April 27, 2026 4:41 am
Sidney Crosby stepped up to help the Pittsburgh Penguins extend their season. Now the Penguins will get another chance when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday in the first round of the NHL playoffs. The Flyers won the first three games of the series before the Penguins took Game 4 to stave off elimination. Crosby had a goal and an assist in that win. Game 5 of that series between instate rivals is Monday. The schedule also includes the Utah Mammoth trying to take a 3-1 lead on the Vegas Golden Knights out West.
April 27, 2026 4:44 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist, Nicolas Roy and Devon Toews scored in the third period, and the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche swept the Los Angeles Kings out of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 5-1 victory. Cale Makar also scored and Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves as the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avs ended the 20-year career of Kings captain Anze Kopitar, who announced his pending retirement in September. With a masterful four-game demonstration of the roster-wide talent on a team ready to win it all, Colorado advanced to face the winner of the heavyweight first-round series between Dallas and Minnesota.
April 26, 2026 7:40 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang each scored goals, helping the Penguins avoid a first-round series sweep with a 4-2 win over the Flyers in Game 4 on Saturday night. Game 5 is Monday in Pittsburgh. Rickard Rakell also scored, and Connor Dewar sealed the win with a late empty-netter. Penguins coach Dan Muse made the right call by benching starting goalie Stuart Skinner for Arturs Silovs. Crosby scored his first goal of the series and set a screen for Letang’s goal. The Penguins received a solid effort from Silovs, who makes his 11th career playoff start.
April 26, 2026 7:41 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Bryan Reynolds had a go-ahead single in the 10th, Nick Gonzales followed with a two-run single and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 on Saturday night. Henry Davis started the 10th at second for the Pirates against Angel Zerpa (0-2). Pinch-hitter Marcell Ozuna walked and Nick Yorke pinch ran for Ozuna. Reynolds singled to left to score Davis and chase Zerpa. Gonzales then hit a sharp single off Grant Anderson to drive in Yorke and Reynolds. Gregory Soto (2-0) pitched the ninth, and Yohan Ramírez worked the 10th for his first save.
April 26, 2026 7:54 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers still don’t know if quarterback Aaron Rodgers will return for his 22nd season in 2026. If the 42-year-old decides to play, the four-time MVP will lead a team filled with fresh faces on offense. Pittsburgh used seven of its 10 picks in the NFL draft on that side of the ball. It’s the first time since 1976 that the Steelers drafted six offensive players among their first seven picks. Their selections include offensive tackle Max Iheanachor of Arizona State and quarterback Drew Allard of Penn State. In the final round, the Steelers took Pittsburgh native Eli Heidenreich out of Navy.
April 26, 2026 7:52 am
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have fired manager Alex Cora, who led them to the 2018 World Series championship. He will be replaced on an interim basis by Chad Tracy, who had been managing the club’s Triple-A Worcester affiliate. The team made the announcement Saturday after a 17-1 victory in Baltimore that snapped a four-game losing streak — including a three-game sweep at Fenway Park by the archrival New York Yankees. The organization said it is also parting ways with five members of the coaching staff: hitting coach Peter Fatse, third base coach Kyle Hudson, bench coach Ramón Vázquez, assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson, and major league hitting strategy coach Joe Cronin.
April 25, 2026 9:42 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jermod McCoy’s wait at the NFL draft ended when the Las Vegas Raiders picked him in the fourth round. The Tennessee cornerback missed last season with a torn ACL but had six interceptions in 25 games with the Volunteers and Oregon State. McCoy is eager to help the Raiders’ defense, which struggled last season. The draft’s final day began with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announcing that Pittsburgh had set a two-day attendance record, with more than 600,000 fans cramming around the draft stage.
April 25, 2026 3:28 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Paul Skenes had a perfect game into the seventh inning, Konnor Griffin hit his first career home run on his 20th birthday and drove in three runs to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-0 on Friday night. Skenes (4-1), the NL Cy Young winner, didn’t allow a base runner until Jake Bauers’ sharp single to right with two outs in the seventh. He was vying to become the first pitcher to throw a perfect game in American Family Field. There have been two no-hitters. Skenes gave up one hit over seven shutout innings. He struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter. He threw 93 pitches — 62 for strikes. Mason Montgomery and Isaac Mattson completed the one-hitter.
April 25, 2026 3:53 am
The Steelers — who are still waiting for Aaron Rodgers to decide if he wants to run it back in 2026 — drafted Penn State’s Drew Allar in the third round of the NFL draft on Friday, turning to another nearby prospect a year after taking Ohio State’s Will Howard. Allar, once projected as a potential first-round pick during the early stages of his four-year run in Happy Valley, is very much like Howard: a tall, strong-armed presence in the pocket who is hardly considered a sure thing as a pro. Still, the Steelers saw enough to use the 76th overall pick on Allar, whose arrival gives the team another young arm to join a room that also includes veteran backup Mason Rudolph and — if he decides he wants to return for a 22nd season — Rodgers. Allar was one of four selections by Pittsburgh on Friday. The Steelers selected Alabama wide receiver Germie Bernard in the second round, with Georgia cornerback Daylen Everette and guard Gennings Dunker from Iowa joining Allar as third-round picks.
April 25, 2026 3:32 am
Carson Beck ended up becoming the first player selected in the third round of the NFL draft after once being considered a potential top pick. The Arizona Cardinals took the polarizing Miami quarterback with the 65th overall pick on Friday night. He’ll join a quarterback room that includes veterans Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew and play for rookie coach Mike LaFleur. Beck was only the third QB selected in a draft that’s considered thin at the sport’s most important position. Fernando Mendoza went No. 1 to Las Vegas and Ty Simpson was selected 13th by the Los Angeles Rams. Drew Allar became the fourth quarterback selected when the Pittsburgh Steelers took him at No. 76.
