Sports Express | October 11, 2026 — Guardians set postseason strikeout record, rally past White Sox into ALCS

Source: Fox News

1. Guardians set postseason strikeout record, rally past White Sox into ALCS

Source: Fox News

The Cleveland Guardians completed a dramatic comeback Saturday night at Progressive Field, striking out a nine-inning postseason-record 21 Chicago White Sox batters to win Game 5 of their American League Division Series 2-0 — advancing to the ALCS after falling behind 2-0 and losing their first two home games.

Starter Gavin Williams dominated over 5.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out 12 of the 21 batters he faced. Jose Ramirez provided the cushion with a two-run homer in the fourth inning; the pitch was 8.88 inches off the ground — the lowest for a postseason home run since at least 2008 and the lowest of Ramirez's career.

Relievers Erik Sabrowski, Evan Gaddis and Cade Smith combined for the final 10 outs. The White Sox struck out at a 63.6 percent rate after entering with the league's fifth-highest strikeout rate (24.1 percent) in the regular season. Cleveland will face the Tampa Bay Rays — who swept the rival New York Yankees — in the ALCS, which begins Monday in Florida.

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2. Rangers' Shesterkin out for season with lower-body injury

Source: NHL.com

The New York Rangers announced Saturday that goaltender Igor Shesterkin will miss the rest of the season with a lower-body injury. He was hurt in Friday's 3-1 loss at the Washington Capitals when, at 8:20 of the second period, his skate jammed into the goalpost as he scrambled back into his net and his right leg bent awkwardly. The 30-year-old was helped off the ice by defensemen Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson and could not put weight on his right leg.

Shesterkin had stopped 13 of 14 shots before leaving. He is 3-1-0 in five starts this season with a 1.79 goals-against average and .927 save percentage, and scored his first NHL goal Oct. 1 in a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Selected by the Rangers in the fourth round (No. 118) of the 2014 NHL Draft, Shesterkin is in his eighth season with New York. He is in the second year of an eight-year, $92 million contract signed Dec. 6, 2024, with an average annual value of $11.5 million — the highest-paid goalie in NHL history — and won the Vezina Trophy in 2021-22. With backup Joonas Korpisalo also out four weeks with a lower-body injury, 24-year-old Dylan Garand will get his chance.

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3. Ronaldo suspended by Portuguese federation over training-camp walkout

Source: Euronews

Portugal's football federation disciplinary board has opened proceedings against Cristiano Ronaldo for walking out of the national team's training camp in Copenhagen, Denmark. On Sept. 30, the captain left after clashing with coach Jorge Jesus over being left on the bench and not being brought on in the previous game against Norway, despite an apparent promise — per Ronaldo — that he would play 30 minutes.

Ronaldo announced his decision on Instagram, apologised to the squad, his teammates and the Portuguese people, said he was willing to return and took responsibility for leaving. "I have already apologised, but I know that actions must have consequences," he wrote. "Anyone in the world of football, just like me, knows that, regardless of one's status, the rules are the same for everyone."

The federation said the case was opened Oct. 9, 2026, to determine whether facts reported Oct. 7 had disciplinary implications, and was classified "urgent." Portuguese outlet MaisFutebol reported the proceedings followed two complaints — one from the federation's own board, one from third parties outside the FPF. Ronaldo has been suspended for 20 days under paragraph 2 of Article 40-A, ending Oct. 30 — potentially freeing him for Portugal's November internationals.

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4. DeBoer rips player after Alabama's loss to Georgia

Source: Fox News

No. 2 Georgia beat Alabama on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, handing the Crimson Tide their first loss of the season and improving to 6-0.

With just over two minutes left, Georgia faced third-and-2 on its own side of the field when Alabama defensive back Dijon Lee committed a costly penalty — grabbing a Bulldog by the jersey and hitting him in the face with an open hand twice. The flag gave Georgia an automatic first down, and with Alabama out of timeouts, the Bulldogs knelt out the clock. An irate coach Kalen DeBoer met Lee at the sideline and appeared to tell him he "just cost us the d— game."

Earlier, with just over three minutes to go, Alabama was driving for a score and Georgia may have gotten away with defensive pass interference in the end zone; on the next play, quarterback Keelon Russell was sacked out of field-goal range, and the Tide punted and never got the ball back.

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5. Nylander's 5 points lead Maple Leafs past Avalanche 6-3

Source: TSN

DENVER (AP) — William Nylander and Easton Cowan scored 46 seconds apart late in the second period and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 on Saturday night.

Nylander finished with two goals and a career-high three assists for five points, tying a career high. Auston Matthews had two goals and two assists for Toronto, which has alternated wins and losses to open the season. Nathan MacKinnon scored twice for Colorado, which lost for the first time in three home games; Brock Nelson also scored and Mackenzie Blackwood made 16 saves in his first setback of the season. The Avs went 0-for-5 on the power play, including eight seconds of a 5-on-3 early in the second period.

Nick Blankenburg put Toronto up 1-0 at 3:03, MacKinnon tied it midway through the first and put Colorado ahead at 15:14. Nylander tied it 19 seconds after Jaden Schwartz's high-sticking minor early in the second — the first power-play goal the Avs have allowed this season.

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6. Toronto FC stuns CF Montreal 2-1 with stoppage-time double

Source: Sportsnet.ca

TORONTO — Lewis Morgan, Djordje Mihailovic and backup goalkeeper William Yarbrough came off the bench to spark Toronto FC's late comeback Saturday. Morgan and Mihailovic scored in second-half stoppage time as Toronto beat CF Montreal 2-1 — both tactical moves by head coach Robin Fraser.

Yarbrough's introduction was forced after starter Luka Gavran suffered a leg injury early (Fraser said it was not serious). The 37-year-old made his Toronto debut — his first appearance since Sept. 21, 2024, with the San Jose Earthquakes.

Toronto (7-10-11) had missed Mihailovic, limited to 12 matches by injuries and a red-card suspension before facing Montreal (6-16-6); Toronto dropped three straight without him. It was the 39th edition of the 401 Derby, with Toronto improving to 18-14-7 in the series. The three points moved Toronto within one point of the two New York clubs holding the Eastern Conference wild-card spots, with six games left.

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7. Collaros returns to lift Blue Bombers past Stampeders 33-28

Source: TSN

WINNIPEG — With a playoff berth on the line, the Blue Bombers edged the Calgary Stampeders 33-28 on Saturday at Princess Auto Stadium, as veteran quarterback Zach Collaros delivered arguably his best performance of the season when his team needed it most.

Collaros, who missed two games after a head injury in the Sept. 12 Banjo Bowl amid a documented history of concussions and neck injuries, was only named the starter Thursday. He went 19-for-27 for 349 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, connecting with Ontaria Wilson on an 18-yard score late in the first quarter and Nic Demski on a 25-yard strike just before halftime.

Winnipeg put up 392 net yards, with returner Trey Vaval scoring on an 88-yard kickoff return to open the second half and Sergio Castillo adding four field goals (45, 48, 44 and 33 yards). Receiver Dorian Singer led all receivers with 166 yards on five catches. The win improved Winnipeg to 8-8, putting them back in the mix for a West Division playoff spot; a win in either of their final two games (Oct. 16 at Edmonton, Oct. 23 at B.C.) clinches a berth.

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8. Valkyries sweep Aces to reach first WNBA Finals

Source: NBC Sports Bay Area

In just their second season, the Golden State Valkyries are headed to the WNBA Finals. After winning Games 1 and 2 at home, they beat the Las Vegas Aces 87-77 in overtime Friday at Michelob ULTRA Arena to complete a 3-0 semifinal sweep. Kayla Thornton led with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Kiah Stokes added 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

The result makes the Valkyries the fastest expansion team in league history to compete for a title. Next up are the Atlanta Dream, who swept the New York Liberty; Golden State won all three regular-season meetings against Atlanta.

The best-of-seven Finals open Oct. 17 at 12:30 p.m. PT at Chase Center ("Ballhalla"), with Golden State holding home-court advantage. The Valkyries trailed by nine at halftime and by as much as 11 early in the second half before a 17-0 third-quarter run; the Aces re-took a six-point lead in the final three minutes, but Golden State answered with an 8-0 run to force overtime and won the extra period 16-6. Aces star A'ja Wilson led all scorers with 21 points and 10 rebounds; Gabby Williams scored eight of her 16 points in overtime.

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9. Fowler's 30 saves, Bolduc's shootout winner lift Canadiens 1-0

Source: Sportsnet.ca

MONTREAL — Zachary Bolduc scored the deciding goal in the sixth round of Saturday's shootout as the Montreal Canadiens edged the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 in a goaltenders' battle at the Bell Centre.

Montreal (2-2-1) snapped a three-game losing streak and won at home for the first time in three tries this season. Detroit (1-3-1), in its first road game, lost its second in as many nights after falling 6-3 to Seattle on Friday; Red Wings goalie Daniil Tarasov made 30 saves in his 100th career NHL game. Canadiens goalie Jacob Fowler also stopped 30 shots for his second career shutout — the 21-year-old was recalled from AHL Laval on Wednesday, made his second straight start and is filling in for Samuel Montembeault, out 10-14 days with a lower-body injury.

Fans repeatedly chanted "We want Larkin" for Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin, who requested a trade this offseason but has shown little interest in Montreal or other Canadian teams. Montreal also had three goals overturned — Caufield's shot 1:16 in was ruled not to have crossed the line, Bolduc's second-period goal was disallowed for goaltender interference by Jake Evans, and Texier's was called back for offside in overtime. The Canadiens' power play stayed cold at 1-for-17 (5.9 percent) this season.

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10. Elks to host first CFL playoff game since 2015

Source: 3DownNation

The Edmonton Elks clinched a home playoff game at Commonwealth Stadium with a 27-12 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday night, ensuring they can finish no lower than second in the West Division — their first postseason game in Edmonton since 2015.

Edmonton was kept out of the end zone for three quarters in Hamilton before Cody Fajardo scored on a touchdown plunge early in the fourth. Receiver Zach Mathis provided the deciding points when he intercepted a fake punt and returned it for a touchdown. Though Hamilton recorded a late kickoff-return major, the Elks' defence allowed no offensive touchdowns behind four sacks from Malik Carney and an eight-tackle night from Joel Dublanko.

The Elks last appeared in the postseason in 2019, winning the East Semi-Final over the Alouettes before losing the East Final to Hamilton; they have not hosted a playoff game since 2015, when they beat the Redblacks in the 103rd Grey Cup. Edmonton (12-4) hosts the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Oct. 16.

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