— Braves 6, Phillies 2
Michael Harris hit a three run-homer in the first inning.
Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies also homered for Atlanta.
Seldom-used P Ray Kerr got the first 10 outs for the Braves.
Braves advance to play the Dodgers, starting Saturday.
— Browns 27, Steelers 24
Browns kicked a 56-yard FG with 0:10 left for the win.
Cleveland led 21-10 at halftime.
Browns’ first five drives: 26 plays, 233 yards, 21 points.
Browns in second half: 35 plays, 151 yards, 6 points.
Cleveland won its last two games, by 4-3-3 points.
Last 4+ years, Browns are 13-6-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Aaron Rodgers threw for 299 yards, with 3 TDs, 2 INTs
DJ Metcalf caught five passes for 115 yards.
— New Mexico State 34, Western Kentucky 13
RB Jones ran ball 20 times for 155 yards and a TD.
Aggies grabbed a 13-3 lead with a 45-yard pick-6 in 2nd quarter.
WKU QB Tisdale threw for 314 yards, but also had that INT.
1-4 Hilltoppers had 11 penalties for 84 yards.
— San Diego State’s football team has a medical issue; they have as many as 14 players who’ve come down with the mumps. Aztecs are scheduled to play Texas State at home Saturday.
— Arizona Diamondbacks gave manager Torey Lovullo a two-year contract after his team went 86-76 this season. Arizona finished over .500 three of the last four years, but they haven’t made the playoffs since winning the NL pennant in 2023.
— Houston Astros have lost their last nine home playoff games.
— With the NCAA basketball tournament increasing to 76 teams this season, the NIT will shrink from 32 to 24 teams.
Famous birthdays, October 2nd:
Lorraaine Bracco, 72
Dave Beard, 67
Mark Rypien, 64
Steve McLaughlin, 55
Aaron McKie, 54
Tyson Chandler, 44
Joe Ingles, 39
Lance McCullers Jr., 33
Our first look at the Mountain West basketball conference:
— Grand Canyon
Antelopes have won 20+ games the last five years.
Grand Canyon missed NCAAs LY, for first time in four years.
Antelopes added 6-1 G Darling, a transfer from St John’s.
— UNLV
Rebels haven’t made the NCAAs since 2013.
UNLV had six coaches the last 12 years; Pastner was 18-17/11-9 in his first year LY.
Rebels added good players, but they’ve got only two guys back from last year.
— Nevada
Coach Alford is retiring after this year; he haas 646 career wins.
Nevada missed NCAAs seven of last nine years; their last NCAA win? 2018.
Key addition for Wolf Pack: PG Styles Phipps, a PG from Pepperdine.
— New Mexico
New Mexico went 26-11 LY, with an entirely new roster.
Lobos have 101 wins the last four years, going 48-28 in the MW.
Frosh G Jake Hall shot 43.2% behind the arc LY, making 112 3-pointers.
— Wyoming
Last four years, Cowboys are 26-50 in conference games.
This year, Wyoming returns four of its top six scorers from LY.
Cowboys need to shoot better; they shot 33% behind arc LY.
— Hawaii
Rainbows were 24-9 LY, making NCAAs in their last year in the Big West.
Hawaii added 10 new players this year, as they jump up in class.
Last year, Hawaii had the #19 eFG% defense in the country.
— San Jose State
Last three years, Spartans are 12-46 in Mountain West games.
Last spring, donors formed a NIL fund with $4M in it.
For third year in row, San Jose will have an entirely new starting 5.
With increased NIL $$$, San Jose coaches think players will stick around.
— Cal-Davis
Last 4 years, Cal-Davis went 45-34 in Big West, but only 2-4 in Big West tourney.
Aggies haven’t made NCAA Tournament since 2017.
Cal-Davis added four transfers and three international recruits.
— Texas-El Paso
Last four years, Miners went 28-46 in Conference USA.
UTEP hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2010.
Miners want to play faster; they have almost an entirely new roster.
— Air Force
Former Penn State assistant Joe Crispin is the new coach here.
Air Force is apparently going to press and play a faster pace.
Falcons have all five starters and 98% of its scoring back from LY.
