The week of Sept. 24-30 delivered a major WNBA playoff upset, a tightening Formula One title fight, and an NFL Week 3 that knocked several early unbeaten teams off course. New York swept top-seeded Minnesota, George Russell won in Baku to cut Kimi Antonelli’s championship lead, and Chicago stunned Philadelphia on Monday night. In Mexico, América drew level with Toluca atop Liga MX, América and Rayadas strengthened their Liga MX Femenil positions, and the Mexican Baseball League settled into its offseason after Tijuana’s championship. The NHL regular season also opened, with Florida winning in overtime Tuesday before Pittsburgh and Colorado posted emphatic victories Wednesday.

WNBA

The first round produced the week’s biggest bracket shock. No. 8 New York completed a two-game sweep of No. 1 Minnesota with an 87-71 win Tuesday, becoming the first No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in WNBA history. Jonquel Jones had 21 points and 13 rebounds in the clincher. Atlanta also advanced, beating Washington 93-75 Wednesday to complete a 2-0 sweep and reach the semifinals for the first time since 2018. Indiana forced a deciding Game 3 against Las Vegas with a 99-89 win Tuesday, while Dallas extended its series against Golden State by winning 108-100 in overtime Wednesday as Arike Ogunbowale scored a WNBA playoff-record 45 points.

The Contender Story: The bracket no longer belongs to the regular-season hierarchy. New York’s sweep of Minnesota is the clearest warning that experience and health can matter more than seed number once a short series begins.

MLB

The MLB postseason opened Tuesday with four Wild Card Series games. Atlanta rallied past Philadelphia 5-3 on Austin Riley’s three-run homer in the eighth, the White Sox beat Houston 6-3, the Yankees shut out Boston 9-0 behind Cam Schlittler’s 10 strikeouts and Ben Rice’s two homers and six RBIs, and San Diego blanked the Cubs 8-0 as Michael King allowed one hit over seven innings. On Wednesday, Chicago eliminated Houston 7-3, New York completed a sweep of Boston 9-2, and San Diego finished its sweep of the Cubs 4-1. Philadelphia kept its season alive with a 4-3, 10-inning win over Atlanta as Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber hit back-to-back homers in the eighth, and Alec Bohm homered in the 10th, forcing a decisive Game 3 Thursday. 

The Contender Story: Three Wild Card Series ended in two-game sweeps, sending the White Sox, Yankees, and Padres directly to the Division Series. Philadelphia’s late comeback was the exception, turning the Braves-Phillies matchup into the postseason’s first winner-take-all game. 

Liga MX

Jornada 10 ended with Toluca and América level on 20 points at the top of the Apertura standings, with Toluca holding first place on goal difference. América climbed with a 4-2 road win over Necaxa as Henry Martín scored a hat trick, his fourth for the club. Toluca drew Cruz Azul 3-3, while Guadalajara slipped to third on 18 points after a 2-0 loss to Querétaro. The results left only three points separating first from a cluster of clubs on 17.

The Contender Story: Toluca still owns the top line, but América’s game in hand and Henry Martín’s scoring surge have turned the lead into a genuine two-club pressure point rather than a comfortable advantage.

Liga MX Femenil

Rayadas moved to 24 points atop Group A with a 2-1 win over Puebla, while Tigres drew Atlético de San Luis 1-1 and slipped to 22. FC Juárez stayed close at 21 after a 5-1 win over Tijuana. In Group B, América overwhelmed León 5-0 behind a Priscila Da Silva hat trick and reached 25 points, seven clear of Guadalajara. Toluca’s 4-0 win over Necaxa completed Jornada 9.

The Contender Story: América has created the clearest separation in either group, while Group A remains a three-team race among Rayadas, Tigres, and Juárez. The contrast makes América’s consistency the league’s key benchmark.

Formula One

George Russell won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the pole, holding off Max Verstappen by one tenth of a second for his third victory of the season. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli recovered from 16th on the grid to finish fifth after a difficult weekend. Antonelli still leads the Drivers’ Championship with 302 points to Russell’s 236, a 66-point margin. Mercedes leads the Constructors’ Championship with 538 points; Ferrari is its nearest challenger. Sergio Pérez finished 14th for Cadillac after a post-race penalty adjustment, matching his best result of the season.

The Contender Story: Russell did more than win a race: he turned an 81-point deficit into 66 in one weekend. Antonelli remains firmly in control, but Baku supplied the first meaningful late-season pressure on the championship leader.

NFL

Week 3 cut down the unbeaten list. Buffalo improved to 3-0 with a 24-16 win over the Chargers, Kansas City moved to 3-0 by beating Miami 24-10, and Minnesota reached 3-0 with a 23-16 win at Tampa Bay. Las Vegas also stayed perfect, beating New Orleans 35-27. The week’s biggest upset came Monday night, when Chicago beat previously unbeaten Philadelphia 27-7 behind veteran backup Case Keenum, who threw two touchdown passes and added a rushing score. The night also made cultural history as Chicago-based Mariachi Herencia de México became the first mariachi group to perform the U.S. national anthem at Soldier Field, part of the Bears’ Latino Heritage Month celebration. Washington also handed Seattle its first loss, 33-31.

The Contender Story: Buffalo, Kansas City, Minnesota, and Las Vegas survived the first three weeks unbeaten, but Chicago’s demolition of Philadelphia showed how quickly the early pecking order can change when injuries and turnovers enter the equation.

UEFA Champions League

The Champions League had no matches during the Sept. 24-30 reporting window. The league phase remains between Matchday 1, played Sept. 8-10, and Matchday 2 on Oct. 13-14. Paris Saint-Germain’s 6-1 opening win and Bayern Munich’s 5-0 victory remain the strongest goal-difference starts, with Barcelona and Manchester United also coming off four-goal opening wins.

The Contender Story: The long break freezes the early standings but raises the value of Matchday 2: clubs with strong opening wins can build immediate separation, while teams that stumbled have had more than a month to correct course.

NHL

The NHL regular season opened on Sept. 29, with Florida spoiling Carolina’s Stanley Cup Champions banner unveiling night with a 1-0 overtime win; Vancouver beat Edmonton 6-5 in overtime as Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard became the first NHL defenseman with a five-point game in a season opener; Boston shut out the New York Rangers 3-0, Montreal beat Toronto 3-2, and Vegas defeated Chicago 5-2. Wednesday brought three more games: Pittsburgh routed Philadelphia 7-0 behind two goals from Nicholas Robertson and a 19-save shutout by Arturs Silovs, Toronto edged the New York Islanders 2-1, and Colorado beat Los Angeles 8-4 as Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen scored twice each.

The Contender Story: Opening week offered reminders rather than conclusions. Pittsburgh and Colorado supplied the most emphatic Wednesday statements, while Florida’s overtime win over the defending champion Hurricanes showed how little margin may separate contenders from the opening puck drop.