We Start With The NBA…

The NBA season begins on Tuesday night, and it will begin without Flip Saunders. The Minnesota Timberwolves coach, who took a leave of absence in September to continue treatments for Hodgkin lymphoma, died Sunday. He was 60. Saunders was in his second go-round with the T’wolves and had also coached the Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The University of Miami fired Al Golden as its head coach on Sunday, following Saturday’s 58-0 loss at home to Clemson. It was the worst defeat in school history. Golden was in his fifth season. … Up the road a bit from Miami, at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, George O’Leary resigned with his team 0-8. … Ohio State remains atop the Associated Press poll with Baylor second. Clemson climbed to No. 3, with LSU and TCU completing the top five. Florida State tumbled to 17th after absorbing its first loss – Georgia Tech returned a blocked field goal try 78 yards on the final play Saturday night to upend the Seminoles. … Four people were killed and dozens more injured when a car plowed into Oklahoma State’s homecoming parade in Stillwater on Saturday. Adacia Chambers, who is accused of driving under the influence, is being held in on four counts of second-degree murder.

NFL
Still unbeaten are the New England Patriots (6-0) after a 30-23 win over the New York Jets and the Carolina Panthers (6-0), who beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-16. The Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers are all unbeaten as well but enjoyed a bye in Week 7. The Washington Redskins pulled off the biggest comeback in their history. After trailing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-0, they rallied for a 31-30 win behind the embattled Kirk Cousins.

NASCAR
Joey Logano won his third straight, this one at Talladega, closing out the Contender Round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship. Eliminated from title contention were Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin. The eight still in the Chase are Logano, Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr.

BASEBALL
The World Series begins on Tuesday night in Kansas City, with the Royals hosting the New York Mets.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .