August 20, 2025 4:55 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers’ first official snaps with the Pittsburgh Steelers will have to wait until Week 1. Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Rodgers, along with several other key players, won’t play against Carolina in Thursday’s preseason finale. Most of the healthy roster, including new additions like Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay, could see action. Tomlin believes Rodgers has shown enough progress in training camp, so there’s no need to risk injury. This decision marks a change from Tomlin’s usual approach, as previous starters typically played in preseason games. Rodgers is the league’s oldest active player.
August 20, 2025 4:42 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — There’s so much speculation about Texas quarterback Arch Manning’s future, in the media and even within his own family, that it can be hard for even him to keep up. Manning was asked Tuesday about grandfather Archie Manning’s recent prediction to Texas Monthly that he’ll still be with the Longhorns through the 2026 season. Arch Manning said he doesn’t know where his grandfather got that idea, but he also insisted he’s not making any plans about his pro future right now. Preseason No. 1 Texas opens the season Aug. 30 at No. 3 Ohio State after losing to the Buckeyes in the national playoff semifinals last season.
August 20, 2025 4:41 am
BOSTON (AP) — The sale of the Boston Celtics has been finalized. Private equity mogul Bill Chisholm has taken control of the NBA’s most-decorated franchise from a group led by Wyc Grousbeck that had owned them for more than two decades. The team was put on the market last summer, soon after it won its record 18th NBA championship. Chisholm won the bidding in March with an offer that valued the franchise at more than $6.1 billion — a record price paid for an American professional sports team. The NBA approved the deal unanimously last week, and the money changed hands on Tuesday.
August 19, 2025 4:27 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes kept the American League-leading Toronto Blue Jays in check for six innings, helping the Pittsburgh Pirates secure a 5-2 victory. Skenes bounced back from a shaky performance to allow just two runs, striking out eight. Evan Sisk earned his first big league win with a scoreless seventh inning, and Dennis Santana got his eighth save. The Pirates capitalized on Toronto’s three errors, including a wild pitch that allowed Henry Davis to score. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. exited in the fifth with hamstring tightness. The Pirates’ win was just their second in their last nine games.
August 19, 2025 4:29 am
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks from LSU, headlined the “Monday Night Football” matchup in the second preseason game for each team. Daniels scored a 14-yard rushing touchdown, but Burrow led two touchdown drives in the Bengals’ 31-17 win over the Commanders. Both teams have high-profile players out amid contract disputes, Cincinnati DE Trey Hendrickson and Washington WR Terry McLaurin.
August 19, 2025 4:32 am
The Cleveland Browns have announced that Joe Flacco will be their starting quarterback for the Sept. 7 opener against AFC North rival Cincinnati. Coach Kevin Stefanski indicated over the past week that decision was coming. The Browns were off on Sunday after their 22-13 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles but had a team meeting on Monday. The 40-year old Flacco beat out Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Deshaun Watson is on the roster but is expected to miss the season because of injuries. Besides having 191 regular-season starts and going into his 18th season, Flacco was the only quarterback who has not missed time during training camp because of an injury.
August 19, 2025 4:30 am
No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Penn State each had three players selected for the preseason AP All-America team. The Southeastern Conference had 12 players on the 27-man first team determined by media members on the AP Top 25 voting panel. Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Pittsburgh each had two players on the first team. Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and Florida center Jake Slaughter are returning first-team AP All-Americans. Clemson’s Cade Klubnik was the overwhelming preseason choice for first-team quarterback after throwing for 3,639 yards with 39 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
August 18, 2025 4:31 am
CHICAGO (AP) — Dansby Swanson hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 in the rubber game of the weekend series. Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ian Happ each had two hits for Chicago, which had dropped four of five before Saturday’s 3-1 victory. Next up is a big five-game series against major league-leading Milwaukee, beginning with a split doubleheader Monday at Wrigley Field. The Cubs are eight games back of the Brewers in the NL Central.
August 18, 2025 4:33 am
CINCINNATI (AP) — Austin Hays’ single with the bases loaded in the 10th inning gave the Cincinnati Reds a 3-2 victory over Milwaukee on Sunday, ending the Brewers’ franchise-record winning streak at 14 games. Milwaukee had barely pulled out the previous two games in Cincinnati for its longest streak ever in one season and the longest in the majors since the St. Louis Cardinals won 17 straight from Sept. 11 to Sept. 28, 2021. This time, Spencer Steer’s sacrifice bunt in the 10th advanced designated runner TJ Friedl to third. After intentional walks to Elly De La Cruz and Will Benson loaded the bases, Hays laced a single to down the third-base line for his second career walk-off hit.
August 18, 2025 4:34 am
CHICAGO (AP) — Caleb Williams took advantage of his first preseason playing time. He connected with Olamide Zaccheaus for a 36-yard touchdown on the opening drive as the Chicago Bears cruised to 38-0 preseason victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night. After sitting out a 24-24 tie with Miami last week, Williams came out firing against Buffalo in his first chance to operate coach Ben Johnson’s offense during a game. The first pick in the 2024 draft led a 92-yard TD drive to start the game. Williams hit on six of his first seven throws, then left after the second possession. He finished 6 of 10 for 102 yards.
