Edited by Leeroy Francis Jr. |Sports editor—>Sports Squad Podcast – Episode 4 – Oct. 22(Click Here)<—Augusta University men's basketball is back. The Jaguars kick off the 2018-19 season with a high-profile exhibition game on Friday, Oct. 26 against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C at 6 p.m. "South Carolina is providing us a great opportunity to play within an hour from our campus and we look forward to competing against their storied program," Augusta Coach Dip Metress said. Recent prestigious Division I opponents have included Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Wichita State. This is the third-straight season Metress has taken the Jaguars to battle a Division I team in an exhibition matchup. In other sports news:In other sports news...
- AU volleyball’s annual Pink Out match to raise awareness and support for the Georgia Cancer Center will take place on Friday, Oct. 26 for the Jaguars home match in Christenberry Fieldhouse against the Francis Marion Patriots at 7 p.m. ...
- Ohio State's 49-20 loss to Purdue has shuffled itself out of the top 10. The Buckeyes fell nine spots in the weekly AP poll, landing at No. 11, behind teams like UCF, Florida and Oklahoma. And, as luck would have it, Ohio State's loss was Michigan's gain. The Wolverines moved up to No. 5 from No. 6 last week after ending their 17-game road losing streak against ranked teams by beating Michigan State 21-7. The biggest climber in the poll this week was Washington State. The Cougars jumped 11 spots to No. 14 after beating Oregon 34-20. The Ducks dropped seven spots to No. 19 with the loss. Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, LSU, Michigan and Texas round out the top six. Florida, of course, will play Georgia on Saturday, Oct. 27 in Jacksonville, Fla., with the loser being jettisoned out of the college football playoff picture for good. Each team has one loss, the Gators to Kentucky and the Bulldogs to LSU. And Nebraska, under first-year Coach Scott Frost, won its first game, over Minnesota 53-28, after losing six straight, the worst opening to a gridiron season in Cornhusker history ...
- Atlanta United beat Chicago Fire 2-1 to secure a CONCACAF Champions League spot. Atlanta United remain a point ahead of the New York Red Bulls in the race for the Eastern Conference title and the Supporters' Shield, which also includes home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Atlanta United also set new Major League Soccer records with a total home attendance for the 2018 season of 901,033, including 71,812 on Sunday, and a single-season average of 53,002. Meanwhile, D.C. United has vaulted into the playoff picture behind former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney, who scored two goals in a 3-1 win over NYC FC. The Washington team, in fifth in the Eastern Conference, still has a chance to finish third. Before Rooney came to the side, it was in last place ...
- The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 in Game 7 of the NLCS. Right fielder Yasiel Puig delivered maybe his career signature moment with a three-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to give the Dodgers the lead and a trip to the Dodgers second-straight World Series (they lost to the Houston Astros in seven games last year). So the World Series matchup is set. The Boston Red Sox and Dodgers meet in Fall Classic for the first time since 1916. The American League champion Red Sox will face the Dodgers in a seven-game series starting tonight (Oct. 23) in Boston, Mass. The series will be telecast by Fox ...
- Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints became just the fourth player in NFL history to throw for 500 career TD passes Sunday, Oct. 21. Also, he became the third QB ever to beat all 32 NFL teams by finally beating the Baltimore Ravens in his fifth try, 24-23, in Baltimore. He led the Saints on two fourth-quarter touchdown drives to bring the Saints back from a 17-7 deficit in the final quarter. It was the 44th comeback in the fourth quarter or overtime in Brees' 18-year career. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Rams remained undefeated and the Kansas City Chiefs only have one loss. Atlanta won for the second straight, beating the New York Giants 23-20 on Monday night ...
- The NBA suspended Los Angeles Lakers forward Brandon Ingram (four games), guard Rajon Rondo (three games) and Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul (two games), all without pay, for their roles in a fourth-quarter fight on Saturday night in Los Angeles. The Lakers lost in their home opener to theRockets, 124-115, and are now 0-2 this season. Meanwhile, defending champion Golden State won each of its first two games ...
- Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks used his creativity and quickness with the dribble to not only free himself for long-range threes and buckets in the lane but to set up his teammates as well. The Oklahoma product finished with 35 points on 13 of 23 shooting overall, including 6 of 14 from 3-point land, and added 11 assists in the Hawks' 133-111 win over the Cavaliers. In doing so, Young became the first rookie since Stephen Curry to record at least 35 points and 10 assists in a game. The 11 rookies of the 35 PTS/10 ASTS club include legends Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Allen Iverson, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West. Add Young's six three-pointers, and the list shrinks to just Curry and Jason Kidd. Add Young's single turnover, and the list shrinks to just ... Young ...
- Twelve-year-old Melquan Kwame Robinson of Augusta died after suffering electrocution from a fence during football practice last week. The fence had been electrified by a live wire. Robinson was at football practice when he climbed over a chain-link fence at the athletic complex to retrieve a football ...
- Grovetown High School defeated Lakeside High School Friday night, Oct. 19, by a score of 30-14 in Grovetown in a Region 3-AAAAAA matchup. With the win, the Warriors are a step closer to its first region championship at 3-0, while Lakeside and Evans, which has won two in a row after starting the season winless in its first six games, sit at 2-1 with two regular-season games left. Meanwhile, Hephzibah moved to 7-2 overall with a 33-6 win over Laney. The Rebels are now one win away from having the most victories in 65 years of playing football. They play at Josey on Friday, Oct. 26.
Sources: ABC Sports, Augusta Chronicle, Bleacher Report, Boston Globe, CNN, CBS Sports, ESPN, New York Times and USA TodayContributors: Leeroy Francis Jr., Ceara Hester, Megan Johnson, Brandon Johnson, Ben Marshall, Khadijah Sandifer and Chase Slone.