Huffman Sports Wire — Evening Edition

NBA: Boston pays Pritchard, and Toronto gets its homecoming night

The biggest move of the day came in Boston, where the Celtics agreed to a two-year extension with guard Payton Pritchard that was reported on Tuesday. The extension is worth 44.2 million dollars and will begin in the 2028-29 season, and the deal includes a mutual option for the 2029-30 season. The current Pritchard contract runs through the 2027-28 season, and he averaged career highs of 17 points, 5.2 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game last season while playing 79 games and making 50 starts. Boston opens the regular season on Tuesday, October 20 against the Pistons in Detroit.

Tonight belongs to Toronto, where a familiar star is scheduled to be back in the home uniform with a short-handed visitor in town. Kawhi Leonard is expected to take the floor in a Toronto Raptors uniform for the first time since the 2019 championship run when Toronto hosts the New York Knicks on Tuesday. Leonard missed the first two preseason games for Toronto while working back into game shape after a summer disrupted by the delayed trade from the Los Angeles Clippers, and tip in Toronto is set for 7:30 ET at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto enters at 1-1 in the preseason after a 114-106 win over the Clippers, and New York is expected to rest Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart on Tuesday. The rest of the Tuesday slate has Cleveland at Orlando at 7 ET, Indiana at Oklahoma City at 8 ET, Portland at Sacramento at 10 ET, and Golden State facing the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas at 10 ET. Boston locked up its spark plug before dinner, and Toronto gets the tunnel walk everyone has waited seven years to see again.

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MLB: Cleveland hunts a stranglehold in Florida, and Milwaukee packs a lead for Los Angeles

The American League has the stage to itself on Tuesday night, and Cleveland can change the whole feel of the series before it ever reaches Ohio. The Cleveland Guardians visit the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series on Tuesday at 8 ET on TBS at Tropicana Field, and Cleveland holds a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series after a 7-3 win in Game 1 on Monday. Left-hander Parker Messick is scheduled to start for Cleveland and right-hander Freddy Peralta is scheduled to start for Tampa Bay in Game 2. Messick finished the regular season at 12-9 with a 2.56 earned run average, and Peralta finished at 10-11 with a 4.42 earned run average. Game 3 is scheduled for Thursday, October 15 at 6 ET in Cleveland. A win for Cleveland on Tuesday would send the series north with Tampa Bay needing four wins in five games, and a win for Tampa Bay would restore the home field edge the Rays carried into the series.

The National League takes a travel day on Tuesday before the spotlight shifts west on Wednesday. The Milwaukee Brewers lead the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 in the National League Championship Series after a 7-4 win in Game 2 on Monday. Game 3 is scheduled for Wednesday, October 14 at 8 ET at Dodger Stadium on FS1. Robert Gasser is the probable starter for Milwaukee in Game 3 and Blake Snell is the probable starter for Los Angeles in Game 3. This is the first time Milwaukee has ever held a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven playoff series. Tampa Bay is trying to avoid the hole Los Angeles already owns, and Los Angeles has one day to figure out how to climb out of it at home.

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NFL: Jacksonville makes the Harrison move official, and Seattle adds a piece for Thursday

The afternoon update in Jacksonville turned a reported surgery plan into a formal roster move that will cost the Jaguars at least four games. The Jacksonville Jaguars placed left tackle Anton Harrison on injured reserve on Tuesday afternoon. Harrison will be out at least four games regardless of what is determined during surgery, and one potential outcome from the surgery is that Harrison misses the rest of the season. Walker Little is set to replace Harrison against the Houston Texans in London this week, Jacksonville filled the roster spot by signing safety Kaevon Merriweather from the practice squad, and the team also signed long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer to the practice squad.

Seattle made a smaller move on Tuesday that points straight at Thursday night in Denver. The Seattle Seahawks activated receiver Irv Charles from injured reserve on Tuesday. Running back Velus Jones was released to make room on the 53-man roster, and Charles will be available for the Thursday night game against the Broncos. Seattle visits Denver on Thursday, October 15 at 8:15 ET. Denver cornerback Patrick Surtain II and safety Talanoa Hufanga were listed as non-participants on the Week 6 injury report, Denver cornerback Riley Moss was listed as a limited participant with a ribs injury on that report, and Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was listed as a limited participant with an ankle injury on that report. Jacksonville lost a blind side starter for a month at minimum, and Denver heads into a short week with real questions in the secondary, which is a rough trade for anyone in Week 6.

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NCAAF: Tuesday night opens Week 7, and Wednesday keeps the lights on

Week 7 is underway in name before it is underway on the scoreboard, with two Conference USA games scheduled for Tuesday night. Delaware visits Middle Tennessee on Tuesday at 7 ET on CBS Sports Network, and FIU visits Jacksonville State on Tuesday at 8 ET on ESPNU. Delaware enters at 2-3 and Middle Tennessee enters at 2-3. FIU enters at 3-2 and Jacksonville State enters at 4-2, and Jacksonville State enters at 2-0 in Conference USA after winning its last three games. FIU enters at 1-0 in Conference USA after a 22-3 win over New Mexico State in its conference opener.

The midweek runway continues on Wednesday before the weekend takes over completely. Kennesaw State visits Missouri State on Wednesday, October 14 at 7:30 ET on CBS Sports Network, and Western Kentucky visits Sam Houston on Wednesday at 8 ET on ESPN2. Second-ranked Notre Dame visits eighth-ranked BYU on Saturday, October 17 at 7:30 ET on ABC, sixth-ranked Alabama visits fourteenth-ranked Tennessee on Saturday at 3:30 ET on ABC, and seventh-ranked Texas hosts Florida on Saturday at 12 ET on ABC. Fourth-ranked Ohio State visits fifth-ranked Indiana on Saturday at 12 ET on FOX. Tuesday and Wednesday decide the small print in Conference USA, and Saturday will decide whether the top five still looks anything like it does tonight.

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CBB: Duke tops the ACC vote, and the first model rankings agree at the very top

A new league poll arrived on Tuesday, and the favorite in the Atlantic Coast Conference is the same program that has owned that spot for three straight years. Duke was picked first in the ACC preseason poll released on Tuesday, October 13, receiving 45 of 48 first place votes and totaling 861 points in that poll. Virginia was picked second with 778 points and one first place vote, Louisville was picked third with 758 points and one first place vote, Miami was picked fourth with 753 points and one first place vote, and North Carolina was picked fifth with 658 points. Duke is the ACC preseason favorite for the third consecutive season.

The individual honors were split between the top two teams in that poll, which should make their meetings feel personal by January. Virginia forward Thijs De Ridder was named Preseason ACC Player of the Year. Duke freshman Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje was selected as the Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year, and Duke guard John Blackwell and Duke center Patrick Ngongba II were named to the preseason All-ACC first team. De Ridder led Virginia in scoring at 15.6 points per game and in rebounding at 6.2 rebounds per game last season. The first KenPom ratings for the new season put Duke first, Florida second, Houston third, Illinois fourth, and Arizona fifth. Eight Southeastern Conference teams landed in the initial KenPom top 25, and within those ratings Florida is second, Alabama is ninth, and Texas is tenth. The voters and the models agree on the ceiling, and the rest of the country gets three weeks to argue about the order underneath it.

That is the Evening Edition for Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Five sports, zero filler. See you tomorrow.

SOURCES

1. Reuters — NBA https://www.reuters.com/sports/report-celtics-sign-g-payton-pritchard-2-year-442m-extension--flm-2026-10-13/

2. NBC Sports Boston — NBA https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-payton-pritchard-contract-extension-stats/807525/

3. Raptors Republic — NBA https://raptorsrepublic.com/2026/10/13/gameday-knicks-raptors-october-13th/

4. Sports Histori — NBA https://www.sportshistori.com/2025/09/nba-preseason-schedule-dates-times-how-to-watch.html

5. USA Today — MLB https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/playoffs/2026/10/13/mlb-playoff-bracket-alcs-nlcs-schedule/92229386007/

6. USA Today — MLB https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/playoffs/2026/10/13/guardians-rays-watch-score-highlights-channel-alcs-mlb-playoffs--live/92228005007/

7. NBC Sports — MLB https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/news/how-to-watch-dodgers-vs-brewers-in-2026-mlb-nlcs-schedule-tv-stream-info-preview-everything-to-know

8. USA Today — MLB https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/playoffs/2026/10/12/dodgers-brewers-watch-score-time-nlcs-channel-highlights--live/92212868007/

9. NBC Sports — NFL https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/jaguars-put-anton-harrison-on-injured-reserve

10. Seahawks — NFL https://www.seahawks.com/news/seahawks-activate-wr-irv-charles-from-injured-reserve

11. NBC Sports — NFL https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/seahawks-activate-wr-irv-charles

12. Covers — NFL https://www.covers.com/nfl/seahawks-vs-broncos-prediction-picks-odds-early-leans-week-6-2026

13. Seahawks — NFL https://www.seahawks.com/news/week-6-injury-report-seahawks-at-broncos

14. NCAA — NCAAF https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/college-football-tv-schedule-game-times-preview

15. On3 — NCAAF https://www.on3.com/college/football/schedule/

16. College Sports Wire — NCAAF https://collegesportswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/college-football/2026/10/13/jax-state-fiu-week-7-betting-odds-prediction/92223128007/

17. ESPN Press Room — NCAAF https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/seven-top-10-teams-set-for-espn-networks-in-week-7-led-by-no-2-notre-dame-at-no-8-byu-on-abc-saturday-night-football/

18. College Football News — NCAAF https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/college-football-week-7-schedule-predictions-scoreboard-2026

19. Fayetteville Observer — CBB https://www.fayobserver.com/story/sports/college/basketball/2026/10/13/duke-basketball-leads-acc-preseason-poll-with-three-players-earning-honors/92102693007/

20. Virginia Athletics — CBB https://virginiasports.com/news/2026/10/13/de-ridder-named-preseason-acc-player-of-the-year-and-uva-tabbed-second-in-poll

21. Sporting News — CBB https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-basketball/duke/news/duke-gets-major-preseason-boost-college-basketball-rankings-reveal-surprising-contenders/8e616e04bc9212e6fe8c1fdb

22. Saturday Down South — CBB https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/news/college-basketball/kenpom-college-basketball-rankings-2026-27-8-sec-teams-land-in-initial-top-25/

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