Huffman Sports Wire News Break · ALL · Reporting · Published · Huffman Sports Wire News Desk
NBA: Preseason ends tonight and Milwaukee clears the stage for baseball
The preseason closes on Friday night with a full slate, and the headline game sends Boston to Philadelphia at 7 ET on NBA TV. Philadelphia listed a probable starting group of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James and Joel Embiid, while Boston listed a probable group of Derrick White, Jordan Walsh, Paul George, Jayson Tatum and Mitchell Robinson. Dominick Barlow is out for Philadelphia with a back injury, and Anfernee Simons and Adem Bona are also out even though both have returned to full practice. Denver at the Los Angeles Lakers at 10:30 ET on ESPN closes the night, and Denver entered its finale with wing Julian Strawther dealing with a left knee injury suffered on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers. Strawther scored 11 points in that game before leaving in the third quarter, and he was set for an MRI on Thursday.
Roster pressure is the other Friday story, with teams facing the opening-day roster deadline on Monday, October 19 at 5 ET. A wave of waiver moves on Thursday included New York waiving Ochai Agbaji and Tony Bradley, and front offices across the league spent Friday sorting camp deals, two-way spots and G League rights before the deadline. Milwaukee added a scheduling twist of its own, moving its home opener against Chicago on Friday, October 23 to an afternoon tip so the Brewers can own that evening when they host Game 1 of the World Series. One city, two openers, and baseball gets the night shift in Milwaukee.
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MLB: Cleveland turns to an opener as rain hangs over ALCS Game 4
Cleveland and Tampa Bay are scheduled to play Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Friday at 8 ET on TBS, truTV and HBO Max, and the weather is part of the matchup. Cleveland leads the series 2-1 after a 3-2 win in Game 3 on Thursday, when rookie outfielder Petey Halpin hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning. First pitch for Game 4 was moved back two hours to 8 ET after Milwaukee completed its sweep of Los Angeles on Thursday night. Rain was forecast in Cleveland for most of Friday, and reports on Friday morning said Major League Baseball was still planning to play the game as scheduled, with a possible weather window between 8 ET and 11 ET.
Cleveland announced reliever Shawn Armstrong as its Game 4 opener in what is set up as a bullpen game. Armstrong has allowed only one hit in 5.1 innings this postseason with 5 strikeouts, and this will be his fifth appearance of the playoffs. Lefty Joey Cantillo is well rested and could cover several innings after Armstrong, especially with Daniel Espino having pitched a key inning in Game 3. Tampa Bay starts Nick Martinez, who went 15-6 in the regular season with a 3.10 earned run average and allowed 2 runs in 3.2 innings in his start against New York in the Division Series. The winner of this series meets Milwaukee in the World Series starting Friday, October 23, so Cleveland and Tampa Bay are fighting the rain and each other for the last seat at the Fall Classic table.
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NFL: The Jets lose Breece Hall again and Jacksonville loses its left tackle
Friday brought hard injury answers for Sunday. The New York Jets ruled out running back Breece Hall, receiver Adonai Mitchell, lineman Dylan Parham and linebacker Joseph Ossai for the game against New England. Hall will miss a third straight game with a quad injury, and Braelon Allen is in line to carry the load in the Jets backfield again. Jacksonville faces a bigger hole in London, where the Jaguars play Houston on Sunday without left tackle Anton Harrison. Harrison was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday and is set for arthroscopic surgery on his right knee after the team returns from London, with no firm return timeline yet and Walker Little expected to start in his place.
Philadelphia still centers the Sunday quarterback picture, with Jalen Hurts out against Carolina and Tanner McKee in line to start for the 2-3 Eagles as they try to end a three-game losing streak. McKee has made 2 career starts and has thrown for 597 yards with 5 touchdowns and 1 interception in 6 career games. Chicago is trending the other way at quarterback, as Caleb Williams was a full participant in practice for the second straight day on Thursday and is on track to return at Atlanta on Sunday after missing three games with a hamstring injury. Bears running back Kyle Monangai did not practice on Thursday for the second straight day, Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was a full participant for the second straight day after a rib injury, and Falcons edge rusher Za'Darius Smith has been cleared from the concussion protocol. Sunday is shaping up as a test of backups, returns and one very busy training staff league-wide.
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NCAAF: Friday night lights up three leagues and Ohio State takes a real hit
Friday night offers three FBS games, starting with Memphis at Tulane at 7:30 ET on ESPN. Memphis is 5-1 under first-year coach Charles Huff and is averaging nearly 39 points per game, with its only loss coming on the road at Boise State. Washington at Purdue follows at 8 ET on FOX, and Appalachian State at Coastal Carolina starts at 8 ET on ESPN2. Purdue has won two straight conference games, including a 41-13 home win over Minnesota last week, while Washington has lost three straight games in Big Ten play and arrives with uncertainty at quarterback after recent injury issues.
Saturday still owns the weekend, and the noon window owns Saturday. Fourth-ranked Ohio State visits fifth-ranked Indiana at 12 ET on FOX, and the Buckeyes will play that top-five game without two key starters. Offensive lineman Austin Siereveld and running back Ja'Kobi Jackson were both ruled out on the Ohio State availability report, and Jackson ran for 76 yards on 14 carries against Maryland last week before a foot injury surfaced. Jackson has 354 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns this season, so Bo Jackson is in line for the leading role in the Ohio State backfield, while Phillip Daniels is expected to return at right tackle and receivers Brandon Inniss and Devin McCuin are on track to return. Sixth-ranked Alabama at 14th-ranked Tennessee at 3:30 ET on ABC gives the afternoon a second heavyweight fight, which means Friday night is just the warm-up act with a spotlight.
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CBB: Illinois tops a new Big Ten poll and Duke rules the ACC vote
A new Big Ten preseason media poll from SB Nation put Illinois first with 195 points and 8 first-place votes. Michigan State finished second with 183 points and 3 first-place votes, Michigan was third with 168 points, UCLA was fourth with 154 points and Purdue was fifth with 150 points. Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears was voted preseason player of the year in that poll, and Ohio State player Anthony Thompson was voted preseason freshman of the year. The poll adds another split opinion to a league race that already looked tight, with Illinois and Michigan State trading the top spot across different preseason ballots this month.
The ACC vote was far less divided. Duke was picked first in the ACC preseason media poll with 45 of 48 first-place votes and 861 points, and the Blue Devils were selected as the conference favorite for the third straight season. Virginia, Louisville and Miami took the next three spots and each received one first-place vote, North Carolina finished fifth and Clemson finished sixth with 623 points. Virginia forward Thijs De Ridder was the only unanimous first-team All-ACC selection and also earned preseason player of the year honors in that poll. Preseason polls do not win a single game in March, and that is exactly why everybody argues about them in October.
That is the Afternoon Edition. Five sports, zero filler. See you tonight in Cleveland, weather permitting.
Sources: - [Sixers Wire](https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/sixers/2026/10/16/sixers-vs-celtics-preseason-how-to-watch-lineups-broadcast-info/92265082007/) - [NESN](https://nesn.com/boston-celtics/news/watch-celtics-vs-76ers-channel-stream-start-time-nba-preseason/7d827774bdac2c8ddd7193bb) - [Hoops Rumors](https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2026/10/nuggets-strawther-to-undergo-mri-after-injuring-leg.html) - [Essentially Sports](https://www.essentiallysports.com/nba-active-basketball-news-sixteen-nba-players-waived-in-a-single-day-ahead-of-season-opener-as-knicks-lead-charge/) - [FOX6 News Milwaukee](https://fox6now.com/news/bucks-home-opener-moved-celebration-brewers-world-series-game-1) - [Akron Beacon Journal](https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/mlb/cleveland-guardians/2026/10/16/guardians-game-time-today-rain-weather-starting-pitcher-shawn-armstrong/92281443007/) - [LA Post](https://www.lapost.com/content/guardians-to-open-with-shawn-armstrong-rays-start-nick-martinez-in-alcs-game-4) - [USA Today](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2026/10/16/weather-forecast-alcs-game-4/92280927007/) - [NFL Trade Rumors](https://nfltraderumors.co/jets-announce-four-players-out-in-week-6/) - [FantasyPros](https://www.fantasypros.com/nfl/news/614229/breece-hall-quad-officially-ruled-out-week-6.php) - [Texans Wire](https://texanswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/texans/2026/10/16/houston-texans-vs-jacksonville-jaguars-jacksonville-injury-update-ot-anton-harrison-ahesd-of-week-6/92279715007/) - [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/sports/eagles-qb-jalen-hurts-blood-clot-ruled-out-vs-panthers--flm-2026-10-15/) - [Falcons Wire](https://thefalconswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/falcons/2026/10/15/falcons-vs-bears-injury-report-latest-on-penix-caleb-williams/92265339007/) - [NCAA](https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/college-football-tv-schedule-game-times-preview?-) - [Sports Illustrated](https://www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq/schedules/college-football-games-on-today-week-7-schedule-friday-to-watch) - [Columbus Dispatch](https://www.dispatch.com/story/sports/college/football/2026/10/14/ohio-states-jakobi-jackson-austin-seireveld-out-for-indiana-game/92220245007/) - [NextStamina](https://www.nextstamina.com/2026/10/16/illinois-favorites-ohio-state-once-again-picked-8th-in-sb-nation-preseason-big-ten-poll/) - [Clemson Wire](https://clemsonwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/clemson/football/2026/10/13/clemson-mens-basketball-acc-preseason-media-poll/92239498007/)
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