You might have figured the Detroit Tigers and a staff full of Cy Young award winners would make it to the American League Championship Series. And you might have figured they’d be there playing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Mike Trout.

And you’d be wrong. The Baltimore Orioles swept the Tigers in three games and the Kansas City Royals did the same to the Angels. The O’s and Royals will meet to decide who represents the AL in the World Series. The Royals haven’t advanced that far since 1985 (and hadn’t been in the postseason since then, either). The Orioles last played in a World Series in 1983 (and won it, as the Royals did in ’85). Both National League divisional series continue Monday night. The San Francisco Giants hold a 2-0 edge over the Washington Nationals after winning twice in DC and the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals are tied 1-1 in the best-of-five round, which now moves to St. Louis.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

A weekend of upsets wrought a major upheaval in the AP poll after it had been static for a bit. Other than Florida State hanging on at No. 1, the rest of upper echelon has a new look. Auburn is now No. 2 and Ole Miss and Mississippi State share the No. 3 spot. Those two in-state competitors have never before been ranked in the top 5 at the same time and MSU has attained its highest ranking ever. It hasn’t won the Southeastern Conference championship since 1941. Baylor grabbed the fifth spot and Notre Dame is sixth.

NFL

The Arizona Cardinals and Cincinnati Bengals both lost, leaving the NFL with no unbeaten teams five weeks into the season. The ’72 Dolphins, the only team to complete a no-loss season, can rest easy. The Seattle Seahawks play the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football.

NASCAR

Joey Logano earned the first automatic berth into the next round of NASCAR’s championship race with a victory Sunday at Kansas Speedway.

Logano’s win moved him into the third round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, which begins after upcoming races at Charlotte and Talladega. Four drivers will be cut from the 12-driver field after Talladega.

Today’s question

Can the Redskins escape their recent funk and beat the Seahawks?

Answers in the comment box, please.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .