December 3, 2020 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates have agreed to one-year deals with pitchers Jameson Taillon and Michael Feliz as well as shortstop Erik Gonzalez. The contracts mean the Pirates will avoid arbitration with all three players. Taillion gets $2.25 million, Feliz $1 million and Gonzalez $1,225,000. Taillon, a former first-round draft pick, is expected to return in 2021 after missing most of the last two years following Tommy John surgery. Feliz pitched in just three games during the abbreviated 2020 season due to a forearm injury. Gonzalez faded after a hot start but drove in a career-high 20 runs last season.
December 2, 2020 1:13 pm
(WPXI) – The Steelers placed starting center Maurkice Pouncey on the COVID-19/Reserve list ahead of Wednesday’s game against Baltimore, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. No Baltimore players tested positive TODAY for the first time in 10 days.
December 2, 2020 3:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens are hoping they can pull off their thrice-delayed showdown at Heinz Field. The teams were originally supposed to meet on Thanksgiving night. A COVID-19 outbreak in Baltimore forced NFL officials to move the game to Sunday afternoon and then Tuesday night before landing on Wednesday. The Ravens will be without reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, one of several Ravens on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Pittsburgh will be without starting running back James Conner and standout defensive end Stephon Tuitt among others because of COVID-19. Pittsburgh can move to 11-0 with a win and eliminate Baltimore from the AFC North race in the process.
December 2, 2020 3:51 am
The San Francisco 49ers are set to embark on an unusual three-week road trip after being kicked out of their stadium and practice facility because of strict new COVID-19 protocols in their home county in Northern California. The Niners will fly to Arizona, where they will practice, live and play their next two games after Santa Clara County imposed a three-week ban on games and practices for contact sports. Coach Kyle Shanahan says he expects some “bumps in the road” but that his team is prepared for the journey.
December 2, 2020 3:52 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Ohio State football team is resuming full practices in preparation for Saturday’s game at Michigan State. Ohio State said in a one-sentence statement that the team would “resume organized team activities” Tuesday afternoon. The Buckeyes will do so while managing COVID-19 issues, and will be without coach Ryan Day, who tested positive last week. No. 3 Ohio State chose to cancel its game at Illinois last week because of an unacceptable number of COVID cases among players and staff in the program.
December 2, 2020 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – No. 2 Notre Dame wrapped up a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game by virtue of the league shuffling its schedule Tuesday to create an open date for the Fighting Irish and No. 4 Clemson before their likely rematch on Dec. 19. The ACC announced Notre Dame’s game against Wake Forest, which was rescheduled for Dec. 12 after being postponed in late September, will not be played. The first-place Irish host Syracuse on Saturday to complete their regular season. Clemson’s postponed game at Florida State will also not be made up. The Tigers can clinch a spot in the championship game with a victory at Virginia Tech on Saturday.
December 1, 2020 2:17 am
New York (NFL Network) – Due to continued COVID-19 concerns, the Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers football game has been moved to 3:40 p.m. Wednesday. WJPA-AM (1450) will have live coverage, beginning with the Steelers Network pregame show at 1:40 pm.
With this latest rescheduling, two other games have been moved as well. The Steelers will host the Washington Football Team on Monday at 5 p.m. in the teams’ Week 13 contest, originally slated for Sunday. Meanwhile, the Ravens will host the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 8:05 p.m. in a game that was first planned for Thursday. TV broadcast plans will be announced later. This is the third time the Ravens-Steelers game has been moved. Originally slated to be played on Thanksgiving night, it was postponed until Sunday and then moved a second time to Tuesday.
Ravens players recently conducted a players-only meeting in which they expressed concerns regarding playing on Tuesday as they’ve been adamant about wanting a day to practice, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported. Rapoport added that other notes to come from the meeting were that the Ravens want to play, but health and safety must come first. One source said: “Can’t we have at least two days of negative tests after this outbreak before we are expected to get back on the field?” The Ravens’ facility is set to reopen Monday night with a walkthrough scheduled and there is a plan to practice on Tuesday before flying to Pittsburgh, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported.
December 1, 2020 3:57 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – DK Metcalf again made the Philadelphia Eagles regret passing him up in the draft. Metcalf caught 10 passes for 177 yards, Russell Wilson threw for 230 yards and one touchdown and the Seattle Seahawks beat the Philadelphia Eagles 23-17 Monday night. The Seahawks (8-3) moved one game ahead of the Rams in the NFC West. The Eagles (3-7-1) fell a half-game behind the Giants and Washington in the woeful NFC East. Carson Wentz held off Jalen Hurts but had another rough game. He was 25 of 45 for 215 yards, two TDs and one interception.
December 1, 2020 3:53 am
UNDATED (AP) – Gonzaga and Baylor remain the top two teams in the first Associated Press men’s college basketball poll of the regular season. The Zags received 57 first-place votes from a 63-person media panel. The Bears received six first-place votes, with Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois rounding out the top five. Gonzaga was the preseason No. 1 and lived up to the billing by rolling over Kansas and Auburn in Fort Meyers, Florida. The Jayhawks dropped a spot to No. 7 this week but were ranked for the 222nd consecutive week to break UCLA’s all-time record set from 1966-80. Villanova and Virginia plunged after losses while Virginia Tech entered the rankings at No. 16 and Richmond at No. 19.
December 1, 2020 3:52 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball is creating a minor league for top eligible prospects leading to the summer draft. The MLB Draft League is launching with five teams and could add a sixth. The teams are in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New Jersey. The West Virginia Team will be the Black Bears located in Morgantown. Teams will use wood bats and play a 68-game regular season that includes an All-Star break coinciding with the draft in early July. Teams are going to communities that lost franchises as MLB moved to shrink the affiliated minor leagues from 160 to 120 teams this offseason. The reduction followed the expiration of the agreement between the major and minor leagues. MLB has planned to eliminate the separate governing body of minor league baseball.
