=== MLB ===

After two days off, baseball's postseason finally resumes Thursday with Game 1
of the National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and
Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The NL West-champion Dodgers
advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a three-game sweep of the
Chicago Cubs, while the NL East-champion Phillies followed with a four-game
triumph over Milwaukee. These teams will meet in the LCS for the fourth time.
The Dodgers won in both 1977 and '78, while the Phils returned the favor in
1983. Los Angeles will open the best-of-seven set with Derek Lowe on the mound
and Philadelphia will counter with lefty Cole Hamels. Airtime tonight is 6:50
on 1340 WNBS.

===

Meanwhile, the pitching matchups for the American League Championship Series
were set Wednesday. The Boston Red Sox will send Daisuke Matsuzaka to the
hill for Friday's opener against Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, while the Rays
will counter with James Shields. Game 2 at Tropicana Field will pit Josh
Beckett for the Red Sox against Tampa Bay lefty Scott Kazmir. The series
will then shift to Boston for Game 3, which will feature Matt Garza for the
Rays against Red Sox lefty Jon Lester. Game 4's scheduled starters at
Fenway Park are Andy Sonnanstine for Tampa Bay and Boston knuckleballer Tim
Wakefield.

===

The Chicago Cubs exercised the 2009 option for pitcher Rich Harden on
Wednesday. Harden, 26, was acquired from the Oakland Athletics on July 8 along
with pitcher Chad Gaudin, for four players and was stellar with the Cubs.
He went 5-1 with a 1.77 earned-run average and limited hitters to a .149
average after the All-Star break, which led all starters in the majors. In a
combined 25 starts with Oakland and the Cubs last season, he went 10-2 with a
2.07 ERA in 25 starts and set a career-high with 181 strikeouts. His 11.0
strikeouts per nine innings and .183 batting average against led all
pitchers in the majors with at least 25 starts. Harden, though, struggled in
Game 3 of Chicago's National League Division Series with the Los Angeles
Dodgers, a 3-1 loss. He allowed three runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings as
the Cubs were swept by the Dodgers.


=== NHL ===

The NHL season picks up again on Thursday, after the league opened play in
Europe over the weekend. Highlighting the schedule is defending Stanley Cup
champion Detroit, which defeated Pittsburgh in six games to win the NHL title.
Thursday the Red Wings open their defense at home against the Toronto Maple
Leafs, who disappointed last season by missing the playoffs for a third
consecutive year. Additionally, the Bruins play the Avalanche in Colorado,
Anaheim opens in San Jose against the Sharks, and Calgary heads to Vancouver
to face the Canucks.


=== NFL ===

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady reportedly underwent surgery on
Monday to repair his injured left knee. A Boston-area newspaper cited NFL
sources as saying the procedure took place at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic
Clinic in Los Angeles, adding that one of those sources said the surgery went
well. Brady was hurt during a season-opening victory over Kansas City. While
there was no official word from the Patriots or head coach Bill Belichick on
the nature of the injury, it had been widely reported that Brady sustained ACL
and MCL tears. The estimated recovery time for such reconstructive procedures
is normally 6-8 months. Brady, last year's NFL MVP, threw a league-record 50
touchdown passes in 2007 as the Patriots went 16-0 in the regular season
before losing to the Giants in the Super Bowl. A three-time Super Bowl
champion and two-time Super Bowl MVP, Brady has thrown for 26,446 yards and
191 touchdowns in his nine-year career, spent entirely with New England.

===

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam Jones reportedly has gotten into more trouble,
as he was involved in an altercation with a personal security guard early
Wednesday morning. Citing a police source, a Dallas-area newspaper reported
Wednesday that Jones got into the spat at the Joule Hotel in downtown Dallas.
However, no charges were filed. Jones was reinstated to the NFL before the
start of the regular season, after he had been suspended for the entire 2007
season by the NFL. He had a number of run-ins with the law, including an
alleged involvement in a shooting at a Las Vegas strip club during the NBA's
All-Star weekend in February 2007.

===

Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook missed practice on Wednesday
in preparation for the upcoming game against San Francisco. Westbrook, who has
been hampered by a sprained ankle he suffered in the Week 3 victory over
Pittsburgh, suffered fractured ribs in Sunday's 23-17 loss against Washington
and his status for this week's game remains uncertain. In four games this
season for the 2-3 Eagles, Westbrook has run for 194 yards and four touchdowns
on 54 carries. He is also the team's second-leading receiver with 14 catches
for 97 yards and two scores.

===

A Denver grand jury returned a 39-count indictment Wednesday charging Willie
D. Clark in the murder of former Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams
and the attempted murder of two others. The 25-year-old Clark is charged with
two counts of first-degree murder, 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder,
two counts of second-degree assault, illegal discharge of a firearm, 16 crime
of violence counts and two counts of possession of a weapon by a previous
offender. The charges allege that at about 2:15 a.m. on January 1, 2007, Clark
was driving a sports utility vehicle and pulled alongside a limousine and
fired multiple shots into the vehicle. The 24-year-old Williams was killed,
while two other passengers in the limo were wounded. Clark is currently in
federal custody and could face life in prison without parole if convicted.

===

The Baltimore Ravens placed defensive tackle Kelly Gregg on injured reserve on
Wednesday. Gregg underwent season-ending microfracture surgery on his left
knee on Tuesday. The 31-year-old, who had not appeared in any games this
season following arthroscopic knee surgery this past August, had not missed a
contest since the 2004 season. Over his 10-year career, he has 408 tackles and
16 1/2 sacks in 105 games, three with Philadelphia and the rest with
Baltimore.

===

New York Jets safety Eric Smith lost his appeal of a one-game suspension for
the helmet-to-helmet hit on Arizona wide receiver Anquan Boldin and will sit
out this Sunday's game against Cincinnati. Smith was disciplined by the NFL
for the hit on Boldin, who was in a defenseless position when contact was
made, late in the fourth quarter of the Jets' 56-35 win in on September 28.
Smith was also fined $50,000 and will forfeit his salary for Sunday's game.

===

The New Orleans Saints placed kicker Martin Gramatica on injured reserve
Wednesday, ending his season. Gramatica appeared in five games this season,
but has been hampered by a sore groin. He has made only 6-of-10 field goals,
including two crucial misses in games against Denver and Minnesota. For his
career, including stints in Tampa Bay, Indianapolis and Dallas, Gramatica has
made 155-of-203 field goals and has 693 career points. To replace Gramatica,
the team re-signed sixth round pick Taylor Mehlhaff, a rookie out of
Wisconsin.


=== COLLEGE FOOTBALL ===

A key ACC matchup is on tap for tonight as Clemson visits 21st-ranked
Wake Forest. The Tigers are 3-2 and were ranked earlier this season, but enter
this contest off a home loss on September 27 against Maryland. Wake Forest is
3-1 and also hasn't played since a 24-17 home loss against Navy two Saturdays
ago. Clemson has won the last two meetings, including a 44-10 thumping last
November at Death Valley.

===

East Carolina junior wide receiver Jamar Bryant was suspended indefinitely on
Wednesday for an unspecified violation of team rules. Bryant is the team's
second-leading receiver with 19 catches for 216 yards and three touchdowns. He
had started in 18 consecutive games for the 3-2 Pirates to this point, and
that streak will end as ECU squares off against Virginia this Saturday.
As a sophomore, the North Carolina native led East Carolina in receptions with
48, receiving yards with 704 and shared the team lead with six TD catches.


=== NBA ===

Washington Wizards center Brendan Haywood could miss significant time in the
upcoming NBA season, as he has torn ligaments in his right wrist and will
undergo surgery, team president Ernie Grunfeld announced Wednesday. A report
from a Washington-area newspaper earlier Wednesday put the timetable on
Haywood's return at four-to-six months. The Wizards will not report on a
timeline for recovery until after surgery, which is yet to be scheduled. The
news comes one day after Washington forward Antawn Jamison hurt his right knee
in the first quarter of Tuesday's preseason opener against the Dallas
Mavericks.


=== HORSE RACING ===

Churchill Downs has been selected to host the Breeders' Cup in 2010. It will
mark the seventh time the storied Louisville track has been chosen as the site
for the event. Churchill hosted the first Breeders' Cup in 1988 and also
welcomed the world's top thoroughbreds in 1991, '94, '98, 2000 and 2006. The
two-day event will be held on Friday, November 5 and Saturday, November 6 of
2010. This year's Breeders' Cup is set for October 24 and 25 at Santa Anita
Park.