What to watch in sports this long weekend
Baseball playoffs, WNBA Finals and a big Canadian rugby match on tap
This is an excerpt from The Buzzer, which is CBC Sports' daily email newsletter. Stay up to speed on what's happening in sports by subscribing here.
Baseball playoffs
The biggest game so far in the post-season takes place tonight at 8 p.m. ET when the Los Angeles Dodgers host rival San Diego for the deciding Game 5 of their second-round series.
If the Dodgers lose, it'll be their fourth straight failure to reach the World Series despite having one of baseball's highest payrolls. The pressure is on 700-million-dollar man Shohei Ohtani, who's batting .250 with just one extra-base hit (a home run) and no stolen bases through his first four playoff games after hitting .310 with an historic 54 homers and 59 steals in the regular season.
Another deciding Game 5 is on tap for Saturday at 1 p.m. ET when Detroit visits Cleveland. The Guardians' Canadian first baseman Josh Naylor is hitting .250 through four playoff games and is still looking for his first homer after belting 31 in the regular season, while his brother Bo Naylor, a catcher, is 0-for-8. Canadian starting pitcher Cade Smith won Game 1 for Cleveland before coming on in relief last night to help his team to a series-extending 5-4 win.
The National League Championship Series opens Sunday at 8:15 p.m. ET with the New York Mets visiting the Dodgers or Padres, followed by Game 2 on Monday at 4 p.m. ET. The ALCS begins Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET with the Guardians or Tigers visiting the New York Yankees, who eliminated Kansas City last night.
WNBA Finals
The Minnesota Lynx trailed the top-ranked New York Liberty by 15 with five minutes left in last night's opener before rallying for a stunning 95-93 overtime win. Minnesota star Napheesa Collier made the go-ahead bucket with eight seconds left in OT and finished with a team-high 21 points, while Canadian starting forward Bridget Carleton had five points and three rebounds for the Lynx.
Game 2 of the best-of-five series goes Sunday at 3 p.m. ET in New York.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced last night that the Finals will expand to a best-of-seven next year while the regular season grows from 40 games to 44.
Football
Just one of the six CFL playoff spots remains up for grabs heading into the third-last weekend of the regular season. Toronto (8-7) can clinch it tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET with a win or a tie at Winnipeg (10-6), while a Blue Bombers victory or tie would give the hosts their fourth straight West Division title. Winnipeg can also secure the West if Saskatchewan (8-7-1) loses or ties against B.C. (8-8) on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. The Roughriders and Lions have already clinched playoff spots.
Sunday's best NFL matchup sees rookie-of-the-year frontrunner Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders (4-1) visit reigning MVP Lamar Jackson's Baltimore Ravens (3-2) at 1 p.m. ET for a clash between two of the league's most electrifying quarterbacks. On Monday night, Buffalo visits AFC East rival New York for the Jets' first game since firing head coach Robert Saleh and demoting Aaron Rodgers confidant Nathaniel Hackett from offensive coordinator to an unspecified role.
The game to watch in U.S. college ball is No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Oregon on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Top-ranked Texas visits No. 18 Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon while ex-No. 1 Alabama tries to bounce back from last week's shocking loss to unranked Vanderbilt when it faces South Carolina.
NHL
The first full weekend of the regular season features a dozen games on Saturday night. They include a Sidney Crosby visit to Toronto, an Ottawa-Montreal matchup and Connor McDavid vs. Connor Bedard as the Oilers try to rebound from their season-opening 6-0 loss to Winnipeg.
Edmonton visits Calgary on Sunday night, while Monday's slate features three matinee games. Those include Ottawa vs. L.A. and a pair of all-U.S. matchups as Americans observe Columbus Day.
Women's rugby
Canada, ranked second in the world, will face top-ranked England for the championship at the World Rugby WXV tournament in Vancouver on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. ET PT.
The six-team WXV (women's 15-a-side) follows a straight round-robin format, and Canada and England are both 2-0 heading into the tournament finale. Canada defeated fourth-ranked France on Sept. 29 and beat sixth-ranked Ireland last weekend.
The WXV is a warmup for this summer's Women's Rugby World Cup in England. Ten teams have already qualified for the 16-team event, including Canada, England and reigning champion New Zealand. A draw on Thursday will determine the groupings for the opening stage.
