New Orleans Saints Defeats Seattle Seahawks 13-10

Alvin Kamara and Jameis Winston were the happy beneficiaries of the Seattle Seahawks' many mistakes. Then it was rookie Brian Johnson's turn to make sure the New Orleans Saints got the win they needed to keep pace in the NFC South. “In a game like this where things are close, things get a little a little ugly towards the end, it builds confidence to be able to come into a game like this and close it out the way we did,” Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan said. Johnson kicked a 33-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining in his NFL debut, and New Orleans outlasted Seattle 13-10 on Monday night. Kamara carried the load for New Orleans and Winston made a handful of plays when needed, but the Saints (4-2) escaped Seattle thanks largely to a series of blunders by the home team, which is sorely missing injured quarterback Russell Wilson. Two of the Seahawks' biggest mistakes came on New Orleans’ deciding drive when Seattle was flagged for roughing the passer and jumping offside on a long field-goal attempt. Both penalties gave New Orleans first downs, and Johnson’s field goal coming out of the 2-minute warning put the Saints ahead.

Johnson, a rookie from Virginia Tech, made an extra point and both field-goal tries, connecting from 21 yards in the first half. “It was tough trying to see what the wind was doing because it was changing constantly throughout pregame and the game itself,” Johnson said. “So just stick with my plan that I had coming into it and really focusing on just hitting my ball and hitting good contact that will cut through the wind.” Geno Smith made his second start at QB for Seattle (2-5) since Wilson suffered a serious finger injury in a loss to the Rams. The backup hit DK Metcalf for an 84-yard touchdown in the first quarter but went nowhere when the Seahawks had a final chance to tie or win. Smith was sacked on consecutive plays by Malcolm Jenkins and Demario Davis. On fourth-and-28, Smith was pressured again and his throw to Metcalf fell incomplete. Smith went 12 of 22 for 167 yards half coming on the TD toss to Metcalf  and was sacked five times as Davis, Cameron Jordan and others made his night uncomfortable. Seattle has lost three straight for the first time since 2011 and fell to 0-3 at home for the first time since 1992. Although both defeats with Smith under center have been by three points, the Seahawks aren't the same without Wilson, who's out until at least mid-November. “I’ve been here a long time and if we didn’t have Russell, I probably wouldn’t have been here a long time because of all the magic he has created over the years,” coach Pete Carroll said. Kamara finished with 10 catches for 128 yards and a 13-yard TD reception late in the first half. It was his fifth career regular-season game with double-digit receptions. He rushed for 51 yards. Winston was 19 of 35 for 222 yards and added 43 yards rushing. He also made enough plays thanks to Seattle penalties to get the Saints in range for the winning field goal. Seattle appeared to get a stop, but Marquise Blair was called for roughing the passer on a third-down sack after hitting Winston with the crown of his helmet. Kamara then sprinted past a blitz for 12 yards on third-and-10 and the Saints were in field-goal range. Al Woods jumped offside as Johnson lined up for a 43-yard attempt, allowing New Orleans to burn another 90 seconds off the clock before Johnson made the shorter try. “We got to get right,” Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “We've got to really fix our mistakes, play smarter, make less penalties.” Seattle's Jason Myers missed a pair of field goal attempts from 44 and 53 yards — the second into the open end of the stadium after Smith took another costly sack. Myers made a 50-yarder. Kamara had 21 touches on New Orleans’ 39 offensive plays in the first half. He was mostly ineffective on the ground, but Seattle couldn't slow him down in the pass game. He already had 108 yards receiving by halftime. Four of his receptions came on the final drive of the half when his 31-yard catch-and-run out of the backfield set up his 13-yard TD catch and a 10-7 halftime lead. “Every game has a life of its own, so that was just the flavor of this week, ended up getting a lot of touches,” Kamara said.

UCLA Beats Michigan March Madness Final Four

Johnny Juzang poured in 28 points while playing most of the second half on a hurt ankle, and UCLA survived a series of nail-biting misses by top-seeded Michigan in the closing seconds for a 51-49 victory Tuesday night that made the Bruins the fifth No. 11 seed ever to reach the Final Four. After dictating the pace all game, eschewing the slick style of Michigan in favor of a rock fight, it only seemed fitting that the underdog Bruins with two overtime wins in the tournament already would take it to the buzzer.

They were clinging to a 50-49 lead when Michigan called a timeout with 19 seconds to go. Juwan Howard set up an open 3-point look for cold-shooting Franz Wagner, who missed most of everything, and Eli Brooks missed a put-back before UCLA was able to corral the rebound. The Wolverines quickly fouled and sent Juzang to the line, where he missed the second of his two free throws with 6.3 seconds left, and Michigan grabbed the rebound. After another timeout, Mike Smith raced up court and unloaded a good look from the wing that was halfway down before bouncing back out. The buzzer sounded but the officials halted the Bruins’ celebration, putting a half-second back on the clock. That was enough time for Michigan to inbound to Wagner, who again let fly a 3-pointer that clanked off the iron and finally gave the Bruins freedom to spring from their benches in a wild celebration. Tyger Campbell added 11 points for UCLA (22-9), which will play overall No. 1 seed Gonzaga in the national semifinals. Hunter Dickinson led the Wolverines (23-5) with 11 points, but nothing came easy for the Big Ten freshman of the year or anyone else in maize and blue. They were 3 of 11 beyond the arc, shot 39% overall and couldn’t make the shot at the end. The No. 1 seed in the East Region had confidently strolled onto the court about 30 minutes before officials even rolled out balls for pregame warmups. The Wolverines almost looked bored as they milled about, some listening to their music, others catching glimpses of the Southern California-Gonzaga game on the screens hanging over the court. The Bulldogs won so easily it must have lulled them to sleep. Instead of the crisp passing, unselfishness and eye-pleasing positionless basketball that carried Michigan to three easy wins in the tournament, there was sloppy ballhandling, off-balance jumpers and breakdowns on defense. Then there was Juzang, who scored 14 of the Bruins’ first 16 points. Whether it was a step-back 3-pointer, floater in the lane or drive to the bucket, one of March’s breakout stars simply willed UCLA to a 27-23 halftime lead. The Bruins quickly stretched it to 34-25 before Juzang twisted his right ankle during a rebounding scrum, sending him to the bench to get it taped. He was only out a couple minutes, but Michigan took advantage. Dickinson and Brooks each had back-to-back baskets, wiping out most of UCLA’s hard-earned lead. Two programs quite familiar with college basketball’s biggest stage kept trading blows the rest of the way.

The Los Angeles Lakers win 17th NBA title

The Los Angeles Lakers, fueled by superstar LeBron James’s triple-double, dominated the Miami Heat 106-93 on Sunday to win a record-equalling 17th NBA championship but their first in a decade. James added another chapter to an epic career, delivering 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists as he captured his fourth NBA title with a third team. He earned NBA Finals Most Valuable Player honors for a fourth time, and said the accomplishment had a special flavor with the Lakers. “This is a historic franchise and to be a part of this is something that I’ll be able to talk about and my grandkids and kids will be able to talk about their pawpaw played for the Los Angeles Lakers,” James said. “It’s like playing for the Yankees and winning or playing for the Cowboys and winning a Super Bowl, or the Patriots. It’s like playing for the Red Sox.” James said the magnitude of what he was trying to accomplish with the Lakers kept his mind focused in the NBA’s quarantine bubble in Orlando, Florida. “To be able to win with a historical franchise is something that, no matter if your mind wavers away, you can always remember what you’re doing it for,” said James, recalling that he told Lakers president Jeanie Buss when he arrived in Los Angeles in 2018 that he “wanted to put this franchise back where it belongs.” Anthony Davis, playing in his first title series after years of frustration in New Orleans, added 19 points and 15 rebounds as the Lakers completed a four-games-to-two triumph more than eight months after the helicopter crash that killed team legend Kobe Bryant, who had led the Lakers to their last title in 2010.

The series in the NBA’s quarantine bubble in Orlando, Florida, capped not only an emotional season for the Lakers with the loss of talisman Bryant but a season of uncertainty and upheaval for the NBA as players grappled with the coronavirus pandemic and the demands for social and racial justice sweeping across the United States. The Lakers outhustled, outmuscled and outplayed Miami, making sure it wouldn’t come down to any last-gasp effort as it did when Los Angeles was denied in game five on Friday. Los Angeles had blown Game 6 open by halftime, their 36 second-quarter points equalling the Heat’s entire first half total as the Lakers took a 64-36 lead into the break with four players already scoring in double figures. Rajon Rondo was a perfect six-for-six from the floor in the first half as the Lakers built the second-largest halftime lead in NBA Finals history. Rondo, who won a title with the Celtics in 2008, scored 19 points off the bench. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 17, Danny Green scored 11 and the Lakers pulled level with the Boston Celtics for most titles all-time. The Heat, who had stunned the Lakers on Friday on the back of Jimmy Butler’s gritty triple-double, couldn’t produce another miracle in the face of Los Angeles’ stifling defense.

 

Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 25 points and 10 rebounds and Butler and Jae Crowder added 12 apiece, but Miami simply had no answer for the knockout blow Los Angeles delivered in the first half. James played his 260th playoff game surpassing Derek Fisher for the most all time. He had signaled the Lakers’ determination with nine first-quarter points. The Lakers were devastating in transition, none more so than James, who went coast-to-coast for a basket at the rim with 6:21 left in the opening period that boosted the Lakers’ lead to 18-3 and brought the bench to its feet. Miami got an emotional lift with the return of high-scoring guard Goran Dragic with 1:09 remaining in the first quarter. Dragic had been sidelined since suffering a torn plantar fascia in his left foot in game one, but he finished the night with just five points on two-of-eight shooting. Butler connected on just one basket in the opening quarter. “Obviously nobody likes to lose,” Butler said. “But I think we fought all year long, ups and downs, we stayed together and I think that’s what it’s all about.” James said one of the great satisfactions of the victory was helping Davis gain a title. “I know what it feels like to have seven years where you feel like you can’t get over the hump,” said James, who had his arms around Davis on the sideline as the final seconds ticked off the clock. “To be able to get him and we push him and let him know how great he is …. that’s what it’s all about.”

Lionel Messi Chooses Manchester City

The 33-year-old Argentine superstar is aiming to transfer to a new team and start a new chapter in his life after a poor end to last season that culminated with Barca being destroyed 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals. Barca failed to win a trophy for the first time in over a decade during the 2019-20 season. The move to City would make sense for a few reasons: City actually have the economic resources to acquire him, and on top of that, some of Messi's best years were under current manager Guardiola.

The likely cherry on top is that Messi's close friend Sergio Aguero plays for the club. When it comes to MLS, he would reportedly get to spend time in the league after three seasons and have a chance to become an ambassador of the City Football Group, which owns various clubs throughout the world. Messi's decision came after meeting with new manager Ronald Koeman, who has already told Luis Suarez to pack his bags, according to the report. Messi reportedly has a clause in his contract that would allow him to exit the club before the start of the 2020-21 season. It was believed that the clause would have expired in June, but reports say Messi's camp is confident it still applies due to the change in the schedule with the club's season having ended in August instead of May. With the club telling Balague it has expired, the two sides could be headed for a legal standoff. Messi joined Barca in 2001 as a youth player and made his debut for the senior side in 2004. Since then, he's won every trophy multiple times and has scored 634 goals in 731 games for the club, putting together what is viewed by many as the greatest individual career in history. Here's a look at Messi's 20-year run with the club, which has cemented his status as the biggest legend in club history.

Felipe returns to the Atlético, Official lineup of Atlético de Madrid against Alavés

Atlético has announced the call for 23 players for tonight's game against Alavés. It is almost identical to the latest Simeone lists with a novelty: Felipe returns to the group, who has not been able to play since the competition resumed. On the other hand, Mario Hermoso was left out due to injury. Felipe participated at a good pace in the last training sessions of Atlético and is already one more to compete. The Brazilian suffered a “muscle strain in the quadriceps of the left leg” and he has missed these four encounters. A setback for Cholo, for whomra their most used defense, although Giménez, Savic and Hermoso have performed at a high level. Mario Hermoso, For his part, he had some discomfort from the game against Levante.

He did not take part in the team's Friday training and medical tests have revealed that he has a “Muscle injury in the adductor region of the left thigh”. The rest of the list are the usual ones. Vrsaljko still out while recovering from the arthroscopy to which he was subjected five weeks ago and the summons are completed by the youth squad Manu Sánchez and Toni Moya. He Atlético de Madrid receive the Alaves in search of establishing itself even more in that third place after the draw of Sevilla. Simeone remains faithful in his idea of ​​making rotations and introduces several changes to the Atlético official lineup for this match. One of them is the one on the right side, where Kieran Trippier returns instead of Santiago Arias.

Atlético official lineup: Oblak; Trippier, Savic, Giménez, Lodi; Correa, Koke, Thomas, Saúl; Joao Félix and Morata. In defense too Giménez returns to the detriment of Mario Hermoso, who has been dropped from the list at the last minute due to a muscle injury. Cholo did not want to risk Felipe despite Savic being ready, and if he saw a yellow card he would miss the Camp Nou game next Tuesday. Marcos Llorente and Koke, two important players in this team, are in the same situation. Renan Lodi will not rest and will continue one more game on the left flank of the defense. In the center of the field, Correa enters the place of the well-known Llorente, while Koke will start at the start of the four line with Saúl Ñíguez and Thomas Partey. The attack point will be occupied by the Portuguese crack Joao Félix and Álvaro Morata. The rojiblancos they want to add the three points to reach the duel against Barcelona settled in the positions of the Champions League. For that reason, Cholo has decided to continue with their rotations and reserve some important players for this clash.

LeBron James Seemingly Sides With China

King James of Los Angeles Lakers inserted himself in the middle of the ongoing tensions between the NBA and China after calling out Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s “misinformed” tweet. James’ comment on the matter seemingly has him siding with the communist nation and many are calling the Lakers great a sellout.

As expected, protesters in Hong Kong are FURIOUS at LeBron James for speaking out against Daryl Morey and now they're burning Bron's jersey in the streets. Around 200 people were reportedly demonstrating at the Southorn Playground in Hong Kong chanting praises for Daryl Morey while trashing James. In fact, the Associated Press says the chants about LeBron included language that is "not printable."

James spoke with reporters Monday night (October 14) after being asked about Morey’s tweet. His response was shocking to many who thought the typically outspoken player would take a different direction. In answering a reporter if Morey’s tweet should lead to some actions towards the general manager, James essentially said that Morey wasn’t educated on the matter of the Hong Kong protests but did state he didn’t want to get into a feud with him.
Since James’ statement has gone out and reported on by various news outlets, the future NBA Hall of Famer’s name has been trending on Twitter with less than savory remarks about his observation of Morey’s tweet and the prickly situation in China. There is also a lot of “Go ‘Murrica!” types reacting to this as James and the NBA bowing down to communism, which is an arguable point at best.
We’ve got the best of those replies below. We also have James’ tweets clarifying his statements as well.