June 27, 2025 4:25 am
The New York Islanders are set to make the first pick in the NHL draft Friday night in Los Angeles. New general manager Mathieu Darche, just a month into his role, looks forward to landing a cornerstone player to help rebuild after the team missed the playoffs twice in four years. Erie Otters defenseman Matthew Schaefer is widely expected to go first. The San Jose Sharks hold the second pick, followed by Chicago, Utah, and Nashville. This year’s draft pool is strong but lacks a standout star. The Islanders last picked first in 2009 when they selected John Tavares.
June 27, 2025 4:29 am
Two people familiar with negotiations tell The Associated Press the NHL and NHL Players’ Association are close to an agreement on a four-year extension of the collective bargaining agreement. They confirmed that going to an 84-game season from 82 is among the changes coming. The league and union have been in talks since April and are on the verge of a deal more than a year before the current CBA expires. Other changes include shortening the maximum length of contracts and adding a playoff salary cap.
June 26, 2025 2:07 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski made extra effort to avoid getting caught up in all the hype surrounding the rookie flamethrower’s highly anticipated matchup with Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes. Misiorowski better get accustomed to the extra attention. Misiorowski owns a 3-0 record and 1.13 earned run average after leading the Brewers to a 4-2 victory over Skenes’ Pirates. Sportradar says the three hits Misiorowski has allowed thus far is the fewest by any major league pitcher through his first three career starts with a minimum of 16 innings pitched since at least 1901.
June 26, 2025 4:35 am
Moving to an 84-game regular season from 82 is one of the topics that has been discussed in collective bargaining talks between the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association, a person with familiar with negotiations tells The Associated Press. The potential change that could go into effect as soon as 2026-27 would reduce the preseason to four games per team. Going to 84 games could also even out scheduling with the league at 32 teams playing each division opponent four times, three against the other division in the same conference and two against those in the other conference.
June 26, 2025 4:34 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Cooper Flagg is headed to the Dallas Mavericks, who may have found their next franchise superstar less than five months after trading one away. The Mavericks took the Duke forward with the No. 1 pick in the draft Wednesday night, selecting the 18-year-old who was the college player of the year in his lone season. Mavericks fans were furious when Dallas traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1, some immediately threatening to end their support of the team. But the ones who stuck around may quickly love Flagg, who averaged 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds while leading Duke to the Final Four. Rutgers freshman Dylan Harper was taken by San Antonio with the No. 2 pick.
June 25, 2025 5:25 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz said he lost track of the outs when he didn’t run out a double-play grounder. The move led to his removal from the Pirates’ 9-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday. The Pirates had a runner on first with one out in the seventh when Cruz grounded into a double play. Cruz slowed down after the Brewers got the force play at second. Cruz said afterward he believed that was the third out of the inning. Pirates manager Don Kelly removed Cruz and said it was due to Cruz’s “energy and effort going down the line.”
June 25, 2025 5:23 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Michael Darrell-Hicks is back in the majors just over two weeks after the Los Angeles Angels had designated him for assignment. The Pirates called up Darrell-Hicks on Tuesday and sent right-hander Hunter Stratton to Triple-A Indianapolis. The Pirates needed a fresh arm one night after using five pitchers in a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Darrell-Hicks, 27, went 1-0 with a 9.39 ERA in six appearances with the Angels before getting designated on June 8. The Pirates claimed him off waivers and sent him to Indianapolis. He worked two scoreless innings before getting called up.
June 24, 2025 5:27 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Joey Ortiz homered twice and Caleb Durbin added a three-run shot as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-3 on Tuesday. Durbin and Ortiz went a combined 4 of 8 with four runs and seven RBIs as the No. 8 and No. 9 hitters in Milwaukee’s lineup. They hit back-to-back, two-out homers off Andrew Heaney in the fourth inning to extend the Brewers’ lead to 6-0. Ortiz also broke a scoreless tie with a two-run shot in the third as the Brewers won for the fifth time in six games.
June 24, 2025 4:23 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Nick Gonzales went 5 for 5 with two RBIs, Isiah Kiner-Falefa tripled home the go-ahead run in the sixth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat Milwaukee 5-4 to snap the Brewers’ four-game winning streak. Kiner-Falefa sent a line drive into the right-field corner against Nick Mears to drive in Tommy Pham and break a 4-all tie. Pham also hit his first homer of the season. Kiner-Falefa’s big hit came after Milwaukee slugger Christian Yelich tied the game by connecting on a 3-0 pitch from Chase Shugart for a two-run homer in the fifth.
June 24, 2025 4:27 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — With mounds of dirt, construction vehicles and the exact location where home plate will be at the new Athletics ballpark serving as the backdrop, team owner John Fisher stood in front of a large gathering with one message: “We are Vegas’ team.” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, state and local government dignitaries, former Athletics greats such as Rollie Fingers and Dave Stewart, Little Leaguers and many others looked on Monday as the team celebrated the groundbreaking of a $1.75 billion, 33,000-person capacity ballpark that is expected to be finished in time for the 2028 season.
