Title holder Paris Saint-Germain roared to victory in the Champions League by beating Atalanta 4-0. Liverpool found yet another late winning goal in its stunning start to the season. Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk soared to score with a header in stoppage time of a 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid at Anfield. It seemed Liverpool was going to waste a two-goal lead seized after just six minutes. Bayern Munich held off Chelsea 3-1 and Inter Milan beat Ajax 2-0. Newcomers Bodo/Glimt and Pafos impressed with hard-earned draws on the road at, respectively, Slavia Prague and Olympiakos.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Chicago Cubs clinch their first postseason berth since 2020 with an 8-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday. They celebrated in the clubhouse for the first time since winning the NL Central in 2017. The coronavirus pandemic limited celebrations in 2020 and they held off in 2018, hoping to win the division but finished second to the Brewers.
The NFL introduced the so-called dynamic kickoff last year, limiting how far the coverage team has to run and establishing a landing zone inside the 20-yard line. This year, touchbacks on kicks that reach the end zone on the fly put the ball on the 35 instead of the 30. Now there’s a big incentive for kickers to land the ball between the 20 and the goal line, and that’s altered the nature of the job. Although distance isn’t a priority anymore for kickers, they do have a chance to show off their creativity trying to create tricky bounces for returners.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a concussion. Coach Aaron Glenn announced the decision Wednesday. Fields remains in the concussion protocol after being injured in the Jets' loss to Buffalo last Sunday. He fell backward when he was sacked by Joey Bosa and the back of his helmet hit off the turf. Tyrod Taylor will start in Fields' place. The 36-year-old Taylor last started for the Giants in 2023. He missed the Jets’ preseason games due to a knee injury. Glenn isn't concerned about Taylor being behind in any way. Taylor has 58 career NFL starts.
Björn Borg starts his new memoir, “Heartbeats,” with a story about being rushed to a Dutch hospital in the 1990s after overdosing on alcohol and drugs, and the Swedish tennis great closes it by revealing that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He said in a recent video interview with The Associated Press that he quit tennis at age 25 because he realized he no longer cared whether he won or lost. The 69-year-old Borg's 292-page book will be released in the United States on Sept. 23. It contains revelations about his love life, various adventures and regrets, and the 11-time Grand Slam champion’s detailed recollections of particular matches.
Barcelona must cope without superstar winger Lamine Yamal for a trip to Newcastle in the Champions League and there’s a sooner-than-expected return to Manchester City for Kevin De Bruyne. The final batch of matches from the first round of the league stage on Thursday also sees tournament newcomer Kairat from Almaty in Kazakhstan visit Sporting Lisbon after a trek across three time zones and more than 6,500 kilometers (4,000 miles). Some star power will be missing at St. James’ Park because the 18-year-old Yamal will not appear for Barca because of an injury the team says the Spain winger sustained on international duty last week. De Bruyne will play for Napoli at Etihad Stadium four months after making an emotional farewell to City following a 10-year stint.
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels will not practice earlier than Friday while recovering from an injured knee. Commanders coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday that Daniels went through a rehabilitation session and threw on the field but would not take part in that day’s work with teammates. The Commanders host the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. Last season’s AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year was hurt in the fourth quarter of Washington’s 27-18 loss at the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.
NEW YORK (AP) — It’s fitting that many of the opening round playoff series are going the distance after the balanced regular season the WNBA had. They’ll be three decisive Game 3s over the next two days. That’s the first time that’s happened since 2015. Last season all four opening round series were sweeps. The WNBA changed its playoff format this season giving each team at least one home game in the opening round which probably has helped. In the past few years, the better seeded team would have the first two games at home. Indiana and Seattle evened up their series on their homecourt Tuesday night and Golden State came within a point of beating No. 1 Minnesota to make it 4-for-4 on series going the distance.
NEW YORK (AP) — After much speculation about her condition, Breanna Stewart was on the court Wednesday night for the Liberty’s lopsided 86-60 loss to the Phoenix Mercury in Game 2 of their first round series. But it didn’t look promising. Stewart finished with six points, two rebounds and two assists in her first game since spraining the MCL in her left knee the series’ opening game Sunday. Wednesday’s performance was a far cry from the 18 points and six rebounds she had in that Game 1 victory.
TOKYO (AP) — Former world sprint champion Fred Kerley has become the first track athlete to join the no-drug-testing Enhanced Games. Kerley is serving a ban for missed doping tests and is not at the world championships in Tokyo. His lawyers have said he's looking to contest the so-called whereabouts failures that led to his suspension. The Enhanced Games is set to debut next May in Las Vegas. Track, swimming and weightlifting contests are offering $500,000 in prize money for each event.