September 2025

There were 1,641 posts published in September 2025 (this is page 94 of 165).

Ime Udoka says Rockets’ fifth starter to be decided during training camp

Fred VanVleet. Amen Thompson. Kevin Durant. Alperen Sengun.

Four of the starting five for the Houston Rockets are locked in, but coach Ime Udoka has a deep roster and can go a lot of other directions with that fifth spot — and it’s something he could change game-to-game depending upon matchups. Udoka told Ben DuBose of RocketsWire that he wanted this to play out in training camp, then make his call (hat tip Hoops Rumors).

“It’s to be determined. I do think Jabari (Smith Jr.) showed tremendous growth this offseason, and obviously he started the majority of his time here, before the injury. But we’ll take a look at everything. We feel we have incredible depth this year and a lot of versatility, so we could go a number of different ways, as far as that. I think some of that will be proven in training camp.”

Smith is the most logical person to be the fifth starter, giving the Rockets both size and shooting. Smith averaged 11.8 points and 6.7 rebounds a game, shooting 34.6% from beyond the arc, in 39 games as a starter last season. Then Smith fractured his hand, Thompson was moved into the starting lineup to replace him, and by the time Smith was healthy, there was no way Thompson was coming out of the starting lineup. That said, Smith thrived in a bench role averaging 13.2 points and 7.7 rebounds a game in fewer minutes.

If he wants to go with size, Udoka could start Steven Adams at the five next to Sengun, they played well off each other last season. If Udoka wants a more traditional wing in that mix, Dorian Finney-Smith is a strong two-way player, plus there is Jeff Green on the roster.

This is what training camp is for — nobody goes in with all the answers, the best teams are open to possibilities. In the end, Smith likely gets the job, but there will be some interesting things to watch in Rockets training camp beyond Kevin Durant.

Brewers clinch MLB’s first playoff spot, then rally to walk off Cardinals in extra innings

Saturday was a good day to be a Milwaukee Brewer. 

First, the Brewers learned that they’d clinched the first berth of the MLB postseason when the New York Mets lost, 3-2 to the Texas Rangers Saturday afternoon. 

Then, they entered their own postgame locker room with even more reason to celebrate. The Brewers spotted the St. Louis Cardinals a 6-1 lead in a home game Saturday night. But they rallied to force extra innings, where Andruw Monasterio walked the Cardinals off to secure a 9-8 Brewers win.

With Caleb Durbin on second base after a double in an 8-8 game, Monasterio hit a line drive to center field that allowed Durbin to score without a play at the plate.  

The walk-off hit capped a run of seven Brewers runs in the final three innings of the game, including two in the 10th after the Cardinals scored one in the top of the inning.

Monasterio’s teammates mobbed him on the infield after the hit as they set off the celebration of what’s been a remarkable regular season. After the game, Durbin spoke with Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal about the win.

“I describe it as Brewers baseball,” Durbin said of the comeback. “We just take it one at-bat at a time, one pitch at a time, try to keep the line moving. We were able to do it in two straight innings. A lot of fun.”

The Brewers are now guaranteed no worse than a wild-card spot. But they project to enter the postseason in considerably better shape. 

With their win over the Cardinals, the Brewers improved to 91-58 and maintain an MLB-best record that few saw coming. It’s a record that includes not one, but two winning streaks of 11-plus games. The second such streak extended to a franchise-record 14 games in August as the Brewers firmly staked their claim as the best team in baseball.

Milwaukee maintains a two-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies for the best record in the NL and MLB in what’s shaping up to be a two-team race down the stretch for the No. 1 seed in the NL. The rival Chicago Cubs sit a distant 6.5 games back with the third-best record in the league and in the race for the NL Central crown, which is the next goal on Milwaukee’s list.

After that comes the monumental task of securing the franchise’s first World Series win.