July 16, 2021 2:57 am
SEATTLE (AP) – A Seattle judge has ordered former Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers star Richard Sherman released without bail following his arrest on suspicion of trying to break in to his in-laws’ home. The judge found probable cause that Sherman committed criminal trespassing, driving under the influence and two other offenses. He declined to set $10,000 bail as prosecutors requested. The judge called Sherman a “pillar of the community” and noted that it was presumed he would be released because this was his first arrest. Police said he crashed his car and tried to break in to his in-laws’ home Wednesday.
July 15, 2021 3:40 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Teddy Blueger is sticking with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team signed the 26-year-old forward to a two-year contract with an average salary of $2.2 million. Blueger, who worked on Pittsburgh’s fourth line, tied a career-high with 22 points -seven goals and 15 assists -in 43 games for the Metropolitan Division champions.
July 15, 2021 3:43 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) – The Milwaukee Bucks have tied the NBA Finals at two games apiece through a lot of help from Khris Middleton. The Bucks trailed by nine in the fourth quarter before Middleton carried them to a 109-103 win over the Phoenix Suns. He drained the go-ahead basket while scoring 10 straight Milwaukee points before finishing with 40. Phoenix led by two with 2 1/2 minutes left before Middleton made the next two baskets to give Milwaukee a 101-99 edge with 1:28 to play. Giannis Antetokounmpo followed a pair of 40-point performances with 26 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and one huge block on Deandre Ayton with just over a minute remaining. The only thing stopping Suns guard Devin Booker was foul trouble. He poured in 20 of his game-high 42 points in the third period but had to sit out 3 1/2 straight minutes after picking up his fifth foul early in the fourth. Chris Paul shot just 5-for-13 and finished with 10 points and five turnovers, including one big miscue in the final minute. Jae Crowder was the only other Suns player with more than 10 points, finishing with 15 and eight boards. Game 5 is Saturday in Phoenix, where the Suns took the first two games of the series.
July 15, 2021 3:46 am
TOKYO (AP) – Athletes at the Tokyo Olympics will put their medals around their own necks to protect against spreading the coronavirus. International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach says it’s a “very significant change” to traditional medal ceremonies. Medals will be placed on a tray by a person wearing disinfected gloves and presented to the athletes, who will take them from the tray and place them around their necks. The tray will be presented to and athletes will take their medals from the tray. Medalists and ceremony officials will have to wear masks.
July 14, 2021 3:44 am
DENVER (AP) – The American League has earned its eighth consecutive All-Star Game victory. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Mike Zunino hit solo homers and Xander Bogaerts had two of the AL’s nine hits in a 5-2 victory over the National League. Marcus Semien put the junior circuit ahead to stay with an RBI single in the second, one inning before Guerrero went deep. Guerrero also poked an RBI grounder and Bogaerts added a run-scoring single. Guerrero is the first Toronto Blue Jay to be named the MVP of the All-Star Game. J.T. Realmuto put the NL on the board with a solo shot in the fifth. Jared Walsh made a sliding catch in left field on Kris Bryant’s tricky liner with the bases loaded to end the eighth inning, keeping the AL ahead. Angels star Shohei Ohtani made history as the first All-Star to be selected as both a pitcher and a hitter. He was the AL starting pitcher and worked a perfect first inning to get the win but finished 0-for-2 at the plate. Corbin Burnes took the loss, yielding two runs and four hits over two frames. The AL owns a 46-43-2 lead in the all-time series.
July 14, 2021 3:45 am
DENVER (AP) – Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred says banning or limiting defensive shifts would be an effort to restore Major League Baseball to how it was played before offense was suffocated by analytics. Speaking before the All-Star Game in Denver to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, Manfred said seven-inning doubleheaders and starting extra innings with runners on second base likely will be dropped after this season. He said extending the DH to the NL could be possible. Manfred said MLB was considering having umpires explain video review decisions to fans at ballparks over the public-address system, similar to the procedure in the NFL.
July 14, 2021 3:47 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne has announced his retirement after 15 NHL seasons. The Finland native says he’s been on an incredible journey, with the Predators taking him to more places than he could imagine. Rinne says this decision wasn’t easy but the right one at the right time. The 2018 Vezina Trophy winner earned a 5-0 win over the Hurricanes in his last start on May 10. It was his 60th career shutout and tied him with Tom Barrasso for 19th on the NHL wins list with 369.
July 13, 2021 3:51 am
Pete Alonso danced to his second straight Home Run Derby title, besting Shohei Ohtani, Trey Mancini and Juan Soto on a night of record long balls in the thin Rocky Mountain air of Coors Field. The New York Mets first baseman hit 74 total home runs and beat Mancini 23-22 in the final round, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (1998-99) and Yoenis Cespedes (2013-14) in winning consecutive titles. Batting second, Alonso trailed 22-17 after the first two minutes of the final round, then hit six homers on six swings over the first 28 seconds of his final minute.
July 13, 2021 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – Fans and players who will be at Coors Field for the MLB’s All-Star Game are both looking forward to the Greatest Show on Earth. Shohei Ohtani is the top star of baseball’s midsummer classic, the center of attention for players and fans like no one before. Fans cheered when he was introduced at a news conference located outdoors, across the street from Coors Field due to the pandemic. Ohtani has generated huge buzz across baseball for his exploits at the plate and on the mound. He leads the majors with 33 home runs and is 4-1 with a 3.49 ERA in 13 starts. Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals will start for the NL in the game at Coors Field in Denver.
July 13, 2021 3:52 am
The Chicago Blackhawks have traded two-time Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith to the Edmonton Oilers for young defenseman Caleb Jones and a third-round draft pick. The Blackhawks also sent forward Tim Soderlund to the Oilers, who were looking for some help on defense after they were swept by Winnipeg in the first round of the playoffs. The 2022 draft pick becomes a second-rounder if Edmonton reaches next year’s Stanley Cup Final and Keith is among the top four Oilers defensemen in total ice time through three rounds. Keith has two years left on his contract at a salary-cap hit just over $5.5 million. He turns 38 on Friday.
