BASEBALL
Series tops football
The 2017 World Series has delivered five close games for the Fox network, a record number of home runs and a ratings victory over football, the most-watched sport in the U.S. The Houston Astros' fifth game victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, a 13-12 slugfest that went into extra innings, drew more viewers to Fox than Sunday Night Football on NBC, the second year in a row that Major League Baseball's World Series has topped football's most-watched prime-time broadcast. While the popularity of the series means solid advertising sales for Fox, this year's contest has little chance of surpassing the 2016 series ratings, in which the Chicago Cubs ended a 108-year title drought by beating the Cleveland Indians. Last year's audience was the largest in 12 years. Still, the 2017 World Series is being viewed by 20 percent of people watching TV through the first five games, according to Fox. World Series viewership peaked in 1986, and no series has averaged more than 30 million viewers a game since 1992. Football has surged in popularity since then, but the sport has suffered viewership declines two years in a row, a headache for the league and media companies that air the games. Baseball, meanwhile, has provided two consecutive thrillers in the fall classic.
TENNIS
Thiem advances
Fifth-seeded Dominic Thiem needed four match points to beat lucky loser Peter Gojowczyk of Germany 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Masters on Tuesday. Having missed three chances to close out the match on his own serve, the Austrian finally won at close to midnight when Gojowczyk -- serving to stay in the match -- whipped a forehand that sailed just long. Thiem next faces either U.S. Open runner-up Kevin Anderson of South Africa or Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the third round. In Tuesday's other second-round matches, Frenchman Nicolas Mahut secured an upset 6-4, 6-1 victory against eighth-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain, and another surprise reverse saw No. 10 Sam Querrey of the United States losing 6-4, 6-4 to Serbian qualifier Filip Krajinovic. In remaining first-round play, Britain's Kyle Edmund rallied from a set and 3-0 down and saved match point before beating Evgeny Donskoy of Russia 5-7, 7-6 (7), 6-3. Edmund next faces 16th-seeded American Jack Sock.
Vandeweghe moves up
Second-seeded CoCo Vandeweghe opened the WTA Elite Trophy at Zhuhai, China, with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Chinese wild-card entry Peng Shuai on Tuesday. Vandeweghe overcame a slow start and two service breaks in the first set, recovering to finish with six aces and converting five of her eight break-point chances in the Bougainvillea group. Seventh-seeded Julia Goerges beat No. 10 Magdalena Rybarakova 6-1, 7-6 (5) in the Azalea group, while fourth-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeated Angelique Kerber 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the Rose group. The tournament features the leading players on the women's tour who didn't qualify for the WTA Finals in Singapore last week, in addition to the wild card awarded to Peng. The 12 players are divided into four groups of three.
BASKETBALL
No option for Okafor
Jahlil Okafor's tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers will not continue past this season. The team will not pick up the 2018-19 option on the player it drafted third overall in the 2015 draft. The team had until Tuesday night to make a decision on player options for first-rounders on rookie deals. Okafor was in line to make $6.3 million in what would be his fourth year, if the option had been picked up. However, the Sixers opted not to retain him after they were unable to find a trade partner. This move allows the Sixers to free up $6.3 million from next season's cap space. The Sixers have been trying to trade Okafor for more than two seasons.
Attles on mend
Al Attles' son says the Warriors' great has been released from the hospital and is much improved. The former coach and player for the franchise and current Golden State ambassador missed last Friday night's game against Washington during which the Warriors paid tribute to his nearly six decades of contributions to the organization. "My father got released yesterday. He is feeling so much better," Alvin Attles III said in a text message Tuesday to The Associated Press. "He says thank you for the well wishes. You will see him at the next home game." While details of his condition weren't made public, his son said it wasn't anything serious, an illness or life-threatening, just that "he's dealing with being 80, it's just wear and tear of being 80."
SOCCER
23 named to roster
Goalkeeper Adrianna Franch was among 23 players named to the U.S. women's roster for a pair of exhibition matches against Canada. Franch was named Goalkeeper of the Year for the National Women's Soccer League after she helped lead the Portland Thorns to the league title. She was last called into training camp in January. Thorns teammate Tobin Heath returned to the roster after sitting out a pair of games against South Korea. Heath hurt her ankle in the NWSL championship match against the North Carolina Courage. Courage defender Taylor Smith, who injured her shoulder in the league title match, also returns to the U.S. roster after missing the past two games. The United States visits BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Nov. 9, before the teams meet again on Nov. 12 in San Jose, Calif.
BASEBALL
Darvish: No need for in-person apology
LOS ANGELES — Yu Darvish didn’t think it was necessary to meet with Yuri Gurriel after the Houston first baseman’s racist gesture toward the Dodgers pitcher.
Gurriel contacted the Dodgers and told them he wanted to meet with the pitcher in person and apologize.
Major League Baseball suspended Gurriel for the first five games next season for pulling on the corners of his eyes after homering off Darvish during Houston’s 5-3 victory Friday. The Cuba-born player also used a derogatory Spanish term in reference to Darvish, who was born in Japan.
“I told him, ‘Hey, you don’t have to do that, because you made a comment, and like I’m not that mad,’ ” Darvish said Tuesday through a translator. “So I really didn’t care much about that.”
Darvish said a Dodgers employee informed him about Gurriel’s gesture, which was caught on television, after the Astros’ victory in Game 3 in Houston.
“I didn’t think it was going to be this big of a deal,” Darvish said. “But to me I wasn’t that frustrated at that point when I saw it the first time.”
Immediately after the game, Darvish said he was angry.
“Acting like that, you just disrespect all the people around the world,” he said.
Darvish later tweeted, “let’s stay positive and move forward instead of focusing on anger.”
Initially, Gurriel apologized in a statement released by the Astros.
“I made an offensive gesture that was indefensible,” he said. “I sincerely apologize to everyone that I offended with my actions. I deeply regret it.”
Gurriel will lose $322,581 of his $12 million salary next year, which the Astros will donate to charitable causes. He also will be required to undergo sensitivity training during the offseason.
Darvish said he couldn’t decide whether Gurriel’s suspension was too much or too little, but that he understood why Commissioner Rob Manfred didn’t impose it during the World Series.
Sports on 11/01/2017