Edited by Leeroy Francis Jr. |Sports editor--->Sports Squad Podcast for Oct. 10, 2018<--- (Click Here)After assembling some of baseball's finest young talent and making a surprising return to the playoffs for the first time since 2013, the Atlanta Braves went down quietly in the postseason. The Baby Braves were shut out twice in Los Angeles before the high-powered Los Angeles Dodgers finished off the best-of-five series with a 6-2 victory in Game 4 on Monday, Oct. 8 in Atlanta. "We're going to get there, but we're not there yet," said Braves manager Brian Snitker. After a massive rebuilding job and three straight 90-loss seasons, the Braves suddenly returned to prominence in large part because of a bountiful farm system led by outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., second baseman Ozzie Albies and a seemingly endless supply of dynamic young pitchers. Snitker, who has labored long in the Braves' system, certainly will get votes for manager of the year in the National League. Los Angeles plays Milwaukee in the NLCS, and Houston tangles with Boston in the ALCS. In other sports news this week:
- As the Sports Squad reported last week, the University of Georgia dismissed baseball player Adam Sasser from the team after allegedly making racist remarks during the Georgia-Tennessee football game on Sept. 29. Students in the stands say they heard Sasser, who is from Evans, make the remarks in reference to UGa. backup quarterback Justin Fields and one took to Facebook to post about the incident. After the school’s Equal Opportunity Office got news of the post, an investigation on Sasser began. Georgia football coach Kirby Smart addressed the situation and said that that kind of behavior, if true, is unacceptable and not what UGa. is all about ...
- Former Arizona center Deandre Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, and former N.C. State guard Dennis Smith Jr. were named in the federal trial concerning alleged corruption and fraud in college basketball. AAU coach T.J. Gassnola testified that he provided payments to the players and families of Ayton, Smith and three other players. Gassnola testified that he paid a family friend of Ayton $15,000 to begin a relationship between Ayton and Adidas ...
- Khabib Nurmagomedov has threatened to leave the UFC if the promotion cuts ties with his teammate Zubaira Tukhugov, a featherweight. The (28-0) UFC lightweight champion defeated Conor McGregor via fourth-round submission. Nurmagomedov's biggest win was forgotten almost as soon as it was over after a post-fight melee marred his performance. "There's going to be fines, there's going to be God knows what. Can these guys get visas and get back in the country?" UFC President Dana White said after the fight ...
- The Texas Longhorns defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in the Cotton Bowl on Oct. 6, leaving the Big 12 with no real threat for the postseason four-team playoff. The game was tied 45-45 with nine seconds to go in the fourth quarter. Texas freshman Cameron Dicker kicked the ball through the uprights from the 40-yard line, making the Longhorns 48-45 winners. In the next AP poll, the Longhorns moved up 10 spots to the No. 9 ranking and Oklahoma fell to No. 11. West Virginia, ranked sixth, is the only unbeaten team left in the conference. The Mountaineers still have to play at Iowa State, Texas and Oklahoma State, as well as hosting Oklahoma and TCU ...
- Odell Beckham Jr. indicated he might not be happy in New York. In an interview, Beckham didn’t defend Eli Manning’s quality of play. In the game against the Carolina Panthers New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard threw a temper tantrum on the sideline following an Manning interception in the Panthers' game. He showed his frustrations by pummeling the bench and trash can just before the start of the fourth quarter against the Panthers. Beckham Jr. tried to console Shepard and calm down his angry teammate. Beckham stormed off the field one player before halftime in the Giants' Thursday night (Oct. 11) game with the Philadelphia Eagles, but later said it was because he was dehydrated. The Giants lost 34-13 to the Eagles, as Manning through for 281 yards with one INT ...
- Meanwhile, New Orleans Saints' QB Drew Brees set the career total passing yards record Monday, Oct. 8 in a win over Washington. He surpassed Peyton Manning, who threw for 71,940 yards. Brees broke Manning's mark with a 62-yard TD pass to Tre'Quan Smith during a 43-19 victory over the Redskins. Brees, the Purdue alumnus, finished the night with 26-of-29 completions for 363 yards and three touchdowns ...
- WNBA President Lisa Borders has stepped down from her position. Borders will become the first president and CEO of Time’s Up, an organization that is dedicated to the safe, fair and dignified work for women. She is the third executive to leave the WNBA in six months. Jay Parry, who was the league’s chief operating officer, left in April, and Ann Rodrigues, who was the senior vice president of league operations, left just last month. Borders was approached by a former colleague who is now with Time’s Up and said the decision to work with them was all hers. NBA Deputy Commisioner Mark Tatum will oversee the WNBA while the league searches for a replacement ...
- The University of Florida inducted Tim Tebow into its Ring of Honor ahead of the Gators' game against LSU. Tebow is one of six members of the Ring of Honor; the five others are Wilber Marshall, Jack Youngblood, Danny Wuerffel, Emmitt Smith and Steve Spurrier. Tebow, a quarterback, helped Florida win the 2006 Bowl Championship Series national title and won the 2007 Heisman Trophy ...
- LSU will host No. 2 Georgia in a key SEC game on Saturday, Oct. 13. It will be the Bulldogs' first major test of the season. The game will be telecast by CBS with a 3:39 p.m. kickoff from Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. ...
- The prep football campaign reached the region stage of the regular season on Friday, Oct. 5. Lakeside opened region play with a 28-20 win over rival Evans. Previously unbeaten the Academy of Richmond County lost at Baldwin 28-21 in overtime ...
- Two runners died of cardiac arrest at the finish line of a half marathon in Cardiff, Wales, last weekend.
Sources: ABC Sports, Augusta Chronicle, Boston Globe, CNN, CBS Sports, ESPN, Fansided, New York Times, Reuters, USA Today and the Washington Post.Contributors: Leeroy Francis Jr., Ceara Hester, Megan Johnson, Brandon Johnson, Ben Marshall, Khadijah Sandifer and Chase Slone.