Lane Kiffin was wildly booed long before he arrived at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for the LSU-Ole Miss game. Kiffin appeared remotely on ESPN’s “College GameDay,” and Mississippi fans still angry about how he left Oxford for Baton Rouge late last season greeted him with a chorus of expletive-laced chants. It was a clear sign of what Kiffin and the Tigers should expect when they play at Ole Miss later Saturday. Kiffin says: “I really appreciate you guys gaslighting them with this." It was the latest in a growing buildup for the first top-10 matchup between No. 7 LSU and eight-ranked Ole Miss since 1962.
HOUSTON (AP) — The Atlanta Braves are back in the playoffs after missing out last season. The first-place Braves beat the Houston Astros 6-2 to punch their ticket to the postseason for the eighth time in nine years. They clinched at least a National League wild card and reduced their magic number to three for winning the NL East. Michael Harris II, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson each hit a two-run homer for the Braves. Atlanta is trying to hold off the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL East title and could wrap up the division crown as soon as Sunday. Atlanta’s win Friday night coupled with Philadelphia’s 6-3 loss to the Mets gave the Braves a five-game lead over the Phillies with eight to play.
Arsenal slumped to a first loss of its Premier League title defense and it was a heavy one at Brighton. The champions' 3-0 defeat at Amex Stadium came somewhat out of nowhere after four straight wins. Conceding the third goal from a corner — typically an area of strength for Arsenal — summed up an unusually sloppy performance from Mikel Arteta’s team. Pascal Gross and Charalampos Kostoulas scored in the first half with shots from outside the penalty area, before Chema Andres completed the win with a header at the back post from Gross’ corner. Big-spending Tottenham is still without a win this season after losing 3-2 against Aston Villa. Newcastle and Everton also won.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Darian Mensah connected on his first 24 passes on the way to setting Atlantic Coast Conference records for consecutive completions, and fifth-ranked Miami’s defense came up with four straight fourth-quarter stops to beat Wake Forest 33-20 on Friday night. Mensah completed 30 of 34 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns. He helped the Hurricanes take a 31-7 lead midway through the third quarter. The defense stepped up when the offense slowed, including a late interception. Gio Lopez threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns to lead Wake Forest.
NAGOYA, Japan (AP) — The opening ceremony of the Asian Games has marked the official start of the 16-day event. But Saturday's official opening was not really the beginning. Facing a packed schedule, competition in basketball started on September 10. The semifinals in men’s basketball were on Friday. Soccer has been going on for almost as long. The Summer Olympics typically start a few days early, but this multi-sport event pushes the envelope. The Asian Games feature at least 11,000 athletes. The 2024 Summer Olympics had 10,700. The last Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in 2023 had about 12,000 athletes and this could match it.
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — J’Koby Williams and Cameron Dickey ran for second-half touchdowns and defending Big 12 champion No. 13 Texas Tech held on for a 28-26 win when Houston quarterback Conner Weigman came up just short of a 2-point conversion in the final minute. Weigman’s third TD pass, a 10-yarder to Patrick Overmyer with 49 seconds left, gave the 2-1 Cougars a chance to tie in the conference opener for both teams Friday night. On the try for 2, Weigman took off to the left and lunged forward with the ball extended, though his knee came down before the ball broke the plane of the end zone. Will Hammond was 17-of-27 passing for 257 yards and a touchdown for the 3-0 Red Raiders.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Aaron Donald expects to play for the Los Angeles Rams in their home opener against the New York Giants on Monday night. Donald, a three-time Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year and eight-time All-Pro defensive lineman, had been out of football for the previous two seasons before ending his retirement in August. He did not travel with the Rams for their season opener in Melbourne, Australia, and instead remained in Southern California to continue preparations.
Alexander Zverev gives Germany a 1-0 lead over Croatia in the last qualifying round for the Davis Cup Final 8 by beating Matej Dodig 6-4, 7-6 (3). It was Zverev’s first match since winning the U.S. Open last weekend. That came after the 29-year-old Zverev won his first Grand Slam title at the French Open in June. The second-ranked Zverev had 15 aces and dominated on the indoor hardcourt in Halle, Germany, with Dodig having no break-point chances. American pair Christian Harrison and Austin Krajicek made it 2-1 against the Czech Republic after winning in doubles. Shelton will have a chance to seal the series in Prague if he can beat Jakub Mensik a day after he lost to Jiri Lehecka and allowed the Czechs level the score at 1-1.
TORONTO (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell walked into a postgame celebration without realizing she was the guest of honor. Mitchell scored 33 points to set a WNBA season scoring record in Friday’s 103-85 win over the Toronto Tempo. With a 3-pointer in the third quarter, Mitchell eclipsed the 1,021 points A’ja Wilson scored for Las Vegas in 2024. Mitchell has scored 1,034 points this season. Mitchell also scored at least 20 points for the 25th consecutive game, extending her WNBA record. She shot 12 for 17 and went 7 for 11 from 3-point range.
PHOENIX (AP) — Three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge will miss most or all of the rest of the regular season after the New York Yankees announced they are placing him on the 10-day injured list because of a right calf strain. New York said it will make the roster move on Saturday. The placement could be backdated to Thursday, meaning it is possible Judge could return for New York’s regular-season finale on Sept. 27. Judge was removed for a pinch hitter in the sixth inning Wednesday during a game against the Minnesota Twins because of the discomfort in his leg
Finals
INTERLEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 8 Kansas City 5
Final Milwaukee 6 Baltimore 5
Final Atlanta 6 Houston 2
Final Seattle 5 Colorado 4
Final N.Y. Yankees 9 Arizona 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Cleveland 5 Athletics 3
Final Boston 4 Tampa Bay 2
Final Detroit 11 Chicago White Sox 8
Final Texas 7 Toronto 1
Final Minnesota 3 L.A. Angels 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Cincinnati 6 Chicago Cubs 4
Final N.Y. Mets 6 Philadelphia 3
Final Washington 9 St. Louis 1
Final San Diego 8 Miami 2
Final L.A. Dodgers 8 San Francisco 2
TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Final (13)Texas Tech 28 (22)Houston 26
Final (5)Miami 33 Wake Forest 20