Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker is feeling joy not relief after ending his record for most games managed without a World Series title with his side's Game 6 triumph on Saturday.
The Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 at Minute Maid Park to clinch the franchise's second World Series title and 73-year-old Baker's first as manager.
Baker, who first managed in the majors in 1993 with the San Francisco Giants, has led 3,883 games for 2,093 wins, with nine divisional titles and three pennants but Saturday's World Series crown marks the pinnacle.
"Now we can quit talking about it," Baker said when asked about breaking record during the post-game trophy presentation.
Baker's adoration was symbolised when he was mobbed by players and staff in the dugout when Kyle Tucker plucked the catch from Nick Castellanos' fly ball to right field to clinch victory.
"It's not relief," Baker said during the post-game press conference. "It's just sheer joy and thankfulness. It's not relief at all. Everybody was talking about it more than I was even thinking about it.
"I always said before that if I win one, I'll win two, but you got to win one first. The one was hell to get to this point. But it was well worth it. I'm in a great city, with great people, great fans, and I got a great ball club.
"I tried not to dwell on it, but tried to have faith and perseverance and knowing that with the right team and the right personnel and right everything that this is going to happen."
The Astros triumph comes after the franchise competed in four of the past six World Series, winning the title in 2017.
That period, however, was tarnished by the sign stealing scandal and Baker, who stepped in with the Astros in 2020 after A.J. Hinch's firing, spoke about the vindication this year's success offers.
"I think that's what drove this team," Baker said. "That's what motivated them. The boos and the jeers that we got all over the country, it bothered these guys, but it also motivated them at the same time.
"It wasn't an us against the world thing. It was more of a come together even closer-type thing. And what happened before, it doesn't ever pass over completely. But we have turned the page and hopefully we'll continue this run."
The Astros had to rally from behind after Kyle Schwarber's solo blast, with Yordan Alvarez delivering a three-run home run in the sixth inning.
Alvarez crushed Jose Alvarado's third pitch over center-field after Phillies manager Rob Thomson had opted to pull starter Zack Wheeler from the game with two runners on. Wheeler admitted after the game he was surprised by that decision which Thomson defended.
"I'm sure he was," Thomson told reporters. "He still had his good stuff. I just thought that that was a key moment in the game and that was a momentum swing that I thought Alvarado had a chance to strike him out. It was just I thought the matchup was better with Alvarado on Alvarez at that time."
The Phillies were the last side to book their postseason spot with an 87-75 regular-season record and reached the World Series after stirring victories over the St Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres.
"They have accomplished a lot," Thomson added. "It's still disappointing, though.
"I told them after the game, 'you guys have nothing to be ashamed of. You don't need to hang your head for anybody', because they came to the ballpark every day and worked hard and played hard and played as a team, had a lot of fun. They grinded through a lot of obstacles. I'm just so proud of all of them. I really am."
The Milwaukee Bucks overcame the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo to reach a franchise-record ninth straight win to open the season with a 108-94 triumph over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.
Antetokounmpo was absent due to left knee soreness, but Brook Lopez delivered with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting including four three-pointers for the Bucks who are 9-0.
Jrue Holiday provided 13 assists with 10 points, while forward Bobby Portis pulled down 21 rebounds with 12 points.
Guards Jevon Carter and Grayson Allen scored five three-pointers each, contributing 18 and 19 points respectively for Milwaukee.
The Bucks shot 17-of-47 (36.2 per cent) from three-point range, while Portis' dominance in the paint helped them to 55-38 rebounds. Four of Portis' 21 rebounds were offensive.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander top scored for OKC with 18 points, while second-year guard Josh Giddey had 15 points with six rebounds.
Nets rally for back-to-back wins
Amid their off-court tumult, Kevin Durant led the Brooklyn Nets to back-to-back wins with a 98-94 victory over the Charlotte Hornets rallying back after trailing by 11 points in the fourth quarter.
Durant scored a game-high 27 points, including a clutch jump shot to open up a four-point lead with 32 seconds remaining, along with seven rebounds. The win improved the Nets to 3-6.
Cam Thomas stepped up off the bench with 21 points for the Nets who were without Kyrie Irving (suspension) and Ben Simmons (knee soreness).
Celtics hit franchise-record, Suns move to 7-2
The Boston Celtics scored a franchise-record 27 three-pointers with six each from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as they got past the New York Knicks 133-118.
Tatum scored 26 points while Brown had a game-high 30 points, while Sam Hauser came off the bench to add five triples in his 17-point haul, with all nine of the Celtics used making a three-pointer.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns improved to 7-2 with a comfortable 102-82 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, with Devin Booker scoring 24 points.
The Houston Astros have claimed their second-ever World Series title with a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 at Minute Maid Park on Saturday.
Yordan Alvarez's monster three-run blast in the sixth inning flipped the game after Kyle Schwarber's solo blast had put the Phillies ahead at the top of the same inning.
The triumph may offer some vindication for the Astros, who's lone 2017 World Series title was tarnished in the eyes of many by the sign stealing scandal.
Astros manager Dusty Baker secured his first-ever World Series title in his third appearance, having won 2,093 MLB games, nine divisional titles and three pennants.
Starting pitcher Framber Valdez was outstanding with nine strikeouts across six innings, allowing only two hits and one earned run.
Schwarber's solo shot over right field was his sixth homer of the postseason. It came after Valdez had given up only one home run all regular season to left-handers.
But the Astros rallied immediately with Phillies starter Zack Wheeler, who was brilliant with five strikeouts, pulled after Jose Altuve and World Series MVP Jeremy Pena got on base. Alvarez hit reliever Jose Alvarado's fourth pitch beyond the hitter's backdrop over center-field for a 450-foot three-run blast.
Alvarado struggled to regain his composure, with designated hitter Christian Vazquez driving in Alex Bregman for a fourth run.
The Astros' sixth-inning rally seemed to suck the life out of the Phillies who had led the World Series 2-1.
Astros closer Ryan Pressly finished the job, getting the outs of Rhys Hoskins, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos, who was caught at right-field by Kyle Tucker for the win.
The Netherlands have produced a stunning upset to knock South Africa out of the T20 World Cup after a 13-run victory at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
The Proteas simply needed to beat the associate nation to secure their spot in the semi-finals but allowed the Netherlands to score 158-4, including 45 off the final four overs, before falling apart in the chase, to be 145-8
South Africa's slip-up means the winner of the Pakistan-Bangladesh game at the same venue in fine conditions will finish second in Group 2 and take on Group 1 winners New Zealand in the semis at the SCG on Wednesday. The Proteas' loss also means India go through and top Group 2.
Player of the Match Colin Ackermann was heroic for the Dutch with an unbeaten 41 from 26 balls, helping their late charge, before Brandon Glover (3-9) and Fred Klaassen (2-20) starred with the ball.
South Africa's pursuit never got going after the loss of openers Quinton de Kock (13) and Temba Bavuma (20), but they seemed in a winning position at 90-3 in the 13th over, needing 68 off 46.
Yet it all fell apart for the Proteas with wickets tumbling, as Klaassen had Aiden Markram caught by Stephan Myburgh before Glover grabbed two quick wickets to dismiss potential game-winner David Miller for 17 and Wayne Parnell for a duck. From there, South Africa's tail could not get them near the target.
Van der Merwe delivers the key moment
Roelof van der Merwe's brilliant catch running backwards to dismiss danger man Miller was arguably the moment of the match. South Africa had six wickets left, needing 47 off 29 balls, when Miller mis-timed a hook shot, which was lofted towards fine leg but the 37-year-old never took his eyes off the ball and pulled off a diving effort to re-claim any momentum the Proteas had at that stage.
Another South African World Cup disaster
South Africa's loss and subsequent elimination will be tough to swallow. The Proteas, who have never made a T20 World Cup final and have an inglorious past in the 50-over version, appeared destined for the last four for the first time since 2014. Instead, they suffered their first-ever loss to the Netherlands across any format.
World number one Iga Swiatek won the Tracy Austin Group in style with a comprehensive straight-sets victory over Coco Gauff in the WTA Finals in Fort Worth on Saturday.
Swiatek made it three wins out of three matches in the group stage without dropping a set, getting past fourth seed Gauff 6-3 6-0 in one hour and 10 minutes.
The 2022 US Open and French Open champion advances and will take on seventh seed Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA Finals semi-finals on Sunday.
The Pole made light work of Gauff, improving her head-to-head dominance to 5-0, with her 28-minute second set representing the 22nd bagel she has doled out this season.
Swiatek committed 15 unforced errors in the first set, but made only two in a lopsided second frame where she won 26 of 36 points.
Gauff had pushed Swiatek to 3-3 in the first set, before the top seed broke her twice to clinch the opening frame, putting her foot to the throat in the second.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Swiatek - 20/17
Gauff - 5/15
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Swiatek - 0/1
Gauff - 4/1
BREAK POINTS WON
Swiatek - 5/10
Gauff - 0/3
13 - Only Justine Henin in 2007 (11) has won the group dropping fewest games in the Round Robin at the WTA Finals since the current format was re-introduced in 2003 than Iga Swiatek this season (13). Tornado.@WTA @WTA_insider @WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/cAd0dnfQ3k
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) November 6, 2022
Stefano Pioli believes the character of his Milan side is "second to none" after the reigning Serie A champions secured a late win against Spezia on Saturday.
Olivier Giroud came off the bench at San Siro to score an 89th-minute winner in the 2-1 victory, though was then sent off for a second booking after removing his shirt while celebrating.
Pioli was full of praise for the mental strength of his team after the win, which took Milan up to second and back to within six points of league leaders Napoli after the latter beat Atalanta.
"Our mentality is to believe in what we do," he told Sky. "As far as character is concerned, we are second to none."
Theo Hernandez put Milan in front with a first-half volley from close range, only for Daniel Maldini - son of Milan legend and technical director Paolo - to equalise against his parent club with Spezia's first away goal of the season.
Maldini's goal came 5,333 days after his father's last one at San Siro in March 2008.
Pioli did not seem to mind Maldini scoring, particularly because his team eventually secured the win, and declared that his father was able to experience the best of both worlds, with his son scoring and his team winning.
"Daniel Maldini's goal? It was the perfect evening for Paolo," the Rossoneri head coach joked.
"The match was difficult, we made it complicated... I liked the first half, [but] we have to work to close the game early."
On Giroud's red, with the French striker later claiming he had forgotten he was on a yellow card, Pioli said: "He is a very strong guy, and I am very happy with his performances.
"Tonight, he was naive."
Three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert has entered the NBA's health and safety protocols and will miss the Minnesota Timberwolves' game against the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
Gobert has twice previously tested positive for COVID-19, in January last year and in March 2020 when he was the first NBA player to do, following a now famous press conference.
The French center's positive COVID-19 test in March 2020 led to the NBA being halted.
Gobert played 30 minutes in Friday's 115-102 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks with an illness before the Timberwolves announced he had protocols on Saturday.
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch was not concerned about the potential impact of Gobert playing on Friday to the rest of the roster.
There is no longer any mandatory quarantine period for players who enter the NBA's health and safety protocols.
Three-time All-Star Gobert, who moved to the Timberwolves from the Utah Jazz in the offseason, is averaging 12.6 points and 13.9 rebounds this season.
Xavi labelled Gerard Pique a "Barca legend" after the defender played his final game at Camp Nou before retirement.
Barcelona's 2-0 home win against Almeria on Saturday was Pique's last outing at the famous stadium prior to hanging up his boots, with second-half goals from Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong sealing the victory, making up for Robert Lewandowski missing an early penalty.
An emotional Pique was substituted in the 84th minute, receiving a standing ovation from the 92,605 fans in attendance and hugging each of his team-mates as he went off for the final time.
Speaking after the game, Xavi praised his former team-mate, with the Barca head coach saying: "He had a great game, we wanted to send him off in the best possible way.
"The bigger the game for him, the better he performed. I have already told him that he is a Barca legend and we are very thankful."
Xavi also mentioned the "beautiful" reception Pique received, though pointed out that some fans had recently not been as kind to the player, whistling in displeasure at him during the 3-0 win against Villarreal last month.
"Everything is beautiful today," he added. "The game, the performance, which was phenomenal. The tribute to Pique... We have to reconsider many times when we whistle at footballers. That doesn't add up.
"What adds up is this, 15 days ago there was whistling [at Pique]. He deserves this farewell. We have to realise that whistling doesn't help."
Appropriately for Pique, it was another clean sheet, meaning Barca have only conceded in one of their last 12 league games, which was the 3-1 defeat in El Clasico at Real Madrid, the only LaLiga game they have not won in that period.
Barca have conceded just four goals after 13 league games, equalling the lowest tally conceded at this stage of the competition in the top-flight (also four by Atletico Madrid in 1995-96).
Xavi was satisfied with the points that send Barca back to the top of LaLiga ahead of Madrid's trip to Rayo Vallecano on Monday, but felt they could have scored more after having 27 shots, the most they have managed in a league game this season.
"It was a complete match," he said. "I think the result could have been greater, it did not reflect the superiority of the team, but it gives us three points to continue in the fight."
Russell Henley carded the lowest 54-hole score of the season to pull six strokes clear at the final turn at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba on Saturday.
The 33-year-old American carded a six-under-par 65, following on from successive rounds of 63 to hold a significant advantage from the nearest contenders, Will Gordon and Patton Kizzire at 16 under. Henley has tallied 191 across the three rounds at El Camaleon Golf Club.
Only four players had a better third round than Henley, who went into the day's play with a three-shot lead. Henley's long putt for birdie on the par-three 15th hole was his 22nd birdie of the tournament.
Seamus Power, who won last week's Butterfield Bermuda Championship, enjoyed the round of the day with an eight-under 63 to be alone in third.
Power's round included four birdies and two eagles, with one of the latter being a 138-yard hole-in-one on the eighth.
The Irishman is behind Gordon and Kizzire at 15 under, with Troy Merritt and Brian Harman one shot behind at 14 under. Reigning back-to-back champion Viktor Hovland is a further stroke behind among a group of four players.
Greyson Sigg, who is 13-under overall, aced the 10th to join Power and make it two holes-in-one on the same day in excellent conditions.
Joel Dahmen went within a whisker of the second-ever hole-in-one on a par four in PGA Tour history, when his massive approach landed inches away from the flag on the 17th hole.
Caroline Garcia came out on top in an almighty battle with Daria Kasatkina to complete the WTA Finals semi-final line-up on Saturday.
The winner of the Tracy Austin Group match in Fort Worth knew they would face Maria Sakkari in the last four and it was world number six Garcia who got the job done.
Frenchwoman Garcia won 4-6 6-1 7-6 (7-5) in a topsy-turvy contest that was finally settled in two hours and 27 minutes.
Kasatkina won four games in a row to take the opening set, but sixth seed Garcia stormed back to level the match in emphatic fashion as her aggressive approach paid off.
Russian Kasatkina twice came from a break down in a tense decider and fended off six break points in the ninth game of the final set to hold for a 5-4 lead, but Garcia held her nerve in the tie-break to advance.
Garcia and Sakkari will do battle for a place in the final on Sunday, with the winner facing either Iga Swiatek or Aryna Sabalenka.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Garcia- 42/48
Kasatkina - 16/26
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Garcia - 4/2
Kasatkina - 1/8
BREAK POINTS WON
Garcia - 6/14
Kasatkina - 5/7
Novak Djokovic lavished Holger Rune with the highest praise before their showdown in the Paris Masters final, declaring: "He kind of reminds me of myself."
Serbian superstar Djokovic scraped past Stefanos Tsitsipas in their semi-final on Saturday, snatching a 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7-4) victory.
Now 19-year-old Danish player Rune awaits the 21-time grand slam winner in Sunday's title match, a clash of generations that is full of promise.
It will be a record 56th Masters 1000 final for Djokovic, and a first for Rune, who will climb to 10th in the world should he win.
Rune is already assured of at least 12th position on the ATP list, a career-high, after knocking out four top-10 players this week: Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz – who retired when trailing in their quarter-final – and Felix Auger-Aliassime, who he beat 6-4 6-2 on Saturday.
In his entire young career before this week, Rune had only beaten four players from the top 10, so this week marks a significant step, no matter how the final goes.
"No doubt that he's the future of the sport, along with Alcaraz and some other guys," Djokovic said. "Hopefully I can suspend his first title Masters 1000 event. We get along really well, good friends off the court.
"Of course on the court, we're competitors. I played him only once, at the last US Open, a good battle, four sets. He has improved a lot, no doubt. He physically is a very fit guy. He's young, so not much to lose. Just swinging through the ball.
"He kind of reminds me of myself, solid backhand and very good defence and just competitive, every point leaving his heart and his legs out there on the court. It's nice to see that. I think he's very good for our sport in general."
Djokovic said it was reassuring to fend off Tsitsipas, who had led by a break in the deciding tie-break.
"It means a lot mentally, emotionally for me, more than anything," said Djokovic. "I need to also make a statement that I'm still there with the young guys, that I'm able to compete with them and win such tight matches."
Six-time champion Djokovic has now reached an eighth final at this tournament, getting to the title match three times more than anyone else, with Boris Becker next on the list with five appearances.
Gerard Pique insisted it is "not farewell" after playing his final game for Barcelona at Camp Nou before retirement.
Pique was substituted to a standing ovation in the 84th minute of Barca's 2-0 win against Almeria on Saturday after second-half goals from Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong had set the Blaugrana on their way to an 11th win in their last 12 LaLiga games.
The 35-year-old announced the imminent end to his playing career earlier in the week, with the club agreeing to mutually terminate his contract prior to the start of the World Cup in Qatar later this month.
It is not yet clear whether Pique will play any part in Barca's final game before then, away to Osasuna on Tuesday, but it seems unlikely given his emotional departure against Almeria in which he hugged each of his team-mates.
Addressing the fans after the game with a microphone in hand, a tearful Pique said: "To want is to let go. There is so much love and passion between Barca and me.
"It was time to leave... [but] I am convinced that in the future I'll be here again. I already left and came back.
"This is not a farewell. I have been a member since I was born here, and I will die here."
The Barca players adorned special shirts before the game with "Sempr3" emblazoned on the front and Pique's name and number on the back, with the word 'sempre' meaning 'always' in Spanish, and Pique's number three replacing the 'e'.
Sergio Busquets also paid tribute to his team-mate with whom he has played at Barca since 2008 after the game, saying: "He leaves and incredible legacy. Playing for Barcelona means more to him than it does to anyone and we are going to miss him."
Olivier Giroud was "angry" with himself for forgetting he had already been booked when he whipped off his shirt to celebrate scoring Milan's late winner against Spezia.
Giroud came off the bench to snatch a 2-1 victory for the Rossoneri with an 89th-minute volley after being picked out by a superb Sandro Tonali pass.
The France striker was then given his marching orders, having been shown a yellow card six minutes before scoring his decisive goal.
Giroud has been in the thick of the action this week, scoring two goals and providing as many assists in a 4-0 thrashing of Salzburg that put Stefano Pioli's side in the Champions League round of 16.
The 36-year-old was frustrated that his earlier caution had slipped his mind after his clinical finish in the closing stages at San Siro.
"It was certainly a very nice goal, which came thanks to Tonali's assist," he told Sky Sport. "We wanted to win this match, the important thing is to have three points more in the standings but I'm angry because I forgot about the first yellow card."
Asked if he was not thinking clearly due to the ecstasy of scoring the winner, he replied: "Yes, football is like that. The adrenaline and the happiness of having given victory to the team after a difficult match has affected me.
"In my head I am still a child, but I have great faith in the team and also on Tuesday [against Cremonese] we will fight to win the three points."
Theo Hernandez put Milan in front with a first-half volley from close range, but Daniel Maldini equalised against his parent club with Spezia's first away goal of the season.
Tonali had a goal ruled out at 1-1 for a foul on M'Bala Nzola by Fikayo Tomori following a VAR check, but Giroud moved them six points behind Napoli in second place after the leaders beat Atalanta 2-1 earlier on Saturday.
Damian Penaud's fantastic late score helped France to a record-breaking 11th straight Test victory in an exhilarating 30-29 win over Australia at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Playing their first game since securing a Six Nations Grand Slam, Les Bleus – many people's tip for glory at their home World Cup next year – were not always at their coherent best.
But the hosts earned a dramatic late win via Penaud to rack up the best run in the nation's history and break Australian hearts in a barnstorming encounter.
Bernard Foley and Thomas Ramos exchanged a couple of penalties and Charles Ollivon had a score ruled out by the time Lalakai Foketi touched down in sensational fashion for the visitors.
Turning defence into attack, Len Ikitau fed Tom Wright, who outstripped Penaud and fed inside to debutant full-back Jock Campbell before he in turn found Foketi for a 95-metre try.
A couple of Ramos three-pointers and a Julien Marchand try had France, somewhat flatteringly, six points in front at the break but - after Foley and Ramos exchanged penalties again - Campbell's debut score and five more points from Foley had Australia in front.
Ramos and Reece Hodge this time swapped three-pointers before late drama ensued. Matthieu Jalibert broke and found Penaud, who jockeyed outside then inside Campbell before touching down and sending France into next week's encounter with world champions South Africa on the back on an enthralling triumph.
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