September 5, 2020 3:56 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The race to be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting right tackle is still too close to call. Head coach Mike Tomlin says hasn’t decided whether to tab Chukwuma Okorafor and Zach Banner for the starting spot when the Steelers open the regular season at the New York Giants. Tomlin credited both players for their steady improvement during training camp and didn’t rule out potentially rotating between the two. Pro Bowl right guard David DeCastro remains hampered by a lower-body injury but Tomlin is optimistic DeCastro will be ready in time to face the Giants on Sept. 14.
September 5, 2020 3:55 am
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Top-ranked Clemson is the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic Coast Conference championship for a sixth straight season. The league released voting results Friday from media members for predicted order of finish and preseason all-conference picks. Those picks included quarterback Trevor Lawrence as the preseason pick for player of the year. No. 10 Notre Dame was picked to finish second as it gives up its football independence amid the coronavirus pandemic to play for the ACC title. No. 18 North Carolina was third, followed by Louisville, Virginia Tech to round out the top five in the 15-team league.
September 5, 2020 3:59 am
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – It took three tries this week, but both the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights have finally advanced to the NHL’s Western Conference finals. The Stars are this far into the postseason for the first time since 2008, while the Golden Knights are in the conference final for the second time in their three-year history. Rookie Joel Kiviranta completed his first NHL hat trick 7:24 into overtime to give the Stars a 5-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche. Kiviranta also provided the tying tally with 3 1/2 minutes left in regulation, just 10 seconds after Vladimir Namestnikov put the Avs ahead. Kiviranta had played in just two other postseason games and scored one goal in 11 games during the regular season. Alexander Radulov provided the other Dallas goals, and Anton Khudobin stopped 40 shots. Colorado was trying to win the series after dropping three of the first four games. The Golden Knights put away the Vancouver Canucks with a stifling 3-0 victory. Robin Lehner needed to make just 14 saves for his third shutout of the series. Neither team scored until Shea Theodore netted a power-play goal with 6:08 remaining. Alex Tuch and Paul Stastny added empty-netters for Vegas, which dropped the previous two games before earning a meeting with the Stars.
September 5, 2020 4:02 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Top-seeded Novak Djokovic stayed perfect for 2020 and advanced to the fourth round of the U.S. Open with a straight-sets win. He beat Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in an hour and 43 minutes, holding serve throughout. Djokovic has won his last 29 matches and is 26-0 this season, making him a prohibitive favorite to get his fourth U.S. Open title.
September 5, 2020 4:00 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – The field for the Kentucky Derby has been reduced to 16 after Finnick the Fierce was scratched. The one-eyed gelding has an apparent foot issue. Saturday’s Derby will have its fewest starters since 2003, when Funny Cide beat 15 rivals.
September 4, 2020 3:54 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – First-time father Bryan Reynolds hit a three-run homer in his return from paternity leave to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Chicago Cubs 6-2. Reynolds, who along with wife Blair welcomed son Reese on Monday, sent a drive off Alec Mills into the seats in right field in the third inning for his third home run of the season to help Pittsburgh snap a four-game losing streak. Reynolds also doubled leading off the second and celebrated by pretending to rock a baby to sleep.
September 4, 2020 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – The New York Islanders owned overtime periods while winning four straight Stanley Cups in the 1980s. Those days are over. The Philadelphia Flyers have forced a seventh game in their second-round series after Ivan Provorov scored 15:03 into double-overtime to complete a 5-4 win over the Islanders. All three of Philadelphia’s series wins have come in OT. Carter Hart turned back 49 shots and was perfect after Mathew Barzal scored with 30 seconds left in the second period. But the Flyers blew a 2-0 lead and had to come back from 3-2 and 4-3 deficits before Provorov ended it with his second OT goal of the series. Michael Raffl and Scott Laughton provided the tying tallies. Mathew Barzal and Derick Brassard each had a goal and an assist for New York. Game 7 is Saturday.
Like the Flyers, the Canucks have forced a seventh game after trailing 3-1 in their second-round series. Thatcher Demko stopped 48 shots for his second straight win as Vancouver stifled Vegas, 4-0. J.T. Miller and defenseman Quinn Hughes each had a goal and an assist for the Canucks, who carried a 1-0 lead into the final period. Jake Virtanen and Bo Horvat also scored for the Canucks, who were outshot 48-23. Game 7 is Friday.
September 4, 2020 3:56 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Serena Williams’ drive for her 24th major championship continues at the U.S. Open The 38-year-old Williams has advanced to the third round with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Margarita Gasparyan. Williams improved her career record to 20-0 in the second round at Flushing Meadows and will play Sloane Stephens in the next round. Williams leads the series 5-1. Williams had 27 winners and seven aces to put away Gasparyan. Stephens continued her path toward a second U.S. Open championship with a dominant 6-2, 6-2 win over Olga Govortsova.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray was beaten in his second-round match as he continues to work his way back from a pair of hip operations. Felix Auger-Aliassime dispatched Murray, 6-2. 6-3, 6-4. It was a successful day for the No. 2 singles seeds. Dominic Thiem earned a spot in the third round on his 27th birthday, posting a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over over Sumit Nagal. American Sofia Kenin has won her second-round match at the U.S. Open against unseeded Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3. Kenin had more winners than unforced errors and never faced a break point. Daniil Medvedev beat Australian Christopher O’Connell 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the third round. Victoria Azarenka won the battle of the Belarusians with a 6-1, 6-3 win over fifth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka. There was a pair of top-10 upsets on the women’s side. Romania’s Sorana Cirstea knocked off No. 9 Johanna Konta, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 to earn her spot in the third round. Tsvetana Pironkova has reached Round 3 in her first tournament following a three-year maternity break, beating No. 10-seeded Garbine Muguruza, 7-5, 6-3.
September 3, 2020 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – First-time father Bryan Reynolds hit a three-run homer in his return from paternity leave to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Chicago Cubs 6-2. Reynolds, who along with wife Blair welcomed son Reese on Monday, sent a drive off Alec Mills into the seats in right field in the third inning for his third home run of the season to help Pittsburgh snap a four-game losing streak. Reynolds also doubled leading off the second and celebrated by pretending to rock a baby to sleep.
September 3, 2020 3:53 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Hall of Fame pitcher and New York Mets icon Tom Seaver has died at 75. Seaver died Monday from complications of Lewy body dementia and COVID-19. His family announced in 2019 he had dementia. Tom Terrific was one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, the revered and resplendent star of the 1969 Miracle Mets championship team. A classic power pitcher nicknamed The Franchise, he won 311 games and struck out 3,640 batters from 1967-86. Former Mets catcher Mike Piazza said Seaver “will always be the heart and soul of the Mets.” After retirement, Seaver tended to his Northern California vineyard. George Thomas Seaver was 75.
