United to face San Antonio FC in playoffs
New Mexico United will face off against San Antonio FC in the conference quarterfinals of the United Soccer League playoffs.
San Antonio, who finished 10-3-3 this season, finished in first place in Group D. However, the team finished out the season with two losses – which can translate well for New Mexico when the two meet up.
While New Mexico (8-4-3) finished in second place in Group C behind El Paso – after leading the group much of the season – the team did, however, did cap the season off with a 1-0 victory over Real Monarchs SLC. United was also the only team in the USL to play all road matches this season, as health orders in the state prohibited the second-year USL team from hosting any home matches in Albuquerque.
The quarterfinals match between United and San Antonio will be played on Saturday (Oct. 10) at 7 p.m., and it will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The winner of this upcoming match will face the winner of El Paso and FC Tulsa, who also play on Saturday though with a 7:30 p.m. match start time.
NBA Finals in the thick of it
The Los Angeles Lakers took a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat last Friday (Oct. 2), but the Heat didn’t back down despite injuries to two of the team’s top players.
Despite playing without leading scorer Goran Dragic and big man Bam Adebayo, the Heat on Sunday (Oct. 4) defeated the Lakers 115104. The Heat had a huge game behind Jimmy Butler, who led his team with 40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists; it was the first time in LeBron James’ 10 NBA Finals appearance that an opponent – or teammate – outplayed the 17th year veteran.
The two teams will have met again after this story goes to press (Oct. 6) when they play on the same day but at 7 p.m. With a Heat win, the series will be tied at 2-2; with a Lakers win, they can take a commanding 3-1 lead.
Regardless, Miami’s win on Sunday forced a game five – which will be played on Friday (Oct. 9) at 7 p.m.
Divisional rounds kickoff in MLB playoffs
With the Wild Card series behind us, it’s time for the best teams in baseball to kick off the Divisional Series – for both the National League and American League.
The ALDS started on Monday (Oct. 5).
While the wild card was just the best of three games, the divisional round will be the best of five.
Just eight teams are left to fight for the crown – four in each division.
The Atlanta Braves swept Cincinnati to advance, and will face the Miami Marlins in the NLDS – which began on Tuesday (Oct. 6); the Marlins defeated the Chicago Cubs by sweep to get there. San Diego won an exciting series over the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 during the wild card, and will face the
powerhouse Dodgers, who swept Milwaukee.
As for the ALDS, the Yankees will take on the Rays – after both squads swept their wild card opponents. And the Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros will face off in
the divisional series.
While there are a total of five games in this series, the first team to win three games will advance to the Championship Series.