National Sports

Sports briefs

Rasmussen

leads Rays

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Drew Rasmussen allowed one run over seven innings for his second postseason win, Tampa Bay’s offense kept on constant pressure and the Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 on Sunday to take a 3-2 lead in the AL Championship Series.

The Rays will try to capture their third AL pennant and first since 2020 today at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Since the LCS expanded to seven games in 1985, road teams winning Game 5 for a 3-2 lead have won the series four of five times.

Game 7 if needed would be Tuesday. The World Series starts Friday at NL champion Milwaukee.

Cardinals

shock Rams

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) -- Chad Ryland kicked his sixth field goal, a 43-yarder as time expired, and the Arizona Cardinals rallied for a stunning 18-16 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

Punter Ethan Evans kicked the go-ahead extra point after Colby Parkinson caught a touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford with 47 seconds to play for the vaunted Rams, who struggled all day before mounting a desperate final scoring drive.

But the Cardinals immediately moved 36 yards into field goal range on Jalen Brooks’ long reception and an unnecessary roughness penalty on Josh Wallace. Three snaps later, Ryland buried his final kick to seal a shocking upset for Arizona.

Bears get

by Falcons

ATLANTA (AP) -- Caleb Williams completed his first 12 passes in his return from a hamstring injury, D'Andre Swift ran for two touchdowns and Chicago beat Atlanta.

The Bears led 31-7 before holding off Atlanta's comeback attempt in the final quarter.

Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon, who was activated from the physically unable to perform list before the game in his return from a calf injury, had three sacks and two forced fumbles.

Gordon's big day was capped by a sack of Michael Penix Jr. and forced fumble with 2:54 remaining and the Bears protecting a 31-23 lead. The fumble was recovered by Devin Bush at the Atlanta 28.

The Bears ran out the clock inside the Atlanta 5.

Steelers

outlast Bucs

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Aaron Rodgers threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns to rally the Pittsburgh Steelers from a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit to a 26-19 overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Rodgers shrugged off a slow start to lead four fourth-quarter scoring drives, then finished off a 12-play, 70-yard march with a 7-yard TD throw to Germie Bernard to give the Steelers (4-2) the lead for good with 3:15 remaining in OT.

Carr rallies

Wolverines

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- Tommy Carr converted a third down on a 12-yard touchdown run with 2:58 left to play, giving Michigan a two-score lead it needed in a 21-18 win over Penn State on Saturday.

Bryce Underwood was benched by coach Kyle Whittingham at halftime and Carr was put in the game to provide a spark and the grandson of College Football Hall of Famers delivered. The Wolverines were scoreless in the first half after they punted three times and Underwood was picked off twice. Michigan (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten) needed the win to avoid losing their first three conference games in a season for the first time since 1967.

Dieffenbach

shines for Bruins

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- Ty Dieffenbach has gone from third-string to starting quarterback for undefeated UCLA, leading the 12th-ranked Bruins to a 17-7 victory over Wisconsin. The 21-year-old completed 23 of 33 passes for 264 yards in his first start of the season.

Bruins coach Bob Chesney praised Dieffenbach’s confidence and performance. He stepped up after Nico Iamaleava’s injury last week, surpassing Maddon Iamaleava for the starting role. The Bruins are 6-0 and are expected to move into the top 10 of the AP rankings.

Dieffenbach’s journey to UCLA included stints at Pitt and Cal Poly, where he developed his skills before transferring.

Officiating

under fire

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) -- Notre Dame might have deserved one more play at the end of its game at BYU. Florida State was furious over how referees saw its two Hail Mary completions for would-have-been touchdowns in double overtime against Miami.

And once again, end-of-game officiating was under fire. Dramatic -- and sometimes controversial -- endings were the story of a wild college football Saturday, with late-game calls deciding some outcomes and potentially even having an effect on how the College Football Playoff shapes up a couple months from now.

Giants call

on McCarthy

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- J.J. McCarthy took over as the New York Giants’ quarterback after Jameis Winston threw his second interception of the game early in the fourth quarter against New Orleans, then led them on three scoring drives to get within seven points in the final minute.

McCarthy threw for 243 yards in just over 11 minutes, including a TD pass to Isaiah Likely after getting picked off on his first possession. Coach John Harbaugh said after the Giants’ 34-27 loss to the Saints that it was too early to say whether Winston or McCarthy would start next weekend at Houston.

Reddick wins

in Phoenix

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Tyler Reddick earned his sixth win of the NASCAR season at Phoenix Raceway, boosting his position in the Cup Series championship standings. On Sunday, Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota overtook Chase Briscoe with 17 laps to go.

Kyle Larson, the leader, had a rough day, finishing 34th after hitting the wall due to a flat tire. Larson’s lead is now just five points over Christopher Bell as they head to Talladega next week. Denny Hamlin and others remain in contention.

Joey Logano won both stages, collecting 20 points. The Cup Series continues with three races left in the season.

Kings guard

Simmons out

(AP) -- Ben Simmons tore his right Achilles tendon in practice, ending his comeback attempt this season with the Sacramento Kings before the season even started.

The Kings said Simmons hurt himself during a live drill and will need to undergo surgery three days before the season opener Wednesday night on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Simmons signed a one-year deal with Sacramento this summer as he tried to revive his career.

Valkyries up

1-0 on Dream

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Kiah Stokes swatted shots and crashed the boards on both ends, pulling down seven rebounds while also blocking four shots. Kaila Charles came off the bench and contributed 10 rebounds, made two steals and also blocked a shot. Laeticia Amihere offered important intel on her former Atlanta team and took on the load against Angel Reese.

That swarming, all-hands-on-deck Golden State defense shined in crunch time to hold down Reese, Allisha Gray and the physical Dream, and the Valkyries now have a 1-0 lead in the WNBA Finals because of it after the 68-64 win Saturday.