June 29, 2023 4:41 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — With the 14th overall pick in the NHL Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins have selected Brayden Yager. Yager, a forward, comes to the Penguins from the Moose Jaw Warriors. According to a news release from the Penguins, Yager was the No. 11 ranked North American skater ahead of the draft. Yager is a native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and was with the Warriors for three seasons.
June 29, 2023 4:38 am
The Vegas Golden Knights have traded forward Reilly Smith to the Pittsburgh Penguins and re-signed Ivan Barbashev. The Stanley Cup champions signed Barbashev to a five-year contract worth $25 million. For Smith, they reacquired their own 2024 third-round pick they sent to Pittsburgh for forward Teddy Blueger prior to the trade deadline. Smith was one of six original Vegas players left from the team’s inaugural season that included a trip to the final. Barbashev was a key contributor on the franchise’s title run with 18 points in 22 games.
June 28, 2023 4:39 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Former first-round pick Nick Gonzales homered and tripled in his first home game at PNC Park, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Diego Padres 9-4. Carlos Santana and Jack Suwinski also homered as Pittsburgh won for just the second time in 14 games. Rich Hill worked six innings to even his record at 7-7. Ha-Seong Kim had three hits for the Padres but spot starter Reiss Knehr struggled while filling in for a sick Yu Darvish. San Diego has lost six of eight.
June 28, 2023 4:42 am
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) — Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona remained hospitalized overnight for evaluation after feeling ill before Tuesday night’s game against the Kansas City Royals. The 64-year-old Francona was taken to The University of Kansas Health Systems to be evaluated “out of an abundance of caution” given his medical history. Francona missed much of the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to a variety of physical issues. DeMarlo Hale, who has filled in for Francona in the past, managed the Guardians, who rallied for a 2-1 win in the opener of a three-game series. Francona is in his 11th season with the Guardians.
June 28, 2023 4:41 am
The NHL and NHLPA are launching a new Player Inclusion Coalition aimed at diversifying hockey and making it more welcoming. The 20-member group includes current and former men’s and women’s players with minority and LGBTQ+ representation. It’s the latest step in a process started in the summer of 2020 when the police killing of George Floyd led to a worldwide reckoning on racial matters. It also comes on the heels of several incidents related to Pride nights around the league, when a handful of players refused to wear rainbow-colored jerseys for warmups.
June 27, 2023 4:40 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Penguins veteran defenseman Kris Letang claimed the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy at the NHL Awards Monday night in Nashville. He was selected by the Pro Hockey Writers Association for the award given annually to the NHL player who best “exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication’ to hockey. He is the first Penguins player to win the award since Mario Lemieux in 1993. Connor McDavid has won his third Hart Trophy as NHL MVP after the highest-scoring season by a player in more than a quarter-century. McDavid fell one vote short of unanimous selection. McDavid also won the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHL’s most outstanding player as voted by his peers. The Edmonton Oilers’ captain led the league with 64 goals, 89 assists and 153 points. That’s the most points since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96. One voter out of 196 picked Boston’s David Pastrnak as MVP. San Jose’s Erik Karlsson also became a three-time award winner, receiving the Norris Trophy as top defenseman.
June 27, 2023 4:35 am
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — LSU cranked up its offense a day after it gave up the most runs ever in a College World Series game and won its first national title since 2009 with a 18-4 victory over Florida in the third and deciding game of the finals. LSU staved off elimination three times in bracket play and bounced back from a 24-4 loss in Game 2 to claim its seventh championship. That’s second to Southern California’s 12. The Tigers wiped out an early 2-0 deficit with a six-run second inning against Jac Caglianone and Cade Fisher.
June 27, 2023 4:42 am
Now that the PGA Tour and European tour have a deal with the Saudis, one step is deciding how players can return from LIV Golf if they so choose. That’s part of the framework agreement that was signed last month. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the agreement. It was among documents requested for a Senate hearing on July 11. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, wants more details on how the deal came together. There still aren’t many details spelled out in the agreement. One part is deciding how players return from LIV Golf and what would be a fair punishment.
June 26, 2023 4:37 am
MIAMI (AP) — Rookie Eury Pérez scattered four hits and struck out nine in six dominant innings to lead the Miami Marlins to a 2-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jonathan Davis homered, Bryan De La Cruz had three hits and Yuli Gurriel drove in the game’s second run for the Marlins, who improved to 11 games over .500 at 45-34. Miami’s Luis Arraez went 1 for 4, and his major league-leading batting average slipped to .399. Andrew McCutchen had two hits for the Pirates, who have lost 12 of 13.
June 26, 2023 4:39 am
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Florida scored the most runs in the history of the College World Series in a 24-4 rout of LSU that forced a deciding Game 3 of the CWS finals. The Gators hit six home runs on a windy day at Charles Schwab Field and pounded LSU pitching for a CWS record-tying 23 hits a day after Ty Floyd struck out 17 in the Tigers’ 4-3, 11-inning win in Game 1. Florida came in having been involved in four of the CWS record-tying eight one-run games. The Gators had totaled 17 runs in four games here before the offense broke loose.
