December 26, 2023 4:36 am
Florida Atlantic jumped seven places to No. 7 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll following a double-overtime win over No. 4 Arizona. It’s the Owls’ highest ranking ever after being No. 10 in the preseason AP Top 25. They made a surprising run to the Final Four last season and returned nearly everyone from that team. Purdue remained at No. 1 for the second straight week, with Kansas, Houston, Arizona and UConn rounding out the top five.
December 25, 2023 7:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mason Rudolph and George Pickens connected for two long touchdowns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers kept their playoff hopes alive with a 34-11 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Rudolph threw for 290 yards while starting in place of the injured Kenny Pickett and the ineffective Mitch Trubisky. Pickens finished with four receptions for 195 yards as the Steelers snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 8-7. Jake Browning passed for 335 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted three times as the Bengals fell to 8-7.
December 25, 2023 7:50 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has a decision to make at quarterback ahead of his team’s visit to Seattle. Third-stringer Mason Rudolph threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Cincinnati while filling in for injured starter Kenny Pickett. Pickett is nearing a return from right ankle surgery that’s kept him out for three weeks. Tomlin says it’s too early to announce a starter but Rudolph made it a more difficult decision than anticipated after helping the Steelers to their highest point total of the season.
December 24, 2023 7:57 am
Tim Stutzle scored 70 seconds into overtime and the Ottawa Senators snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Erik Brannstrom and Jakob Chychrun also scored for Ottawa, which won its first game during Jacques Martin’s second stint as coach. Anton Forsberg made 30 saves. Martin took over behind the bench on an interim basis when the Senators fired D.J. Smith on Monday. He also coached the team for nine seasons from 1995-96 through 2003-04. Lars Eller, Rickard Rakell, Drew O’Connor and Kris Letang scored for the Penguins while Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 21 shots.
December 24, 2023 7:59 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mason Rudolph and George Pickens connected for two long touchdowns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers kept their playoff hopes alive with a 34-11 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Rudolph threw for 290 yards while starting in place of the injured Kenny Pickett and the ineffective Mitch Trubisky. Pickens finished with four receptions for 195 yards as the Steelers snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 8-7. Jake Browning passed for 335 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted three times as the Bengals fell to 8-7.
December 23, 2023 4:34 am
The Cincinnati Bengals travel to Pittsburgh with a chance to bolster their postseason chances. Cincinnati has won three straight to get to 8-6 with three games remaining. Pittsburgh beat the Bengals on Nov. 26, but have dropped three consecutive games to fall to 7-7. The Steelers are turning to Mason Rudolph at quarterback with Kenny Pickett injured and backup Mitch Trubisky struggling. Pittsburgh’s offense is sputtering no matter who is under center. The Steelers have scored fewer than 20 points in five straight games, the franchise’s longest streak since 1969.
December 23, 2023 4:31 am
The NFL has denied the Eagles’ appeal of a $100,000 fine and the league’s ban of the team’s security chief, Dom DiSandro, from the sideline for the remainder of the regular season. That’s according to two people familiar with the league’s decision who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter hasn’t been disclosed. Philadelphia was fined and DiSandro was barred from the sideline for his role in a scuffle with 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw. DiSandro has still been permitted to travel and perform all other work duties. He can return to the sideline in the playoffs.
December 23, 2023 4:30 am
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida State has sued the Atlantic Coast Conference, challenging a contract that binds the school to the league for the next 12 years. The lawsuit claims the ACC’s grant of rights violates antitrust law and has unenforceable withdrawal penalties. It also accuses the ACC of mismanaging its members’ media rights. The suit says it would cost more than $570 million for Florida State to withdraw from the ACC. The ACC says the school agreed to a renewal of the GOR in 2016 knowing all the details. The conference filed its own lawsuit against the FSU Board of Trustees in North Carolina.
December 22, 2023 4:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored his 19th goal of the season in regulation and then beat Pyotr Kochetkov in a shootout to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins past the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1. Alex Nedeljkovic made 23 saves and turned away all three Carolina attempts in the shootout as the Penguins beat the Hurricanes for just the third time in 13 meetings. Teuvo Teravainen scored his 12th of the season for the Hurricanes. Kochetkov stopped 24 shots, but couldn’t get his glove on Crosby’s wrist shot from in close in the shootout.
December 22, 2023 4:48 am
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Matthew Stafford passed for 328 yards and two touchdowns, and the Los Angeles Rams surged forward in the NFC playoff race with a 30-22 victory over the New Orleans Saints. Rookie Puka Nacua had nine catches for a career-high 164 yards and a TD, and Kyren Williams rushed for 104 yards and another score while topping 1,000 yards for the season in the Rams’ fifth victory in six games. Los Angeles led 30-7 with 12:44 left in the fourth quarter after scoring on six of its first eight possessions, but Derek Carr threw TD passes to Juwan Johnson and A.T. Perry on the Saints’ next two drives. New Orleans’ two-game win streak ended.
