December 12, 2024 4:34 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers will try to succeed where so many others have failed this season when they face Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles. Barkley currently leads the NFL in rushing and is threatening the single-season rushing mark set by Eric Dickerson 40 years ago. Pittsburgh has the league’s fourth-ranked run defense, led by inside linebacker Elandon Roberts. Inside linebacker Patrick Queen says the key to trying to keep Barkley in check is keeping your head up and not trying to do too much.
December 12, 2024 4:36 am
North Carolina and Bill Belichick have agreed to a five-year deal for the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach to become the Tar Heels’ next football coach. The school announced the hiring Wednesday. That came roughly a week after the 72-year-old Belichick’s name surfaced as an unlikely candidate to replace the program’s winningest coach in Mack Brown. The deal still requires approval by UNC trustees. Belichick won six titles in his 24-year run as head coach of the Patriots. Most of that success came with quarterbacking great Tom Brady.
December 12, 2024 4:37 am
DALLAS (AP) — Juan Soto gets free use of a luxury suite and up to four premium tickets behind home plate for regular-season and postseason New York Mets home games as part of his record $765 million, 15-year contract. The Mets agreed to provide personal team security for the All-Star outfielder and his family at the team’s expense for all spring training and regular-season home and road games, according to details of the agreement obtained by The Associated Press. New York agreed to assist Soto’s family for in-season travel arrangements, guaranteed he gets uniform No. 22 and included eight types of award bonuses.
December 11, 2024 4:40 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mikko Rantanen collected his 10th career hat trick and added two assists as the Colorado Avalanche beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-2. Rantanen flipped in a puck over Tristan Jarry late in the first period for his 16th goal of the season. He picked up his 17th early in the second and added an empty netter late to celebrate his 600th game in style. Nathan MacKinnon added a goal and four assists for Colorado, which finished 4-1 on a five-game road trip. Michael Bunting and Cody Glass scored for Pittsburgh, which lost for just the second time in its last seven games.
December 11, 2024 4:36 am
CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Guardians pulled off two trades at the winter meetings, first sending three-time Gold Glove second baseman Andrés Giménez to the Toronto Blue Jays. Giménez, considered one of baseball’s best defensive middle infielders, was dealt by the Guardians along with reliever Nick Sandlin to Toronto for infielder Spencer Horwitz and outfielder Nick Mitchell. Cleveland then shipped Horwitz to the Pittsburgh Pirates for three pitchers: right-hander Luis Ortiz and lefties Michael Kennedy and Josh Hartle. Ortiz could slide immediately into a starting slot after going 7-6 with a 3.32 ERA last season. The 27 year old Horwitz finished first among all qualified MLB rookies in on-base percentage, sixth in batting and eighth in slugging percentage while playing 97 games with Toronto last season. He began the 2024 season with Triple-A Buffalo where he ranked second in the International League in on-base percentage and was tied for third in batting average (.335).
December 11, 2024 4:41 am
DALLAS (AP) — The Washington Nationals will have the No. 1 overall pick in the amateur draft next summer for the first time since picking 17-year-old Bryce Harper in 2010. The Nationals won the draft lottery Tuesday through a drawing of ping-pong balls at the winter meetings in Dallas. Unlike last year, when the Nationals were ineligible after initially coming out with the top spot, they will get to make the first pick in July in Atlanta during All-Star Game festivities. The Los Angeles Angels got the second overall pick for next summer. Seattle, Colorado, St. Louis and Pittsburgh round out the six lottery picks.
December 11, 2024 4:38 am
CLEVELAND (AP) — Rocky Colavito, a wildly popular outfielder who was involved in one of the most debated trades in Cleveland sports history, has died. He was 91. A nine-time All-Star, Colavito died at his home in Bernville, Pennsylvania. Team spokesman Bob DiBiasio said he was informed by the family and that there were family members by Colavito’s side. In eight seasons with the Indians, Colavito hit 190 homers and drove in 574 runs. He is 12th on the club’s career homers list. Colavito was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2006. In 1960, Cleveland traded him to Milwaukee for pitcher Harvey Keunn, a deal that was condemned by fans.
December 10, 2024 4:25 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Joe Burrow threw a tiebreaking 40-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase after Dallas botched a blocked punt to give the ball back to Cincinnati in the final two minutes, and the Bengals beat the Cowboys 27-20. The Cowboys were about to get the ball back with the score tied on the first play after the two-minute warning when Nick Vigil blocked a punt by Ryan Rehkow. Amani Oruwariye tried to field the bouncing ball when leaving it alone would have given Dallas possession. Oruwariye couldn’t hold on, and the Bengals’ Maema Njongmeta recovered. Three plays later, Burrow threw to Chase for the lead with 1:01 to go.
December 10, 2024 4:28 am
Former New England Patriots coach and six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick says he had “a couple of good conversations” with North Carolina Chancellor Lee Roberts amid his discussions about the Tar Heels’ head-coaching job. Belichick appeared on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday. He said he had spent the 11 months since his departure from the Patriots taking a “longer look” at the college level. He said he had learned a lot and had “a couple of good conversations” with Roberts. UNC fired the program’s all-time winningest coach in Mack Brown last month.
December 10, 2024 4:26 am
DALLAS (AP) — Juan Soto’s record $765 million, 15-year contract with the New York Mets, the largest and longest deal in baseball history, has reverberated across the winter meetings. It stung the Yankees, who offered $760 million over 16 years to the All-Star outfielder. Soto’s deal sparked even greater expectations in a free agent market that includes pitchers Corbin Burnes and Max Fried, first basemen Pete Alonso and Christian Walker, third baseman Alex Bregman and outfielder Anthony Santander. Many small-market teams have long sought a salary cap but the consensus since the 1994-95 strike has been not to propose a hard limit.
