When Australia’s Test team walks out in front of a hostile South African crowd for the first time since the infamous 2018 series, the man caught with sandpaper in his pocket — and later down his pants – will surely wonder how different things might have been.
Celtics will be without 8 players in preseason opener
CLEVELAND — The Celtics will rest most of the roster in their preseason opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Paul George, Mitchell Robinson, Neemias Queta, Sam Hauser, Ron Harper Jr., and Payton Pritchard are all out.
Mike Conley, Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, and Luka Garza will start, with Chris Cenac Jr., Dillon Mitchell, and Amari Williams all available to sub in. Exhibit-10 players Devin Carter, Gabe McGlothan, Milos Uzan, and Tucker DeVries are all available to play as well.
Thursday will mark the Celtics debuts of Conley, Cenac, and Mitchell; George and Robinson’s will wait.
For the Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, Jaylon Tyson, Payton Watson, and Meleek Thomas will start the game.
Tony Dobbins and DJ MacLeay will coach the game
On top of the limited rotation, the Celtics will be coached by assistant coach Tony Dobbins for the first half and assistant coach DJ MacLeay for the second half.
“I want to give them the opportunity to be able to just build themselves as coaches,” Joe Mazzulla said at shootaround on Thursday morning. “Both those guys had head coaching interviews this past summer, and I want them to be able to build on that.”
Before the game, Dobbins expressed his excitement for the opportunity to coach several players’ first NBA games.
“I’m excited to get started with this group that we have, and then for me, there’s some guys who it’ll be their first time stepping on the NBA court, and that’s exciting,” Dobbins said. “Like you get to be a part of somebody living out their dream, and that would be the case whether I was coaching or whether Joe’s coaching — but just not taking those moments for granted. You’ve got a person, a family, who has worked for this moment, as long as they can remember, and they have an opportunity.”
MLB warns teams not to send holiday cards to players during potential lockout
MLB teams looking to get into the spirit of the season with their players need to do so before Dec. 2, otherwise, the league is telling teams they should avoid sending holiday cards once the lockout begins.
While the playoffs are in full swing, the likely lockout has cast a cloud over the MLB postseason, with Major League Baseball executive Dan Halem issuing a 34-page memo to owners and high-level team execs explaining how they should act during a labor stoppage.
And, according to the memo obtained by The Athletic, holiday cards are a no-no.
“Sending Players holiday cards or gifts would not be permissible during a Lockout,” Halem wrote in the memo. “Clubs could send holiday cards or gifts to players prior to Dec. 2.”
Among the items Halem outlined in the memo was how MLB’s digital arm would create alternate club websites that scrub any trace of the players’ likeness, though teams will still be able to sell merch with players’ names and images on them.
It also says that team staffers can attend players’ weddings that they have been invited to, but they cannot discuss business and if a club official runs into a player in public, they “should be cordial.”
The MLB collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1 at 11:59 p.m.
Halem did write in the memo that the league’s “commitment has been and remains to exhaust every realistic option to achieve our goal of reaching an agreement with the Players Association.”
On Thursday, MLB made several proposals to the MLB Players Association, which included shortening the regular season to 154 games, extending the division series from best-of-five to best-of-seven and allowing the higher-seeded teams in the wild-card and divisional rounds to select their opponent.
However, all of that would be contingent on the players agreeing to a salary cap.
The MLBPA called the proposed changes “anti-player” as the league “once again made clear that all of its proposals are contingent on players’ agreement to a salary cap, a system that guts player rights and compensation, as well as its other anti-player proposals.”
An MLBPA statement added: “Players will weigh in on these proposals and we will respond at the bargaining table.”
Get him on the plane? Emerging 25yo star smashes fastest Shield double ton EVER
Emerging NSW star Ollie Davies has etched himself into the Sheffield Shield record books, blasting the competition’s fastest double century on record.
Mike Sullivan is already seeing fruit of Rangers’ early success
The Rangers will carry the longest active win streak in the NHL (four games) into their matchup with the Capitals on Friday night in Washington, D.C.
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tRY IT NOWAt this point in the season last year, the walls of the 2025-26 campaign were already beginning to close in on the Blueshirts as they went their first three home games without a single goal and had already lost three of their first five games by infuriating margins.
Head coach Mike Sullivan can already feel how the early success has affected his team.
“I think it makes a world of difference,” the second-year Rangers coach said before the club ventured to the nation’s capital following practice. “When you can stack wins on top of one another, it breeds confidence. Confidence is required to have success. I think the group has done a great job in just buying into the team game. Everybody’s accepting of the roles we’ve cast them in. There’s a level of enthusiasm around the group that, for me, is a whole lot of fun to be a part of.
“We can feel it. We can feel it in the locker room. We can feel it inside of our confines. When we go out, we’re playing the game, it’s tangible. You can hear it on the bench. An indication of it for me, you look at our third periods. Playing with leads. Just our continued ability to play on our toes and bring an aggressive approach in a responsible way. Not playing not to lose. We’re playing to win.
“It’s fun to watch these guys play and perform that way. I think there are great lessons in that. We’re going to try to continue to encourage them in some of the things we’re doing well and why we’re having success. There are areas where we know we can grow and improve and get better, and we’re working with those as well.
“This is the journey, every year, when you go to start training camp and it’s a clean slate. A new season. It’s a whole new journey. It’s been a whole lot of fun to coach these guys to this point.”
It’s still early in the season, but the Rangers have led (184:15) or been tied (111:58) in 296:14 of 300 minutes so far.
The shutout loss in Boston to open the season has been an outlier compared to the other four games the Rangers have had.
With the 20-year-old Cole Beaudoin recalled from Hartford, the Rangers officially have the youngest roster in the NHL with an average age of 26.47.
Allowing two or fewer goals in all four games he’s played, the most among all goaltenders so far this season, Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin is off to an electric start.
Since the 2019-20 season, the 172 times Shesterkin has allowed two or fewer goals rank fifth among all NHL goalies. He has also allowed one or fewer goals 94 times in his career, which amounts to the third most among goalies in that same span.
Islanders begin defensive overhaul with Alexander Romanov lost for season
The Islanders’ first crack a lineup without Alexander Romanov came with a reshuffling instead of a call-up.
Coach Pete DeBoer kept Matthew Schaefer on the right and inserted Scott Mayfield into the lineup for Thursday’s match against the Blackhawks at UBS, moving Logan Stanley to the top pair alongside Schaefer and Tony DeAngelo to his off side on Mayfield’s left.
Those were the first and third pairs; the second featured the reunion of Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock.
“We’re gonna start this way, and we’ll see,” DeBoer said. “And then from there, nothing’s set in stone. We might move guys around, so I think probably a lot like our line combinations, I’m not married to anything. But I think the initial thought was, we’ve got puck movers with guys that think defense first.”
With Romanov likely to miss the entire season after tearing his ACL in Tuesday’s loss to the Rangers, it’s a safe bet this is only the first attempt at sorting out the defense pairs. It’s instructive, though, that DeBoer kept Schaefer on the right, which Schaefer said came after a conversation between the two.
That is another sign in a series of them that the organization might see Schaefer as a long-term option on the right — which would be a way of balancing out a lefty-heavy pool of defensemen both on the roster and in the prospect pipeline.
“Of course [DeBoer’s] gonna talk [to me] and see what I feel comfortable with,” Schaefer said. “At the end of the day, I like just being on the ice. If it’s left, if it’s right, whatever makes the boat go faster. It’s gonna be awesome.”
DeBoer, for his part, said he’s comfortable with Schaefer anywhere — so much so that he can build the rest of the lineup first and then insert the defenseman on whichever side is needed.
With Schaefer on the right and Romanov done for the year, the left side has quickly become much thinner than it looked just a few weeks ago, a fact underscored by Stanley playing on the top pair so soon after signing.
DeBoer and teammates alike used words such as “devastating” in relation to Romanov, who was just three games into his return from shoulder surgery and now needs to spend another season rehabbing.
“I just feel awful for him,” Bo Horvat said. “It’s been two tough years for him in that sense. I just feel sick for him. I know how hard he worked in the summertime to get back into the shape that he’s in, and he looked great. A couple games in, I’m heartbroken for him.”
For Mayfield, this is also a critical chance to earn back a lineup spot he failed to defend in training camp, resulting in three consecutive healthy scratches to start the season.
The veteran defenseman might be called into action on the penalty kill as well, should DeBoer want to continue keeping Schaefer off the 4-on-5 unit in an attempt to keep the 19-year-old’s minutes at least somewhat in check.
“Obviously not playing, all you want to do is be out there with the guys and be competing,” Mayfield said. “Excited to be out there tonight.”
A strong showing right away would do a lot for Mayfield given there is plenty of internal competition. Matt Kessel, another righty, is on the roster too. Isaiah George and Kashawn Aitcheson, both lefties, are in AHL Hamilton but could be in line for call-ups should a need arise.
“What I like about [Mayfield], he didn’t pout about the situation,” DeBoer said. “He handled it like a pro. He’s got great leadership, and he worked hard. Now, he’s got an opportunity to get back in. That’s all part of hockey, it’s how you respond to adversity.”
Knicks’ Tyler Kolek’s girlfriend reveals parade incident that ‘not a lot of people know’
Knicks guard Tyler Kolek’s girlfriend, Lexi Sousa, recounted his run-in with police after they mistook him for a fan during the team’s championship parade in New York — and she revealed that it actually happened twice.
“Oh, I was there,” Sousa said in an interview with Wag Talk on Wednesday. “It didn’t happen to him once. It happened to him twice.
“Not a lot of people know that.”
Lexi, who is a mental health counselor, did not get into the details of Kolek being stopped by police for a second time during the June 18 parade.
At the time, the 25-year-old Kolek was running along the parade route and greeting fans while holding a Michelob Ultra in one hand when he was stopped by two police officers who grabbed him.
One officer was seen shaking his head, appearing to say “no,” while another turned him around and pointed for him to leave the area.
That’s when others intervened to inform the officers that Kolek was a member of the championship team.
Cops mistook Tyler Kolek for a fan
— Kimberley A. Martin (@ByKimberleyA) June 18, 2026#alwaysknickspic.twitter.com/7LxI29zahb
The officers backed down after that.
“I swear I’m on the team bro,” Kolek wrote on X, responding to post that said, “security almost tackled” him.
Kolek did not play in any of the 2026 NBA Finals games, in which New York won four of five against the Spurs to clinch their first championship in 53 years.
He averaged 4.4 points and 2.7 assists per game last season.
Kolek — who was a second-round pick out of Marquette by the Trail Blazers in the 2024 NBA Draft — spent the 2024-25 season with the Westchester Knicks, New York’s G-League affiliate.
The Knicks open the 2026-27 regular season on Oct. 20 at home against the 76ers.
See new NHL women's merch for Red Wings, Ducks, Avs that's not pink
It's cozy season.
On Wednesday, Oct. 7, the NHL partnered with PacSun and The Wild Collective to release a 15-piece women's merchandise collection. The items available are boxy T-shirts ($45), longsleeve polos ($65) and fleece hoodies ($90) from the Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and Washington Capitals.
Instead of going the stereotypical "pink it and shrink it" route, the pieces utilize the team colors and embrace the current trend of oversized silhouettes. The hoodies are especially of note, as the logos and wordmarks are the same color as the base, giving fans a fashion-forward monochromatic look.
The Wild Collective brand is founded by Whitney Bansin and has been licensing sports apparel for nearly a decade. She got her first sports gig with the Vegas Golden Knights when the team debuted in Sin City in 2017. The brand has since worked with the NFL, NBA and WNBA and has partnerships with Target and Anthropologie.
"It was through that initial collection with the Golden Knights that really just sparked it all," she told NBC's 3 News in Las Vegas. "I had no intention of going down the sports route. I had no intention of getting every league and doing programs for everyone. That was just not in the forefront. I just wanted to make cool stuff that people in Vegas could wear to these games."
The NHL collection continues the growing movement to invest in women's merchandise that reflects a diversity of style and taste. Jasmine Maietta founded Round21 in 2020 to bring together sports and art with an emphasis on women. Kiya Tomlin and Kristin Juszczyk have been creating women's merchandise for NFL fans for several years. Juszczyk went viral in 2024 when Taylor Swift wore a jersey jacket she designed. Her OffSeason brand now creates merchandise for multiple sports entities, including the WNBA and Formula 1.
The world of hockey is also embracing women fans and players like never before. On Thursday, the Professional Women's Hockey League revealed the jerseys and color combinations for its four expansion teams. The league, which will have 12 teams, will host its first All-Star event in March in Toronto.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: See new NHL women's merch for Red Wings, Ducks, Avs that's not pink
Wizards at Knicks discussion
The Washington Wizards play the New York Knicks tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET. Watch the game on Monumental Sports Network.
It’s been nearly half a month since we’ve see the Wizards, meaning the actual team (not the Summer League version), play basketball. Playing against the Knicks will be a challenge. The biggest thing I am looking forward to is seeing AJ Dybantsa make his preseason debut against the defending NBA champions. I’m not hoping for a win per se when the games don’t count yet.
But I am looking to see a more cohesive offense and stronger defense. Watching the Wizards the last few seasons has been tough. But now, there’s a franchise player and it’s time to see if the tanking can produce some winning seasons in the near future.
Go wizards!
MLB Divisional Round Gamethread: Guardians at White Sox
Three teams advanced to the league championship round on Wednesday night. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers wrapped up their series wins over the Atlanta Braves and the San Diego Padres, respectively. They’ll square off in what should be a pretty epic NLCS. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays completed their dismantling of the New York Yankees, never trailing at any point in the series. The Yankees’ World Series drought going back to 2008 continues.
Tonight, the Chicago White Sox will look to knock off the Cleveland Guardians, and they’d be advised to get it done and not face a Game 5 in Progressive Field against Gavin Williams with all the Guardians bullpen arms on alert. First pitch at Rate Field is set for 8:00 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on TBS.
LHP Parker Messick (12-9, 2.56 ERA) takes on LHP Hagen Smith (3-3, 1.29 ERA)
The Guardians have the clear starting pitching advantage, but Smith has been really good and will probably only look to go four innings before White Sox’ manager Will Venable turns to his deep bullpen.
Inside ‘bloody awful’ Smith scene Aussies will never forget… and ‘bitter’ taste that remains
It is more than eight years since a devastated dad sat with his shattered son at Sydney Airport, consoling a man who felt he had lost almost everything of importance to him after a moment of madness in South Africa.
Observations after James makes impressive Sixers preseason debut in Brooklyn
Observations after James makes impressive Sixers preseason debut in Brooklyn originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
NEW YORK — LeBron James is truly up and running as a Philadelphia 76er.
James made his Sixers preseason debut Thursday night at Barclays Center and played a strong first half in the team’s 114-108 loss to the Nets.
The four-time MVP logged 18 minutes and scored 10 highly efficient points, going 1 for 1 from the field and 8 for 8 at the foul line. He added five assists and four rebounds.
Jaylen Brown was the Sixers’ top scorer with 18 points and Tyrese Maxey tallied 14.
The Sixers were without Ariel Hukporti (right Achilles tendon tear), Adem Bona (left foot sprain), Anfernee Simons (hamstring), Dominick Barlow (back) and Tacko Fall (left hip strain). Here’s a full rundown on the team’s injury picture.
Next up for the Sixers is their third of four preseason games Saturday against the Celtics in Boston. Here are observations on their defeat to the Nets:
James gets right to work with special passing
James’ pregame introduction in the Sixers’ starting lineup prompted a massive swell of noise. A bright spotlight will be on the Sixers wherever they go this season.
Once the action began, the team wasted no time flashing its immense offensive potential. The Sixers started 7 for 8 from the floor.
VJ Edgecombe leaked out for a fast-break layup to get the Sixers on the scoreboard. When healthy, the star-stuffed Sixers should be a menacing team in transition.
While they don’t appear to have installed a vast half-court playbook yet, the Sixers generally looked sharp out of the gates with both designed sets and improvisation.
James should be a giant help as an elite passer and world-class offensive organizer. He notched all five of his assists in the first quarter, including a clever one-handed pass that set Edgecombe up for a slam. On another eye-catching play, Maxey slipped open, James rifled the ball to him, and the Sixers’ All-NBA guard sunk a wing three-pointer.
Rotation blueprint
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Dean Wade and Jabari Walker were the first men off of the Sixers’ bench.
Brown and Edgecombe were the last starters on the floor with the second unit. James then replaced Brown for the final minute and 50 seconds of the first quarter. The starters all came back together for the final few minutes of the first half.
Labaron Philon Jr. and Justin Edwards joined the rotation in the second quarter. Philon was ready to roll, draining a catch-and-shoot three on his first touch.
Simons, Bona and Barlow should be in the rotation mix once available, but Thursday was a decent indication of Sixers head coach Nick Nurse’s current broad blueprint for using his bench and staggering the stars. He’s clearly a fan of the Brown-Edgecombe duo, which impressed Monday in the Sixers’ preseason opener vs. the Knicks.
Rusty first game for Embiid
Embiid had an odd second quarter and was far from his A-game overall.
He got whistled for a technical foul after expressing vehement disagreement about multiple calls and missed an easy, flat-footed layup in transition. The seven-time All-Star big man posted six points on 1-for-5 shooting, three rebounds, three assists and eight turnovers in 23 minutes.
Of course, preseason rust is common and not automatic cause for deep concern.
The Sixers held a two-point halftime lead and kept Embiid, Brown and Edgecombe on the court until around the midpoint of the third quarter. From that point, the Sixers’ bench closed out the night. They ended the game well and cut Brooklyn’s lead down to 109-108 on a late Edwards three, but the youthful Nets ultimately secured the win.
NHL Hockey News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games 2026-10-09 08:14:30
Cricket 2026: Victoria work from the Sheffield Shield offer infuriates employers, Junction Oval deal sells out on first day, latest news
A Cricket Victoria initiative launched by an ex-Test spinner to get more fans to the Sheffield Shield has proved an instant success - but the program labelled an ‘Australian dream’ has quickly received backlash.
'Really Happy For Him': Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews And John Tavares Reflect On Mitch Marner's Playoff Success With Golden Knights
The Toronto Maple Leafs are visiting the Vegas Golden Knights for their first road game of the season on Tuesday.
In the buildup to this matchup at morning skate, former Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner was mentioned to Auston Matthews and John Tavares, and they were asked about the Golden Knights' playoff campaign last year, specifically Marner's contribution.
Vegas advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup final but fell short in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes. In all that, Marner led the NHL in playoff scoring in that campaign with 29 points in 22 post-season games.
"Personally, as a friend, I was happy for him," Matthews said of Marner. "We still keep in touch. He's a great, great person. Great teammate and great friend. Personally, I was really happy for him. We stay in touch all the time, so it will be nice to see him tonight."
Maple Leafs Make Change With Middle-Six Forwards In Preparation For Golden Knights Clash In VegasThe Toronto Maple Leafs have made a small alteration to their forward group ahead of their first road game of the season against the Vegas Golden Knights.Marner was a member of the Maple Leafs for nine seasons and was teammates with Matthews for all those years, and linemates for a good chunk of his tenure in Toronto. He was also teammates with Tavares for seven years, beginning in 2018-19.
"Saw him a good amount over the summer, even though it was extremely short for him," Tavares said of Marner. "Obviously a good friend, amazing memories playing together, but we have to go out there and battle against him tonight."
Former Maple Leafs Star Mitch Marner Comments On Toronto's 2026 NHL Off-SeasonEx-Toronto Maple Leafs right winger Mitch Marner comments on the busy off-season his former team had in the 2026 off-season.He was impressed with Marner's performance in the playoffs, but based on what he's seen from the ex-Leaf firsthand, he wasn't really surprised by what he accomplished.
"I think he was just due," Tavares said. "He's just too good of a hockey player, impacts the game in so many different ways. He's a very unique, really special player, the way he thinks the game with and without the puck is as good as any player in the game."
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