INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- If the Miami Dolphins salvage their 2-6 start to the season, their win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 10 could be the spark.

The Dolphins won at SoFi Stadium for the second year in a row, this time 23-15 over the Rams in a game in which they never trailed. Miami stopped a three-game losing streak, two of which came on last-second field goals.

More importantly, the Dolphins cracked the door open for a potential playoff run as the win puts them 1.5 games back of the Denver Broncos for the AFC's seventh seed. Only three teams in NFL history have rebounded from a 2-6 start to make the playoffs, but with home games against the Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots over the next two weeks, Miami could be 5-6 when the team travels to Green Bay on Thanksgiving to play the Packers.

Entering Week 10, the Dolphins had an 8.1% chance of making the playoffs, according to ESPN's FPI, but they will play the league's 10th-easiest remaining schedule. With their chances of winning the AFC East virtually nonexistent, the Dolphins will need to capture one of three wild-card spots to keep their two-year playoff streak alive.

Miami Dolphins (3-6)

QB breakdown: Tua Tagovailoa overcame a potentially disastrous second quarter during which he threw an interception and lost a fumble on consecutive drives. He finished with 207 yards and a touchdown but converted five third-down attempts. He took a couple of untimely sacks, which coach Mike McDaniel said was the result of him trying to do too much, something Tagovailoa continues to work on in his fifth season.

Describe game in two words: Constant pressure. Miami's defense made life awful for Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was pressured 13 times and sacked four times -- a season high for the Dolphins.

Promising trend: No Dolphins player has more quarterback pressures since Week 5 than Chop Robinson, who was thrust into a more prominent role after the injury to Jaelan Phillips. He continued that trend with five pressures Monday night and recorded his second sack of the season in as many games. -- Marcel Louis-Jacques

Next game: vs. Raiders (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)

Los Angeles Rams (4-5)

The Rams entered the game with an 18.4% chance to make the playoffs, according to ESPN Analytics, but they couldn't keep pace in the NFC West with the loss.

After the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers won on Sunday, ESPN Analytics had the Rams' chances to win the division at 11.5%.

But on Monday, their offense struggled, despite having wide receiver Cooper Kupp, wide receiver Puka Nacua and offensive linemen Steve Avila and Jonah Jackson all back from injury for the first time since the season opener.

According to ESPN Research, this is the 50th game for the Rams that Matthew Stafford started at quarterback. This is only the second time in those 50 games that Los Angeles failed to score a touchdown.

The Rams' offensive woes showed up on third down. The offense entered the game converting 36% of third downs, which is ranked 23rd in the NFL. On Monday night, the Rams were 1-of-10 (10%).

Los Angeles fell to 4-5, its first loss since the Week 6 bye.

Quarterback breakdown: After throwing six touchdown passes in the previous two games, Stafford did not throw one against a Dolphins defense that entered the game ranked 26th in pass defense DVOA. Stafford completed 32 of 46 passes for 293 yards and an interception. Stafford has thrown an interception in six straight games, tied for the longest streak in his career, according to ESPN Research.

Most surprising performance: The offensive line. In the Rams' previous three games, Stafford had been sacked once. But on Monday night, he was sacked four times, despite getting Avila (MCL sprain) and Jackson (shoulder) back from injured reserve. The Rams were without right tackle Rob Havenstein, who was out with an ankle injury. The Dolphins' defense did this despite entering the game with 10 sacks, the second fewest in the NFL.

Promising trend: First-round draft pick Jared Verse continued to impress. He had a sack for the third game in a row and two tackles for a loss. According to the Rams, Verse's 11 tackles for a loss through his first nine career games are tied for the second most with Von Miller and Micah Parsons since it became an official stat in 1999. -- Sarah Barshop

Next game: at Patriots (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)

MILWAUKEE -- Bucks guard Damian Lillard is in concussion protocol and won't play Tuesday against the Toronto Raptors.

The Bucks announced the update on the seven-time All-NBA guard's status Monday. The 34-year-old Lillard is averaging 26 points, 6.6 assists and 4.6 rebounds.

Milwaukee already was without three-time All-Star forward Khris Middleton, who hasn't made his 2024-25 debut after undergoing surgery on both of his ankles.

Bucks forward and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is listed as probable as he deals with right patella tendinopathy. Milwaukee's Andre Jackson Jr. (left hip pointer) and Gary Trent Jr. (lower back spasms) also are probable.

Tuesday's game matches the teams that owned the two worst records in the NBA entering Monday night's action. The Bucks are 2-8 and have dropped two straight, while the Raptors are 2-9 and have lost four in a row.

A top flight team in Argentina fielded a social media influencer in a league match on Monday, in a move that upset rival players.

Iván Buhajeruk, better known as "Spreen," played less than a minute before he was substituted in Deportivo Riestra's 1-1 draw with Argentine league leader Velez Sarsfield. He didn't even touch the ball.

Buhajeruk, a popular streamer in the South American nation, has 8 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 5 million followers on Instagram. He was signed by the Argentine club two months ago and started training with the team last Tuesday.

Deportivo Riestra executives defended the stunt as a push for their main sponsor, an energy drink company.

Many players disagreed with the move.

"What happened today was a lack of respect for football, it is a wrong message to society, to kids who try hard," said Velez striker Braian Romero, who scored from a penalty kick in the 43rd minute to open the scoring. "Football is not that: it is trying and failing and trying again."

Deportivo Riestra's Nicolás Caro Torres equalized in the 63rd minute.

Its captain Milton Celiz told journalists that the idea came from Victor Stinfale, who owns both the club and the energy drink company that sponsors it. He signed both the influencer and the team's coach.

Asked about Buhajeruk's skills, Celiz replied: "As a streamer, he is number one."

Deportivo Riestra's coach, Cristian Fabbiani, said he had informed his Velez Sarsfield colleague Gustavo Quinteros about the move.

"I told him that he was going to play due to a contract issue, that the club depends a lot on publicity," said Fabbiani, who added Monday's game was Buhajeruk's debut and farewell match for the team.

Velez leads the Argentine league with 43 points. Deportivo Riestra is in 9th place with 31 points.

Five-star prospect Meleek Thomas committed Monday to Arkansas, giving coach John Calipari and the Razorbacks their second top-10 recruit in the 2025 class.

Arkansas is now the only program in the country with multiple top-10 commits already in the fold, with Thomas, No. 9 in the ESPN 100 and the No. 2 shooting guard, joining Darius Acuff (No. 8/No.1 point guard).

Thomas chose the Razorbacks over hometown Pittsburgh, while UConn also had previously recruited Thomas and was on his final list.

"Everyone I spoke with was so positive on Coach Cal," Thomas told ESPN. "He has touched so many lives with his guys becoming NBA players and so many others. He and the staff stayed in contact with both me and my family the whole time. I am big on family, and Coach Cal is a warm-hearted person who built a great relationship with both me and my family."

Arkansas made a strong push down the stretch of Thomas' recruitment to become the clear leader, with the Razorbacks' new system a key factor in his decision.

"Their play style was a separating factor," Thomas said. "Coach Cal holds himself accountable and his players accountable. I am the type that wants to know the truth so I can learn and grow. They will have a lot of guys who can score, and I am comfortable coming in and playing defense right away.

"The crowds and energy for the program is exciting, and I want to be part of it."

Thomas is a 6-foot-4 guard from Pittsburgh who is currently playing in the Overtime Elite program. He was one of the top scorers on the Nike EYBL circuit last spring, ranking ninth with 20.3 points per game. He also averaged 6.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists, shooting just under 34% from 3-point range. In six games with the New Heights Lightning at the Nike Peach Jam in July, he averaged 18.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting better than 37% from 3.

Thomas has a scorer's mentality but also is capable of coming up with timely assists. He has a thin frame with decent quickness and speed, and is especially effective in transition, either leading the break or finishing the play. He is aggressive but confident with the ball in his hands, not rushing to get to his spot on the floor. Thomas can play both guard positions and has made strides operating in ball-screen situations.

Arkansas now has two of the elite guards in the 2025 class, with Thomas joining forces with Acuff in Fayetteville. Acuff, the top-ranked point guard in the country, committed to the Razorbacks in July. The two of them are enough to put Arkansas near the top of the 2025 recruiting class rankings, but the Razorbacks also are making a strong push for No. 5-ranked prospect Caleb Wilson.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- In the moments after his team's last-second win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan didn't necessarily feel the need to address what took place among wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr., long snapper Taybor Pepper and kicker Jake Moody after Moody's third missed field goal of the game.

But as the Niners returned to the Bay Area on Sunday night and Shanahan began seeing the video of the sideline confrontation in which Samuel is seen shoving Pepper away as the two exchange words with Moody nearby, he had a change of heart.

On Monday, Shanahan said he "didn't think it was too big of a deal" but he still felt compelled to address what happened.

"I wanted to make sure I did and talked to the guys about it," Shanahan said. "[I] talked to a number of guys on the team and we squashed it and we're good."

The incident in question happened with 3:13 to go in the Niners' eventual 23-20 victory. After Moody pushed a 44-yard field goal try wide right, Samuel approached him near the sideline. While Samuel said after the game that he was "frustrated" and "got out of character a little bit," Pepper said Samuel was telling Moody to "lock in." Pepper took exception to Samuel giving Moody advice in that situation, which led to the argument escalating.

For his part, Moody was nonplussed by the situation after the game, saying "I do have to make those kicks at the end of the day, so that's all I'm focused on."

After Shanahan's conversations with his players on Monday, he didn't seem to have much of a problem with Samuel's reaction, likening it to how he talks to players who might be struggling at any point in a game.

"I think it was a little bit [of an] overreaction," Shanahan said. "You never want Deebo to throw a baby punch or anything on anybody on our own team, but he also wasn't saying anything bad to Jake. ... You never sit there and belittle anybody or try to embarrass anyone. You try to challenge guys that you believe in. That's how we speak to each other and telling someone they need to focus and lock in because we know you can do this.

"I like Pep's intentions on it. I mean, he's got his kicker's back, but I think he kind of interpreted wrong what Deebo was doing to him and overreacted a little bit and Deebo didn't like that and got him out of his face. That's really about where it ended."

Shanahan said he didn't plan to fine any of the players involved for the incident, noting that he only fines players for breaking rules. In this case, he said it was just "people being football players" and reiterating that he didn't feel it was a big deal.

The larger issue might be Moody's struggles. He was three-of-six on field goal tries in his first game back from a high right ankle sprain Sunday with misses from 44, 49 and 50 yards. Moody entered the game with just one miss in his previous 14 field goal attempts, but Sunday's failures prevented the Niners from putting the game away earlier than the final seconds.

Moody did, of course, kick the game winner from the exact spot of his third miss, squeezing it just inside the right upright.

On Monday, Shanahan said his view of Moody was "not much different" than where it was after the game.

"I mean, he missed three kicks," Shanahan said. "I thought it wasn't the easiest place to kick in. The wind was weird, especially the direction that he missed. It was different but, it was a few big kicks and came back into his first game winner on a walk-off. So, thought he finished it well and move on to next week with it."

On the injury front, the 49ers mostly made it out of Sunday's game OK, though Shanahan said tight end George Kittle will have to be monitored this week as he deals with "hamstring irritation."

NEW YORK -- Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for his first National League MVP award -- after twice winning the American League honor -- and is joined among the top three in NL voting by New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is a finalist for his second AL MVP in three seasons, joined by Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and Yankees outfielder Juan Soto.

Ohtani was unanimously voted the AL MVP in 2021 and 2023 as a two-way star for the Los Angeles Angels and finished second to Judge in 2022. Ohtani signed a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers in December, but he didn't pitch in 2024 following elbow surgery.

Ohtani would join Frank Robinson for the Cincinnati Reds in 1961 and the Baltimore Orioles in 1966 as the only players to win the MVP award in both leagues.

The Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes is a finalist in balloting for the NL Cy Young Award and NL Rookie of the Year. The 22-year-old right-hander becomes the fifth rookie to finish among the top three in Cy Young Award voting, after Mark Fidrych (1976), Fernando Valenzuela (1981), Dwight Gooden (1984) and José Fernández (2013). The only one to win both awards in the same year was Valenzuela in the NL.

Ohtani hit .310, stole 59 bases and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs exclusively as a designated hitter, becoming the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. He helped the Dodgers to the World Series title, playing the final three games with a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

Ohtani would become the first primary DH to win an MVP award.

The top three finishers in voting for each of the major individual awards presented annually by the Baseball Writers' Association of America were announced Monday night on MLB Network. Winners will be revealed next week.

Balloting was conducted before the postseason.

Ohtani would become the 12th player with three or more MVPs, joining Barry Bonds (seven) and Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Mike Trout (three each).

Lindor batted .273 with 33 homers, 91 RBIs and 29 steals, while Marte hit .292 with 36 homers and 95 RBIs.

Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers, 144 RBIs and 133 walks while hitting .322. Witt topped the big leagues with a .332 average while hitting 32 homers with 109 RBIs. Soto batted .288 with 41 homers and 109 RBIs.

Atlanta's Chris Sale and Philadelphia's Zack Wheeler are NL Cy Young Award finalists along with Skenes, who made his big league debut May 11 and went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts, striking out 170 in 133 innings.

Detroit's Tarik Skubal, Kansas City's Seth Lugo and Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase are the finalists for the AL honor. Clase becomes the first reliever to finish among the top three in voting since San Diego's Trevor Hoffman came in second in 2006 NL balloting.

Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio joined Skenes as finalists for NL Rookie of the Year. Yankees right-hander Luis Gil and catcher Austin Wells are AL finalists along with Baltimore outfielder Colton Cowser.

Cleveland's Stephen Vogt, Kansas City's Matt Quatraro and Detroit's AJ Hinch are finalists for AL Manager of the Year. The three NL finalists were all first-year managers with their teams: the Mets' Carlos Mendoza, Milwaukee's Pat Murphy and San Diego's Mike Shildt.

LOS ANGELES -- John Robinson, the veteran football coach who enjoyed many years of success at USC and with the Los Angeles Rams, has died. He was 89.

The Rams on Monday confirmed the death of Robinson, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame for his two successful tenures at USC. He died in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, of complications from pneumonia, USC said in a release.

Robinson also became the winningest coach in Rams history during his nine-year tenure with the NFL club. Sean McVay passed Robinson's career victories total only last month.

Robinson is high on the short list of football coaches who enjoyed significant success in both the college and pro ranks, going 104-35-4 at USC and finishing his NFL career 75-68 with the Rams. He was particularly dominant in bowl games, going 8-1 in the postseason at USC and UNLV.

Robinson coached at USC from 1976 to 1982 and again from 1993 to 1997. He never had a losing record at the school, and his Trojans won five conference titles and four Rose Bowls. Running backs Charles White (1979) and Marcus Allen (1981) won the Heisman Trophy while playing in Robinson's relentless rushing offenses.

Robinson moved to the Rams in 1983 and reached the playoffs in six of his first seven seasons, winning four playoff games and advancing to two NFC Championship Games.

Robinson spent six seasons coaching UNLV after his second USC tenure, also serving a stint as the Rebels' athletic director. He was most recently a senior consultant at LSU from 2019 to 2021 during coach Ed Orgeron's tenure.

Robinson was born July 25, 1935, in Chicago, and he grew up in the Bay Area, attending prep school with John Madden and graduating from high school in 1954. He played tight end on Oregon's 1958 Rose Bowl championship team before beginning his coaching career with the Ducks.

Robinson became John McKay's offensive coordinator at USC in 1972, coaching the unbeaten 1972 consensus national championship team and the 1974 team that went 10-1-1. Robinson left the Trojans for one year to join Madden with the Oakland Raiders but returned to USC in 1976 when McKay took over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Robinson coached USC to seven outstanding seasons, winning the Pac-8 or Pac-10 titles and the Rose Bowl in three of his first four years in charge. His 1978 team was named national champions by the UPI coaches' poll, while Bear Bryant's Alabama won the AP title.

Robinson kept winning in 1983 when he moved to the Rams, who played their home games in Anaheim, California. With an offense led by Eric Dickerson, Robinson's teams racked up six playoff appearances and lost to the eventual Super Bowl champions in two conference title games.

Robinson's second tenure at USC included a fourth Rose Bowl victory, but the school dismissed him following the 1997 season.

Robinson then coached UNLV from 1999 to 2004, taking over a program that had lost 16 games in a row. He got the Rebels to only the third bowl appearance in school history in just his second season, but Robinson stepped away after the 2004 season with a 28-42 record at the school. One of his more notable victories was a 23-5 win at No. 14 Wisconsin in 2003.

Robinson spent many years between his coaching jobs in broadcasting on television and radio.

Robinson lived in the beachside town of Encinitas in northern San Diego County.

Robinson is survived by his wife, Beverly, his four children, two stepchildren and 10 grandchildren.

A celebration of Robinson's life will be held following the college football season, in accordance with his wishes.

Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk will be out for at least two weeks after suffering what the team is calling a moderate right ankle sprain, the team announced Monday.

"Malik is obviously big for us," De'Aaron Fox told reporters in Phoenix. "He's a sixth starter. He can start for a lot of teams ... if he is out for some time, obviously like last year, it hurt us big time."

Monk suffered the injury early in the second quarter against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night when he stepped on Mason Plumlee's foot when attempting to close out a corner shot by Grayson Allen.

After sitting on the ground for a few moments, Monk hobbled off the court. He did not return to the game.

X-ray imaging revealed no structural damage to Monk's ankle.

Monk is averaging 13.6 points, 3 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 25 minutes through the first 10 games for the 6-4 Kings.

"He's had a great season for us so far," Kings coach Mike Brown said. "He's another ball handler, playmaker, defensively he's been doing a fantastic job, and to lose somebody as dynamic as him, it's tough, but ... next man up. We have to have a next-man-up mentality."

Sacramento plays seven games over the next two weeks before Monk's reevaluation date.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Atlanta Braves acquired infielder Nick Allen from the Athletics on Monday in exchange for minor league right-hander Jared Johnson.

Allen batted .175 with a homer, four RBI and a .463 OPS in 41 games with the A's last year. He hit .345 with seven homers, 51 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 81 games with Triple-A Las Vegas.

The 23-year-old Johnson spent last season at High-A Rome of the South Atlantic League and went 7-4 with eight saves and a 2.60 ERA in 38 relief appearances. He held the opposition to a .206 batting average and struck out 62 hitters in 52 innings while walking 27.

Declan James and Nardine Garas have won the London Open 2024, beating Simon Herbert and Millie Tomlinson in the respective finals at Cumberland Lawn Tennis Club in the English capital.

James was competing in his third Copper final of the season, while Herbert was hoping to go one better than 12 months ago, when he finished as runner-up to Adrian Waller in the 2023 edition of this event.

The 23-year-old had also beaten James in their last Tour meeting, albeit coming at last years QSF 5 in Qatar, when James had only recently returned from a serious achilles injury.

But since the start of this season, the 31-year-old has been one of the most in-form players on Tour, reaching two Copper event finals already and winning a Challenger 15 tournament in Austria.

He had fallen short in both of those previous two Copper events, but made a dominant start to this encounter with Herbert, displaying a mixture of extremely consistent squash and some impressive movements on his way to a 2-0 lead.

Herbert, though, came firing back, showcasing some of the eye-catching shotmaking we saw in abundance in his semi-final win over Nick Wall, racing out to a 5-0 lead in game three, holding James at bay to take it 11-6.

He then took game four 11-8, not trailing once in the game, and momentum appeared to be on his side as the players headed off court.

James was also appearing in his eighth match in the last 10 days, so could have been forgiven if hed run out of steam, but instead he continued to move around the court efficiently, rediscovering his length and accuracy in game five to quickly establish a 7-2 lead.

7-2 soon became six match balls at 10-4 and he didnt have to wait long for glory, as Herbert went for the nick off the serve return, crashing the ball into the tin to hand James his 17th PSA Squash Tour title, and make it third time lucky in Copper finals.

It plays on your mind a little bit, when youve had a few of those finals, he said after collecting his silverware.

You want to get across the line in one but I played pretty well in the last two finals and I came up against guys that were better on the day.

Ive played a hell of a lot of squash in the last couple of weeks and I was relieved to get over the line today.

I thought I played really well in the first two, to go 2-0 up, and then he always has so much danger and so much threat, and he came back very well in the third and the fourth, but I just wanted to keep putting work in as much as I can.

I was having to dig deep, but I can do that time and again. I knew in the fifth that I had another dig in me so it was really about just making it as physical as I could towards the end there, so Im super happy to get a title this week.

James win followed victory for Egypts Garas in the womens final a Challenger 15 event earlier in the day.

Garas was taking on Englands Millie Tomlinson, who won this even back in 2015 and who had come through a dramatic five-game encounter with another Egyptian, Hana Ismail, in the semi-finals.

Garas, meanwhile, had beaten the unseeded Kiera Marshall 3-1 in her semi-finals, and was targeting a fourth title of 2024.

She started in impressive fashion, too, crunching the ball to the corners with ferocious power whenever the opportunity presented itself, taking game one 11-7 in just under eight minutes.

She then took game two in less than six minutes, converting a 6-1 lead into 11-5, and despite losing three of the first four points in game three, she was soon on the brink of glory at 8-3 up.

Tomlinson kept fighting until the end, perhaps setting some nerves jangling in the opposing corner as she moved from 9-4 down to 10-8 down, but she was unable to overhaul Garas lead, with the Egyptian sending her the wrong way with a another hard-hit backhand down the line, clenching her first in celebration.

Result: Mens Final

[5] Declan James (ENG) bt. [7] Simon Herbert (ENG) 3-2: 11-3, 11-7, 6-11, 8-11, 11-4 (62m)

Result: Womens Final

[3] Nardine Garas (EGY) bt. [2] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 (24m)