Sports Desk

Jameis Winston entered last Sunday as the New York Giants’ No. 3 quarterback.

This week, he appears to be set to make his first start of the season.

Winston has been moved ahead of fellow veteran quarterback Russell Wilson on the Giants’ depth chart, according to multiple media outlets. The move puts Winston in line for what appears to be a likely start Sunday against the Green Bay Packers as regular starter Jaxson Dart remains in concussion protocol.

It’s the first major decision made by interim coach Mike Kafka since the Giants’ firing of coach Brian Daboll on Monday. New York went 20-40-1 in three-plus seasons under Daboll, including a 2-8 start to this season.

A 10-time Pro Bowl selection and a Super Bowl champion with the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson started 11 games for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, his 13th NFL season. He was signed during the offseason by the Giants to be their 2025 starting quarterback.

Winston was signed to be Wilson’s backup. In his previous 10 NFL seasons, Winston had gone 36-51 as the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns, with 154 touchdowns and 111 interceptions.

In April, the Giants traded up nine spots in the draft to select Dart with the No. 25 overall pick. The rookie out of Mississippi ended up earning the No. 2 quarterback spot. But Wilson was largely ineffective during the Giants’ 0-3 start, and Dart was promoted to starting quarterback in Week 4.

Dart helped spark the Giants to wins over the Chargers and the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in two of his first three starts. Overall this season, Dart is 2-7 as a starter, completing 63% of his passes for 1,417 yards passing with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Last week against the Chicago Bears, Dart hit his head on the ground during the third quarter and eventually was checked for a concussion for the fourth time this season. Wilson entered the game mid-drive and led the Giants to an eventual field goal and a 20-10 lead.

Overall, however, Wilson was ineffective again — he completed three of seven passes for 45 yards and was sacked twice — as the Giants collapsed and lost the game 24-20.

Auger-Aliassime quickly found himself 4-1 down in the first set, with Shelton putting the serve and volley to good use, but he broke back as his opponent served for the set.

However, a poor service game handed the initiative – and the opener – to fifth seed Shelton.

Shelton had the only break point of the second set but an increasingly confident Auger-Aliassime saved it, before clinching the tie-breaker on a wild double fault from Shelton.

A tight third set was also decided on the Shelton serve, with Auger-Aliassime converting his third match point.

“He was playing much better than me at the start,” Auger-Aliassime said.

“It was a weird start, but as the match went on I was finding ways to put returns in the court.”

LA28 released the detailed daily competition schedule for the biggest Olympics in history on Wednesday, laying out every event for the 19 days of competition that will feature more than 11,000 athletes across 51 sports.

Along with being the largest in Games history, the 2028 Summer Olympics will be the first to include more female athletes than men. The schedule honors the historic moment for women in sports by showcasing the women’s 100-meter final at the Coliseum as the primetime, marquee event on the first official day of competition on July 15, 2028.

“The reason we’re throwing out the women’s 100 meters on the first day is because we want to come on these Games with a bang,” Shana Ferguson, LA28’s chief of sport and head of Games delivery, said on a conference call. “And likely that race will be among the most watched of all the races in the Games. We just want to start that Day 1 with a massive, massive showcase of the fastest females in the world.”

The women’s 100-meter final will punctuate Day 1 competition that will feature eight women’s finals, the most for a single day at the Olympics. The men’s 100-meter final will follow on Day 2.

Scheduling the women’s final on Day 1 will require the top athletes to run up to three, 100-meter races in one day as opposed to putting qualifying on a separate day as the semifinals and finals. Olympic organizers presented the idea to athlete commissions within LA28 and through World Athletics. While some preferred to keep the status quo for the women’s 100 meter, Janet Evans, LA28’s chief athlete officer, said the majority of competitors simply wanted to know when their races would be so they could plan their training accordingly.

“I think a lot of athletes will be looking immediately at the schedule and planning their training around it,” said Evans, a four-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming. “That was certainly top of mind as we made this decision.”

Making the schedule came with extensive consultation with athletes and international sport federations. Organizers considered the sun position for diving, which will be held outdoors at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center. They wanted to ensure that fans waiting to enter arenas wouldn’t be left in the sun during a mid-day competition. Weary of heat affecting horses in Santa Anita, they took care to schedule equestrian events for either early morning or evening sessions.

With track and field setting the stage in the first week, swimming competitions traditionally take place first were shifted to the second week to allow organizers to build an indoor swimming pool in SoFi Stadium after the venue helps host the opening ceremony on July 14.

But keeping with Olympic tradition, the marathon will still take place on the final weekend of the Games, with the women running at Venice Beach on Day 15 (July 29), and the men competing on Day 16 (July 30). As one of the final Olympic events, marathon medalists typically receive their medals during the closing ceremony, which will take place at the Coliseum on July 30, beginning at 6 p.m.

The 2028 Games are approaching major checkpoints with less than three years until the opening ceremony. The Paralympic competition schedule will be released later this year. The volunteer program has already opened for community opportunities while applications for Games time volunteers will open in summer of 2026. Olympics ticket registration will open in January 2026.

Fans can begin registering for the ticket lottery in January and purchasing windows for those who are selected in the lottery will begin in spring 2026. Prices start at $28. With concerns about sky-high ticket prices for sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup or the World Series, Ferguson said LA28 will not use dynamic pricing, but didn’t state any specifics about the prices.

Ferguson said the organizing committee has 14 million tickets for the Olympics and Paralympics, which would break the ticket record set by Paris 2024. The biggest Olympics, and the most jam-packed schedule, would warrant that kind of attendance.

“What a great responsibility that is for us,” Ferguson said of hosting the biggest Olympics in history. “The care and concern that went into building this competition schedule — I will tell you that the folks on the team who did it really, truly, had a lot of sleepless nights because they wanted to get this right for every single athlete, regardless of sport.”

LA28 competition dates

Opening Ceremony: July 14
3×3 Basketball: July 17-22,
Archery: July 21-28
Artistic Gymnastics: July 15-25
Artistic Swimming: July 25-29
Athletics: July 15-30
Badminton: July 15-24
Baseball: July 13-19
Basketball: July 12-30
Beach Volleyball: July 15-29
BMX Freestyle: July 28-29
BMX Racing: July 15-16
Boxing: July 15-30
Canoe Slalom: July 14-22
Canoe Sprint: July 25-29
Cricket: July 12-29
Cycling Road: July 19-23
Cycling Track: July 25-30
Diving: July 25-30
Equestrian: July 15-29
Fencing: July 15-23
Flag Football: July 15-22
Football (Soccer): July 12-29
Golf: July 19-29
Handball: July 12-28
Hockey (Field): July 12-29
Judo: July 15-22
Lacrosse: July 24-29
Modern Pentathlon: July 15-18
Mountain Bike: July 15-18
Open Water Swimming: July 17-18
Rhythmic Gymnastics: July 27-29
Rowing: July 15-22
Rowing Coastal Beach Sprints: July 24-25
Rugby Sevens: July 12-18
Sailing: July 16-28
Shooting: July 15-25
Skateboarding: July 18-27
Softball: July 23-29
Sport Climbing: July 24-29
Squash: July 15-24
Surfing: July 15-23
Swimming: July 22-30
Table Tennis: July 22-30
Taekwondo: July 26-29
Tennis: July 19-28
Trampoline Gymnastics: July 21
Triathlon: July 15-20
Volleyball: July 15-30
Water Polo: July 12-23
Weightlifting: July 25-29
Wrestling: July 24-30
Closing Ceremony: July 30

Rees-Zammit suffered a toe injury in his fourth game for the Bears, but proved his fitness to earn selection on Wales’ bench for the autumn opener.

That led to plenty of pre-match focus being on a replacement and he got some of the biggest cheers of the afternoon.

Wales might have suffered a heavy loss, but the wing was still able to reflect on being in his “happy place” in a social media post.

“It was a great experience,” he said. “I did really miss being able to play at the Principality Stadium in front of our fans.

“It was incredible. You don’t really know you’ve left until you go back. When I came on and heard the crowd – all the support I had, it meant so much to me.”

Wales won just one of 19 Tests while Rees-Zammit was out of the picture in America, but the wing is confident of brighter times under Tandy.

“You could see glimpses last weekend of what’s to come. That was building a foundation of where we want to be and what team we want to be,” he said.

“We can do as much as we can in training, but we’ve got to show it on the weekend when all the fans have paid good money to come watch us play. It’s what they deserve.”

Rees-Zammit’s last international victory was against Georgia at the 2023 World Cup and he intends to help Wales repeat their summer success against Japan in a vital game ahead of December’s World Cup draw.

Eddie Jones’ Brave Blossoms would leapfrog Tandy’s side into 12th in the world rankings if they upset the odds in Cardiff.

Rees-Zammit said: “Everyone’s locked in on what’s next. Japan will be a tough game, but everyone is raring to go and is buying in 100%. We’re all ready.”

Leading off the 2028 Olympic Games: Shohei Ohtani, at Dodger Stadium. On deck: The lighting of the Olympic torch.

That is how the Los Angeles Games could look, based on the revised schedule announced Wednesday by LA28 organizers. In another sign that Major League Baseball is headed toward an agreement to allow its players to participate in the 2028 Games, LA28 adjusted its baseball schedule after discussions with the league.

Under the new schedule, the baseball competition would start on Thursday, July 13, 2028 — the day before the opening ceremony, rather than the day after.

That would give MLB the option to hold the 2028 All-Star Game on its traditional Tuesday date — most likely in San Francisco — with the Olympic baseball competition starting two days later in Los Angeles and ending on Wednesday, July 19. The major league schedule could resume the following weekend.

In past Olympic baseball tournaments, MLB has declined to stop its season, so minor league and college players have populated the rosters of many countries, including the United States. For 2028, MLB had no interest in canceling its All-Star Game and replacing it with the Olympic competition.

However, on the heels of a dramatic World Series that attracted record worldwide attention, and with a highly anticipated World Baseball Classic four months away, MLB would be passing up a global marketing bonanza by skipping the Olympics.

No final deal among LA28, MLB and the Major League Baseball Players’ Assn. has been reached, but MLB commissioner Rob Manfred all but telegraphed this resolution in July, one day after LA28 said its baseball competition would begin on the day after the opening ceremony.

“They put out a schedule,” Manfred said then. “They tell you it’s not going to move. We’ll see whether there is any movement on that.

“It is possible to play the All-Star Game in its normal spot, have a single break that would be longer, but still play 162 games without bleeding into the middle of November. It would require significant accommodations, but it is possible.”

And now, it appears likely.

Clarke was not so laidback. McGinn revealed that half-time of the Belarus match was the “wildest” he had ever seen the head coach.

After a record-breaking 72nd match in charge, Clarke said: “If you’d said at the start of this camp we’d come out with six points, everyone would’ve been really happy.

“But, I have to be honest, tonight I was really, really disappointed in my team.”

So how does he address that for arguably his most significant qualifiers to date?

Off the bench, Billy Gilmour subtly brought some control to Scotland’s play against Greece, who were threatening to run riot at Hampden for the second time in seven months.

But the injured Napoli midfielder will not be an option for Clarke in Athens, although he could return for the potential group decider with Denmark.

Fellow Serie A midfielder Lennon Miller, also capable of dictating and bringing composure to a game, will be missing as well after withdrawing injured.

Having faced 37 shots in two games at Hampden against Greece and Belarus, it is clear Scotland have been exposed in recent outings.

Clarke’s side rode their luck at times in their group opener in Denmark, but they looked a far more cohesive unit out of possession in a rigid 4-4-2 shape.

Christie, McGinn, Ferguson and Scott McTominay occupied a compact and energetic midfield four, with Dykes and Che Adams providing intense work rate and physicality as a forward pairing.

Bold decisions to not start Gilmour and Ben Gannon-Doak paid off as the Scots left Copenhagen with a well-earned point.

Knowing a draw would set up a winner-takes-all showdown with the Danes on Tuesday, might the Scotland boss revert to that formula in Greece?

There are few high school football players in Southern California who have made a greater impact for their team than junior Jaden Walk-Green of Corona Centennial.

Playing strong safety, he has eight interceptions, with four returned for touchdowns. He returned a fumble for a touchdown. He’s also the kicker, punter and return man for kickoffs and punts. He has returned one punt for a touchdown. He can play receiver, running back and quarterback if needed. He’s also the starting center fielder for the baseball team.

Growing up, he played ice hockey, lacrosse, basketball, soccer, golf, football and baseball, plus he can ski.

“Why not?” he said. “Try everything. It’s good to get away from your main sport.”

He has so much sports equipment and so many shoes in his closet from all the sports he’s tried that he could put on a garage sale.

Centennial coach Matt Logan was nice enough to show World Series games on the school’s videoboard during football practices so Walk-Green could keep track of the Dodgers.

“You intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani four times in one game. That’s respect,” he said.

After finishing his regular-season finale football game against Chaparral, he was up Saturday morning to play in a fall baseball game and went two for three. He’s improved his speed and strength, so look for more steals as Centennial’s leadoff man this spring.

He’s 5 feet 11, 185 pounds and got to face first-round draft pick Seth Hernandez of Corona last season. The thing is Hernandez refused to show him his 101-mph fastball.

“He went curve and slider,” Walk-Green said of his first at-bat. “The next at-bat, he hit me. They knew not to throw me a fastball.”

Walk-Green’s focus on versatility can be traced to his father, Keith, who played two sports at St. Monica and wanted his son to enjoy many sports while not specializing until he learned what he was best at. His mother, Dorshay, was a dancer at St. Monica and also endorsed the multiple-sports experiment.

Now that Walk-Green has become so good in football and baseball, he’s going to have many options for college. He’s only 17 and enjoying his life as someone who can play any position and any sport. You want to play pingpong, ask him. You want to see him skate on ice or blacktop, ask him.

Corona Centennial opens the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs on Friday as the No. 2 seed, hosting No. 7 Servite. The Huskies are the last team other than Mater Dei or St. John Bosco to win a Division 1 title in 2015.

“We have a good team to make a run,” Walk-Green said.

Logan trusts Walk-Green, putting him in the middle of the field on defense so he can observe and use his instincts to intervene, just like he does as a center fielder for the baseball team.

“He can play any position on offense,” Logan said.

Well, except on the offensive line, but don’t think he couldn’t adapt.

“Never fear anything,” Walk-Green said.

State Man has been ruled out for the season and will not bid to reclaim the Champion Hurdle title at Cheltenham in March.

Trainer Willie Mullins said the horse had suffered an injury on the gallops on Wednesday morning.

The eight-year-old was second to Constitution Hill in the 2023 Champion Hurdle and won the race the following year.

State Man was leading when falling at the final flight in last year’s contest but went on to win the Champion Hurdle at Punchestown.

He is a two-time Cheltenham Festival winner, having landed the County Hurdle in 2022.

Mullins told the Sporting Life: “Sadly State Man has suffered a tendon injury on the gallops here. He’ll definitely be out for the rest of the season.”

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

CIF SOCAL REGIONALS
TUESDAY’S RESULTS
First Round

DIVISION I
#1 Harvard-Westlake d. #16 Santa Barbara San Marcos, 25-16, 25-13, 25-16
#9 Long Beach Poly d. #8 San Luis Obispo, 25-22, 25-19, 25-13
#12 Bishop Montgomery d. #5 La Jolla Country Day, 25-23, 25-19, 25-16
#4 West Ranch d. #13 Redlands, 25-19, 21-25, 25-14, 25-13
#3 Santa Margarita d. #14 San Diego San Marcos, 23-25, 25-15, 28-26, 25-15
#6 Coronado d. #11 JSerra, 25-12, 25-20, 25-18
#10 Bakersfield Centennial d. #7 Bishop’s, 19-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-22, 15-12
32 Temecula Valley d. #15 Orange Lutheran, 25-23, 20-25, 25-17, 27-25

DIVISION II
#1 Liberty d. #16 Oak Park, 24-26, 25-12, 25-23, 25-12
#9 Arroyo Grande d. #8 Flintridge Prep, 25-15, 14-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-10
#12 La Canada d. #5 Christian, 12-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-19
#13 Ventura d. #4 Santa Ana Foothill, 26-28, 25-15, 20-25, 25-0, 15-11
#3 Cypress d. #14 Venice, 25-15, 25-15, 25-22
#6 Scripps Ranch d. #11 St. Margaret’s, 25-27, 25-22, 25-20, 25-20
#7 Carlsbad d. #10 Palisades, 25-11, 25-18, 23-25, 25-23
#15 Dana Hills d. #2 Westview, 25-14, 25-19, 25-10

DIVISION III
#1 Academy of Our Lady of Peace d. #16 Arrowhead Christian, 25-11, 25-11, 25-16
#8 Royal d. #9 Garces Memorial, 23-25, 25-9, 25-22, 25-18
#5 Patrick Henry d. #12 Cleveland, 25-17, 25-17, 25-13
#4 Santa Fe Christian d. #13 El Camino Real, 25-17, 25-21, 25-19
#3 Mission Vista d. #14 Taft, 25-21, 25-22, 25-18
#6 Ontario Christian d. #11 Santa Barbara, 25-12, 25-19, 25-22
#7 Chadwick d. #10 Eagle Rock, 16-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-17, 15-6
32 Frontier d. #15 Wiseburn Da Vinci, 25-22, 25-20, 25-16

DIVISION IV
#1 Nipomo, bye
#8 Grant d. #9 Oceanside El Camino, 25-7, 25-10, 25-16
#12 Capistrano Valley Christian d. #5 Chatsworth, 16-25, 25-16, 26-24, 20-25, 15-13
#13 West Valley d. #4 Olympian, 18-25, 25-14, 25-20, 20-25, 15-10
#3 Granada Hills d. #14 Cate, 25-17, 25-18, 25-20
#5 LA University d. #11 Garden Grove Pacifica, 25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 25-18
#10 Rock Academy d. #7 Granada Hills Kennedy, 14-25, 25-10, 20-25, 25-13, 15-12
#2 Mammoth d. #15 CAMS, 25-21, 25-18, 25-13

DIVISION V
#1 East Valley, bye
#8 Panorama d. #9 Loma Linda Academy, 25-20, 21-25, 25-13, 30-28
#5 Artesia d. #12 South East, 25-8, 25-6, 25-9
#4 Elsinore d. #13 Legacy, 25-9, 25-20, 25-18
#3 O’Farrell Charter d. #14 Moreno Valley, 25-20, 25-19, 25-20
#11 Nogales at #6 Schurr, 19-25, 29-27, 25-12, 14-25, 15-9
#10 South El Monte d. #7 Foothill Tech, 25-20, 15-25, 25-22, 16-25, 15-12
#2 Morro Bay d. #15 Anaheim, 25-6, 25-10, 25-11

WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
First Round

OPEN DIVISION
#8 Mira Costa at #1 Sierra Canyon
#5 Marymount at #4 San Diego Cathedral
#6 San Juan Hills at #3 Torrey Pines
#7 Redondo Union at #2 Mater Dei

Note: Quarterfinals (Divisions I-V) Nov. 13 at higher seeds; Semifinals (all divisions) Nov. 15 at higher seeds; Finals (all divisions) Nov. 18 at higher seeds.

HIGH SCHOOL BOYS WATER POLO PLAYOFFS

TUESDAY’S RESULTS

SOUTHERN SECTION

Semifinals

DIVISION 2

Damien 22, Los Alamitos 19

Capistrano Valley 10, Redondo Union 9

DIVISION 3

Glendora vs. Bonita at Las Flores Park

Temecula Valley 9, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 8

DIVISION 4

Charter Oak 11, Buena Park 10

Liberty 13, Culver City 11

DIVISION 5

Fontana 20, Westminster 8

Baldwin Park 12, Montebello 7

CITY SECTION

MONDAY’S RESULTS
Semifinals

DIVISION I
#1 Granada Hills 14, #4 Venice 4
#3 Palisades 15, #2 Birmingham 12

WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
CITY SECTION FINALS
At Valley College

DIVISION I
#3 Palisades vs. #1 Granada Hills, 5 p.m.

OPEN DIVISION
#2 Eagle Rock vs. #1 Cleveland, 7 p.m.

SOUTHERN SECTION
Semifinals

OPEN DIVISION
At Woolett Aquatics Center
#6 Mira Costa vs. #1 Newport Harbor, 4:30 p.m.
#4 Oaks Christian vs. #3 Corona Del Mar, 7:30 p.m.

DIVISION 1
Dos Pueblos vs. Loyola, 6 p.m.
Mater Dei at Harvard-Westlake, 3 p.m.

Note: Finals (all divisions) Nov. 15 at Mt. San Antonio College (times TBA).

Manchester United’s Maya Le Tissier talks to BBC Sport’s Simon Stone before their Champions League match against Paris St-Germain on Wednesday.

It will be the first time the women’s side has played a European game at Old Trafford.

READ MORE: Man Utd want to use Old Trafford match to ‘push team forward’

Gabriel Landeskog scored his first goal of the season, Nathan MacKinnon had three assists and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Ducks 4-1 on Tuesday night in a matchup of the Western Conference’s points leaders.

The loss ended the Ducks’ winning streak at seven games. Leo Carlsson scored his sixth goal in the past four games for Anaheim and recorded his 100th career point, making the 20-year-old the youngest player in Ducks history to reach that milestone. Troy Terry got his team-leading 15th assist of the season on Carlsson’s goal.

Lukas Dostal made 32 saves in a matchup of first-place teams.

The one goal matched a season-low for the Ducks, who entered the game averaging an NHL-best 4.13 goals per game.

Landeskog’s second-period goal, which gave Colorado a 2-1 lead, was his first in the regular season since March 5, 2022. The 32-year-old left wing had missed the entire 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, as well as the 2024-25 regular season, after undergoing a series of knee surgeries. After the goal, the home crowd serenaded him with chants of “Landy.”

Scott Wedgewood stopped 35 of the 36 Anaheim shots he faced for his NHL-leading 10th win of the season. It was the seventh time in 14 starts this season that Wedgewood has allowed one or fewer goals.

Artturi Lehkonen, Martin Necas and Parker Kelly also scored for Colorado, with Lehkonen’s goal coming just 28 seconds into the first period. MacKinnon’s three assists gave him 32 points for the season, the most in the NHL.

With the win, the Avalanche are 6-0-1 in their last seven games and improved to 16-1-2 in their last 19 meetings against the Ducks.

Sixth seed Fritz, the 2024 runner-up, matched Alcaraz for much of their absorbing meeting. But Alcaraz, as he so often does, just found another gear to turn the match around.

An opening four games lasting 30 minutes set the tone, with both players exchanging breaks in lengthy service games.

Fritz, who won the pair’s most recent indoor meeting at the Laver Cup in September, missed two break points in the eighth game, but maintained pressure and seized control of the tie-break to deservedly claim a 70-minute first set.

Alcaraz earned a crucial hold of serve after an eighth deuce in a captivating 14-minute fifth game of the second set, pointing to his ear as he lapped up the crowd’s appreciation after saving two break points.

Fritz overcame his first test of the second set to seal an important hold for 4-4 but he could not escape four games later when, seemingly from nowhere, a rare double fault contributed to a 0-40 deficit – and Alcaraz took his opportunity.

Fritz continued to go toe-to-toe with his opponent and ended the match with 75% first serves in, but Alcaraz took full advantage when his level eventually dipped.

Breaking for a 4-2 lead, Alcaraz sought to finish in style and landed a spectacular overhead backhand drop shot to reach a third match point on Fritz’s serve.

Fritz rightfully received the adoration of the crowd for hanging in the contest, only for a free-flowing Alcaraz to serve out the match to love.

“It was tight. I felt I was struggling more than him,” Alcaraz added.

“I was really relieved after the win because of everything I went through physically. I’m really happy that I found a way to come back and find his weaknesses.”

Joel Edmundson and Quinton Byfield each had a goal and an assist as the Kings scored three quick goals in the second period to beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 on Tuesday night.

Joel Armia and Kevin Fiala also scored for the Kings (8-5-4), who won their second consecutive game on the road and improved to 7-1-2 away from home this season. Warren Foegele added an empty-net goal and Darcy Kuemper stopped 21 shots.

The Kings won their ninth straight game against Montreal dating to the 2021-22 season. It’s their longest active run against one opponent.

Josh Anderson scored for the Canadiens (10-4-2). Lane Hutson, last season’s rookie of the year, added an assist in his 100th game and Sam Montembeault made 21 saves.

Trailing 1-0 after Anderson’s one-timer with 46 seconds left in the first period, the Kings scored three goals in a span of 4:05 in the second.

Edmundson’s slap shot from the point 1:17 into the period — the hardest shot this season at 96.75 mph, according to the NHL — beat Montembeault for his first of the season. Then, with a delayed penalty, Byfield finished off a lengthy six-on-five sequence by gathering a rebound and shoveling the puck into the top of the net at 4:17.

Fiala made it 3-1 only 65 seconds later, capitalizing on a gift from Montembeault, who pushed the puck directly onto his stick near the crease.

Armia chased down Hutson in the Montreal zone, stripped him of the puck and slotted a shot past Montembeault to give the Kings a three-goal lead with 8:52 remaining.

Outside of Anderson’s blistering shot, Montreal couldn’t solve Kuemper. The Kings’ netminder stopped Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky’s slot shots in the third period and showed stellar rebound control.

Armia, who joined the Kings last summer after seven seasons in Montreal, returned to a loud ovation during a first-period video tribute. Armia, Edmundson, Corey Perry and Phillip Danault of the Kings all played for the Canadiens in their run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

Yahoo Sports senior NFL reporter Jori Epstein and former Buffalo Bills head coach Phoebe Schecter take a look at the potential play-off contenders and pretenders as the NFL season reaches its business end.

WATCH: The Whole 10 Yards – Contenders or Pretenders? (Available to UK users only)

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS TENNIS

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS

WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE

(Matches at 2 p.m. unless noted)

Semifinals

DIVISION 1
Mater Dei at Corona del Mar
Mira Costa at Portola

DIVISION 2
Calabasas at Woodbridge
Harvard-Westlake at Crean Lutheran

DIVISION 3
Temple City at Whitney
Campbell Hall at Flintridge Prep

DIVISION 4
Pasadena Poly at Oaks Christian
Agoura at Torrance

DIVISION 5
Burbank at Valencia
Cerritos at Lakewood St. Joseph

DIVISION 6
Flintridge Sacred Heart at Villa Park
Village Christian at Saugus

DIVISION 7
Laguna Hills at Malibu
Oakwood at Segerstrom

DIVISION 8
Bishop Diego at Tahquitz
Oxnard at Garden Grove Santiago

Note: Finals (Divisions 1-4) Nov. 17 at University of Redlands; Finals (Divisions 5-8) Nov. 17 at The Claremont Club.

They say a week is a long time in football, never mind 99 of them.

Sam Kerr knows that all too well, as her 692-day wait to start a match for Chelsea came to an end on Tuesday.

After scoring in her side’s 3-1 Champions League victory against BK Hacken on 20 December 2023, Kerr’s career was rocked by injury.

An anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained during a warm-weather training camp in January 2024, followed by several setbacks, kept her out of competitive action until September this year.

After scoring twice in nine substitute appearances this season, Kerr made the most of her first start with two superbly taken goals in Chelsea’s 6-0 Champions League thrashing of Austrian side St Polten.

“It feels good. It felt like I had to work myself into it but yeah, happy to score,” Kerr told Disney+.

“Of course, I prefer to play more minutes. When you come on for 20 minutes it’s a bit hectic, there’s lots of subs and it can be a bit wishy-washy. I feel like today was good.

“I had a few chances in the first half. I’m just happy to be back out here playing in the Champions League again, with an amazing team. I’m relishing every moment.”

For a while it looked like it just wouldn’t be Kerr’s night.

She may have started two friendlies for Australia last month but her sharpness is still coming back and, in the first half, missed three chances she would be expected to take.

Her wayward finishing continued when she blazed over early in the second half, while her poorly timed run led to team-mate Naomi Girma’s first-half header being ruled out for offside.

Then emerged the Kerr Europe’s defenders hoped they might not see again.

A superb first touch from Wieke Kaptein’s cross got the ball out of her feet, before a sweeping right-foot strike left goalkeeper Carina Schluter helpless.

For her second, Kerr dropped back off the defensive line into space, adjusted to meet the flight of Niamh Charles’ cross and planted a header high into the net.

“It feels a bit sweeter but it feels a bit weird,” Kerr said on whether the feeling of scoring has changed after her injury.

“I didn’t score for so long that I was like I haven’t celebrated, really. I haven’t got that celebration thing yet. I’ve got to score a few more.”

Next Kerr will target a first WSL start since 17 December 2023. With Aggie Beever-Jones missing the last two games with a dead leg, it could come against Liverpool on Sunday.

“I feel 100% but I was out for a while, so I have to build myself up,” Kerr said.

“Today was a good set, right? Getting some good minutes in the national team was a good set. I’m definitely fit enough, it’s just about getting miles in the legs now. I’m ready to go.”

LAS VEGAS — Almost everyone in baseball, it seems, is waiting to see how aggressive the Dodgers will be this offseason.

For now, that appears to include the two-time defending champions themselves.

As the club’s front office arrived at The Cosmopolitan Hotel for MLB’s annual general managers’ meetings this week, the team’s plans for this winter remained in a formative stage.

The Dodgers should have plenty of financial flexibility to play with in the coming months, with more than $60 million in salary from last season set to come off the books (resulting from Clayton Kershaw’s retirement, the expiration of contracts for Michael Conforto, Kirby Yates, Michael Kopech and others, and the team’s decision to designate Tony Gonsolin for assignment last week).

They could also use upgrades at some of the deepest positions in this year’s free agent class, namely a corner outfielder (where Kyle Tucker beckons as the biggest name available) and another top relief arm at the back end of the bullpen (where Edwin Díaz, Devin Williams, Robert Suarez and Pete Fairbanks will all be on the open market).

Add in a farm system that MLB Pipeline ranked as the best in the majors this year — giving the Dodgers plenty of chips to use in a potential trade as well — and the team could be poised for another splashy offseason of big-name acquisitions.

Or … they could stand relatively pat.

After all, there is no blockbuster move the Dodgers feel like they need to make this winter. Having virtually all of their star-studded core intact means, even compared to last winter, their urgency for another offseason of star additions could very well be less pressing now.

That was the tone general manager Brandon Gomes struck on Tuesday while discussing the team’s winter plans — acknowledging the outfield and bullpen as areas the Dodgers will explore this winter, but stopping short of describing either as outright “needs.”

“By being aggressive over the last couple offseasons, we do have a very, very good core in place,” Gomes said. “So it’s continuing to fine-tune and look at what the weaknesses on the roster are and try to address those … It’s being very targeted in who we go out and look to acquire. I think that holds true across the board, without many glaring holes.”

As a reminder, here’s where the Dodgers’ 2026 roster stands.

The starting rotation? Stacked, with Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan and a host of other young pitchers all slated to be back (including Gavin Stone and River Ryan, breakout rookies in 2024 expected to have normal offseasons after missing last year with surgeries).

The lineup? Relatively unchanged, with Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas representing the only out-of-contract players who played important roles in the postseason (and they, of course, remain options to be re-signed, too).

The bullpen? That group could certainly use some more help, after Tanner Scott struggled in the closer role last year. But even there, the Dodgers still possess plenty of depth in Alex Vesia, Anthony Banda, Jack Dreyer, Blake Treinen, Ben Casparius, Justin Wrobleski, Brock Stewart, Edgardo Henriquez and a number of other young pitchers who could step into big-league roles (plus the returns of Brusdar Graterol and Evan Phillips from injury).

And on the whole, Gomes described the Dodgers’ expected 2026 pitching staff as being “as good as we’ve ever had.”

That’s why, at least at this juncture, the Dodgers’ aggressiveness this winter remains unclear.

They are in their preferred place as an organization — able to see how the market develops, without facing an overwhelming need at any one spot.

“I think the mindset is still to approach the offseason and not have to go out and make big splashy trades at the deadline,” Gomes said. “But what that all looks like? Thankfully, we haven’t had a ton of time to dive in, but we’re gonna look to do that here over this week and the coming weeks.”

The team’s pursuit of Tucker could provide the first big tell of the offseason.

As far back as the summer, the Dodgers were seen around the industry as a likely front-runner for the four-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger. As a left-handed bat who would fit perfectly into the middle of their lineup, and someone who will be only 29 by the start of next year, Tucker represented the kind of still-in-his-prime, star-caliber player whom the Dodgers always want to be in position to go after when available.

However, Tucker will not come cheaply. He is likely to field offers of 10-plus years. He could drive a bidding war upwards of $400 million to $500 million.

For all the Dodgers’ short-term financial flexibility, it is fair to wonder how many more lucrative, long-term deals they want to add to what is already an aging core.

Thus, the higher the price for Tucker becomes, the less likely it could be he winds up in Los Angeles.

On Tuesday, Gomes spent more of his time touting the internal outfield options the Dodgers already boast — from deadline addition Alex Call, to utilitymen Hyeseong Kim and Tommy Edman (who will undergo surgery next week on his nagging ankle injury, but is hoped to be ready for spring training), to triple-A MVP Ryan Ward, who was added to the 40-man roster last week and is expected to “get a bunch of opportunities at some point this year,” Gomes said. The door also remains open to backup catcher Dalton Rushing potentially getting some time in the outfield again, after he struggled with limited playing time behind Will Smith.

Gomes was similarly complimentary of the Dodgers’ current relief corps, even maintaining belief in Scott to “come back and have a great year for us next year, and be right there in the mix to pitch at the back end of games.”

It would still be a surprise if the Dodgers don’t swing some notable addition to the bullpen. The depth of options on the free-agent market (especially in players such as Williams and Fairbanks, who have been trade targets of the team the past couple years) should make finding an acquisition there a more likely endeavor.

Yet, Gomes insisted that a top reliever is less of a need and more of a “nice-to-have.”

Really, that figures to be the theme of the Dodgers’ entire offseason: Searching for upgrades on terms they like, without feeling pressured to make another wave of top-dollar acquisitions.