June 24, 2021 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – NFL players must decide by July 2 if they plan to opt out of playing this season due to COVID-19 concerns, though voluntary opt-outs will not be paid any stipend this year.
In a memo sent to clubs Wednesday and obtained by The Associated Press, the league and the NFL Players Association agreed that only high-risk players will receive a stipend of $350,000. Voluntary opt-outs got a $150,000 stipend in 2020. A total of 67 players opted out last year before vaccines were available.
June 23, 2021 3:50 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) – The Montreal Canadiens are within one victory of their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since winning it all in 1993. The Habs own a three-games-to-two lead in the semifinals after Carey Price turned back 26 shots in a 4-1 win over the Golden Knights in Las Vegas. Price blanked the Knights until former teammate Max Paccioretty beat him in the third period, after Montreal had built a 3-0 lead. Nick Suzuki secured the victory with an empty-netter after setting up goals by Eric Staal and Cole Caufield. Jesperi Kotkaniemi put the Canadiens ahead to stay 8:45 into the game.
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 22 shots for the Golden Knights, who will try to stave off elimination in Montreal on Thursday.
June 23, 2021 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Creighton men’s basketball program has been placed on two years’ probation and docked scholarships each of the next two seasons by the NCAA. The organization investigated allegations that a former assistant coach accepted cash from a management agency. The NCAA says Creighton athletic director Bruce Rasmussen violated ethics rules after he conducted his own investigation without notifying or coordinating with the compliance office. The penalties are the latest in a wide-ranging FBI probe into college basketball corruption that has ensnared numerous coaches and several high-profile schools.
June 22, 2021 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – Major League Baseball has started its crackdown on sticky stuff and foreign substances. Umpires are now doing regular checks of all pitchers for tacky substances that could be used to doctor baseballs. That was long against the rules but rarely enforced until now. Jacob deGrom was the first pitcher inspected under the new directive that took effect Monday. In the opener of the New York Mets’ doubleheader against Atlanta, the two-time Cy Young Award winner passed when inspected after the first and fifth innings. Any pitchers using illegal substances will be ejected and then suspended 10 games.
June 22, 2021 3:48 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist and Andrei Vasilevskiy notched his fourth career playoff shutout, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning rout the New York Islanders 8-0 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup semifinal series. The defending NHL champions improved to 13-0 in games following a postseason loss since launching their 2020 title run and will take a 3-2 series lead over the Islanders into Game 6 of their best-of-7 matchup Wednesday night in Uniondale, New York. Brayden Point had a goal for the eighth straight game, and postseason scoring leader Nikita Kucherov had three assists for the Lightning.
June 22, 2021 3:50 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – In a ruling that could help push changes in college athletics, the Supreme Court has unanimously sided with a group of former college athletes in a dispute with the NCAA over rules limiting certain compensation. The high court ruled today that NCAA limits on the education-related benefits that colleges can offer athletes who play Division I basketball and football can’t be enforced. Under current NCAA rules, students cannot be paid, and the scholarship money colleges can offer is capped at the cost of attending the school. The NCAA had defended its rules as necessary to preserve the amateur nature of college sports. The case doesn’t decide whether students can be paid salaries.
June 21, 2021 3:55 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Josh Naylor foiled Pittsburgh’s strategy with an RBI single in the seventh inning, helping the Cleveland Indians beat the Pirates 2-1. Cleveland avoided a three-game sweep by the Pirates, who had lost 10 straight entering the series. The Indians have won seven of 10. The lefty-swinging Naylor sent the first pitch he saw from left-handed reliever Chasen Shreve to right, driving in Eddie Rosario to break a 1-all tie. The hit came after Pirates manager Derek Shelton pulled right-handed starter JT Brubaker with two out in the seventh. Brubaker threw just 76 pitches, gave up three hits and tied his career-high with nine strikeouts.
June 21, 2021 3:58 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) – Jon Rahm made an early move as the final group teed off at the U.S. Open, giving him the momentum he needed to capture his first major championship. Rahm closed with a 4-under 67 to finish 6 under at Torrey Pines, one stroke ahead of Louis Oosthuizen. Rahm got up and down from a greenside bunker on the par-5 18th hole, sinking an 18-foot birdie putt to pull away. That followed a 24-foot birdie putt on the par-4 17th, which put him even with Oosthuizen. Oosthuizen birdied his final hole for an even-par 71. Harris English finished alone in third at minus-3, one ahead of Guido Migliozzi and Brooks Koepka. Oosthuizen was the only one of the three co-leaders entering the final round to shoot well. Russell Henley closed with a 76 to finish in a tie for 13th. Mackenzie Hughes gave up six strokes with a 77.
June 21, 2021 3:59 am
MONTREAL (AP) – The Vegas Golden Knights have evened their Stanley Cup semifinal series at two games apiece by outlasting the Canadiens in Montreal. Nicolas Roy converted his own rebound 1:18 into overtime to give the Knights a 2-1 win over the Habs. Vegas was staring and a 3-1 series deficit until Brayden McNabb beat Carey Price midway through the third period. Robin Lehner got the start in place of Marc-Andre Fleury and stopped 27 shots. Lehner blanked the Canadiens after Paul Byron scored on a breakaway with 1:05 left in the second period. Carey Price stopped 17 shots for the Canadiens, who had won its previous four overtime games this postseason. Game 5 is Tuesday in Las Vegas.
June 20, 2021 7:32 am
PITTSBURGH — Michael Perez and Bryan Reynolds hit three-run home runs during the seventh inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied for a 6-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday. Perez homered to right off Bryan Shaw (1-2) to put the Pirates ahead. Four batters later, Reynolds hit a 98 mph fastball from James Karinchak that sailed over the stands in right, bounced into the Allegheny River and was measured at 428 feet. Down 2-0 entering the seventh, the Pirates were aided by six walks, three each by Shaw and Karinchak. It is the most walks the Pirates have drawn in an inning since also coaxing six bases on balls in 1976 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Perez’s home run was his fifth of the season in the backup catcher’s 27 games. Prior to this season, he had gone deep just twice in 84 games. Reynolds has a team-leading 12 homers. He has homered five times in 16 games in June while batting .345. Pittsburgh has won the first two games of the series after entering on a 10-game losing streak.
