ure on the quarterback in the past three weeks, the Seahawks rediscovered their pass rush.Seattle had two sacks in the first half and finished with four after the Seahawks had five total sacks in the previous five weeks. Cliff Avril was the main culprit with 1 1/2 sacks, giving him a career-high 11 1/

BASEBALLCHICAGO -- Jon Lester gave the Chicago Cubs a chance, Javier Baez supplied the power and Aroldis Chapman finished the job.Lester outpitched Johnny Cueto with eight sparkling innings, Baez homered in the eighth and Chicago beat the San Francisco Giants 1-0 in a tense Game 1 of their NL Division Series.Lester retired his last 13 batters in a dominant performance, but the game was scoreless when Baez sent a towering drive into a stiff wind. With a raucous crowd of 42,148 and every player anxiously tracking the flight of the ball, left fielder Angel Pagan ran out of room as it landed in the basket that tops the ivy-covered walls at Wrigley Field.WASHINGTON -- Clayton Kershaw was hardly at his best. Nothing new when it comes to October.He allowed eight hits and three runs. He needed 101 pitches just to make it through five innings. He still managed to earn a rare playoff victory.Backed by early homers from rookie sensation Corey Seager and Justin Turner off Max Scherzer in a matchup of Cy Young Award winners that promised more than it delivered, Kershaw helped the Los Angeles Dodgers edge the Washington Nationals 4-3 in Game 1 of their NL Division Series.His work done, Kershaw was able to relax in the dugout, chewing gum and blowing bubbles while watching relievers Joe Blanton, Grant Dayton, Pedro Baez and Kenley Jansen combine to give up one hit over four scoreless innings.ARLINGTON, Texas -- Talk about a 1-2-3 punch for the Toronto Blue Jays in these playoffs.The wild-card Blue Jays have rediscovered their power stroke in October, and are going home with a chance to sweep the Texas Rangers in the AL Division Series after a 5-3 win.Edwin Encarnacion capped a three-homer burst in the fifth inning off Yu Darvish, and Toronto won on a dreary, misty afternoon for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five matchup.NFLSANTA CLARA, Calif. -- San Francisco 49ers coach Chip Kelly wouldnt commit to starting Blaine Gabbert new week against Buffalo after a fourth straight loss.Kelly said the entire offense is on notice a day after sputtering in a 33-21 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals.The 49ers are 1-4 and last in the NFC West. Gabbert dropped to 9-31 as a starter, and San Francisco has the NFLs last-ranked passing offense. Gabbert threw two interceptions on his own side of the field that led to 10 Arizona points.NEW YORK -- Cam Newton was fined $9,115 for taunting Falcons linebacker Deion Jones , who avoided a fine for his helmet-to-helmet hit on the Carolina quarterback on a 2-point conversion later that knocked Newton from the game with a concussion.Panthers right guard Trai Turner was fined $24,309 for verbally abusing an official who didnt flag Jones for the hit that the NFL also deemed legal.Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was fined $24,309 for taunting in a loss at Minnesota on Monday night. Redskins cornerback Josh Norman was fined $9,115 for pantomiming a bow and arrow after an interception against the Browns, and Cleveland receiver Terrell Pryor was fined the same amount for using the football as a prop.More than a dozen other players were also fined.COLLEGE FOOTBALLBOSTON -- Deshaun Watson threw four touchdown passes and helped clear the way for Wayne Gallmans 59-yard scoring run with a block and No. 3 Clemson beat Boston College 56-10.Clemson (6-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) extended its conference winning streak to 12 games and its road winning streak to eight, which matches a school record set from 1978-79.Boston College (3-3, 0-3) lost its 11th consecutive ACC game.GOLFNEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- John Daly birdied the final five holes in the Toshiba Classic, leaving him three strokes behind fellow senior newcomer Billy Mayfair and 62-year-old Jay Haas.Making his 14th PGA Tour Champions start since turning 50 in April, Daly finished with a 4-under 67 at Newport Beach Country Club after playing the front nine in even par and dropping a stroke on 13.The two-time major champion has three top-20 finishes on the senior tour, the best a tie for 11th in July in New York at the Dicks Sporting Goods Open.Haas, the 2007 winner, birdied the final hole to match Mayfair at 64.Larry Mize, Paul Goydos and Michael Allen shot 65. Ross Cochran shot 66, and defending champion Duffy Waldorf was at 67 along with Daly, Mark Calcavecchia, Ian Woosnam, Joey Sindelar, Mark Brooks, Jay Don Blake, John Cook, Fred Funk, Billy Andrade, Jerry Smith, Doug Garwood and brothers Bart and Brad Bryant.HOCKEYST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues acquired Russian forward Nail Yakupov from the Edmonton Oilers for forward Zach Pochiro and a conditional draft pick next year.The No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft, the 23-year-old Yakupov had eight goals and 14 assists in 60 games last season. In 252 NHL games with the Oilers, he had 50 goals and 61 assists.The Oilers are first team in NHL history to trade away two of its own first-overall picks in the same year after sending 2010 No. 1 Taylor Hall to New Jersey in June.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The National Womens Hockey Leagues first transgender player scored a goal in his debut, and finally got an opportunity to hear his name announced over the PA system how he always felt it should.And Harrison Browne got to hear it again after the final buzzer, when Buffalo forward was named the games second star in the Beauts 4-1 loss to the Boston Pride on Friday night.The 23-year-old previously went by the name of Hailey Browne. That changed when he went public in announcing he prefers to be known as Harrison and identifies himself as a male in a story first published by ESPN .Ozzie Smith Cardinals Jersey . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. Yadier Molina Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. http://www.authenticcardinalspro.com/cardinals-jedd-gyorko-jersey/ . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. Custom St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. Adam Wainwright Cardinals Jersey . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout.SEATTLE -- For all the flaws, the Seattle Seahawks are back where they always expected to be.In the postseason and as champions of the NFC West.I think its a huge significance in terms of consistency, Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. Its something that we really do take great pride in because of the implications for the playoffs.Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes, Tyler Lockett had 130 yards receiving and a score, and the Seahawks won the NFC West with a 24-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.Seattle claimed its third division title in four seasons, assuring itself of at least one home game in the playoffs and keeping the pressure on Detroit in the competition for the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye. Seattle also snapped a three-game losing streak to the Rams.Seattle became the first team in the NFL to clinch its division, the result of playing in the NFC West in a season where no one was particularly good. The Seahawks have their shortcomings, which were shown again against the Rams. Seattle simply had more tools than anyone else in the division to overcome their flaws.It wasnt a completely smooth evening for the Seahawks. Richard Sherman was seen yelling toward coaches on the sideline in the third quarter moments before Doug Baldwins 1-yard touchdown catch. Sherman said he was expressing his displeasure toward Carroll with the decision to throw on first-and-goal from the 1, a pass by Wilson that was nearly intercepted.Weve already seen how that goes. Im sure you guys have seen that play enough times, Sherman said.It wasnt an impressive display by Seattle (9-4-1), but was far better than Sunday when the Seahawks were blown out by Green Bay with Wilson throwing five interceptions.Wilson was good enough against the listless Rams. After slogging through the first half, Wilson threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin late in the third quarter for a 17-3 lead, then put the game away on a 57-yard touchdown strike to Lockett on the second play of the fourth quarter.Wilson finished 19 of 26 for 229 yards, but also threw a careless interception at the goal line midway through the fourth quarter. Seven of those passes went to Lockett, whose previous career high was 104 yards. Luke Willson also had an 8-yard TD catch in the first half.Another mostly forgettable Thursday night game was made at least somewhat more entertaining by the Seahawks and their highlighter green uniforms that drew wild opinions all over social media. The Action Green uniforms had very little aaction in the first half, before a second-half effort that assured another banner would be raised at CenturyLink Field.ddddddddddddA tumultuous few days for the Rams (4-10) after the firing of Jeff Fisher as head coach culminated in their fifth straight loss and first under interim coach John Fassel. The Rams defensive front caused problems for Seattle in the first half but the Los Angeles offense provided zero help.Its just a lesson for me that you always have to be ready to adapt and take on responsibilities that you didnt anticipate, Fassel said. But its an experience that of course Ill never forget.Jared Goff was 13 of 25 for 135 yards before leaving in the fourth quarter to be checked for a possible concussion. The Rams finished with 183 total yards, but 90 of those came in the fourth quarter.QUIET GURLEYLos Angeles running back Todd Gurley was again unable to get started in the run game, continuing a frustrating second season. Gurley was held to 38 yards on 14 carries. He did have a 22-yard run late in the second quarter that set up Greg Zuerleins 36-yard field goal, but it as just his second run of 20 yards or more this season. Gurley had 11 runs of 20 or more yards last year.There is no reason Gurley should get hit the way he gets hit sometimes because we dont set up a block for him, Los Angeles offensive lineman Rodger Saffold said.SACK ATTACKAfter getting no pressure on the quarterback in the past three weeks, the Seahawks rediscovered their pass rush.Seattle had two sacks in the first half and finished with four after the Seahawks had five total sacks in the previous five weeks. Cliff Avril was the main culprit with 1 1/2 sacks, giving him a career-high 11 1/2 for the season.INJURY REPORTSeattle defensive end Michael Bennett suffered neck strain in the fourth quarter on a collision with Gurley, Carroll said. A few plays later, Goff was taken from the game to be checked for a concussion after a sideline hit by Richard Sherman. He was replaced by Case Keenum.Even Seattle punter Jon Ryan got added to the injury list after suffering concussion in the fourth quarter on a fake punt. Ryan ran 26 yards before bobbling the ball and getting hit in the helmet falling to the turf.UP NEXTRams: Los Angeles will return home to host San Francisco.Seahawks: Seattle will host Arizona in its final home game.---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '