The sports world said goodbye to a football legend Friday, while two WNBA teams made history and college football prepared for a Saturday that could shake up the rankings.

We've got a new championship matchup, a hurricane complicating one of the season's biggest games, and a baseball pitcher preparing to start a playoff game just 48 hours after closing one.

October apparently doesn't believe in slow weekends.

In today's Dose:

Mike Ditka didn't just coach the Bears. He helped define them.

Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame tight end who led the Chicago Bears to their only Super Bowl championship, died Friday at 86.

For generations of fans, Ditka was the mustache, the sweater vest, the sideline explosions and the unmistakable face of the 1985 Bears.

But his impact on football began long before he became a coach.

He helped reinvent an entire position.

As a rookie in 1961, Ditka became the first tight end in NFL history to record 1,000 receiving yards in a season, finishing with 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns. At a time when tight ends were primarily expected to block, Ditka demonstrated just how dangerous they could be as receivers.

His career eventually produced a remarkable collection of championships:

Only Ditka and Tom Flores have won Super Bowls as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

The WNBA Finals will crown a first-time champion

The Golden State Valkyries have been around for two seasons.

They're already playing for a championship.

Golden State defeated the defending champion Las Vegas Aces 87-77 in overtime Friday, completing a three-game semifinal sweep and becoming the fastest expansion franchise to reach the WNBA Finals.

Kayla Thornton scored 18 points, while Gabby Williams added 16, including eight in overtime.

The victory ended the title defense of a Las Vegas franchise that had won three of the previous four championships.

The coach who helped build the team she just eliminated

Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase spent three seasons as an assistant under Becky Hammon in Las Vegas.

She helped the Aces win championships in 2022 and 2023 before leaving to become Golden State's first head coach.

Now, less than two years after taking the job, she's eliminated her former employer from the playoffs.

The Valkyries also relied on former Aces Kiah Stokes and Tiffany Hayes, who contributed 11 points apiece Friday.

But their opponent has an equally compelling story.

Meanwhile, Atlanta's big gamble is paying off

The Atlanta Dream completed their own sweep Friday, defeating the New York Liberty 85-83 behind 22 points from Angel Reese.

Atlanta acquired Reese from Chicago in April for two future first-round picks.

Six months later, she's the league's Defensive Player of the Year, the owner of multiple single-season rebounding records, and heading to her first WNBA Finals.

The Dream haven't reached the championship series since 2013. They've also never won a Finals game.

The matchup: Golden State hosts Atlanta beginning October 17.

Neither franchise has ever won a WNBA championship.

One of them is about to change that.

Georgia–Alabama is still on. The hurricane has changed almost everything else.

No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs football and No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide football are scheduled to meet Saturday night in one of college football's biggest games of the season.

Both teams are 5-0.

Both are 3-0 in SEC play.

And both are preparing for a matchup complicated by a powerful hurricane.

Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, on Friday evening as a Category 2 storm, bringing destructive winds, flooding and widespread power outages to parts of the Gulf Coast.

The game remains scheduled for 6:30 PM CT, but the usual Tuscaloosa atmosphere has been significantly altered.

ESPN's College GameDay is moving inside Coleman Coliseum. Alabama has restricted tailgating, delayed campus parking operations and canceled several traditional pregame activities.

President Donald Trump also canceled his planned appearance, saying emergency personnel should remain focused on the storm rather than presidential security.

Cleveland's Game 5 starter already worked the ninth inning

Saturday's American League Division Series finale between the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox will determine the final spot in the League Championship Series.

And Cleveland's starting pitcher has already made an appearance in the previous game.

On Thursday, Gavin Williams recorded the final three outs of the Guardians' 9-5 victory, completing a comeback from a 2-0 series deficit.

Now manager Stephen Vogt is handing him the ball to start Saturday's decisive Game 5.

That's exceptionally unusual.

According to MLB statistical research, Williams will become just the sixth pitcher since 1945 to record the final out of one postseason game and start the next game in the same series.

Cleveland hadn't planned to use him Thursday. But after exhausting much of its pitching staff, Vogt turned to Williams to finish the game.

The Guardians are treating the appearance as something resembling an unusually intense between-starts bullpen session.

There's history on the other side, too

The White Sox are attempting to reach their first ALCS since 2005, when they went on to win the World Series.

There's another unusual detail: The visiting team has won every game in this series.

Chicago took Games 1 and 2 in Cleveland. The Guardians responded by winning Games 3 and 4 in Chicago.

Saturday's winner advances to face the Tampa Bay Rays.

First pitch: 7 PM CT.

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Florida State's road nightmare continues. The Seminoles led Louisville 14-0 and were threatening to score again when they were stopped on fourth-and-goal. On the next snap, Isaac Brown broke free for a school-record 97-yard touchdown. Louisville eventually won 44-20, with Brown rushing for 235 yards on 17 carries. Florida State has now lost 11 consecutive true road games, a streak dating to November 2023.

Philadelphia's offense is getting a major makeover. The Philadelphia Eagles ruled out Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith and center Drew Kendall for Sunday's London game against Jacksonville. The news follows Lane Johnson's retirement and Cam Jurgens' trade to Baltimore earlier this week. Philadelphia promoted center Jake Majors, who has yet to make an NFL regular-season appearance. That's considerable turnover for a team trying to end a two-game losing streak.

Baltimore will be without Lamar. Lamar Jackson has officially been ruled out of Sunday's matchup against Atlanta with an ankle injury. Tyler Huntley will start. Baltimore is 6-11 in the previous 17 games Jackson has missed, illustrating the challenge of replacing its two-time MVP. Huntley did, however, help Baltimore beat Atlanta in their previous meeting in December 2022.

The Knicks are putting contract talks on hold. The defending NBA champion New York Knicks announced Friday that extension negotiations will be postponed until later in the season. Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart are among those affected. Towns is owed $57 million this season and holds a $61.1 million player option for 2027-28. After ending a 53-year championship drought, New York now faces the expensive challenge of keeping its core together.

A frightening injury for New York's $92 million goalie. Igor Shesterkin was helped off the ice Friday after appearing to injure his right leg against Washington. The New York Rangers lost 3-1, ending their four-game winning streak. Backup Joonas Korpisalo is already injured, leaving the team potentially dependent on 24-year-old Dylan Garand. The severity of Shesterkin's injury remains unknown.

The Dodgers are stacking aces. Los Angeles will start two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal against Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski in Sunday's NLCS opener. Yoshinobu Yamamoto gets Game 2, a decision that preserves his preferred five days of rest and could position him for another start in Game 6. The Dodgers are pursuing their third consecutive World Series title, while Milwaukee is looking to avenge last year's NLCS sweep.

Florida's championship core is hurting again. The Florida Panthers expect Brad Marchand to miss approximately six weeks with a lower-body injury. Captain Aleksander Barkov is also expected to miss six to eight weeks. Both players had only recently returned from previous injuries. After winning consecutive Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025 before missing last season's playoffs, Florida faces another difficult start.

Saturday, October 10

It's one of the strongest college football Saturdays of the season, with an MLB elimination game providing the nightcap.

The biggest football matchup comes late, but Indiana–Nebraska deserves attention early. Both teams enter undefeated, and Saturday's result could significantly affect the Big Ten standings.

Looking ahead to Sunday: The NFL's Week 5 slate includes Philadelphia–Jacksonville in London at 8:30 AM CT and Baltimore–Atlanta on Sunday Night Football at 7:20 PM CT.

The Dodgers–Brewers NLCS also begins Sunday at 7 PM CT.