FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- New York Jets wide receiver Davante Adams is new in these parts, but that didn't stop him from delivering a fiery speech to the team after Sunday night's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Disturbed by what he perceived as "a dead sideline," Adams -- acquired via trade only five days before the game -- gave what quarterback Aaron Rodgers called "the realest speech I'd ever heard in a locker room in 20 years."

On Wednesday, Adams shared his motivation, explaining that he wanted to be a leader and culture changer for the Jets (2-5), who have dropped four straight games in a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations. He said he wouldn't have slept if he had kept quiet.

"There was a lack of energy and urgency out there, and it was apparent," the former Las Vegas Raiders wideout said. "I played on teams that have that winning culture, and just basically I just took a moment to let them know I had reservations about speaking up too early and being too vocal too early. But I felt like in my mind, I said, 'F that, because we don't have time. I have to do whatever I have to do to help the team move forward.'"

Adams called it "a waste" to see that kind of attitude from a team with such a talented roster. He said there were instances in the game -- a 37-15 loss -- where no one celebrated the good plays. He cited Breece Hall's catch-and-run for 57 yards, saying those kinds of plays are supposed to be contagious.

But he said he didn't see any passion among his new teammates, as the Jets blew a 15-6 lead.

Rodgers made the same observation in his postgame news conference.

"To come out flat like that and essentially give away a game, that's unacceptable," said Adams, who caught only three passes for 30 yards. "So I'm just trying to bring a different type of swag and culture in here."

Adams, who made the playoffs in six of his first 10 seasons (all with the Green Bay Packers), alluded to the Jets' losing history. They have missed the playoffs for 13 straight years, the league's longest active drought. They face the New England Patriots (1-6) on Sunday in a virtual must-win game.

Rodgers was supposed to help change the culture, along with other big-name additions, but the losing has continued. Owner Woody Johnson fired coach Robert Saleh after five games, stunning the team. Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich is 0-2.

Recalling the postgame scene, Rodgers said he looked over at Adams and could tell he was eager to speak up.

"I just could feel like Tae's about to say something," Rodgers said. "And then he started talking and everybody that was in that locker room felt it. I drove home with him after the game and just told him I'm proud of him of what he said in that moment."

Added defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw of the speech: "He was emotional. It wasn't B.S. It came from the heart. You could see the passion in his eyes. That dude is a real dude."

Adams said he received "amazing" feedback, including kind words from Johnson.

"Everybody had something to say about it, and I don't think there's one person in there that it didn't resonate with," the receiver said.

Adams made one of the more impressive plays in the game, preventing a pick-six by chasing down safety Beanie Bishop Jr. He ran 60 yards and made a diving tackle at the Jets' 1-yard line. The Steelers scored anyway, but Adams wanted to make a statement with his hustle play.

"If we go out the next game and we have the same type of issues, then it's a bigger issue," he said. "And me, regardless if I just got here, I'm a leader of this football team and whether or not every single person in there sees it that way, that's how I see it and that's my responsibility and that's something I take seriously."

Adams was asked why he didn't make any impassioned speeches with the Raiders.

"Two totally different situations," he said. "I'm talking about juice. The Raiders, we had juice. We had many other issues, but it wasn't about energy on the field and celebrating with one another."

The Jets are banged up in more ways than one. They have 15 players on the injury report, including Rodgers, who suffered a left hamstring injury against the Steelers and was limited in Wednesday's practice. He's also dealing with a left low-ankle sprain and left knee swelling, but he will play against New England. He downplayed the injuries, saying they haven't affected him.

"I feel good on game days," he said.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Miami Dolphins players were ecstatic to see quarterback Tua Tagovailoa return to the practice field Wednesday, perhaps no one more than wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

Tagovailoa practiced for the first time since sustaining a concussion Sept. 12. He was placed on injured reserve the following week and missed the Dolphins' next four games.

The NFL's leading passer last season is eligible to come off IR this week, and Hill said Tagovailoa's return brought a familiar feeling back to the practice field.

"He looked great. Felt like old times," Hill said. "Me and him connected on a few deep shots today, and that kind of got me feeling good today. I missed that and I missed him. I told him I've got to take him and his wife to dinner because I missed him so much. S--- was so beautiful, that s--- almost made me cry today like just having him in the lineup, having him call the plays, having him direct the offense, like just hearing his voice.

"I know that sounds crazy, but he's a big part of this team."

Miami is 1-3 in the four games Tagovailoa has missed. During that stretch, the Dolphins offense ranks last in scoring, 31st in offensive expected points added and 29th in yards per game.

Hill's production has tapered without Tagovailoa. He's on pace for 833 receiving yards, which would be his lowest total since his rookie season.

After connecting with his quarterback on multiple deep passes during Wednesday's practice, Hill's excitement carried into the locker room. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle said Tagovailoa completed almost every pass he threw to Hill, and that when they're on the same page, "it normally leads to big plays."

"It was beautiful. It was so beautiful," Hill said. "I bet if you go ask every guy in this locker room, just say, 'Hey, did Tua connect with Tyreek today?' And if they say, 'Yeah,' the next question should be, 'What was his reaction right after that?' I just had a big cheese on my face because it just felt so good. Like y'all don't know what it does to me."

Tagovailoa was injured after initiating contact to end a scramble against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2. Both Tagovailoa and coach Mike McDaniel agreed that the quarterback has a responsibility to protect himself on the field moving forward.

Hill joked that he and his teammates tell Tagovailoa "all the time" to slide, and that Dolphins fans should cheer for him when he does. Running back Raheem Mostert echoed Hill's sentiment, adding that Tagovailoa is ultimately the one in control of his actions on the field.

"Oh yeah, we've been talking to him ever since his injury," Mostert said. "I've been telling him, 'Hey, you need to work on sliding.' And we all joke around and laugh, but on a serious note, he knows that he has to protect himself a little bit better and moving forward, only he can control those things. We can say those things to him until we're blue in the face, but one thing that I would say that's always my saying is, 'Hey, you can bring a horse to water, but you can't make him drink, right?'

"We're going to bring Tua to that water, but we can't make him drink. He has an understanding of that, and moving forward, he's going to do his best."

Tagovailoa was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice. To play Sunday, he will need to be a full practice participant either Thursday or Friday. Once he practices in full, he can meet with an independent neurological consultant assigned to the team and receive final clearance to play.

The No. 5 pick in the 2020 NFL draft said he has been symptom free since the day after he sustained the concussion, the third diagnosed one of his NFL career.

NEW ORLEANS -- Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson has been scratched from the lineup for the club's regular-season opener against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.

Pelicans coach Willie Green said Williamson was ill and not in attendance.

However, Green said the club is hopeful Williamson, who averaged 22.9 points per game last season, will be able to rejoin the team when the Pelicans begin a four-game West Coast trip in Portland on Oct. 25.

The 6-foot-6 Williamson, the No. 1 selection out of Duke in the 2019 NBA draft, played in a career-high 70 games last season. But his absence on Wednesday night became his 207th missed regular-season game in his injury-plagued pro career.

In the 184 games he has played, however, he has averaged 24.7 points.

Jose Alvarado (right knee contusion) and Dejounte Murray, who missed practice Tuesday because of personal reasons, are available for the Pelicans after being listed as questionable.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from next week's Paris Masters, potentially ending his 2024 season.

The 37-year-old, who is the defending champion in Paris, has won a record 40 Masters titles in his career along with his 24 Grand Slam titles.

Djokovic is still in contention to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin next month, but is currently sixth in the race for the eight-man field event with a number of players still able to overtake him.

"Unfortunately I won't be playing the Paris Masters this year," Djokovic posted on social media.

"I have a lot of great memories, winning seven titles and I hope to be back with you next year. Sorry to everyone who was hoping to see me there."

For the first time since 2017, Djokovic will end the season without a Grand Slam title after victories for Italy's Jannik Sinner and Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in the four majors.

However, Djokovic did win his first Olympic gold medal in Paris in August.

Lille's Jonathan David scored twice as the French side stunned hosts Atlético Madrid with a 3-1 comeback Champions League win on Wednesday to make it two wins from their last two matches while piling more pressure on the struggling Spanish team.

Lille, who have their keeper and man-of-the-match Lucas Chevalier to thank for the win, have now beaten their second Madrid team in consecutive matchdays after also stunning holders Real Madrid 1-0 earlier in October.

With the goals against Atlético, David became the all-time top Canadian scorer in Champions League history with six goals, one more than Tomasz Radzinski, according to UEFA.

The win moved Lille to six points, while Atlético are on three with just one win from their three games so far.

"We had a complicated start because we conceded a goal that was avoidable," said Lille coach Bruno Genesio. "In the last 15 minutes of the first half we felt we had renewed energy. We had a chance to level just before the break and I was confident we would not concede a second goal and that we would have opportunities to draw level.

"All my players were very decisive. We have taken a step towards qualification, because between nine and 10 points, we can dream of progressing to the round of 16."

His team found themselves on the back foot at the start as the Spaniards went in search of an early goal.

They got it in the eighth minute with Julian Alvarez intercepting a weak back pass from Lille defender Ousmane Toure and slotting in to give them the lead.

There was more bad news for Lille when they had to take off injured midfielder Remy Cabella in the 16th minute, bringing in Edon Zhegrova.

Atlético had only themselves to blame for not going into the break with a far bigger advantage or even killing off the game, with Alexander Sorloth wasting three golden scoring opportunities in the first half after being denied by Chevalier.

"We had a great first half, but we lacked efficiency after creating many scoring opportunities," Alvarez said. "In the Champions League, if you don't score the chances you have, you pay for it, because all the rivals are very good."

Lille's best chance in the first half came only in stoppage time with Zhegrova firing over the bar but the introduction of the Kosovo international would later prove crucial.

Zhegrova whipped in a superb left-footed shot into the top far corner in the 61st to draw the visitors level.

Atlético almost bounced back instantly when Antoine Griezmann found himself unmarked in front of goal but his volley flew well over the bar.

Instead it was the French side who scored again to seal their comeback courtesy of a 74th-minute penalty by David, who had also scored the winner against Real.

With Chevalier pulling off another superb save to keep them in the lead late in the game, Canada international David sealed their win with his second goal of the evening as his deflected effort found the net in the 89th minute.

Liverpool continued their perfect start in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night as they secured a 1-0 victory against RB Leipzig at Red Bull Arena.

The Bundesliga side showed why they were one of the in-form teams in Europe early on as they enjoyed the best of the early exchanges, and they almost got in front when Benjamin Šeško's effort curved narrowly wide after Caoimhín Kelleher's error.

Darwin Núñez scored the opener after adding the finishing touch to Mohamed Salah's header in the 27th minute as the Reds took control of the match from that point, almost doubling their advantage through Virgil van Dijk, whose header from a corner was saved by former Liverpool goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi.

Cody Gakpo came closest to doubling the lead in the second half but he was denied with a save by Gulacsi that was the catalyst to a better spell from Leipzig, who began to get into some promising areas.

Loïs Openda had the ball in the net for a second time before the offside flag was raised, while the Reds' defence was forced to be alert, with plenty of interventions from Ryan Gravenberch and Ibrahima Konaté.

The win for Liverpool puts them second in the league phase behind Aston Villa.

Positives

The Reds continue their perfect start in the Champions League with three wins from three matches. Their performance in a tricky away game was also well worth the three points, which gives manager Arne Slot plenty to ponder ahead of the weekend's match against Arsenal in terms of team selection.

Negatives

Liverpool's start to the game was slow and they could have found themselves going 1-0 down on another occasion. Finishing also could have been better, but credit must also be given to RB Leipzig goalkeeper Gulacsi.

Manager rating (1-10; 10 = best)

Arne Slot, 7 -- Slot reacted well to Leipzig's early pressure and set his team up with a strong balance that maintained an attacking threat while remaining resolute. His decision to take Salah off was an astute one given the importance of the next match, and he also ensured Andy Robertson and Curtis Jones got some minutes to continue their recent form.

Player ratings

GK Caoimhin Kelleher, 7 -- The Republic of Ireland international enjoyed an assured performance outside of his error that presented an opportunity to Sesko in the first half, saving from Amadou Haidara on a couple of occasions, and showing confidence in his box when claiming crosses. An important save denied Sesko in the second half to keep Liverpool's clean sheet in place.

DF Kostas Tsimikas, 7 -- Tsimikas chose the right moments to get forward and played a part in the opening goal with his accurate cross to Salah before Núñez's finish. He also impressed defensively, cutting out possession on multiple occasions.

DF Virgil van Dijk, 7 -- Liverpool's captain commanded the backline well throughout the game against a quick Leipzig forward line and came close to scoring with a powerful header at goal from a corner.

DF Ibrahima Konaté, 7 -- A standout performance by Šeško saw him swiftly anticipate danger and clear it, winning duels against both Openda and Šeško. An overall strong display from the France international.

DF Trent Alexander-Arnold, 6 -- Not as accurate as usual with his passing and gave away possession carelessly on several occasions. Worked hard down the right flank and defended well against several Leipzig attacks.

MF Ryan Gravenberch, 7 -- Conducted play impressively from the No. 6 position but stood out more for his defensive work. Got a vital touch to stop a Leipzig counter-attack after a ball into the box and was always in the right place to break-up play.

MF Alexis Mac Allister, 6 -- Progressed the ball well through midfield and chose the right moments to increase the tempo. Harshly booked for diving after it appeared that there was contact. Hit the bar after some impressive link-up play with Dominik Szoboszlai.

MF Dominik Szoboszlai, 6 -- Worked hard and often set the press for Liverpool during Leipzig's spells of possession. Created a chance for Gakpo in the first half with a well-timed pass, and almost got an assist for a second time when laying off the ball for Mac Allister.

FW Cody Gakpo, 6 -- Confident in running at defenders and caused problems throughout the match for Leipzig, but he should have scored with his left-footed effort that was saved at close-range from Gulacsi.

FW Darwin Núñez, 7 -- Got Liverpool ahead when adding the finishing touch to Salah's header. Looked confident throughout the night, and he was unlucky not to be awarded a penalty after what looked to be a foul by Willi Orbán.

FW Mohamed Salah, 7 -- Registered the assist with a header that found Núñez at the back post. Taken off earlier than usual in the 64th minute for Luis Díaz.

Substitutes (players introduced after 70 minutes = no rating)

Luis Díaz (Salah, 64"), 6 -- Diaz could have been better with his decisions at times during moments in which he lost possession, and he also ended a notable Liverpool counter-attack after Openda had the ball in the net moments before.

Joe Gomez (Alexander-Arnold, 75"), N/R -- Aggressive in the challenge for duels and reacted quickly to the danger. Linked well with Szoboszlai when going forward.

Curtis Jones (Núñez, 75"), N/R -- Brought on to help see the game out and was composed in possession, rarely putting a foot wrong with impressive decision-making across his cameo.

Andy Robertson (Tsimikas, 75"), N/R -- Linked well with Gakpo when introduced and was important when driving with the ball during Liverpool's counter-attacks.

The Oklahoma City Thunder exercised their fourth-year contract options Wednesday on Chet Holmgren, Ousmane Dieng and Jalen Williams and their third-year option on Cason Wallace.

Holmgren (second overall), Dieng (11th) and Williams (12th) were all drafted in the first round in 2022. Wallace was the 10th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft.

Holmgren, 22, debuted last season and was runner-up for Rookie of the Year after averaging 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots in 82 starts. He became the first player in NBA history to tally at least 150 assists, 150 blocks and 100 made 3-pointers in a single season.

Dieng, 21, saw action in 72 games (one start) over the past two seasons with the Thunder and averaged 4.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists. He was named the 2024 G League Finals MVP after leading the Oklahoma City Blue to their first championship.

Williams, 23, appeared in 71 games (all starts) last season with the Thunder and finished second on the team in scoring (19.1 points) to go along with 4.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.1 steals. He finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2022-23.

Wallace, 20, received NBA All-Rookie second-team honors last season after appearing in 82 games (13 starts) and averaging 6.8 points, 2.3 boards and 1.5 assists. He shot 41.9% from 3-point range, second among rookies.

The Thunder open the 2024-25 regular season on Thursday night at Denver.

Major League Baseball's postseason goes into its dream World Series matchup with its most-watched League Championship Series in seven years.

According to Nielsen, the two series averaged 5.35 million viewers on Fox, FS1 and TBS, its highest numbers since 2017.

According to MLB, Game 1 of the NLCS on Oct. 13 between the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers averaged 20.6 million viewers combined in the United States and Japan.

The estimated 12.1 million average in Japan made it the second most-watched MLB postseason game in the nation's history. The most-viewed was on Oct. 11 when an estimated 12.9 million tuned in for the Dodgers' 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres in the decisive fifth game of the National League Division Series.

Fox and FS1 averaged 5.62 million for the NLCS, which the Dodgers won in six games. That was the network's most-viewed championship series since 2019.

The ALCS between the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians on TBS averaged 4.9 million. Game 5, which saw the Yankees advance to its first World Series since 2009 with a 5-2 victory in 10 innings, averaged 5.6 million, a 33% increase over Game 5 of last year's ALCS between the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers.

The postseason average going into Friday's first World Series game between the Yankees and Dodgers is 3.96 million, which is a 5% increase over last year.

The first Fall Classic in 43 years between the Dodgers and Yankees should also be a boost after the least-watched World Series last year. The five-game series between the Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks averaged 9.11 million. Game 3 set the record for the least-watched World Series game on record at 8.13 million.

The 2018 series between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers averaged 14.1 million. Fox and MLB, though, would be thrilled if the numbers could somehow reach the 22.9 million average from 2016, when the Chicago Cubs beat Cleveland in seven games for their first championship since 1908.

"I think we're expecting at least a five-year high. And I think realistically, maybe we can get to an eight-year high. It would be a nice surprise if we did that," said Mike Mulvihill, Fox's president of insights and analytics. "When you think about Fox's history with baseball, at one time we thought it would be amazing if Boston ever broke through and won the World Series. That happened. And you think, well, what if the Cubs someday won the World Series? Then that happened. This is sort of the last thing that we've never had that we now have a chance to cover."

NEW YORK -- Before his news conference Wednesday to wrap up an exhilarating season, New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns bumped into pending free agent Pete Alonso at Citi Field.

"I told him I was about to answer a lot of questions about him. He told me, 'Good luck,'" Stearns said with a grin.

"He's a great Met. I hope we have him back. I think we both understand this is a process and everyone's got their own interests and Pete deserves to go out into the free agent market and see what's out there and then ultimately make the best choice for him and his family."

The slugger's immediate future is one important issue heading into an offseason full of them for the Mets, coming off a surprising playoff run that ended Sunday with a Game 6 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.

"I think we probably ran out of gas a little bit. We had pushed our guys really hard from June 1 on because we needed to," Stearns said. "Every single game in the regular season mattered and then clearly every single game in the postseason mattered. And that's part of it. We also ran into a really, really talented Dodgers team that was playing about as good a baseball as you could play."

To overcome those Dodgers next season, not to mention Philadelphia and Atlanta in their own division, the Mets will need to restock the pitching staff.

Luis Severino (11-7, 3.91 ERA) and Jose Quintana (10-10, 3.75) can become free agents. Sean Manaea (12-6, 3.47) seems likely to decline a $13.5 million player option for 2025 and join them on the open market.

Those three veterans combined for 94 regular-season starts and 10 more in the playoffs as New York finished two wins short of the World Series.

"This isn't new to us. We faced a similar task last offseason. We're going to have to replace innings," Stearns said. "Certainly part of that could potentially be from some of those guys returning, or we may look elsewhere. But we're going to have to add starting pitching. We're going to have to add multiple starters. We understand that. We went into last offseason with the same need and I think we'll be able to do it."

Stearns has been particularly good at finding pitching, not just this year with the Mets but going back to his time running the small-market Milwaukee Brewers.

He brought in Severino and Manaea last winter on short-term deals, and both delivered in a big way.

"There are no hard-and-fast rules for me," Stearns said. "If we look at the history of long-term investments with pitchers, it is not overwhelmingly a rosy picture. But there are pitchers who have gone into their mid- or late-30s and pitched very well. And so if we think we can identify that, then there could be exceptions."

Corbin Burnes, Max Fried and Blake Snell are top-of-the-rotation starters available in free agency. Burnes, who turned 30 on Tuesday, was drafted and developed by the Brewers while Stearns was in charge. The right-hander won the 2021 NL Cy Young Award with Milwaukee before getting traded to Baltimore last winter.

"I think it's too early to determine exactly where we're going to take our shots," Stearns said. "I would expect us to be active in free agency."

Once contract options are decided next month, New York will probably have more than $100 million coming off a major league-high 2024 payroll of $332 million under owner Steve Cohen.

"We've got financial flexibility. It means that pretty much the entirety of the player universe is potentially accessible to us. That's an enormous opportunity. I envision us taking advantage of that opportunity and being aggressive in certain spaces," Stearns said.

"We're also not going to do anything that hamstrings us in future years and prevents us from continually adding, supplementing to our core group."

Alonso earned a $20.5 million salary this season and batted .240 with 34 homers, 88 RBI and a .788 OPS while playing in all 162 regular-season games. Those numbers at the plate were down from previous years, but the fan-favorite first baseman was productive during the postseason and came through with several pivotal home runs. He also drew 12 walks in 13 games.

"We have great memories from this run," Stearns said. "It's also time for us to begin to move forward and see what we can do to build on this to ensure we have the type of sustainable competitiveness -- true sustainable competitiveness -- that's eluded this organization for a long time."

Alonso turns 30 in December and is represented by high-profile agent Scott Boras.

"Who Pete is as a person is important. What he means to this franchise is important. Who he is as a player is also important and what he contributes on the field. There's no magic formula to this," Stearns said.

"Pete and I frankly have never really talked about his contract face-to-face. I think those conversations are best left generally with a player's representative. But Pete and I talked about the team plenty. He's very invested in our group. Certainly was very invested in this team this year and obviously got some enormous hits for us down the stretch."

The NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off is bringing the best of Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the USA to the ice in Montreal and Boston from Feb. 12-20.

But why wait four months to feel the thrill?

Team jerseys have dropped, and fans can already get a sneak peek at the fresh threads their favorite international stars will be wearing on the ice.

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (Canada), Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (USA), Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (Sweden) and Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho (Finland) suited up to show off the fresh sweaters for the showdown.

@Fanatics x #4Nations pic.twitter.com/slEenkyuvC

NHLPA (@NHLPA) October 23, 2024

You won't want to miss this. #4Nations Face-Off tickets are on sale October 29 for Montreal and October 30 for Boston. pic.twitter.com/NTYa0x5cpR

NHL (@NHL) October 23, 2024

Canada's sweater is a bold red, showcasing a maple leaf in the center over two white stripes, with "Canada" displayed within it.

The United States jersey sports a deep blue, with "USA" written across the front and a star above red and white stripes on the sleeves.

Sweden's kit is a classic yellow, featuring the traditional three crowns, while Finland's uniform displays "SUOMI" above the Finnish crest.

The tournament will feature seven games over nine days from Feb. 12 to Feb. 20. Four games will take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, while the remaining three, including the championship, will be at Boston's TD Garden.