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With a chance to bolster its position in the top four of the Western Conference table, Los Angeles FC hosts Atlanta United on Saturday in its penultimate regular-season home game. Los Angeles FC (15-7-8, 53 points) is riding a season-high four-game winning streak and trails third-seeded Minnesota United by two points with two games in hand entering the weekend. Los Angeles has outscored its opponents 15-4 across the four-game stretch, the club's most goals in four games since July 2019. In the team's last six MLS matches, Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-Min have combined to score all 17 goals for Los Angeles. Bouanga's 23 goals rank second in Major League Soccer, while Son has scored eight goals in eight games since signing with Los Angeles on August 6. "Those are two really good players," LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said. "The other eight players on the field are doing a great job of putting them in positions to succeed. We really see this as a team effort. Those are the guys finishing plays at the moment, but the amount of work that goes into those plays by everybody is wonderful to watch. … I'm a very happy coach right now to see everything functioning." On paper, Los Angeles is playing the right opponent if it wants to extend its winning streak. Atlanta (5-14-12, 27 points) has just one league victory since May 28, a 1-0 win at Nashville on August 30. With three games left, the club is in danger of finishing with fewer than six wins in a season for the first time in franchise history. Atlanta was held scoreless for the 11th time in a 2-0 defeat against the New England Revolution last Saturday. In arguably Atlanta's most disappointing season to date, head coach Ronny Deila summed up the team's issues. "We are too — I've used this expression many times this year — soft," Deila said. "You cannot go away and not dig in and fight and win challenges. That's what it starts with, and I think (New England) wanted it more than us today, and that's very sad to say." Atlanta, which has a minus-20 goal differential, is led by Emmanuel Latte Lath's seven goals, followed by Alexey Miranchuk's six. –Field Level Media

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Oct 4 (Stats Perform) – Results from the NHL games on Friday (home team in CAPS) PITTSBURGH 5 Buffalo 4

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South Africa's Garrick Higgo followed up his 7-under-par 65 on Thursday with a 66 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead (-13) into the weekend of the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Miss. Taylor Montgomery carded the low round of the tournament, a 9-under-par 63, and was knotted with Eric Cole at 12 under, one stroke behind Higgo. Danny Walker, who started the day tied with Higgo and Cole for the lead, is two shots behind after carding a 4-under 68. Higgo, 26, birdied four of the final seven holes at the Country Club of Jackson layout. The former UNLV standout earned his second PGA Tour victory earlier this year in mid-April at the Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic. For Higgo, the key was keeping the ball out of the thick Bermuda rough. "I don't know what worked the best, but my tee shots were similar to yesterday, like I kept it in play," he said. "For me, whenever I think — obviously for everybody else as well, like the more fairways, the more greens I can hit, like I feel like I can take advantage of my putter, give myself a lot of looks, and I'll make my fair share." Three players are tied for fifth place at 10 under — South Korea's Tom Kim, Frankie Capan III and Vince Whaley. Higgo finished T7 at the Procore Championship three weeks ago, but was able to play the final round with winner Scottie Scheffler. The experience was invaluable. "Yeah, I learned a lot. I couldn't tell you how much I learned, but I learned so much just by watching. He's an inspiration for all of us. He's set the bar so high. It's just phenomenal how high his skill level is." Montgomery, 30, started on the back nine and parred the first five holes. Then, he ignited, birdieing seven in a row en route to his 63. Montgomery also competed at UNLV, but exited the program the year before Higgo arrived in Las Vegas. He struggled out of the gate this year, but has a pair of top-12 finishes in his last four PGA Tournament starts. "This year has been a lot of like kind of tinkering and messing around," said Montgomery. "My swing has gotten a lot better, but I was working on that. Now if I can take how I play at home out here to tournament golf, I think — it's more like what I've done today." Higgo will be paired with Cole and Montgomery will play alongside Walker on Saturday. –Field Level Media

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Oct 4 (OPTA) – Summaries for the Premier League on Friday (start times are BST) AFC Bournemouth (0) 3 Scorers: A. Semenyo 78, J. Kluivert 84, A. Semenyo 90+6 Subs used: Álex Jiménez 61 (Hill), Kluivert 61 (Tavernier), Gannon-Doak 78 (Senesi), Christie 78 (Adams), Milosavljević 85 (Brooks) Fulham (0) 1 Scorers: R. Sessegnon 70 Yellow card: Diop 76 Subs used: Cairney 14 (Lukić), Chukwueze 67 (Wilson), Kevin 67 (King), Smith Rowe 86 (Diop), Adama Traoré 86 (Iwobi) Attendance: 11165 Referee: Simon Hooper ……………………………………………………….. Saturday, October 4 fixtures (BST/GMT) Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur (1130) Arsenal v West Ham United (1400) Manchester United v Sunderland (1400) Chelsea v Liverpool (1630) Sunday, October 5 fixtures (BST/GMT) Aston Villa v Burnley (1300) Everton v Crystal Palace (1300) Newcastle United v Nottingham Forest (1300) Wolverhampton Wanderers v Brighton & Hove Albion (1300) Brentford v Manchester City (1530)

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Oct 4 (OPTA) – Standings for the Premier League on Saturday P W D L F A Pts 1 Liverpool 6 5 0 1 12 7 15 2 Bournemouth 7 4 2 1 11 8 14 3 Arsenal 6 4 1 1 12 3 13 4 Crystal Palace 6 3 3 0 8 3 12 ……………………………………. 5 Tottenham 6 3 2 1 11 4 11 ……………………………………. 6 Sunderland 6 3 2 1 7 4 11 7 Man City 6 3 1 2 14 6 10 ……………………………………. 8 Chelsea 6 2 2 2 11 8 8 9 Everton 6 2 2 2 7 6 8 10 Brighton 6 2 2 2 9 9 8 11 Fulham 7 2 2 3 8 11 8 12 Leeds 6 2 2 2 6 9 8 13 Brentford 6 2 1 3 9 11 7 14 Man Utd 6 2 1 3 7 11 7 15 Newcastle 6 1 3 2 4 5 6 16 Aston Villa 6 1 3 2 4 6 6 17 Nottm Forest 6 1 2 3 5 10 5 ……………………………………. 18 Burnley 6 1 1 4 6 13 4 19 West Ham 6 1 1 4 6 14 4 20 Wolves 6 0 1 5 4 13 1 1-4: Champions League 5: Europa League 6-7: Europa League depending on domestic cup 18-20: Relegation

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A little more than six months ago, catcher Cal Raleigh sat in an interview room at T-Mobile Park to discuss the six-year, $105 million contract extension he signed with the Seattle Mariners. He was back in the same spot Friday, talking about his record-setting season and the best-of-five American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, which is set to begin Saturday. Raleigh hit an MLB-leading 60 home runs, shattering the marks for most by a primary catcher (Salvador Perez, 48 in 2021) and by a switch-hitter (Mickey Mantle, 54 in 1961). In addition, Raleigh won the Home Run Derby at the All- Star Game in Atlanta with his father pitching and his little brother catching. "I mean, it's been a crazy year," Raleigh said. "First off, I mean, obviously getting to win the (AL) West last week was something super special, and it's something we haven't done in 20-plus years. It was just nice to enjoy it with the guys, let the guard down, really just celebrate with them. And like I said, something that hasn't been done in a long time. So it meant a little more doing that, and doing that was amazing. "And yeah, with the rest of this stuff, you know, contracts and then everything that kind of came after that with the hot start, and then, you know, the Home Run Derby, and what felt like every single day, you know, some stat being thrown around there, it being talked about, you know, on TV or whatever. So it was just crazy, something I never thought would happen and something — I don't really have much words. It's been a crazy kind of ride this year." The division champion Mariners, making just their second playoff appearance since 2001, hope that ride continues. Manager Dan Wilson announced Friday that with All-Star Bryan Woo still recovering from a strained pectoral muscle, right-hander George Kirby (10-8, 4.21 ERA) will pitch the opener. Kirby also started the Mariners' lone home playoff game in 2022, pitching seven scoreless innings in a game Houston won 1-0 in 18 innings to wrap up a series sweep. "Super honored," Kirby said. "It's a big game and something you always dream of, to start Game 1 or any game in the playoffs." The Tigers, who went the distance to defeat host Cleveland in the best-of- three AL wild-card series, will counter with rookie Troy Melton (3-2, 2.76), who made four regular-season starts. Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, who pitched 7 2/3 innings Tuesday in a 2-1 victory against Cleveland, will remain on regular rest and start Sunday in Game 2. "I let Troy know on the plane (Thursday) night that he was going to start, and we're excited to hand him the ball," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "Plus stuff, great demeanor, the ability to handle what's probably going to be the most excitable outing for him in a couple months' worth of major league outings." Melton pitched one-third of an inning of relief Wednesday in a 6-1 loss, giving up four runs on three hits. "I had good stuff. Nothing I'm really too concerned with as far as that," Melton said. "They put three good swings on three mistakes that I made, and that's the name of the game." While the Mariners went on a 17-1 run late in the regular season to clinch the division title, the Tigers blew a record 15 1/2-game lead to finish second in the AL Central. Dillon Dingler's homer in the sixth inning broke a 1-all tie Thursday and they went on to score four more runs in the seventh to beat the Guardians 6-3 in the decisive Game 3. "We were on quite a journey to start the season. We race out. We have this big lead. We get a lot of love and a lot of attention and a lot of power rankings and all the stuff that doesn't mean anything at the point of the season until you get to the finish line," Hinch said. "So we've had to deal with a lot. Maybe that hardened us. Maybe that toughened us up. … We've always had a ton of confidence, and we're coming off a big series win that we hope to carry that momentum into playing the Mariners." –Field Level Media

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The Chicago Cubs will start Matthew Boyd in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the host Milwaukee Brewers on three days' rest on Saturday. Boyd threw 58 pitches over 4 1/3 innings on Tuesday in Chicago's wild-card opener, allowing one run in a no-decision as the Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 3-1. He was monitored through a Friday workout before the team finalized the decision about the Saturday starter. Manager Craig Counsell acknowledged the request is unusual, with Boyd not having pitched on short rest all season. "We wouldn't make this decision, this would not be a decision (if he was coming off) a six-inning start or a 90-pitch start," Counsell said. "We would not be considering this. But, yeah, I think he had his head on it, probably when he got in the dugout. Yeah, and he's asked repeatedly about it." The left-hander has pitched on three days' rest three times in his career, most recently on Oct. 1, 2022 in a relief appearance for the Seattle Mariners. The last short-rest start for Boyd came on Aug. 22, 2017, when he was a member of the Detroit Tigers. Boyd has posted a 4.70 ERA over 15 1/3 innings during his career on short rest. "I think our staff does a great job of preparing us to have success when the time comes, whatever role we're in or whatever the opponent," Boyd said. "They do an amazing job in preparing us to get to where we need to go." Boyd even got loose in the ninth inning of the Thursday clincher against the Padres as part of his between-start routine. "He was willing to take the ball yesterday, so that tells you," Counsell said Friday. In the regular season, Boyd went 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA in 31 starts. For his career in the postseason, he is 0-0 with a 1.10 ERA in five games (four starts). He has poor career numbers against the Brewers, though: 2-2 with a 9.00 ERA in five starts. This year, he lost at Milwaukee on July 28 after yielding five runs on six hits and five walks in five innings, and he beat the Brewers in Chicago on Aug. 19 despite permitting four runs on six hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings. The Cubs' rotation likely will feature left-hander Shota Imanaga on normal rest for Game 2 in Milwaukee and right-hander Jameson Taillon for Game 3 in Chicago. Rookie Cade Horton is out for the NLDS because of a fractured right rib. –Field Level Media

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* Draft design shows Trump in profile on front of coin * Reverse shows US president with clenched fist * Final design not yet selected, Treasury says (Adds details in paragraphs 1-3, legality debate in paragraphs 8-10, bullets) By Costas Pitas and Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury on Friday released a draft design for a $1 coin featuring President Donald Trump to commemorate 250 years since the declaration of American independence in 2026. The front of the potential design showed Trump in profile with the word "liberty" above him and "1776-2026" below, according to images shared by Treasurer Brandon Beach on X and subsequently released by Treasury. The other side of the coin showed Trump holding a raised clenched fist framed with the words "fight, fight, fight" – a reference to what he said immediately after surviving an assassination attempt last year – and a flag in the background. DEBATE ON DESIGN'S LEGALITY "While a final $1 dollar coin design has not yet been selected to commemorate the United States' semiquincentennial, this first draft reflects well the enduring spirit of our country and democracy, even in the face of immense obstacles," a Treasury spokesperson said in a statement. Beach said on X that more information would be shared following the end of the government shutdown, which has suspended many federal operations while lawmakers remain at an impasse over a new spending bill. Congress in 2020 passed a law that allows the Treasury Secretary to mint $1 coins in 2026 "with designs emblematic of the U.S. semiquincentennial." Debate quickly erupted on social media about the proposed coin, given that the law specifically says "no head and shoulders portrait or bust of any person, living or dead, and no portrait of a living person may be included in the design on the reverse of any coin" created to mark the U.S. anniversary. The proposed design features a wider illustration of Trump on the reverse side, a move that legal experts said would fall outside the ban on a "head and shoulders portrait or bust." An 1866 law mandates that no living person's portrait can be used on U.S. currency, but that refers to paper money produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Coins are minted by the U.S. Mint. One provision of an earlier law on coinage, first passed in 1792 and amended repeatedly by Congress, prohibits depiction of a living current or former president, but that passage applies to $1 coins minted specifically to honor each of the U.S. presidents, not issued for other reasons, such as the country's 250th anniversary. To mark the 1976 bicentennial celebrations, the Treasury sponsored a national competition and picked for the $1 coin a design by a sculpture student featuring the Liberty Bell, a symbol of American independence, and the moon. The other side of the coin showed former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who died in 1969 and became the first president to feature on a $1 coin in 1971. Asked on Friday whether Trump had seen the draft coin design, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said, "I'm not sure if he's seen it, but I'm sure he'll love it." (Reporting by Costas Pitas and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Ross Colvin and Rosalba O'Brien)

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Former National League Manager of the Year Skip Schumaker is the Texas Rangers' new skipper. The team announced the hire Friday evening after president of baseball operations Chris Young told reporters earlier in the day that Schumaker was his "focus" in the job search. Schumaker, 45, was serving as a senior adviser to the Rangers, and Young said he had not talked to any external candidates. "We are thrilled to announce this promotion and have Skip leading this club in the dugout," Young said in a statement. "Over his past year as a senior adviser to our baseball operations group, Skip has proven to be driven, passionate and thorough in everything he does. He has a winning spirit and energy, and we are fortunate that someone so highly regarded in the industry has agreed to become our manager." In his first managerial job, Schumaker led the Marlins to a 146-178 record over two seasons. When Miami finished 84-78 and earned a National League wild- card berth in 2023, Schumaker was named NL Manager of the Year in his rookie season. After Miami went 62-100 in 2024, he asked the Marlins to remove the team option for 2025 from his contract, and the team complied. He accepted the job with Texas as an adviser to Young. Before entering the coaching ranks, Schumaker played 11 major league seasons (2005-15) with three teams — the St. Louis Cardinals (2005-12), Los Angeles Dodgers (2013) and Cincinnati Reds (2014-15) — and had a career average of .278 with 28 homers and 284 RBIs in 1,149 games. Schumaker replaces Bruce Bochy, who came out of retirement to lead the Rangers to their only World Series championship in 2023. On Monday, the team and Bochy, 70, mutually decided he would not return as manager next season, though Bochy was offered a front-office role. The Rangers finished 81-81 in 2025 and were in the American League wild-card race until late in the season. Texas was nine games over .500 before losing 11 of its last 13 games. –Field Level Media

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* Trump administration offers $2,500 to unaccompanied children to leave the country voluntarily * Move draws criticisms from advocates * Administration has faced legal setbacks in attempts to swiftly deport unaccompanied children By Christian Martinez LOS ANGELES, Oct 3 (Reuters) – The Trump administration is offering unaccompanied migrant children $2,500 to leave the U.S. voluntarily, according to a letter seen by Reuters that was sent to migrant shelters. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed a monetary offer was being made but did not specify an amount. The move is the latest financial offer made by the DHS under President Donald Trump aimed at encouraging voluntary deportations. In June, the State Department moved $250 million to DHS for voluntary deportations with the administration offering a $1,000 stipend to migrants who "self deported." KIDS NEED PROTECTION NOT COERCION, CRITIC SAYS According to the letter sent to shelters on Friday by the DHS Office of Refugee Resettlement, the department will provide a "one-time resettlement support stipend of $2,500" to unaccompanied children 14 or older. An ICE official said the offer was first being made to 17-year-olds. Minors from Mexico are not eligible for the program but children who had already volunteered to leave the U.S. as of Friday would be covered, the letter says. Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense, which provides legal services and support to unaccompanied children, called the move "a cruel tactic" that undermined "laws that guarantee" a process to determine if a child is eligible for U.S. protection. "Unaccompanied children seeking safety in the United States deserve our protection rather than being coerced into agreeing to return back to the very conditions that placed their lives and safety at risk," Young said in a statement. According to federal law, migrant children who arrive at U.S. borders without a parent or legal guardian are classified as unaccompanied and sent to federal government-run shelters until they can be placed with a family member or in foster care. More than 2,100 unaccompanied children were in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services as of Thursday, according to department data. HHS communications director Andrew Nixon said in a statement that the program "gives UACs a choice and allows them to make an informed decision about their future." Any payment would be provided after an immigration judge approved the request and the child arrived in their country of origin, Nixon said. The administration's efforts to swiftly deport unaccompanied children have faced legal challenges. Last month, a federal judge ordered that the administration refrain from deporting unaccompanied Guatemalan migrant children with active immigration cases while a legal challenge continued. More than 600,000 migrant children have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or legal guardian since 2019, according to government data. (Reporting by Kristina Cooke, Ted Hesson; Writing by Christian Martinez; Editing by William Mallard)

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