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Nottingham Forest 0-3 Chelsea: Premier League – as it happened

Ange Postecoglou was sacked less than half an hour after Chelsea inflicted another defeat on Forest

1 min After the players take a knee, Morgan Gibbs-White gets the match under way on a dank, drizzly afternoon in Nottingham.

A bit of news from elsewhere. Crystal Palace have confirmed their captain Marc Guehi will leave the club in the summer after rejecting the offer of a new contract.

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Canadiens: Taking On The Blueshirts

Martin St-Louis and the Montreal Canadiens will be aiming for a fifth win in a row when they host the struggling New York Rangers at the Bell Centre on Saturday night. The Blueshirts have had a tough time this season; they’ve got a 2-3-1 record, and they were shut out in their first three home games. They’re coming to town with a four-game losing streak and will be hoping that, just like last season, the Habs can be just what the doctor ordered.

Last November, they were on a five-game losing streak when the Canadiens visited Madison Square Garden, and they were able to bounce back with a 5-4 win, scoring the game-winning goal with less than 30 seconds left on the clock. The Tricolore really struggled against the Rangers last season. In October, it was them who made them hit rock bottom when they lost 7-2 at the Bell Centre, in front of the 1970s team that was being honoured that night, which would have been Ken Dryden’s last appearance in a Canadiens’ ceremony.

Canadiens: Montembeault Entertains Fans On His Day Off
Canadiens: St-Louis Opens Up On Morning TV
Canadiens: St-Louis’ Big Dilemma

The Habs’ sole win over the Rags last season came in January when they beat them 5-4 in an overtime thriller. Given the Canadiens’ flair for the spectacular this season, that kind of outcome is not out of the realm of possibilities.

The starters have yet to be confirmed for the game, but it would be a shock if Samuel Montembeault weren’t back in net for the home team. The number one is not having a great start to the season and currently has a 0.870 save percentage and a 2.98 goals-against average, but it’s Saturday night, and logic dictates that the coach will give his number one a chance to bounce back. The Becancour native has faced them eight times in his career and has a 4-3-1 record with a 4.04 GAA and a .880 SV. As for Dobes, he only faced them once, in that 5-4 overtime win last season, which gives him a 3.79 GAA and a .857 SV.

As for the Rangers, their ace, Igor Shesterkin, has faced Montreal six times and has a 5-1-0 record, with a 1.99 GAA and a .931 SV%. As for backup Jonathan Quick, he has a 9-4-2 record against Montreal with a 2.51 GAA and a .914 SV. It’s fair to say that whoever’s in net for New York will present an interesting challenge.

The visitors made some moves this offseason, which included the trade of a player that has been hated in Montreal since that collision with Carey Price in 2014, Chris Kreider. Promising young defenseman K’Andre Miller was also sent packing for two draft picks and Scott Morrow. Coach Mike Sullivan was hired, Vladislav Gavrikov was signed to a seven-year, $49 million contract, and J.T. Miller was named captain. Artemi Panarin is still with the team, but he’s entering the last year of his contract, and it’s far from certain he’ll want to extend. The 32-year-old is playing the seventh year of the $81.5 million contract he was signed to by Jeff Gorton, back in his Rangers days.

Considering they have Matt Rempe in the lineup, it will be interesting to see what St. St-Louis decides to put Arber Xhekaj back in the lineup. From one standpoint, it would make sense, but on the other hand, Jayden Struble had a great game on Thursday night and doesn’t deserve to be taken out of the lineup. If Kaiden Guhle is unable to play, the bench boss may not have to make such a tough choice.

In the last 10 duels between the two teams, the Canadiens have been able to grab four wins, but they’ve only won one of the previous five. The Habs will need to keep a close eye on Panarin, who has seven goals and 22 assists for 29 points in 23 career games when skating against Montreal. As for newly minted captain Miller, he has 28 points in 36 duels, while blueliner Adam Fox has 17 points in 14 games. Mika Zibanejad has also always been a threat against the Habs with 28 points in 38 games.

As for the Canadiens, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield lead the team in scoring this season with seven points each, and they’ve always been productive against the Blueshirts. The Former has 11 points in 15 duels, while the latter has nine points in 10 meetings. Noah Dobson, who has faced the Rangers 23 times, has 13 assists against them but has never been able to find the back of the net. As for veteran Brendan Gallagher, he has 15 points in 29 games.

The Habs will be holding a morning skate at 10:30 which is when we'll get an indication of what the lineup will look like and if Guhle will be able to play, he left the last game and looked like he was in real pain on the bench.  Edit: The decisions were made for St-Louis, Guhle is out (4 to 6 weeks lower bidy) allowing Xhekaj to come back in and both Patrik Laine and Kirby Dach are out (evaluated daily) and will be replaced by Joe Veleno and  Owen Beck.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM, and this will be the Canadiens' second-to-last home game before heading out west for a four-game road trip. Before hitting the road, they’ll take on the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.

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Bridgeport: Calum Ritchie Strikes In AHL Debut; Matt Maggio Finds Twine In Loss To Providence

New York Islanders top prospect Calum Ritchie skated in his first AHL game of his career on Friday night when the Bridgeport Islanders hosted the Providence Bruins.

The game didn't go the way Bridgeport planned, falling 5-2 after starting the season 2-0-1-0 but Ritchie did find the back of the net after a nifty toe-drag following a net-crash play before the halfway mark of the first period to get his team on the board:

Ritchie is likely to be the first call-up by the Islanders this season given how well he showed in training camp. The only reason why Ritchie didn't make the Islanders is because he needs to develop as a top-six center, not as a bottom-six, extra person on what's a much deeper NHL squad than Long Island has been used to, when it comes to talent. 

While Ritchie will learn a lot under Bridgeport head coach Rocky Thompson, he should dominate the AHL. And he's off to a good start with a goal in game one.

Prospect Matthew Maggio, a grinder with a strong set of hands and offensive instincts, is currently skating on the fourth line for Thompson but saw minutes on the second power-play unit. 

That's where he scored his first goal of the season on Friday night, making it 5-2:

Like many prospects in 2024-25, Maggio's development stalled due to coaching failure and attention to the AHL team by the man in charge. 

He's one of a handful of prospects who are trying to showcase to GM Mathieu Darche that he can be someone who is part of the big squad at some point down the line.

Bridgeport returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 18, as they host the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Penguins at 7 PM ET. 

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Manchester City 2-0 Everton, Brighton 2-1 Newcastle, and more: football – as it happened

Ange Postecoglou’s dismissal from Nottingham Forest hogged the early-afternoon headlines, before Manchester City, Burnley, Brighton and Sunderland returned to winning ways after the international break

Burnley v Leeds United: Jordan Beyer, Connor Roberts and Zeki Amdouni all remain sidelined for Burnley, but Scott Parker is hoping to have Lyle Foster and Jaidon Anthony available despite the duo suffering recent injuries.

Harry Gray and Willy Gnonto are both absent for Leeds United, while Noah Okafor is a doubt. Lucas Perri has recovered from a hamstring injury, while Dan James will have to undergo a fitness test as he tries to return from an ankle injury.

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Mariners a win from first World Series, beat Blue Jays behind Suárez’s grand slam for 3-2 ALCS lead

SEATTLE (AP) — As Eugenio Suárez crossed home plate, he formed a heart with his hands as he has countless times.

Suárez suddenly stopped, pointed toward his wife in the stands behind home plate and took a second to embrace the moment. His bat had brought the Mariners within a victory of the first World Series trip for a team that started play in 1977.

Suárez hit a go-ahead grand slam after Cal Raleigh’s tying drive in a five-run eighth inning, giving the Mariners a 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday and a 3-2 lead in the American League Championship Series.

“I’ve been waiting for games like this my whole career,” Suárez said. “Today, I had it. Today, I had it in front of our crowd, in front of my family, my two daughters, my wife, and the moment is very special right now.”

Suárez also homered in the second inning for Seattle’s first run, and the Mariners became the first home team to win in the series.

Game 6 is at Toronto on Sunday night.

“For our fans, they’ve been waiting a long time for this moment and we’re here to give it to them. We’re here to fight for a World Series,” Suárez said.

Raleigh, a switch-hitting catcher who led the major leagues with 60 home runs during the regular season, was hitting right-handed for the first time in the series when he led off the eighth by pulling a 2-0 sinker from loser Brendon Little.

“I came in and really couldn’t have pitched worse,” Little said.

The 348-foot drive rose 155 feet above the field on a high arc and had a 6.7-second hang time before it dropped over the left field wall at T-Mobile Park.

“It felt like Cal’s ball was in the air for like an hour,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.

Raleigh’s fourth homer of the postseason tied the score 2-2.

“Obviously it was really high, so you never know in this building,” Raleigh said. “Luckily today the roof’s closed.”

Jorge Polanco and Josh Naylor walked, and Seranthony Domínguez relieved and hit Randy Arozarena with a pitch.

Suárez fouled off a 2-2 fastball, then hit an opposite-field drive to right, and the ball landed several rows into the seats for his fourth slam this season.

“Obviously, this is the biggest home run of my career,” Suárez said.

Suárez, who had put Seattle ahead in the second against Kevin Gausman, entered the game in a 6-for-50 slump. He was reacquired from Arizona at the trade deadline, finished the regular season with 49 homers and has three in the playoffs.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” Suárez said. “It’s been a while (since) I’ve had a game like this today. It was awesome being able to hit that grand slam there to give the win to my team, to the fans. They’ve been here supporting us all year long.”

Seattle’s Bryce Miller was pitching shutout ball when he was removed after allowing Addison Barger’s leadoff single in the fifth, and George Springer hit an RBI double off Matt Brash.

Springer left in the seventh when he was hit on the right kneecap by a 95.6 mph sinker from Bryan Woo.

“He’s got a right knee contusion. He had X-rays, which were negative, which is a good thing.,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “George is about as tough as they come. I think he’ll have to really, really be hurting to not be in the lineup on Sunday.”

Pitching for the first time since Sept. 19 after recovering from pectoral tightness, Woo allowed Ernie Clement’s go-ahead single in the sixth.

Gabe Speier got the win with a perfect, nine-pitch eighth inning. Toronto wasted many chances, going 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

Raleigh turned only the second 2-3 grounded double into play in postseason history when Clement tapped the ball onto the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning. Raleigh grabbed the ball with a foot on the plate for a forceout, then threw to first.

The prior 2-3 DP in Game 2 of the 2000 ALCS was turned by Wilson with the New York Yankees’ Bernie Williams at the plate.

“That’s what he’s done all season long,” Wilson said of Raleigh, “both sides of the ball."

Up next

Rookie RHP Trey Yesavage, who started Game 2 of both the AL Division Series, will start for the Blue Jays in Game 6. The Mariners scored five runs off the 22-year-old on Monday.

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Giants reportedly ‘closing in' on hiring Tennessee coach Tony Vitello as manager

Giants reportedly ‘closing in' on hiring Tennessee coach Tony Vitello as manager originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Giants appear to have found their next manager.

San Francisco is “closing in” on hiring Tennessee coach Tony Vitello to lead the team for the 2026 MLB season, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly, Brittany Ghiroli and Ken Rosenthal reported in a shared column published Saturday, citing industry sources.

The Athletic reached out to the Giants, who had not yet responded to a request for comment at the time this article was written. Vitello, also reached out to by The Athletic via text message, said, “There is nothing to confirm.”

Vitello has been on Buster Posey’s radar for a while, per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic. Meanwhile, Texas Rangers special assistant Nick Hundley, who was another frontrunner for the job, recently was pulled out of the running.

This story will be updated.

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Shohei Ohtani Went Where No Player Has Ever Gone Before

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani did something that has never happened before in the annals of postseason baseball.

Ohtani took the mound to start against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on Friday night. He walked the first batter and then struck out the next three on the way to six shutout innings.

He then led off the bottom of the first inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers and parked a full-count pitch deep into the right field pavilion, his first of three homers on the night.

Not even Babe Ruth did that. But Ohtani did, showing everyone why the Dodgers were willing to pay him $700 million over 10 years, with $680 million of that money deferred.

“That first inning. It was amazing,” said Dodgers owner Mark Walter, the NL championship trophy nestled in his arms after the Dodgers claimed the best-of-seven series by sweeping the Brewers with a 5-1 win, booking a spot in their second straight World Series. “There’s not much more you can ask from a player.”

The first inning heroics was only the beginning of the night for Ohtani, whose three homers were wedged into a pitching performance that went into the seventh inning. He left at 100 pitches without allowing a run on two hits. He walked three and struck out 10, and he was credited with his second win in two starts this postseason. Ohtani’s historic Game 4 earned him the series MVP.

“You can’t script this,” Walter said. “Six innings of shutout ball and three home runs? That’s crazy.”

The three homers totaled 1,342 feet, the second in the fourth inning striking the right field pavilion roof some 469 feet away where few players have feared to tread. It hit the roof and rolled off into the concession area behind it.

“That was the greatest postseason performance of all time and there have been a lot of postseason games,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “There’s a reason why he’s the greatest player on the planet. What he did on the mound. What he did with the bat. He created a lot of memories for a lot of people.”

The Brewers, whose 97-65 record was the best in MLB this season, were inept in the series scoring five runs on 14 hits in the four games.

“We were part of an iconic performance, maybe the best individual performance ever in a postseason game,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, echoing the common sentiment. “I don’t think anybody can argue with that. A guy punches out 10 and hits three homers. I’m proud of our team, but it came to an end tonight.”

The Brewers had previously handled Ohtani well; in the first three games, they held him to 2-for-11 in the series with no homers, five whiffs and a .721 OPS. He finished the series 5-for-14 while his OPS leapt to 1.643 with the results of the one game. He’s had five homers now in the postseason, all of which came in two games; he had two homers in Game 1 of a Wild Card Series sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.

“The last couple days I felt pretty good at the plate,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “And just because of the postseason, the small sample size, the lack of performance really skews in this short period of time.”

Still, between a four-game victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in an NL Division Series and this NLCS, Ohtani has struggled. He went 6-for-32 (.188) with the three homers, five RBIs, 14 strikeouts and six walks, three of them intentional.

His slump lifted Friday night.

“He’s probably the greatest free agent signing of all-time,” Walter, who signed Ohtani in late 2023, said. “I mean, he’s unbelievable. We’re just lucky to have him.”

The Dodgers bring in over $100 million a season in marketing and advertising from Asian firms, thanks to their three Japanese pitchers: Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaski.

“We make a lot of money from those guys, for sure,” Walter said. “But it takes a team to win, it really does.” 

The Dodgers will play either the Seattle Mariners or the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series beginning Friday night in either Los Angeles or Toronto, depending on the results of the American League Championship Series. The Mariners lead 3-2 with Game 6 on Sunday night at Rogers Centre. Game 7 is on Monday night, if necessary.

In Seattle on Friday night, the Mariners were trailing the Blue Jays, 2-1, in the eighth inning in T-Mobile Park when Cal Raleigh tied it with his fourth playoff homer. He led Major League Baseball with 60 on the season this year.

Raleigh’s homer happened almost simultaneously to Ohtani’s first-inning blast about 1,000 miles away. Eugenio Suarez followed Raleigh with a grand slam later in the inning to seal the 6-2 win, sending the Mariners back to Toronto with two chances of qualifying for the World Series, a first in franchise history.

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Columbus Blue Jackets (2 pts) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (4 pts) Game Preview

The Columbus Blue Jackets welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning into Nationwide Arena tonight. 

The Tampa Bay Lightning might be coming into Columbus at just the right time for the sluggish CBJ. Tampa is 1-2-2 on the season and has lost its last two games in overtime, including last night in Detroit. 

Superstar Nikita Kucherov did not play last night due to illness, and as of this morning, his availability is unknown. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy started and lost the game against the Red Wings, so we can assume the start will go to Jonas Johansson, who has actually been the better of the two goalies so far this season. If Kucherov and Vasilevskiy both don't go for the Lightning, the Blue Jackets will have dodged a massive bullet. 

The Blue Jackets have their own issues, though, with scoring being one of them. Outside of the Wild game, the CBJ have struggled to score, but with Tampa struggling to keep pucks out of their net, this could be the game needed for Columbus to break out. The Blue Jackets typically play very well against the Bolts at home, so this could be the right time to take on Tampa.

Blue Jackets Stats

  • Power Play - 9.1% - 30th in NHL
  • Penalty Kill - 53.3% - 32nd in NHL
  • Goals For - 11 - 23rd in NHL / 2.75 per game
  • Goals Against - 13 - 5th in NHL / 3.25 per game

Lightning Stats

  • Power Play - 23.1 - 10th in NHL
  • Penalty Kill - 89.5 10th in NHL
  • Goals For - 13 - 20th in NHL / 3.25 per game
  • Goals Against - 16 - 25th in NHL / 4.0 per game

Series History vs. Lightning

  • Columbus is 16-29-1-6 all-time, and 11-12-1-2 at home vs. the Bolts.
  • The Jackets are 5-4-2 in the last 11 games vs. Tampa at home.
  • The CBJ went 1-2-0 against the Lightning last season.

Who To Watch For The Lighting

  • Nikita Kucherov has 47 points in 30 career games against the Jackets. He did not play on Friday night due to illness, and his status is questionable for Saturday.
  • Jake Guentzel leads the team with 4 assists and 5 points.
  • Jonas Johansson is 1-0 with a SV% of .909% this season.
  • Andrei Vasilevskiy is 0-2-1 with an .870 SV%. He started on Friday, so it's assumed he will not play tonight.

CBJ Player Notes vs. Lightning

  • Zach Werenski has 20 points in 24 career games against the Lightning.
  • Boone Jenner has 12 points in 28 games vs. Tampa Bay.
  • Sean Monahan has 15 points in 19 games against the Bolts.

Injuries - None on IR

  • Erik Gudbranson - Upper Body
  • Miles Wood - Upper Body

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 3

How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FanDuel Sports Network. Steve Mears will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 93.3 The Bus, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.

Let us know what you think below.

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