Rams lose stunner to Arizona

From Gary Klein: Other than the missing 23 carats of diamonds, the replica Super Bowl LVI rings fans received on Sunday at SoFi Stadium looked like the real thing.

That’s more than the Rams can claim.

The team that opened the season as the overwhelming favorite to win Super Bowl LXI continued to look like a cheap imitation.

They did not flash. They did not sparkle.

They looked dull. Lifeless.

And when Chad Ryland of the Arizona Cardinals kicked his sixth field goal as time expired, the Rams lost 18-16 in front of 72,573.

“There’s nothing positive that I can say,” Rams coach Sean McVay lamented.

First-year Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur, the Rams’ former offensive coordinator, outcoached and outmaneuvered McVay, his friend and mentor.

With just more than a third of the season complete, the Rams are 2-4.

“We are what our record is,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said.

Chargers fall to 0-6

From Kathleen Gier: The Chargers hit the road to face the undefeated, AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs, still looking for their first victory of the season.

They were unsuccessful, falling 22-6 on Sunday evening at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chargers are 0-6 to start the season for the first time since 2000, when they finished 1-16. They’ve also lost nine straight games since last season, tying a franchise mark for most consecutive losses.

“I truly believe and was confident that we would win this game,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters. “We have to address everything, guys, and especially offensively.

“We’re not scoring enough points. That’s the bottom line.”

The Chargers’ offense, already weakened by a series of injuries to its offensive line and receiving corps, struggled mightily, recording their second-lowest output of the season at 259 total yards. They also lost wide receiver Ladd McConkey, who was ruled out midway through the second quarter with a concussion. He had just one catch in his return from a foot injury that kept him out last week against Denver.

UCLA moves up to No. 9 in rankings, USC to No. 16

Miami is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2002, No. 2 BYU has its highest ranking since its 1984 national championship season and Notre Dame and Georgia stayed in the top five Sunday after both lost close games.

The UCLA Bruins, who are 6-0 after defeating Wisconsin, moved into the top 10 at No. 9, while idle USC moved up three spots to No. 16.

The Hurricanes took over the top spot from Georgia, which lasted one week at No. 1 after losing to Auburn at home. The Bulldogs were the second No. 1 team in two weeks — Texas was the other — to lose to an unranked opponent.

The Hurricanes received 40 of the 70 first-place votes from the media voting panel and were just 22 points ahead of BYU, which won a thriller at home over Notre Dame. The Cougars got 20 first-place votes and were 26 points ahead of Ohio State. The Buckeyes got nine first-place votes and were well ahead of No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 5 Georgia.

Miami is the first No. 1 team from the Atlantic Coast Conference team since Clemson in 2020. Other than Clemson, there had not been another ACC team ranked No. 1 since Florida State in 2014.

MLB postseason schedule

All times Pacific

NLCS

No. 1 Milwaukee vs. No. 2 Dodgers
at Milwaukee 2, Dodgers 1 (box score)
at Milwaukee 7, Dodgers 4 (box score)
Milwaukee 6, at Dodgers 2 (box score)
Milwaukee 6, at Dodgers 4 (box score)

ALCS

No. 1 Tampa Bay vs. No. 2 Cleveland
Cleveland 7, at Tampa Bay 3 (box score)
at Tampa Bay 3, Cleveland 1 (box score)
at Cleveland 3, Tampa Bay 2 (box score)
Tampa Bay 7, at Cleveland 3 (box score)
Tampa Bay 3, at Cleveland 1 (box score)
Monday at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max
*Tuesday at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max

World Series
All games at 5 p.m. PT
All game on FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One

No. 1 Milwaukee vs. TB/Cleveland
Friday at Milwaukee, TBD, FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
Saturday at Milwaukee, TBD, FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
Monday, Oct. 26 at TB/Cle., TBD, FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
Tuesday, Oct. 27 at TB/Cle., TBD, FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
*Wed., Oct. 28 at TB/Cle., TBD, FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
*Friday, Oct. 30 at Milwaukee, TBD, FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
*Sat., Oct. 31 at Milwaukee, TBD, FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One

* if necessary

This day in sports history

1940 — Alabama snaps Tennessee’s defensive scoreless streak of 71 quarters but still loses 27-12. Tennessee hadn’t allowed a point since Oct. 29, 1938, when it beat LSU 14-6.

1957 — Maurice Richard of the Montreal Canadiens scores his 500th goal in a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

1960 — After 13 years in Minneapolis, the Lakers opened their inaugural season in Los Angeles with a 140-123 loss at Cincinnati.

1966 — Bobby Orr makes his NHL regular season debut for the Boston Bruins.

1985 — Robbie Bosco of Brigham Young passes for 585 yards in a 45-23 victory over New Mexico.

1985 — Dale Klein of Nebraska ties an NCAA record with seven field goals in a 28-20 victory over Missouri.

1986 — Lloyd Burruss of Kansas City intercepts three passes and returns two for touchdowns to lead the Chiefs to a 42-21 victory over the San Diego Chargers.

1994 — Duke beats North Carolina 3-2 in women’s soccer to end the Tar Heels’ unbeaten streak of 101 games.

1997 — Pittsburgh goaltender Tom Barrasso makes 22 saves to earn his 300th victory with a 4-1 win over Florida. Barrasso becomes the first American-born goaltender and 13th overall with 300 wins.

1997 — Sandy Alomar of the Cleveland Indians hits the 700th World Series home run.

2002 — Avon Cobourne becomes the fifth Division I-A rusher with four 1,000-yard seasons as West Virginia beats Syracuse 34-7. Cobourne has 108 yards in the game for 1,002 yards this season.

2012 — The National Hockey League announces the cancellation of the 2012-13 regular-season schedule through November 1. A total of 135 regular-season games are now lost from Oct. 11 through Nov. 1.

2014 — Peyton Manning breaks Brett Favre’s NFL record of 508 career touchdown passes and he throws four TD passes in Denver’s 42-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. The record-breaker was an 8-yarder to Demaryius Thomas with 3:09 left in the first half. Manning reaches the milestone in his 246th regular-season game. Favre needed 302.

2014 — DeMarco Murray becomes the first running back in NFL history to start a season with seven straight 100-yard games in a 31-21 win over the New York Giants. Murray, with 128 yards and a touchdown, breaks Hall of Famer Jim Brown’s 56-year-old record.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time...

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