SCOTT SIMON, HOST: And now it's time for sports. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) SIMON: Baseball's playoffs are shaping up. The Oakland Athletics packing up. And two more sobering reminders about the dangers of pro football. Michele Steele of ESPN joins us. Michele, thanks so much for being with us. MICHELE STEELE: Good morning, Scott. SIMON: Let me begin with football. Because Brett Favre of - Hall of Famer - Green Bay Packers disclosed this week in congressional testimony he's suffering from Parkinson's disease. Then another former quarterback, Tommy Kramer, the Minnesota Vikings, announced he's suffering from dementia at the age of 69. All at the same time, of course, you have Miami's famous quarterback

SCOTT SIMON, HOST: And now it's time for sports. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) SIMON: Baseball's playoffs are shaping up. The Oakland Athletics packing up. And two more sobering reminders about the dangers of pro football. Michele Steele of ESPN joins us. Michele, thanks so much for being with us. MICHELE STEELE: Good morning, Scott. SIMON: Let me begin with football. Because Brett Favre of - Hall of Famer - Green Bay Packers disclosed this week in congressional testimony he's suffering from Parkinson's disease. Then another former quarterback, Tommy Kramer, the Minnesota Vikings, announced he's suffering from dementia at the age of 69. All at the same time, of course, you have Miami's famous quarterback

SCOTT SIMON, HOST: And now it's time for sports. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) SIMON: Baseball's playoffs are shaping up. The Oakland Athletics packing up. And two more sobering reminders about the dangers of pro football. Michele Steele of ESPN joins us. Michele, thanks so much for being with us. MICHELE STEELE: Good morning, Scott. SIMON: Let me begin with football. Because Brett Favre of - Hall of Famer - Green Bay Packers disclosed this week in congressional testimony he's suffering from Parkinson's disease. Then another former quarterback, Tommy Kramer, the Minnesota Vikings, announced he's suffering from dementia at the age of 69. All at the same time, of course, you have Miami's famous quarterback

SCOTT SIMON, HOST: And now it's time for sports. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) SIMON: Baseball's playoffs are shaping up. The Oakland Athletics packing up. And two more sobering reminders about the dangers of pro football. Michele Steele of ESPN joins us. Michele, thanks so much for being with us. MICHELE STEELE: Good morning, Scott. SIMON: Let me begin with football. Because Brett Favre of - Hall of Famer - Green Bay Packers disclosed this week in congressional testimony he's suffering from Parkinson's disease. Then another former quarterback, Tommy Kramer, the Minnesota Vikings, announced he's suffering from dementia at the age of 69. All at the same time, of course, you have Miami's famous quarterback

Oakland Athletics (69-91, fourth in the AL West) vs. Seattle Mariners (83-77, second in the AL West) Seattle; Saturday, 9:40 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Joey Estes (7-9, 4.99 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 90 strikeouts); Mariners: Emerson Hancock (0-0) : LINE Mariners -164, Athletics +138; over/under is 7 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Seattle Mariners play the Oakland Athletics, leading the series 1-0. Seattle has gone 47-32 in home games and 83-77 overall. The Mariners have a 56-5 record in games when they scored at least five runs. Oakland has a 69-91 record overall and a 31-48 record in road games. The Athletics have gone 34-66 in games when they have given up at least one home run. The teams meet Saturday

Bryan Woo pitched five scoreless innings as the Seattle Mariners defeated the visiting Oakland Athletics 2-0 on Friday night. Mitch Garver and Cal Raleigh homered for the Mariners (83-77), who were eliminated from the American League's wild-card race a day earlier when they had a bye. The A's (69-91) are wrapping up the regular season on the road after playing their final game at the Coliseum on Thursday afternoon. Woo (9-3) allowed just three hits.

At the end of the 2021 MLB season, the Oakland Athletics announced plans to honor Steve Vucinich, who had worked with the team since its arrival in Oakland from Kansas City in 1968. In 2021, Matt Kawahara, then of the San Francisco Chronicle, reported that the home clubhouse in the Oakland Coliseum would be named after Vucinich. As Lowell Hickey of the Castro Valley Forum detailed in 2023, Vucinich began working as a clubhouse attendant at the Oakland Coliseum in 1968.

Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman talk about the A’s playing their last game in Oakland, the current postseason picture, the Dodgers and Yankees clinching their divisions and make their picks for The Good, The Bad and The Uggla.

The A's departure from Oakland is one of those few things. With the A's having played their final game at the Oakland Coliseum — a day that brought countless people to countless tears — national reporters and media personalities alike took to social media to express their discontent about the green and gold's impending move to Sacramento. John Fisher did not have to move this team. Major League Baseball and its owners did not need to be complicit in it.

While the rooting interests of baseball fans vary widely, there's little doubt MLB and television executives are drooling over the potential matchup between two of the top sluggers of this generation. Ohtani recently became the first player to have 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in one season while Judge is up to 58 homers. Of course, there will be 10 other teams trying to block those teams from the Fall Classic. Last season, the Texas Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4 games to 1 for their first title in franchise history.

Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, best known for films including “Forrest Gump,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Cast Away,” and more, is among those not pleased with MLB's Oakland Athletics relocating from its home city. After years of failed stadium negotiations between A's owner John Fisher and the city of Oakland, the A's will leave Oakland at the end of the 2024 MLB season and will play the 2025 through 2027 MLB seasons at a minor league stadium in Sacramento before moving the franchise to Las Vegas in 2028.

Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, best known for films including “Forrest Gump,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Cast Away,” and more, is among those not pleased with MLB's Oakland Athletics relocating from its home city. After years of failed stadium negotiations between A's owner John Fisher and the city of Oakland, the A's will leave Oakland at the end of the 2024 MLB season and will play the 2025 through 2027 MLB seasons at a minor league stadium in Sacramento before moving the franchise to Las Vegas in 2028.

“Today there is crying in baseball,” one fan's sign read, as some lined up outside the stadium from the early morning hours as they waited to watch the A's play at the Coliseum one final time. Before the game, A's legends made appearances to honor the franchise's history. Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson and A's icon Dave Stewart threw out the ceremonial first pitch, while former ace Barry Zito took the field to sing the National Anthem, setting the stage for the emotional farewell.

Oakland Athletics (69-90, fourth in the AL West) vs. Seattle Mariners (82-77, second in the AL West) Seattle; Friday, 10:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: JP Sears (11-12, 4.43 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 133 strikeouts); Mariners: Emerson Hancock (0-0) : LINE Mariners -170, Athletics +143; over/under is 7 1/2 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Seattle Mariners host the Oakland Athletics on Friday to begin a three-game series. Seattle has an 82-77 record overall and a 46-32 record at home. The Mariners have a 61-12 record in games when they out-hit their opponents. Oakland has a 69-90 record overall and a 31-47 record in road games. The Athletics are eighth in the majors with 193 total home runs, averaging 1.2

Two squads in the AL West — the Seattle Mariners (82-77) and the Oakland Athletics (69-90) — meet on Friday at 10:10 p.m. ET, at T-Mobile Park. The favored Mariners (-170 on the moneyline) host the Athletics (+143). The scheduled starters are Emerson Hancock for the Seattle Mariners, and JP Sears (11-12) for the Oakland Athletics. Victor Robles went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI to lead them offensively while George Kirby got the win after throwing six innings, giving up one earned run on four hits while striking out six.

After nearly six decades as an East Bay staple, the Athletics' divorce with the City of Oakland becoming official leaves fans shrouded in melancholy.

After 57 seasons at the Oakland Coliseum, the A's final hours at their East Bay home began in an oppressive pall as baseball fans filtered through the gates on Thursday morning. Fans watched franchise legends Rickey Henderson and Dave Stewart throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Amid a mishmash of “Sell the team” chants, clapping, whistles and screams, the final out in A's history at the Coliseum was made at 3:06 p.m. when Texas' Travis Jankowski hit a groundball to third baseman Max Schuemann, who fired to first baseman Tyler Soderstrom.

After 57 seasons at the Oakland Coliseum, the A's final hours at their East Bay home began in an oppressive pall as baseball fans filtered through the gates on Thursday morning. Fans watched franchise legends Rickey Henderson and Dave Stewart throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Amid a mishmash of “Sell the team” chants, clapping, whistles and screams, the final out in A's history at the Coliseum was made at 3:06 p.m. when Texas' Travis Jankowski hit a groundball to third baseman Max Schuemann, who fired to first baseman Tyler Soderstrom.

The Oakland A's are dead. Big-league professional sports in Oakland are dead. When you buy a professional sports team, you enter into an unwritten but sacred covenant. A's owner John Fisher failed to fulfill that responsibility.

The Oakland A's are dead. Big-league professional sports in Oakland are dead. When you buy a professional sports team, you enter into an unwritten but sacred covenant. A's owner John Fisher failed to fulfill that responsibility.