Staff report |Sports Squad on Radio—>>>: Sports Squad, Podcast for Oct. 4, 2018 (click at left)The Atlanta Braves, back to the playoffs for the first time in five years, have their first game in the NLDS will be in Los Angeles against the Dodgers on Thursday, Oct. 4. The Braves are led by Freddie Freeman, who leads the team in batting average, OBP, RBI and hits, and Mike Foltynewicz, who leads the Braves' pitchers in wins, ERA and strikeouts. Foltynewicz will face Clayton Kershaw in Game 1 of the NLDS at 8:37 p.m. Elsewhere in sports:
- The Georgia Bulldogs still are in the No. 2 spot after their win against Tennessee on Saturday. If the Bulldogs beats Vanderbilt on Saturday, Oct. 6, they figure to carry that ranking with them into their showdown with LSU on Oct. 13 ...
- Georgia's athletics department removed first baseman Adam Sasser from the team after he used racist language involving backup quarterback Justin Fields on social media during the Vanderbilt game. Sasser played his high school ball at Greenbrier High in Columbia County. “If what I read and heard is true, it’s really unacceptable behavior that’s not who we are at Georgia,” Bulldog football coach Kirby Smart said. “We’re trying to build a program on tolerance and mutual respect." Sasser apologized on Twitter ...
- The streak continues Europe defeated the United States 17 1/2 to 10 1/2 extend the Europeans' home winning streak to six in a row on European soil. It has been 25 years since the United States last won the Ryder Cup overseas (1993 Ryder Cup at The Belfry, Brabazon Course, England) ...
- The U.S. women’s national team, led by Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, defeated Australia 73-56 in the FIBA World Cup championship ...
- A high school football player in Zebulon, Ga., died Sunday from injuries sustained in Friday's game. Pike County High School linebacker Dylan Thomas was seriously hurt during a game with Peach County. Thomas died at Grady Hospital in Atlanta on Sunday ...
- Christion Abercrombie, a linebacker for Tennessee State who is from Atlanta, is in critical condition at Vanderbilt Medical Center after sustaining a severe head injury in TSU's game with Vanderbilt. The Tennesseean newspaper reports that Abercrombie is make daily improvement. He had emergency on Saturday ...
- Earl Thomas' season and potentially his career with the Seattle Seahawks might be over after the All-Pro safety broke his leg Sunday in the team's 20-17 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Coach Pete Carroll called Thomas' injury a lower leg fracture and said Thomas believes it's similar to the season-ending injury he suffered to the same leg in December 2016. Thomas, who held out all offseason in protest of his contract situation and returned without a new deal, was carted off the field with his leg in an air-cast midway through the third quarter. He gave the middle finger to what appeared to be the direction of Seattle's sideline as he was being taken into the locker room ...
- Cristiano Ronaldo, a soccer star for the Italian club Juventus, has been accused of rape. A woman has accused him of raping her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009 after repeatedly screaming no. Kathryn Mayorga’s claimed her was taken advantage of by Ronaldo and his team and they coerced her into signing a settlement and nondisclosure agreement in 2009 ...
- It took four games and almost 10 years, but Jon Gruden has his first victory since his return to the NFL as Oakland Raiders' coach. The Raiders' 45-42 overtime win over the Cleveland Browns at the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday was Gruden's first win since Nov. 30, 2008, when he was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It is Gruden's first win with the Raiders since Oakland beat the New York Jets in a playoff game on Jan. 12, 2002 ...
- Ana Carrasco made motorsport history. She has become the first female motorbike world champion securing the World Supersport 300 title by a point in a thrilling finale in France. Carrasco made history last year with her debut win in the series in Portugal last September and dedicated her win to fellow Spanish rider Luis Salom, who died in a crash during practice in 2016 ...
- The New York Yankees sent two balls over the fence and into the record book. Gleyber Torres hit the Yankees’ 265th home run of the season, breaking a tie with the 1997 Seattle Mariners for the most home runs by a major league team in a season. The Yankees also became the first team to hit at least 20 home runs at all nine positions in the batting order ...
- Holdout Le'Veon Bell plans to report to the Pittsburgh Steelers during Week 7 of the NFL season ...
- Lebron James played in his first game as a Laker. James scored nine points in this preseason game against the Denver Nuggets.
Sources: Augusta Chronicle, CBS Sports, Chicago Tribune, ESPN, CNN, New York Times, NPR, the Tennesseean, Tribune Ledger, WJBF News Channel 6.Contributors: Leeroy Francis, Ceara Hester, Megan Johnson, Brandon Johnson, Ben Marshall, Khadijah Sandifer, and Chase Slone.