Sports Express | October 23, 2026: Stecher Scores With 28 Seconds Left as Maple Leafs Edge Rangers 5-4

1. Stecher scores with 28 seconds left as Maple Leafs edge Rangers 5-4 for third straight win

Source: NHL.com

The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Rangers 5-4 at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday, with defenceman Troy Stecher breaking the tie with 28 seconds left in the third period. On a delayed penalty, Stecher took a pass from Morgan Rielly and shot over Dylan Garand's glove from the top of the right face-off circle. It was his first goal of the season in his 12th game.

Stecher said he has truly embraced being a Maple Leaf since last year, and that the city's passion for the team is hard not to feel. Brandon Duhaime had a goal and two assists, Teddy Blueger had a goal and an assist, and the fourth line of Duhaime, Blueger and Zack MacEwen combined for seven points. Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves for his 459th NHL win, tying Henrik Lundqvist for sixth all-time.

The Maple Leafs improved to 6-4-2 with a third straight win, and coach Jim Hiller called it their best 60-minute game of the season. For New York, Adam Fox had four assists, Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist and Garand made 30 saves; the Rangers are 1-2-1 in their past four after Alexis Lafreniere tied it 4-4 at 14:25 of the third.

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2. McDavid's five-point night lifts Oilers to 6-5 shootout win over defending champions

Source: Edmonton Journal

Connor McDavid had five points at Rogers Place on Thursday, giving him 31 in 10 games this season and making him the fourth player in NHL history to reach 30 points in 10 games, joining Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy. Leon Draisaitl added two goals and three assists as the Oilers erased 4-2 and 5-4 third-period deficits to beat the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes 6-5 in a shootout.

Edmonton's three power-play goals came in 3 seconds, 44 seconds and 10 seconds of man-advantage time, and another goal came on a six-on-five with the goalie pulled. McDavid has 13 points in his past three games, with three five-point nights, one four-point night and two three-point nights this season. Draisaitl said McDavid is "maybe the greatest player to ever play" and that sharing the ice with him is a pleasure and a daily education.

The Oilers are 8-1-1 and first in the Western Conference. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, in his first game of the season, had a goal, an assist and the shootout winner. Coach Mike Babcock was not pleased with the process, saying his team did not compete or manage the puck hard enough and needed its stars to rescue the third period. Defenceman Mattias Ekholm left early in the third after hitting his head on the ice and could be out seven to 10 days.

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3. Gilgeous-Alexander's 20-point streak ends at 141 games, but Thunder beat Nuggets

Source: theScore

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting in Oklahoma City's home opener on Thursday, ending his streak of 20-point games at 141 — the first time in 142 games he failed to reach 20. The Thunder still beat the Denver Nuggets 96-84.

The two-time reigning MVP missed all seven shots he took in the first half as Oklahoma City trailed by as many as nine, and a pair of free throws kept him from going scoreless in a half for the first time since his rookie season with the Clippers in 2019. He scored the Thunder's first basket of the third quarter to cut the deficit to 48-46, and his 3-pointer made it 93-76 with 1:44 left, giving him 17 points. He then asked to come out during a timeout and did not return.

Jalen Williams scored 21 points and Chet Holmgren had 12 points and 17 rebounds. Aaron Gordon scored 20 for Denver and Nikola Jokic added 13 in the Nuggets' season opener. Oklahoma City hosts the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

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4. Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk reveals Parkinson's diagnosis

Source: Bleacher Report

Pro Football Hall of Fame running back and current Southern University head coach Marshall Faulk has revealed that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He shared the news on Dr. Sandeep Thakka's "Caring Neurologist" podcast and said he has dealt with symptoms for a year and a half, first noticing an issue while playing golf.

Faulk said the rigidity in his hand, especially after playing or practising a lot, felt like normal nerves when putting. A biannual physical led his doctor to recommend testing, and a diagnosis followed. He said he was diagnosed in the early stages and considers himself "one of the lucky ones."

The 53-year-old amassed 12,279 rushing yards and 6,875 receiving yards over 12 seasons from 1994 to 2005, ranking fifth all time with 19,154 yards from scrimmage. In the Rams' 1999 Super Bowl season he ran for 1,381 yards and caught 1,048, one of three running backs ever to top 1,000 in both in a single season. A 2011 Hall of Fame inductee, he was Colorado's running backs coach last year and took over at Southern this season, where the 3-4 Jaguars have already exceeded last year's two-win total.

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5. Trump calls LeBron a 'disgrace' over anthem conduct

Source: theScore

President Donald Trump accused LeBron James on Thursday of disrespecting the United States after a video showed the NBA star continuing his warmups while the national anthem was performed before Philadelphia's season opener on Tuesday. "I said right from the beginning that he's no good, a TOTAL DISGRACE," Trump said in a social media post sharing the video, adding that James should apologize to "all of those Great American Warriors and Heroes who died for the American Flag."

James appeared to practise a golf swing and a jump shot as "The Star-Spangled Banner" was performed at New York's Madison Square Garden, lined up alongside teammates who mostly stood still. James, 41, is in his record 24th NBA season and his first with Philadelphia. "It must be a slow news day at the office," he said in response.

In Philadelphia's home opener Thursday, James stood with his arms behind his back and his head bowed while Boyz II Men sang the anthem, and was introduced to a roaring ovation from a crowd of roughly 20,000. He had 17 points and 10 rebounds as the 76ers rallied from 29 down to beat the Cavaliers 114-106. Coach Nick Nurse said before the game that the episode was among the outside noise the team had to block out. Trump raised the complaint again that night at a rally in Sioux City, Iowa.

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6. Sixers erase 29-point deficit as Maxey's 32 sinks Cavaliers

Source: PHLY Sports

The Philadelphia 76ers trailed by 29 points in their home opener on Thursday and came back to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-106, moving to 2-0. Tyrese Maxey scored 32 points, and a far more aggressive defensive effort in the second half changed the game.

Philadelphia's offence was poor before halftime. Joel Embiid was 3-of-10 from the field in the first 24 minutes, LeBron James had five turnovers in the first half and Jaylen Brown's ball-handling bogged down possessions. Cleveland took advantage and built a huge halftime lead.

After the break the Sixers pushed their pressure higher up the floor, again moving Embiid to a wing and using James to guard one of Cleveland's big men — a gambit that worked for a second straight game. Maxey became the primary half-court option and repeatedly attacked the rim off screens. Midway through the fourth, Embiid converted an and-one through Evan Mobley, dribbled past James Harden for a basket off the glass and hit the midrange jumper that put Philadelphia ahead for good. With Embiid resting, Brown took over and pushed the lead to seven, and Maxey closed it out after passing 30 points.

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7. Brewers vs. Rays: a small-market World Series that embarrasses the owners

Source: TSN

The World Series matchup is set: the NL-best Milwaukee Brewers (103 wins, 14 games ahead of the Cubs) face AL East champion Tampa Bay (98 wins, 4 1/2 ahead of the Yankees). It is the Brewers' second World Series and first since 1982, 44 years ago; the Rays are making their third trip after 2008 and 2020. Both are among the five franchises that have never won a title.

Both teams pride themselves on doing the little things right. Neither has significant home run power — the Rays ranked 22nd and the Brewers 29th — but they tied for the best batting average at .258 and both finished top five in on-base percentage and stolen bases. Milwaukee's 3.51 ERA ranked second and Tampa Bay's 3.70 seventh, and Rays closer Bryan Baker converted 41 of 44 regular-season save chances and all five in the postseason, allowing one hit and no runs over seven October innings.

The bigger story is off the field. The collective bargaining agreement expires this winter, a lockout is likely on Dec. 1, and owners have proposed a salary cap with a floor and revenue sharing, arguing payroll disparity makes it nearly impossible for small markets to compete. Milwaukee's payroll ranks 19th at $146 million and Tampa Bay's 28th at $95.6 million, so two small-market teams meeting in the Fall Classic undercuts that argument. The writer expects the series to go seven games.

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8. UFC 333 weigh-ins: all title fighters on weight, one prelim misses by 4.5 pounds

Source: MMA Fighting

UFC 333 takes place Saturday in Abu Dhabi, and all four championship competitors made weight. Alexander Volkanovski weighed 144.5 pounds for his featherweight title defence against the undefeated Movsar Evloev (145) in the main event, while Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili both hit 135 for their co-main trilogy bout with Yan's bantamweight belt on the line.

There was one significant miss. Preliminary strawweight Nicolle Caliari came in at 120.5 pounds, 4.5 over the 115-pound limit even with a one-pound allowance for a non-title fight. Her bout with Iasmin Lucindo (115) will proceed at a catchweight, with Caliari forfeiting 30 percent of her purse. The other 27 fighters who stepped on the scale all made weight.

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9. F1 US GP day one: Mercedes engine upgrade delayed, Hamilton admits ignoring orders

Source: The Race

F1 arrived in Austin for the United States Grand Prix and day one produced plenty of news. Mercedes' upgraded engine, planned for introduction this weekend, has been delayed and is not expected for at least two more races — it will also miss Mexico, making Brazil the earliest likely debut. The team wants to be sure it is a proper step forward, and it is still working through chassis problems created by the major aerodynamics update in Malaysia that initially made the car slower.

Honda's analysis of its disappointing Singapore Grand Prix found a gap between how it expected the upgraded turbocharger and MGU-K to work and what happens on track. Fernando Alonso had called his turbo "broken," prompting a precautionary engine change, but inspection found nothing mechanically faulty; the turbo lag in reality simply does not match the dyno.

On the driver front, Esteban Ocon said no driver other than his friend Lance Stroll messaged him after Haas decided to replace him for 2027, and that Pierre Gasly was supportive only in the press. McLaren will take no further action against Lando Norris over his Singapore sprint clash with team-mate Oscar Piastri because Norris acknowledged his misjudgement. Lewis Hamilton admitted he ignored Ferrari's call to pit in Singapore, falling from the podium to sixth, calling it the wrong decision in a split second while insisting his job is to keep challenging the team.

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10. Federal government adds nearly $60M for national sport organizations

Source: CBC

The federal government announced nearly $60 million in supplemental funding for 62 national sport organizations (NSOs) on Thursday, taking effect this fiscal year. Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden said in Ottawa that the investment will increase access and programming, enhance athlete development, help Team Canada compete at the highest level and advance safe sport and integrity.

The money is part of a $660-million, five-year sport support package first announced in April. CBC Sports reported in September that more than 101 applications were submitted with a combined ask of roughly $168 million. The Canadian Snowboard Federation received the largest supplement at $2.86 million, followed by Rugby Canada at $2.815 million and Canoe Kayak Canada at $2.44 million; Canada Basketball ($2.34 million), Alpine Canada ($2.77 million) and Wheelchair Basketball Canada ($813,500) were announced earlier. Swimming Canada received $1.075 million, which CEO Suzanne Paulins called "transformational."

Total increased sport-support funding this year is $112 million, with NSOs receiving just over $156 million. Van Koeverden has also scheduled a national sport summit in Ottawa for Nov. 9-10.

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