April 24, 2026 4:23 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Fernando Mendoza’s journey from overlooked two-star recruit to the top of the NFL draft is complete after the Las Vegas Raiders took him with the first pick on Thursday night. Turning the Raiders into a contender is the next challenge for the Heisman Trophy winner who led Indiana to its first national championship. The 22-year-old quarterback wasn’t in the Steel City for the festivities, choosing instead to celebrate with family and friends at home in Miami. Mendoza’s selection was expected for months. The intrigue began at No. 2 with the New York Jets, who selected Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey over Ohio State edge Arvell Reese. Arizona took Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love with the third pick.
April 24, 2026 4:25 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jacob deGrom had his 62nd career 10-strikeout game and the Texas Rangers hit two homers in a 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. DeGrom struck out 10 over 5 2/3 innings Thursday night and is 2-0 with a 2.13 ERA in his six starts this season. Evan Carter hit a two-run inside-the-park homer for the Rangers, and Corey Seager hit a three-run homer off Pirates rookie Bubba Chandler. Oneil Cruz hit his eighth homer for the Pirates. Pittsburgh shortstop Konner Griffin, in his last game before turning 20, struck out to end the game against Peyton Gray, a 30-year-old pitcher in his big-league debut.
April 24, 2026 4:31 am
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said he is taking accountability for actions that have created a distraction for New England without addressing specifics about photos published recently of him with longtime NFL reporter Dianna Russini at an Arizona resort. Vrabel spoke for just over seven minutes prior to the start of Thursday’s NFL draft. He vowed to prioritize his family by beginning counseling this weekend and stepping away from the team for draft’s final day Saturday. Vrabel said at a news conference earlier this week that he’s had “difficult conversations with people I care about,” including his family, his coaching staff, team officials and players following the publication of the photos by the New York Post.
April 23, 2026 4:31 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Trevor Zegras, Rasmus Ristolainen and Nick Seeler scored three goals on four shots in the second period, pushing the Flyers to the brink of a sweep with a 5-2 Game 3 win against the Penguins. The Flyers won their first home playoff game in eight years on Wednesday night. Game 4 is Saturday night in Philadelphia. Dan Vladar stopped several shots despite an apparent hand injury. Erik Karlsson scored on a power play, but Noah Cates sealed the Flyers’ victory with another power-play goal. The Flyers and Penguins put a squeeze on the penalty box in Game 3 of the playoff series — try, 11 total players cramped inside their designated punishment areas. Both teams could have snapped a team photo after a melee broke out in the second period of their Eastern Conference first-round series. Penguins forward Bryan Rust slammed Travis Konecny to the ice behind the net and smothered the Flyers forward in a hit that sparked all the lines to join the fray. Konecny ripped off his helmet and dropped his gloves and beckoned Rust to fight him. The Flyers sent six players to the box and the Penguins five.
April 23, 2026 4:35 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Oneil Cruz had the hardest-hit homer in the majors this season, a three-run shot off the top of the right-field foul pole in the ninth inning that powered the Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-4 win over the Texas Rangers. The Pirates took a 5-4 lead in the ninth when Nick Gonzales broke for the plate on pinch-hitter Jake Mangum’s one-out chopper to third base off Cole Winn. Josh Jung’s throw home pulled catcher Kyle Higashioka into foul territory, and Higashioka could not make the tag. Cruz followed with his 116.9 mph liner that bounced off the top of the foul pole and into the stands.
April 23, 2026 4:37 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Mark Vientos blooped a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and the New York Mets snapped their 12-game losing streak, beating the Minnesota Twins 3-2 after getting one superstar back only to see another exit with a similar injury. Juan Soto went 1 for 3 with a single and a walk in his return from a strained right calf, but shortstop Francisco Lindor was removed with left calf tightness after laboring around the bases while scoring from first on Francisco Alvarez’s go-ahead double in the fourth. Byron Buxton tied it 2-all with a leadoff homer in the sixth against Mets starter Clay Holmes.
April 22, 2026 4:28 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Kumar Rocker allowed a run in six innings and Evan Carter drove in the tying run before robbing Oneil Cruz of a three-run homer, leading the Texas Rangers to a 5-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night. The Rangers (12-11) moved a game over .500 at the start of a nine-game homestand after playing 16 of their first 22 games on the road. Pittsburgh dropped to 5-5 on the road and 13-10 for the season.
April 22, 2026 4:29 am
Mike Tomlin is going from the glare of an NFL sideline to the glare of television lights. The former Pittsburgh Steelers coach will join NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” coverage as a pregame analyst, two people briefed on the move tell The Associated Press. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because NBC has not announced the move. Tomlin stepped down in January after 19 seasons as Steelers coach. NBC had a studio opening as it is retooling its “Football Night in America” pregame show. Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy announced last month that he was told he would not be back after 17 years.
April 22, 2026 4:32 am
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Mike Vrabel said Tuesday that he’s had “difficult conversations with people I care about,” including his family, his coaching staff and players, following the publication of photos of the Patriots coach and longtime NFL reporter Dianna Russini at an Arizona resort. The photos were of Vrabel and Russini at a Sedona resort and were taken before the annual NFL meetings that began in Phoenix on March 29, according to the New York Post, which published the photos. Vrabel and Russini, who are both married, released written statements to the Post after the publication of the story downplaying what the photos depict. But Russini resigned from The Athletic less than a week later after the Post’s report prompted an internal investigation at The New York Times-owned sports outlet.
April 21, 2026 4:35 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dan Vladar stopped 27 shots as the Philadelphia Flyers shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series. Teenage forward Porter Martone scored for the second straight game for Philadelphia. Garnet Hathaway added a short-handed goal for the Flyers. Luke Glendening chipped in an empty-netter late to seal it. The series shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3. Stuart Skinner made 20 saves for Pittsburgh but received little help in front of him on a night the Penguins’ power play went 0 for 5.
