pointed to first when the two-hopper hit off Kerkering’s glove and rolled just in front of the mound.
CHICAGO (AP) — Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the beloved chaplain for Loyola Chicago's men's basketball team, has died at 106. The university announced her death on Thursday night. She became an international celebrity during the team's 2018 Final Four run and there was even a bobblehead of her likeness. Health issues led her to step down in August, but she remained an adviser. Loyola President Mark C. Reed praised her as a source of wisdom and grace for over 60 years. Sister Jean published a memoir in 2023 sharing life lessons.
Some call it parity. Others consider it bad football. No matter how it’s viewed, the NFL is providing plenty of close games, thrilling comebacks, big upsets and late-minute heroics. It keeps viewers entertained — or at least tuned in until the end. Five weeks in, 24 games have featured a winning score in the final two minutes of regulation or in overtime. That’s the most through Week 5 in league history. Seven teams did it last week, including Tampa Bay for the fourth time already this season. Six teams overcame double-digit deficits last week. Four of those teams trailed by 14 points or more.
ROME (AP) — When Zlatan Ibrahimovic walked into a Serie A locker room for the first time at age 22 and saw the likes of Alessandro Del Piero, David Trezeguet and Gianluigi Buffon staring at him he acknowledges that it felt like a “fantasy world.” The retired Sweden superstar credits the Italian league with shaping him into one of the world’s top strikers during an entertaining on-stage discussion at the European Football Clubs assembly. He says coach Fabio Capello taught him to demand respect and that if he started his career all over again today he would be a billionaire instead of a millionaire.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Cam Skattebo ran for three touchdowns as he and fellow rookie Jaxson Dart led the New York Giants to a 34-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Dart had a 20-yard touchdown run and a 35-yard passing TD to Wan’Dale Robinson. The Giants, now 2-4, also sacked Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts three times. Hurts threw his first interception of the season, contributing to the Eagles' second consecutive loss.
CHICAGO (AP) — With one big swing, Ian Happ sent a charge through an electric crowd of 41,770 at Wrigley Field. After a rough start to the playoffs, it was a pretty sweet moment for the longest-tenured player with the Chicago Cubs. Happ connected for a three-run homer in the first inning, sending Chicago to a 6-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers that pushed their NL Division Series to a decisive Game 5. Nico Hoerner singled and Kyle Tucker walked ahead of Happ’s two-out drive to right on a 1-1 fastball from Freddy Peralta. Chicago became the first team in major league history with a first-inning homer in four straight games during one postseason.
A Lions-Chiefs matchup was considered a potential Super Bowl preview when the schedule came out. It still could be considering the state of the AFC. Jared Goff leads a dynamic Lions offense against Patrick Mahomes and the inconsistent Chiefs on Sunday night in Kansas City in one of the biggest games in Week 6. Detroit rebounded from a lopsided loss to Green Bay in Week 1 to win four in a row. The Chiefs were on the right track with two straight wins after opening 0-2 but gave up a final-minute score to lose to Jacksonville on Monday night.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — LeBron James will miss opening night of his record 23rd NBA season due to sciatica that will be re-evaluated in three to four weeks. The Los Angeles Lakers announced James' condition on Thursday. The 40-year-old superstar will be sidelined at least until the end of October. Sciatica is pain originating in the nerves running from the buttocks and down the legs. James has the issue on his right side. James has yet to participate in a full practice since the Lakers opened training camp. An hour later, the Lakers announced James is likely to miss at least their first five or six games, and possibly several more.
Bill Belichick's first season at North Carolina has run into problems both on and off the field. The Tar Heels are 2-3 but have lost in lopsided fashion in all three of their games against power-conference opponents. UNC announced the suspension of an assistant coach for rules violations on Thursday. The school said it is also investigating further into more potential concerns. UNC is off this week and next plays at California on Oct. 17. Belichick issued a terse statement late Wednesday saying he was “fully committed” to building the UNC program.
PHOENIX (AP) — The Las Vegas Aces are in position to make short work of the WNBA’s expanded playoff schedule. A’ja Wilson’s turnaround jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining lifted the Aces over the Phoenix Mercury for a thrilling 90-88 win on Wednesday night. It also gave Las Vegas a 3-0 lead in the first best-of-seven WNBA Finals in league history. The Aces would already be celebrating their third championship in four seasons in the previous best-of-five format. In 2025, there’s more work to do. Game 4 is on Friday night in Phoenix.
Finals
NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final L.A. Dodgers 2 Philadelphia 1
Final Chicago Cubs 6 Milwaukee 0
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Final N-Y Giants 34 Philadelphia 17