September 27, 2020 7:22 am
PITTSBURGH — Patrick Jones II wants No. 21 Pittsburgh’s defense to be the best in the country. Not just in points allowed. Not just in yards allowed. Not just in sacks or turnovers. All of it. The Panthers are certainly playing like it. Jones collected three of Pitt’s seven sacks, helping the Panthers beat No. 24 Louisville 23-20 on Saturday. The win pushed Pitt (3-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) to its best start since 2014 and adhered to a blueprint the Panthers believe can carry them to the conference title game in December: tough, physical defense and enough offense to get by.
September 27, 2020 7:23 am
STILLWATER, Okla. — For Chuba Hubbard and Oklahoma State, it wasn’t pretty, but in the end, when it really mattered, he and his team made the plays they needed to. Hubbard scored on a 23-yard run with 1:17 remaining to salvage a difficult afternoon and help No. 15 Oklahoma State beat West Virginia 27-13 on Saturday. Sidelined for a number of key plays after fumbling on consecutive second-half possessions, Hubbard ended up with 101 yards on 22 rushes for his 12th 100-yard performance in his last 13 games. With the additional action, Hubbard’s backup, L.D. Brown, gained 103 yards on 11 carries, including a 66-yard touchdown run, for Oklahoma State (2-0, 1-0 Big 12). It was the first time since a 2016 contest against TCU that Oklahoma State had two different running backs rush for over 100 yards in a Big 12 outing.
September 27, 2020 7:25 am
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — More than a decade since Corey Perry won the Stanley Cup as a young player and years after Joe Pavelski fell two wins short, the greybeards aren’t ready to leave the bubble and give up on another opportunity for a championship just yet. Pavelski tied it with 6:45 left in the regulation, laid out to block a shot in the first overtime and Perry’s second goal of the game came in double OT to give the Dallas Stars a 3-2 win over Tampa Bay and force a Game 6 in the Stanley Cup Final. Anton Khudobin made 39 saves and Perry’s winner 9:23 into the second OT was a manner of redemption for the Stars a night after they lost in OT on a questionable penalty call when Tampa Bay scored on the ensuing power play. Game 6 is Monday night
September 26, 2020 4:20 am
CLEVELAND (AP) – César Hernández’s RBI double with two outs in the ninth inning helped Cleveland rally for its third walk-off win in four days, a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Indians’ sixth straight win kept their hopes alive for winning the AL Central. Before the comeback, the Indians had one hit. Pinch-hitter Jordan Luplow and Delino DeShields drove in runs before Hernández took his turn at being a hero. Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller pitched five no-hit innings. He’s the first NL pitcher with back-to-back no-hit outings of at least five innings since Johnny Vander Meer threw consecutive no-hitters in 1938.
September 26, 2020 4:22 am
(AP) – NFL stars J.J., Derek and T.J. Watt shared a house growing up. They will share an NFL field for the first time when J.J. and the Houston Texans visit Derek, T.J. and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The meeting marks the second time in the last 93 years that an NFL game will feature three brothers playing at once. J.J. Watt, the oldest, says the day is a testament to the environment in which the brothers were raised. J.J. and the Texans are off to an 0-2 start, while T.J. and Derek are both making an impact for the 2-0 Steelers.
September 26, 2020 4:26 am
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – The Tampa Bay Lightning showed the importance of power-play goals as they took a three-games-to-one lead in the Stanley Cup final. Kevin Shattenkirk’s power-play goal 6:34 into overtime sent the Lightning to their third straight win, 5-4 over the Stars. Brayden Point scored twice for Tampa Bay, which spotted Dallas a 2-0 lead before netting three goals on power plays. Yanni Gourde (YAH’-nee gohrd) had a power-play goal and Alex Killorn gave the Lightning their first lead about seven minutes into the third period. Joe Pavelski forced OT midway through the third with his second goal of the game, which also tied him with Joe Mullen for most career playoff goals by a US-born player. The Lightning can wrap up the series on Saturday.
September 26, 2020 4:24 am
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) – The Boston Celtics have extended their season with an outstanding third quarter in Game 5 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals. The Celtics trailed by seven before outscoring the Heat 41-25 in the third period of a 121-108 win against Miami. Boston went on a 13-0 run over a stretch of only 3:06 to turn a nine-point deficit into a 64-60 lead. Jayson Tatum scored 17 of his 31 points in the third quarter and finished with 10 rebounds. Jaylen Brown added 28 points and Daniel Theis had 15 with 13 rebounds for Boston, which missed 11 of its first 12 shots to fall behind, 17-5. Miami is shooting 24.8% on 3-pointers in its last 13 quarters after going 7-for-36 on Friday. Goran Dragic scored 23 points before fouling out with 4:27 left for the Heat. Game 6 is Sunday.
September 25, 2020 5:25 pm
(AP) – The Mid-American Conference, the first major college football league to postpone its season, has become the final one to jump back in. That makes it 10 out of 10 conferences that will play in the fall. University presidents in the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Mountain West have all decided to play this fall after all instead of spring. MAC games will start Nov. 4 and the championship game will be played Dec. 18 or 19.
September 25, 2020 2:55 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Patric Hornqvist’s grit helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win a pair of Stanley Cups. To keep their championship window opened, they decided it was time to move on without him. The Penguins have traded the 33-year-old Swedish forward to Florida on Thursday in exchange for Mike Matheson and forward Colton Sceviour. Hornqvist spent six seasons in Pittsburgh after being acquired in a 2014 trade that sent James Neal to Nashville. Known for his hard-nosed play around the net, Hornqvist scored 132 goals in 407 games for the Penguins and added 22 more in the playoffs, including 14 during Pittsburgh’s run to consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.
September 25, 2020 2:52 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Chad Kuhl pitched seven sharp innings and Colin Moran and Bryan Reynolds hit home runs in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 7-0 victory over the slumping Chicago Cubs on Thursday. Kuhl finished his comeback season on a strong note, allowing two hits, struck out five hits and three walks. He sat out last season while rehabbing after Tommy John surgery. The Cubs, who clinched a postseason berth Tuesday, are stumbling toward the playoffs with five losses in six games. They have scored two or fewer runs in each of the five defeats.
