October 9, 2026 11:56 am
CHICAGO (AP) — Mike Ditka, who won NFL titles as a player and coach with the Chicago Bears, has died. He was 86. Nicknamed “Iron Mike” as a player, Ditka helped revolutionize the tight-end position, then moved to the sidelines and took over as Chicago’s coach. His 1985 team featured one of the game’s most dominant defenses ever. It also had enough outsized personalities to record a rap video, “The Super Bowl Shuffle,” and back up their boasting in the championship game three months later. After retiring as a coach, Ditka became a restaurateur and TV personality, as well as a forceful advocate for improved medical and retirement benefits for former players.
October 9, 2026 4:25 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers will try to put an uneven opening month of the season behind them when Indianapolis visits. The Steelers find themselves at 2-2 after a dismal road loss at Cleveland. McCarthy says the team is still a work in progress as they prepare to face Indianapolis, which is also at 2-2. The Colts have been improving since an opening-week loss at Baltimore and are coming off a solid win over the Commanders in London. Winning in Pittsburgh has always been a challenge for Indianapolis. The Steelers are 21-3 all time at home against the Colts.
October 9, 2026 4:27 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Bucky Irving ran for a career-high 165 yards, including a 72-yard run to set up the touchdown that put Tampa Bay ahead for good while scoring twice himself, and the Buccaneers beat the Dallas Cowboys 24-16 night for their first win of the season. Jalon Daniels threw for a TD pass to Irving in the first half while directing a turnover-free offense amid several Dallas miscues in the just the second start for the undrafted rookie. Daniels is filling in for franchise quarterback Baker Mayfield. Dak Prescott led a 99-yard scoring drive but threw two interceptions as the Cowboys continued an up-and-down start to the season.
October 9, 2026 4:26 am
CHICAGO (AP) — José Ramírez homered and drove in three runs, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 9-5 to send their AL Division Series to a winner-take-all Game 5. Pinch-hitter Patrick Bailey also went deep and Game 2 starter Gavin Williams got the last three outs as the Guardians won for the second consecutive day in Chicago after beginning their postseason with two straight losses at home. Jo Adell hit a two-run single to cap a six-run sixth inning for the AL Central champions. Cleveland is looking to become the first major league team to come back from a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-five playoff series since the 2017 New York Yankees accomplished the feat against, well, Cleveland. Game 5 is back in Cleveland on Saturday night.
October 9, 2026 4:28 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball proposed to shorten the regular season to 154 games from 162 games starting in 2029 and to expand the Division Series to best-of-seven in bargaining with players. Owners also proposed to allow higher-seeded teams in the first two rounds of the postseason to pick their opponents beginning next year and to make Monday a day off for most teams starting in 2029 except for those in one or two nationally broadcast games. Cutting regular-season games would reduce the opportunity for players to set season and career records.
October 8, 2026 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Wilson had a goal and two assists, and the Washington Capitals held on for a win in Alex Ovechkin’s final home opener, 5-3 over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Anthony Beauvillier, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Alex Tuch and Ryan Leonard also scored for the Capitals, who introduced their roster one by one before the game, saving Ovechkin for last. The Russian star’s two kids handled that announcement, and the crowd gave a standing ovation. Ovechkin announced earlier in the week that this season would be his last in the NHL. Bryan Rust, Tommy Novak and Nick Robertson scored for the Penguins.
October 8, 2026 4:22 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers advanced to the National League Championship Series for the second straight season with a 3-1 victory over the San Diego Padres to win their best-of-five Division Series 3-1. Garrett Mitchell tripled and scored the tiebreaking run on Jackson Chourio’s single in the fifth inning. Mitchell drove in Sal Frelick with Milwaukee’s first run, and Frelick added a sacrifice fly in the sixth as the Brewers snapped their 12-game postseason road losing streak since 2018. After fending off the surging Padres in four tight games, the 103-win Brewers will get an NLCS rematch with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Andy Pages drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the seventh inning to give Los Angeles the lead, and the Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 to clinch their NL Division Series. The Dodgers won back-to-back games in Atlanta to take the best-of-five matchup 3-1 and advance to the National League Championship Series as they seek to become the first NL team to win three straight World Series.
October 8, 2026 4:24 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Anthony Volpe was denied a tying home run for the New York Yankees in Game 3 of their AL Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays when a replay review determined a fan interfered with his drive to deep left field. The Yankees wound up losing 4-3 by the very run that was taken off the board and had their season end in a three-game sweep. Players and managers on both sides mostly agreed the right decision was made. The play came nearly 30 years to the day after young Yankees fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the right-field wall at Yankee Stadium to turn Derek Jeter’s flyball into a home run during the 1996 American League Championship Series against Baltimore. Jo Adell and José Ramírez powered Cleveland with a pair of two-out triples, and the Guardians avoided an AL Division Series sweep by cooling off the Chicago White Sox with a 9-3 victory in Game 3. Adell’s three-run triple gave Cleveland a 4-1 lead in the third inning. Ramírez’s three-bagger drove in Travis Bazzana and Patrick Bailey for a 7-3 advantage in the eighth. The Guardians hit two triples in a postseason game for the first time in franchise history. Game 4 is Thursday in Chicago, with the White Sox leading 2-1 in the best-of-five matchup. Once again, they’ll try to clinch a postseason series at home for the first time since the 1906 World Series.
October 8, 2026 4:19 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers isn’t fazed by on-field frustrations caught on camera during a loss to the Cleveland Browns. Rodgers, defensive tackle Cam Heyward and edge rusher T.J. Watt were among the players who were demonstrably upset at times Thursday night. Rodgers, who had a testy exchange with coach Mike McCarthy, called the team’s emotion a sign of its passion for winning. McCarthy agreed but added his team could be more disciplined in controlling emotions in the future. The Steelers’ 2-2 start has been uneven, but McCarthy has emphasized growth and trust within the team.
October 7, 2026 1:22 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired defenseman Spencer Stastney from Edmonton in exchange for forward Filip Hallander. The deal gives the Penguins depth on the blue line. The 26-year-old Hallander was off to a promising start this season with the Penguins, scoring a goal and two assists in two games. The former second-round draft pick has struggled to gain a foothold in the NHL during his time in Pittsburgh, appearing in just 18 games across four seasons. The Penguins will be Stastney’s third team in less than a year.
