Huffman Sports Wire News Break · ALL · Reporting · Published · Huffman Sports Wire News Desk
NBA: Preseason is over and Embiid sent the reminder
Boston closed the preseason unbeaten at 4-0 with a 125-120 overtime win over Philadelphia, and the strangest part is that Boston did it without its starters. Hugo Gonzalez led the Celtics with 21 points off the bench, while Philadelphia played its regulars deep into the second half and still came up short. The 76ers finished the preseason at 1-3, and the result mattered far less than the way Joel Embiid looked.
Embiid led everyone with 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and he played like a man tired of hearing that he is finished. Tyrese Maxey added 22 points and six assists, and Jaylen Brown added 20 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, giving the three Philadelphia headliners 69 points combined. LeBron James took the table-setting role for the 76ers with eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists, which is a sentence that still takes a second to read correctly.
Elsewhere in the finales, Chicago beat Minnesota 133-116 behind 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks from rookie Caleb Wilson, who averaged 15.8 points across five preseason games. Denver beat the Los Angeles Lakers 121-106, with Jamal Murray scoring 21 points and Nikola Jokic adding 17 points, six rebounds and eight assists against 15 points from Luka Doncic and a team-high 19 points from Austin Reaves. The real season opens Tuesday, October 20 with a tripleheader on NBC and Peacock, as Boston plays at Detroit at 3 ET, Philadelphia plays at New York at 7 ET, and Oklahoma City plays against San Antonio at 9:30 ET. Rest up now, because the standings start counting on Tuesday and the excuses expire at tipoff.
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MLB: The Rays evened the ALCS and the Brewers are still waiting
Tampa Bay beat Cleveland 7-3 in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday night at Progressive Field, and the best-of-seven series is tied at 2-2. Jonathan Aranda had three hits and drove in two runs, and he scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning on a double from Junior Caminero that put the Rays ahead 2-1. Nick Martinez earned the win for Tampa Bay after allowing one run on two hits across 5 1/3 innings, and Yandy Diaz sealed the night with a two-run homer in the ninth inning that pushed the lead to 7-3.
Cleveland struck first when Chase DeLauter singled home Steven Kwan in the first inning for a 1-0 lead, and the Guardians pulled within 5-3 in the seventh inning on a solo homer from Travis Bazzana and a run-scoring single from Brayan Rocchio. Tampa Bay added three runs in the seventh inning, helped when a single from Aranda got past DeLauter in right field, and Cleveland never recovered from the defensive mistakes. Game 5 is scheduled for Sunday in Cleveland at 5 ET, with Parker Messick set to start for the Guardians, and Game 6 is scheduled for Monday in St. Petersburg, so a return to Florida is already guaranteed.
Milwaukee has the other pennant in hand and nothing to do except watch. The Brewers completed a four-game sweep of Los Angeles in the National League Championship Series on Thursday with a 6-4 win in Game 4, rallying from a 4-0 deficit after Garrett Mitchell hit the go-ahead homer in the sixth inning, and Milwaukee reached the World Series for the first time since 1982. The World Series is scheduled to begin Friday, October 23 in Milwaukee, and the Brewers will host the winner of the Tampa Bay and Cleveland series. The Brewers punched their ticket early and now get to watch two tired teams beat each other up for it.
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NFL: Hurts to injured reserve headlines a loaded Sunday
Philadelphia placed quarterback Jalen Hurts on injured reserve on Saturday because of a superficial blood clot in his left calf, and Hurts will miss at least four games. The Eagles are 2-3 after three straight losses, and Tanner McKee will start on Sunday against Carolina at 1 ET in place of Hurts. Philadelphia plays Dallas, Washington and the New York Giants after the Carolina game, and the medical clearance will decide the return date rather than the calendar.
Chicago gets its starter back on the other side of the injury news, as Caleb Williams is expected to return and start at Atlanta on Sunday at 1 ET after missing the previous three games with a right hamstring injury. Williams was hurt on September 20 against Minnesota, Chicago went 2-1 without him, and the Bears bring a 3-2 record into the game against the 2-3 Falcons. His return sets up the first NFL meeting between Williams and Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr., two first-round picks from the 2024 draft class.
Week 6 Sunday opens early in London, as Houston plays Jacksonville at Wembley Stadium at 9:30 ET on NFL Network, with Jacksonville at 4-1 and Houston at 1-4. The late window features the Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City at 4:25 ET and Buffalo at Las Vegas at 4:25 ET, and Sunday night closes with Dallas at 2-3 visiting Green Bay at 3-2 at 8:20 ET on NBC. Monday night brings Washington to San Francisco at 8:15 ET, and the undefeated 5-0 49ers will play without defensive end Nick Bosa, who was ruled out on Saturday with a calf injury and has not played since Week 2. Denver opened the week on Thursday with a 17-14 overtime win over Seattle, so the rest of the league is just trying to keep up with a week that started in overtime.
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NCAAF: Five of the top seven lost on a Saturday for the ages
College football delivered a historic shakeup on Saturday, as five teams ranked in the top seven lost on the same day. Auburn stunned first-ranked Georgia 27-24 in Athens on a 34-yard field goal from Alex McPherson as time expired, ending a nine-game losing streak for Auburn against Georgia. Byrum Brown ran for 115 yards and one touchdown on 26 carries for Auburn and added a scoring pass, while Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton threw two interceptions and fumbled with 58 seconds remaining to set up the winning kick. Georgia fell to 6-1, and Auburn improved to 4-2.
Eighth-ranked BYU beat second-ranked Notre Dame 28-24 in Provo, as Bear Bachmeier scored as a passer, as a runner and as a receiver and threw the late touchdown pass to Walker Lyons that gave BYU the lead. BYU improved to 6-0, and Notre Dame took its first loss while its 16-game winning streak ended. Third-ranked Miami survived the chaos with a 43-35 double-overtime win over Florida State to improve to 6-0, while Florida State fell to 3-4.
Ohio State beat Indiana 19-15 in Bloomington in the top-five showdown of the day, ending the 22-game winning streak for Indiana as a team. Julian Sayin completed 15 of 29 passes for 235 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for Ohio State before he left in the fourth quarter after a sack from Mario Landino, and coach Ryan Day said after the game that Sayin is expected to miss multiple weeks with the injury to his throwing arm. Freshman Luke Fahey finished the game for Ohio State, and Indiana came up inches short when a potential go-ahead touchdown catch from Nick Marsh was ruled incomplete.
Tennessee beat Alabama 26-10 in Knoxville, as DeSean Bishop carried 32 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns and the Tennessee defense forced four turnovers while holding Alabama to 201 yards. Alabama fell to 5-2 with its second straight loss, and Tennessee improved to 6-1. Florida won 27-24 at Texas after trailing by as many as 14 points, as Tramell Jones Jr. threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start and Arch Manning fumbled late for Texas, which fell to 4-2. Texas Tech beat Arizona State 53-25, Ole Miss beat Missouri 31-3, Utah stayed unbeaten with a 27-24 win at Colorado, Oregon beat Nebraska 17-14, and Wake Forest routed California 41-7, because apparently one upset per time slot was not enough for this Saturday.
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CBB: Conference polls are out and the picture is getting clearer
The Big 12 coaches picked Arizona to win the league in the preseason poll, giving the Wildcats 220 points and the top spot ahead of Houston at 214 points. Kansas was picked third with 186 points, Iowa State was picked fourth with 181 points, and Texas Tech was picked fifth with 180 points in a vote that shows how crowded the top of the league looks. Arizona center Motiejus Krivas was selected as the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year after averaging 10.4 points and 8.2 rebounds last season, and he blocked 73 shots while holding opponents to 36.7 percent shooting when he was on the floor.
The American Conference race looks tight at the top as well, as Wichita State was picked first with nine first-place votes and Memphis was picked second with the other four first-place votes. Memphis is trying to rebound from a 13-19 season under coach Penny Hardaway, and point guard Jayden Reid earned a spot on the preseason all-conference first team for the Tigers. Memphis opens the regular season on November 2 against Iowa State at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which is a reminder that the long wait for games that count is down to about two weeks. The polls are fun in October, and they are kindling by November.
That's the Morning Edition. Five sports, zero filler. See you at halftime.
Sources: - [The Liberty Line](https://thelibertyline.com/2026/10/17/sixers-preseason-finale-celtics/) - [Roundtable](https://roundtable.io/sports/nba/celtics/news/boston-celtics-finish-preseason-unbeaten-regular-season-up-next) - [Yardbarker](https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/tiago_splitter_praises_caleb_wilson_after_strong_preseason/s1_17113_44438209) - [ClutchPoints](https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-watch-luka-doncic-power-nikola-jokic-tough-and-1) - [NBC Sports](https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/what-are-the-best-games-of-the-2026-27-nba-season-top-matchups-finals-previews-lebrons-season-with-76ers) - [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/sports/baseball/jonathan-arandas-3-hit-night-leads-rays-past-guardians-ties-alcs-2-2--flm-2026-10-18/) - [USA Today](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/playoffs/2026/10/17/guardians-rays-watch-score-weather-channel-alcs-game-4--live/92294499007/) - [NBC Sports](https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/news/brewers-sweep-the-dodgers-in-the-nlcs-to-reach-the-world-series-for-the-first-time-since-1982) - [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/sports/baseball/brewers-rally-sweep-dodgers-earn-first-world-series-bid-since-82--flm-2026-10-16/) - [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/sports/eagles-place-qb-jalen-hurts-blood-clot-ir--flm-2026-10-17/) - [NBC Sports Philadelphia](https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/eagles-place-jalen-hurts-on-injured-reserve-with-blood-clot/759308/) - [Reuters via 94.1 The Duke](https://941theduke.com/2026/10/17/report-bears-qb-caleb-williams-to-start-vs-falcons/) - [NBC Sports](https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/news/what-nfl-games-are-on-today-tv-channels-live-stream-info-kickoff-times-for-week-6) - [FOX Sports](https://foxsports.com/stories/nfl/how-to-watch-texans-vs-jaguars-tv-channel-live-stream-time-oct-18-2026) - [Commanders Wire via USA Today](https://commanderswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/commanders/2026/10/18/49ers-nick-bosa-out-commanders-monday-night-football/92315025007/) - [USA Today](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/10/17/georgia-alabama-texas-upset-week-7-turns-college-football-upside-down/92309777007/) - [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/17/sport/auburn-georgia-upset-top-ranked?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_meta) - [FOX Sports](https://foxsports.com/stories/college-football/upsets-georgia-texas-alabama-florida-auburn-tennessee) - [New York Post](https://nypost.com/2026/10/17/sports/julian-sayin-to-miss-multiple-weeks-after-suffering-injury-in-ohio-state-crusher/) - [NBC Sports](https://www.nbcsports.com/college-football/news/alabama-vs-tennessee-recap-results-volunteers-send-tide-to-second-consecutive-loss) - [Arizona Central](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/college/big-12/2026/10/15/big-12-mens-basketball-preseason-coaches-poll-arizona-asu/92265228007/) - [Commercial Appeal](https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/sports/college/memphis-tigers/2026/10/09/memphis-basketball-penny-hardaway-american-conference-preseason-poll/92098503007/)
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