AP Sports SummaryBrief at 11:18 p.m. EDT

By The Associated Press

With Kupp and Nacua back from injury, Stafford throws 4 TD passes in Rams’ 30-20 win over Vikings

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Demarcus Robinson caught two of Matthew Stafford’s four TD throws in the Los Angeles Rams’ 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Cooper Kupp caught a touchdown pass and Puka Nacua had 106 yards receiving in their returns from injury absences. Stafford passed for 279 yards for the Rams, who won back-to-back games for the first time this season with an offense that looked exponentially more dangerous with its top two receivers back in uniform. Sam Darnold passed for 240 yards for the Vikings, who followed up their first loss of the season with an ineffective defensive performance.

The Dodgers and Yankees are ready for the starriest World Series in decades

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees will play Major League Baseball’s starriest World Series in decades. This figures to be the first World Series featuring five MVPs: the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts, and the Yankees’ Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Ohtani and Judge are the likely MVPs this year, marking the first Series to feature both since in 2012. This will be the first Series with a pair of 50-home run hitters in Judge and Ohtani. This is just the fifth World Series since the Wild Card Era started in 1995 involving the teams with the best records in each league.

USF men’s basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim dies at 43

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — South Florida coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, who led the Bulls to the American Athletic Conference’s regular-season championship a year ago, has died. He was 43. The school announced his death Thursday, saying he died from complications that presented while he was undergoing a procedure at a Tampa-area hospital. Abdur-Rahim was a rising star in the coaching world. He got the USF job after leading Kennesaw State to the NCAA Tournament in 2023. He was an immediate success with the Bulls, going 25-8 and winning a game in the NIT. Abdur-Rahim was a brother of G League president and former NBA player Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

NBA opens investigation into Joel Embiid’s playing status after 76ers star misses season opener

The NBA is now investigating why Philadelphia center Joel Embiid did not play in the team’s nationally televised season-opener against Milwaukee. The league confirmed the probe on Thursday. It was opened as part of the NBA’s player participation policy that went into effect last season. Such a move was to be expected: The NBA has said that any time a star player misses a game an investigation can be opened to “promote compliance” with league rules and can include “independent medical review and related determinations regarding player availability.”

It’s a pick-6 party for No. 19 Pitt as the Panthers use 3 defensive TDs to drill Syracuse 41-13

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rasheem Biles, Kyle Louis and Braylan Lovelace areturned first-half interceptions for touchdowns and No. 19 Pittsburgh breezed past Syracuse 41-13. Pitt improved to 7-0 for the first time since 1982 behind a defense that harassed Kyle McCord from the first snap and never relented. McCord threw five picks in all as the Orange fell to 5-2. Pitt’s three pick-6s were the most in an FBS game since USC had three against Rice in 2022. Eli Holstein threw for 108 yards and two scores for Pitt, which has won 19 of its last 23 meetings with Syracuse.

Messi and Inter Miami will take on Atlanta United in an MLS Cup playoff opener

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi played in only one Major League Soccer loss in 2024. It was at home against Atlanta United. Messi makes his MLS Cup playoff debut Friday night, and it’s at home against Atlanta United. Inter Miami, which set the MLS records for most points and best winning percentage in the regular season, gets a big challenge right out of the gate in the playoffs by facing Atlanta in a best-of-three Eastern Conference first-round series. Messi is coming off a hat trick in the regular-season finale, a 6-2 romp past New England.

NHRA legend John Force will attend a race four months after his traumatic brain injury

LAS VEGAS (AP) — NHRA legend John Force, who suffered a traumatic brain injury during a harrowing crash at Virginia Motorsports Park in June, has been cleared to attend a race. The 16-time Funny Car champion says he will travel with his wife to the Nevada Nationals next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Force will be on hand to see his two-car Funny Car team compete as well as daughter Brittany Force in the Top Fuel class. The 75-year-old Force crashed into a wall at roughly 300 mph after his engine exploded. He spent a month in hospitals. He has since been getting outpatient care at home in California. Force calls himself “still a work in progress” with “good days and bad days.”

Shohei Ohtani won’t pitch in the World Series, but that’s not slowing Ohtanimania

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The race was on to reach Shohei Ohtani first. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar waited calmly as a horde of media rushed toward him on the eve of his first World Series. He didn’t flinch at the wall of cameras and microphones shoved toward him to capture his every thought. Some of Ohtani’s teammates laughed as they watched the chaotic scene. Ohtani patiently answered questions about his excitement at making the World Series after six losing seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, how his dog Decoy will likely be at the games and traded compliments with Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.

Sergio Perez admits he’s having a ‘terrible season,’ hopes to turn F1 fortunes around at home race

MEXICO CITY (AP) — This Formula 1 season has been a massive disappointment for Sergio Perez. If there’s one place for him to turn it around it would be at his home race, the Mexico City Grand Prix, which he considers the best event on the F1 circuit. Perez is winless for the first time since joining Red Bull in 2021, has only four podium finishes this year and is eighth in the driver standings. Perez has also crashed three times, which helped allow McLaren to pass Red Bull in the constructors’ championship race. He claimed four podium finishes in the opening five races but has gone 14 races without one.

Browns sue city of Cleveland over ‘Modell Law’ designed to prevent their move to suburbs

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Browns’ back-and-forth battle with Cleveland over a planned move into a new suburban stadium has gone to court. The NFL team said Thursday it has filed a lawsuit in federal court asking for clarification of the “Modell Law.” The city has threatened to use that law to keep the Browns from leaving after their lease at lakefront Huntington Bank Field expires in 2028. The law is named after former Browns owner Art Modell, who moved his team to Baltimore after the 1995 season. The Browns returned in 1999 and have been playing in their current stadium since. The team has played in downtown Cleveland since the 1940s.