Huffman Sports Wire News Break · ALL · Reporting · Published · Huffman Sports Wire News Desk
NBA: Preseason ends in overtime, and opening night is next
The preseason closed Friday night with two overtime finishes in the East, and both home crowds left with plenty to chew on. Boston beat Philadelphia 125-120 in overtime to finish the preseason 4-0, closing the game with a 31-21 fourth quarter and a 10-5 overtime edge. Joel Embiid scored 27 points with eight rebounds and five assists for Philadelphia, and Tyrese Maxey added 22 points and six assists. LeBron James had eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists in his first home game as a 76er, and Hugo Gonzalez led Boston with 21 points.
Milwaukee edged Indiana 128-127 in overtime in the other thriller, erasing a Pacers lead built on a 71-point first half. Pascal Siakam scored 24 points in 21 minutes for Indiana, and Andrew Nembhard finished with 11 points, seven assists and no turnovers. Detroit held off Toronto 129-125 behind 18 points and seven assists from Cade Cunningham, and first-round pick Ebuka Okorie scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter for the Pistons. Out west, Denver beat the Los Angeles Lakers 121-106, Golden State beat Portland 128-118, Utah beat Phoenix 119-116, and Orlando beat Miami 136-115.
The real thing starts Tuesday, October 20, with Boston at Detroit, Philadelphia at New York, and Oklahoma City at San Antonio on opening night. The dress rehearsals are over, and the rotations that survived Friday are about to meet a standings table that keeps receipts.
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MLB: Milwaukee sweeps its way to the World Series
Milwaukee is going back to the World Series for the first time since 1982, and the Brewers did it by sweeping the defending champions. Milwaukee beat Los Angeles 6-4 in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series to finish a 4-0 sweep of the Dodgers. Garrett Mitchell hit a go-ahead solo home run in the sixth inning, and Milwaukee added late insurance to close out a Los Angeles club that had won the previous two World Series titles.
The American League pennant is still up for grabs, and the weather has grabbed the schedule. Cleveland leads Tampa Bay 2-1 in the American League Championship Series after a 7-3 Cleveland win in Game 1, a 3-1 Tampa Bay win in Game 2, and a 3-2 Cleveland win in Game 3. Game 4 at Progressive Field was postponed because of inclement weather, and the series resumes today with Game 4 scheduled for 8 ET in Cleveland. Game 5 follows on Sunday, October 18 at 5 ET, and the World Series is scheduled to start Friday, October 23.
Milwaukee gets to rest and watch while Cleveland and Tampa Bay fight in the rain-delayed cold, which is the best October prize of all.
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NFL: Denver survives Thursday, and Sunday brings the injury fallout
Denver opened the week with a 17-14 overtime win over Seattle on Thursday night, and the Broncos defense carried a night the offense would rather forget. Seattle rallied from 14-3 down in the fourth quarter to force overtime, and Jason Myers tied the game at 14-14 on a 34-yard field goal with 3 seconds left in regulation. JaQuan McMillian intercepted Sam Darnold on the first possession of overtime at the Seattle 43, and Wil Lutz won it with a 53-yard field goal. Denver moved to 4-2 and Seattle fell to 3-3, with Darnold finishing 27 of 51 for 278 yards and two interceptions against five sacks, while Bo Nix finished 17 of 27 for 107 yards and Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught 12 passes for 134 yards in the loss.
Friday brought the Sunday injury picture into focus. Baker Mayfield was ruled out with a right thumb injury, and Jalon Daniels is set for a third consecutive start on Sunday against Pittsburgh. Alvin Kamara was limited in practice with a back issue and is listed as questionable for the Saints trip to face the Giants at MetLife Stadium, where New York will be without safety Tyler Nubin, tight end Theo Johnson, and cornerback Colton Hood. Green Bay ruled out Jonathan Ford, Skyy Moore, and Benjamin St-Juste for its game against Dallas, and New England ruled out cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and Karon Prunty for Sunday against the Jets, with Christian Gonzalez a possible return in that secondary.
Denver won a rock fight on Thursday, and half the league spent Friday just trying to field a healthy lineup for Sunday, which tells you exactly where this season is headed.
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NCAAF: A Friday upset sets up the best Saturday yet
Friday night delivered the first shakeup of the weekend, as Tulane beat Memphis 31-17 at Yulman Stadium and wrecked a playoff hopeful in the process. Memphis quarterback Marcus Stokes threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles, and Tulane forced six turnovers on the night. The backbreaking play came at the end of the first half, when a Stokes interception was returned 76 yards for a touchdown as time expired. Washington beat Purdue 38-26 in West Lafayette, and Appalachian State beat Coastal Carolina 35-32 in Conway to round out the Friday slate.
Today is loaded from noon to late night. Fourth-ranked Ohio State visits fifth-ranked Indiana at 12 ET, Florida visits Texas at 12 ET on ABC, and Mississippi State visits LSU at 12 ET on ESPN in the early window. The 3:30 ET window stacks three ranked matchups at once, with Auburn at first-ranked Georgia on ESPN, Alabama at Tennessee on ABC, and Missouri at Ole Miss on the SEC Network. Notre Dame at BYU headlines the night window on ABC, with Arkansas at Vanderbilt at 7 ET on ESPN2 and Kentucky at Oklahoma at 7:30 ET on the SEC Network also on the board.
Three ranked-versus-ranked games kicking off at the same hour is not a schedule, it is a remote-control endurance test, and nobody is complaining.
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CBB: Arizona tops a loaded Big 12 preseason poll
The Big 12 coaches have weighed in, and the deepest league in the country looks deep again. Arizona was picked first in the Big 12 preseason poll with 220 points, just ahead of Houston at 214 points. Kansas checked in third with 186 points, followed by Iowa State in fourth and Texas Tech in fifth, with BYU, TCU, Cincinnati, and West Virginia rounding out the top half of the 16-team poll.
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 with a career-high 73 blocked shots. Krivas was joined on the preseason first team by Arizona sophomore Ivan Kharchenkov, who recorded 53 steals and 89 assists last season. Arizona State newcomer Paulius Murauskas was selected as the Newcomer of the Year after averaging 18.4 points and 7.6 rebounds last season at Saint Mary's.
The games do not count for a few more weeks, and the poll will be wrong about somebody by Thanksgiving, which is half the fun of October basketball talk.
That is the Morning Edition. Five sports, zero filler. See you at halftime.
Sources: - [NBC Sports](https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/news/2026-mlb-playoffs-tracker-bracket-schedule-results-scores-matchups-for-al-nl-postseason-games) - [The Orbit Post](https://theorbitpostnews.us/nba-preseason-finale-scores-october-16-2026/) - [Celtics Wire](https://celticswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/celtics/2026/10/16/celtics-bench-outlasts-76ers-starters-to-win-125-120-in-preseason-ot/92291522007/) - [Eurohoops](https://www.eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/2022107/nikola-jokic-versus-luka-doncic-nba-preseason-european-recap/) - [azcentral](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2026/10/16/suns-jazz-score-game-updates-preseason/92291012007/) - [Game Day Tourist](https://gamedaytourist.com/en/league-news/todays-mlb-news-roundup-october-17/) - [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/sports/nfl/broncos-ot-interception-sets-up-winning-field-goal-sinks-seahawks--flm-2026-10-16/) - [NBC Sports](https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/thursday-night-football-broncos-beat-seahawks-17-14-in-overtime) - [Giants Wire](https://giantswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/giants/2026/10/16/new-york-giants-tyler-nubin-among-3-out-new-orleans-saints/92279039007/) - [Packers News](https://www.packersnews.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2026/10/16/green-bay-packers-cornerback-keisean-nixon-set-to-play-vs-cowboys/92242142007/) - [Patriots Wire](https://patriotswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/patriots/2026/10/16/mike-vrabel-rules-out-karon-prunty-carlton-davis-jets/92284604007/) - [Game Day Tourist](https://gamedaytourist.com/en/league-news/todays-nfl-news-roundup-october-17/) - [Commercial Appeal](https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/sports/college/memphis-tigers/2026/10/16/memphis-football-tulane-live-score-updates-espn--live/92173796007/) - [IndyStar](https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/purdue/2026/10/16/purdue-football-grades-loss-washington-former-coach-ryan-walters-defense-stops-boilers-offense/92294634007/) - [FBSchedules](https://fbschedules.com/college-football-schedule-tv-selections-for-october-17-2026/amp/) - [Last Word on Sports](https://lastwordonsports.com/collegefootball/2026/10/14/sec-week-7/) - [azcentral](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/college/big-12/2026/10/15/big-12-mens-basketball-preseason-coaches-poll-arizona-asu/92265228007/)
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