PHOENIX (AP) — Nathan Eovaldi pitched six gutsy innings, Mitch Garver broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the seventh and the Texas Rangers won their first World Series championship by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 in Game 5. Marcus Semien homered late and the Rangers, held hitless for six innings by Zac Gallen, finished a record 11-0 on the road this postseason after capping an all-wild card World Series with three straight wins in the desert. In his first season with Texas, manager Bruce Bochy won his fourth title 13 years to the day after his first, which came in 2010 when the Giants beat the Rangers. He also won with San Francisco in 2012 and 2014. Texas shortstop Corey Seager took home his second World Series MVP award.
PHOENIX (AP) — Corey Seager was voted the World Series Most Valuable Player after leading the Texas Rangers over the Arizona Diamondbacks for their first title. Seager joined Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson as the only two-time World Series MVPs. He also won the award in 2020 for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Seager hit three two-run homers in the Series, then broke up Zac Gallen’s no-hit bid with a leadoff single and scored in the Rangers' 5-0 victory in Game 5, giving Texas the World Series in five games.
PHOENIX (AP) — Zac Gallen spent six innings looking like Don Larsen, the possibility of a World Series no-hitter flashing through his mind. It just didn't work out. Gallen surrendered three hits in the seventh, including Mitch Garver's RBI single, and the Arizona Diamondbacks were eliminated with a 5-0 loss to the Texas Rangers in Game 5. A 28-year-old right-hander, Gallen retired his first 14 batters before walking Nathaniel Lowe on a low 3-1 fastball. He lasted one more batter after Garver’s single, striking out six in 6 1/3 innings.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — The turbulent and brilliant basketball coach Bob Knight has died. Knight's family made the announcement Wednesday night on social media, saying he was surrounded by family at his home in Bloomington. Knight led the Hoosiers to three NCAA championships. He was among college basketball’s winningest coaches, with 902 victories in 42 seasons at Army, Indiana and Texas Tech. He coached the U.S. to the 1984 Olympic gold medal. His temper was legendary: In 1985, he tossed a chair across the court. But he took pride in his players’ high graduation rates and never was accused of a major NCAA violation. Bob Knight was 83.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana Hoosiers basketball fans always waited for Bob Knight to erupt. On a winter night in 1985 it didn't take long. Five minutes into a game against rival Purdue, Knight drew a technical foul then nonchalantly turned around, picked up a chair and hurled it past Boilermakers guard Steve Reid. It became the defining moment in the storied career of the always combustible Knight, who died at 83, his family announced Wednesday. The sports world was outraged by Knight’s conduct, but not his players. They had seen it all before.
UNDATED (AP) — The Big 12 released four years of football opponents for its newly expanded 16-team conference, including a yearly BYU-Utah game. The Big 12 adds Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah from the Pac-12 in 2024 while saying goodbye to Oklahoma and Texas. The Sooners and Longhorns are joining the Southeastern Conference. Big 12 teams will play nine conference games per season and every member will play at least one home-and-home with the other 15 schools over the next four years. Dates of games will be released later. BYU and Utah will be conference-mates for the first time since 2010.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will meet one last time as conference rivals in their “Bedlam” series. Oklahoma will leave the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference after this season, ending the annual matchups in a series that began in 1904 -– three years before Oklahoma became the 46th U.S. state. Oklahoma leads the series 91-19-7. But Oklahoma State has been competitive enough for stretches in the past 50 years for some to call it a rivalry. The Associated Press looks back at some of the best games in the series.
UNDATED (AP) — TCU will be trying to beat Texas Tech for the fifth time in a row. A rivalry win Thursday night in Lubbock would be a boost for either team in a season gone awry for both. TCU is 4-4 after losing three of its last four games, the last a 41-3 defeat at Kansas State in a rematch of last year's Big 12 title game. The 3-5 Red Raiders have lost their last two games, against K-State and BYU. The game features two of the Big 12's top running backs in Texas Tech's Tahj Brooks and TCU's Emani Bailey.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — The number of incoming freshmen in Division I men's basketball has dropped amid the free-agency rush through the transfer portal. Data from the NCAA shows that the number of freshmen fell by 18% from the 2019-20 season before the pandemic to the 2021-22 season. That was the first season after a rule change allowing undergraduate athletes to transfer once without sitting out. The decline was more acute at 24% for the Power Five leagues. Pittsburgh's Jeff Capel says the portal gives “more options” for coaches. Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said transfers typically offer advantages such as experience and toughness.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Final Texas 5 Arizona 0
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Portland 110 Detroit 101
Final Toronto 130 Milwaukee 111
Final Boston 155 Indiana 104
Final Atlanta 130 Washington 121
Final Brooklyn 109 Miami 105
Final Cleveland 95 New York 89
Final New Orleans 110 Oklahoma City 106
Final Houston 128 Charlotte 119
Final Minnesota 110 Denver 89
Final Dallas 114 Chicago 105
Final Utah 133 Memphis 109
Final Golden State 102 Sacramento 101
Final OT L.A. Lakers 130 L.A. Clippers 125
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Buffalo 5 Philadelphia 2
Final Dallas 4 Calgary 3
Final Colorado 4 St. Louis 1