December 2, 2022 3:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Jake Guentzel and Kasperi Kapanen scored less than 2 minutes apart in the third period to rally the Pittsburgh Penguins past the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3. Guentzel’s power-play goal 7:33 into the third tied the game at 3 and Kapanen’s first goal in nearly two months 112 seconds later put the Penguins in front for the first time. Tristan Jarry made 34 saves for Pittsburgh, which won its first game since star defenseman Kris Letang suffered a stroke.
December 2, 2022 3:53 am
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) – Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and the Buffalo Bills beat the New England Patriots 24-10 for their first AFC East victory of the season. Devin Singletary had a 1-yard touchdown run to help the Bills win their third straight and take a half-game lead in the division over Miami. Buffalo had been 0-2 against division foes. Allen became the first player in NFL history with three seasons of 25 passing TDs and five rushing scores. New England has lost two straight since posting a season-best, three-game win streak.
December 2, 2022 3:54 am
The College Football Playoff says it will expand to a 12-team event starting in 2024. The announcement came after the Rose Bowl agreed to amend its contract for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. That was the last hurdle CFP officials needed cleared to expand the four-team format. The expansion is expected to produce about $450 million in additional gross revenue for the conferences and schools that participate. The plan to expand the playoff was unveiled publicly in June 2021 and it took 18 months of haggling and delays to finally complete.
December 2, 2022 3:56 am
GAFFNEY, S.C. (AP) – Baseball Hall of Famer and two-time Cy Young Award winner Gaylord Perry has died at the age of 84. Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said Perry died at his home in Gaffney, South Carolina, at about 5 a.m. Thursday. The Perry family said that Perry died after a short illness. Perry pitched for eight major-league teams from 1962 until 1983. He won the Cy Young with Cleveland in 1972 and with San Diego in 1978 just after turning 40. Perry was a five-time All-Star who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991.
December 1, 2022 3:16 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang is out indefinitely after suffering a stroke. General manager Ron Hextall announced Tuesday that the 35-year-old Letang had the stroke Monday. Letang was a last-minute scratch in a 3-2 overtime loss to Carolina with an undisclosed illness. The team said Letang is not experiencing “any lasting effects” and is undergoing testing. This is the second stroke Letang has suffered during his 17-year career. The three-time Stanley Cup champion missed more than two months in 2014 after a stroke, which doctors determined was caused by a small hole in the wall of his heart.
December 1, 2022 3:48 am
Rose Bowl game organizers have cleared the way for the College Football Playoff to expand to 12 teams starting in the 2024 season. They’ve told CFP officials they are willing to alter agreements for the first two years of the larger playoff. A person with knowledge of the discussions between game organizers and CFP officials told The Associated Press that the Rose Bowl is prepared to be flexible and wants to continue to be part of the College Football Playoff beyond 2025. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the presidents and chancellors who oversee the playoff still needed to give final approval on expansion plans.
December 1, 2022 3:50 am
BEREA, Ohio (AP) – Deshaun Watson is ready to play, not talk. Cleveland’s starting quarterback didn’t address the media before practicing for the first time since being reinstated by the NFL from his 11-game suspension stemming from accusations of sexual misconduct. Watson has been accused of harassment and assault by more than two dozen women for his actions during massage therapy sessions. Watson will make his debut for the Browns on Sunday against the Houston Texans, who traded him to Cleveland in March. The 27-year-old Watson accepted the league ban, a $5 million fine and agreed to undergo therapy and counseling.
November 30, 2022 3:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Brett Pesce scored at the end of a two-on-none 2:20 into overtime to lift the Carolina Hurricanes past the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2. The Penguins forced the extra period on Jake Guentzel’s deflection with 58 seconds to go in regulation. The Hurricanes escaped with the victory on a breakaway that Pesce converted for his second goal of the season. Guentzel and Sidney Crosby scored for Pittsburgh. Tristan Jarry stopped 36 shots but was left all alone on the sequence that ended with Pesce’s winner.
November 30, 2022 3:55 am
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed veteran first baseman/designated hitter Carlos Santana to a 1-year contract. The deal, announced Tuesday, is worth $6.75 million. The arrival of the 36-year-old gives the young Pirates an experienced hitter who the team hopes will serve as a role model in 2023. The switch-hitting Santana split time between Kansas City and Seattle in 2022, hitting .202 with 19 home runs and 60 RBIs. He provided some much-needed pop to Seattle’s lineup after arriving in a trade in June, slugging 15 home runs to help the Mariners reach the postseason for the first time since 2001. The signing is also a bit of a splurge for the Pirates, who also acquired Ji-Man Choi from Tampa Bay earlier this month to help address an offense that ranked near the bottom of the majors in slugging and on-base percentage.
November 30, 2022 3:48 am
Ohio State was No. 5 in the second-to-last College Football Playoff rankings, positioned to possibly take advantage if one of the top four slips up on championship weekend. Georgia was No. 1 again. No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 TCU both moved up a spot, and Southern California (11-1) climbed two spots into the fourth slot. The Buckeyes dropped three spots after losing 45-23 to the rival Wolverines on Saturday at home. Alabama moved up a spot to No. 6 and was followed by Southeastern Conference rival Tennessee, which beat the Crimson Tide in October.
