HOUSTON (AP) - Gerrit Cole pitched another playoff masterpiece and the Houston Astros jumped to a quick lead, turning back the Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 in Game 5 to set up a titanic showdown with the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series. After fellow aces Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander were unable to close out the scrappy Rays on the road, Cole made sure Houston moved on. Given a 4-0 cushion in the first inning, he dominated through the eighth in the decisive game of the AL Division Series.

FRISCO, Texas (AP) - Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott tied a career high with three interceptions in a second straight loss last week. The 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year also is on a career-long streak of four straight games with at least one interception. Prescott doesn't think the frequency of turnovers is linked to any tendency to take more risks down the field. But protecting the ball is important to Prescott as the Cowboys head to New York hoping to end their skid against the Jets.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - The New York Jets are getting quarterback Sam Darnold back under center this week in time to face the Dallas Cowboys. Darnold missed the last three games while recovering from mononucleosis. The struggling Jets are looking to avoid their first 0-5 start since 1996. Dak Prescott and the Cowboys have dropped two in a row after a 3-0 start and hope their top-ranked offense overwhelms New York.

HOUSTON (AP) - Unable to beat three aces in a row, the Tampa Bay Rays finally folded against Houston. With baseball's most inexpensive roster, the young Rays tried all they could to avoid elimination again in Game 5 of the AL Division Series. In the end, they couldn't win three straight against a trio of Astros arms with a combined salary of $66 million _ about the same as the entire Tampa Bay payroll.

DALLAS (AP) - Authorities say welterweight boxing champion Errol Spence crashed a speeding Ferrari in Dallas and is badly injured but expected to survive. Police say the crash happened just before 3 a.m. Thursday when Spence's Ferrari crossed a median into oncoming traffic, rolled over several times and ejected him. Spence was taken to a hospital's intensive care unit. Last month, the 2012 U.S. Olympian added the WBC welterweight title to his IBF strap with a split-decision victory over Shawn Porter.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The relationship between Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Texans counterpart Deshaun Watson goes back well beyond the 2017 draft, when along with Mitch Trubisky they were considered among the best prospects at their position. Now, two of the bright young QBs in the league will square off when Houston visits Kansas City on Sunday.

SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) - Josh Johnson ran 22 times for 114 yards and two touchdowns to help UL Monroe beat Texas State 24-14. Caleb Evans led a 13-play, 86-yard drive capped by Austin Vaughn's 11-yard TD run to make it 24-14 with 1:46 left in the game.

(AP) - Kyrie Irving flew halfway around the world to play for 66 seconds. Irving aggravated his facial fracture shortly after tip-off in his preseason debut for the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 114-111 in Shanghai. The U.S. and Chinese national anthems were not played before the game. Media availability was canceled because of a rift between China and the league, which happened after a tweet by the Houston Rockets' GM supported anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.

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