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11:50 AM ET, October 20, 2016

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 Top News: 
Mike DiGiovanna / Los Angeles Times:
Cubs' John Lackey has plenty of experience and passion to make another postseason start  —  Chicago Cubs pitcher John Lackey, second from left, laughs during introductions for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Fox Sports:
RIP?  Not if you're a Chicago Cubs fan in a playoff year  —  FILE - This Oct. 25, 2011, file photo, shows the outfield ivy and iconic manual scoreboard at Wrigley Field in Chicago.  Wrigley Field has been the site of so much heartbreak that some fans who spend their whole lives waiting …
Discussion: Yahoo Sports
Mauricio Rubio / Baseball Prospectus:
Slump?  What Slump?  —  The Chicago Cubs, facing a potential 3-1 hole against a team with the best pitcher on the planet still in play for one more game, finally drew breath in Los Angeles.  For 21 straight innings the Cubs' offense was suffocated by Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, and the rest of the Dodgers' pitching staff.
Jorge L. Ortiz / USA Today:
Dodgers' Julio Urias set to be youngest starter in MLB postseason history
Cincinnati.com:
Reds, Fox Sports Ohio extend partnership through 2032  —  About three or four years ago, as Phil Castellini tells it, the Cincinnati Reds began researching an eye-opening idea.  With their broadcast deal with Fox Sports Ohio set to expire after the 2017 season, baseball's oldest franchise began looking …
Chris Bahr / Fox Sports:
Jose Bautista is playing mind games with the Indians' rookie pitcher before Game 5  —  Ryan Merritt has pitched only 11 innings in the majors  —  The Blue Jays' win over the Indians in Game 4 of the ALCS kept their slim hopes alive but apparently provided an enormous confidence boost.
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Damian Holbrook / TV Insider:
It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown Turns 50  —  After five decades, poor Linus Van Pelt is still waiting in that pumpkin patch.  Good grief, indeed!  —  It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Charles Schulz's Peanuts special that turned a gourd into an icon, is honoring its 50th year …
Discussion: TheFW
KOIN-TV:
Gas explosion destroys NW Portland building, 8 injured  —  PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Three firefighters, 2 police officers and 3 others were injured in a large gas explosion Wednesday morning in Northwest Portland.  —  The incident happened at NW 23rd Avenue and Glisan Street in the Dosha Salon Spa building.
Discussion: WJHL, WATE-TV, WWLP-TV, WKRN-TV and WSLS-TV
Sam Miller / ESPN:
Putting Yasmani Grandal's value in the proper frame  —  In the spring, the Los Angeles Times reporter Bill Shaikin asked Yasmani Grandal what he made of Baseball Prospectus' projection system, PECOTA, forecasting the Dodgers' catcher to be just about as good as any MVP contender in the National League.
Anthony Fenech / Detroit Free Press:
Al Avila: ‘Changes are coming’ to the Detroit Tigers  —  After a short-by-his-standards introduction this afternoon — talking about how the Detroit Tigers fell short of their goal this past season and how they had a good season but not good enough, and how he wasn't happy about missing the postseason …
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Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:
Al Avila: “Changes Are Coming” To Tigers
Discussion: Bless You Boys and MLive.com
Hollywood Reporter:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Glen Powell Teaming for ‘Captain Planet’ Movie (Exclusive)  —  The ‘Scream Queens’ star and writing partner Jono Matt are in talks to pen the screenplay for Paramount.  —  Paramount and Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way Productions are teaming to recruit Captain Planet to take pollution down to zero.
Discussion: WSLS-TV
Mike Dyce / SI.com:
Conor McGregor has one wish if he wins a second title belt  —  Featherweight champion Conor McGregor is on the precipice of history heading into UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden, looking to win the lightweight championship against Eddie Alvarez.  Not only would McGregor join a short list …
Chris Bahr / Fox Sports:
Jake Arrieta explains why he isn't worried ‘at all’ about the Cubs' chances  —  Arrieta was full of bold statements after the Game 3 loss  —  The Cubs are playing from behind for the first time all season after losing Game 3 of the NLCS to the Dodgers on Tuesday night.
New York Daily News:
Bidding for Korean pitcher Hyeon-jong Yang will begin next week: source  —  PHOENIX — The bidding for Korea's best pitcher will begin next week.  —  According to an industry source, lefthander Hyeon-jong Yang will be posted by the Kia Tigers on November 17, adding the talented 26-year-old into the starting pitching market.
Discussion: Todays Knuckleball
Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors:
MLB Pushing For International Draft In CBA Negotiations  —  Major League Baseball is pushing hard to implement an international draft in the current wave of collective bargaining negotiations with the MLB Players Association, reports ESPN's Buster Olney.  The international draft …
Discussion: Purple Row and MLB Daily Dish
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 More News: 
MLB.com:
Oct. 18 Joe Maddon postgame interview
Discussion: Bleacher Nation
George A. King III / New York Post:
Gauging McCann landing spots as Yankees face catcher puzzle
Discussion: Pinstripe Alley, ESPN and Talking Chop
 Earlier Picks: 
Eli Ben-Porat / The Hardball Times:
MLB Revenues, Population and Social Media
Discussion: FenwayNation and Lone Star Ball
Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:
Mariners Announce Surgeries For Steve Cishek, Taijuan Walker, Tony Zych
Discussion: Lookout Landing and Yahoo Sports
 

 
From WeSmirch:

Miranda Siwak / Us Weekly:
50 Cent Is ‘Going for Sole Custody’ of His Son With Daphne Joy After She Was Named in Diddy Lawsuit (Exclusive)

Jeff Conway / Forbes:
Olivia Colman Reflects On Her Beloved Career: ‘I Have Been Very Lucky’

People:
Rebel Wilson Says She ‘Got More Attention for Weight Loss Than Any Movie’ She'd Ever Done: ‘People Are Intrigued’ (Exclusive)

 
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