Section: Sports

Relying on an old-school pitching strategy has the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers two wins from returning to the Fall Classic.

The NFL is more wide open than it’s been in years. There are no dominant teams this season, no unbeatens through six weeks. Only the Buccaneers and Colts have five wins.

With another triumph in Toronto, the surging Seattle Mariners moved two wins away from the team’s first World Series.
Jorge Polanco and Julio Rodríguez hit three-run homers, Josh Naylor added a two-run drive and the Mariners took a 2-0 AL Championship Series lead by routing the Blue Jays 10-3 on Monday.

Blake Snell allowed one baserunner in eight shutout innings before Los Angeles’ bullpen barely held on as the Dodgers opened the NLCS with a 2-1 victory Monday night.

It wasn’t quite the same drama as the Hail Mary that decided these teams’ game a year ago, but Caleb Williams and the Bears did get the better of Jayden Daniels and the Commanders on a final-play score Monday night, with Chicago defeating Washington 25-24 with a 38-yard field goal by new kicker Jake Moody.

The Tennessee Titans fired Brian Callahan on Monday after a 1-5 start to his second season, making him the first NFL head coach ousted this season.

Cape Verde will play in the World Cup for the first time after beating Eswatini 3-0 to win its group in African qualifying for the 2026 World Cup on Monday.

San Diego Padres infielder Jose Iglesias was suspended Friday for one game and fined for unprofessional conduct toward the umpires during the final game of the club’s wild-card playoff series against the Chicago Cubs, MLB announced.

Sanders will back up Dillon Gabriel on Sunday in Pittsburgh, meaning the Browns, who haven’t won a regular-season game on their rival’s home field since 2003, will face the Steelers with two rookie quarterbacks.

The Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t blink as the pressure built, inning after scoreless inning. Both teams pushed a single run across, forcing extra innings. Then came one of postseason baseball’s craziest endings.