December 16, 2020 3:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers gave their battered offensive line a boost by signing Danny Isidora off Kansas City’s practice squad. Isidora has made six starts in his NFL career while spending time with Minnesota, Miami and the Chiefs. Pittsburgh’s offensive line is hurting. The Steelers recently placed left guard Matt Feiler on injured reserve with a pectoral injury. Kevin Dotson and Chukwuma Okorafor are also battling injuries. Pittsburgh has lost two straight following an 11-0 start. The Steelers can still clinch the AFC North title with a win over Cincinnati next week.
December 16, 2020 3:54 am
ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) – Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. The vote for Fields by the conference’s coaches and media was hardly a surprise considering how dominant he and No. 3 Ohio State have been. The junior leads the nation in completion percentage and the Big Ten in total yards per game by a wide margin at 392.2. He has 1,407 yards passing with 15 touchdowns and three interceptions in five games. The Buckeyes are 5-0 and scheduled to play Northwestern in the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis on Saturday.
December 16, 2020 3:52 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – UCLA postponed its men’s Tuesday night basketball game against Long Beach State. The school says the game was called off out of “an abundance of caution” based on COVID-19 protocols within the Beach’s program. It’s the second time the game has been postponed. The teams were originally scheduled to play at Pauley Pavilion on Nov. 30, but that game was called off for the same reason. UNLV’s men’s basketball program is pausing in-person team activities due to a confirmed case of COVID-19. The Runnin’ Rebels’ games against Wyoming Sunday and Tuesday will not be played as scheduled. Southern California has postponed or canceled its next three men’s basketball games while team activities continue to be halted because of a confirmed case of COVID-19. The school said it canceled home games against San Francisco on Wednesday and Texas Southern on Dec. 23, and postponed its road game at Oregon State on Dec. 20.
December 16, 2020 3:50 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates hope to have a familiar face back in the starting rotation in 2021. Jameson Taillon has missed most of the last two seasons due to right elbow surgery. Manager Derek Shelton says Taillon’s rehab is nearly complete. Shelton added Taillon sends him videos every few days to mark his progress. Shelton is hoping for a more normal 2021 after spending his first season as a manager trying to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
December 15, 2020 2:47 am
CLEVELAND (AP) – Lamar Jackson came back in the nick of time to possibly save the Baltimore Ravens’ season. Jackson led two scoring drives after the two-minute warning and Justin Tucker nailed a 55-yard field goal with two seconds left as the Ravens survived a 47-42 win over the Browns at Cleveland. Jackson had to go to the locker room in the fourth quarter due to cramping. He returned to the field just as backup Trace McSorley was being taken off the field with a left knee injury. One play later, Jackson hit Marquise Brown for a 44-yard TD on 4th-and-5 with 1:51 remaining to put the Ravens on top. But the Browns weren’t done, tying it on Baker Mayfield’s 22-yards scoring strike to Kareem Hunt just 47 seconds late. Tucker’s long kick put Baltimore ahead for good before Cleveland lateraled the ensuing kickoff into a game-ending safety. Jackson finished with 162 yards passing and carried nine times for 124 yards and two touchdowns. The outcome keeps the 9-4 Browns two games behind first-place Pittsburgh in the AFC North. The Ravens are another game back at 8-5.
December 15, 2020 2:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – Gonzaga and Baylor top the latest AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll. Iowa, Michigan State and Kansas round out the top five. West Virginia and Tennessee climbed into the top 10. No. 16 Missouri, No. 24 Clemson and No. 25 Michigan were new additions to the poll. No. 21 Duke took the biggest tumble by falling 11 spots. No. 13 Illinois also slid seven spots to fall out of the top 10. The Big Ten has a national-best seven teams in the poll. Virginia Tech, Richmond and Arizona State fell out of the Top 25. Meanwhile, DePaul has called off two more men’s basketball games because of positive COVID-19 tests, pushing back the start of the season until at least next week. DePaul has canceled or postponed 10 games. The Blue Demons were scheduled to open Nov. 25 against Western Illinois at home.
December 14, 2020 3:53 am
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) – Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and safety Taron Johnson returned an interception 51 yards for a score in the Buffalo Bills’ 26-15 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bills won for the sixth time in seven outings, and inched closer to claiming their first AFC East title since 1995 and third playoff berth in four seasons. Buffalo can clinch both as early as Monday night if Baltimore loses to Cleveland. The AFC North-leading Steelers dropped to 11-2 and have lost consecutive games in six days following a 23-17 loss to Washington, and dropped a game behind the AFC-leading Kansas City Chiefs. Pittsburgh was still able to clinch its first playoff berth in three years before kickoff by virtue of the Miami Dolphins’ 33-27 loss to Kansas City earlier in the day.
December 14, 2020 3:55 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Kansas City Chiefs turned the ball over four times, fell into an early 10-point hole and watched Patrick Mahomes taken down for a 30-yard sack. None of that stopped the Chiefs from clinching their fifth consecutive AFC West title. Mahomes threw for 393 yards and two scores to help the 12-1 Chiefs earn their eighth consecutive victory, 33-27 at Miami. He shook off three interceptions and led Kansas City to its team-record 10th consecutive road win. Travis Kelce had eight catches for 136 yards and a touchdown, and Mecole Hardman scored untouched on a 67-yard punt return.
December 14, 2020 3:57 am
UNDATED (AP) – Alabama remains the unanimous No. 1 team in The Associated Press college football poll as the Crimson Tide prepare for Florida in the SEC title game. The rest of the top-5 remain the same, with Notre Dame followed by Ohio State, Clemson and Texas A&M. Cincinnati, Indiana, Iowa State, Coastal Carolina and Georgia round out the top-10. Florida fell from sixth to 11th with Saturday’s loss to LSU.
December 14, 2020 3:58 am
CLEVELAND (AP) – The Cleveland Indians reportedly are changing their nickname after 105 years. The New York Times cites three sources that say the team is moving away from a name considered racist for decades. The Indians have been internally discussing a potential name change for months. A team spokesman told The Associated Press the franchise has no immediate comment on the report.
