June 27, 2022 3:49 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – The Colorado Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup after dethroning the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning. The Avalanche beat the Lightning 2-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final behind a goal and an assist from Nathan MacKinnon. Tampa Bay fell two victories short of becoming the NHL’s first three-peat champion since the early 1980s. Colorado’s core led by MacKinnon, captain Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Mark got the job done after years of playoff disappointments. It’s the franchise’s third championship and first since 2001.
June 26, 2022 7:55 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Isaac Paredes hit a solo homer in the eighth inning and a two-run single with two outs in the ninth, sending the Tampa Bay Rays to a 6-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. Ji-Man Choi and Vidal Bruján reached on two-out walks before Jonathan Aranda’s pinch-hit single loaded the bases against David Bednar (3-2). Paredes then hit an opposite-field liner to right for his game-ending single. Paredes’ teammate celebrated by dumping two containers of sports drink and then a bucket of ice on him in front of the Rays dugout after his hit on an 0-2 pitch. Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Bednar “just didn’t execute pitches.” Paredes got the Rays within one in the eighth with his team-leading 10th homer — all over his last 25 games. He has gone deep five times in his last three games. Ralph Garza Jr. (1-2) worked two scoreless innings for the win in Tampa Bay’s fourth straight one-run game. It also was a Rays-record 11th consecutive game decided by two or fewer runs. Jack Suwinski hit a three-run homer for the Pirates. JT Brubaker allowed three runs and nine hits in six innings.
June 26, 2022 7:56 am
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson’s short-term future with the Browns could be coming into focus. Cleveland’s quarterback will have a hearing next week with NFL disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson, three people familiar with the scheduled meeting told The Associated Press on Saturday. Watson, who is facing a potential suspension from the league stemming from accusations of sexual misconduct by two dozen massage therapists in Texas, will meet with Robinson on Tuesday, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the hearing have not been disclosed publicly. It’s not yet known how long Watson is scheduled to meet with Robinson. The hearing is a significant development in Watson’s case as Robinson will decide if the 26-year-old violated the league’s personal conduct policy. The league is expected to recommend significant discipline for Watson, who will be defended by the NFL Players Association in the high-profile case.
June 25, 2022 4:13 am
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Harold Ramirez scored Vidal Brujan with a game-ending pinch-single in the 10th inning, lifting the Tampa Bay Rays over the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3. Brujan took second as Tampa Bay’s automatic runner and stole third against Yerry De Los Santos before Ramirez’s hit. Jason Adam got the win. Luke Raley and Jonathan Aranda, playing in their first games for the Rays, drove in runs with singles to put the Rays up 2-0 in the second, and a balk by Pirates starter Mitch Keller made it 3-0. The Pirates tied it with three solo homers off starter Jeffrey Springs. The series continues this afternoon, and you can hear that game on WJPA 1450 AM with coverage starting at 12:35 p.m.
June 25, 2022 4:15 am
DENVER (AP) – The Colorado Avalanche were stymied in their quest to close out the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Avalanche never led in their 3-2 loss that sent the series back to Tampa with Colorado holding a three games-to-two edge in the best-of-seven series. The odds are still against the Lightning winning a third consecutive crowd as no team since the 1942 Maple Leafs have won the Stanley Cup after losing three of the first four games in the final. Game 6 is Sunday night. (Photo: AP)
June 25, 2022 4:18 am
(AP) – The NHL is reporting an increase in viewers in the first year of its television contracts with ESPN and TNT. Part of that is unparalleled growth in female and younger fans. According to NHL research, 37% of hockey fans are female and that includes 26% growth since 2016. Most of those new fans are likely within the coveted 18-49 age demographic. During the regular season, Wednesday regular-season games on TNT saw a 44% jump in viewers compared to previous years, when the games were aired on NBCSN.
June 24, 2022 1:11 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Michael Chavis hit a tying home run in the eighth before pulling off a defensive gem and delivering a game-ending single in the 10th, sending the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Chicago Cubs 8-7. Chavis’ solo homer made it 7-all after the Cubs scored five times in the top of the eighth. In the 10th, Chavis charged a slow grounder by Jason Heyward toward first base and threw out Patrick Wisdom at the plate. The call stood after a Chicago challenge. In the bottom half, Chavis blooped a single to right and automatic runner Ke’Bryan Hayes scored in a collision with catcher Wilson Contreras. Hayes remained down for a few moments before walking off under his own power. Hayes homered earlier in the game.
June 24, 2022 3:13 am
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) – Rory McIlroy fought off a sinus bug to shoot an 8-under 62 on Thursday for a share of the first-round lead with J.T. Poston in the Travelers Championship. Coming off a fifth-place tie Sunday in the U.S. Open after winning the Canadian Open the previous week, the second-ranked McIlroy had a bogey-free morning round – highlighted by a 47-foot birdie putt on the par-4 seventh. McIlroy matched the lowest opening round of his PGA Tour career. Poston had five straight birdies on Nos. 13-17 and made the turn at 6-under 29, giving rise to thoughts of Jim Furyk’s record 58 on the same TPC River Highlands course in 2016. Poston added birdies on Nos. 7 and 9.
June 24, 2022 3:14 am
UNDATED (AP) – The New York Racing Association suspended trainer Bob Baffert for one year Thursday for repeated medication violations. A panel credited Baffert for time served from an initial suspension that makes the two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer eligible to saddle horses in New York again by late January. The ban is shorter than the two-year suspension Churchill Downs handed Baffert after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for a substance that is not allowed on race day. Baffert’s camp asked for a stay of the NYRA suspension that was immediately denied.
June 23, 2022 3:09 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nazem Kadri scored at 12:02 of overtime — perhaps with too many Colorado players on the ice — and the Avalanche beat Tampa Bay 3-2 on Wednesday night in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final to move within a victory of dethroning the two-time defending champion Lightning. Playing for the first time since June 4 due to a thumb injury, Kadri skated in on Andrei Vasilevskiy and slipped a shot under the goaltender’s right arm to give Colorado a 3-1 series lead. Without specifically saying Tampa Bay felt Colorado had too many men on the ice for the winning goal, Lightning coach Jon Cooper suggested the goal should not have been allowed. Game 5 is Friday night in Denver.
