December 9, 2024 4:40 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Matthew Wright kicked a 31-yard field goal that banked off the left upright as time expired, and the Kansas City Chiefs survived another close game, beating the Los Angeles Chargers 19-17 to win their ninth straight AFC West title. Patrick Mahomes led the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs on a clock-killing 4 1/2-minute drive to set up Wright’s fourth field goal. It looked routine until the ball clanged off the upright in the latest narrow escape for Kansas City, which has won 10 games by a one-score margin. Justin Herbert and the Chargers scored on each of their three second-half drives.
December 9, 2024 2:31 am
SMU captured the last open spot in the College Football Playoff, edging Alabama to land in the first-ever 12-team bracket that placed undefeated Oregon at No. 1. The selection committee preferred the Mustangs (11-2), losers in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, who had a far less difficult schedule than Alabama (9-3) of the SEC but, ultimately, still one fewer loss. The expanded bracket marks a new era for college football, though the Alabama-SMU debate made clear that there is no perfect formula for identifying a champion. “We just felt, in this particular case, SMU had the nod above Alabama,” said Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, the chair of the selection committee. “But it’s no disrespect to Alabama’s strength of schedule. We looked at the entire body of work for both teams.” The tournament starts Dec. 20-21 with four first-round games involving teams seeded 5-12. It concludes Jan. 20 with the national title game in Atlanta.
Georgia, the SEC champion, was seeded second; Boise State, the Mountain West champion, earned the third seed; and Big 12 titlist Arizona State got the fourth seed and the fourth and final first-round bye. All will play in quarterfinals at bowl games on Dec. 31-Jan. 1. Clemson stole a bid and the 12th seed with its crazy win over SMU — the result that ultimately cost Alabama a spot in the field. The Tigers moved to No. 16 in the rankings, but got in as the fifth-best conference winner.
There was some tension around how the rest of the teams were seeded because that determined who gets home-field advantage in the first round, the committee ultimately choosing Texas Penn State, Notre Dame and Ohio State. The games are No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas; No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State; No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame; and No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State.
December 9, 2024 4:33 am
DALLAS (AP) — Having waited for the call from Cooperstown for nearly three decades, Dave Parker burst into tears Sunday when he was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame along with the late Dick Allen. “Yeah, I cried,” Parker said after receiving the news from Hall chair Jane Forbes Clark. “It only took a few minutes, because I don’t cry.” Parker received 14 of 16 votes from the classic era committee at the winter meetings, and Allen got 13. A vote of 75% or more was needed for election. They will be inducted into the Hall in Cooperstown, New York, on July 27 along with players voted in by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, whose balloting will be announced on Jan. 21.
Parker, who turned 73 in June, never got more 24.5% during 15 appearances on the BBWAA ballot from 1997-2011. Allen, who died in 2020 at age 78, received a high of 18.9% on the BBWAA ballot from 1983-97. Both also had fallen short in a series of prior committee votes. His body shaking during a Zoom news conference from Parkinson’s disease that was diagnosed in 2012, Parker flashed the quick wit he became known for during a 19-year career that ended in 1991 and included a pair of World Series titles. Asked whether he had thought of himself as a Hall of Famer, Parker responded with one of his often-said remarks. “Without a doubt. When the leaves turned brown, I’d be wearing the batting crown,” he said. “That was one of my sayings, so I always thought that I was going to be a major leaguer. I told my mother at 8 years old that I would be a baseball star and one day buy her a house. Well, I did that in ’78. I got that done.”
Nicknamed The Cobra, Parker hit .290 with 339 homers and 1,493 RBIs for Pittsburgh (1973-83), Cincinnati (1984-87), Oakland (1988-89), Milwaukee (1990), California (1991) and Toronto (1991). Since 2002, the Hall has made the decision on what team logo is used on a player’s cap. “I might have to split it up three ways,” Parker said. He won World Series titles in 1979 and ’89. He was the 1978 NL MVP, won the 1977 and ’78 NL batting titles, and was a seven-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove right fielder.
December 9, 2024 4:39 am
DALLAS (AP) — A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press that star outfielder Juan Soto and the New York Mets have agreed to a record $765 million, 15-year contract. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement, first reported by the New York Post, was subject to a successful physical. Soto’s deal is the largest and longest in Major League Baseball history, topping Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Fernando Tatis Jr.’s $340 million, 14-year contract with San Diego. Soto’s deal does not include deferred money, the person said.
December 8, 2024 12:05 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Dillon Gabriel threw four touchdown passes and No. 1 Oregon outlasted No. 3 Penn State 45-37 on Saturday night in the Big Ten championship, giving the Ducks a first-round bye and almost certainly the top seed in the College Football Playoff. The Ducks (13-0, No. 1 CFP) nearly blew a 15-point lead in the final four minutes, ending the Nittany Lions’ last gasp by picking off Drew Allar’s pass with 1:54 left. Jordan James ran for for two scores to help Oregon win its first league title since 2020 in the Pac-12, this one coming in its first year in the Big Ten. Penn State (11-2, No. 3 CFP) also is expected to make the playoff field.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Oregon and Penn State piled up seven touchdowns, 537 yards, 28 first downs and 55 points in the Big Ten title game. That was in the first half. The top-ranked Ducks headed into halftime with a 31-24 lead. The 55 points broke a first-half scoring record for the title game that had belonged to Nebraska and Wisconsin, who combined for 52 points in 2012.
December 8, 2024 12:01 am
CALIFORNIA (Dec. 7) – The third-seeded Vulcans were unable to overcome a 21-point halftime deficit on Saturday afternoon while suffering a 31-13 loss to fourth-seeded Slippery Rock at Adamson Stadium in the Super Region One Championship as part of the NCAA Playoffs. With the loss, the No. 20 California (PA) football team finishes the season with a 10-3 overall record with all three losses being to nationally-ranked teams. The Vulcans advanced to the regional championship of the NCAA Playoffs for the fifth time in program history, all since 2007. Meanwhile, No. 11 The Rock improves to 12-1 this season and travels to face No. 2 Ferris State (Mich.) from Super Region Three in the national semifinals. Slippery Rock totaled 245 rushing yards on 40 attempts and quarterback Brayden Long, a two-time national finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, threw three touchdown passes in the victory. Sophomore defensive back Khalil Taylor led the team with 11 tackles (10 solo) with 2.0 TFL, while fellow sophomores Samuel Hobbs and Julien Laventure both tallied six stops on Saturday. Sophomore running back Bobby Boyd, Jr. led the team with 99 rushing yards and one touchdown on 13 attempts. He finished the year with 938 rushing yards on 194 carries with seven touchdowns in his first year as a starter. Boyd totaled the most rushing yards this fall since Nelson Brown eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in back-to-back seasons in 2018 and 2019.
December 8, 2024 12:02 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Michael Bunting scored a third-period power-play goal that gave the Pittsburgh Penguins the lead for good in a 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Rickard Rakell also scored a power-play goal while Bryan Rust had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh. Blake Lizotte and Kris Letang added short-handed empty-net goals in the final minute. Letang now has the 23rd-most points among defensemen in NHL history. Sidney Crosby finished with an assist and tied Gordie Howe for fifth-most assists with one franchise in league history. Tristan Jarry stopped 25 shots for his fourth straight win. William Nylander and Mitch Marner scored for Toronto.
December 7, 2024 4:04 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Reilly Smith scored the go-ahead goal and Artemi Panarin scored twice as the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2. Smith put New York ahead with his fourth goal this season at 9:53 of the third period in a game played hours after the Rangers traded their captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks. New York responded by winning on home ice as goaltender Igor Shesterkin snapped a personal five-game losing streak with 20 saves. Vincent Trocheck also scored for the Rangers and had two assists. Alexis Lafreniere had two assists.
December 7, 2024 4:07 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Brent Strom has been hired as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ assistant pitching coach. The 76-year-old will work with Oscar Marin, the team’s pitching coach since 2020. A big league pitcher from 1972-77, Strom was pitching coach of Houston in 1996 and from 2014-21, Kansas City from 2000 through 2001 and Arizona from 2022 through 2024. He reached the World Series with the 2017, ’19 and ’21 Astros and the 2023 Diamondbacks.
December 7, 2024 4:10 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens is adding a little fuel to his team’s rematch with Cleveland. Pickens says he “doesn’t even know” who Browns defensive back Greg Newsome II is even though the two spent the final play of Cleveland’s win last month tangling with each other in the snow. Newsome called Pickens a “fake tough guy” in the aftermath. The dustup with Newsome was just the latest in a series of run-ins between Pickens and opposing defenders this season. Pickens says he doesn’t do anything different than any other receiver and hinted he may be getting targeted by NFL officials.
