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.
June 22, 2022 3:10 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Bligh Madris hit his first major league home run and fellow rookie Roansy Contreras pitched five solid innings to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 7-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Madris connected in the sixth for a solo shot to right-center field off Mark Leiter Jr. to close the scoring. It came a day after Madris had three hits in his big league debut. Contreras allowed one run and four hits while striking out three and walking two. The Pirates won their third straight game and the Cubs lost for the 13th time in 15 games.
June 22, 2022 3:11 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed veteran defensive end Larry Ogunjobi to a one-year deal. The signing shores up a position of need following Stephon Tuitt’s retirement earlier this month. The 28-year-old Ogunjobi spent last season with the Cincinnati Bengals. A tentative three-year agreement to play for the Chicago Bears was nullified when Ogunjobi failed a physical. He was recovering from foot surgery at the time of the signing. Ogunjobi played well last season for the Bengals, recording a career-high seven sacks. His arrival gives the Steelers another veteran to help shore up a run defense that finished dead last in the league in 2022.
June 22, 2022 1:36 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Four-time All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski has announced he is retiring and won’t join Tom Brady for a third season in Tampa Bay. The four-time Super Bowl champion with the Patriots and Buccaneers thanked his teammates and coaches over the years in a post on Instagram and said he’s going back to “chilling out.” The 33-year-old retired in 2019 after nine seasons with the Patriots. He returned in 2020 when Brady went to Tampa and the close friends teamed up to help the Buccaneers win a Super Bowl in 2021. Gronkowski had 621 catches for 9,286 yards and 92 touchdowns in the regular season. He had 98 receptions for 1,389 yards and 15 TDs in the postseason.
