The early standouts have emerged. But even the best teams have flaws that can be exposed by their opponents

Who would have thought the 49ers would be here after a rough old offseason? Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s participation in training camp was limited due to a serious car crash, team owner Jed York’s visit to an Ohio trailer park did not end well, and one player after another endured serious injuries. Despite all this, San Francisco are full of positive vibes. They are top of a tough division and their immense defense, led by the intensity of players such as safety Malik Mustapha and Fred Warner, is complemented by an equally impressive offense.

• Title is club’s first-ever since 2023 founding

• St Louis clubs have won 11 Open Cups all-time

• Daniel Edelman nets winner in 5-4 win on penalties

For much of the 20th century, winning the US Open Cup required a team to beat someone from St Louis. The Gateway City was home to many of the nation’s best teams during some ramshackle eras of soccer in the United States, with six different clubs combining for 10 trophy lifts. The most recent came in 1988, when St Louis Busch Seniors beat San Francisco-based Greek-American AC in the last throes of a tournament history dominated by amateur and semi-pro teams. MLS has won every Open Cup but one since starting play in 1996, and St Louis didn’t have an MLS club until 2023.

From the beginning, club figures spoke of aims to restore the city to soccer prominence. Well, mission accomplished. St Louis City are US Open Cup champions, outlasting the Columbus Crew 5-4 on penalties away from home to end the city’s 38-year wait for a major US soccer title and earn a place in the field for the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup.

• Edwards hits nine threes in 45-point explosion

• Antetokounmpo scores 35 in first game with Heat

• Minnesota rout Miami 131-106 in season opener

Anthony Edwards scored 45 points as he and the Minnesota Timberwolves spoiled Giannis Antetokounmpo’s debut with the Miami Heat in an emphatic 131-106 season-opening win on Wednesday night.

Edwards became just the third player in NBA history to record multiple 40-point games in season openers, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.

• Defensive end played for Chiefs for eight seasons

• Andy Reid says player’s death ‘makes you sick’

Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid have spoken of their sadness after former Kansas City Chief Allen Bailey died at the age of 37.

The defensive end was found dead at his home in Florida on Tuesday by his wife. He is believed to have died from natural causes.

• Tournament coming to the US for the first time

• Rose says tournament is a huge opportunity

World Rugby has appointed Megan Rose, an American tennis pro turned United States Tennis Association (USTA) executive, as managing director of the 2031 men’s Rugby World Cup, a key appointment as the governing body prepares to host what is by some measures the third-biggest global sporting event on American soil for the first time.

Rose said: “Rugby World Cup is one of the iconic events in global sport, defined by unforgettable moments on the pitch and the passion of fans around the world. To be entrusted with bringing Men’s Rugby World Cup to the United States for the first time is an extraordinary honour, and I’m thrilled to join this team.”

With You Can See Everything, Holmes joins other such high-profile subjects as Lance Armstrong, Imelda Marcos and Anthony Weiner to allow film-makers to document their lives. But do they ever come out well?

In You Can See Everything, convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes invites film-makers Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim into her home in a supposed act of “radical transparency”. Holmes is filmed, along with her partner, Billy Evans, and their two young children, in the weeks before starting a prison sentence for defrauding Theranos investors. “The best way for people to see who she is,” Evans says, “is to give as much access as possible into our daily lives”. It may also be the best way to market “Theranos 2.0”, which the couple are working on during filming. But the documentary questions whether Holmes is presenting her authentic self or a manufactured persona. Fielder speaks for the audience when he asks Holmes in a tense exchange whether she’s “being real” with him. “I’m always being real,” she says.

That question of authenticity is at the heart of documentary film-making. You Can See Everything is as much about the ambiguous relationship between film-maker and subject as it is about Holmes herself. There is often a power struggle over narrative control in documentaries, with both sides of the dynamic wanting different outcomes from the final film. Watching You Can See Everything inevitably prompts the question: why would Holmes, days before she heads to jail, invite the scrutiny of a film crew?

• Player fetched firearm after altercation with JC Latham

• Tennessee released defensive tackle on Tuesday

• Robert Saleh calls situation ‘lapse in judgement’

Tennessee Titans coach Robert Saleh confirmed on Wednesday that defensive tackle Jordan Elliott was released after pulling a gun in the parking lot of the team facility but said it was a “terrible lapse in judgment that I recognize as a call for help more than a criminal act”.

The Titans had announced Tuesday that Elliott was released, but said only that it came after his involvement in an unspecified incident at the team’s facility five days earlier.

As women’s sprinting enters a golden era in the run-up to LA 2028, controversy surrounding a top coach threatens to overshadow the sport’s biggest stars

When Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas came second at the recent track and field World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, she tried her best to be diplomatic: “I am an equal-opportunity doping hater,” she said. “If you are actively doping in sport, I do take issue with that. I’m not saying any names, no names are mentioned. But if you look at yourself and you think that’s what you’re doing, then so be it.”

Thomas then went out of her way to congratulate her compatriot Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who finished ahead of her that day, aware of the territory into which she was straying.

The duo have carved out lucrative and successful careers as TV audiences elsewhere are falling. It seems they won’t be together for much longer

Troy Aikman knew when it was time to go. His aching body made the decision for him when he ended his NFL career in 2001. A quarter of a century later, with one of the top quarterbacks of the 1990s established as half of the pre-eminent broadcasting duo in American sports, his potential exit from the booth is not so clearcut.

Aikman clearly feels his voice remains in fine working order, but his bosses at ESPN may not agree. The color commentator’s Monday Night Football play-by-play partner, Joe Buck, is reported to have agreed a new deal with the network worth $108m over six seasons (his previous deal was for five years at $15m a season), yet Aikman has claimed ESPN does not want to renew his contract.

• James makes winning Sixers debut as Knicks fall

• Gilgeous-Alexander scores 32 as Thunder beat Spurs

• Pistons erase 22-point deficit to stun Celtics

The Philadelphia 76ers sent an opening-night message that they intend to challenge the New York Knicks for the NBA title after adding LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, rallying for a 106-100 victory.

Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points and Brown had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in his first game since being acquired from Boston. James began his NBA-record 24th season with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

• League consulted with Eagles doctors over treatment

• Hurts played in London after initial clot diagnosis

• Quarterback expected to miss rest of NFL season

The Philadelphia Eagles will not face disciplinary action over their handling of quarterback Jalen Hurts’ blood clots, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because conversations between the league and the team were to remain private.

• Result is largest margin at any age level of a World Cup

• DiMaria is first to score six at Fifa finals since Haaland

• Tournament is in year two of expanded 24-team field

The United States began their U-17 Women’s World Cup campaign on Monday with a record-setting 17-0 win over Samoa the biggest win at any age level in World Cup history.

The result surpassed the previous record for margin at an 11-a-side World Cup, a 16-0 win by Morocco against New Caledonia in the 2025 U-17 men’s World Cup. Ten players scored for the US, and forward Maddie DiMaria led with six goals in Salé, Morocco.

The Eagles quarterback’s recent health issues highlight how football’s toughness culture puts its players at risk

Jalen Hurts is likely to miss the rest of the NFL season after an ultrasound revealed blood clots in his lungs. Thankfully, he’s now restricted from playing for the immediate future, meaning he won’t be risking serious complications – or even his life – as he did when he played in the Philadelphia Eagles’ Week 5 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.

The quarterback complained to the Eagles’ medical staff of calf pain on 8 October, according to ESPN. The Eagles say Hurts flew to London with the rest of the team and, out of an “abundance of caution”, was given an ultrasound. The test found a superficial clot in his calf. Doing an ultrasound before the flight would’ve been the most prudent thing. The same for making him inactive after the clot was found. But instead, he played in the game on 11 October, as the medical staff and doctors in London agreed “that activity and mobility were important”. Hurts also practiced all last week before a follow-up ultrasound also found clots in his lungs.

The veteran is adjusting to living in Melbourne and playing in the NBL after 12 years spent on the North American basketball rollercoaster

Basketballer Joe Ingles appears as the archetype of the Australian larrikin. There is one box, however, he no longer ticks. The 39-year-old gave up alcohol in 2022 after suffering a serious knee injury, and he has now gone more than 1,500 days without drinking.

“Stopping – that part of it – during rehab was very easy,” he says from Melbourne, after moving back to the NBL following 12 seasons in the NBA. At that point, it was just one aspect of aiding his recovery. Like staying healthy and avoiding junk food.

Our writers give their verdicts on the new season, which tips off Tuesday. Who will claim the title? And which youngster will make the superstar leap?

Seeing all the fruits borne of an incredible summer of player movement. It feels like three years ago that Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to the Heat, because since then, Jaylen Brown and LeBron James went to the 76ers, and a ton of other deck chairs were reshuffled. This is the most intriguing NBA opening week in eons. Claire de Lune

• Washington Commanders 17–23 San Francisco 49ers

• Niners move to 6-0 but are pushed hard by Washington

Brock Purdy threw a touchdown pass, Christian McCaffrey ran for two scores and the San Francisco 49ers held on to beat the Washington Commanders 23-17 on Monday night for their sixth straight win to open the season.

The Niners followed up an emotional win last week at division rival Seattle by building a 20-point lead and holding off the Commanders (1-4-1) with two late defensive stops.

• Tampa Bay beat Guardians to seal ALCS in six games

• 7-3 Game 6 win set up by strong Freddy Peralta start

Freddy Peralta threw 5.1 gritty innings, Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz each hit a two-run homer and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night to advance to the World Series for the third time in the franchise’s 29 seasons.

The Rays will face the Milwaukee Brewers who, like Tampa Bay, are seeking to win their first-ever World Series. A sellout crowd of 40,230 fans waved yellow-and-blue rally towels, rang cowbells and chanted “Let’s go Rays!” throughout the night at Tropicana Field, which needed major renovations after Hurricane Milton shredded the roof two years ago and caused extensive damage throughout the stadium.

How will the Commanders and 49ers fare today? Here is what to know, including kick-off time, TV channels and live stream options

The Commanders’ first task on Monday night against the 49ers will be to keep track of the clock. A week after frittering away a simple game-winning field goal opportunity in overtime against the Giants, Washington’s reward is a trip out west on Monday Night Football to face one of the best teams in the NFL. The 1-3-1 Commanders entered the week with the second-worst point differential in the NFC at minus-34, and it’ll take a herculean road effort for them to avoid falling out of the mix in the mediocre East.

The Niners, meanwhile, are on Easy Street. Their 5-0 start has afforded them a shocking degree of cushion in an NFC West that was expected to be the best division in football but so far looks like San Francisco and everyone else. The defending champion Seahawks and MVP Matthew Stafford’s Rams each dropped three games in the season’s first six weeks. Those included a pair of losses to Kyle Shanahan’s team, meaning the Niners have not just a huge advantage in the loss column but (for now) a head-to-head tiebreaker as well. San Fran could hardly have enjoyed a dreamier start.

• Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse crimes came to light 10 years ago

• Survivors gather at world championships to call for reform

The judge who sentenced the former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar to up to 175 years in jail in 2018 for the sexual abuse of more than 250 women and girls has condemned the lack of meaningful change in the decade since Nassar’s crimes were exposed.

With the World Gymnastics Championships taking place here this week, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said human rights must be prioritised over the desire for sporting success.

• 28-year-old set to miss season after diagnosis

• Tanner McKee has taken over as Eagles starter

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is set to miss the rest of the season after further testing ⁠revealed blood clots had traveled from his leg to his lungs, the team announced on Monday.

Hurts’s condition is considered stable and ⁠he “has no significant ⁠functional limitations,” ​the team said. His treatment for a new diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary ⁠emboli will involve blood thinners, during which time he is unable to participate in contact activities.

US military says Tech Sgt Ian Patterson was killed after he fell from rafters at University of Texas at San Antonio game

The US military has identified the air force service member who died after he fell from the rafters of the Alamodome during a rappelling demonstration before the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA)’s home game against Navy on Saturday.

He was Tech Sgt Ian Patterson, a tactical air control party instructor assigned to the sixth combat training squadron, detachment two, at Joint Base San Antonio.

Los Angeles were tipped as a Super Bowl contender after assembling a star studded lineup. Now they’ve lost three of their last four games

The Rams were supposed to be the closest thing the NFL had seen to a superteam in some time. Instead, they’re 2-4, have lost three of their last four games and are last in the NFC West. So much has gone awry, so quickly.

Sunday was rock bottom (for now). The Rams lost to the division’s ugly stepchild, the Cardinals – a team they had beaten in 16 of their last 19 meetings – on a day when Arizona didn’t manage to score a touchdown. They didn’t need to, because Arizona kicker Chad Ryland connected on six field goal attempts, the last one a 43-yarder as time expired. The game was a tale of two kickers, in that the Cardinals had a superb one and the Rams didn’t have one at all. Days after releasing Harrison Mevis following a league-worst four misses in the season’s first five weeks, the Rams came into this game with Blake Grupe, whom they’d plucked off the Jets practice squad. Grupe got hurt covering a kickoff return in the first quarter, leaving the Rams literally kickerless for the duration. (Mevis, a big fella whose nickname is the Thick Kicker, or “Thiccer,” has about 80lbs on the 5ft 7in Grupe.)

A goal against PSG is proof on the scoresheet of what can be seen on the teamsheet: at long last, Reyna is getting consistent minutes

For an entire four-year cycle, to write about Gio Reyna was to write about his potential – especially the nagging feeling that it was going unfulfilled. Once hyped as possibly the greatest prospect in US men’s history, a series of injuries kept him from simply taking the field, much less making his mark on it.

Since his emergent 2020-21 season, when he logged nearly 2,000 Bundesliga minutes running alongside Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, and Jadon Sancho, Reyna finished each of the ensuing five seasons without even cresting 630 league minutes. “Rotational” became a generous descriptor for his role at Nottingham Forest on loan, and then last season with Borussia Mönchengladbach. Still, Gregg Berhalter and Mauricio Pochettino kept involving Reyna with the US squad based on that pesky potential – betting that, on his day, he still had the raw talent to do what few compatriots could.

The reunion between one of the best players of his generation and the team he helped make an NBA champion is an opportunity to change narratives

When Kawhi Leonard became a Toronto Raptor for the first time in the summer of 2018, he looked shellshocked. “There’s just more questions you have to ask me in order for me to tell you about myself,” he said, introducing himself to an organization and city he reportedly had no interest in joining.

Leonard had fallen out with his former team, the San Antonio Spurs – one of the most respected franchises in professional sports – due to differences in opinion about an injury that had limited him to just nine games in the 2017-18 season. The Los Angeles native had hoped to end up in southern California, but instead the Raptors risked it all by swapping franchise cornerstone DeMar DeRozan for one year of an injured, malcontent Leonard. It worked: Leonard led the Raptors to their maiden championship on the back of a historic playoff run, averaging 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.7 steals en route. Leonard won his second finals MVP to go alongside the one he had claimed with the Spurs when he helped them to the title in 2014.

• Sacramento guard to undergo surgery and will miss entire season

• Former No 1 draft pick has been attempting to revive his career

Ben Simmons faces a monumental task to revive his NBA career after another devastating injury setback put his comeback attempt with the Sacramento Kings on hold. The Australian will undergo surgery after scans revealed he tore his right achilles tendon during a live drill at practice, just three days out from Sacramento’s season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The 30-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Kings in an attempt to revive his career, but will now miss the entire season. It is another massive setback for the three-time All-Star, after five years battling a series of significant injuries and mental health concerns.

• Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 Cleveland Guardians

• Rays lead best of seven series 3-2

• Drew Rasmussen shines over seven innings

Tampa Bay’s Jonny DeLuca figured it was going to be a quiet day for the outfielders with Drew Rasmussen on the mound for Game 5 of the AL Championship Series against the Cleveland Guardians.

With the way Rasmussen quieted the Guardians’ offense on Sunday, that made for a perfect evening.

• Injury-riddled Philadelphia fall to defeat

• Chicago hold off Atlanta comeback in QB’s return

• Cardinals beat Rams with final play of game

Bryce Young threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns to Tommy Tremble, and Chuba Hubbard ran for 120 yards and a score to lead the Carolina Panthers (3-2) past the injury-riddled Philadelphia Eagles (2-4). The Panthers had little trouble in the second half picking apart the Eagles, who were missing quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley. Hurts is on injured reserve and will miss at least four games with a blood clot in his calf. Tanner McKee started for Philadelphia and finished 26 of 45 for 215 yards and a touchdown.

How will the Dallas and Green Bay fare today? Here is what to know, including kick-off time, TV channels and live stream options

The Cowboys are trying to get off a treadmill on Sunday, having sequenced a loss, a win, a loss,a win, and then another loss through their first five games. Dallas’s magnetic attraction to staying within a game of .500 has so far not crushed them in the NFC East, where no team has more than three wins and the presumptive-favorite Eagles are floundering in the early season. It may well not take more than nine wins to claim the East this year, but the Cowboys have to start stacking them at some point.

Their task Sunday in Green Bay will be a tough one. The Packers have had substantial injury problems but looked rejuvenated in putting a 31-7 beating on the Bears last week. While Chicago playing backup QBs Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum might explain their low point total, the Green Bay offense looked like a revelation. Now the Pack get to face a Dallas defense that lost to a rookie QB 10 days ago and has yet to keep an opponent under 20 points. Can the Cowboys show some mettle on the road?

• Officer fell from rafters during pregame display

• Man treated on field before being taken to hospital

An Air Force officer has died after he fell from the rafters of the Alamodome before the University of Texas at San Antonio’s home game against Navy on Saturday.

The officer, who has not been named, was taking part in an event to celebrate UTSA’s Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans night. He fell on to the field while rappelling down from the stadium rafters. He was treated on the field before being taken away on a stretcher. He later died from his injuries at a local hospital. Nellis Air Force Base said he was part of the 6th Combat Training Squadron. The unit helps train military members to rappel down from helicopters.

• Texans beat Jaguars 34-31 in thriller at Wembley

• Week six: Seahawks 14-17 Broncos

Speaking to how good they are against the run, the Jaguars have gone 22 games without allowing a rusher to go for more than 75 yards. Good luck, Woody.

Texans 0-0 Jaguars 11:08, 1st quarter

• Di Guglielmo scores first NWSL goal in 1-0 victory

• Gotham denied chance to clinch NWSL Shield

• San Diego secure top-four seed as Angel City rally

Lucia Di Guglielmo scored her first National Women’s Soccer League goal and the Washington Spirit clinched a playoff spot with a 1-0 victory over Gotham FC on Saturday.

In other NWSL action, the San Diego Wave beat the North Carolina Courage 2-1, Angel City FC defeated the Denver Summit 3-2 and the Kansas City Current shut out the Utah Royals 2-0.

• Fundora lands decisive blow at 2:59 of final round

• Champion makes fourth successful title defense

• 6ft 5in fighter targets undisputed crown at 154lb

Sebastian Fundora kept his pursuit of an undisputed championship on track with a second to spare.

Fundora stopped Ermal Hadribeaj with a left hand at 2:59 of the 12th round on Saturday night at the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas to retain his WBC super welterweight title.

• Rays defeat Guardians 7-3 to level ALCS at 2-2

• Díaz seals victory with ninth-inning home run

• Tampa Bay and Cleveland meet again on Sunday

Jonathan Aranda’s single led to two runs in the seventh inning when the ball got by right fielder Chase DeLauter, Nick Martinez pitched five and one-third innings for his first postseason win and the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 on Saturday night to even the AL Championship Series at 2-2.

Game 5 of the best-of-seven matchup is Sunday in Cleveland before the series shifts back to St Petersburg, Florida, on Monday. There is no off day for travel after Friday’s game was postponed by rain.

• Alex McPherson’s 34-yard kick seals 27-24 upset

• Georgia lose two interceptions and late fumble

Alex McPherson kicked a game-winning 34-yard field goal as time expired and Auburn, led by quarterback Byrum Brown’s dominant running game, upset No 1 Georgia 27-24 on Saturday.

It was the second straight week the top team in the AP Top 25 lost to an unranked opponent after then-No 1 Texas fell to Oklahoma last Saturday. Auburn’s win meant the team ranked No 1 in the AP Top 25 lost in consecutive weeks for the first time since October 1990, according to Sportradar.

• Eagles star sidelined by blood clot in his calf

• Hurts sustained injury against Rams on 4 October

• Super Bowl MVP must miss at least four games

Quarterback Jalen Hurts was placed on injured reserve on Saturday, two days after the Philadelphia Eagles revealed he had a blood clot in his calf.

Hurts was initially ruled out on Thursday for the Eagles’ upcoming game against Carolina. The Eagles said at the time that Hurts had been injured when he took a cleat to his calf during their game against the Los Angeles Rams on 4 October.

As the WNBA finals kick off Saturday in San Francisco, the pro-LGBTQ+ sports fanbase push a message of inclusion in the face of anti-trans attacks

• Sign up for WNBA 30: a free women’s basketball newsletter

At Wilka’s Sports Bar in lower Manhattan, a crowd of mostly LGBTQ+ fans was fired up during a WNBA playoff game between the New York Liberty and the Atlanta Dream. When the Liberty’s Jonquel Jones blocked the Dream’s star forward Angel Reese at the basket, then chest-bumped her – leading teammates to separate them – the bar erupted in cheers. One fan quietly joked: “Now kiss!”

“I love strong women, and I love supporting strong women,” said August, a trans organizer and Liberty fan who asked to go by their first name for privacy reasons.

How will Brentford and Liverpool fare today? Here is what to know, including kick-off time, TV channels and live stream options

Brentford are flying high in the Premier League as one of just three teams still to suffer defeat this season, although Keith Andrews surely wants his team to convert some of their draws into wins.

Liverpool, on the other hand, return to league action after last weekend’s humbling home defeat to Manchester City. Andoni Iraola’s side responded by putting six goals past Lask in the Champions League, but the Reds are lacking balance.

Nicole Noren says ESPN sidelined investigations into sports betting companies as gambling partnerships reshaped the network’s priorities

Earlier this week, investigative journalist Nicole Noren did something almost impossible for someone who has spent her career behind the scenes.

She made herself the story.

The Brewers turned LA’s stars into ghosts during their four-game NLCS sweep, destroying the ‘team that destroyed baseball’ and revealing the sport’s hard truth

Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy had just watched his club dismantle Los Angeles for a fourth straight National League Championship Series game. Standing with his team in the Dodger Stadium clubhouse, he was ready to celebrate. But before popping his champagne and setting off a stream of celebratory suds, Murphy had a message.

“They got a bunch of Hall of Famers. We got a bunch of gamers.”

The mixed martial arts organization has had links to the US president for years. Now it could be involved in training federal agents

In the lead-up to UFC Freedom 250 – the cagefighting spectacle that took place on the South Lawn of the White House to mark Donald Trump’s 80th birthday this past summer – the FBI announced that a handful of UFC fighters would visit the bureau for an exclusive training seminar for federal agents.

Taking place at the FBI Special Agent Academy in Quantico, Virginia, the March seminar put roughly 300 federal agents and academy students through specialized hand-to-hand combat training with seven past and current UFC fighters, including former middleweight champion Chris Weidman, who was pictured giving attendees advice on warding off attackers.

• 21-year-old was treated on field after injury during game

• Coach pays tribute to player’s ‘quiet strength’

Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma announced on Thursday that sophomore safety Tyler Ulrich has died five days after sustaining what the school called a “traumatic injury” during a game against Ouachita Baptist. Ulrich was 21.

The Division II school based in Bethany, Oklahoma, did not reveal the cause of death or the nature of Ulrich’s injury. Ulrich was hurt during a 49-14 loss on Saturday, with the game delayed for nearly an hour while he received medical attention before being transported to a hospital.

• Seattle Seahawks 14-17 Denver Broncos (OT)

• Darnold intercepted twice late in game

• Denver move to 4-2 despite offensive struggles

Wil Lutz kicked a 53-yard field goal in overtime as the host Denver Broncos defeated the defending ⁠Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks 17-14 on Thursday night.

The result means the Broncos emerged from a tough six-week season-opening stretch with a 4-2 record despite an injury-riddled roster and a shaky offense. The 3-3 Seahawks, meanwhile, lost for the second time in five days. They also matched their loss total from last season, when they won their second Super Bowl title.

• NLCS Game 4: Brewers 6-4 Dodgers

• Defending champions swept out of playoffs

• Milwaukee roar back from four runs down

• Brewers will face Rays or Guardians in World Series

Jake Bauers started the Brewers’ comeback with a two-run double and Garrett Mitchell hit a go-ahead home run to deliver a 6-4 victory ⁠over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday and send Milwaukee to their first World Series appearance in 44 years.

Bauers added a bases-loaded walk to tie the game in the ⁠fifth inning as the Brewers ⁠rallied from an early ​four-run deficit to sweep the National League Championship Series in four games. The dominating performance came after Milwaukee were swept out of the NLCS by Los Angeles ⁠last season.

• Halpin’s first playoff homer puts Cleveland ahead

• Williams strikes out nine as Guardians win 3-2

• Cleveland bullpen retires 11 of final 12 Rays batters

Petey Halpin hit a go-ahead two-run homer, Gavin Williams struck out nine over five innings and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday to take a 2-1 lead.

Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Friday, though rain is forecast.

• Former QB says he is looking ‘for next landing spot’

• Aikman and Buck said to have argued over contracts

Longtime Monday Night Football announcer Troy Aikman said he is looking for his “next landing spot” with ⁠his ESPN contract set to expire after February’s Super Bowl.

“I’ll broadcast through this season, and I’ll be ⁠a free agent ⁠at ​the end of the year and kind of see what happens,” Aikman said in a radio interview ⁠with KTCK of Dallas on Thursday morning.

The lack of cohesion in the center of the park is evident for the US, with Emma Hayes continuing to try different combinations

The discourse around the US women’s national team may have been a harsh one if not for a fourth-half surge against Spain.

In the latest of their back-to-back bookings, where Emma Hayes’ team plays the same opponent twice, Spain looked far more confident and effective than the four-time champions. Both teams were missing a handful of crucial players; Naomi Girma and Sam Coffey headlining the US’s absentees, while Aitana Bonmatí, Mariona Caldentey and Clàudia Pina were among Spain’s.

With the season approaching its climax, we look at the players who have perfected the art of smack talking through the years

Today, even the most casual of WNBA fans have watched some of the league’s biggest stars talking trash on the court. But while the snarling convos look heated, most of the time, they are good-natured, competitive fun.

Still, we wondered, who are the best trash talkers in the game? Which players over the years have turned talking smack into an art form? Let’s explore.

• Milwaukee rally past Los Angeles for 3-0 NLCS lead

• Bauers and Mitchell homer back-to-back off Blake Snell

• Defending champions face elimination on Thursday

Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell hit back-to-back home runs off Blake Snell to reclaim the lead in the seventh inning as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 on Wednesday night to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the National League Championship Series.

The Dodgers had just taken a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth before being stunned. The loss pushed the two-time defending World Series champions to the brink of elimination. They had trailed 3-0 in a best-of-seven postseason series only once previously in franchise history, when they were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1966 World Series.

Image of state flag incorporating KKK hoods was sent to other schools participating in regional tennis tournament

The University of Maryland (UMD) has indefinitely suspended its club tennis team after a graphic featuring Ku Klux Klan imagery was circulated to other universities before a regional tournament, prompting widespread condemnation.

The controversy erupted after Toni Rachal, president of Howard University’s club tennis team, spotted the offensive material in a shared Google document sent to participating schools before last weekend’s tournament, WUSA9 reported.

The protests around an anti-ICE T-shirt show that politics can never be separated from sports, especially now

On 26 September, Daniela Silva was expelled from Austin FC’s match with San Diego FC for wearing a T-shirt reading “Abolish ICE”. She says she was banned from Q2 Stadium for a year (Austin FC said that the ban was issued by the Austin Police Department, not the club, and that they offered to rescind it but that Silva declined).

This happened, really, truly, and you cannot make this up, during Austin FC’s Hispanic Heritage Night. It also happened six days after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents shot a Venezuelan delivery driver, 28-year-old Wilber Garcés Pérez, in the torso in Austin, sparking protests in the city.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is the author of The Long Game: US Men’s Soccer and Its Savage, Four-Decade Journey to the Top, or Thereabouts, which is out now. He teaches at Marist University.