Sports Express | September 12, 2026 49ers Rout Rams in NFL's First Australia Game

1. 49ers Rout Rams in NFL's First Australia Game

Source: Sportsnet

The San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams 27-7 on Friday in the NFL's first regular-season game played in Australia, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground before 100,021 fans — the seventh-largest regular-season crowd in NFL history.

Quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 205 yards and three touchdowns, with Mike Evans, Demarcus Robinson and Deebo Samuel each hauling in a touchdown catch. Kyren Williams scored the NFL's first Australian touchdown on a five-yard run early in the second quarter, but the 49ers then scored 24 unanswered points to seal the win.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 15 of 25 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown, admitting afterward the offence wasn't good enough. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said the historic stadium "felt gladiator-ish."

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2. Shelton Beats Tiafoe to Reach US Open Final

Source: BBC

Ben Shelton, 23, powered into his first Grand Slam final Friday, beating fellow American Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in an all-American semifinal at the US Open that lasted three hours and 17 minutes.

Shelton is the first Black American man to reach the US Open singles final since Arthur Ashe in 1972. He will face top seed Alexander Zverev in Sunday's final after Zverev beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (8-6).

Shelton is aiming to become the first American man to win the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2003, though he has lost all five previous meetings with Zverev.

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3. Rybakina Rallies Past Gauff to Face Sabalenka

Source: The Globe and Mail

Elena Rybakina rallied past Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday night to reach the US Open final, where she will face Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday. Sabalenka beat Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the first semifinal.

Rybakina is guaranteed to replace Sabalenka atop the rankings next week; Sabalenka has held the No. 1 spot for 99 consecutive weeks. Rybakina won the Australian Open to start the year and is seeking her third Grand Slam title.

Sabalenka has won 19 straight matches at the US Open and, with a victory Saturday, would become the first player to win three in a row at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams from 2012-14.

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4. Tagovailoa Out Week 1 With Oblique Injury

Source: Sportsnet

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will miss Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers with an oblique injury, per ESPN's Adam Schefter, with backup Cooper Rush making the start.

Tagovailoa suffered the injury during Thursday's practice, grabbing his back after making a throw. The 28-year-old joined Atlanta in the off-season on a one-year, $1.3 million deal after being released by the Miami Dolphins.

He threw for 2,660 yards with 20 touchdowns and a career-high 15 interceptions in 14 games last season. He was named the Falcons' starter Monday after head coach Kevin Stefanski decided Michael Penix Jr., recovering from ACL surgery, was not yet ready.

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5. Blue Jays Lose Ground in Wild-Card Race

Source: Sportsnet

The Toronto Blue Jays lost 7-4 to the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, their fourth loss in five games, falling to 73-75 and dropping 2.0 games behind the Guardians in the American League wild-card race with 14 games left.

Starter Max Scherzer allowed six earned runs in five innings after giving up six consecutive hits to open the second inning. Former Blue Jay Chris Bassitt started for Baltimore and allowed just two runs over five innings. Kazuma Okamoto hit his 31st home run of the season for Toronto.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was picked off first base in the opening inning and finished 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts, drawing a mix of boos and cheers from the home crowd.

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6. McKenna and Matthews Building Chemistry

Source: TSN

First overall pick Gavin McKenna has been skating alongside captain Auston Matthews during the Maple Leafs' informal workouts, building chemistry on and off the ice ahead of training camp.

The 18-year-old praised Matthews as "super smart" and said he hopes to feed the puck to him. Matthews also invited the Whitehorse native over for dinner, which McKenna called "pretty special."

McKenna has moved in with John Tavares and his family, and the Leafs have decided he will stay in Toronto to train with the NHL players rather than attend this weekend's Prospects Challenge in Gatineau.

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7. Goalie Ingram Announces Retirement

Source: NHL.com

Goaltender Connor Ingram, 29, announced his retirement Friday after five NHL seasons, writing on Instagram: "Don't be sad it's over, be happy it happened. Thanks hockey, I owe ya."

Ingram went 16-10-3 with a 2.60 goals-against average, .899 save percentage and two shutouts in 32 games for the Edmonton Oilers last season. In 134 career regular-season games he was 55-54-18.

Ingram nearly retired in 2021 due to obsessive compulsive disorder and depression before seeking help through the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program. He won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2023-24 while with Arizona.

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8. A.J. Brown Placed on IR With Ankle Injury

Source: Bleacher Report

New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown is headed to injured reserve after suffering a high-ankle sprain Wednesday against the Seattle Seahawks, keeping him out at least four games, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Brown was injured early in the third quarter of the Patriots' 13-10 loss to Seattle. Reports indicated he was expected to miss three to six weeks, with a return as early as Week 6 against the New York Jets.

Brown was acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles for two draft picks, and his absence is a major blow to a thin Patriots receiving corps. New England's next four games are against the Steelers, Jaguars, Bills and Raiders.

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9. Olympic Champ Katzberg Stunned by Last-Place Finish

Source: CBC

Canada's Ethan Katzberg, 24, recorded two no throws to open the men's hammer throw final Friday at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, finishing last in the field of eight.

The reigning Olympic and world champion from Nanaimo, B.C., said afterward he could make excuses but was in good shape, ready to go, and just didn't have it. Germany's Merlin Hummel won with a best throw of 81.46 metres.

Katzberg had won each of his six competitions this season and seven in a row dating to last August, making Friday's result a shock.

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10. Canada Routs Tanzania at U-20 World Cup

Source: Sportsnet

Canada kept its FIFA Women's Under-20 World Cup hopes alive Friday with a 6-0 win over Tanzania in its final Group B match. Annabelle Chukwu scored twice, while Olivia Chisholm, Kaylee Hunter and Liana Tarasco also found the net, and Tanzania's Ester Maseke scored an own goal in the seventh minute.

Canada finished third in Group B at 1-1-1 with four points. England also finished with four points after a 2-1 loss to Brazil but took second on a tiebreaker, with Brazil topping the group on nine points.

The top two teams in each of the six groups advance to the round of 16 along with the four best third-place finishers. Canada must wait for the remaining group-stage matches to learn whether it advances.

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