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MLB Rumors: The New York Mets are a dumpster fire. Ronald Acuña Jr. is modern day Ty Cobb. The Blue Jays and Alek Manoah are headed for drama.

West Ham made heavy weather of the opening match of their latest European adventure as they had to come from behind to beat Serbian minnows Backa Topola 3-1. Headers from £38million summer signing Mohammed Kudus and substitute Tomas Soucek, both from James Ward-Prowse corners, got the Hammers’ Europa League campaign off to a winning start on a stormy Stratford night. East London was hit by torrential rain before kick-off with water cascading through the roof onto the concourses at London Stadium. The floodgates failed to open on the pitch in the first half, however, despite West Ham being in the rare position of dominating possession on the soggy surface. The Hammers had 78 per cent possession, which was the exact opposite of their stats during the recent smash-and-grab win at Brighton. But boss David Moyes got a taste of his own medicine when Angelo Ogbonna’s mistake gifted TSC, making their debut in the group stages of a European competition, a shock lead after half-time. Until then it had been one-way traffic after Ward-Prowse had an early free-kick deflected inches over the crossbar. Danny Ings, making his first start of the season, saw his swerving effort punched away by Serbian keeper Nikola Simic, who also denied Thilo Kehrer after Aaron Cresswell’s low cross found him at the far post. Lucas Paqueta’s drive then forced another unorthodox save from Simic and when Pablo Fornals lifted the loose ball back into the box, Kudus planted his header over the top. But for all West Ham’s dominance there was still a hairy moment when a corner from Petar Stanic was flicked on by Sasa Jovanovic and bounced right across the six-yard box. The underdogs were enthusiastically cheered from the pitch at half-time by the 75-or-so Serbian fans who had made the 2,000km journey. And those away supporters were in dreamland two minutes into the second half after Ogbonna dawdled on the halfway line, allowing Stanic to nick the ball, race clear and fire past Lukasz Fabianski. But the Hammers, whose last European outing was their triumphant Europa Conference League final win over Fiorentina in June, hit back in the 66th minute, albeit in fortunate fashion as Said Benrahma’s cross was turned in at the far post by TSC defender Nemanja Petrovic. The lively Kudus did get his goal four minutes later and Soucek headed in the third from another Ward-Prowse delivery – giving the former Southampton midfielder a fifth assist of the season – to finally ease West Ham nerves. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Marcus Smith backed to shine at full-back as England tackle unfancied Chile Unai Emery urges Aston Villa to adapt quickly to demands of European football Jurgen Klopp plays down value of 50th European win after Liverpool beat LASK

Billy Sharp scored his first hat-trick for LA Galaxy in their 4-3 triumph over Minnesota United.

Unai Emery insists Aston Villa must learn how to handle European football and refused to blame his changes after their sloppy 3-2 defeat at Legia Warsaw. Ernest Muci’s second-half winner clinched a deserved victory for the hosts to ruin Villa’s Europa Conference League debut. Jhon Duran and Lucas Digne twice levelled for the underwhelming visitors in the first half after Pawel Wszolek and Muci scored for Legia. It ranked as one of the worst performances in Emery’s 11 months in charge, with the manager making five changes, including giving a debut to Barcelona loanee Clement Lenglet. He said: “I believe in our squad and our players and we could have lost this game with other players on the pitch. “Every match away in Europe is difficult and this is a new step where we have to learn. “We still have the possibility to react again, we are going to play another five matches. It’s not a good result but we have to learn and have to understand how we’re going to face the next matches and this competition. “We have to build the squad who will play a lot of matches and we will need players in the squad to give them opportunities to play, to use their qualities. “In the second half we started well but in one click, we concede another opportunity and they score a goal. “They had a plan, they did good and we couldn’t stop them in some moments.” Legia struck after just two minutes in the Group E opener when Wszolek converted Patryk Kun’s cross. Duran levelled four minutes later, though, nodding in after Kacper Tobiasz turned Nicolo Zaniolo’s drive onto the bar. It should have given Villa a platform but a shoddy, slow, performance continued to undermine their tag as one of the tournament favourites. Livewire Muci punished them again after 26 minutes when Villa were left floundering on the flanks and he fired in Wszolek’s centre. But Villa came back, however undeserved, and Digne’s deflected volley ensured they went into the break level. Parity did not last long, though, when Muci went sent running at Ezri Konsa and Calum Chambers, made fools of them both and found the net off a post. This time there was no way back and Marc Gual almost added a fourth when Emi Martinez parried Bartosz Slisz’s shot and Chambers cleared. Jacob Ramsey, Moussa Diaby and Youri Tielemans tried to find an unlikely leveller but victorious Legia held on. “You should not underestimate the underdogs, Mostar will also be a hot game, a Balkan team with a lot of emotions,” said boss Kosta Runjaic, after Mostar beat AZ Alkmaar 4-3 in the other group game. “It’s surprise for me but it’s also a surprise we won against Aston Villa, I’m happy about it, this three points in the first game are very important for us. We were lucky in some moments but you need luck. “We will see how we do in the next game, we will face a very ugly Alkmaar in a couple of weeks.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Jurgen Klopp plays down value of 50th European win after Liverpool beat LASK Harry Kane happy with Bayern Munich start in Europe – Thursday’s sporting social Durham are Division Two champions after bowling out Worcestershire

The Dallas Cowboys fear that All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs tore his ACL in a practice drill.

NFL picks and predictions for every game on the Week 3 slate, from Thursday night through the Monday night doubleheader.

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs left Thursday's practice in crutches, leaving many to wonder if he'll play on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

As college football teams head to October, Urban Meyer has slandered the scheduling for Michigan and Georgia while ignoring Ohio State

The Cardinals have a bevy of outfielders, but one in particular may soon be on his way out.

Michael Beale’s Rangers get underway in the Europa League tonight after a tough time in the Champions League qualifiers saw them drop out of the competition after a 5-1 defeat against PSV. The 2022 finalists face Manuel Pellegrini’s Real Betis, who haven’t managed to make it past the round of 16 since their debut in the renamed edition of the European tournament in 2013–14. This is the first-ever meeting between the two sides, and each will hope to get some valuable points in the board to try and secure automatic qualification for the knockout stages. Follow all the latest updates from LASK vs Liverpool below and get all the latest football odds here.

Liverpool took time adjusting to life back in the Europa League but for the fourth time in six matches this season they came from behind to win 3-1 against LASK in Linz. It had been 2,682 days since they last appeared in UEFA’s second-tier competition, having played in three Champions League finals and won one, and that adaptation to a new reality took a while to bed in. The Austrians had no such problem in the biggest game in their history as the visit of Manchester United in 2020, when they were hammed 5-0, happened behind closed doors because of the pandemic. They were so fired up they predictably took an early lead through Florian Flecker’s brilliantly-taken goal but once Jurgen Klopp’s side came to the realisation the Europa League will be just as tough a task as the competition favourites this season’s familiar trait emerged. Within the space of eight second-half minutes Darwin Nunez fired home a penalty and Luis Diaz converted from close range and late on substitute Mohamed Salah clinched Klopp’s 50th European victory, the most of any Anfield manager. Pre-match the German had insisted this was not a competition for handing out “opportunities” but then proceeded to name a completely different side from that which won at Wolves at the weekend. Not to say that it was weak with first-choice centre-backs Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate at the back and Diaz and Nunez up front but in between was the untried midfield of newest signing 21-year-old Ryan Gravenberch, on his first start, and Harvey Elliott (20) either side of the 30-year-old ‘veteran’ Wataru Endo who had played just 89 minutes for Klopp’s team since his own summer move. The real excitement was reserved for livewire winger Ben Doak, who became the club’s fourth-youngest player to play in Europe at the age of 17 years and 314 days on his first start. But while his first real run at the LASK defence saw him glide past Rene Renner to win a corner he was starved of opportunities by a malfunctioning midfield which could not gain any control in the first half and the young Scot was replaced just past the hour. Stefan Bajcetic’s misjudgement, the 18-year-old midfielder asked to play the Trent Alexander-Arnold hybrid right-back role, in missing a cross led to a LASK corner and the opening goal. Flecker was picked out on the edge of the penalty area and he took a touch before drilling a shot through a crowd of players past Caoimhin Kelleher as a training-ground move paid off from their first shot on target. Liverpool were not so clinical as Nunez headed over an inviting Elliott cross before seeing his close-range nod towards goal from Van Dijk’s header at a corner clawed out by goalkeeper Tobias Lawal. The raucous home crowd cheered not only that but every block, every tackle, every Liverpool corner repelled, every corner won. Liverpool’s first move of any quality brought the equaliser when Diaz was brought down by Philipp Ziereis, after Elliott, Doak and Bajcetic had combined down the right, and Nunez powered home from the spot in the 56th minute. It was the signal for Klopp to make changes with summer signings Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, two of his new first-choice midfield, replacing Doak and Endo with Joe Gomez giving Bajcetic a break after his first game since March after injury. They went ahead when Nunez brought down Gomez’s pass from deep, laid off to Elliott who sent Gravenberch racing down the right and his low cross was turned home by Diaz. If life was not difficult enough for the hosts Mohamed Salah was introduced in the 76th minute and created two chances and had a shot inside his first 60 seconds before weaving himself into a position to poke through the legs of the goalkeeper two minutes from time. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Aston Villa suffer defeat at Legia Warsaw on return to European action Harry Kane happy with Bayern Munich start in Europe – Thursday’s sporting social Durham are Division Two champions after bowling out Worcestershire

Sloppy Aston Villa crashed to a chaotic Europa Conference League defeat at Legia Warsaw. Ernest Muci’s second-half winner spoiled Villa’s debut in the competition as Legia pulled off a deserved 3-2 victory in Poland. Pawel Wszolek and Muci had twice given Legia a first-half lead only for Jhon Duran and Lucas Digne to peg them back. Muci pounced six minutes into the second half and Villa never recovered. Legia boss Kosta Runjaic had billed it as a David v Goliath tie, with Legia going into the Group E opener with hope rather than expectation. Captain Josue, pointed out the vastly different transfer values between the squads. Maybe it was reverse psychology but they were far from overwhelmed and picked holes in Villa’s sloppy defence. Villa are expected to not just qualify from the group with ease but challenge for the title in Athens next May but they will have to significantly improve if that is to be the case. It look just two minutes for the energetic hosts to unpick their visitors with worrying simplicity. Muci sent Patryk Kun scampering down the right and he crossed for the onrushing Wszolek to fire in from eight yards. That Legia conceded 13 goals while qualifying for the group stage would have given Villa encouragement for any comeback and, sure enough, it took just four minutes to level. Nicolo Zaniolo’s strike from 25 yards was turned onto the bar by Kacper Tobiasz and Duran reacted quickest to nod in from close range. Villa managed to steady themselves as game settled after a rapid start, until Legia regained the lead after 26 minutes. Again the threat came from out wide, this time from the right. Wszolek was given too much time by Digne to cross for Muci to smash in. Defensively Villa had been weak, switching off when it mattered most, and Ezri Konsa was the next to escape when Muci went down under pressure in the area but referee Evangelos Manouchos was unmoved. Still Legia found gaps in the Villa backline when Marc Gual tested Emi Martinez and the visitors looked far from tournament favourites. Duran’s goal had been their only serious chance but Unai Emery’s men levelled against the run of play six minutes before the break. Leon Bailey tricked his way through, John McGinn’s shot was blocked and fell to Digne on the edge of the box for the left-back’s deflected volley to find the top corner. Villa had taken their opportunities to redeem themselves and Legia still needed Tobiasz’s leg to deny Duran an undeserved third just before the break. Yet if they thought they had tamed Legia they were badly mistaken and, like the first half, the hosts wasted little time in the second. Emery would have despaired at how open his side were when Gual picked out Muci to run at Konsa, he was pushed wide by Calum Chambers but still managed to squeeze his shot across Martinez and in off a post. Reinforcements were needed and Ollie Watkins, Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby arrived but Villa almost fell further behind when Gual just failed to turn in after Martinez parried Bartosz Slisz’s drive. From then there appeared little way back with Legia comfortable, Tobiasz never tested – even when Jacob Ramsey shot wide. Outside of their qualifiers, it had been a long 13 years to return to Europe for Villa. It was not worth the wait. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Liverpool come from behind to secure Europa League victory against LASK Harry Kane happy with Bayern Munich start in Europe – Thursday’s sporting social Durham are Division Two champions after bowling out Worcestershire