June 18, 2026 4:25 am
Major League Baseball is facing challenges with LGBTQ+ inclusivity as some players resist participating in Pride events. During the San Francisco Giants’ Pride Night, several players added Bible verses to their caps or chose not to wear the themed caps. MLB issued a warning, stating that writing on caps violates league policy, saying the issue wasn’t with the messages themselves. This has sparked reactions from Republican politicians like Vice President JD Vance and Missouri Senator Josh Hawley. Similar incidents have occurred on other teams, and MLB is unique in having regular-season games during Pride Month. Other leagues have also faced issues with Pride events.
June 18, 2026 4:29 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA is expanding its schedule to 50 games per team next season — the most in the league’s 30-year history. The new collective bargaining agreement that was ratified earlier this year allows the league to play up to 50 games for the next two seasons. There can be up to 52 regular-season games in 2029 and for the rest of the CBA. The league is playing 44 games again this season. Over the next few seasons the WNBA is adding three new teams through expansion. Cleveland is joining in 2028, Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030. Connecticut is moving to Houston next year.
June 17, 2026 4:30 am
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth inning, Bryan Reynolds went deep from both sides of the plate and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied from an early four-run deficit to beat the Athletics 6-5. Reynolds finished with four hits, three RBIs and three runs scored. Ryan O’Hearn also had three hits for the Pirates, who had lost eight of 10. Zack Gelof went 3 for 3 with a homer and two RBIs for the A’s, extending his hitting streak to 20 games — the longest active run in the majors.
June 17, 2026 2:17 am
The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed wide receiver Levi Wentz to a one-year contract. Wentz originally signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent following the 2026 NFL Draft. Wentz was waived by Seattle on June 8 in a corresponding roster move after the team signed veteran offensive tackle Bobby Hart. Wentz played at three different schools in college — Old Dominion, Albany and Kansas. At Kansas in 2025, he recorded 16 receptions for 258 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games. That was his lone season with the Jayhawks. He transferred from Albany, where he appeared in 24 games and had 53 receptions with two touchdowns. Wentz played at Old Dominion from 2021 to 2022 before transferring to Albany.
June 17, 2026 4:32 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lionel Messi delivered his first World Cup hat trick and matched Miroslav Klose’s career scoring record before thousands of Argentina fans packed into Arrowhead Stadium for a match against Algeria on Tuesday night. The defending champions went on to win 3-0. Messi scored his first goal in the opening minutes, the second early in the second half, and the third just before subbing out. The performance came 20 years after his World Cup debut, when Messi also scored. Messi now has 16 goals in six World Cup appearances. The hat trick upstaged stars like Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland, each of whom also scored twice in their matches earlier Tuesday.
June 16, 2026 4:32 am
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Nick Kurtz hit two homers and drove in five runs, Jeff McNeil also went deep and knocked in four, and the Athletics beat the scuffling Pittsburgh Pirates 11-2. J.T. Ginn pitched six strong innings for the A’s. McNeil went 3 for 4 and snapped an 0-for-20 slump with an RBI single in the second. Kurtz followed with an opposite-field homer to left for a 3-0 lead and finished 3 for 5. McNeil hit his third homer to make it 5-1 in the fourth and added an RBI single in the seventh before Kurtz followed with a three-run shot to left. Eight of Kurtz’s 18 home runs have come in June. Pittsburgh has lost eight of 10 to fall a game under .500.
June 16, 2026 4:36 am
Transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby will not play for Texas Tech this fall. He is instead planning to enter the NFL supplemental draft. That will end an unprecedented legal fight over the college eligibility of a player who had acknowledged betting on college and pro sports, including some wagers on his own team while a freshman at Indiana four years ago. The decision by Sorsby came exactly one week before the deadline to apply for the NFL supplemental draft. It was also on the same day the NCAA and Big 12 Conference had filings in different courts challenging a temporary injunction that cleared the way for Sorsby to play despite being declared ineligible after he acknowledged making thousands of bets worth at least $90,000 while in college.
June 16, 2026 4:34 am
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — The coach of Iran’s World Cup team says it was ordered to leave the U.S. and return to its training base in Mexico only a few hours after opening its politically charged tournament by playing to a 2-2 draw with New Zealand. Coach Amir Ghalenoei didn’t say who ordered the Iranians to leave earlier than planned. The team had expected to spend the night in California. The Iranians’ World Cup cycle has been in upheaval since the U.S. and Israel began a war against Iran on Feb. 28.
June 15, 2026 4:53 am
The Marlins took two out of three from the Pirates with a 4-2 win Sunday afternoon. Pitcher Max Meyer allowed just one run in six innings. Paul Skenes took the loss for the Pirates. The Pirates will be on the road for a three-game series against the Athletics. Jared Jones will get the start tonight. The game will be available on 1450 AM at 9:15 PM.
June 15, 2026 4:55 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes won their first Stanley Cup championship in 20 years on Sunday night, using a suffocating defense in Game 6 to shut down the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 and winning three straight games of a thrilling final filled with momentum swings and spectacular offense. Brandon Bussi, who entrance late into Game 3 helped turn around the series, recorded his first career playoff shutout in stopping 22 shots. Jackson Blake backed him up with a goal and assist, and Taylor Hall scored just 3:47 into the game to set the tone. Nikolaj Ehlers added an empty-net goal.
