ATLANTA (AP) — Bryce Harper homered, Ranger Suárez and the Philadelphia bullpen stifled baseball's most prolific offense, and the Phillies blanked the 104-win Atlanta Braves 3-0 in Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Saturday night.

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) — Carter Peevy passed for 317 yards and two touchdowns — with 14 catches and 285 yards by Ty James — and Mercer beat East Tennessee State 24-6 on Saturday.

KENNESAW, Ga. (AP) — Jordan Gant ran for two touchdowns and Tennessee State handed Kennesaw State its fifth straight loss, 27-20 on Saturday.

Rebeca Andrade of Brazil denied Simone Biles a 22nd world title by winning the women's vault competition ahead of the American superstar on Saturday.

The Atlanta Braves made a couple of surprising roster moves for the National League Division Series, adding hard-throwing reliever Daysbel Hernández and top prospect AJ Smith- Shawver ahead of Game 1 Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

ATLANTA (AP) — A fast start, and a home win, could take some heat off Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder. Back-to-back losses have dropped the Falcons (2-2) to .500 entering Sunday's game against rookie C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans (2-2). The Texans will be trying for their first three-game winning streak since 2018.

CHICAGO (AP) — A photo of Dick Butkus sneering behind his facemask filled the cover of Sports Illustrated’s 1970 NFL preview, topped by the headline, “The Most Feared Man in the Game.” Opponents who wound up on the business end of his bone-rattling hits could testify that wasn’t an exaggeration. Butkus, a middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears whose speed and ferocity set the standards for the position in the modern era, died Thursday, the team announced. He was 80.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami’s offense is rolling. Georgia Tech’s defense is not. In simplest terms, that’ll be the story when the 17th-ranked Hurricanes (4-0, 0-0) open Atlantic Coast Conference play on Saturday night against the Yellow Jackets (2-3, 1-1). Georgia Tech is coming off a 38-27 loss to Bowling Green last week, one that led to Kevin Sherrer being elevated to defensive coordinator.

Georgia’s shaky win at Auburn last week cost the Bulldogs points even as they held the No. 1 spot in The AP Top 25. Now comes the Bulldogs’ first test against another Top 25 team. Georgia (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) will put its top ranking and 22-game winning streak on the line when the Bulldogs play No. 20 Kentucky (5-0, 2-0) on Saturday night.

Two and done. Across the board. Texas, Minnesota, Arizona and Philadelphia finished off postseason sweeps Wednesday as all four best-of-three Wild Card Series ended in two games.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons signed defensive lineman Eli Ankou to their active roster on Wednesday. Wide receiver Josh Ali was placed on injured reserve after missing last week's game against Jacksonville in London with an ankle injury.

ATLANTA (AP) — The image of Ronald Acuña Jr. stealing second base and then holding the bag above his head in triumphant glory is a signature moment from the Atlanta Braves' season. The steal did more than make Acuña the game's charter member of the 40-70 club. It also set him up to score the go-ahead run in a 6-5 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 27.

The ACC is off to a promising start this season with several notable non-conference victories and five teams ranked in the Top 25. A common thread is easy to find: Check behind center. The Atlantic Coast Conference, not always known for its strong cadre of quarterbacks, has 10 of the top 60 passers in yards per game this season.

NEW YORK (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. was selected major league player of the year by Baseball Digest and eBay after hitting 41 home runs and stealing 73 bases for the Atlanta Braves. The outfielder beat out two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, who didn't play after Sept. 3 because of injuries.

LONDON (AP) — Desmond Ridder hasn't put up big numbers in his handful of NFL starts for the Atlanta Falcons. At least he hadn't thrown many interceptions, though. Until Sunday.

LONDON (AP) — Calvin Ridley is making the most of his second chance, in more ways than one. The wide receiver held on to a touchdown pass — after a couple of key drops last week — to help the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Atlanta Falcons 23-7 on Sunday at Wembley Stadium.

GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy (AP) — The best collection of players at Marco Simone had flags from their eight countries draped around their shoulders as they took turns clutching and thrusting the gold Ryder Cup, the very trophy that turns them into one nation, one team, with one purpose.

ATLANTA (AP) — One final power milestone for the Atlanta Braves was especially memorable for Marcell Ozuna. The Braves homered three times to tie the major league season record of 307 but lost their regular-season finale 10-9 to the Washington Nationals on Sunday as Jacob Young drove in two runs with a go-ahead single in the ninth.

Tim Wakefield, the knuckleballing workhorse of the Red Sox pitching staff who bounced back after giving up a season-ending home run to the Yankees in the 2003 playoffs to help Boston win its …

Georgia’s hold on No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll loosened as the Bulldogs received a season-low 35 first-place votes out of possible 62. The Bulldogs needed a late touchdown to …

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — With Georgia's No. 1 ranking and lengthy winning streak on the line, Brock Bowers caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from Carson Beck in the final minutes of a 27-20 win over Auburn on Saturday. The Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) made it the Beck-and-Bowers show in the fourth quarter to bail out of another slow start and SEC scare.

ATLANTA (AP) — Finn Hogan's 1-handed scoring catch late in the first half gave Bowling Green the lead, Deshawn Jones Jr. returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown and the Falcons upset Georgia Tech 38-27 on Saturday.

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — It’s been a year since Chase Elliott won a Cup Series race, a drought that played a role in NASCAR’s most popular driver missing the playoffs in what's guaranteed to be the worst season of his career. As Elliott returns for Sunday's race at Talladega Superspeedway, site of his last victory, there’s no sugarcoating his season.

ATLANTA (AP) — Carter Kieboom, Jake Alu, Kibert Ruiz, Dominic Smith and Lane Thomas homered to help the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 10-6 on Friday night. Washington tied a season high for homers on a night the NL East champion Braves started resting regulars to prepare for the postseason.

ATLANTA (AP) — Matt Olson hit his major league-leading 54th homer, and the Atlanta Braves clinched home-field advantage throughout the postseason with a 5-3 win over the slumping Chicago Cubs on Thursday night. Austin Riley had three hits and scored two runs as the Braves (103-56) won for the sixth time in seven games. The NL East champions can match the franchise record for wins with a season-ending sweep of the Nationals.