September 14, 2023 4:36 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — NFL players prefer playing on natural grass. It’s why the NFL Players Association called on the league Wednesday to switch all fields to grass. The union’s executive director Lloyd Howell says it’s the easiest decision the NFL can make. Players consider it a matter of career preservation. The union’s repeated request for all grass comes less than 48 hours after four-time NFL MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers tore his left Achilles tendon in his debut with the New York Jets. A new artificial surface was installed this year at MetLife Stadium. Carolina linebacker Shaq Thompson has been fighting for grass the past two years. He says he hopes to see everyone to take a stand.
September 13, 2023 4:36 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Josh Palacios hit a two-run homer against his former team, Bailey Falter pitched six efficient innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals 5-1. Palacios gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead in the second with his eighth home run. Falter allowed one run and four hits with four strikeouts and a walk in his first start since Aug. 27. He threw 44 of 67 pitches for strikes. The left-hander improved to 2-1 in eight games, including five starts, with Pittsburgh since being acquired from Philadelphia at the Aug. 1 trade deadline. The Pirates have nine wins in their last 14 games. Pittsburgh won this one despite going 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position and stranding 15 overall.
September 13, 2023 4:40 am
Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets delivered record numbers for their season opener. Rodgers’ ill-fated Jets debut – which ended after four plays when he suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon – averaged 22.6 million viewers on ESPN, ABC, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes. The Jets have five more prime-time appearances scheduled but only two can be subbed out due to the league’s flexible schedule rules. Those are the Week 10 “Sunday Night Football” contest at Las Vegas on Nov. 12 and the Dec. 28 game at Cleveland on “Thursday Night Football.”
September 13, 2023 4:42 am
New Columbus Blue Jackets coach Mike Babcock says he did nothing wrong in asking players to show him photos off their phone. A former NHL player Paul Bissonnette says he heard from the Blue Jackets that the coach was invading players’ privacy. Babcock called that a gross representation of his meetings with players and staff. He says he asked for family photos as a way of getting to know people around the team better. Team captain Boone Jenner expressed disappointment at the situation being blown out of proportion.
September 12, 2023 4:26 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — CJ Abrams homered twice, Patrick Corbin pitched into the seventh inning and the Washington Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2. Abrams hit a two-run shot to right-center off Andre Jackson in the third inning. He also lined a fastball over the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field in the seventh for his first career multihomer game. Corbin allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings to improve to 10-13. Bryan Reynolds and Ji Hwan Bae had RBI hits for the Pirates.
September 12, 2023 4:28 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes is among the players ready for robot umpires in the major leagues. Hayes complained on social media after Sunday’s loss to Atlanta about a 3-1 pitch that appeared to be well outside that plate umpire Bill Miller called a strike. Hayes struck out on the next pitch to end the eighth inning. He wrote in the post that the pitch was “not even close” and “some umps really don’t care.” Hayes asked Major League Baseball to “bring the ABS please,” using the acronym for the Automated Ball-Strike system that’s being used for some minor league games.
September 12, 2023 4:31 am
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers was knocked out of the game with an Achilles tendon injury just four plays into his debut for the New York Jets, who rallied behind their defense and stunned the Buffalo Bills 22-16 in overtime on when rookie Xavier Gipson returned a punt 65 yards for the winning score. New York’s aggressive defense forced four turnovers from Buffalo’s Josh Allen, including three interceptions by Jordan Whitehead, in a wild and often ugly season opener. While the Jets concluded their night with coach Robert Saleh joining a celebratory mob in the end zone, the injury to Rodgers cast a pall over their season.
September 12, 2023 4:33 am
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – Sports betting company DraftKings has apologized after using the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks to entice people to bet on baseball and football games. The Boston-based company offered users a 9/11-themed promotion titled “Never Forget.” It required the Yankees, Mets and Jets to win their games Monday. That is the 22nd anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon and the downing of a passenger jet in a field in Pennsylvania. The tragedy killed nearly 3,000 people. An outcry on social media from people offended by the promotion followed. DraftKings later took it down and apologized.
September 11, 2023 4:38 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves off to a sluggish start following a 30-7 loss to San Francisco. Pittsburgh’s offense sputtered at the start of the game as the 49ers built an early 20-point lead and cruised. Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett completed 31 of 46 passes for 232 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Pickett says he felt comfortable but that the offense simply didn’t execute. Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt had three sacks to tie James Harrison’s franchise mark for 80 1/2 in his career. Pittsburgh hosts Cleveland on “Monday Night Football” on Sept. 18.
September 11, 2023 4:43 am
Texas jumped to No. 4 in The Associated Press college football poll after beating Alabama and the Pac-12 became just the second conference to place as many as eight teams in an AP Top 25. Georgia received 55 first-place votes to remain the clear No. 1. Michigan is No. 2, with two-first place votes. No. 3 Florida State received three first-place votes and moved up a spot. Texas got two-first place votes. The Longhorns are in the top five for the first time since starting the 2010 season at No. 5 while Alabama dropped to No. 10.
