Sports Express | September 19, 2026 - Mitchell's 33-point night breaks WNBA single-season scoring record

1. Kelsey Mitchell breaks WNBA single-season scoring record

Source: CBS Sports

WNBA history was made north of the border Friday night as Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell scored 33 points (12-of-17 from the field, seven 3-pointers) to power a 103-85 road win over the Toronto Tempo and pass A'ja Wilson's single-season scoring record. Mitchell now has 1,034 points this season, topping the 1,021 Wilson scored in 2024.

Her record-setting basket came early in the third quarter, when she was left wide open on the wing and buried a three. It was also her 25th straight 20-point game. Wilson set her mark in 38 games in 2024, while Mitchell broke it in her 41st game of 2026 with three games left in the regular season.

Mitchell said she did not even know she had broken the record until she was told, adding that she simply wants to show up "when my number is called." Wilson sits at 991 points with three games to play and will also reach 1,000, but cannot catch Mitchell in total points after playing two fewer games. Wilson leads the scoring-title race by average at 26.1 points per game to Mitchell's 25.2, on track for a third consecutive crown.

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2. Yankees to place Aaron Judge on IL with calf strain

Source: MLB Trade Rumors

The New York Yankees announced Friday that outfielder Aaron Judge will be placed on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain, effective Saturday. Max Schuemann will be recalled in a corresponding move, and manager Aaron Boone declined to offer a timeline for Judge's return.

Judge last played on Sept. 16, so the move could be backdated to Sept. 17 and allow him to return in the season finale on Sept. 27, though it is unclear whether his calf will be healthy by then. It caps an injury-marred season: Judge landed on the IL in early June (retroactive to June 2) with a right first-rib stress fracture and did not return until Sept. 7, then exited on Sept. 16 with tightness in his lower right leg.

In the short term, it likely changes little for New York, which remains the AL's top wild card team regardless — five games back of the Rays and 5.5 ahead of the Red Sox with about 10 games left. The real concern is October: the wild-card round opens Sept. 29, and Judge hit just .174/.208/.304 with 13 strikeouts in 24 plate appearances across his two IL stints this season.

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3. UNC closes probe, backing Belichick with a warning

Source: WRAL

University of North Carolina leaders said this week that an outside investigation into its football program found only isolated incidents, signaling faith in head coach Bill Belichick's control — while warning they would dig into any new allegations, putting him and his staff on notice.

"This investigation is closed," UNC general counsel Paul Newton said at a briefing, "but our door is never closed to expressions of concern about this program." Two of Belichick's top lieutenants resigned amid the inquiry: his son, defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, and general manager Michael Lombardi. The probe included questions about alleged drug use and inappropriate relationships. UNC's Thursday statement said certain actions "demonstrated a disregard for Carolina's values and standards of conduct" but were "isolated in scope and not a systemic failure."

Belichick, an NFL legend who won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, was hired in late 2024 on a five-year, $50-million contract, with the first three years and $30 million guaranteed. He said at a Sept. 7 news conference that the program maintains an environment of compliance and that "everybody's responsible, including me, for doing things properly."

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4. Covington shuts out Muhammad at RAF 13

Source: MMA Fighting

Former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington backed up his trash talk at RAF 13 on Friday, needing less than two full periods to go up 10-0 and finish Belal Muhammad by technical fall in the main event in Miami. Covington remains undefeated in RAF and called out a long list of potential opponents afterward.

An early eye poke briefly halted the match, but on the restart Covington grabbed Muhammad and slammed him down for a four-point takedown, then added two more points. In the second period Muhammad was put on the shot clock for inactivity, and Covington worked to 9-0 before a passivity violation pushed it to 10-0. The rivals shook hands afterward.

"Who do you guys want to see me against next?" Covington shouted, naming Gilbert Burns, Kamaru Usman, Tyron Woodley and Khamzat Chimaev. Earlier in the night, Chimaev beat Burns — a matchup many see as the biggest the promotion could make.

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5. Bayern crush Union Berlin 7-0

Source: Bavarian Football Works

Bayern Munich closed out the final match before the international break in style, wearing their Oktoberfest kits and dismantling Union Berlin 7-0 at the Allianz Arena. Michael Olise scored a hat-trick, Harry Kane added a brace, and Jamal Musiala and Ismael Saibari each scored once.

Union set up a deep, centre-heavy low block, but it backfired. Musiala's movement through the middle made him nearly impossible to mark — he won 15 duels, the most of any player on either side. Olise was a statistical anomaly: six shots, five on target and three goals from an xG of just 1.11, plus 18 ground duels, three tackles and 86% pass accuracy.

Bayern finished with 23 shots, 15 on target and seven goals against an xG of only 3.77 and xGOT of 3.54 — Union keeper Frederik Rønnow made six saves to keep it from getting worse. Notably, Bayern's previous biggest win over Union was 5-1, making the 7-0 a new club record against this opponent.

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6. Auger-Aliassime puts Canada up 2-0 over France in Davis Cup

Source: TSN (The Canadian Press)

Canada took a 2-0 lead in its best-of-five Davis Cup second-round tie against France on Friday at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, as Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Quentin Halys 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3. It was the 26-year-old's first Davis Cup appearance in two years and his first time representing Canada in his home province.

Auger-Aliassime fired 12 aces and capitalized on six double faults from Halys in front of 10,633 mostly partisan fans. The win improved his Davis Cup record to 14-4, including 11-2 in singles, and extended his Davis Cup winning streak to 13 matches, nine straight in singles. "It's a big relief," he said. "It's a step in the right direction, but nothing has been decided yet."

Earlier, Newmarket, Ont., native Liam Draxl — ranked outside the top 200 — upset world No. 31 Arthur Rinderknech 6-2, 7-5 for his fourth Davis Cup singles win in as many appearances. "The biggest win of my career," Draxl called it. One more win sends Canada to the Davis Cup Final 8 in Bologna, Italy, in November; doubles opens Saturday with Auger-Aliassime partnering Duncan Chan.

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7. Canada one win from 2028 Olympic berth in men's volleyball

Source: CBC

Canada's men's volleyball team is one win from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The world's 13th-ranked side swept Mexico 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-13) in Moncton, N.B., on Friday to reach the NORCECA qualification final, where it will meet No. 16 Cuba on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET for a direct Olympic berth.

It was Canada's second 3-0 sweep of Mexico in five days. The Canadians dominated in attack points (42-31), blocks (8-0) and aces (8-2) at Avenir Centre. "This was the last step before our final goal," head coach Dan Lewis said. "Now they need to rest and prepare for the final."

Canada boasted the top four scorers, led by captain Eric Loeppky with 17 points, followed by Sharone Vernon-Evans (13) and Jackson Howe and Stephen Maar (10 each). Fynn McCarthy of Kelowna, B.C., added seven points and a match-high four aces. Canada had already swept Cuba on Tuesday to clinch a spot at next September's World Cup in Poland, and lost a five-set gold-medal match to the U.S. at the NORCECA Continental Championship on Wednesday. Canada has appeared at six Summer Games, its best result a fourth-place finish in 1984 — also in Los Angeles.

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8. Blue Jays running out of time in wild-card race

Source: Sportsnet

The Toronto Blue Jays' road back to the playoffs is looking steep. After Friday's loss to the Texas Rangers, Toronto (76-78) will wake up Saturday two games back of the third AL wild-card spot, held by the Chicago White Sox (78-76). With Chicago owning the tiebreaker, the Blue Jays need three more wins than the White Sox over the final eight games to overtake them.

Complicating matters are the Rangers (77-77), who beat Toronto 7-1 on Friday and now sit one game back of Chicago while tied with the Houston Astros (77-77) atop the AL West. Sportsnet notes that if the Blue Jays cannot take two wins from the Rangers this weekend, they risk falling out of the race for good.

The Rangers broke it open with a four-run second inning capped by a Corey Seager RBI double; five of their runs were unearned as Toronto walked 10 and committed three throwing errors — two by third baseman Kazuma Okamoto. Starter Dylan Cease (11-6) walked a season-high six of his first 15 batters and was pulled in the third. Nathan Lukes' MLB-best 13-game hitting streak also came to an end.

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9. Federal ministers slam Ovechkin's pro-Putin ad

Source: National Post

NHL superstar Alex Ovechkin is sparking backlash in Canada after appearing in a commercial backing Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, with federal ministers condemning the ad Friday but declining to say whether he should be sanctioned on Canadian soil. Russians head to the polls this weekend.

"Terrific hockey player, terrible view of geopolitics," Justice Minister Sean Fraser said Friday as he entered a Liberal caucus meeting. "If you can look at what's going on in Ukraine right now and turn a blind eye to the atrocities being committed by the Putin regime, then you are at best willfully blind." In the video, the Washington Capitals captain stands behind Putin's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, who appears to threaten Western countries.

Ovechkin addressed the controversy Thursday, saying he accepted the Russian government's request "without hesitation" and that while he is pro-Russia, he is "for peace and love" and not in favour of war. Asked about sanctions, Fraser said he would leave "the formal process to play out." Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said he is "not fond" of mixing sports and politics but that Ovechkin's actions "will leave a lot of discomfort to many hockey fans." Liberal caucus chair James Maloney said his Toronto riding of Etobicoke is home to one of Canada's largest Ukrainian communities, and there is "significant unease" over the ad.

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10. Raptors to retire Kyle Lowry's No. 7

Source: Sportsnet

The Toronto Raptors are honoring their legends with a template. Kyle Lowry's jersey retirement is set for Jan. 10, when Toronto hosts LeBron James and Lowry's hometown Philadelphia 76ers. Lowry's No. 7 will hang beside Vince Carter's No. 15 atop Scotiabank Arena — the first two jerseys retired in the franchise's 32-year history.

The celebration began July 7, when Lowry signed a one-day contract to retire as a Raptor. This weekend marks Stage 2: 36 hours of festivities starting with Friday's KLOW Invitational charity golf tournament at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley for the MLSE Foundation; a free "Kyle's Block Party" fan event at Jurassic Park on Saturday afternoon; and the "A Night For Seven" gala dinner that evening.

Teammates Fred Van Vleet, DeMar DeRozan, Serge Ibaka, CJ Miles and Danny Green, plus former head coach Nick Nurse, all teed it up Friday. "It's something I didn't expect and I appreciate it," Lowry said. He spent nine seasons with Toronto, orchestrated the 2019 championship, and remains the franchise's all-time leader in assists, steals, threes made, wins and playoff wins.

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