AP Sports SummaryBrief at 5:44 p.m. EDT

Mets reach playoffs, beat Braves to cap comeback from 22-33 start ATLANTA (AP) Four months after dropping 11 games under .500, the New York Mets earned a playoff berth a day after the regular season was supposed to end.

With an 8-7 win over the Atlanta Braves in the opener of a makeup doubleheader behind Francisco Lindors two-run, ninth-inning homer, the Mets advanced to a best-of-three Division Series starting Tuesday at Milwaukee or San Diego.

If New York wins the second game, it would play at the Padres.

If the Mets lose the nightcap, they would play at Milwaukee.

New York overcame an 0-5 start to advance to the postseason for just the 11th time in 63 seasons.

Lindor homer sends Mets to playoffs with 8-7 win over Braves, who need victory in twin-bill 2nd game ATLANTA (AP) The Mets are headed to the postseason after Francisco Lindors two-run homer in the ninth capped a wild back-and-forth over the final two innings, giving New York an 8-7 victory over the Atlanta Braves in the opener of a makeup doubleheader squeezed in before the start of the playoffs.

Atlanta would also earn a wild-card berth by winning the second game, which would eliminate Arizona.

If the Mets sweep, the Braves would be knocked out.

The Braves led 3-0 heading to the eighth behind rookie starter Spencer Schwellenbach, but that was long forgotten by the end of this thriller.

Dikembe Mutombo, a Hall of Fame player and tireless advocate, dies at 58 from brain cancer Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, one of the best defensive players in NBA history and a longtime global ambassador for the game, died Monday from brain cancer, the league announced.

He was 58.

His family revealed two years ago that he was undergoing treatment in Atlanta for a brain tumor.

The NBA said he died surrounded by his family.

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, who was born in Cameroon, says its a sad day, especially for us Africans, and really the whole world.

Knicks tiptoe into training camp while waiting for acquisition of Towns to become official GREENBURGH, N.Y.

(AP) Karl-Anthony Towns was in the Knicks building, though not yet on their team.

The trade bringing the All-Star center to New York and sending out Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo hadnt been completed Monday by the time the Knicks reported for training camp and met with the media.

So the Knicks tiptoed rather than sprinted into their season of high expectations.

No specifics about how Towns would fit into their team, no deep discussions about what Randle meant.

They will hope the deal will be done in time for their first practice Tuesday in Charleston, South Carolina.

Major League Baseball scraps criticized All-Star Game uniforms and goes back to team jerseys NEW YORK (AP) Major League Baseball is going back to using primary team uniforms for the All-Star Game, scrapping criticized special jerseys used for the past four years.

Club uniforms were used by the American League from 1933-2019 and by the National League from 1934-2019.

Players from the All-Star host team league wear their home uniforms and the other All-Star teams players wear their road jerseys.

When the game resumed in 2021 following the pandemic-related cancellation in 2020, MLB had started a uniform contract with Nike and Fanatics, and All-Stars were outfitted in specially designed league uniforms that were maligned by traditionalists.

WNBA teams allowed to protect up to six players for upcoming expansion draft for Golden State NEW YORK (AP) The WNBA will have its first expansion draft in 16 years in December as the Golden State Valkyries start to fill out their roster.

The Valkyries will begin play in 2025.

Teams will be able to protect a maximum of six players who will not be available for selection by Golden State.

All other players on a teams roster will be eligible for selection by the Valkyries.

Players that are unrestricted free agents must be designated on a teams list as such and must be either on the protected players list or the unprotected list.

Dodgers home run star Shohei Ohtani tops MLB jersey sales for 2nd straight season NEW YORK (AP) Shohei Ohtani topped Major League Baseball jersey sales for the second straight season while becoming the first player to reach 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in the same year.

The Los Angeles Dodgers star was followed by Philadelphias Bryce Harper, the New York Yankees Aaron Judge and the Dodgers Mookie Betts.

The top four was unchanged from the list announced at the All-Star break.

Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets moved up two spots to fifth, dropping injured Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr.

and the Yankees Juan Soto one place each.

Giants hire former catcher Buster Posey as president of baseball operations, replacing Farhan Zaidi SAN FRANCISCO (AP) The San Francisco Giants have hired former catcher Buster Posey their president of baseball operations and fired Farhan Zaidi.

Chairman Greg Johnson made the announcement a day after the Giants finished 80-82 in manager Bob Melvins first season with one more victory than a year earlier.

San Francisco won the NL West in 2021 but hasnt made the playoffs since.

The 37-year-old Posey joined the clubs ownership group in September 2022, less than a year after his retirement in November 2021.

Favre tries to expand his defamation lawsuit against Mississippi auditor over welfare spending JACKSON, Miss.

(AP) Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre is trying to expand his defamation lawsuit against Mississippi Auditor Shad White.

Favre wants to include a book White wrote about the misspending of welfare money that was supposed to help some of the poorest people in the nation.

Whites book, Mississippi Swindle: Brett Favre and the Welfare Scandal that Shocked America, was published in August.

Favres attorneys wrote in court papers Friday that the title and the contents are defamatory.

White says he has spent tens of thousands of dollars defending himself in the suit.

He says he will not back down from telling the truth.

Survive and advance is the mantra for NASCAR Cup Series playoff contenders after chaotic Kansas race KANSAS CITY, Kan.

(AP) Denny Hamlin had problems with pit road.

Christopher Bell had problems with the wall.

Chase Elliotts issues began long before Sundays race with a misfiring engine.

In fact, just about everyone starting off the round of 12 in NASCARs Cup Series playoffs endured some kind of issue at Kansas Speedway.

The key was to make the most of a bad situation.

William Byron was the best among the playoff drivers, finishing second to Ross Chastain.

But even Bell, who bumped the wall twice, managed to leave with a seventh-place finishing, keeping him in good shape as the series heads to Talladega and the road course at Charlotte..

This article has been shared from the original article on santamariatimes, here is the link to the original article.