Lou Palmer, ESPN's original on-air commentator, died Friday in Wellington, Florida. He was 83.

Palmer's death was confirmed by his daughter, Patty Puma-Conrad. She said he died after a battle with lung cancer.

Palmer was hired by ESPN in 1978, a year before the network officially was launched. He teamed with longtime WTIC Radio colleague Arnold Dean to broadcast ESPN's first live event in October 1978 - a "demonstration" feed of a basketball game between the University of Connecticut and Athletes in Action - for cable executives, according to the network's founder, Bill Rasmussen.

Palmer also served as an original anchor and reporter for the network's flagship "SportsCenter" shows. He remained at ESPN until 1985.

"He was a friend and major contributor to building the strong foundation on which ESPN stands today," Rasmussen said in a statement.

ESPN, in a statement, said Palmer brought "a professionalism to the network that help establish a rock-solid foundation for SportsCenter and our baseball coverage. ESPN extends its sympathy to Lou's family and the many people he touched during his accomplished career."

Two of Palmer's original colleagues at ESPN -- Chris Berman and Bob Ley -- also remembered Palmer's contributions.

Said Berman: "Lou Palmer was a wonderful radio and television professional, and an even finer gentleman. He was one of the few employees here at ESPN before we went on the air. His love for baseball jumped through the screen and became and early hallmark of SportsCenter. Those of us where were young anchors -- Bob Ley, Tom Mees and I -- will forever be indebted to Lou for his guidance by example."

Ley called Palmer a "true ESPN original."

"He brought much-needed experience at the very beginning, a deep love of baseball, and the ability to write, anchor and bring authority to anything he touched," Ley said in a statement. "Lou was a joy to work with, a fellow Seton Hall Pirate, and in a newsroom where everyone had their nickname, he was universally known and loved as 'Sweet Lou.'"

Palmer also was one of the original studio anchors at WFAN Radio in New York and later served as a public-address announcer for Florida State League baseball games and official scorer for the St. Louis Cardinals' spring training games.

He played baseball for Seton Hall University and later in the farm systems for the New York Giants and Chicago White Sox, where he was known by his given name, Lou Puma.

Funeral arrangements for Palmer are pending.

ATLANTA -- Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan limped out of Sunday's 37-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams with just under 14 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter after being sacked by Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

Ryan was examined in the bench area before eventually heading to the locker room and being ruled out with an ankle injury. It was the fifth time Ryan had been sacked in the game.

Veteran Matt Schaub replaced Ryan and went 6-of-6 on pass attempts for 65 yards and a touchdown.

Ryan was spotted with a walking boot on his right foot after the game.

"Well, we'll have a better sense for that as the week goes,'' coach Dan Quinn said after the game. "I didn't get a chance to visit with him yet after the game, so we'll get a better sense for where we'll go. If he's not able to [go], obviously we'll lean on Matt Schaub, who's got plenty of experience.

"I know how tough Matt [Ryan] is. If there's a chance he can go -- I don't know the extent of the injury, where we're at yet, so I think I'll have a better answer Monday, Wednesday, Thursday as we're heading into the week, but I don't know the extent of it yet.''

Ryan has not missed a game since the 2009 season, when he was sidelined with turf toe.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aaron Rodgers didn't need Davante Adams and he barely needed his other two banged-up starting receivers to put together his best game of the season and his most productive performance under first-year Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur.

Six touchdowns later, Rodgers led the short-handed Packers to a 42-24 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday at Lambeau Field. Rodgers threw for five of them. His fourth touchdown was also the 350th of his career, the ninth quarterback in league history to reach that mark.

He also ran for one and unlike his counterpart on the Raiders, Derek Carr, there was no pylon fumble to ruin the play.

In the process, Rodgers became the first NFL player with five touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in the same game since Mark Rypien in 1991.

Without Adams (turf toe) for the third straight week and with his other two starting receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Geronimo Allison on limited snap counts after they were surprisingly active, Rodgers more than made it work.

And he did it without throwing his first completion to a receiver until the 8:04 mark of the second quarter. By then, he already had 80 passing yards to running backs. The backs finished with 102 receiving yards.

Rodgers finished 25-of-31 for 429 yards -- the fourth-highest total of his career -- giving him the maximum possible passer rating of 158.3.

In many ways, this was LaFleur's new offense at its core.

Running backs Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams each caught touchdown passes on plays designed to create mismatches, while fullback Danny Vitale caught passes of 21 and 22 yards. Rodgers had eight completions of 20 yards or more, tying a career high, and they went to six different players -- the first time in his career he's had that many plays of that length to that many different players.

Oh, there were receivers who got into the mix eventually.

Jake Kumerow caught the first non-running back touchdown of the day on the game-swinging sequence after Carr fumbled while trying to dive for the pylon with 1:49 left in the first half. Rodgers answered by hitting the fan-favorite Kumerow down the right sideline for a 37-yard score that left many at Lambeau wondering how -- or if -- he stayed in bounds.

Valdes-Scantling caught two passes for 133 yards. His first was a 59-yard catch on play-action to open the third quarter and set up Rodgers' 3-yard scoring run. His other was a 74-yard catch-and-run touchdown that allowed Rodgers to turn things over to backup Tim Boyle to finish.

Last week's hero against the Lions, Allen Lazard, had a 26-yard catch as part of a three-catch, 42-yard game.

Tight end Jimmy Graham had his moments, too. He caught Rodgers' fourth touchdown of the game, a 3-yarder, as part of a four-catch, 65-yard day.

If their goal was to survive until the Oct. 27 game at Kansas City, when they hope to get Adams back, then it should be considered a success. They're 6-1 heading into the Sunday night game against the Chiefs, who are expected to be without reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes.

Major League umpire Eric Cooper has died at the age of 52, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced in a statement on Sunday.

"This is a very sad day across Major League Baseball," Manfred said in the statement. "Eric Cooper was a highly respected umpire, a hard worker on the field and a popular member of our staff. He also served as a key voice of the MLB Umpires Association on important issues in our game. Eric was a consistent presence in the Postseason throughout his career, including in this year's Division Series between the Yankees and the Twins. He was known for his professionalism and his enthusiasm, including for our international events.

"On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Eric's family, friends and all of his fellow Major League Umpires. We will honor Eric's memory during the World Series. Eric will be missed by the entire Baseball family."

Cooper, a major league umpire for 21 years including this season, most recently worked the ALDS between the Yankees and Twins earlier this month. He joined the Major Leagues in 1999 after a minor league career that began in 1990.

The Iowa native worked behind the plate for three no-hitters in his career: both of White Sox lefty Mark Buehrle's and one by Red Sox pitcher Hideo Nomo. He also worked the 2014 World Series, where he was behind the plate for Game 2 between the Royals and Giants.

Switzerland's Belinda Bencic came back from a set down to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 3-6 6-1 6-1 in the Kremlin Cup final in Russia.

By reaching the final, Bencic secured the eighth and last place in the season-ending WTA Finals in Shenzhen.

Meanwhile, Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko won the Luxembourg Open with a 6-4 6-1 victory over Julia Goerges.

The win gave former French Open champion Ostapenko her first title since September 2017.

The Florida Panthers have agreed to a one-year contract with center Brian Boyle, the team announced.

Boyle, 34, finished last season with the Nashville Predators, joining the team from the New Jersey Devils a few weeks before the trade deadline. He had five goals and zero assists in 26 games with Nashville, four of the goals coming on the power play.

He had 13 goals and 19 points and added 88 hits in 47 games with New Jersey. He is coming off a two-year, $5.1 million contract that he signed with the Devils.

"With over 700 games played in the NHL and over 100 more in the playoffs, Brian brings a wealth of experience to our club," Panthers general manager Dale Tallon said in a statement. "He adds versatility and character to our lineup."

Boyle's story went beyond hockey a few years ago when he battled chronic myeloid leukemia. He won the 2017 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for his perseverance and dedication.

The center originally was drafted 26th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 2003, and he has played 766 career NHL games with 216 points. He also has blocked 532 shots and has 1,623 hits. He played in the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 with the New York Rangers and 2015 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

RICHMOND, Va. — Heavy rain forecast to last throughout the day forced the postponement of the third round of the PGA Tour Champions event on Sunday.

The Dominion Energy Charity Classic, the first of three tournaments in the tour's Champions' Charles Schwab Cup playoffs, will resume on the Country Club of Virginia's James River Course at 8 a.m. Monday.

Scott Parel and Tommy Tolles share the lead at 12 under par, with Colin Montgomerie one shot back.

Parel won twice last season on the tour for players 50 and over, and Tolles is seeking his first victory in three years on the tour. He entered the week 59th in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, and only the top 54 will advance to the next event, the Invesco QQQ Championship on Nov. 1-3 in Thousand Oaks, California.

Bernhard Langer (65), Miguel Angel Jimenez (68) and Retief Goosen (68) will begin the final round three shots off the lead.

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