October 12, 2021 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Las Vegas Raiders will have a new coach for Sunday’s game at Denver. Jon Gruden has stepped down following emails containing racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments. Emails acquired by The New York Times show that Gruden frequently used misogynistic and homophobic language directed at Commissioner Roger Goodell and others in the league. The Wall Street Journal said Friday that Gruden used a racist comment to describe NFL Players Association leader DeMaurice Smith in 2011. The Times acquired emails sent from between 2011-18 when Gruden was an analyst for ESPN. They show his use of derogatory language went well beyond that.
October 11, 2021 1:56 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster’s season is over. Coach Mike Tomlin says Smith-Schuster will have surgery to repair an injured right shoulder and is heading to injured reserve. Smith-Schuster sustained the injury in the second quarter of a victory over Denver last week that ended a three-game losing streak. The Steelers will turn to James Washington among others to fill the void left by Smith-Schuster’s absence. Pittsburgh hosts Seattle in Week 6.
October 12, 2021 3:54 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Boston Red Sox have advanced to the AL Championship Series by knocking out the league’s best team in the division series. The Red Sox coughed up a 5-0 lead before Kike Hernandez lifted a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth to give Boston a 6-5 victory in Game 4. It was the third straight win by the Bosox following a series-opening loss at St. Petersburg.
Christian Vazquez opened the series-winning rally with a single, moved to second on a bunt and scampered to third on Travis Shaw’s base hit. Danny Santana replaced Vazquez on the base paths and scored the deciding run. Rafael Devers opened the scoring in the Red Sox’s five-run third by slamming a three-run homer. Wander Franco got Tampa Bay with 5-3 in the sixth with a two-run blast, two innings before Kevin Kiermaier hit an RBI double and scored on Randy Arozarena’s single. Garrett Whitlock tossed two perfect innings of relief to get the win. J.P. Feyereisen was the loser. It brings an abrupt end to the season for the Rays, who’d been eyeing back-to-back trips to the World Series after winning a league-high 100 games during the regular season.
The Giants have regained control of their NL Division Series, taking a two-games-to-one lead with a 1-0 shutout of the Dodgers. Evan Longoria’s solo blast in the fifth inning off Max Scherzer broke a scoreless tie and was one of just three hits for San Francisco all evening. Longoria was in an 0-for-23 funk before connecting. Scherzer allowed only two other hits while striking out 10 over seven innings, but the Dodgers managed just five hits off former teammate Alex Wood and the Giants’ bullpen. Tyler Rogers got the win in relief of Wood, giving up three hits over 1 2/3 innings. One swing has given the Atlanta Braves a two-games-to-one lead over Milwaukee in the NL Division Series. Pinch-hitter Joc Pederson launched a three-run homer in the fifth inning, sending the Braves to their second straight 3-0 win against the Brewers. The blast made a winner out of Ian Anderson, who limited Milwaukee to three hits and no walks while striking out six over five innings. Four relievers followed with one inning of work, allowing Atlanta to complete a five-hitter. Will Smith worked the ninth for the save. Pederson’s home run came after Brewers starter Freddy Peralta scattered three hits over four innings. Adrian Houser took the loss. The Braves can wrap up the series at home on Tuesday. Game 4 of the AL Division Series between the Chicago White Sox and visiting Houston Astros was postponed with rain in the forecast. Carlos Rodon is still scheduled to start the game for Chicago on Tuesday, with Game 1 starter Lance Lynn available out of the bullpen. Astros manager Dusty Baker will go with Lance McCullers instead of Jose Urquidy.
October 11, 2021 3:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Ben Roethlisberger threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Denver Broncos 27-19 on Sunday to snap a three-game losing streak. Rookie running back Najee Harris added a career-best 122 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Steelers, who improved to 2-3. Denver quarterback Teddy Bridgewater nearly rallied the Broncos from an 18-point deficit. Bridgewater threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes. His last pass, however, was picked off by James Pierre. The Broncos have dropped two straight following a 3-0 start.
October 11, 2021 3:53 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Boston Red Sox used extra innings to take a two-games-to-one lead over the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Division Series. Christian Vazquez slammed a two-run homer in the bottom of the 13th to give the Red Sox a 6-4 win. Boston was ahead, 4-2 in the eighth inning before Wander Franco homered and Randy Arozarena tied it with an RBI double. Franco also scored on Austin Meadows’ two-run homer in the first inning. The score was still 4-4 when Yandy Diaz singled with one out in the 13th. Kevin Kiermaier then stroked a ball off the right-field wall that hit the warning track, caromed off outfield Hunter Renfroe and over the fence into the bullpen with Diaz crossing home plate during the play. The umpires conferred and went to the headsets before correctly awarding Kiermaier a book rule double, sending Diaz back to third. Boston’s Kike Hernandez made it 4-2 with his seventh consecutive hit, a solo homer in the fifth. He also singled home a run. Kyle Schwarber also homered for the Red Sox, who can wrap up the series on Monday.
Meanwhile, the White Sox have avoided a three-game sweep in the AL Division Series by turning a 5-1 deficit into a 12-6 rout of the Astros. The game changed in the third inning as Yasmani Grandal smacked a two-run homer and Leury Garcia delivered a three-run blast. Grandal also was hit by a throw in a three-run fourth, allowing Luis Robert to come home and put the White Sox ahead to stay. The Astros lost despite Kyle Tucker’s two-run homer and two-run double. Garcia had four ribbies for the White Sox, who host Game 4 on Monday.
October 11, 2021 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – The NHL season gets under way Tuesday night with a pair of games. Tampa Bay will raise its Stanley Cup championship banner before facing Pittsburgh. The Seattle Kraken will play their first regular-season game on the road at Vegas. The games will kick off the NHL’s first full, 82-game season since 2018-19 and there are more games than ever, thanks to the Kraken: 1,312 in all. The league will also take a break in February so its players can travel to China for the Olympics.
October 10, 2021 1:52 am
#12 Washington & Jefferson rolled past St. Vincent, 63-22, Saturday afternoon, picking up a sixth straight and remaining atop the Presidents Athletic Conference. Justin Heacock threw for 188 yards and five touchdowns, two each to Andrew Wolf and Payton Skalos. Colton Jones threw a pair of scoring passes and EJ Thompson ran for 122 yards and two scores for W&J. Cameron O’Brien also scored twice for the Red & Black. The Presidents’ defense forced five turnovers including two interceptions by Nick Freiwald. St. Vincent quarterback Brady Walker threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns but was picked off twice and sacked six times. W&J is 6-0, 5-0 in the conference heading into an off week. St. Vincent drops to 3-2 overall, 2-2 in the league.
October 10, 2021 1:36 am
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced today that Joey Cora has been relieved of his duties as Major League Third Base Coach. The announcement was made by General Manager Ben Cherington. “We would like to thank Joey for his passion for the job and his commitment in continuously helping our players grow as big leaguers,” said Cherington. “Even though this was a difficult decision, we wanted to make it now out of respect for Joey so that it allows him to immediately be able to pursue other opportunities. We wish Joey nothing but the best moving forward.”
“Joey Cora is a great baseball man whose love for the game and passion for the job was obvious every day that he represented the Pittsburgh Pirates,” said Pirates Manager Derek Shelton. “I want to thank him for his commitment to the organization along with all the time and dedication that he gave to our players.”
October 10, 2021 7:41 am
SAN FRANCISCO — With some mighty swings, solid pitching and defensive gems that have defined the Dodgers’ success the past decade, the defending World Series champions are headed home in prime playoff position having grabbed momentum away from the division-winning Giants. Fittingly, this NL Division Series between rivals has become a back-and-forth fight. Julio Urías shut down San Francisco and contributed an RBI single for his cause, Cody Bellinger and AJ Pollock delivered two-run doubles to break it open in the sixth, and Los Angeles pounded the Giants 9-2 on Saturday night to even the series between baseball’s two winningest teams at one game apiece. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts declared earlier in the day, “We’re going to play this game essentially like a do or die,” and the reigning champs did just that by continuing to add on all game, including Will Smith’s leadoff homer in the eighth.
October 10, 2021 7:40 am
MILWAUKEE — Max Fried says his strategy in pressure situations is to avoid making too much of the moment. The approach that worked so well for the Atlanta Braves left-hander in the regular season also is paying dividends in the playoffs. Fried pitched six sharp innings and Atlanta’s bullpen held on after manager Brian Snitker’s quick hook, sending the Braves over the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0 Saturday to tie their NL Division Series at a game apiece. The best-of-five series heads to Atlanta for Game 3 on Monday. Once Fried was pulled, it got more dicey for the Braves. The Brewers brought the tying run to the plate against Atlanta’s bullpen in each of the last three innings but couldn’t get a key hit. They couldn’t do much of anything against Fried, who has allowed just one earned run over 29 innings in his last four starts. Fried struck out nine, gave up three hits and didn’t walk anybody. The Brewers didn’t get a runner in scoring position until Willy Adames hit a two-out double in the sixth, and Fried responded by striking out Eduardo Escobar.
