Smoke seen throughout Southern California likely from northern wildfires  —  There are a number of fires burning in Northern California, including the Fawn fire near Lake Shasta and the KNP Complex fire in Sequoia National Park.  That park has also seen a second blaze, called the Windy fire.

All-Latino baseball team: The best all-time lineup of players born in Latin America at large  —  As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, USA TODAY Sports put together All-Latino baseball lineups from throughout Latin America.  —  While it can be fairly easy to assemble a team of major leaguers …

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson loving his NTT IndyCar ride  —  LONG BEACH — Jimmie Johnson originally wanted to be a supercross racer, then it was IndyCar.  —  “My opportunities took me to the East Coast and took me to NASCAR,” he said Friday …

Arizona Diamondbacks give manager Torey Lovullo one-year extension despite 104-loss season  —  PHOENIX — With a little over a week left in the season and his team with the worst record in the National League at 49-104, Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was given a one-year contract extension through 2022.

Alex Guerrero: Bill Belichick didn't evolve with Tom Brady in New England  —  Tom Brady Sr. shot from the hip Tuesday, and he may have been a little off-target.  —  On The Patriots Talk podcast, Brady's father spoke about his son being and feeling vindicated for leaving New England …

Ricky Meinhold, Mets assistant pitching coach/minor league coordinator, leaves team for other opportunities: sources  —  Employees in the Mets front office are anxious about an offseason shakeup, which led to one coach leaving the club while he's getting interest.

An early look at the Mets' 2022 rotation picture  —  BOSTON — As the Red Sox turned Fenway Park into a driving range Wednesday, the newest low point in Taijuan Walker's extreme disparities between his early-season and late-season performance, the forward-looking question became relevant again …

MLB playoff race has brought ‘the joy back’ for the Los Angeles Dodgers' Albert Pujols  —  LOS ANGELES — A couple of months ago, with the season quickly advancing and clarity lagging behind it, Albert Pujols put it to a vote.  He gathered his wife and his five children and went around the room asking each of them the same question:

St. Louis Cardinals rally from five runs down to sweep Milwaukee Brewers, win 12th in a row  —  MILWAUKEE — Paul Goldschmidt homered twice, and the St. Louis Cardinals overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-5 on Thursday and extend their longest winning streak in 39 years to 12 games.

Shark attack survivor: 15-year-old says after his brush with death, 'I'll go back in the water eventually'  —  He lost about 70% of his blood  —  A 15-year-old boy who got chomped by a bull shark, losing about 70% of his blood as he saw red everywhere in the water, says he will still return to the sea someday.