September 17, 2020 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Zach Banner’s season is over. The Steelers placed the right tackle on injured reserve two days after he tore the ACL in his right knee in a win over the New York Giants. Banner edged Chukwuma Okorafor during an extended training camp battle to earn the starting job. His season ended in the fourth quarter against the Giants when his knee appeared to give out while dropping back in pass protection. Okorafor, a third-round pick in the 2018 draft, figures to get the start when the Steelers host Denver in their home opener.
September 17, 2020 3:52 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Big Ten is going to give fall football a shot after all. Less than five weeks after pushing football and other fall sports to the spring in the name of player safety during the pandemic, the conference changed course and said Wednesday that it plans to begin its season the Oct. 23-24 weekend. Each team will play eight games in eight weeks and the conference championship game will be held Dec. 19 – if all goes well. That should give the Big Ten an opportunity to compete for the national championship. The Big Ten said its Council of Presidents and Chancellors voted unanimously Tuesday to restart sports. The vote last month was 11-3 to postpone, with Ohio State, Iowa and Nebraska voting against. The decision to play came after sharp pressure from coaches, players, parents and even President Donald Trump, all of them pushing for a Big Ten football season. The conference is home to a number of battleground states in the November election, and Trump swiftly applauded the move in a tweet. Another factor in triggering the re-vote was the emergence of daily rapid-response COVID-19 testing, which wasn’t available when university presidents and chancellors decided to pull the plug on the season. The Big Ten said it will begin daily antigen testing of its athletes, coaches and staff on Sept. 30. The Big Ten’s plan to play also includes the establishment of a cardiac registry to study the effects COVID-19 has on athletes’ hearts. Dr. Leslie Cooper chairs the cardiovascular department at the Mayo Clinic in Florida. He says the registry can potentially close a gap in research when it comes to the new coronavirus.
September 16, 2020 3:48 am
CINCINNATI (AP) – Tucker Barnhart hit a home run and Brian Goodwin prevented one with a leaping catch as the Cincinnati Reds extended their winning streak to a season-high four games with a 4-1 victory Tuesday night over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Michael Lorenzen looked sharp in a spot start, helping Cincinnati inch closer to a playoff spot. The third-place Reds went into the game higher than fourth in the NL Central for the first time since they were tied with Milwaukee for third on Aug. 23. They were 1 1/2 games behind second-place St. Louis and ninth in the overall National League standings, one game behind the Giants for the final postseason berth.
September 16, 2020 3:53 am
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – The New York Islanders will spend at least two more days in the Edmonton bubble after extending the Eastern Conference final to a sixth game. Jordan Eberle scored on a 2-on-1 break 12 1/2 minutes into double-overtime to give the Isles a 2-1 win over the Lightning. Anders Lee lugged the puck deep into the Tampa Bay zone before sliding a pass to Eberle in the slot. Semyon Varlamov was superb at times while stopping 36 shots, with some of his best stops coming in OT. The Islanders ended an 0-13 skid on the power play when Ryan Pulock blasted a shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy 15:41 into the game. New York maintained the lead until Victor Hedman’s goal four minutes into the second period. Vasilevskiy finished with 22 saves for the Lightning, who are the road team for Game 6 on Thursday.
September 16, 2020 3:51 am
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) – The Denver Nuggets have advanced to the NBA’s Western Conference finals by storming back from a three-games-to-one deficit for the second straight series.
The Nuggets trailed by two before allowing just 33 points in the second half of a 104-89 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Denver’s comeback follows its rally against Utah in the first round and puts the Nuggets in the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2009. Jamal Murray poured in 40 points and Nikola Jokic had a triple-double of 22 rebounds, 16 points and 13 assists. Gary Harris and Jerami Grant each had 14 points in the win. The Nuggets limited Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to a combined 24 points, with Leonard scoring 14. Montrezl Harrell had a team-high 20 points off the bench for the Clippers, who were trying to reach the conference finals for the first time in franchise history. The Nuggets now prepare for the Lakers. Los Angeles comes off a five-game series win over the Rockets. Earlier Tuesday, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo have helped the Miami Heat take Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against Boston. Butler converted a three-point play with 12 seconds left in overtime to put the Heat ahead for good in a 117-114 triumph over the Celtics. Adebayo blocked Jayson Tatum’s dunk attempt in the final seconds to seal the win. Goran Dragic had 29 points, Jae Crowder scored 22 and Butler finished with 20 for Miami. The Celtics outscored the Heat 27-10 over the final 8:17 of the third quarter and led by 14 early in the fourth. Tatum scored 30 points and Marcus Smart had 26 for Boston.
September 15, 2020 3:59 am
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – Ben Roethlisberger looked like his former self on Monday after missing the final 14 games of last season following elbow surgery. Roethlisberger threw for three touchdowns as the Pittsburgh Steelers opened their schedule with a 26-16 win over the New York Giants. The Giants led 10-3 until Roethlisberger hit JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Washington for scores in the second quarter. It remained 16-10 when Daniel Jones engineered a 19-play drive that got the Giants near the goal line. But Bud Dupree deflected the final pass of the drive, allowing Cam Heyward to come up with the interception. Bennie Snell rushed for 113 yards on 19 carries, his first 100-yard performance in his second NFL season. He received the bulk of the carries while James Connor battled an injury. The Steelers also bottled up Saquon Barkley, who was held to six yards on 15 carries. Jones threw for 279 yards and a touchdown but was picked off twice for the Giants.
September 15, 2020 3:52 am
CINCINNATI (AP) – Rookie Tyler Stephenson hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the seventh inning, lifting the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of a doubleheader. With two outs and the bases empty, rookie Jose Garcia singled to left against Sam Howard. Manager David Bell then sent Stephenson up to hit for Shogo Akiyama, and the young catcher hit a drive to left for his second homer. In the nightcap, Mike Moustakas hit a big three-run homer in the fifth inning, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-4. Moustakas drove in Shogo Akiyama and Eugenio Suarez with a two-out shot to center off Nik Turley. Pittsburgh had just taken a 4-3 lead on rookie Ke’Bryan Hayes’ two-run shot with two out in the top half of the inning. Brian Goodwin and Joey Votto also connected for Cincinnati, which won a third straight game for the first time since Aug. 28.
September 15, 2020 3:56 am
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – The Dallas Stars have advanced to the Stanley Cup final for the first time in 20 years. The Stars erased a two-goal deficit in the last half of the third period before Denis Gurianov scored on a one-timer during a power play 3:36 into overtime to give the Stars a 3-2 triumph over Vegas. The Stars are 5-0 in overtime this postseason. They also won 3-2 in Game 3 against Vegas, when Alexander Radulov scored 31 seconds into OT. Reilly Smith scored just 15 seconds into the third period to put the Golden Knights ahead, 2-0. The lead held until Jamie Benn scored for the first time in 11 games, beating Robin Lehner midway through the third. Rookie Joel Kiviranta tied it on a power play with 3:47 remaining in regulation. Anton Khudobin had 34 saves to help the Stars close out the Western Conference final in five games.
September 14, 2020 3:58 am
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – For the past six-plus months, the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants have been working virtually and eventually on the field to get ready for a season opener that came about despite the pain, tragedy and uneasiness caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It’s been a tough road for Mike Tomlin’s Steelers and Joe Judge’s Giants heading into a nationally televised Monday night game. The path has been no easier for NFL officials. This is going to be a different year for them, too. Referee Craig Wrolstad and his crew will be handling the Steelers-Giants game.
September 14, 2020 3:53 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Brad Keller pitched his first major league shutout, tossing a five-hitter as the Kansas City Royals won their sixth in a row by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-0. Keller was in total command, allowing only three hits until the ninth inning. Making his 55th career start in the big leagues, he struck two, walked one and threw 111 pitches. It was his second complete game in the majors. Salvador Perez and Hunter Dozier homered to help Kansas City win its second consecutive series after losing its previous eight. Pittsburgh lost its fourth game in a row.
