"Easy," of course, is a relative term, but with Cy Young Award favorite Max Scherzer lined up for Game 2 on Sunday, and Justin Verlander set to try to continue his scoreless run of playoff pitching in Game 3, well, Boston had to be trying to plan around Jon Lester outdueling Sanchez. – Near no-no | Breakdown | Recap | Schedule | Gallery Lester held up his end of the bargain in Game 1, as he joined John Smoltz, Dave Stewart and Cole Hamels as the only pitchers in playoff history to record quality starts in their first four series-opening appearances....

“Toronto Wants It More” were the words printed on it. MORE: Top ALCS photos | Spector: Estrada saves Jays’ season But neither the shirt, nor the slogan, seemed to convince the five fans looking at the merchandise. Then again, that’s the kind of uncertainty an elimination game creates. What good is a T-shirt of hope if all hope is capable of disappearing in a matter of hours? So it’s never a matter of “wanting it more” when a team gets to a game it must win — because the other side wants it, too....

Game 4 between the Yankees and the Astros was scheduled for Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium but was called off due to inclement weather. The game has been rescheduled for Thursday night with first pitch at 8:08 p.m. ET, while Game 5, which will also be in New York, has been moved by a day to Friday, with first pitch at 7:08 p.m. ET. Friday was originally scheduled to be a day off; the two teams would have used it to travel to Houston, Texas, if necessary....

Aldon Smith’s latest arrest, and subsequent release Friday, makes San Francisco’s 3-4 defense even thinner. MORE: NFL players arrested in 2015 | Niners cap health depends on Kap’s performance San Francisco won the NFC Championship in 2012 without a starting linebacker over the age of 27. But during the NFC Championship game in 2013, NaVorro Bowman suffered a severe knee injury that caused him to miss all of last season....

Smith and the 49ers restructured his contract so he will have to earn roster bonuses to reach the $9.754 million amount, CSNBayArea reports. MORE: Most painful salary cap casualties | Dockett signs with 49ers | Top 25 free agents The redone contract doesn’t offer any salary cap relief for the 49ers. “It wasn’t like they said, ‘If you don’t do this, you’re cut,’” said Doug Hendrickson, who represents Smith....

The actor, 64, spent more than four years parodying the real estate mogul, from his 2016 presidential campaign through much of his time in office. He picked up an Emmy Award for his efforts in 2017. But along the way, Baldwin faced relentless criticism for his unflattering portrayal of Trump from a host of conservative voices, including the president himself. In a video shared Wednesday on Instagram, Baldwin defended SNL from the criticism that former star Rob Schneider has leveled at the long-running NBC comedy sketch show, though he did agree with one of the comic’s comments....

He apparently suffered the injury early in the game, but was able to pitch through it. His owners can only hope he didn't make the injury worse by doing so. Either way, this is a tough break for the Rays and Cobb's fantasy owners. Tampa is expected to call up Erik Bedard from Triple-A to fill the rotation vacancy. The Rays have a knack for getting production from guys who appeared to be done, so Bedard has a little bit of sleeper appeal....

Jones was filming outside the Skull and Bones tomb on High Street—the meeting place for the university’s oldest secret society—to spread unsubstantiated claims that the group founded the CIA. Jones, arguably the most prominent conspiracy theorist in the country, arrived with two bodyguards. None of the three wore face masks during the visit to the Ivy League campus, reported the student newspaper Yale Daily News. “Skull and Bones is on record helping found the CIA,” Jones told Yale Daily News....

The InfoWars founder skipped depositions last month, citing health issues, but last week a Connecticut judge found him in contempt of court, ruling that there was insufficient evidence to prove he was not medically well enough to be deposed. Judge Barbara Bellis said Jones would be fined $25,000 starting last Friday, increasing by $25,000 each weekday that he did not appear for questioning. Court records show that Jones paid fines of $25,000 Friday and an additional $50,000 Monday before complying with the court order....

The Yankees infielder was walking down the tunnel in Dallas when he inadvertantly got in the way of Tony Romo and backup quarterback Brandon Weeden. Had the operations woman in grey not graciously tapped his elbow, Rodriguez might have just been bowled over by Romo, cleats and all. If only. Source: @cjzero

It’s not fair, but ever since Smith went No. 1 overall in the 2005 draft and Rodgers tumbled all the way to No. 24 to the Packers, Smith hasn’t been able to shake the fact that Rodgers’ play never lets anyone forget it should have been the other way around. MORE: Top photos of NFL Week 3 | Packers lose WR Adams to injury Before Smith (24 for 40, 290 yards, one touchdown, one interception, seven sacks) did some major garbage-time cleanup of his stats late in the second half of a futile comeback attempt, he was struggling to do anything, under siege by the Packers’ aggressive pass rush, running for his life because of the Chiefs’ shaky pass protection....

When Smith’s Kansas City Chiefs travel to San Francisco for Sunday’s game, neither quarterback will be thinking about trying to one-up the other. Kickoff: 4:25 p.m. ET. While they focus on helping their 2-2 teams get wins, the rest of us will focus on Smith’s “revenge game” in his duel with Kaepernick. MORE: Chiefs vs. 49ers betting preview | Week 5 picks | Power Rankings It’s only natural. Smith, the 49ers’ No....

Instead of a fleeting cameo, Vindman played a crucial role in the episode’s plot as the sitcom’s star Larry David, playing a fictionalized version of himself, attempted to repeal a law meaning a five-foot fence must be placed around his pool by seducing City Councilwoman Irma Kostroski (Tracey Ullman). The final episode of the 11th series saw Susie Greene (Susie Essman), the wife of David’s best friend and manager Jeff Greene (Jeff Garlin) throw a party for the man who testified that he heard Trump ask Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to launch a probe into Joe Biden and his son Hunter over alleged interference in a corruption investigation in exchange for U....

Manchin, whose vote in the 50-50 Senate is imperative to Democrats’ legislative ambitions, came out against President Joe Biden’s ambitious $3.5 budget bill, citing poor foresight on the bills’ economic consequences. “I, for one, won’t support a $3.5 trillion bill, or anywhere near that level of additional spending, without greater clarity about why Congress chooses to ignore the serious effects inflation and debt have on existing government programs,” Manchin said in the op-ed....

“Meta as in ‘we are a cancer to democracy metastasizing into a global surveillance and propaganda machine for boosting authoritarian regimes and destroying civil society… for profit!’” the Democratic congresswoman tweeted in response to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s Thursday announcement. The social media site, as well as Instagram and WhatsApp, won’t be changing their names but will fall under the Meta umbrella, Zuckerberg explained. He said that the change was to reflect what the company is and what they hope to build, and will remain dedicated to “bringing people together....

George Floyd, 46, died after he was arrested and placed in custody in the 3700 block of Chicago Avenue South at around 8 p.m. on Monday. A video of the incident, which has since gone viral, shows a white officer kneeling on the neck of Floyd during the arrest, while Floyd repeatedly tells officers that he can’t breathe. “You’re f******g stopping his breathing right there, bro,” one man off-camera can be heard telling the officers during the nine-minute clip....

A number of highly sought-after players will be in action at the Confederations Cup this summer. With the World Cup dress rehearsal getting underway in Russia next week, and with stars like Alexis Sanchez and Cristiano Ronaldo taking part, Goal has taken a look at the potential movers and shakers in the tournament… ALEXIS SANCHEZ (Manchester City, PSG or Bayern Munich) Alexis Sanchez is a player who is set to dominate headlines this summer....

In a statement shared to Facebook on Sunday night, Sharkey’s mother Stacy Robinault wrote: “It’s with deeply broken hearts that Mike and I want to let you all know that Lexi’s body has been found. We cannot begin to thank you all for your love and the kind words you’ve extended to our family! “Please give us this time to grieve this incredible loss to our family and this world!...

Shehu who was awarded the man of the match in the Super Eagles’ victory over Zambia in September - a game that handed the country its ticket to Russia 2018 - has played in every of Nigeria’s 2018 World Cup qualifying games. The Anorthosis defender took to the social media to express his delight after securing a place in the 24-man delegation for the dead rubber against the Desert Foxes on November 10 and their friendly game against Jorge Sampaoli’s men four days later....