October 2004 in Sports - October 17, 2004

October 17, 2004

• Baseball:
  • American League Championship Series, Game 4: The Boston Red Sox stay alive in the series with the New York Yankees with a 6–4 win in 12 innings. The Sox, who now trail 3–1 in the series, tie the game in the bottom of the ninth against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, and win on a walk-off home run by David Ortiz in the 12th. (ESPN)
  • National League Championship Series, Game 4: The Houston Astros even the series with the St. Louis Cardinals at two games apiece with a 6–5 win. Carlos Beltrán supplies the winning margin with a solo home run in the seventh inning. Beltrán ties records for the most home runs in a single postseason (eight) and most consecutive postseason games with a home run (five). (ESPN)
• National Football League Week 6:
  • The New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets remain the NFL's only undefeated teams, by beating the Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers respectively. New England's win tied an NFL record for consecutive regular-season victories, at 17, and continues their record of most consecutive NFL games won (including playoffs) to 20. (Yahoo!/AP)
  • The Buffalo Bills get their first win of the year by beating the Miami Dolphins 20–13. The Dolphins, at 0–6, are the NFL's last winless team in 2004.
  • Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper throws five touchdowns for the third time this season, setting an NFL record. The Vikings defeated the New Orleans Saints 38–31. (Yahoo!)
• Motorcycle racing: Valentino Rossi wins the World MotoGP title for the third successive year, the first year for Yamaha since 1992, when he wins the Australian MotoGP, one race before the end of the series. He is only the second rider to win successive titles for different teams. (BBC), (BBC).
• Golf: Ernie Els wins the Volvo World Match Play Championship at Wentworth, beating Lee Westwood 2 and 1. It's a record sixth title for Els, and the third in a row. (BBC)