Huffman Sports Wire News Break · ALL · Reporting · Published · Huffman Sports Wire News Desk
NBA: Preseason chaos, a blowout in Toronto, and a welcome back in Oklahoma City
Orlando protected home court on Tuesday night with a 132-116 preseason win against Cleveland at the Kia Center. Paolo Banchero scored 24 points and grabbed 8 rebounds for the Magic. Franz Wagner added 20 points and 8 assists in the win. Jalen Suggs returned to the starting lineup for his first action of the preseason and finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists while playing only in the first half. Orlando improved to 2-1 in the preseason and closes the exhibition schedule on Friday at home against Miami.
Oklahoma City earned its first win of the preseason with a 114-112 overtime victory against Indiana at the Paycom Center. Jared McCain led the Thunder with 20 points off the bench. Jalen Williams scored 16 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 points for Oklahoma City. Tyrese Haliburton led Indiana with 24 points in 17 minutes in his return to the building where he tore his Achilles tendon during Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. The Thunder improved to 1-3 in the preseason and finish exhibition play on Thursday on the road against Houston.
Toronto turned Tuesday night into a track meet with a 148-98 preseason win against New York at Scotiabank Arena. Kawhi Leonard led the Raptors with 21 points in the blowout. Collin Murray-Boyles and Scottie Barnes added 19 points each for Toronto, and Murray-Boyles also grabbed 9 rebounds. New York rested its starters on the second night of a back-to-back set and fell to 0-4 in the preseason. Golden State also won on Tuesday night, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 101-89 in Las Vegas in a game that marked Walker Kessler's Lakers debut after he missed the first three games with a finger injury.
The preseason slate continues tonight with Boston hosting Charlotte at 7:30 ET, San Antonio hosting Phoenix at 8 ET and the Los Angeles Clippers hosting Denver at 10:30 ET. The real games start on October 21, and the rotations are finally starting to look like the real thing. October basketball is basically dress rehearsal with better highlights.
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MLB: The Rays answer back, and the Brewers carry a cushion to Los Angeles
Tampa Bay evened the American League Championship Series at 1-1 with a 3-1 win against Cleveland in Game 2 on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. Freddy Peralta fired six scoreless innings and struck out six for the Rays. Liam Hicks delivered a two-run single in the fourth inning to provide the decisive offense. Tampa Bay scored all three of its runs in the fourth inning, and Cleveland scored its only run in the seventh inning. Cleveland had won Game 1 by a 7-3 score on Monday, so the series shifts to Cleveland tied after the split in St. Petersburg.
Milwaukee carries a 2-0 lead in the National League Championship Series after a 7-4 win against Los Angeles in Game 2 on Monday. William Contreras delivered three hits and three runs batted in for the Brewers. Contreras tied the game with a home run in the fifth inning and drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the sixth inning. Christian Yelich added two runs batted in, and the Milwaukee bullpen retired all 15 batters it faced to close the win. Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed three runs in a short start that lasted less than three full innings.
The National League series resumes tonight with Game 3 scheduled at Dodger Stadium, with Milwaukee at Los Angeles at 8 ET on FS1. Los Angeles trails 0-2 and needs a home win to keep the series from slipping away. The American League series resumes on Thursday with Game 3 scheduled in Cleveland, with Tampa Bay at Cleveland at 6 ET on TBS. Two series, two very different kinds of pressure, and one October that refuses to sit still.
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NFL: Buffalo survives a Monday night classic, and a short week rolls into Denver
Buffalo closed Week 5 with a 37-34 overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night at SoFi Stadium. Tyler Bass made a 45-yard field goal with 1:55 remaining in overtime to seal the win. Josh Allen passed for 210 yards and rushed for 121 yards for the Bills, who improved to 4-1 with the victory. Matthew Stafford passed for 383 yards and three touchdowns for Los Angeles, and Puka Nacua caught 17 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown. Kyren Williams tied the game at 34-34 on a 1-yard touchdown run with 5 seconds left in regulation, and the Rams fell to 2-3 with the loss.
Buffalo now turns toward a road game at Las Vegas scheduled for Sunday, October 18 at 4:25 ET. Starting right tackle Spencer Brown left the Monday night game with a back injury and did not return. Buffalo already played that game without wide receiver D.J. Moore, defensive tackle Ed Oliver, cornerback Dee Alford and wide receiver Joshua Palmer. Green Bay is dealing with its own defensive losses ahead of a Sunday home game against Dallas, and the Packers are not anticipating that edge rusher Micah Parsons will play as he continues his return from a torn ACL suffered late last season. Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon, and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave is also out for the remainder of 2026 with the same injury.
Week 6 opens on Thursday night with Seattle at Denver scheduled for Thursday, October 15 at 8:15 ET on Prime Video. Seattle and Denver both enter the game at 3-2, and the loser falls to 3-3 on the season. Seattle wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been limited in practice with an ankle injury during the short week. The defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks get altitude, a short week and a Denver defense all in one trip. Rest is a rumor this time of year, and Thursday night does not care.
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NCAAF: Georgia sits on top, and Saturday stacks ranked showdowns back to back
Georgia holds the top spot in the latest Associated Press poll for the first time since September 8, 2024. Georgia improved to 6-0 with a 20-17 win at Alabama on Saturday. Texas fell six spots to seventh after a 27-24 loss to Oklahoma in Dallas. Notre Dame sits second at 6-0, Miami sits third at 5-0, Ohio State sits fourth at 5-1 and Indiana rounds out the top five at 6-0. Alabama held at sixth despite the loss to Georgia, and LSU dropped to 22nd after a 35-34 overtime loss at Kentucky. Kentucky jumped to 15th with that win, UCLA climbed to 12th after a 17-15 win at Oregon, and Oregon fell out of the poll entirely.
Saturday brings a loaded October 17 slate across the country. Florida plays at Texas at 12 ET on ABC, and Mississippi State plays at LSU at 12 ET on ESPN. Ohio State plays at Indiana at 12 ET on FOX in a matchup of top five teams. Alabama plays at Tennessee at 3:30 ET on ABC, and Auburn plays at Georgia at 3:30 ET on ESPN in the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. Notre Dame plays at BYU at 7:30 ET on ABC to close the night with another ranked showdown. Tennessee enters its rivalry game at 5-1 after a 24-17 win at Arkansas, where sophomore quarterback George MacIntyre made his first career start and passed for 247 yards and one touchdown.
The midweek appetizer arrives tonight with Kennesaw State at Missouri State scheduled at 7:30 ET and Western Kentucky at Sam Houston scheduled at 8 ET in Conference USA play. Saturday will sort out the playoff picture, and Wednesday night football is here to warm up the couch. Nobody is pacing themselves, and honestly, why start now.
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CBB: Duke leads the ACC race on paper, and UConn leads the Big East
The Atlantic Coast Conference released its preseason media poll on October 13, and Duke was picked first with 861 points and 45 first-place votes. Virginia was picked second with 778 points and one first-place vote. Louisville was picked third, Miami was picked fourth and North Carolina was picked fifth with 658 points. Clemson was picked sixth, Florida State was picked seventh, NC State was picked eighth and Virginia Tech was picked ninth with 489 points. Virginia forward Thijs De Ridder was named the Preseason Player of the Year in the league voting. Duke enters the season chasing a third straight conference championship, and the poll gives the rest of the league a clear target.
North Carolina enters its first season under head coach Michael Malone with 11 newcomers on the roster. The newcomers join senior forward Jarin Stevenson, senior guard Jaydon Young and sophomore guard Isaiah Denis, the returning core of a rebuilt team picked to finish in the top five of the league. Virginia Tech senior forward Amani Hansberry was named to the Preseason All-ACC Second Team after averaging a team-high 14.3 points per game during the 2025-26 season. The full league runs 18 teams deep, and the bottom of the poll still includes Syracuse, Pitt, Stanford and Wake Forest waiting to spoil somebody's winter.
In the Big East, the preseason coaches poll picked UConn first with eight first-place votes. St. John's was picked second, Villanova was picked third and Marquette was picked fourth in that poll. In the American Conference, the preseason coaches poll picked Wichita State first and Memphis second under head coach Penny Hardaway. Conference play in the ACC opens on December 29, and the regular season is closing in fast. The polls are just paper until November, and paper has a terrible defensive rating.
That is the Morning Edition. Five sports, zero filler. See you at halftime.
Sources: - [The Rookie Wire](https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/rookie/2026/10/13/orlando-magic-nba-cavaliers-preseason-jalen-suggs-takeaways/92240293007/) - [The Oklahoman](https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/nba/thunder/2026/10/13/thunder-pacers-score-live-updates-nba-preseason-game-highlights-stats-injury-report/92238814007/) - [New York Post](https://nypost.com/2026/10/13/sports/knicks-reserves-demolished-by-raptors-as-starters-dont-play/) - [Sports Illustrated](https://www.si.com/nba/lakers/onsi/walker-kessler-will-make-highly-anticipated-lakers-debut-against-warriors) - [FanSided](https://fansided.com/nba/full-nba-preseason-schedule-for-every-team-dates-matchups-tv-info-and-more) - [West 42 Sports](https://www.west42sports.com/2026/10/13/mlb-schedule-results/) - [USA Today](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/playoffs/2026/10/13/mlb-playoff-bracket-alcs-nlcs-schedule/92229386007/) - [Sporting News](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/mlb-playoff-games-tv-today-schedule-times-channels-streams-alcs-nlcs/1e4b4fe2f93bf5cb78419905) - [NBC Sports](https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/monday-night-football-bills-beat-rams-37-34-in-overtime-in-instant-classic) - [Democrat and Chronicle](https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/football/nfl/bills/2026/10/13/bills-vs-raiders-injury-update-spencer-brown-christian-benford-dj-moore-ed-oliver-ashton-jeanty/92232301007/) - [Cowboys Wire](https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cowboys/2026/10/13/cowboys-report-micah-parsons-week-6-not-practicing-packers-defense-injuries/92230233007/) - [Covers](https://www.covers.com/nfl/seahawks-vs-broncos-prediction-picks-odds-early-leans-week-6-2026) - [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/sports/georgia-back-atop-ap-poll-first-time-since-2024--flm-2026-10-11/) - [FBSchedules](https://fbschedules.com/college-football-schedule-tv-selections-for-october-17-2026/) - [Rocky Top Insider](https://www.rockytopinsider.com/2026/10/11/tennessee-football-rises-in-ap-poll-heading-into-alabama-rivalry-clash/) - [Sports Illustrated](https://www.si.com/college/virginiatech/basketball/virginia-tech-picked-to-finish-ninth-in-2026-preseason-poll-amani-hansberry-named-second-team-preseason-all-acc-01m4vmne8yr4) - [The Fayetteville Observer](https://www.fayobserver.com/story/sports/college/acc/2026/10/13/unc-basketball-acc-predictions-preseason-poll-michael-malone/91935626007/) - [The UConn Blog](https://www.theuconnblog.com/uconn-huskies-mens-basketball/64198/uconn-mens-basketball-picked-no-1-in-2026-27-big-east-preseason-coaches-poll) - [Memphis 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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