Reuters U.S. Sports Schedule at 2:30 PM ET on Thursday, Oct. 20

October 20 (Reuters) - Reuters U.S. sports schedule at 2:30 PM ET on Thursday: - - - - For any coverage questions, please contact us.general-news@thomsonreuters.com - - - - MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL NL Championship Series Bats alive, Cubs send ace Lester at L.A. in Game 5 LOS ANGELES - An offensive revival carried the Chicago Cubs in Game 4 and now Game 1 starter Jon Lester takes aim at the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium. (BBO-DODGERS-CUBS-FIRSTLEDE-WRITETHRU, expect ASAP after 8:08 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, by Forrest Lee, 700 words) Kershaw pushed back to Game 6 (BBO-DODGERS-CUBS-PREVIEW, moved, The Sports Xchange, 655 words) Indians bounce Jays, book trip to World Series TORONTO - Left-handed reliever Andrew Miller helped deliver the American League pennant for the Cleveland Indians. (BBO-INDIANS-BLUEJAYS-WRITETHRU, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Larry Millson, 700 words) MLB notebook News and notes from spring training. (BBO-NOTEBOOK, expect by 8 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE Packers vs. Bears GREEN BAY - Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers have lost two of the past three meetings with the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field, but need a win Thursday to keep pace with NFC North-leading Minneota (5-0). (FBN-PACKERS-BEARS-FIRSTLEDE-WRITETHRU, expect ASAP after 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff, The Sports Xchange, 700 words) Lacy lands on IR (FBN-PACKERS-NEWS-LACY-ANKLE, moved, The Sports Xchange, 300 words) Surviving Vikings defy circumstances Losses piled up for the Minnesota Vikings before the season began. Starting QB. Hall of Fame RB. And more personnel went down in September, including both starting offensive tackles. Yet the survivor Vikings are the only undefeated team in the NFL, defying their circumstances thanks to a bold move and biting defense. (FBN-VIKINGS-COLUMN-VIKINGs-BEATINGODDS, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Ira Miller, 800 words) McCoy (hamstring), Flacco (shoulder) among sitting stars Thursday Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco were idle again Thursday with injuries. (FBN-BILLS-RAVENS-NEWS, expect by 8 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) Giants K Brown journal admission: 'I have abused my wife' New York Giants kicker Josh Brown admitted to domestic violence in letters, emails and a journal, according to police documents released on Wednesday. Brown was back on the practice field with the Giants on Thursday morning. (FBN-GIANTS-NEWS-BROWN-ABUSE, moved, The Sports Xchange, 445 words, will be led) Week 7 GameScout: Patriots at Steelers Ben Roethlisberger won't play, but can the Steelers put up a real fight when the Patriots hit Heinz Field? Keys to the game, matchups to watch, player spotlight and fast facts for all Week 7 games. (FBN-PATRIOTS-STEELERS-ANALYSIS-GAMESCOUT, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Jeff Reynolds, 800 words) Week 7 previews The Sports Xchange previews all NFL games every Wednesday during the regular season. Updates as needed based on news, injuries and other changes. (FBC-TEAM-TEAM-PREVIEW, The Sports Xchange, 700 words) NFL notebook News and notes from around the NFL. (FBN-NOTEBOOK, expect by 8 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - COLLEGE BASKETBALL Pitino dinged by NCAA for 'failure to monitor' Rick Pitino plans to fight NCAA allegations that he failed to monitor staffer Andre McGee, the assistant named by the NCAA as the ringleader of a sex scandal involving escorts and recruits on campus. (BKC-LOUISVILLE-NEWS-PITINO-NCAA-ESCORTS, moved, The Sports Xchange, 750 words) Duke tops preseason top 25 Duke enters the regular season as college basketball's No. 1-ranked team in the preseason coaches' poll. (BKC-NEWS-TOP25, moved, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - - - COLLEGE FOOTBALL Week 8 previews The Sports Xchange previews all Top 25 college football games. (FBC-TEAM-TEAM-PREVIEW, moved, The Sports Xchange, 800 words) No. 1 Tide wary of sixth-ranked Texas A&M The Crimson Tide (7-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) take on their third ranked opponent in three weeks and fifth of the season when they host No. 6 Texas A&M (6-0, 4-0) on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS). (FBC-TEXASA&M-ALABAMA-PREVIEW, moved, The Sports Xchange, 800 words) No. 12 WVU hosts TCU, aims to stay unbeaten West Virginia won with  defense? Last week's strong showing at Texas Tech showed the Mountaineers might be a complete team, but TCU has been where Dana Holgorsen wants his team to wind up. (FBC-TCU-WESTVIRGINIA-PREVIEW, moved, The Sports Xchange, 800 words) College football notebook News and notes from around the nation. (FBC-NOTEBOOK, expect by 7 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION NBA notebook News and notes from around the NBA. (BKN-NOTEBOOK, expect by 7 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, 375 words) - - - - WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Sparks, Lynx vie for WNBA title MINNEAPOLIS - The deciding game of the 2016 WNBA Finals between the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks. (WNBA-SPARKS-LYNX-FIRSTLEDE-WRITETHRU, expect ASAP after game ends, The Sports Xchange, by Tyler Mason, 800 words) - - - - NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE THE SPORTS XCHANGE staffs all NHL games. Monday schedule: N.Y. Islanders at N.Y. Rangers 7 p.m. Montreal at Buffalo 7 p.m. Boston at Columbus 7 p.m. Detroit at Tampa Bay 7:30 p.m. New Jersey at Florida 7:30 p.m. Carolina at Winnipeg 8 p.m. Washington at Pittsburgh 8 p.m. Minnesota at St. Louis 8 p.m. Anaheim at Dallas 8:30 p.m. NHL notebook News and notes from around the league. (HKN-NOTEBOOK, expect by 8 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - GOLF Noren the man to beat as European Tour heads to Portugal Sweden's In-form Alexander Noren will be hoping to back up last week's British Masters triumph with a strong showing in Portugal on the last regular season event before next month's Final Series. Briton Andy Sullivan is defending champion. (GOLF-EUROPEAN/ expect by 2 PM ET, 250 words) Three-way tie at CIMB Classic in Malaysia Keegan Bradley, Derek Fathauer and defending champion Justin Thomas share the lead at the CIMB Classic at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with matching scores of 8-under-par 64. (GLF-PGA-FIRSTLEDE-CIMBCLASSIC, moved, The Sports Xchange, 535 words) Lee leads Blue Bay LPGA with opening 65 With birdies on four of the final five holes, Minjee Lee captured a two-shot lead at Blue Bay LPGA in Hainan Island, China. Lee fired a 7-under-par 65 and leads Sandra Gal and Jessica Korda (-5), and Chella Choi (-4) after Thursday's opening round. (GLF-LPGA-BLUEBAY-RECAP, moved, The Sports Xchange, 415 words) - - - - AUTOS Penske teammates need strong finishes at Talladega to advance Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano have each had memorable victories at Talladega during Chase elimination rounds. Both need good results on Sunday if they hope to advance to this year's Round of 8. (CAR-SPRINT-COLUMN, expect by 3 p.m. ET, by Jonathan Ingram, The Sports Xchange, 900 words) - - - -