Browsing: ball

John Cena (photo credit WWE media kit)

SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

For the most part, Iâ€ve really enjoyed a post-Vince McMahon WWE. Most of the things I dislike about the current product have been faults of TKO. The constant brand-integration sponsorships, rising prices to attend a live event, and having to have access to six different platforms to watch WWE are at the top of my list. While not perfect, WWE’s Creative has been better than what we were getting from WWE in the last decade of Vince McMahon. Better is not an automatic pass, though.

Paul Levesque will never be a perfect booker, nor should he be expected to be. Look at any era and there are stories that didnâ€t work. The same shows with The Undertakerâ€s debut had the Gobbledy Gooker, and while Steven Austin and the Rock were on top of the world, Mae Young was delivering Mark Henryâ€s baby hand. Any writer will tell you that not everything is a hit. I know that different ideas in my head will play differently when put out into art for others to appreciate.

Weâ€ve had great moves like Codyâ€s story, the introduction of mid-card womenâ€s titles, and the rise of brilliant talents such as Dominik Mysterio. Weâ€ve also had some misfires that were more than simple undercard angles that were dropped.

Tag Teams (or Making Every Title Matter)

If you watch Smackdown in a vacuum, they have a really good tag team division. Thereâ€s even a team in Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss that are a pretty fan act as champions right now. But thereâ€s a lacking of depth in the company when it comes to tag team wrestling.

Raw has been the worst offender, as Finn Balor & J.D. McDonough have only defended their titles once on television before the match with A.J. Styles & Dragon Lee – two guys who have been feuding with another guy in their stable, showing there are no actual tag teams that are taken seriously on Raw as contenders right now. With a roster with more members on it than ever before, there have to be more green guys who can learn in teams or established stars without storylines, like with Styles & Lee.

With the women, it will be the same 3-4 teams, not leaving enough teams to have personal grudges as established teams. Makeshift teams end up being the majority of the womenâ€s tag roster. We need the male equivalents to the Road Warriors, Dudleys, and FTR who make tag wrestling their established division to work within.

As stacked as the Smackdown tag roster is, you do have to watch Smackdown to catch the matches. With USA not having streaming abilities outside of a cable package, this leaves many people without access to Smackdown. While personally loving tag team wrestling, and one that has watched the majority of WWE PLEs, I miss watching tag title matches on the big cards. The biggest moments are saved for these PLEs, and their tag team champions arenâ€t priority to get those moments.

Wyatt Sicks

While on the topic of tag team champions, The Wyatt family not being a major part of your October PLE makes no sense to me. People adored Bray. We miss him and want to celebrate and honor his work that was left. After a stellar debut, it quickly became just another faction. There were injuries, but instead of using the healthy members, theyâ€re removed from television until all were healthy. Thereâ€s a Universal Studios exhibit, and theyâ€re tag team champions, but we missed a lot in between, and now fans have less invested in the group than we should.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Smackdown: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade Keller†on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)

Karion Kross

I remember when Claudio Castignoli was in WWE as Cesaro and how everyone he worked with seemed to have great things about him, fans were strongly behind him, and even “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was pushing for Cesaro to get pushed to the top of the card on a live podcast to Vince McMahon. Alas, that glass ceiling withstood, and there was no shattering it by proving yourself if the right person who made the decisions didnâ€t see it.

Kross was a viral sensation and top merch seller, while being at the bottom of the mid-card. He was getting ovations in multiple cities that didnâ€t match his presentation. The fans liked him. I guess the new WWE offices have those glass ceilings too.

Ron “The Truth†Killings

The man cut the Promo of the Year after returning from being released from his contract. Interrupting the broadcast, taking over the show, and ending that monologue by cutting the braids from his hair heâ€d been known from for decades… and nothing.

Heâ€s now the same R-Truth comedy character he was before. I was ready for a matured version of his TNA run. I wanted to hear from the man who was always held back. Especially when the fans – and fellow wrestlers who disagreed with the decision – were very vocal in their support. It was his chance to visit the main event in the twilight of his wrestling career, but nowâ€s heâ€s another missed opportunity.

Cena Heel Turn

We all wanted to see it. We got it and the wrestling world was on fire. Crossover attention on memes, fan reaction videos creating internet traffic, and the venture fandom wanting to hear that first promo afterwards. Then he came out in jorts and a retirement T-shirt that celebrated his career as brightly as a cereal box.

When Eric Bischoff recalls working with Hulk Hogan, he remembers how, no matter how good an idea was, that Hulk Hogan would always ask, “What happens next?†Hogan knew that no matter how big the moment could be, there was a show to do next week and a new PPV to start building towards. WWE has attempted to build too many shows around “moments†without there being a payoff or a move to something bigger.

In any narrative, you need a reason for a character to change their motivation, and it needs to be plotted out, as a shocking moment should be a stepping stone, not the ultimate moment itself. TV dramas have shown how this can go down for years. Kill off a character in order to alter the relationships of the characters for a storyline payoff, or a ratings ploy that left them in a hole they couldnâ€t get out of. The Cena turn ended up being the latter.

(Griffin is a lifelong fan of wrestling, superheroes, and rebellious music of all forms. He is the owner of Nerdstalgia, and you can shop online, learn about visiting the store in Colorado Springs, or catch him at a comic con in the Rocky Mountain area by going to http://nerdstalgia.shop.)

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PERTH, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 19: Mitchell Starc of Australia reacts while players walk from the field as rain halts play during game one of the One Day International series between Australia and India at Perth Stadium on October 19, 2025 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images) In the first ODI between Australia and India, Mitchell Starc set up Virat Kohli beautifully and dismissed him for an eight-ball duck, but that wasnâ€t the highlight of his spell. Instead, it was a delivery to Rohit Sharma that took the internet by storm — Starcâ€s very first ball to the Indian skipper was clocked at a staggering 176.5 kmph, possibly the fastest ever recorded in ODI history.The speed gun graphic displayed a staggering 176.5 kph (109 mph), but it was clearly an error. Thankfully, other broadcasters†graphics later confirmed the actual speed to be 140.8 kph (just over 87 mph) — right around Starcâ€s usual pace.

Arshdeep Singh Press Conference After IND vs AUS 1st ODI: Praises Captain Gill, Backs Virat Kohli

Indian veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were on the receiving end after their underwhelming show in the first ODI of the three-match series against Australia. The duo walked out to bat in Perth after seven months.The veterans, who returned to international cricket for the first time since Indiaâ€s victory at the Champions Trophy earlier this March, gave plenty of reasons for fans and experts to feel disappointed with their rough show.

Rohit Sharma (Screengrab)

Opening the innings after being put to bat first, Rohit scored only eight runs off 14 balls before Josh Hazlewood dismissed him. After the former Indian captainâ€s disappointing innings, all eyes were on Kohli, as fans hoped he would help India recover after an early loss.However, Kohli also failed to deliver and was dismissed cheaply for an eight-ball duck. It was the first time Kohli had ever been dismissed for no score in ODI cricket in Australia.

Poll

What do you think of Mitchell Starc’s bowling performance in the first ODI?

“Never easy when you lose three wickets in the powerplay, youâ€re always trying to play catch-up. There were a lot of learnings and positives as well,†said Gill after the match.This was Indiaâ€s first defeat in ODIs in 2025, bringing their run of eight successive wins to an end.

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One fan is hoping to cash in on a part of Shohei Ohtani’s incredible performance during Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.

Ohtani launched three home runs in the 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, which propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers to the World Series with the NLCS sweep. Video showed David Flores ended up with the third home run ball, and he said he plans on selling it.

“I have a 12-year-old son and his college is in his future,” Flores said, per Josh Peter of USA Today.

He also said, “It ricocheted to me and I just caught it like a baby and I squeezed it nice and tight, and it just happened that I stayed calm and I remained calm.”

Peter noted Carlo Mendoza said he found Ohtani’s second homer in bushes after it went over the right-center field pavilion roof, although there is no video to confirm as much. Steve Brener, who is in the Dodgers’ public relations department, “expressed skepticism about Mendoza’s claim,” per Peter.

Mendoza said he prefers to give the ball back to Ohtani.

The fate of the first home-run ball is unknown at this time.

Hitting three monster home runs in front of a raucous home crowd to lead the team to a second straight World Series would be an incredible performance on its own. But Ohtani also started the game on the mound as a pitcher.

All he did in that role was strike out 10 and allow two hits in six scoreless innings of work. It was another brilliant starting pitching performance for the Dodgers in the series after Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow impressed in the first three games.

Given what was at stake and the overall showing, it was arguably the most memorable game of Ohtani’s legendary career. It fully highlighted how unique of a player he is across all sports as he single-handedly took over the victory in multiple ways.

A souvenir from that performance could certainly be worth plenty of money, and Flores is hoping to receive the windfall.

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One fan is hoping to cash in on a part of Shohei Ohtani’s incredible performance during Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.

Ohtani launched three home runs in the 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, which propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers to the World Series with the NLCS sweep. Video showed David Flores ended up with the third home run ball, and he said he plans on selling it.

“I have a 12-year-old son and his college is in his future,” Flores said, per Josh Peter of USA Today.

He also said, “It ricocheted to me and I just caught it like a baby and I squeezed it nice and tight, and it just happened that I stayed calm and I remained calm.”

Peter noted Carlo Mendoza said he found Ohtani’s second homer in bushes after it went over the right-center field pavilion roof, although there is no video to confirm as much. Steve Brener, who is in the Dodgers’ public relations department, “expressed skepticism about Mendoza’s claim,” per Peter.

Mendoza said he prefers to give the ball back to Ohtani.

The fate of the first home-run ball is unknown at this time.

Hitting three monster home runs in front of a raucous home crowd to lead the team to a second straight World Series would be an incredible performance on its own. But Ohtani also started the game on the mound as a pitcher.

All he did in that role was strike out 10 and allow two hits in six scoreless innings of work. It was another brilliant starting pitching performance for the Dodgers in the series after Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow impressed in the first three games.

Given what was at stake and the overall showing, it was arguably the most memorable game of Ohtani’s legendary career. It fully highlighted how unique of a player he is across all sports as he single-handedly took over the victory in multiple ways.

A souvenir from that performance could certainly be worth plenty of money, and Flores is hoping to receive the windfall.

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When Brazilian winger Denilson made his world record £21.5million move from Sao Paulo to Real Betis shortly before his 21st birthday in 1998, he was heralded as the Selecao’s next superstar.

And while Denilson would go on to win 61 Brazilian caps and make more than 500 career appearances, he never quite reached his potential, with FourFourTwo ranking him at No.1 in a 2015 rundown of disappointing club record signings.

But a 17-year professional career that took in six major tournaments is not bad going for a player who learned his trade on the streets, as he recalls to FourFourTwo.

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“Beyond the street kickabouts, I grew up in the varzea – the gritty, uneven dirt pitches of Sao Paulo’s amateur football scene. It’s where I learned two priceless lessons. The first was losing any fear.

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Oct 17, 2025, 07:23 AM ET

Sometimes it takes an expert’s eye to see something before everyone else does, such as Tyler Herro finishing No. 13 on the Player Rater, or Ivica Zubac putting up 16.8 PPG and 12.6 RPG, like each of them did last season.

How many people saw this coming?

If you did, you had a major leg up on the competition in your fantasy basketball leagues — that’s for sure!

With that in mind, we gathered our fantasy basketball experts — André Snellings, Eric Moody, Eric Karabell, Jim McCormick and Steve Alexander — and tasked them with detailing their boldest fantasy predictions for 2025-26.

Brandon Miller will finish in the top 40 on the Player Rater

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Currently going 85th on average in ESPN live drafts, Miller’s coaching staff already trusts him to find his own shot, and his ability to create offense for others is only growing. With the potential to loft an absurd number of 3-pointers per game and his knack for amassing defensive numbers, he could follow the Trey Murphy III path to becoming a special 3-and-D fantasy wing as early as this season. Few players his size are this skilled at both slashing and shooting, making Miller an outlier at his position. — McCormick

Joel Embiid and Kawhi Leonard will both finish top 50 in fantasy points this season, and at least one of them will finish in the top 20

Embiid and Leonard are both ultra-elite fantasy hoops performers on a per-game basis that have a history of missing significant quantities of time. Last season, they missed a combined 108 of the possible 164 games. But I look for this season to be bounce-backs for both. Both are entering the season relatively healthy and all it would take is 60-65 games at their typical levels to reach these milestones. — Snellings

Four Celtics will finish among the top 10 in made 3-pointers this season, even with Tatum out

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No team has attempted and made more 3-pointers than last season’s Boston Celtics, and that will hardly change just because star Jayson Tatum is out for most, if not the entirety, of the season. Four Celtics — Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Anfernee Simons and Sam Hauser — will finish among the top 10 in 3s made this season, while a fifth (leading scorer Jaylen Brown) will come close. — Karabell

Matas Buzelis will be a top-25 fantasy player

I foresee the Bulls starting him and giving him around 30 minutes per game, and his stat set is built for fantasy, hopefully providing blocks, steals, 3-pointers, rebounds and blocks. He’s being ignored until later in drafts after last season’s less-than-stellar numbers, but he has as much upside as almost any player in this year’s drafts. I’m trying to get him everywhere. — Alexander

LaMelo Ball plays more than 70 games

Ball has elite fantasy upside when he’s on the floor. Everyone knows that. He averaged 25.2 PPG, 7.4 APG, 4.9 RPG and 3.8 3-pointers last season, showing his all-around impact. The issue has always been health, with just 105 games played over the past three seasons. I think this is the season Ball plays more than 70 games. He is only 24, is fully recovered from ankle and wrist surgeries, and Charlotte’s added depth should help manage his workload. If he stays on the court, he has top-15 fantasy potential. — Moody

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(Photo via Getty Images)

Winter ball began Wednesday in the Mexican Pacific League, Dominican Winter League and Venezuela. Those leagues did so with a new agreement in place with MLB that should open the door for more affiliated players to participate.

Over the weekend, MLB, the MLBPA and the Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe (which includes the Dominican Republicâ€s LIDOM, Puerto Ricoâ€s LBPRC, Venezuelaâ€s LVBP and Mexicoâ€s Mexican Pacific League) agreed to extend the Winter League Agreement through the 2027 season. The extension runs until July 31, 2027, with provisions covering minor league players lasting through July 31, 2028.

The new agreement reduces the number of players MLB teams can prohibit from playing winter ball without citing an injury, and it tightens the criteria MLB teams can use to cite extreme fatigue as a reason for prohibiting a player from participating.

The agreement also adjusts the way disputes are handled between MLB and winter ball teams, and adds a new deadline for MLB teams to submit which players are prohibited from winter ball because of injuries, extreme fatigue or other exempt statuses.

“The four winter leagues expressed their satisfaction with the content of the new clauses and officially informed MLB, through the Caribbean Baseball Commissioner, Mr. Juan Francisco Puello Herrera, of their agreement to proceed with the corresponding administrative procedures,” the CBPDC said in a statement.

The agreements could make up to 60 more players per organization eligible to play winter ball.

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The start of every football match brings a little flutter in the stomach. Will the stars perform? Will the referee have a good game by giving your players every decision? And will the football gods shine down on your team? A more pertinent question to ask this season, though, is how much football will we actually see?

We wrote about ball-in-play time a few seasons ago, revealing that fans were not seeing as much football as in previous years. Weâ€re not saying our data nosiness led to referees adding more stoppage time, but there was a notable rise in ball-in-play time over the next two campaigns. It went up from 54 minutes and 49 seconds in 2022-23 to 58 minutes and 11 seconds in 2023-24. Itâ€s still early in the 2025-26 season, but the pendulum may be swinging back the other way.

How much is the ball in play in 2025-26?

We have seen an average ball-in-play time of just 55 minutes per game this season – down from 56 minutes and 59 seconds last season. Stoppage time has crept up – games last 100 minutes and 35 seconds on average this season, which is 51 seconds longer than last season – but the ball is in play for almost two minutes fewer. Fans are spending two minutes and 50 seconds longer than last season waiting for restarts, roughly the time it takes to listen to Youâ€re the One That I Want by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

There are 45 minutes and 35 seconds of delays/pauses per game this season – or roughly one episode of Countdown. We could be struggling to solve a conundrum rather than watching someone saunter over slowly to take a corner. For clarity, a “delay†is the time between the ball going out and play resuming for corners, free-kicks, throw-ins, goal-kicks, kick-offs, penalties and drop balls. The ball has been in play for just 54.7% of the time this season; the lowest itâ€s been over the past 10 full seasons is 55.7%, which was in 2022-23.

So, which teams are giving us the most action? Despite being recently promoted and considered underdogs in most of their games, Leeds are averaging the longest ball-in-play time in the league this season at 56 minutes and 48 seconds (57.5% of total minutes). It either means Daniel Farke is happy for his side to get on with it, or their opponents are doing their utmost to keep the ball in play.

Newcastle games have the lowest proportion of ball-in-play action at 52.3% (53 minutes and nine seconds on average), closely followed by Chelsea (52.6%) and Manchester United (52.7%). One match in particular has dragged Newcastleâ€s numbers down.

The longest shortest game

Newcastleâ€s five-goal thriller against Liverpool has the lowest ball-in-play time this season, which is quite something when you consider it lasted 109 minutes and 24 seconds – the third longest match of the season so far.

There were 31 fouls, the joint-second most in a Premier League match this term, which created delays of 27 minutes and seven seconds. Newcastle averaged 67 seconds per free-kick, at least 10 seconds longer than any other team has averaged in a game.

There was 13 minutes and 43 seconds of stoppage time in the second half, the most in a Premier League match this season. Despite the added time, the ball was in play for just 45 minutes and 55 seconds (42%). So, for 63 minutes and 29 seconds of that game, nothing was happening. Itâ€s astonishing to think there were five goals, including Rio Ngumohaâ€s late winner for Liverpool.

Not far behind was Brightonâ€s 3-1 win at Chelsea, when the ball was in play for just 46 minutes and 44 seconds of the total time of 105 minutes and 14 seconds (44.4%). At the other end of the value-for-money scale, the ball was in play for 63.4% of Leeds†3-1 win at Wolves.

Who are the slowest at set-pieces?

Sunderland are spending the most time over each corner, with almost 50 seconds per corner. Arsenal, who topped this list last season and are second this term, have won more corners than any other team this season (53) so are comfortably ahead when it comes to total time to take them. Mikel Artetaâ€s team have spent 40 minutes and six seconds taking corners this season – at least 11 minutes and 12 seconds more than any other team.

All three goals in their recent game against Newcastle were scored from corners, which wasnâ€t that surprising considering 19 corners were awarded in the game. In total, 12 minutes and 14 seconds of that game was taken up by delays for taking corners, the most in a match this season.

Wolves are the quickest to take their corners, closely followed by Manchester City, who both average less than 30 seconds. There is not any clear correlation between time taken over corners and their effectiveness. Arsenal take the second longest time and have scored the most goals from corners this season (six), but Chelsea have scored the second most (five) despite taking the third shortest time. Sunderland and Wolves, who are at either end of the spectrum, have scored one each. Manchester City (29.1 seconds) are yet to score from a corner, but so are Liverpool (40.6 seconds).

Compared to last season, teams are generally spending more time taking corners, goal-kicks and throw-ins. Given the number of long throws weâ€re seeing, that is no surprise, with throw-ins taking an average of 17.7 seconds this season compared to 15.6 seconds last term.

Goal-kicks are also taking two seconds longer (30.3 seconds, up from 28.3 seconds), but corners have seen the most noticeable jump, up to 36.9 seconds from 33.6 seconds. With each corner taking 3.3 seconds longer on average, if we end up seeing the same number as last season (3,890), we will have spent more than three and a half hours extra waiting for them across the campaign.

Brentford are taking almost four seconds longer than any other team on throw-ins. This is largely because so many of them are long – the Bees have taken 34 long throws into the oppositionâ€s box, more than any other team – so they generally take more time to line everything up. Wolves are taking almost half the time on average, just 12.7 seconds per throw-in, the quickest in the division.

Sunderland are taking the longest over goal-kicks (36.7 seconds) and Nottingham Forest are the quickest. They have needed just 26.2 seconds per goal-kick, a steep decline from last season when their average of 34.1 seconds was the longest in the division.

Free-kicks can be tricky to read, as they depend on where they are won. Deep inside your own half and chances are youâ€ll take it quickly, but within 10-20 yards of the oppositionâ€s box and youâ€re far more likely to take your time lining up a cross or shot. For what itâ€s worth, Crystal Palace (41.6 seconds) and Brentford (41.0 seconds) spend the longest average time taking free-kicks, while Fulham (25.8 seconds), Brighton (26.8 seconds) and Liverpool (26.9 seconds) take them quickest.

Not so busy Bees

Taking all delays into account, Brentford are spending the most time getting the ball back into play, taking 33.5 seconds on average to do so. They are closely followed by promoted pair Burnley (32.7 seconds) and Sunderland (32.3 seconds), but also not far behind are Arsenal and Manchester United (both 31 seconds).

Wolves are the fastest at getting the game going again (24.1 seconds). Given that they are bottom of the Premier League with just two points after seven games, perhaps they should consider slowing down a bit. Manchester City (25.6 seconds), Nottingham Forest (26.4 seconds) and Liverpool (26.8 seconds) are also eager to get the ball back in play. Again, that is a big change from Forest, who were the slowest in the league last season at restarting play (32.2 seconds).

So, there you have it. We are getting some of the longest football matches we have ever seen in the Premier League, but weâ€re not seeing more football, unless you enjoy the sight of a player with the ball under his arm waiting for teammates to flood the box. Weâ€re not here to judge.

This is an article by Opta Analyst

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Tune into the Arizona Fall League and the Dominican Winter League (LIDOM) to watch some of baseball’s brightest young stars. You can see MLB’s top prospects in action, with AFL matchups streaming for free on both MLB.com (here and on the AFL site) and MLB.TV. LIDOM games are included as part of MLB.TV’s Postseason Package, which is available for $29.99.

Surprise @ Mesa, 9:30 p.m. ET
One feel-good story of the Fall League’s first week was Mesa backup Owen Ayers (CHC), who hit .455 during the opening week of play. He boosts a Solar Sox lineup that also features speedster Starlyn Caba (MIA No. 5) against Surprise, a lineup anchored by Blake Mitchell (MLB No. 62/KC No. 2).

Glendale @ Peoria, 4:30 p.m. ET
Probables: Alex Amalfi (TOR) vs. Carson Montgomery (SD)

Salt River @ Scottsdale, 4:30 p.m. ET
It’s a battle of bat-first prospects as Kevin McGonigle (DET No. 1) — the game’s No. 2 overall prospect and the highest-ranked prospect to play in the AFL since Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — leads the Scorpions against slugger Charlie Condon (COL No. 2/MLB No. 61) and the Rafters. Starting pitchers Brandon Neely (BOS, Salt River) and Sean Paul Liñan (WSH No. 14) will try to keep the ball from flying between these two lineups.

Mesa @ Surprise, 9:30 p.m. ET
Probables: TBD vs. Daniel Espino (CLE No. 29)

Peoria @ Mesa, 4:30 p.m. ET
Probables: Luis De León (BAL No. 21) vs. TBD

Surprise @ Salt River, 9:30 p.m. ET
Probables: Trenton Denholm (CLE) vs. Jack Mahoney (COL)

Glendale @ Scottsdale, 9:30 p.m ET
The Fall League’s top-ranked lefty — White Sox prospect Hagen Smith (MLB No. 88/CWS No. 5) — takes the hill for Glendale, which has two sidelined Top 100 prospects Josue De Paula (No. 13/LAD No. 1) and Braden Montgomery (No. 35/CWS No. 1) on its roster. Smith faces a Scottsdale team featuring Walker Janek (HOU No. 4) and Seaver King (WSH No. 7), both of whom enjoyed a big opening week at the dish.

Peoria @ Salt River, 4:30 p.m. ET
Probables: Maikel Miralles (SD) vs. David Hagaman (AZ No. 15)

Glendale @ Surprise, 4:30 p.m. ET
Desert Dogs left-hander Chen-Wei Lin (STL No. 16) logged two scoreless innings in his Fall League debut, though he’ll look to tighten up his command while displaying the stuff that allowed him to rack up four strikeouts in his first outing. Surprise counters with Top 100 prospect Blake Mitchell (MLB No. 62/KC No. 2).

Scottsdale @ Mesa, 9:30 p.m. ET
Probables: Anderson Brito (HOU No. 7) vs. TBD

Mesa @ Glendale, 3:30 p.m. ETTBD vs. TBD

Salt River @ Peoria, 6:30 p.m. ET
Probables: Brandon Dufault (LAA) vs. Rhett Lowder (CIN No. 1/MLB No. 80)
Trying to put an injury-plagued 2025 campaign behind him, Lowder will look to build off his strong AFL last week in a rematch with the Rafters. The right-hander threw 21 of his 23 pitches for strikes, struck out two and did not allow a run during two scoreless frames for the Javelinas. Salt River will look for an offensive spark from Charlie Condon (COL No. 2/MLB No. 61).

Surprise @ Scottsdale, 9:30 p.m. ET
Probables: Eiberson Castellano (PHI No. 24) vs. James Hicks (HOU No. 26)

Salt River @ Glendale, 4:30 p.m. ET
Probables: Luis Perales (BOS No. 9) vs. TBD

Mesa @ Peoria, 4:30 p.m. ET
Probables: TBD vs. Ryan Hawks (SEA)

Surprise @ Scottsdale, 8:00 p.m. ET
Probables: Jose Corniell (TEX No. 3) vs. Jake Bennett (WSH No. 10)

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India vs West Indies (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) NEW DELHI: The Indian bowling unit demonstrated resilience on a challenging sub-continental pitch, positioning India close to achieving a 2-0 series sweep against West Indies on day four of the second Test. India needs 58 more runs on the final day, having reached 63 for 1 at stumps while chasing 121.The Indian bowlers collectively bowled for 118.5 overs in the second innings. Jasprit Bumrah took 3/44, Kuldeep Yadav claimed 3/104, Ravindra Jadeja picked 1/102, Mohammed Siraj grabbed 2/43, and Washington Sundar secured 1/80.West Indies were bowled out for 390, setting India a target of 121 runs to chase in the remaining 18 overs of day four.KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan remained unbeaten on 25 and 30 respectively, playing cautiously after Yashasvi Jaiswal’s dismissal for 8 runs.Siraj’s crucial breakthrough with the second new ball, followed by Kuldeep Yadav’s effective spell against the lower-middle order, helped India gain momentum in the post-lunch session.John Campbell scored 115 runs from 199 balls while Shai Hope made 103 from 214 deliveries. Their 177-run partnership for the third wicket showcased West Indies’ fighting spirit.Jayden Seales contributed 32 runs and Justin Greaves remained unbeaten on 50, putting together a 79-run stand for the final wicket to extend the match to day five.The West Indies team managed to score two centuries, forcing India to bat again in the match.All Indian bowlers contributed effectively with timely wickets throughout the innings.The Indian bowling attack persevered through long spells across both innings despite conditions that weren’t favourable for either spin or pace bowling.The Feroz Shah Kotla pitch remained unresponsive even on day four.While the low bounce of deliveries contributed to West Indies batsmen’s dismissals, their shot selection was largely responsible for their downfall.The match proceedings became so repetitive that broadcast coverage shifted focus to discussing the upcoming ODI series against Australia.John Campbell achieved his first Test century in 25 matches with a six off Ravindra Jadeja over cow corner.The flat pitch made it comfortable for batsmen to handle spin bowling until Campbell’s unfortunate dismissal through an ambitious reverse sweep, confirmed leg-before by DRS.Campbell’s wicket didn’t immediately impact the West Indies’ momentum as captain Roston Chase scored 40 runs and partnered with Hope for a 51-run fourth-wicket stand.The match seemed to be heading towards a challenging fourth-innings target for India.However, after the 80th over, Bumrah and Siraj used the new ball effectively, troubling Hope with short-pitched deliveries despite the unresponsive nature of the pitch.

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