The Los Angeles Dodgers are heading into the playoffs on the right foot after a convincing 6-1 home win against the Colorado Rockies in their regular season finale on Wednesday.

With the win, the Dodgers finished the season 111-51, setting a new franchise record as they totaled the fourth-most wins in MLB history and the most by a National League (NL) team since 1906.

The NL record is held by the Chicago Cubs from 1906 with 116 wins. The Dodgers' 111-win season is the equal fourth best in MLB history.

It was a stylish final outing for Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, who gave up one run from one hit and one walk in his five innings, striking out nine batters. 

At the plate, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman did all he could in his last-gasp attempt to win the National League batting title, going three-for-four with a home run to raise his batting average to .325 – finishing .001 behind the New York Mets' Jeff McNeil (.326).

Fellow All-Star Trea Turner also hit a home run for the Dodgers as he went two-for-four with three RBIs, and center-fielder Cody Bellinger collected a deep-ball of his own as five of the Dodgers' six runs scored via home runs.

The Dodgers will play the winner of the Wild Card game between the Mets and the San Diego Padres in the NLDS.

Arraez wins the AL batting title

Luis Arraez risked losing the American League (AL) batting title by suiting up in the Minnesota Twins' 10-1 win against the Chicago White Sox.

Arraez came into the day with the lead at .315, with his only threat, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees at .311 and not playing on the final day.

But fittingly, Arraez did not record an out, collecting two walks and a double before being pulled. 

Incredibly, it is the third-best batting average from Arraez's four years in the league, posting a .334 in 2019 before going .321 on a small sample size in 2020. His 'down' year in 2021 was still a very strong .294.

Ohtani, Trout end the season in fitting fashion

As has been the story of their time with the Los Angeles Angels, both Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout were excellent, but could not stop their team from losing 3-2 against the Oakland Athletics.

Ohtani only gave up one run from one hit and one walk in his five innings on the mound, lowering his ERA for the season to a magnificent 2.33. It is the sixth-lowest ERA in the league, while he is also 11th in home runs hit with 34.

He went one-for-four with a single at the plate, while Trout hit his 40th home run of the season to finish tied for third in the majors. No other player in the top 15 has played fewer than 130 games, while Trout played 119.

In a feel-good story, after announcing his retirement, Oakland's Stephen Vogt hit a home run with his last ever swing on a day where his children were allowed to do his introduction over the PA system at the start of the game.

Draymond Green may face disciplinary action from the Golden State Warriors after a "physical altercation" with Jordan Poole at team practice, according to reports.

The Athletic's Shams Charania claims that Green and Poole needed to be separated after a heated interaction escalated during practice on Wednesday.

The players reportedly came chest to chest and pushed and shoved one another, before Green escalated the altercation.

The incident, which occurred on the second day of Golden State's training camp, forced the Warriors to stop practice and exit for the locker room to defuse the situation.

Four-time All-Star Green, who had 7.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game last season, is known for his physical approach to the game.

The Warriors are preparing for their title defence in 2022-23, after beating the Boston Celtics 4-2 in last season's NBA Finals.

Poole enjoyed a breakout season in Golden State's triumphant 2021-22 campaign, averaging a career-best 18.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists, and is in line for a big contract extension.

It is safe to say 2021-22 was a season to forget for the Los Angeles Lakers.

A record of 33-49 meant failure to even reach the play-in tournament, unthinkable at the start of the campaign.

The Lakers finished 11th in the Western Conference, and only managed a measly three wins from 13 against Pacific Division opponents.

They actually won five of their first eight games, but by the end of the season they had reached peak crisis-mode.

Heading into their final 10 games, the Lakers knew they needed to win several to get into the playoffs, before proceeding to lose eight in a row, with two consolation victories saving a minimal amount of face.

It was quite the failure, and yet LeBron James did not seem to think twice about signing a new two-year, $97.1million contract extension that includes a player option for 2024-25.

Before the new season gets underway, Stats Perform has taken a look at the Lakers' prospects to try and determine if there is cause for optimism, or if James could be left to carry the load on his own once again.

Can LeBron get Lakers out of a jam?

The man has four NBA championships, four Finals MVPs, four NBA MVPs, 17 All-Star selections and three All-Star MVPs to his name, but this could be his biggest challenge to date.

Basketball is clearly a team sport, but as James knows all too well, it's not unusual for one player to play so well that he can carry a team to success almost single-handedly.

That did not happen last season, despite his best efforts, which goes to show just how poorly the rest of the team performed.

James scored 1,695 points in just 56 games at an average of 30.3 points per game, his best regular season return since 2005-06, and only Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers averaged more (30.6).

He also reached a notable landmark in March, becoming the first player in NBA history to record 10,000 assists and 10,000 rebounds in a career.

Of course, one of the issues was that he only managed to play 56 games, and as James turns 38 in December, is he likely to be more involved this year?

Even if he is, his impressive numbers last season achieved little in terms of the team's outcome, so will he get more help this time round? Perhaps, if the new coach can make an impact.

Can Ham sandwich Westbrook into his team?

The dismissal of Frank Vogel was about the most predictable thing that happened at the end of last season.

Just as you thought the Lakers were pulling out of danger, the wheels would fall off again, which was a recurring theme throughout the campaign, with Vogel unable to maintain any consistency.

His replacement, Darvin Ham, comes highly rated and with a quiet confidence he can step up having impressed as assistant at the Milwaukee Bucks.

One of his first jobs will be to form a unit out of his key players, in particular finding a way to get James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook on the court together as often as possible.

While not perfect, the Lakers did win 11 of their 21 games last season when all three featured, but had losing records when only two, one or none of them played, including defeat all five games where only Westbrook played of the three.

Westbrook actually recorded his worst scoring season since 2009-10, failing to average over 20 points per game for the first time since then (18.5).

His rebound and assist numbers were also well down on those he produced at the Washington Wizards in 2020-21, with average rebounds falling from 11.5 to 7.4, and assists from 11.7 to 7.1.

He was, at least, available though, making 78 appearances, while James played 56 times, and Davis just 40.

AD's lack of availability could potentially the biggest issue, as he also only managed 36 outings in 2020-21, meaning he has played less basketball in the last two years than Westbrook did last season.

However, he is – for the time being – fit now, and after the Lakers' opening preseason encounter with the Sacramento Kings on Monday, Ham said of the trio: "They allowed themselves to help one another… we have a three-series that involves all three of them, a half-court play call, and I think they're gonna thrive."

There have been persistent rumours the Lakers will trade Westbrook, but Ham is seemingly working towards life with the 33-year-old, also saying on Monday: "I have a plan for him. That plan included him when they gave me the job."

Keeping them fit is one thing, albeit mostly out of Ham's hands, but if he can find a way of getting the most out of them when they are available to him, and can coax the Wizards form out of Westbrook, that could be the support James so badly needs.

A new face and a familiar one

The consensus was that the Lakers needed fresh blood, rather than relying on older players to rediscover their magic.

So naturally, they brought in 34-year-old Patrick Beverley and re-signed nine-year NBA veteran Dennis Schroder.

In fairness, there does appear to be method in the two acquisitions. Beverley was crucial for the Minnesota Timberwolves as they returned to the playoffs last season, averaging 9.2 points in his 54 games, as well as 4.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 34.3 per cent of his three-pointers.

Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka also pointed to his "toughness" and "competitive spirit", possibly suggesting Beverley has been signed as much to inspire his team-mates as much as what he can do with the ball in hand.

Schroder was an interesting pick-up given the German shooting guard's struggles in the playoff exit to the Phoenix Suns in 2020-21, before leaving for the Boston Celtics.

Overall though, he had a good record of 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 61 games that season, and rumours are that James played a key role in getting him back to LA.

Just make the playoffs and go from there

There are definitely things to work with for Ham, but it is also far from a simple job.

While he was pleased with the showing from his main men against the Kings, he will have been alarmed to see the drop-off once he made changes in the second half.

Leading by five points at half-time, the Lakers went on to lose by 30 at the Crypto.com Arena.

They tip off with the hardest possible job of stopping Stephen Curry and the defending champion Golden State Warriors on October 18, but an NBA season is a marathon and not a sprint.

The Lakers do not need to be perfect, but Ham has the regular season to find the right formula and as a minimum, reach the playoffs.

Then just see where James can take them in the situation he has so often thrived in, assuming he gets more help this time.

Iga Swiatek is through to the quarter-finals of the Ostrava Open after Ajla Tomljanovic retired hurt in their second-round match on Wednesday.

The world number one had won the first set 7-5, but her Australian opponent was forced to concede at 2-2 in the second.

Swiatek is now the female player with the most wins in a single year (58) in the last five seasons. Former world number one Ash Barty recorded 57 victories in 2019.

The second seed in Ostrava is out after Paula Badosa was beaten 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 by Petra Kvitova in front of a delighted Czech crowd, while Elena Rybakina is also through to the last eight after coming from behind to win against Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 7-5.

Wednesday's two other matches saw more success for Czech participants as Karolina Muchova beat seventh seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-4 6-4, while Barbora Krejcikova defeated Shelby Rogers 6-2 6-2.

There was less Czech joy at the Jasmin Open in Tunisia, where Katerina Siniakova was beaten 7-5 6-2 by Claire Liu.

Elsewhere, number three seed Alize Cornet eased past Harriet Dart 6-3 6-4, Elise Mertens came from behind to beat Despina Papamichail and Diane Parry went through against French compatriot Lucrezia Stefanini after the latter retired hurt in the second set.

Tom Brady did not take part in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice on Wednesday as the 45-year-old quarterback deals with nagging injuries to his right shoulder and finger.

Brady acknowledged he played through some shoulder soreness during the Buccaneers' 41-31 home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday when speaking on his weekly radio show on SiriusXM. The seven-time Super Bowl champion appeared to be in a bit of discomfort after taking a hit on a second-quarter sack that resulted in a fumble the Chiefs recovered.

"My shoulder's doing OK," Brady said on Monday’s Let's Go! broadcast. "You know, just some bumps and bruises, and I kind of took a hit there on it. Got some treatment [Monday].

"This week will be very similar to a lot of the other ones, just getting on the mend, getting back to practice and trying to improve and be ready to go for next week."

Brady was listed on last week's injury report with the finger issue, which is considered minor and did not prevent him from practising in full. The three-time NFL MVP threw for a season-high 385 yards and three touchdowns while completing 39 of 52 passes against Kansas City.

NFL.com reported in September that the Buccaneers were planning on having Brady take Wednesday practices off throughout the season in an effort to reduce wear and tear on his body during his 23rd NFL campaign.

Brady is still expected to make his 323rd career regular-season start when the Buccaneers host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Myles Garrett returned to practice with the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday, nine days after the star pass rusher sustained multiple injuries in a single-car accident.

It was the first day he was back on the field since September 26, when the 26-year-old lost control of his Porsche while speeding, veered off the road and flipped it over.

The two-time All-Pro suffered a sprained shoulder, strained biceps, cuts, bruises and a broken eye blood vessel in the accident, forcing him to miss last Sunday's 23-20 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

''Good to have Myles even in the walkthrough, just having his presence and having him in the meetings,'' Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said before practice.

''He's a big part of what we do, so good to have him back out there. I haven't seen him practice yet. He's worked out, obviously off to the side. But I get to watch practice today and get a good feel for where he is.''

Stefanski said the team will monitor his progress throughout the week before deciding if he can suit up for Sunday's home game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

While Garrett was back practicing, fellow All-Pro defensive end Jadeveon Clowney remained sidelined.

Clowney has missed the last two games with an ankle sprain, and without their two formidable defensive ends in Week 4, the Browns were gashed for 202 yards rushing after allowing an average of 83.7 yards on the ground in their first three games combined.

Stefanski remains hopeful Clowney will be able to practice later in the week.

"I think they are both on two different progressions, and we'll treat them as such," Stefanski said. "See how Myles looks today and then obviously just kind of wait and see with Jadeveon.

The LIV Golf Invitational Series has announced a partnership with the little-known MENA Tour in a bid to gain recognition from the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).

The OWGR does not currently recognise the LIV circuit, and several of the Saudi Arabia-backed tour's most high-profile players have expressed frustration at their inability to pick up ranking points.

Cameron Smith said last month that the awarding of ranking points at LIV events "would mean a lot", but some players on the rival PGA Tour have been less sympathetic.

Both Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas have said LIV players can only blame themselves if they fail to qualify for majors, but the breakaway circuit may have found a way to earn the OWGR's blessing.

The MENA Tour – a feeder circuit that operates in the Middle East and North Africa – announced the formation of a "strategic alliance" with LIV Golf on Wednesday. 

A statement from the MENA Tour said the agreement "will result in LIV Golf Invitational events becoming part of and sanctioned by the MENA Tour", which has been recognised by the OWGR since 2016.

"This is a very exciting day for the MENA Tour and our players," said commissioner David Spencer. 

"Through this alliance, our players will now have enhanced playing opportunities and stronger pathways. This is great news for the future of many young players on our tour."

LIV Golf president Atul Khosla added: "We are taking this mutually beneficial action to support the game at the developmental level and because of the importance and fairness of LIV golfers qualifying for OWGR points.

"We're pleased to create pathways that give more opportunities for young players, while also giving fans rankings that include all the world's best golfers."

However, reports have noted the OWGR is yet to ratify the move, while the ranking points awarded are likely to be minimal should LIV events continue to employ smaller 48-player fields and take place over just three rounds

In fantasy football, it’s often the ones you least suspect.

Every week, there are surprise stars who seemingly come out of nowhere to deliver performances that prove decisive in fantasy matchups.

Unexpected contributors are the theme of this week’s fantasy picks.

The players mentioned are not unknowns, but they either have matchups that would not be expected to deliver fantasy success or feature for teams that have surprisingly become relevant in both the NFL and fantasy worlds.

As usual, Stats Perform has backed up its selections of four offensive players and a defense with advanced data that supports their case for inclusion in fantasy lineups this week.
 

Quarterback: Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans @ Washington Commanders

Tannehill is approaching the end of his time as the Titans' starter, but he still holds value for a Tennessee team looking to recover from a slow start to win a bad AFC South and for fantasy players eyeing a matchup to exploit this week.

That matchup comes in the form of a Commanders defense that has allowed over seven yards per pass and has given up 10 passing touchdowns, tied for the most in the NFL.

With Tannehill delivering an accurate, well-thrown ball on 87.6 per cent of his pass attempts – the third-best ratio among quarterbacks with at least 50 attempts – he is in a strong position to see his consistent accuracy rewarded on Sunday despite the relative lack of playmaking talent around him.

Running Back: Saquon Barkley, New York Giants @ Green Bay Packers

Most in the NFL world will be anticipating the Giants to come back down to earth against the Packers in the second London game of the season.

While the Packers are heavy favourites to slow New York’s fast start to the season, the odds of them halting Barkley's renaissance look slim.

No player in the NFL is averaging more yards per game than Barkley's 115.8, while a Packers defense that has traditionally struggled against the run is surrendering 4.97 yards per rush, the 11th-most in the league.

Hopes of progress for the Packers on run defense have yet to be realised, and Barkley should take advantage of their fallibility on the ground.

Wide Receiver: George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers @ Buffalo Bills

This is less about the matchup, which is an awful one for Pittsburgh, and more about opportunity for rookie receiver Pickens, who figures to be one of Kenny Pickett's favourite targets as the rookie quarterback makes his first career start.

Over the last two weeks, Pickens has been targeted 15 times, and he enjoyed the best game of his young career so far against the New York Jets, catching six of his eight targets 102 yards in a game Pickett entered for the second half.

The Buffalo defense is substantially better than that of the Jets, allowing only 4.75 yards per pass play. Yet the Bills are still dealing with injuries in the secondary and Pickens, whose big-play rate of 38.6 per cent is 10th among receivers with at least 20 targets, has the all-round game to turn the attention he will get from Pickett into production regardless of the difficult matchup.

Tight End: Tyler Conklin, New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins

There's such a lack of depth at tight end for fantasy football purposes that it's necessary to take a few swings if you're stuck for an answer at the position.

Conklin represents such a swing but is one you can have more confidence in after his impressive Week 4.

He demonstrated chemistry with Zach Wilson on the quarterback's return from a knee injury, hauling in three catches for 52 yards in the Jets' surprise win over the Steelers. Conklin was targeted five times and registered a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup with a defender when targeted, on all five.

This week, the Jets face a Miami defense that has conceded 7.43 yards per pass play this season. Only the Seattle Seahawks (8.24) have fared worse by that measure. If Wilson and Conklin continue to build their rapport, the latter could prove an astute fantasy play by those managers who take a chance on him.

Defense/Special Teams: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans

The Jaguars being competitive with the unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles a week after stunning the Los Angeles Chargers illustrated just how far they have come in so little time under Doug Pederson.

Very few thought the Jags would quickly be in the mix for the AFC South but that is where they stand, with a diverse and aggressive defense playing a huge role in Jacksonville's progress.

The Jags have forced 27 negative plays this season, tied for the eighth-most among NFL defenses. The winless Texans, meanwhile, have seen their offense suffer 26 negative plays for minus 121 yards. Only four teams have lost more yardage on those plays this season.

Tied third in the NFL for takeaways with nine, look for a defense nobody saw coming to make the most of a favourable matchup and get Jacksonville back on track.

The Indianapolis Colts have ruled running-back Jonathan Taylor out of contention for Thursday's clash against the Denver Broncos due to an ankle injury.

Taylor suffered a twisted ankle in Sunday's defeat to the Tennessee Titans but was hopeful that he would be able to feature in the opening game of Week 5.

"I definitely do plan to play, but if you can't go you can't go. That's why you have to get as much treatment as you can," he said on Tuesday.

However, the Colts announced on Wednesday that Taylor was among four players officially listed as out for the meeting in Denver, alongside safety Julian Blackmon (ankle), linebacker Shaquille Leonard (concussion/nose/back) and defensive end Tyquan Lewis.

Nyheim Hines is likely set to see increased usage on the ground in Taylor's absence, having largely been an aerial presence for the Colts this season – just 11 of his 124 yards in 2022 coming from rushing plays.

The Colts stand 1-2-1 for the season ahead of facing the Broncos, who they boast a 7-3 record against from their last 10 meetings.

Veteran wide receiver Cole Beasley has decided to retire from the NFL after 11 seasons.

His agents told NFL.com on Wednesday that Beasley was bringing an end to his career just two weeks after signing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After going unsigned as a free agent this offseason, Beasley joined the Bucs on September 21 with the team hit by a rash of injuries at receiver. 

The 33-year-old played in two games but only contributed 17 yards on four receptions.

"He is ready to be with his family after playing in 11 seasons, and it's time to be a full-time dad and husband," Beasley's agent Justin Turner said.

Beasley had been coming off two productive seasons with the Buffalo Bills. 

After recording career highs of 82 receptions and 967 receiving yards in 2020, the Texas native matched that catch total last season while posting 693 yards.

Considered undersized by most scouts, the 5-foot-8, 174-pound Beasley went undrafted despite producing two 1,000-yard seasons in college at SMU. 

He made Dallas' roster in 2012 and spent his first seven seasons with the Cowboys before signing a four-year, $29million contract with the Bills in 2019.

Beasley finishes his career with 554 receptions, 5,726 yards and 34 touchdowns in 151 regular-season games.

He also played in 11 postseason games during his time with Dallas and Buffalo.

Conor Benn expects his fight with Chris Eubank Jr to go ahead, despite being "prohibited" by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) after he failed a drug test.

Saturday's bout at London's O2 Arena was placed in jeopardy on Wednesday after it was revealed Benn had tested positive for female fertility drug clomifene.

The positive sample showed up in one of welterweight fighter Benn's recent tests, leading to the BBBofC to state that the fight was "not in the interests of boxing".

But Benn continued with his preparations as planned on Wednesday by taking part in an open workout session and feels the showdown will go ahead as planned. 

"I've not committed any violations and I've not been suspended, so as far as I'm concerned the fight is still going ahead," he told Matchroom's YouTube channel.

"I've signed up to every voluntary anti-doping test under the sun. Throughout my whole career I'm tested and I've always come back negative. I've never had any issues before. 

"My team will find out why there has been an initial adverse finding, but as far as I'm concerned the fight is going ahead. I'm a clean athlete and we'll get to the bottom of this."

Matchroom, Benn's representatives, had earlier said his "B sample had yet to be tested, meaning there is no rule violation and he is not suspended".

Benn added that he has spoken to Eubank Jr personally and that both "want the fight to happen for the fans".

However, speaking at his own workout, Eubank Jr said: "There was no phone call [with Benn]. We haven't spoken. 

"No phone call. We haven't spoken since this has been announced, and it's a shame you know. But my promoters, his promoters, the BBBofC they are going to sort this out."

The Eubank-Benn rivalry goes back over 30 years, with the fighters' respective fathers – Chris Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn – having fought in 1990 and 1993.

Eubank Sr won the first fight, with the second finishing as a split draw.

The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) has delayed its decision over potential Formula One budget cap breaches by Red Bull and Aston Martin until October 10.

F1's governing body, which had been expected to release its Certificates of Compliance for the 2021 season on Wednesday, has made a five-day postponement to its decision amid ongoing furore.

Red Bull, whose driver Max Verstappen won the Drivers' World Championship in a controversial finale last year, are one of two teams alleged by rivals to have breached the competition's fiscal limits.

Principal Christian Horner has reiterated confidence in his team and threatened his counterpart at Mercedes, Toto Wolff, with legal action over his claims.

But the wait to discover just whether Red Bull committed a breach will now last until next week.

"The FIA informs that the conclusion of the analysis of the 2021 financial submissions of the Formula One teams and the subsequent release of Certificates of Compliance to the Financial Regulations will not take place on Wednesday, 5 October," the organisation stated.

"The analysis of financial submissions is a long and complex process that is ongoing and will be concluded to enable the release of the Certificates on Monday, 10 October.

"The Financial Regulations were agreed unanimously by all Competitors, who have worked positively and collaboratively with the FIA Cost Cap Administration throughout this first year under the Financial Regulations.

"As previously communicated, there has been significant and unsubstantiated speculation and conjecture in relation to this matter, and the FIA reiterates that until it is finalised, no further information will be provided.

"The FIA also reiterates that any suggestion that FIA personnel have disclosed sensitive information is equally baseless."

Punishment is likely to follow if Red Bull are deemed to have committed a breach, though the extent of whether it would strip Verstappen of his maiden world title is unknown.