Major League Soccer suspended two players for a ‘potential violation of league rules’ before their opening matches in the MLS Cup Playoffs this week.

Los Angeles FC’s Yaw Yeboah and Columbus Crew’s Derrick Jones were placed on administrative leave pending review, the league said in a Saturday, Oct. 25 statement.

MLS declined comment when contact by USA TODAY Sports about why the players were suspended.

Yeboah, 28, has played in 23 games across all competitions with a goal for LAFC in 2025. He signed a two-year deal in January 2025, making $550,000 in guaranteed compensation.

LAFC acquired Yeboah from San Diego FC, which selected him in the 2024 MLS Re-Entry draft after Columbus did not re-sign him. He played 93 total games with Columbus from 2022-24.

Yeboah started his career in Europe with England’s Manchester City in 2014, but did not play with the club. He made stops at French club Lille (2015-16), Dutch club Twente (2016-17), and Spanish clubs Real Oviedo (2017-18), Numancia (2018-2020) and Celta Fortuna (2019-2020). He also played Wisła Kraków in Poland (2020-22) before joining MLS. Yeboah played with Ghana’s Under-20, Under-23 and Senior Team during his career.

Jones, 28, has only played three matches for Columbus in 2025, making $387,500 in guaranteed compensation.

Jones has played with five different MLS clubs in his career, including the Philadelphia Union’s first and second team (2016-19), Nashville SC (2019-20), Houston Dynamo (2021-22), Charlotte FC (2022-23) and Columbus since 2024. He also played with United States Under-20 team in 2017, and the Under-23 team in 2019.

Columbus Crew will face FC Cincinnati in Game 1 of their first-round, best-of-three series on Monday, Oct. 27, while LAFC hosts Austin FC in Game 1 on Wednesday.

Jordan Gumberg has secured his DP World Tour card on Sunday, Oct. 26, by finishing his season with an impressive final shot. He made an eagle on the 18th hole at the Genesis Championship in South Korea, held at the Woo Jeong Hills Country Club.

The American golfer, who began the competition in 127th place, needed a strong performance to move into the top 115 of the Race to Dubai, a season-long competition. Despite challenging weather conditions, Gumberg made a crucial shot by hitting an eagle from 58 yards out on the 18th hole, which secured his tour card for the next season. Gumberg aimed to finish at least 14th in what was his 34th event of the season in order to earn the points necessary to improve his standing.

After Gumberg’s impressive shot on the 18th hole, the joy and celebration were palpable. He was seen jumping with excitement and celebrating with his caddie.

Quarterback Marcel Reed said Moffitt gave Texas A&M so extra motivation in its preparation leading up to the 49-25 win.

‘Thursday, he brought in a tackling dummy with Brian Kelly’s face on it,’ Reed told reporters after the win. ‘We all just started kicking and stomping it and stuff like that.’

‘Last two years in second half against LSU we outscored them 60-6,’ Aggies coach Mike Elko said after game. ‘Says a lot about Coach Moffitt.’

Texas A&M proved it’s one of the best teams in college football this season, as it defeated LSU 49-25, putting up six offensive touchdowns and 426 total yards on the nation’s No. 26-ranked defense entering the night.

Reed led the way with 202 passing yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 108 yards and two scores.

Moffitt might not have played against LSU, but his presence was certainly felt in the win.

‘This one was an important one for him,’ Reed said. ‘… Definitely played a little bit of this game for Moffitt because he had so much passion for the game and does so much for us.’

This story was updated to change a video.

TORONTO — Los Angeles Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw leaned back against his locker Saturday trying to describe what he just witnessed.

He has three Cy Young awards and two World Series championships.

He has won an MVP award, made 11 All-Star Games, won five Cy Young titles and a Gold Glove, too.

But never, ever in his 18-year career, did he ever see what teammate Yoshinobu Yamamato accomplished Saturday night, going where no man has gone in 33 years.

Yamamoto, after pitching a four-hit complete game and retiring the last 20 batters he faced in the Dodgers’ 5-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays to even the World Series at one-game apiece, may have just changed the future of baseball.

He just brought back a golden age of pitching.

In one glorious night, Yamamoto became the first pitcher since Curt Schilling of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001 to throw consecutive complete games in the postseason, with Atlanta’s Tom Glavine the last to do it including a World Series game.

He was the first pitcher to end a World Series game by retiring 20 consecutive batters since Don Larsen’s perfect game in 1956, and only the second in 99 years, dating back to Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1926.

And he was the first Dodgers pitcher to strike out at least eight batters without a walk in a World Series complete game since Sandy Koufax in 1963.

“There’s not enough adjectives, superlatives, anything you want to say,’ Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “To do it in back-to-back starts, in less than 110 pitches, it’s amazing.’

So now he knows what the boys must have felt like a century ago when Alexander and Cy Young were pitching?

Or maybe back even further.

“Maybe we got our own new Old Hoss (Radbourn),’ Freeman said.

Well, it’s safe to say we’ll never see the Dodgers let Yamamoto throw at least 425 innings for six consecutive seasons like Old Hoss, let alone 678 innings back in 1884 – but you get the idea.

Considering that no pitcher had thrown a complete game in the World Series since Johnny Cueto in 2015, did Kershaw imagine that he’d ever see the feat?

“I don’t think anybody could have predicted that,’ Kershaw said. “But you know, maybe it’s a sign of where baseball should, and will get back to. I think it’s always fun to have great starting pitching matchups, and to see him go deep into games, maybe this gives some people some ideas for the future, hopefully.’

Considering the way Yoshinobu was pitching, retiring the last 20 batters he faced with complete ease, his pitch count of 105 pitches was as irrelevant as the number of sunflower seeds spit onto the Rogers Centre field.

“The way Yosh is throwing right now and the way we’re built right now,’ Kershaw said, “he could throw 150 pitches if he wants. …

“I just think the way he throws the baseball is like perfect. No wasted movement. So efficient. He came here with a fastball, curveball, split and now he’s throwing sinkers, cutters, sliders. So, he’s got six pitches with command that he uses really well.’

Yes, there’s a reason why he was the most coveted free agent pitcher two years ago before signing a 12-year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers.

They wouldn’t have won the World Series without him a year ago.

And they’re not in position for a repeat this year without him going 3-1 with a 1.57 ERA in the postseason..

Since giving up five runs in the first three innings of his postseason debut a year ago, he is yielding a 1.62 ERA, striking out 40 batters over 44 ⅓ innings, with the Dodgers going 6-1 in his starts.

When Dodgers manager Dave Roberts couldn’t stop with the praise.

“Outstanding, uber competitive, special,’’ Roberts said. “It was one of those things he said before the series, losing is not an option, and he had that look tonight.’

The Blue Jays, who came out swinging at the first six pitches they saw, with George Springer opening with a double and Nathan Lukes following with a single, thought they were on him.

Nope.

They not only failed to hit the ball out of the infield the rest of the inning but managed only two hits the rest of the game.

The Blue Jays looked absolutely clueless.

“He was unbelievable,’ Springer said. “He did what he does best. … He showed why he is who he is. …

“Just one of those situations where a very, very elite guy had a great game.’

Yamamoto was so dominant that after Alejandro Kirk’s sacrifice fly in the third inning, Yamamoto allowed only three balls to leave the infield the rest of the game.

“My pitching style is just keep attacking the zone,’ Yamamoto said.

The Dodgers bullpen spent the entire game just soaking in the atmosphere, with Rōki Sasaki only warming up in the ninth inning.

“I mean, he could have went another 30, 40 pitches tonight,’ Roberts said.

And even at 140 pitches, he still would be better than anyone else the Dodgers could have brought in from the bullpen.

Yamamoto is built for this moment. He may be only in his second year pitching in the major leagues, but he was a star in Japan, Eiji Sawamura Award three times before setting foot in LA.

“He’s pitched in huge ball games in Japan,’ Roberts said. “He’s pitched in the WBC. Players that have the weight of a country on their shoulders, that’s pressure.

“So, I just feel that part of his DNA is to just perform at a high level in big spots and control his heartbeat and just continue to make pitches.’’

The only time Yamamoto was in the least bit of trouble was in the first inning when he threw 23 pitches, and then he never broke a sweat the rest of the game.

“It’s amazing,’ Freeman said. “As he was going along in the fifth, sixth, seventh, I was just thinking about how poised and how he was in control of the game, and what he was trying to do … He just throws it whenever he wants. He sets up hitters, understands hitters’ swings and he’s just incredible.’’

And when he takes the ball to start the game, Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior says, he expects to finish it.

“I love it,’ Roberts said. “I love feeling that the starter is the best option to go six, seven, eight [innings], and what Yamamoto is doing, nine innings. You got to be efficient, you got to have the weapons to be able to take down a lineup three times, four times, whatever it is, and you got to want to do it.

“So he is a throwback player. It’s a lot of fun to root for a guy, and you feel good about leaving a guy like that in.’’

Yamamoto, who has easily become baseball’s most dominant pitcher this entire postseason, is scheduled to start Game 6 back in Toronto.

The Blue Jays believe that after seeing Yamamoto for the first time, they’ll be more prepared.

One little problem, as the Dodgers cautioned leaving the clubhouse.

The way they’re pitching, and with the next three games back at Dodger Stadium, there may not be a Game 6.

“That’s our hope,’ Freeman said.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

Houston football was playing for a bigger purpose in its win over Arizona State on Oct. 25.

Cougars strength and conditioning coach Kurt Hester died on Oct. 25, just a few hours before Houston’s 24-16 win over No. 25 Arizona State. Hester was battling Stage IV melanoma, a fight that was featured on ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ earlier this season.

Hester was diagnosed with melanoma in February, and was given four to six weeks to live, according to the announcement. His cancer was receding before he was hospitalized ahead of Houston’s game against Arizona on Oct. 18 with an infection.

Coach Willie Fritz honored Hester after the win.

‘It’s a bittersweet win, without question,’ Fritz told reporters after the game. ‘Kurt Hester was an unbelievably important person in our football program. I’ve been with him for a while. He’s the best strength and conditioning coach I’ve ever been around, but more importantly, just a fantastic role model for our student-athletes.’

Hester was in his second season with the program after following Fritz to Houston from Tulane, where he worked from 2022-23. He was nominated for the 2025 Capital One Orange Bowl FWAA Courage Award on Oct. 22.

‘He (has) just been such a light in such a dark time in his life,’ Houston star tight end Tanner Koziol said after the game. ‘It just goes to show the impact that someone can have on hundreds of people, thousands of people. He stared death in the face and he didn’t blink. He was truly unbreakable. He defined that word by living it.’

Koziol said Hester spoke to the team for the last time on Oct. 23, and shared Hester’s message postgame.

‘It was really, ‘what type of man do you want to be?’ when you’re faced with adversity, especially,’ Koziol said. ‘When things are going good, when things are going bad, people are going to look at you, and they’re going to want you to step up. And are you going to be the guy that steps up, or are you not going to? He was just unbelievable. … Him not speaking but showing up everyday said enough.’

Hester was clearly not only an important figure to those in the Houston program, but also in college football, as strength coaches and others were inspired by his story, as evident by the outpouring of support on social media.

‘Kurt showed his unbreakable spirit every day,’ Fritz said. ‘He had a tremendously positive influence on every single person in our program and on this program as a whole. Kurt was fortunate enough to love what he did for a living and had an unbelievable impact on so many people across so many programs. Kurt had his family, faith and football and that’s what he cared about.’

It’s National Tight End Day, but will the Buffalo Bills’ tight end be able to participate in the festivities? Kincaid continues to nurse an oblique issue that sidelined him heading into the bye week.

Now coming out of it, the Bills are motivated to avoid a three-game losing streak. Whether or not Kincaid will be there to help remains to be seen, since his status is coming down to the wire.

Kincaid remains the key to unlocking the receiving game in the tight end room and adds another dimension to the Bills’ increasingly stoppable offense. Getting him back would go a long way in starting to solve those problems.

Here’s the latest on Kincaid before Week 8.

Is Dalton Kincaid playing today?

Kincaid is officially active for the Bills in Week 8 against the Carolina Panthers.

He profiled as a true game-time decision, with clarity on Kincaid’s status finally coming when inactive reports were due 90 minutes prior to kickoff.

The tight end has been battling an oblique issue, which sidelined him for the Bills’ last game before their bye week. Kincaid was a surprise inactive for that ‘Monday Night Football’ contest after logging three limited practice sessions.

It remains the case after three limited practices before Week 8, though it is notable that Kincaid was able to shed the non-contact jersey in advance of Buffalo’s trip to Carolina.

Bills TE depth chart

Dalton Kincaid
Dawson Knox
Jackson Hawes

Kincaid is the clear top receiving option out of Buffalo’s tight end room. The volume hasn’t always been there for the third-year tight end, but he has three touchdowns in five games and continues to make his presence felt.

Knox and Hawes play more of the secondary role since neither of them are considered receiving threats. In other words, without Kincaid, Buffalo would just turn the lights off on their tight ends in the passing attack.

No. 8 Mississippi’s win over No. 11 Oklahoma has essentially secured the Rebels a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Oklahoma’s playoff chances are slim after the loss, and the team faces a difficult schedule to close out the season.
Vanderbilt, Brigham Young, and Iowa were among the weekend’s biggest winners, with each team improving its postseason outlook.

No. 8 Mississippi’s 34-26 win against No. 11 Oklahoma is essentially a College Football Playoff clincher for the Rebels, who avoided a second loss in as many weeks and close with South Carolina, The Citadel, Florida and Mississippi State.

While they’ll be expected to run the table in November, the Rebels could likely survive a second loss and earn an at-large berth. Not so for Oklahoma, which may needs to win out against a brutal four-game run to cap the regular season.

No team in the Bowl Subdivision will have it tougher down the stretch. The Sooners will play No. 17 Tennessee and No. 4 Alabama on the road and then face No. 14 Missouri and No. 19 LSU at home.

The odds of a playoff berth are growing increasingly slim. A more pertinent question with a crucial run ahead: Can the Sooners and Brent Venables salvage some lost momentum with a strong November and at a minimum avoid a highly scrutinized offseason?

Doing so would require some major growth from an offense that has cratered after a strong start, in no small part because of an injury to quarterback John Mateer. While he missed only the Kent State win, the Washington State transfer has two touchdowns against three interceptions and just 36 rushing yards in his past three games.

And while the defense has helped carry the load, the Rebels gained 431 yards and ran 87 plays, eventually wearing down the Sooners’ defense and owning the fourth quarter.

There needs to be a recalibration of expectations. This isn’t an elite team, the earlier win against No. 24 Michigan notwithstanding; the Wolverines would probably be favored if the two teams met next Saturday. Oklahoma is a pretty good team in a brutal conference that chews up and spits out good teams.

At this point, the Sooners have to win at least one and likely two games in November to develop some momentum heading into what should be a make-or-break 2026 season for Venables.

Oklahoma and Vanderbilt lead Saturday’s biggest winners and losers:

Winners

Vanderbilt

This is the world we live in: No. 2 Indiana is an absolute behemoth and No. 10 Vanderbilt is pretty damn good, too. The Commodores scored one of the biggest regular-season wins in program history by beating Missouri 17-10, securing the victory with a late defensive stand after taking the lead on a Diego Pavia touchdown run with under two minutes to play. Now 7-1 and with beleaguered Texas up next, Vanderbilt is inching closer to an unexpected playoff berth that would speak to the wildly increased level of parity in the Power Four. Pavia had 149 yards of offense and that one score while Missouri lost starting quarterback Beau Pribula to an injury early in the second half.

Texas A&M

No. 3 A&M actually trailed LSU 18-14 at halftime, which makes it even more ridiculous to see the Aggies lead 35-18 with four minutes left in the third quarter. This 49-25 win was a story of two programs heading into opposite directions: LSU is down, down, down under Brian Kelly while the Aggies are flourishing in a major way under second-year coach Mike Elko. The highly impressive third quarter showed that A&M is not just capable of winning the SEC but the whole thing, too, especially with the way the offense, defense and special teams worked in concert to bulldoze hapless LSU. At this point, the Aggies are everything the Tigers are not.

Brigham Young

Unbeaten but still not taken too seriously as a legitimate contender, No. 10 Brigham Young climbed out of a pair of double-digit holes in the first half and scored a 41-27 win at Iowa State behind an eye-opening game from freshman Bear Bachmeier. While the Cyclones turned the ball over four times, including three interceptions from Rocco Becht, Bachmeier threw for 307 yards, ran for a team-high 49 yards and had three combined touchdowns with no giveaways. Being plus-four in turnovers meant the difference for the Cougars, who were outgained overall and gave up 184 yards on the ground. Now 8-0, BYU has turned a corner as a program the past two seasons.

Iowa

While a shot the Big Ten crown is unlikely given an earlier loss to No. 2 Indiana, the recipe is coming together for Iowa just in time to make a serious run at an at-large playoff bid. The Hawkeyes combined an elite defense, a largely error-free performance on offense and opportunistic special teams to swamp Minnesota 41-3, continuing an outright ownership of this rivalry. (Some Big Ten math: Iowa is to Minnesota what Minnesota is to Nebraska, but Iowa is also to Nebraska what Minnesota is to Nebraska, if that makes sense.) Iowa got started with a 75-yard touchdown drive on the game’s opening possession and then scored on a pick-six and a punt return to lead 31-0 at halftime.

Houston

The Cougars are for real in coach Willie Fritz’s second season. (He’s won everywhere else he’s been, so we’re not surprised.) While No. 25 Arizona State made things tight by scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter, beating the Sun Devils 24-16 in Tempe might be the program’s best wins in years given how firmly Houston is now set as one of the top contenders in the Big 12 heading into November.

Losers

UCLA

Nico Iamaleava was sacked on the first play of scrimmage, tossed a pick-six a play later and things didn’t get much better for UCLA, which completely outclassed in a 56-6 loss to Indiana that snapped a three-game winning streak in Big Ten play. Iamaleava completed 13 of 27 throws for 113 yards and had two interceptions as the Hoosiers held UCLA to just 201 yards on 3.8 yards per play. While not unexpected, the loss does reveal the Bruins’ inherent flaws heading into games against Nebraska, No. 1 Ohio State, Washington and Southern California to end the regular season.

Brian Kelly

Red-faced and furious Brian Kelly we know. But we’re becoming more familiar with where-am-I-and-what’s-happening Brian Kelly, who had blank stares and few words as A&M was driving his team into the ground in the second half. That he’s running out of answers means LSU is running out of time and patience with a coach who is destined to become the first since Gerry DiNardo to not win a national championship with the Tigers.

Bill Belichick

Moral victories aren’t why UNC is paying a six-time Super Bowl champion $10 million per season. But that’s where we are with the Tar Heels, who fought and clawed to hang with No. 16 Virginia – just like California the week before – but lost 17-16 in overtime to fall to 2-5 overall and 0-3 in the ACC. The defense has made some nice gains since the opener against TCU, but the UNC offense is a punchless and inept group that will clearly need to be redone this offseason. The big question: Will Belichick be around for the overhaul?

SMU

Wake Forest drilled a 50-yard field goal with no time left and topped SMU 13-12 to snap the Mustangs’ 20-game winning streak in regular-season conference games, the longest streak in the FBS. Now with a loss in conference and three overall, SMU can only make a return trip to the playoff by winning out – and getting a little bit of help along the way – to reach the ACC championship game. That’s good news for Arkansas, which has zeroed in on SMU coach Rhett Lashlee to replace Sam Pittman and could make that hire official in early December instead of waiting until later in the month.

South Florida

The No. 20 Bulls led Memphis 21-7 in the second quarter, 24-14 at halftime and 31-17 heading into the fourth quarter but lost 34-31 after missing a 52-yard field goal as time expired. This is an awful loss for a team that went into the weekend atop the American and in the driver’s seat for the Group of Five’s guaranteed playoff bid. It’s also hard to see how this happened: USF racked up 564 yards overall, ran for 295 yards on 7.8 yards per carry, held Memphis just 3.8 yards per carry and converted 12 of 18 third-down attempts. The loss drops the Bulls a game behind Navy in the conference standings.

The ‘Fire Kelly’ chants only increased in volume and number, especially in the fourth quarter, with Texas A&M going on a 35-0 scoring run in the second half to widen LSU’s deficit to 49-18. The Tigers scored a late touchdown to make the final 49-25.

Saturday’s showing by the Tigers is a continuation of what their last month has looked — and felt — like. LSU has not been able to pull out a game plan and execute it to its finest against a ranked opponent in SEC play. The Tigers had their running game essentially removed by Ole Miss back on Sept. 27 and then ran into the bulldozer of Diego Pavia and Vanderbilt last week in Nashville.

LSU gave up a 79-yard punt return touchdown to Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion in the third quarter. ESPN’s cameras caught Kelly immediately bringing out his frustration on special teams coordinator Aman Anand.

LSU suffered its first loss at home since Nov. 9 of last season, against Alabama, a game which they were crushed 42-13.

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