September 8, 2020 3:52 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Dustin Johnson finally has his name on the FedEx Cup trophy and a whopping $15 million that comes with it. Johnson saw his five-shot lead dwindle to two shots down the stretch in the Tour Championship. But he came up with just enough shots and a few key putts for a 2-under 68 for a three-shot victory at East Lake. He becomes the first No. 1 seed at the Tour Championship to win the FedEx Cup since Tiger Woods in 2009. Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele finished three shots behind and each picked up $4.5 million.
September 7, 2020 4:05 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Quarterback Josh Dobbs and safety Sean Davis have reunited with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team claimed both players off waivers after they failed to make the 53-man rosters elsewhere. Dobbs was cut by Jacksonville – which traded for Dobbs last September – while Davis was let go by Washington. To make room for Dobbs, the Steelers released quarterback Devlin “Duck” Hodges. Hodges briefly achieved cult status last year when he made a unlikely ascension to starter in place of injured Ben Roethlisberger. Hodges went 3-3 as a starter but the quality of his play diminished as time wore on.
September 7, 2020 4:04 am
UNDATED (AP) – Erik Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly capped a two-run ninth inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied to beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-2. Josh Bell and Ke’Bryan Hayes began the winning rally with singles off Raisel Iglesias. Bell then scored the tying run on Cole Tucker’s single.. One out later, Gonzalez lined out to right field and Tucker easily beat Nick Castellanos’ off-target throw. Richard Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth for the win. He was one of five relievers that held the Reds scoreless over the final six innings.
September 7, 2020 4:11 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Dustin Johnson matched the low round at the Tour Championship with a 6-under 64 that puts him one round away from capturing the FedEx Cup and its $15 million prize. Johnson missed only three fairways and putted for birdie on all but three holes. It led to a five-shot lead over Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele going into the Labor Day finish at East Lake. Johnson was at 19-under par, his fourth consecutive event holding at least a share of the 54-hole lead.
September 7, 2020 4:09 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A fit of anger has cost Novak Djokovic a chance to win a fourth U.S. Open title. The top-ranked player and prohibitive favorite was defaulted from his fourth-round match after he accidentally hit a line judge with a tennis ball. Djokovic had just lost a game to his opponent, Pablo Carreno Busta, to fall behind 6-5 in the first set. As he walked to the sideline for the changeover, Djokovic smacked a ball behind him. The ball hit a female line judge, who dropped to her knees at the back of the court and reached for her neck. The chair umpire announced the default following a minutes-long conversation with officials on court. It seemed clear Djokovic did not intend to hit the line judge; there was concern written on his face as soon as he realized what happened. But players who hit a ball out of anger and make contact with an on-court official have been defaulted in the past. It was a stunning end to Djokovic’s bid for an 18th Grand Slam title and his 26-0 start to this season. It also means the men’s winner will become a first-time Grand Slam champion.
September 6, 2020 7:38 am
PITTSBURGH — Eugenio Suarez hit three homers in a game for the first time in his career, driving in five runs and leading the Cincinnati Reds over the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2 Saturday night. Suarez hit a three-run shot deep down the left-field line to cap a four-run third inning. He added solo homers in the sixth and eighth innings, giving him 12 this season — he hit 49 last year. This marked the third baseman’s ninth career multihomer game and gave him six home runs and 16 RBI in his last 12 games. Tucker Barnhart led off the Reds’ third by lining a home run to the shrubbery beyond the center-field fence. Pirates center fielder Anthony Alford broke his right elbow when he slammed into the wall chasing the ball. Claimed off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays last month, Alford will most likely miss the last three weeks of the season.
September 6, 2020 7:44 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Quarterback Paxton Lynch’s NFL odyssey might have to continue somewhere other than Pittsburgh. The Steelers cut the former first-round pick on Saturday while trimming their roster to 53 players. Lynch, taken 26th overall by Denver in 2016, signed with Pittsburgh last October to provide some depth. There is a chance Lynch sticks around as a member of the practice squad if he is not claimed by another team. Pittsburgh also cut wide receiver Ryan Switzer, opting to stick with free agent Ray-Ray McLoud instead. The Steelers also parted ways with longtime defensive tackle Dan McCullers. A sixth-round pick in 2014, the massive McCullers (6-foot-7, 352 pounds), carved out a niche as a backup but struggled to get into the regular defensive line rotation. Pittsburgh also cut linebackers Tuzar Skipper and Jayrone Elliott, both of whom had experience with the team. Running backs Trey Edmunds, brother of Steelers starting safety Terrell Edmunds, Kerrith Whyte Jr., and Wendell Smallwood were also released. Finding a roster spot on a team with experience at nearly every position during a camp in which there were no preseason games due to the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult. Yet rookie free agent cornerback James Pierre from Florida Atlantic earned a job. So did well-traveled defensive back Curtis Riley. Signed on Aug. 3, Riley had an impressive showing during camp, his No. 33 visible regularly. The Steelers open the 2020 season on Monday, Sept. 14 on the road against the New York Giants.
September 6, 2020 7:40 am
TORONTO — Coach Barry Trotz has spent the past two seasons attempting to instill a team-first, all-in identity with the New York Islanders. No more was that evident than Saturday night, when the Islanders handily confronted their biggest test of the year — decades perhaps — in beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0 in Game 7 of the second round series. The Islanders advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1993, where they’ll face the Tampa Bay Lightning. The win came courtesy of a backup goalie, Thomas Greiss, stopping 16 shots for his first playoff career shutout in his first Game 7. Brock Nelson scored a goal and set up two others. And defensemen Scott Mayfield, with his first career playoff goal, and late-season trade addition Andy Greene, spurred the victory by scoring 3:46 apart in the first period.
September 6, 2020 7:42 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Bob Baffert endured the lowest of lows and highest of highs within minutes in the Kentucky Derby. He was bummed before the horses left the paddock after Thousand Words reared up and fell on its side, getting disqualified and injuring Baffert’s assistant trainer. That emotion was quickly replaced by Authentic’s front-running victory that gave Baffert a record-tying sixth Derby win. Then Baffert found himself down again, literally, getting knocked to the grass by a skittish Authentic in the winner’s circle. “This is the craziest year ever,” he said. Authentic kicked away from heavy favorite Tiz the Law in the stretch on Saturday, winning the 146th Derby by 1 1/4 lengths without the usual crowd of 150,000 on hand at Churchill Downs for the first time because of the coronavirus pandemic. The bay colt ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:00.61 under John Velazquez, who won his third Derby.
September 5, 2020 3:56 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates took advantage of an uncharacteristically average performance by Cincinnati’s Trevor Bauer to earn a doubleheader split with a 4-3 win in the nightcap. The Reds took the opener 4-2 behind the strength of Luis Castillo, who picked up his first victory in nearly a year when he worked six solid innings. Cincinnati, however, missed a chance to sweep a doubleheader for the third time this season when the Pirates scrounged up just enough offense against Bauer. The Reds right-hander allowed six hits in six innings with two walks and seven strikeouts. His record fell to 3-3.
