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AL Wild Card GDT: Let them fight!
'This is a meritocracy': Lakers open training camp with mandate of competition
Walker Kessler wasn’t focused on the stats. He wasn’t really counting the number of shots he swatted — “one or two” — or lobs he dunked — “like four probably” — in his official Lakers practice debut Tuesday.
The only thing the star center cared about was the competition on the court. He and his teammates delivered on that, Kessler said with a smile.
The Lakers opened training camp Tuesday with a focus on competition as the new-look team takes shape. Six of the team’s top nine players from last season are gone. A month’s worth of practices and five preseason games are the stage as players audition to fill the vacant roles.
“This is a meritocracy,” coach JJ Redick said. “You got to earn your minutes, and you cheer for your teammates while you’re doing it.”
Redick can confidently lock in three starters in Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Kessler. The other two starting positions, and even the last spots on the roster as the Lakers need to trim at least one player to reach the NBA-maximum of 15 guaranteed contracts by the Oct. 21 season opener, remain up for grabs.
That’s how players prefer things.
Read more:Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves ready to take charge of new-look Lakers
“Everybody has something to prove,” forward Sandro Mamukelashvili said at media day Monday. “Everybody’s very excited for the season. The guys are hard workers.”
Mamukelashvili, praised for his versatility and ability to be what Redick called “a connector” on offense, is in the mix for the starting power forward position along with Jake LaRavia, Jarred Vanderbilt and Ziaire Williams. The stiffest competition comes on the wing, where the Lakers lauded their depth between offseason additions Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Matisse Thybulle and Williams, rookie Cameron Carr and progressing second-year forward Adou Thiero.
Redick said he has tried to give players clearly defined roles for them to earn minutes, and the depth of the wing group makes for a minuscule difference between fulfilling those requirements to stay on the court and falling short and sitting on the bench. After one day, Redick proudly reported the group “understood the assignment.”
“That was exciting,” Redick said. “They set the tone for us defensively. There was a lot of physicality, a lot of grabbing and holding, a lot of disruption without gambling.”
After general manager Rob Pelinka reset the roster to match the timelines for the 27-year-old Doncic and 28-year-old Reaves, the group of almost all 20-somethings was eager and receptive to the first day of camp, Redick said. Players who were not participating in live play still peppered coaches with questions.
Redick, entering his third season as a head coach, relished the buy-in and interest from the young team.
Read more:How a healthy and motivated Walker Kessler could transform the Lakers' defense
“In terms of myself, the teaching part of it was something that I’ve maybe grown a little bit since like the very first practice I coached two years ago,” Redick said. “It’s a little different now.”
Last season, the Lakers relied on vocal veteran leaders such as LeBron James, 41, and Marcus Smart, 32. Now they have just one player in his 30s: That’s 30-year-old Kevon Looney, who smiled at the thought that he is suddenly the elder statesman of the team.
While Redick has emphasized the importance of Doncic and Reaves growing into larger leadership roles, Redick still set the tone from the coaching staff for the first day of practice.
“In film, I was ready to go fight somebody or something,” Kessler said, raising his fists with a smile. “He’s such a good motivator. He’s incredible. He’s really incredible. Having someone that’s done it for 15 years playing and now three years coaching, it’s easy to see why he’s so successful.”
Beyer retires
Lakers assistant coach Bob Beyer retired this offseason, Redick confirmed Tuesday. The longtime assistant was a key part of Redick’s coaching staff when the first-time head coach was hired. Redick played for five seasons under Beyer in Orlando and then again in New Orleans.
“He’s, like, someone I explicitly trust and believe in,” Redick said. “He’s an incredible teacher. He was an incredible mentor for a lot of our young coaches and an incredible example.”
JJ Redick on assistant coach Bob Beyer's retirement this offseason: "He's an incredible teacher. He was an incredible mentor for a lot of our young coaches and an incredible example." pic.twitter.com/De2pFaXyrl
— Thuc Nhi Nguyen (@thucnhi21) September 29, 2026
While the retirement took Redick by surprise because Beyer shared the news late in the offseason, Redick said he understood the reasons. The 64-year-old Beyer joked he was “basically retired” by the time Redick called with the Lakers’ job in 2024. Two seasons later, he was ready to retire for good.
“He’s a legend,” Redick said. “We all love him. We’re so appreciative of everything you did for us.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Atlantic Division watch: The Nets are still looking for a way out
Let’s get it Dub Nation. As training camp begins and the Golden State Warriors are getting back into the swing of things, I’m continuing my review of what the rest of the NBA has done, division by division.
We’re still in the Atlantic Division right now, and I’ve already covered the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors. Next up on the list is the Brooklyn Nets, fresh off of winning their third straight title with the super trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden.
Wait wait, you mean to tell me those three stars have been gone for hella long and the franchise is a wasteland that hasn’t won anything since Dr. J was playing? Whoaaa.
Last season the Warriors went 2-0 against Brooklyn. On December 29th at Barclays, Golden State won 120-107. The rematch at Chase on March 25 was tighter, 109-106, and the leading scorer was Gui Santos with a career-high 31. Santos detonating on Brooklyn was a pretty clear indicator of how badly the non-Knicks New York team was spiraling.
These guys eventually collapsed to a 20-62 finish as their season mercifully ended. Brooklyn walked into the summer trying to figure out a new identity, which can be an exciting thing! But perpetual rebuild mode is enough to break the hearts of even the most hardened fanbase. I wonder if the Nets are ready to play an inspired brand of basketball that would keep all of their supporters from burning their jerseys and bandwagoning the champion orange and blue of their neighbors.
Nicolas Claxton left for Chicago, Ziaire Williams went to the Lakers, and the draft brought in Mikel Brown Jr., Joshua Jefferson and Tyler Bilodeau. Also, financial freedom! Isn’t that what everybody wants if you’re not winning championships?? Per Nets Daily:
Who can forget flexibility!?! To recap, Brooklyn still has $4.9 million in cap space, the $9.4 million room exception, the full $8.5 million in cash considerations plus 32 draft picks. You know the math … or should by now! 13 firsts, 10 of which can be traded, and 19 seconds, all of which can be traded. And at the moment, no Nets player has a contract that extends beyond 2027-28.
And then they traded for Julius Randle.
CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn was confused too:
Brooklyn’s front office probably faces the biggest disparity between perception and reality of any in basketball. The prevailing narrative surrounding the Nets is that they’ve been poorly run and their outlook is bleak. True, they haven’t yet found any truly foundational players, but they have a clean cap sheet and a six-pick first-round draft surplus (not including swaps, though in fairness they owe their 2027 swap to the Houston Rockets). The reality is that this is a pretty promising blank slate if you’re willing to take the long view.
The Julius Randle addition makes no sense. He’s an expensive floor-raiser in his 30s. The Nets don’t need their floor raised. They don’t control their own pick this year, so the relegation zone isn’t a concern. He overlaps positionally with Michael Porter Jr. (whom they have neither traded nor extended, strangely). He’ll take the ball out of the hands of their many young players who need it.
I gotta admit, I do enjoy seeing Michael Porter Jr. pull up with zero conscience and fire up shots from beyond the arc like a real flamethrower. It reminds me of Klay Thompson sometimes; except less accurate. I can see a world where certain nights MPJ and Randle thrive off inferior defenders and light up the scoreboard. I also am curious to see how the Nets win games if they aren’t both clicking. But is Porter Jr. really just trade bait for a potential contender?
Per Sports Illustrated, here’s MPJ’s thoughts on the topic: “I’ve voiced that I’d love to be in Brooklyn and that I’m enjoying playing with these guys. And I think we’ll be a lot better this year, obviously. … The way these young guys have gotten better just in one year, I’m excited to see what we can do. So that’s where my mind is at and I’m not even thinking about anything else.”
I’ve seen the Nets take two major swings at the title in the last dozen or so years. There was the time they assembled Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Deron Williams, and Joe Johnson for an aging superteam back in 2013. Then there was that KD-Kyrie-Harden trio that the pandemic and injuries washed away. To see this franchise struggling while their NY neighbors guzzle championship champagne shows just how close despair and success live.
I expect the Warriors to give these guys the business when they meet this season. And with how stacked their division is, it’s gonna be tough to make some noise. They’ve got the athletic Toronto Raptors, the chip-on-their-shoulder Boston Celtics, and the new and improved Philadelphia 76ers all staring down at them in the standings. And whenever Brooklyn needs a break from looking up at the division, it can glance across the East River and watch the Knicks hang a banner.
Have fun with that, Brooklyn.
Lakers roll with changes to kick off Luka Doncic era: ‘A great first day’
When the Lakers opened training camp with their first practice on Tuesday in El Segundo, there were a lot of new faces inside the building.
And many familiar faces were nowhere to be seen.
Gone were LeBron James, the league’s all-time leading scorer who spent eight seasons in Los Angeles before joining the 76ers.
Same with Rui Hachimura, who spent 3 ½ seasons with the Lakers before joining the Clippers, as well as Marcus Smart, Deandre Ayton, Luke Kennard and Jaxson Hayes, all of whom played important roles for the Lakers’ playoff series victory over the Rockets in the spring.
Enter nine new players on the Lakers’ roster and a lot of new possibilities as the franchise fully establishes itself in the Luka Doncic era.
Doncic lobs to marquee free-agent addition Walker Kessler? Check, with Kessler saying Doncic threw him around four lobs on Tuesday, quickly establishing a connection.
“It was great,” Doncic said. “We had a lot of fun, a lot of teaching points, and everybody I think felt that it was like it was a great first day.”
The beginning of a battle for two of the Lakers’ open starting spots? Check, with the team’s wings competing for minutes establishing the defensive physicality during the first practice.
“We went after it from Day 1,” Kessler said. “So it’s fantastic.”
Outside of the new faces, which included shakeups on coach JJ Redick’s staff after longtime assistant coach Bob Beyer’s retirement, the first practice of camp didn’t look much different than it did during Redick’s first two years as coach.
The installs and teaching for this portion of preseason will look the same, with Redick acknowledging his growth as a teacher, continuing to build off the small-group sessions players had in August and throughout September.
The excitement for what this new group can be is palpable.
“They are a very receptive group, eager group,” Redick said. “Even a couple of the guys that sat out a portion of the live play were constantly asking questions, and they want information. and they want to learn and they want to be better.”
And there’s also clear goals for camp ahead of the first preseason game against the Kings in Sacramento on Monday: establish their defensive principles, continue to establish their early offense (which was their main priority for all of September) and get in “great shape.”
“We’ve gotten terrific buy-in over the last several weeks,” Redick said, “and [Tuesday] was very additive to those three things.”
But with so many new faces in the building, it led to a key question: Are there ways to fast-track on-court chemistry so everyone’s in sync when the games start to count beginning with Opening Night against the Warriors in three weeks (Oct. 21)?
“That’s a hard question — I honestly don’t know,” Doncic said. “Some things [we’re] going to figure out quicker; some things are going to [be figured] out later. I feel like we had a great first practice. A lot of teaching points. It was a great practice.”
And for now, that’s all Tuesday needed to be.
With a lighter preseason schedule compared with the previous year (five exhibitions instead of six), the Lakers will have more time to work out the kinks that could come with such drastic roster turnover.
Their teamwide trip to Slovenia, which Doncic led, helped fast-track the players’ connections with each other.
And that connection, which was felt on Tuesday, already has most of them believing they can compete with not just the best teams in the Western Conference but throughout the NBA.
“No question — undoubtedly,” Kessler responded when asked whether the Lakers can be NBA title contenders. “We have a lot of great tools and a lot of versatility. The guys are already getting along. Connection makes championship teams, and we definitely could be a contender.”
Like Redick mentioned last week, no team is a championship-level team on Sept. 29.
And they likely won’t be on Sept. 30, either.
The journey to becoming a contender is an ongoing process that lasts from the early fall all the way through the following spring.
But the Lakers felt great about Tuesday being a step forward in that process.
Which is all that the first practice needed to provide.
What happened to Alex Bregman? Scary injury can't keep Cubs slugger from MLB playoffs
SAN DIEGO — Just nine days after suffering eight broken bones in his face, third baseman Alex Bregman was back in the Chicago Cubs' lineup Tuesday facing the San Diego Padres as the designated hitter for Game 1 of the National League wild card series.
Bregman, who began taking ground balls the past few days after suffering the injury Sept. 20 when a foul ball by teammate Michael Busch hit him in the face while standing near the on-deck circle, tried to convince Cubs manager Craig Counsell that he was good enough to play third base with the swelling in his face dramatically reduced.
Yet, Counsell said that Bregman’s bat is too valuable to take the risk of Bregman being back in the field.
“I played it safe, I'll be honest with you," Counsell said. “I just think this is a man seven days off of facial fractures, and I want his at-bat. I think his at-bats are the most critical thing for our team is that he gets his at-bats this series. That's what's most important.
“I feel like this is a better way to guarantee that he gets these at-bats. There's just more risk playing the field. Could it go fine? Yeah. Does he want to play the field? He does. This is just a safer way to go to make sure he gets all his at-bats."
Still, just the fact that Bregman is back in the lineup so quickly, his teammates say, is a huge boost for their morale, much less their lineup, where he’ll bat second.
“That fires you up,” Cubs MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong said. “Knowing him and how wonderfully crazy he is, just about his work and how much he loves the game, it’s not really surprising. Not to put a damper on how cool it is that he’s coming back after facial fractures and whatnot, I’m just not that surprised.
“He lives for this kind of baseball. Most importantly, I’m glad he’s healthy enough to do what he loves. …Simply put, Alex Bregman makes our lineup better. So, it’s huge that he’s getting himself game ready.”
Certainly, he proved in the Cubs’ season-finale that his bat is just fine, going 4-for-4 with two home runs.
“I’ll do whatever it takes,’’ said Bregman, who finished his first year with the Cubs hitting .265 with 28 homers, 93 RBI, and an .819 OPS in 155 games. He had a sensation second half, producing a 1.010 OPS compared to a .696 OPS before the All-Star break.
Now, he becomes the 11th player in MLB history to play in 10 consecutive postseasons with the advent of the wild-card.
“He's the man, to be honest,’’ Cubs reliever Jaco Webb said. “That's tough to do. That's really cool and shows the kind of character that he has going through such a crazy injury.
“I mean, you're putting your career on the line at that point, but he knows what he's doing. The biggest thing is he wants to be here. He wants to win."
Cubs starting lineup today: Game 1 vs Padres
- Pete Crow-Armstrong (L) CF
- Alex Bregman (R) DH
- Michael Busch (L) 1B
- Seiya Suzuki (R) RF
- Ian Happ (S) LF
- Nico Hoerner (R) 2B
- Pedro Ramírez (S) 3B
- Carson Kelly (R) C
- Dansby Swanson (R) SS
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What happened to Alex Bregman? Scary injury can't keep Cubs slugger from MLB playoffs
England can take vital lessons from worst defeats into Rugby World Cup, says Johnson
Former captain says losses can benefit team next year
Johnson refuses to comment on Henry Pollock hype
Martin Johnson believes England’s most painful defeats under Steve Borthwick can benefit them at the Rugby World Cup in Australia next year.
England endured some disastrous moments during the Six Nations this year, most notably the 42-21 defeat by Ireland at Twickenham, and finished the tournament with a solitary win against Wales. Summer Nations Championship fixtures began with an away defeat by the world champions, South Africa, before victories against Fiji and Argentina.
Continue reading...Canucks CHL Prospects Roundup: September 2026
With the Vancouver Canucks making their training camp cuts last week, five of their prospects were sent down to the CHL to start their seasons. Many eyes will be on them as the Canucks build a strong prospect pool. Here's how the five CHL prospects did in their first weekend back with their teams.
Adam Novotný - 6 points, 3 goals, 3 assists in 3 games
After falling to Vancouver at 24th overall, Novotný immediately became one of the Canucks' most intriguing prospects. He showed why after having an amazing development camp and prospects showcase. Novotný certainly exceeded people's expectations, as many started to question whether he could have made the team out of camp.
That may have been a bit of a stretch, but after hearing there was a loophole that could have allowed him to start the season in the AHL with Abbotsford, that seemed more likely. However, Vancouver made what was probably the right move by sending him back to the OHL for his second season with the Peterborough Petes.
It might have been him carrying the momentum of playing with NHL players, but in his first game back in the OHL, Novotný put up four points, registering two goals and two assists against the Sarnia Sting and dominating all night long.
After being held scoreless in his second game against the Brantford Bulldogs, Novotný made up for it with a two-point night, scoring a goal and adding an assist while showing off his one-timer against the Ottawa 67's.
It's worth noting that all three of his assists last weekend were primary assists, and his 18 shots on goal led the league that week. Novotný's spectacular efforts earned him OHL Player of the Week honours.
Yaraslav Bryzgalov - 2 points, 2 goals in 2 games
As expected, Bryzgalov returned to the WHL to play the 2026-27 season with the Medicine Hat Tigers. He was scoreless in his first game back against the Red Deer Rebels but scored twice in his second game, recorded five shots on goal, and was named the first star in a 5-2 Tigers win over the Edmonton Oil Kings.
For his first goal, he used his 6'4", 220-pound frame to outbattle two Oil Kings defenders and jam home a rebound in front of the crease. His second goal came on the power play, where he fired home a one-timer from the right dot on a feed from Markus Ruck.
This is a great start for Bryzgalov as he hopes to finish the season with over a point per game for the first time in the WHL.
Brooks Rogowski - 3 points 3 assists in 3 games
The Canucks' biggest draft pick from the 2026 draft, height-wise, listed at 6 '7", 236 pounds, made a sizable impact in his return to the OHL this weekend with the Oshawa Generals.
Even though Oshawa were shut out in a 6-0 loss to the Guelph Storm in their first game of the weekend, Rogowski was solid on the penalty kill, getting multiple clears and using his reach to break up a couple of passes while the Storm were on the man advantage.
In his second game against the Barrie Colts, Rogowski showed off his offence, recording two assists in a 4-2 win for the Generals. His first came on the power play, where he showed off his hands tight in front of the net before finding Onni Kalto in the slot.
His second came late in the third, with Oshawa down a goal and with the extra attacker. Rogowski's shot from the slot was deflected by Harrisson Franssen for the equalizer.
He recorded one more assist in a Generals 5-3 loss against the Brantford Bulldogs, stealing the puck from a Bulldogs defender in the offensive zone and finding Mark Pape in the slot.
Overall, it was a good weekend for Rogowski as he showed why Vancouver drafted him 33rd overall by making an impact on both ends of the ice.
Lucian Bernat - 2 points, 2 assists in 2 games
Bernat won't get the same attention as some of the Canucks' other prospects, since he's a sixth-round draft pick, but he quietly had a good weekend. He recorded two assists in two games with the Owen Sound Attack, both on the power play.
This is Bernat's first season playing in North America, so there will be some time for him to get used to the game speed here. But getting on the scoresheet in his first two games is an encouraging start.
Alexei Medvedev- DNP
Medvedev is Vancouver's most experienced CHL prospect. He didn't play this weekend for the London Knights. Medvedev should make his season debut for the Knights sooner rather than later.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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Walt Weiss: Braves are “at our best” when things are the toughest
How’s that for a curtain-raiser on this Postseason run for the Atlanta Braves? The best way that I can describe how that first game went down is to paraphrase a quote from my favorite professional wrestler of all time. The only thing that’s for sure about the Postseason is that nothing’s for sure.
That’s the only proper way to explain what happened with the two biggest hits of this game from both sides. J.T. Realmuto coming through with a go-ahead triple for the Phillies in the seventh inning, despite having finished the final month of the regular season with a wRC+ of 8 (eight) across his final 21 games and 79 plate appearances. Austin Riley delivering a go-ahead, opposite-field homer after the wretched game and rough series that he had been having.
It’s the Postseason, folks. You’ve just got to expect the unexpected!
“That’s how it usually goes when these two teams play each other,” explained Weiss when he started off the press conference. “Just goes to show you that when the playoffs start, everything starts at zero. Nothing that happened in the regular season really matters and it’s a clean slate. Austin Riley has been a great player in the Postseason play.”
Obviously, the star of the show on this particular day was Riley, himself — though Chris Sale did draw a laugh out of the presser by playfully lamenting that he’d been asked the majority of the questions (and Riley fist pumped in response). When I asked Riley about what he was looking for in that particular moment against Jhoan Duran (especially with the shadows in play), he figured that he just needed to be ready for any potential mistakes and as it turned out, he got one (100-mph heat notwithstanding) right in the middle of the plate.
“You just try to push him out and push him up,” explained Riley. “You’re not going to get very many mistakes against those back-end guys. It was definitely tricky. You typically only get one [mistake] an at-bat and you can’t miss it and I was fortunate enough to put a good swing on it.”
This was yet another example of the Braves coming through in a late-game, high-leverage scenario at the plate. They’ve done it a ton of times this season (especially at home) and the fact that the Braves were able to come through in late in the contest was perhaps the least surprising development. I asked Walt Weiss a bit of a follow-up question to Matt Olson’s remarks on Workout Day about how the team has woven the late-game heroics “into their DNA” and Weiss agreed with Olson’s sentiments.
“I’ve said this before: I feel like when the stakes are highest and the challenges are the toughest, that’s when we’ve been at our best,” explained Weiss. “It’s been that way all year long. Whether it’s looking like we’re going to give away the division and then going on a run again, facing a rough road trip, coming back home and having to play the Dodgers and sweep ‘em, even going into Philly with the division on the line, we played well in those two series late in the season.”
“Our guys just rise to the occasion,” continued Weiss. “It’s a good group — I’ve been talking about the group all year. It’s a great room and this is what you get when you have that kind of heart and that kind of culture.”
Had the Braves not come through with some more heroics, the big talking point likely would’ve been Chris Sale being taken out in the seventh inning with one out and runners on the corners in favor of Didier Fuentes. When he was asked about it by the media, Weiss defended the decision.
“I thought Sale was outstanding,” started Weiss. “There in the seventh inning, I felt like [Sale’s] tank was emptying there and we had our best reliever [Fuentes] ready to go so I went and got Chris. [Fuentes] ended up giving up the two runs but I take [Didier] in that spot every time.”
When he was further pressed on what he saw during Sale’s final inning, Weiss continued to defend the decision. “I saw the stuff start to tick down a little bit,” explained Weiss. “The near-home run from [Bryce] Harper, the knock from [Bryson] Stott, the velocity was down and we had our best reliever ready to go for the bottom of their lineup.”
“I take [Didier] 99 times out of 100. Believe me: I give the longest leash for good reason. I’ve let him go this year and usually to the point where he’s got to give up the runs before I take him out but I just saw with my eyes that the stuff was ticking down and that the tank was empty.”
For what it’s worth, Chris Sale was totally behind the decision that his manager made in that moment. “We have faith and trust in each other,” explained Sale when he was asked by the media about being taken out for Fuentes. “Didier’s the right guy for that situation. I don’t think there’s anybody that’s watched our team play a single game this year that wouldn’t agree with that.”
“He felt bad about [giving up the run] and I said ‘Hey man, sometimes we need help too. That’s why this is a team game.’ That’s why you never feel out of it and you never point fingers. He’s saved this team countless times and when he gave up that run he was like ‘Man, my bad.’ I just said ‘Listen man, this is baseball, this is the Postseason, this is sports. Sometimes we need some help too.’
Sale himself was busy finding some serious heat while he was on the mound, as he once again reached 100-mph on the radar gun during this contest. It’s incredible to see him reach that mark during this season like he’s been doing recently — which is funny because all the way back in March, he stated that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d thrown that hard. I asked him about how it felt to be able to reach abck and find that at this stage in his career and as usual, Sale was effusive towards his personal supporting cast.
“I pride myself on my work ethic and determination,” started Sale. “I’ve said countless times and I’ll say it until I’m blue in the face: This isn’t me on my own. I have an incredible team in my corner. From the guys in the weight room to our training staff, the pitching coaches, the catchers — it takes a lot for that to happen. I’m just thankful to be in that position to be able to do that but again, there’s a lot of people propping me up to be able to accomplish that.”
As Sale mentioned earlier, it’s all about the team and it’s clear that this team is pulling in the same direction from all corners of the squad. Weiss mentioned during his press conference when he was asked about Riley’s makeup behind-the-scenes that “you couldn’t tell if he was the leading MVP candidate in the National League or if he was struggling. He’s the same guy everyday.” That’s the type of mentality that you need to succeed in such a mental marathon of a sport as baseball and clearly, it was Austin Riley’s turn to make a strong kick towards the finish line in this particular game.
There’s still one more win that the Braves need to nail down before they can start packing their bags for Los Angeles but at least they now have two more chances to do it — and to do so in front of their home crowd, no less. We’ll see what twists and turns pop up during Game 2 but for the time being, the Braves can rest easy on this particular even in knowing that they managed to snatch the upper hand out of nowhere. You never know who’s going to be a Postseason hero and it’ll be exciting to see who comes up big for Atlanta going forward during this playoff run.
Why the Mariners kept their pitching coach staff intact despite rough second half performance
Yesterday brought sweeping changes to the Mariners coaching staff on the heels of a disappointing 2026 season. Jerry Dipoto, in meeting with the media, described the need for a “culture reset” in the organization, noting specifically the sense that the big-league club had gotten away from organizational principles preached in the minor leagues.
“The performance on the field this year has made us question a lot of the things that we are doing at the major league level, and I will say multiple of our major league players who came through our system have referenced what they learned in player development that that got abandoned in the big leagues this year. And not just the players who came up for the first time, but we have a host of players who’ve come through our system, and they saw a difference. We need to get back to to what we believe is a Mariners baseball process.”
Dipoto expressed particular consternation about the defense – with reason, as the Mariners were the worst defensive team in baseball from wire to wire, never improving – not just as violating the vision of “crisp, efficient Mariners baseball” but also because of the additional strain the poor defense put on the pitching.
“A starting pitching staff who attacks the strike zone and has the ball put in play is harmed by by the lack of range and positioning of our team,“ said Dipoto.
Perhaps this is why the pitching coaching staff escaped the ax that fell on many of the other coaches, as the organization cleaned house so the new manager will be able to install a hand-picked staff. Pitching coaches Pete Woodworth and Trent Blank will both return, despite a pitching staff that also underachieved this year – as the offense started to turn things around late in the season, the rotation fell apart, posting the worst WAR in baseball down the stretch. But despite the setback, Dipoto still believes in the Mariners pitching philosophy and in Woodworth and Blank’s ability to enact that vision with the big-league club. In answering a question about why those two remained on staff, Dipoto cited past performance, specifically their “goodness over time” and the “unquestionably awesome” nature of the quality of the pitching programs which has allowed all 13 members of their pitching staff at any given time to succeed.
“From 2021 until mid-season of 2026, we’re one of the three or four best pitching staffs, one through 13, in MLB. We don’t want to take three months and and use that as the criteria to ruin a program that has been the backbone of what we’ve done for for a decade.”
The key to the pitching core’s success, beyond programs that work, is their communication with players. Dipoto spoke extensively about communication issues in the organization, from the breakdown in expectation of standards in the front office to how it was borne out in the clubhouse and on the field. Personally, Dipoto took responsibility for his own breakdown in communication with the pitchers regarding how the “piggyback” strategy was implemented – while pointing out it was actually a success on the field, he spoke with regret about the failure of how it was communicated to the players, and how that breakdown in communication was indicative of a larger organizational failure.
“The way [the piggyback strategy] was communicated, the way it was received, and the drama around it was part of what I think was a bag that we were carrying around with us all year and couldn’t shed, and the piggyback is one piece of that. I could come up with 10 other things that were contributing factors, but we need to communicate more clearly. And we talked about this with the players during that piggyback period, that we handled the kickoff of that as poorly as you possibly could from a leadership standpoint.”
One exception to that organization-wide communication issue is and has been the pitching staff, which is why the piggyback drama stood out so starkly. But Dipoto reasserted his full-throated support behind Blank and Woodworth as messengers.
“Those guys communicate incredibly well,” said Dipoto. “Our pitchers love them for what they what they provide. Trent has all the TLC in the world and the ability to keep guys healthy and moving forward. And Woody is as good a messenger as exists in that clubhouse space.”
That doesn’t mean there isn’t work to do to get the pitchers back on track, however. Cal Raleigh, in his season postmortem, talked about how Mariners pitching might have gotten too predictable, noting how aggressive he saw teams – even ones that aren’t usually aggressive – in attacking the first pitch, and saying pitchers have to do a better job of executing strike one and less thinking about throwing strike one.
“It’s not not necessarily all the time about winning your 0-0s, your 1-1s. It’s about executing a pitch and how can we get this guy out,” said Cal.
For Dipoto, the problem wasn’t necessarily with strike one, but with strike three. Over the course of the season, Mariners pitching took a moderate step back in strikeout percentage and strike-to-walk ratio this year, but if you isolate it to just the last two months of the season, Mariners pitching fell to middle of the pack in K% percentage and 28th in average allowed – only the A’s and Rockies were worse.
“We’ve had a culture of relentless filling of the strike zone. That’s what we do. We get ahead, we stay ahead, we work ahead,” said Dipoto. “Where we struggled this year was we struggled in our two-strike execution, particularly in the second half of the season. It’s something our pitchers are aware of. All of them have talked about it openly in private discussion, and we know that’s an area we need to focus on moving forward.”
But Dipoto views this as a fixable problem, not a systemic one, echoing almost exactly what Cal Raleigh said about an over-focus on winning the counts and losing the bigger picture.
“It’s something that kind of happened over time. We got so focused on winning our 0-0s and winning our 1-1s that we forgot that was only a proxy for the greater goal, which was finishing the at-bat. Our prompt became the goal at times, and and that’s not what we were ever intending. And again, we let it get away from us. And perhaps you know, new eyes, new voice, new thoughts can stop that from happening the next time.”
So it sounds like the new manager will also have the job of working with a pitching staff already steeped in the organizational culture and help them refocus. Add it to a long list of tasks for whoever that person might be.
White Sox make bizarre challenge in MLB playoff game vs Astros: What happened?
Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable went for a challenge in a strange situation in Game 1 of the American League wild card series against the Houston Astros.
After Chicago's Sam Antonacci grounded out to Jose Altuve in the fourth inning, Venable argued the Astros second baseman violated the shift rules, which require infielders to be on the dirt when the pitch is delivered. The video shown on the broadcast made it hard to tell if Altuve's cleat was touching the grass. The call stood.
"So that comes from the replay – (Bryan Johnson) and the replay center who is aware of all those things and looking closely at all those things. With two challenges, we talked about it before the game, before the series, that we want to go ahead and be aggressive. And so he noticed something immediately, that Altuve was on the grass to start," Venable said after the game. "The problem with it is it's just a really hard call to get overturned, but worth it with two challenges there. So I thought it was a really good challenge, really good pickup by BJ, and it just didn't go our way."
The rules, part of the 2023 package that also brought the pitch clock and bigger bases, require two infielders on each side of second base, with all four on the infield dirt when the pitch is delivered. Teams can't slide a fielder onto the outfield grass for a better angle.
This was very odd 🤨
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 29, 2026
The Chicago White Sox challenged whether Jose Altuve's heel was on the outfield grass before the pitch, which would make him ineligible to field the ball.
After review, the call stands.
Thoughts? 🤔pic.twitter.com/xCNbwTQolo
Players adjusted quickly. There were 26 violations in the rule's first season, two in 2024 and one in 2025.The penalty got tougher along the way. It started as an automatic ball. Since 2025, if the violating fielder makes the first play on the ball, the batter gets first base, runners advance and the fielder is charged with an error.
According to MLB's official count, there were only two challenges in the 2026 regular season for shift restriction violations.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: White Sox make bizarre challenge in MLB playoff game vs Astros: What happened?
Payton Tolle and Cam Schlittler lead the Red Sox and Yankees in Game 1 of the Wild Card series
When it comes to Red Sox vs. Yankees, the past is always an overarching theme. Many times, it even towers over the present, and for good reason. The curse, the comeback, the history, the fights, and the ever accumulating list of October showdowns echoes through every game.
But tonight, it’s also about the future clashing with the present. 23-year-old Payton Tolle faces off against 25-year-old Cam Schlittler is a game primed to the be the opening salvo for the next era of epic baseball between Boston and New York. Both are young, both are flame throwers, and both seem likely to be at or near the top of each of these rotations for years to come. Tonight, they’ve been matched up in a clash of titans where the winner will instantly push the other’s team to the brink of elimination. Such is life in a best-of-three Wild Card series.
Lineup wise, the Red Sox will have Roman Anthony leading off, but they have him at DH instead of left field. This means Jarren Duran is in left – where he botched a huge play in Game 2 last year at Yankee Stadium — and if Chad Tracy pinch hits for Duran late, they’ll have to do some roster shuffling to realign the deck. That’s a big story to watch out for late.
Also of note, Adley Rutschman bats second in front of Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu. This will create some very interesting platoon decisions for the Yankees when Schlitter runs out of gas as Rutschman has looked better from the right side of late. I also find Caleb Durbin batting ninth in front of the Anthony, Rutschman and Contreras part of the lineup interesting.
The Yankees meanwhile are going with Anthony Volpe over Jazz Chisholm at second base, Spencer Jones over Trent Grisham in center field, and Amed Rosario over Ryan McMahon at third. I would expect a bunch of mixing and matching here if the Red Sox bring a righty into the game. The Yankees went with 16 position player on the playoff roster, so there will be no shortage of combinations they can turn to as the innings wear on.
Those storylines, and a bunch of others that haven’t even hatched yet are about to play out over the next few hours. Hold onto your butts! Red Sox vs. Yankees starts now!
⚾️ First Pitch: 8:00pm — Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York (Hell).
📺 TV: NBC (and streaming on Peacock)
📻 Radio: WEEI, ESPN Radio, SiriusXM, iHeartRadio
Join us in the game thread below!
Longtime NBA coach retires from JJ Redick’s staff as part of shakeups
A longtime NBA coach retired from Lakers coach JJ Redick’s staff, triggering shakeups.
Bob Beyer decided to call it a coaching career, which started for the 64-year-old when he became an assistant coach for Alfred University’s men’s basketball team in 1983 and ended after two seasons on Redick’s staff from 2024-26.
Beyer was an assistant coach in Orlando (2007-12) and New Orleans (2020-21) when Redick played for the Magic (2006-13) and Pelicans (2019-21).
“He’s been a very important person in my NBA life and a very important friend,” Redick said after the Lakers’ training camp practice Tuesday. “He’s someone I explicitly trust and believe in. He’s an incredible teacher. He was an incredible mentor for a lot of our young coaches and an incredible example.”
Redick said Beyer’s retirement came as a surprise since Beyer shared the news around mid-August.
“I understood the reasons why,” Redick said. “I didn’t try to talk him out of it. He leaves on great terms with the Lakers. What he did say to me was like, ‘I was basically retired, and then you asked me to do this with you, and I did it for two years, and now I’m ready to retire.’ But he’s a legend. We all love him. We’re so appreciative of everything you did for us.”
After coaching in college for 20 years, Beyer took his first NBA assistant coaching job with the Raptors in 2003-04. He was an assistant coach at Dayton in 2005-07 before coming back to the NBA with the Magic in 2007, staying in the NBA coaching ranks for 19 consecutive years before retiring.
With Beyer’s retirement, assistant coach Greg St. Jean has been promoted to a front-of-bench role.
Michael Wexler was elevated to assistant coach after being the head video coordinator the last two seasons on Redick’s staff.
Zach Guthrie was also promoted from the South Bay Lakers (now known as the Coachella Valley Lakers) to assistant coach and head of player development.
Drew Seifert was promoted from assistant video coordinator to head video coordinator, while Gerdarius Troutman went from assistant video coordinator to player development coach.
Austin Pope (previously the South Bay Lakers head video coordinator) and Lucas Vargas (coaching associate) are the new assistant video coordinators.
Popular Former Avalanche Forward Calls It A Career After 12 NHL Seasons
Matt Nieto is done playing hockey.
The former Colorado Avalanche forward announced Monday that he is retiring from the NHL at 33, ending a 12-year career that took him through San Jose, Colorado and Pittsburgh.
Nieto spent six seasons with the Avalanche across two different stints, playing 287 games and putting up 38 goals and 52 assists for 90 points.
Colorado first brought him in on Jan. 5, 2017, claiming him off waivers from the Sharks. It was a move that gave Nieto a new opportunity, and he quickly became a regular in the Avalanche lineup.
His best offensive season came in 2017-18. Nieto played 74 games, a career high, and scored 15 goals. Colorado liked what it got from him enough to bring him back that summer, signing Nieto to a two-year, $3.95 million contract after avoiding arbitration.
He would eventually leave Colorado, only to return for another stint with the Avalanche later in his career.
Pittsburgh was where Nieto played his final NHL games. He appeared in 32 games for the Penguins during the 2024-25 season, scoring once and adding two assists. He also played 15 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL, finishing with three goals and four assists.
Nieto sat out the 2025-26 season.
By that point, injuries had made things increasingly difficult. He missed about a year from November 2023 to November 2024 because of knee injuries that required surgery. After taking last season off and trying to find a way back, Nieto decided it was time to call it a career.
“After 12 years in the NHL, I’m officially announcing my retirement from hockey,” Nieto wrote on Instagram. “The last few years, I’ve battled injuries that made playing hockey at the highest level difficult. I took last season off and did everything I could to find my way back.”
Nieto leaves the NHL having played 705 games. He scored 87 goals and recorded 119 assists for 206 points.
Still, he isn’t closing the door on the sport itself.
“Hockey will always be a part of who I am,” Nieto wrote. “I’m not saying goodbye to hockey, just to being a player.”
'It was obviously a little bit of a shock. I was hoping I would get picked up. Luckily I ended up here and excited for this new opportunity.'
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Justin Barron didn’t foresee what was about to transpire with the Nashville Predators, but once the defenseman’s name hit the waiver wire and he was told about it, the 24-year-old was ready for a fresh start.
So when the St. Louis Blues plucked Barron and provided him with a fresh start, he packed up his belongings, hit the road up Interstate 24 towards St. Louis and arrived got in on Sunday.
“They told me Saturday morning and I just went back to my apartment in Nashville, kind of waited it out for 24 hours, then got the news yesterday as soon as it broke at 1 (p.m.) Central,” Barron said. “I immediately was excited, started packing and drove here last night.
“It was obviously a little bit of a shock. I was hoping I would get picked up. Luckily I ended up here and excited for this new opportunity.”
Barron, listed at 6-foot-2 and 198 pounds and who will wear Justin Faulk's old No. 72, was claimed by the Blues after news came down that defenseman Tyler Tucker (knee) would be getting a second opinion on his injured right knee and is listed as week-to-week, and when Logan Mailloux came down with a right hand injury in a 3-2 preseason loss to the Chicago Blackhawks this past Saturday that required surgery on Sunday that will sideline him at least eight weeks, there was a need for an experienced defenseman, and preferably one from the right side. And one the Blues liked.
“As a player, his mobility,” Blues general manager Alex Steen said. “Our scouts have liked his game when we watched him play. I think this is a fresh start for him. I think the timing is good for him also. We're going to have a few days here where he can get in with the group and learn our systems and get to know the guys he's going to be playing with. Also, for us, it addresses we brought Adam (Jiricek) up as well and we felt like organizationally we had depth on our left side and this helps create more depth on our right side.”
And not just create depth in the short term with Barron, a first-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Colorado Avalanche, on a one-year, $1.575 million contract before he can become a restricted free agent next summer. The Blues feel they can invest in him for the near future.
"No absolutely, he's got 200 games in the league, he's a first-round pick, he's got a lot of tools, a lot of parts to him that we like," Steen said. "I think with our coaching staff working with him, he's going to get some time to get to know the staff, get to know the players and hopefully we're able to help him create an identity to his game that we see on a nightly basis and in practice."
Barron spent the past season-plus with the Predators after being acquired from the Montreal Canadiens for Alexandre Carrier; he had nine assists in 52 games past season and has 208 career games (52 points; 18 goals, 34 assists).
“Very smooth-skating defenseman, can skate, can pass,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “I’m excited to see what he can do for us and help us.”
The shock for Barron is that he felt like things were going nicely with the Predators but didn’t feel like there would be an opportunity to move up into the top four there.
“I wanted it to work out, but I felt like I was kind of in a little bit of a tough spot there in terms of moving up the lineup,” Barron said. “It feels like a bit of a fresh start here for me. I think it will be good. Obviously I’m here to show these guys what I can do, hopefully bring an aspect to my game and help this team win games.”
So what can Barron bring?
“I think some of the strengths of my game are skating, moving the puck,” he said. “Obviously we saw the Blues a lot in Nashville and just playing against the team here and how well they are at attacking off the rush, how much speed and pace they play with. I’m hoping I can kind of slide in and fit in with the way the team plays here.”
Barron isn’t coming into a situation completely foreign to him. He’s familiar and/or played with a number of his new teammates, including Mailloux, Joel Hofer, Jake Neighbours, and Dylan Holloway. And whatever guys he’s needing to get familiar with, there’s a team bonding trip currently underway in Austin, Texas ahead of the season-opener Friday against the Dallas Stars.
“There’s a few guys,” Barron said. “… there’s quite a few guys. So I think that makes the transition a lot easier coming in and seeing some familiar faces.
“I think (the team bonding trip is) great timing. Come in, get a trip away with the team, do some team bonding and do some quality time with the guys. I’m really looking forward to it.”
2026-27 St. Louis Blues Roster Is Officially SetWith Mailloux, Tucker injured, Jiricek, Barron make opening night roster; Dean, Dube officially win extra forward positions
Disappointment Of Being Sent Down Quickly Turned To Elation For St. Louis Blues 2024 First-Round Pick Adam JiricekDefenseman was quickly recalled from Springfield following injuries to Mailloux, Tucker; could make NHL debut in season=opener on Friday
Logan Mailloux's Injury Comes At A Tough Time After Strong Training Camp For St. Louis BluesDefenseman had surgery on right hand Sunday, will be re-evaluated in eight weeks
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NBA will select winning bid for $12 billion Las Vegas expansion team ‘in near future’
The NBA plans to select the winning bid for owner of the Las Vegas expansion team “in the very near future.”
The franchise and new arena is expected to be sold for $12 billion to $13 billion. There are three finalist groups, according to ESPN: Nancy Walton Laurie and Bill Laurie; Steve Apostolopoulos and Marc Lasry; and Bill Foley and Jerry Colangelo.
The league will hold an official approval process by the end of December on two expansion teams, but Las Vegas is expected to be settled before Seattle. For one, Las Vegas has a more active bidding market that consists of higher offers.
In Seattle, there are no logistics of developing a new arena as Climate Pledge Arena is already a set home for the new team. Moreover, the Vegas runners-up may have interest in joining the Seattle bid process.
Nancy Walton Laurie is the daughter of Walmart co-founder James “Bud” Walton. She is married to Bill Laurie, the former owner of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. The couple resides in a suburb of Las Vegas and has a net worth of $17 billion, per Forbes.
Apostolopoulos showed interest in purchasing the Charlotte Hornets from Michael Jordan in 2023, but the Canadian billionaire pivoted to buying the Washington Commanders. The NFL franchise was later sold to a group led by Josh Harris, Philadelphia 76ers owner.
Lasry is the former co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and sold his stake in the franchise to Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam at a valuation of $3.5 billion.
Colangelo, the former owner of the Phoenix Suns, began talking with Foley about teaming up with his Las Vegas Jacks group. Colangelo and Foley became partners because of the latter’s ties to the city and the Jacks’ plans for a new arena as well as the relationship equity with key league stakeholders.
