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Bucs WR Evans a game-time decision vs. Ravens
TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans will be a game-time decision Monday night against the Baltimore Ravens, coach Todd Bowles said Saturday.
Evans missed Thursday and Friday practices dealing with a hamstring injury but was able to do "some things" during Saturday's practice, Bowles said.
"He did some things today that were encouraging," Bowles said. "We'll see how the next two days go, and we'll see how he feels. ... He's questionable right now."
Bowles added that Evans' injury has been a "nagging" one and not one he abruptly suffered. Evans tweaked the injury during last week's game against the New Orleans Saints, Bowles said. Evans has missed just nine games in 10 seasons, with eight of those due to injury or illness.
Evans, who became the franchise's all-time leading scorer this season, is tied for the league lead with five receiving touchdowns, along with teammate Chris Godwin, Allen Lazard, Ja'Marr Chase and George Kittle.
Bowles said starting center and 2024 first-round draft pick Graham Barton progressed enough this week to play Monday night despite being limited Thursday and Friday. Barton missed last week's game against the Saints with a hamstring injury.
The coach also said second-year wide receiver Trey Palmer, who missed the past two games with a concussion, "will be good" for Monday night after fully participating in Friday's practice with no issues.
Starting cornerback Jamel Dean, who suffered a hamstring injury against the Saints, will be out. Rookie cornerback Tyrek Funderburk is expected to step in as he did last week, along with second-year cornerback Josh Hayes.
"I thought he did some things for going out there the first time cause he missed preseason as well," Bowles said of Funderburk. "With a game under his belt, he'll be a little calmer, a little more confident -- between him and Hayes, they'll both get some time out there. We look forward to seeing them play."
Wide receiver Kameron Johnson (ankle) and tight end Payne Durham (calf) will both be out.
Cards' Harrison to play on MNF after concussion
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona Cardinals rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. will play Monday night against the Los Angeles Chargers after clearing the NFL's concussion protocol, coach Jonathan Gannon said Saturday.
Harrison was a full participant in Friday's practice after being limited Thursday, Arizona's first practice of the week, while wearing a yellow noncontact jersey.
Gannon said Harrison had a good week of practice and is "ready to go."
Harrison left Sunday's loss to the Green Bay Packers in the second quarter after his head hit the thigh of linebacker Isaiah McDuffie with 6:28 left in the half. Harrison was helped off the field by Cardinals trainers and, after getting evaluated in the blue injury tent, left the field and was escorted to the locker room by a team of trainers and doctors.
He was ruled out shortly after the second half began.
Sooners QB Arnold enters game, burns redshirt
Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold returned under center in the first quarter of the Sooners' game against South Carolina on Saturday, replacing freshman Michael Hawkins and burning his redshirt in his first action since Sept. 21.
Arnold, the former five-star prospect, had not appeared since he was benched in the first half of Oklahoma's Week 4 loss to Tennessee. He entered Saturday's game with the Sooners trailing the Gamecoks 21-0 after Hawkins committed turnovers on each of Oklahoma's initial three possessions.
With his fifth appearance this fall, Arnold is no longer eligible to take a redshirt in 2024, leaving him with two years of remaining eligibility after this season. Asked earlier this week if Oklahoma had considered redshirting Arnold, coach Brent Venables made clear that the sophomore passer was still in the Sooners' plans.
"What was told to Jackson is if we put you in, it's because we need you to help us go win," Venables said Tuesday. "We're certainly sensitive to everything. We're not sitting here with our head in the sand or naive to what it is. But man, he's a great teammate. He wants to be the starting quarterback at the University of Oklahoma."
Venables reiterated this week that he did not consider inserting Arnold for Hawkins during Oklahoma's 34-3 loss to No. 1 Texas in Week 7. But the switch came early on Saturday. Hawkins threw an interception on the Sooners' opening possession, then had a fumble returned for a touchdown. On the next possession Hawkins threw a pick-six.
Oklahoma entered Saturday sitting 4-2 with 1-2 conference record in its inaugural SEC campaign.
Thunder sign Reese with Hartenstein sidelined
In the wake of Isaiah Hartenstein's injury, the Oklahoma City Thunder are signing center/forward Alex Reese to a standard contract for the regular-season roster, agent Billy Davis told ESPN on Saturday.
Reese will be on a nonguaranteed deal as the Thunder add a big man while Hartenstein misses five to six weeks with a small, nondisplaced fracture in his left hand. Reese, 25, spent the preseason with the Thunder before being waived this week.
Reese has a fascinating journey to this NBA contract, quitting basketball in 2021 after four seasons at Alabama and serving as a bartender for a year. Reese then played in Luxembourg in 2022 before joining the Portland Trail Blazers' G League affiliate last season.
ALCS preview: Yanks one game away from the pennant
After two thrilling matchups in Cleveland, the New York Yankees are one win away from their first World Series since 2009. The Yankees took two fairly routine games in the Bronx to start this series, but the Cleveland Guardians roared back at Progressive Field: After a shocking walkoff victory on Thursday, the Guardians clawed back from an early deficit to tie the Yankees on Friday but couldn't hold on in the ninth.
Can the Yankees seal their spot? Will the Guardians push this series back to the Bronx? We have you covered with pregame predictions, live updates and analysis, followed by our takeaways after the final pitch.
New York Yankees at Cleveland Guardians, 8:08 p.m. ET
Pitching matchup: Tanner Bibee (0-1, 3.60 ERA) vs. Carlos Rodon (1-1, 4.66)
What do the Yankees need to do to seal their spot in the World Series?
Jorge Castillo: A solid start from Rodon, for starters. Rodon was excellent in Game 1, holding the Guardians to one run over six innings. He collected nine strikeouts and generated 25 whiffs. Most importantly, he controlled his emotions. He acknowledged that was a problem in his ALDS start against the Kansas City Royals. He has said he learned from that experience, and he'll need to carry that lesson on to the road for the first time this postseason.
Bradford Doolittle: The Yankees are a more talented team so while there isn't any one thing that needs to happen, their ideal formula remains the same: grab an early lead to put the Guardians in a reactive mode, rather than falling into the web of their bullpen when it has a lead to protect. Bibee didn't fare well in his Game 2 outing and is working on three days' rest for the first time since his college days. New York can take the air completely out of the Guardians' balloon with a couple of early runs.
Buster Olney: Just continue to swing big with a lineup built on power. Recently, Giancarlo Stanton has been taking early batting practice on the field off a pitching machine, to see the ball, to see spin -- sliders away -- and in this round, Aaron Judge joined him on the field. The way Stanton and Judge are going, maybe all of the Yankees will start doing this.
What do the Guardians need to do to stay alive?
Castillo: How about building a comfortable lead against Rodon and staying away from their A-side bullpen? Another close game would mean more stress on their best relievers. We've already seen Emmanuel Clase and Cade Smith falter. Rodon was dominant in Game 1, but the Guardians were one of the best teams in baseball against left-handed pitchers during the regular season. They beat Tarik Skubal, the best starter in the majors and a left-hander, in Game 5 of the ALDS. They are capable of putting up a crooked number or two early.
Doolittle: For Cleveland, it's the reverse of the Yankees' plan -- and that means Bibee has to come out on point. He seemed rankled over his short outing the first time out, though his numbers wouldn't have justified a longer leash. A chip on one's shoulder isn't always the worst thing in a competitive situation, so if he can string together a few zeros and the Guardians can scratch out a run, then they can get to their bullpen. Getting that run will be the hard part if Jose Ramirez and/or Josh Naylor can't put together a big game at last.
Olney: Their relievers have to get back to being dominant, because this was the backbone of the Guardians all season long. During the regular season, Emmanuel Clase and Cade Smith faced 559 batters and gave up a total of three homers -- and over Games 3 and 4, Clase and Smith gave up three homers to Giancarlo Stanton (2) and Aaron Judge (1). Given the lack of depth in the Cleveland rotation, the Guardians cannot win without excellence from their bullpen.
What has been the most impressive performance for you so far?
Castillo: Since Brad and Buster are about to sing Stanton's praises, I'll go with Gleyber Torres. The Yankees' leadoff hitter has reached base in the first inning in all four games and in seven of the team's eight postseason games. He singled in Game 1, doubled in Game 2, walked in Game 3, and singled in Game 4. Juan Soto followed that single in Game 4 with a two-run home run to give New York a quick lead. The Yankees have otherwise, for the most part, squandered early scoring opportunities. But Torres has maintained the pressure.
Doolittle: Giancarlo Stanton, without a doubt. Cade Smith doesn't give up homers. This version of Stanton took him deep. Emmanual Clase doesn't give up homers. This version of Stanton took him deep. He has plugged the gap opened up by Judge's production shortfall.
Olney: Stanton has had so many ups and downs in his time with the Yankees, so many injuries, so many waves of talk-show callers begging for the organization to eat his contract and move on. But in the postseason, his performances have been almost uniformly excellent, and in this series, he's doing his damage against great pitchers. With his home run in Game 4, he tied Babe Ruth and Aaron Judge in career postseason homers; his slugging percentage in the playoffs is over .650. Remarkable.
Who wins tomorrow -- and who wins the series?
Castillo: I picked the Yankees in six games so I'll stick with that. The Guardians find some success against Carlos Rodon in their second try to hold on to hop on a flight to New York for Game 6 on Monday.
Doolittle: Cleveland wins a low-scoring Game 5, sending the series back to Yankee Stadium. But I still think New York will win the series. The Guardians have been resilient in an October when that descriptor has become a buzzword. That will earn them one more game.
Olney: Think of Tanner Bibee as the Guardian wearing a headlamp, because he is the only player on this team in a position to lead them out of this 3-1 mess. He needs to pitch great and he needs to give them at least five or six innings -- and he showed in the regular season he's capable of doing that. But Soto, Judge and Stanton are all fully activated now, and I'll be surprised if the Guardians extend this series to six games.
Live updates
Tune in at game time for live updates and analysis of Game 5.
Amid the drama, new coach Simmons wants Bangladesh to 'focus on the cricket'
When Simmons attended Bangladesh's training session at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Saturday, protests for and against Shakib were on. All this, two days out from the first Test.
"[Keeping distractions away from the players] is a big part of our job over the next few days, to make sure the focus is on the cricket, and not on the outside of cricket," Simmons said. "We can control how we prepare for Monday, that's how we are trying to get the team to focus.
"The good thing is we have a very important Test match to prepare for. We win the next few Tests, and we are in contention for the [WTC] final. My first port of call is cricket and about getting the squad ready for Monday. The last two days [of training] have been brilliant. We have tried to leave out the confusion that's around the cricket, and concentrate on preparing for Monday."
Simmons comes in with vast coaching experience, having worked with Zimbabwe, Ireland, West Indies, Afghanistan and PNG as well as several T20 franchises in the last 20 years. He was one of the candidates interviewed for the Bangladesh job in 2017 - to fill the role left vacant by Hathurusinghe - but was not selected.
"All these experiences [with other teams] will help me in the next few days to get me ready for Monday," Simmons said. "Afghanistan helped me with the language barrier sometimes. Ireland helped me with developing young players. It all comes in [handy] at the end of the day. I have to use all those experiences in this assignment.
"The interest comes from seeing the quality of the young players. They handled themselves well against Pakistan," he said. "They didn't do well in the T20Is against India but they played against the best T20 team in the world, so you have things to take out of there. It all added up to an assignment, which I enjoyed. One, [there are] young players to develop. Two, there's Tests and ODIs involved. It wasn't a hard decision [to take the job]."
He believes Bangladesh have a good chance to beat South Africa, who haven't won a Test series in the subcontinent in the last ten years, but was wary of taking them lightly.
"It is definitely a good opportunity. Bangladesh are usually very strong at home. So it is a very good opportunity for us to win the Test series," Simmons said. "South Africa has that [record in the subcontinent] hanging over their head but they are a resilient team. They will work hard to change that."
Brendon McCullum plays down England spin concerns as Pindi decider looms
"I would," Masood said, when asked directly if he would like to see the ball turn in the third Test. "I don't know if I've seen it turn in Rawalpindi. That's another issue. You want a side that can win anywhere We want to get 20 wickets wherever we play, and we want to back that up with the bat.
"I don't think there's an autumn in Pakistan. There's a summer that transitions into a winter, so we're still hoping that the sun can play its part and the wicket can be on the drier side The groundsmen are already there. They're working on a Test-match pitch and we'll try to create a good Test wicket where both teams can pick up 20 wickets."
Masood spoke ahead of the first Test about his desire for Pakistan to play on pitches which brought their seamers into play, but the decision to rest Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah from the final two Tests suggests a green-top is unlikely. McCullum, England's coach, predicted that the surface will be "the antithesis of the green seamer" for the decider.
"I actually don't mind," McCullum said. "That's one of the great aspects of playing cricket all around the world, right? You're challenged in different conditions and home teams should have home benefit. I like that about the game. We said right at the outset that we'll try to adapt to whatever conditions we come up against.
"We were very realistic about how difficult this challenge would be and that there could be some extreme conditions confronting us at some stage. Winning the first Test probably hastened that process, but we have no complaints so far. We were outplayed in this game. We'll see what Rawalpindi's got to offer and we'll try and adapt accordingly."
Masood said that Pakistan's challenge is to learn how to take 20 wickets at each of their home venues. "I don't think we can go to a strategy where we go, 'Oh, we have to have a spinning wicket everywhere,'" he said. "You have to know the characteristics of your ground and your soil to be a good Test team It's not an overnight process."
England's 152-run defeat in the second Test in Multan was their fifth loss out of seven on the subcontinent this year, after their 4-1 loss in India. With spinners playing a significant role in all five of those Tests, McCullum was asked whether he felt as though his side had been found out on turning pitches.
"Maybe. I don't know," he said. "If we had won the toss and then got a few more runs, would the result have been different? I don't know. It's hard to make that assessment. But I know these guys play spin very well. Yes, we've been beaten a few times, but we weren't the only team to go to India and get beaten by India in spinning conditions.
"And we've got a pretty good record here [in Pakistan]. Even that Test match we won in India, that was probably the most extreme of the spinning conditions. I don't know: we'll find out. I certainly don't mind if it spins in the next one. I think we've got the artillery to be able to handle it, but we'll find out."
McCullum also defended their aggressive approach with the bat during the second Test. "We saw in this Test match that so many wickets fell to people trying to hang in there. It was those that were prepared to be brave enough to sweep, reverse-sweep, put the opposition under pressure, who were actually able to score runs. And in a low-scoring contest, those runs proved valuable."
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
Jordan Cox in line for Test debut in New Zealand as Jamie Smith's paternity cover
Smith and his partner are expecting their first child in mid-December, with the birth likely to clash with either England's second or third Test in New Zealand. "Being at the birth of my son is not something I want to miss," he told the Daily Mail recently. "It will be a memory that I cherish more than any in cricket anyway, so if I lost my place because of it, so be it."
"It's life, right?" McCullum said of Smith's absence. "People have kids and we wish them all the best, to be there and support their partners. At this stage, it looks like Jamie will probably play the first [Test in New Zealand] and may miss the next two. We're not totally sure - it's up to Mother Nature a little - but we know we've got Jordan Cox in the squad here."
It will not concern England that Cox has hardly kept in the last year, as shown with Smith's own selection earlier this summer despite being second-choice behind Ben Foakes at Surrey. McCullum believes from his own experience that New Zealand is "a comfortable place" to keep wicket, and wants to see how Cox - whose glovework he describes as "solid" - fares at Test level.
Cox should make his ODI debut in that series and will have a chance to stake a late claim for a spot in England's squad for next year's Champions Trophy. But it is the prospect of a Test debut later this year that could satisfy his restlessness, and provide vindication for the air miles he will rack up in the first half of the English winter.
"He's annoyingly good at everything he does - particularly on the golf course," McCullum said. "He's one of those guys that you look at and say he's got a high ceiling in terms of talent, particularly with bat in hand. There's a fair chance that he'll get the opportunity in New Zealand, if Jamie does return home, to bat down the order and take the gloves."
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has said his vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold is not disturbed by the growing speculation around his future at the Premier League club and is fully focused on matters on the pitch.
The 26-year-old England right-back has been linked with a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid with his Liverpool contract running out at the end of the season. Alexander-Arnold last month said his contract situation will not be played out in public.
Having come through the ranks at Anfield and captaining the club across its youth levels, Alexander-Arnold has won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and the Club World Cup among other major honours since making his senior debut in 2016.
Captain Virgil van Dijk and winger Mohamed Salah are also out of contract at the end of the campaign.
"I think you underestimate our players. These players are used to being linked with all the top clubs on a daily basis, if they have contracts or not," Slot told a news conference ahead of Sunday's Premier League home clash against Chelsea.
"If you think they're disturbed by this interest then you don't do justice to how strong they are mentally. This is part of our job. This is part of this world we are living in. You just focus on what you have to do.
"Maybe if you're 17 or 18 years of age it could be difficult for you. But Trent has won the league, has won the Champions League; Virgil and Mo the same. I don't think that is a problem for them to perform and that's what we see at the moment because they're playing really well."
Liverpool, who top the Premier League table with 18 points from seven matches, will be without first-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker against Chelsea as he faces a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
Slot said he expects the 32-year-old Brazil international to return before Christmas.
"But you never know. It is always difficult to know how an injury will go in the first stages, so we can answer that question better in two or three weeks' time," the Dutchman added.
Lyon inspired to keep spin 'cool' after Warne's death
The 36-year-old insists there is no end in sight, eying off the possibility of playing on close to his 40th birthday and the 2027 Ashes series in England.
Lyon said he had not thought about what legacy would be left for future spinners at the end of his career, or who could eventually replace him in the Test team. But he admitted he had felt an extra responsibility to promote the craft since Warne's passing in 2022, after the legspinner had revived the art in the 1990s and inspired a generation of bowlers.
"I do see the responsibility of flying the flag for the spinners around the country, there is no hiding behind that," Lyon said. "Especially with the passing of Warnie, I feel like there is a big role for me to ensure that spin stays cool.
"I am not cool in any way, but if I can try and promote spin bowling and promote how great it is to be a spin bowler ... it's pretty cool."
Lyon is currently ranked third among all Australian bowlers with 530 career wickets, 33 shy of Glenn McGrath's final tally of 563.
The spinner's longevity has been key in Australia's success in recent years, with Lyon playing 100 straight Tests before a calf injury in last year's Ashes. But Lyon said it was his father that helped him realise the onus he had to promote spin following Warne's death.
"Just having that conversation and understanding we're role models in so many different ways to so many different people around the world," he said. "And if we can do our little bit to hopefully make people better cricketers or people, we're doing our job."
"What he can offer for New South Wales and Australia going forward is going to be nothing but amazing," Lyon said. "I am a big fan of the way he goes about it, he is a class legspinner, he is very confident on his skill set. He's going to be a superstar of the game. I try and help him get better, and he helps me get better as well."
Lyon, who took eight wickets in the opening Shield game, confirmed he would play one more - against Queensland in Sydney - ahead of the India series which begins on November 22 in Perth.
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