August 31, 2021 3:53 am
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – Southeastern Conference teams that don’t have enough available players will have to forfeit games this year. The league released its policy on dealing with COVID-19 issues during the 2021-22 season in all sports on Monday. Unlike last season, the short-handed team will have to forfeit and will take a loss in the SEC standings for regular season games. The scheduled opponent will be credited with a win.
August 30, 2021 3:52 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a three-run homer off Alex Reyes in the ninth inning, sending the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Bryan Reynolds started the game-ending rally with a leadoff walk. After Colin Moran struck out swinging, Jacob Stallings walked and Tsutsugo drove Reyes’ next pitch deep to right. Five of Tsutsugo’s nine hits with the Pirates have been home runs. Reyes has allowed at least one run in four of his last six appearances.
August 30, 2021 3:49 am
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) – Jackson Surma drove in four runs and Ethan Van Belle struck out eight as Michigan beat Ohio 5-2 in the championship game of the Little League World Series. The team from Taylor North Little League delivered the first LLWS title for the state of Michigan since 1959. Both teams are from the Great Lakes, marking the only time clubs from the same region played in the championship. That was because international teams didn’t compete in the LLWS for the first time since 1975, due to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
August 30, 2021 3:53 am
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) – Patrick Cantlay emerged as the winner of a lengthy playoff that decided the PGA’s BMW Championship near Baltimore. Clutch down the stretch and for six dynamic playoff holes, Patrick Cantlay put a fitting end to an epic battle with Bryson DeChambeau by making an 18-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. DeChambeau missed four birdie putts to win in regulation and in the playoff. He missed the most important putt of the week from just inside 10 feet to extend the playoff. They both finished regulation at 27-under 261. No one had ever shot 261 on the PGA Tour and didn’t take home the trophy. Cantlay earned the sixth and final automatic spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team by winning the tournament. Tony Finau was in the sixth spot until he was surpassed by Cantlay’s victory.
August 29, 2021 10:33 am
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Sunday’s Little League World Series championship will have a Big-Ten feel to it. Ohio and Michigan advanced to the title game by winning on Saturday. Cooper Oden struck out six and allowed two runs over five innings Saturday as Ohio hung on to beat South Dakota, 5-2. Cameron Thorning hit a two-run homer and struck out seven over 3 ⅓ innings as Michigan defeated Hawaii, 2-1. Ohio became the first team in LLWS history to reach the championship game without winning its regional tournament, finishing as a runner-up in the Great Lakes to Michigan.
August 29, 2021 10:32 am
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Blaney won for the second consecutive week when Saturday’s NASCAR Cup race at Daytona International Speedway ended under caution in overtime with a typical fiery finish. Tyler Reddick took the 16th and final spot in the playoffs with a seventh-place finish. Reddick needed only to beat Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon and hope for a repeat winner to earn his first playoff berth. The regular-season finale had fairly low stakes in that 15 of the 16 playoff slots were claimed before the start of the race. The only other competition was for the regular-season title, which went to Kyle Larson.
August 29, 2021 10:30 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Gregory Polanco’s stay in Pittsburgh is over. The Pirates have released the veteran right fielder in order to give younger players an opportunity over the final six weeks of the season. The 29-year-old Polanco is hitting just .208 and had become a target of fan derision in recent weeks. Polanco was making $11.6 million this season, accounting for more than 20% of the team’s entire payroll. Manager Derek Shelton credited Polanco for the way he handled the news. Pittsburgh called up Cole Tucker to take Polanco’s roster spot. Tucker is expected to be among a group of several players who will get a look in right field going forward.
August 29, 2021 7:42 am
PITTSBURGH — Adam Wainwright is waiting for longtime St. Louis Cardinals teammate Yadier Molina to start pressuring him to return in 2022. Given the way the veteran right-hander is dealing at the moment, the line behind Molina in the St. Louis clubhouse to convince Wainwright to come back for a 17th season figures to be long. Really long. Forgive the Pittsburgh Pirates if they don’t join in. Wainwright’s final start of his 30s was another in a seemingly endless string of masterpieces against the Pirates. Two days before turning 40, Wainwright allowed three hits over seven innings in a 13-0 win on Saturday night. Wainwright (13-7) struck out five and walked just one to improve to 4-0 with a 0.30 ERA against the Pirates this season. He is unbeaten against Pittsburgh in his last 17 starts dating to 2016. Maybe, but not the Pirates, who were confounded by Wainwright for a third time in 17 days. He tossed a complete-game two-hit shutout at PNC Park on Aug. 11, followed it up with eight scoreless innings in St. Louis last Sunday and came back with another brilliantly efficient performance as the Cardinals won their second straight as they try to stay on the fringe of the NL playoff race.
August 28, 2021 4:00 am
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -Sam Darnold completed 19 of 25 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns, and the Carolina Panthers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-9 in the preseason finale for both teams. Darnold, who saw his most extensive action of the preseason, spent most of the first quarter under duress despite playing against a defense that was resting all its starters. But Darnold stayed calm and rebounded, finding rookie Terrace Marshall Jr. for a 13-yard touchdown pass and former Jets teammate Robby Anderson for an 8-yard score before exiting at halftime. Dwayne Haskins got the start for the Steelers at quarterback and struggled.
August 28, 2021 4:02 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia’s Bob Huggins has agreed to a two-year contract extension that includes the option for him to step aside or continue coaching after the 2023-24 season.
Huggins turns 68 next month and is entering his 40th season as a head coach. His 900 wins are the third most among active Division I coaches.
