FOOTBALL
Mangold dies at 41
Nick Mangold's long, blond hair and bushy beard made him instantly recognizable. His gritty, outstanding performance on the field for the New York Jets made him one of the franchise's greatest players. Mangold, a two-time All-Pro center who helped lead the Jets to the AFC Championship Game twice, has died, the team announced Sunday. He was 41. The Jets said in a statement that Mangold died Saturday night from complications of kidney disease. His death came less than two weeks after the two-time All-Pro selection announced on social media that he had kidney disease and needed a transplant. He said he didn't have any relatives who were able to donate, so he went public with the request for a donor with type O blood. Mangold said he was diagnosed with a genetic defect in 2006 that led to chronic kidney disease. He was on dialysis while waiting for a transplant. "Nick was more than a legendary center," Jets owner Woody Johnson said in a statement. "He was the heartbeat of our offensive line for a decade and a beloved teammate whose leadership and toughness defined an era of Jets football. Off the field, Nick's wit, warmth, and unwavering loyalty made him a cherished member of our extended Jets family." Mangold was a first-round draft pick of the Jets in 2006 out of Ohio State and was selected to the Pro Bowl seven times. He helped lead New York within one win of the Super Bowl during both the 2009 and 2010 seasons and was enshrined in the Jets' ring of honor in 2022. Mangold was among 52 modern-era players who advanced earlier this week in the voting process for next year's Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
Jury rules against NCAA
The NCAA owes a former college football player and his wife $18 million, a South Carolina jury decided while finding college sports' major governing body negligent in failing to warn the player about the long-term effects of concussions. Following a civil trial that wrapped up late last week, Orangeburg County jurors awarded $10 million to 68-year-old Robert Geathers, who played at South Carolina State University from 1977 to 1980 as a defensive end. His wife, Debra Geathers, was awarded $8 million, according to a court document. A physician diagnosed Robert Geathers with dementia several years ago, The Times and Democrat newspaper in Orangeburg reported. Now he has trouble with day-to-day tasks such as dressing himself and helping making meals. Other physicians who testified at the trial said Geathers displays symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease found in former football players who received repeated blows to their heads while playing. CTE can be diagnosed only posthumously. The couple's attorneys argued to jurors that blows Geathers took during practices and games for the historically Black school in Orangeburg caused trauma that didn't show up until decades later, the newspaper reported. Geathers attorney Bakari Sellers alleged the NCAA knew about concussion risks since the 1930s and when Robert Geathers' college career ended but didn't tell coaches or players about those risks until later.
BASKETBALL
Doncic out 1 week
Luka Doncic is expected to be sidelined for at least one week because of a sprained finger on his left hand and a bruised lower left leg, the Los Angeles Lakers announced Sunday. Doncic opened the season with back-to-back 40-point games for the Lakers, who played at Sacramento on Sunday night. He will be reevaluated in approximately one week, the team said. Doncic scored 43 points in the Lakers' loss to Golden State on opening night, and he racked up 49 points in a victory over Minnesota last Friday night. Doncic scorched the Timberwolves despite spraining a finger on his non-shooting hand in the opening minutes. The Lakers also are without LeBron James, who will be sidelined until at least mid-November because of sciatica. Doncic's probable one-week absence comes at an inopportune time for Los Angeles, which has six games in the next nine days. The Lakers will have to lean heavily on Austin Reaves (Cedar Ridge), who has scored 51 points across their first two games.
GOLF
Brennan earns Tour spot
Michael Brennan was just as dominant at Black Desert as he was on the PGA Tour Americas. He closed with a 5-under 66 to go from a sponsor exemption to a PGA Tour winner Sunday with his four-shot victory in the Bank of Utah Championship in Ivins, Utah. In his first PGA Tour start as a professional, Brennan became the first sponsor exemption to win since Nick Dunlap took The American Express in January 2024 as an amateur. The victory means Brennan, a 23-year-old who starred at Wake Forest, gets to skip the Korn Ferry Tour next year and go straight to the big leagues. He earned a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, along with a spot in the PGA Championship and the $20 million RBC Heritage. Brennan was No. 451 in the world when he left the South America portion of the PGA Tour Americas. But he was dominant in Canada (with one win in Minnesota), winning three times in a four-tournament stretch and posting eight top-10 finishes in 10 starts.
Australia wins title
Australia beat the United States on Sunday to win LPGA's International Crown, taking the title after Minjee Lee and Hannah Green won their singles matches, each on the 17th hole. The foursomes match between Australians Stephanie Kyriacou and Grace Kim and Americans Lilia Vu and Lauren Coughlin finished in a tie, but was inconsequential when Green secured her 2-and-1 win over Yealimi Noh at the New Korea Country Club in Goyang, South Korea. Lee beat Angel Yin, 2 and 1. It's the first win for Australia at the match-play tournament, which eluded them in 2023 when current No. 1 ranked Jeeno Thitikul and Thailand beat them in the final at Harding Park. The World team finished in third place after Charley Hull and Lydia Ko both had impressive victories in their singles matches against Japan.