June 13, 2023 4:36 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Golden Knights owner Bill Foley was aggressive from the beginning. He said he wanted to win the Stanley Cup in six years. Vegas nearly won it the first year. The Knights made the Stanley Cup Final before losing in five games to the Washington Capitals. High expectations came from the top and came early for the six players who remain from that team. The Knights take a 3-1 series lead into Tuesday’s Cup Final against the Florida Panthers. This is Vegas’ sixth season.
June 12, 2023 4:43 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Andrew McCutchen collected his 2,000th career hit, Jack Suwinski hit his 12th home run and the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the New York Mets 2-1. McCutchen became the 291st player and fifth active player to reach 2,000 hits when he turned on a slider from Carlos Carrasco (2-3) leading off the bottom of the first and laced it to left field. Mitch Keller allowed just two hits in seven innings for the Pirates, who went 6-3 during a season-long nine-game homestand. Jeff McNeil hit his third homer of the season for New York. The Mets have dropped eight of nine.
June 12, 2023 4:45 am
TORONTO (AP) — Nick Taylor became the first Canadian in 69 years to win his national open, holing a 72-foot eagle putt on the fourth playoff hole to beat Tommy Fleetwood in the RBC Canadian Open. Taylor tossed his putter into the air and jumped into the arms of his caddie after the longest made putt of his PGA Tour career. Fellow Canadian players Mike Weir, Corey Conners and Adam Hadwin were among those who ran out to the green to congratulate him. Hadwin was tackled on the green by a security guard. The last player from Canada to win the Canadian Open was Pat Fletcher in 1954 at Point Grey in Vancouver.
June 12, 2023 4:44 am
PARIS (AP) — Novak Djokovic has won his men’s-record 23rd Grand Slam title with a 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 victory over Casper Ruud in the French Open final. Djokovic broke a tie with Rafael Nadal for the most major singles trophies in the history of men’s tennis. Nadal is a 14-time champion at Roland Garros who missed the tournament because he is injured. Djokovic adds to the French Open titles he earned in 2016 and 2021. He is the only man with at least three titles from each major. He also won 10 trophies at the Australian Open, seven at Wimbledon and three at the U.S. Open.
June 11, 2023 6:50 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The New York Mets stopped a seven-game losing streak, their longest in four years, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1 behind Mark Canha’s tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh inning and three RBIs. Kodai Senga (6-3) allowed an unearned run and two hits in seven inning with six strikeouts and four walks. David Robertson and Adam Ottavino finished a three-hitter. New York (31-34), which started the season with a record $355 million payroll, had given up 51 runs during the skid. Rookie Francisco Álvarez hit his 12th homer and Brandon Nimmo had two hits and a RBI.
June 11, 2023 6:51 am
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — The Vegas Golden Knights are on the verge of winning their first Stanley Cup title after holding on to beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 in Game 4 of the final. Vegas leads the series 3-1 and can win the NHL championship on home ice Tuesday. Chandler Stephenson scored twice for the Golden Knights and William Karlsson ended his series-long goal drought to build a three-goal lead. The Panthers scored twice to cut their deficit to one. But they’re now on the brink of elimination after the comeback bid fell short.
June 11, 2023 6:53 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Arcangelo took the lead at the top of the stretch and won the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, making Jena Antonucci the first female trainer to win a Triple Crown race. Arcangelo finished the 1 1/2 mile race in 2:29.23 and as 1 1/2 lengths in front of favored Fotre, with Tapit Trice third. After the horse crossed the finish line, the 47-year-old Antonucci doubled over and rested her arm and her head on the back of a chair. She kissed the horse on the nose when it returned to the area in front of the winner’s circle.
June 10, 2023 9:41 am
TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays cut pitcher Anthony Bass on Friday, one day after the right-handed reliever said he didn’t think an anti-LGBTQ+ social media post he shared last month was hateful. The team now has seven days to trade Bass or put him on waivers. The move came hours before Bass was set to catch a ceremonial first pitch from an LGBTQ+ activist before Friday’s game against Minnesota as the Blue Jays begin their Pride Weekend. Bass apologized before a May 30 game after sharing a post on his Instagram calling for boycotts of Target and Bud Light over support they showed for the LGBTQ+ community.
June 10, 2023 4:06 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ke’Bryan Hayes tied career highs with five hits and four RBIs and the Pittsburgh Pirates drilled the mistake-prone New York Mets 14-7. The Pirates bounced back from a series loss to lowly Oakland sending the reeling Mets to a seventh straight loss. Hayes had a two-run single in the third and a two-run double in the fifth. The Pittsburgh third baseman is hitting .558 (19 of 34) with 11 RBIs during his eight-game hitting streak. Francisco Lindor hit his 12th home run for New York but the Mets stumbled without injured first baseman Pete Alonso.
June 10, 2023 4:12 am
MIAMI (AP) — Aaron Gordon scored 27 points, Nikola Jokic added 23 and the Denver Nuggets moved one win away from their first NBA championship by beating the Miami Heat 108-95 on Friday night to take a 3-1 lead in the title series. Bruce Brown scored 21 off the bench for the Nuggets, who took both games in Miami to grab complete command. They’ll have three chances to win one game for a title, two of those in Denver, the first of them coming there in what’s sure to be a raucous atmosphere for Game 5 on Monday night. Jimmy Butler scored 25 points for Miami, which has now fallen into 3-1 holes in each of its last three finals appearances.