June 29, 2022 3:50 am
The NFL insisted on an indefinite suspension while Deshaun Watson’s legal team argued there’s no basis for that punishment as both sides presented their cases in front of a retired judge in Delaware on Tuesday, two people in attendance told The Associated Press. The hearing will continue on Wednesday and Watson is scheduled to be there for the duration, according to the people who spoke on condition of anonymity because the hearing isn’t public. Former U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson, who was jointly appointed by the league and the NFL Players’ Association, will determine whether Watson violated the NFL’s personal conduct policy and whether to impose discipline.
June 29, 2022 3:46 am
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) – Serena Williams has lost her first singles match in nearly a year. She was beat by 115th-ranked Harmony Tan of France in three sets at Wimbledon. Williams was two points from victory but could not finish the job and bowed out with a 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) defeat. Williams is a 23-time Grand Slam champion. The 40-year-old American had not competed in singles since she got injured in the first set of her first-round match at the All England Club on June 29, 2021. She has won Wimbledon seven times. This was Tan’s debut at the All England Club. The match lasted 3 hours, 11 minutes and was contested with the retractable roof shut for the last two sets.
June 28, 2022 3:47 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Maikel Franco hit a go-ahead, two-run home run in the eighth inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 in the opener of a three-game series. Luis Garcia had three hits for Washington, which has won five of its last seven games. Top prospect Oneil Cruz hit his first homer of the season for Pittsburgh, which has lost the first four games of its road trip by a combined five runs. Pirates reliever Chris Stratton was an out away from working around Garcia’s leadoff double in the eighth when Franco launched a first-pitch slider to left-center, giving the Nationals their first lead of the night.
June 28, 2022 3:49 am
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Los Angeles Angels interim manager Phil Nevin was suspended 10 games and Seattle Mariners outfielder Jesse Winker received a seven-game ban from Major League Baseball for their roles in a benches-clearing brawl during the second inning of Sunday’s game. Nevin and Winker were two of 12 players or coaches suspended between the teams, according to an MLB release. Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford received five games, Angels pitchers Ryan Tepera and Andrew Wantz were suspended for three, and Mariners outfielder Julio Rodríguez, Angels reliever Raisel Iglesias and major league interpreter Manny Del Campo received two games.
June 28, 2022 3:51 am
Deshaun Watson’s legal team takes on the NFL on Tuesday in front of a retired judge to determine his immediate future with the Cleveland Browns. Former U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson, who was jointly appointed by the league and the NFL Players’ Association, will hold a hearing to determine whether Watson violated the NFL’s personal conduct policy and whether to impose discipline. áThe three-time Pro Bowl quarterback agreed to settle 20 of 24 civil lawsuits for sexual misconduct but he’s still facing a significant penalty. A person familiar with the NFL’s position told the AP last week the league is seeking a lengthy suspension for Watson.
June 27, 2022 3:51 am
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Shane McClanahan struck out 10 over seven innings, Tampa Bay had a three-run seventh keyed by an overturend call and the Rays completed a three-game sweep by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2. McClanahan allowed one run and four hits, and had 10 strikoeouts, lowering his major league-leading ERA to 1.77 ERA and grabbing the big league lead in strikeouts with 123. The Rays took a 4-1 lead in the seventh on Ji-Man Choi’s run-scoring double and RBI singles by Josh Lowe and Isaac Paredes off Anthony Banda, who replaced Tyler Beede (0-1) with one on and two outs.
June 27, 2022 3:55 am
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – A lengthy bench-clearing brawl resulted in the ejections of six players and both managers in the second inning of the Los Angeles Angels’ 2-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Three of the first four hitters in the Mariners’ lineup were ejected, while three Angels pitchers were tossed after two days of tension over inside pitches boiled over with punches thrown by people from both teams. The melee began when Seattle’s Jesse Winker charged the Angels’ emptying dugout after Winker was hit by Andrew Wantz. Luis Rengifo homered and David MacKinnon drove in the tiebreaking run with a single in the seventh for LA.
June 27, 2022 3:49 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – The Colorado Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup after dethroning the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning. The Avalanche beat the Lightning 2-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final behind a goal and an assist from Nathan MacKinnon. Tampa Bay fell two victories short of becoming the NHL’s first three-peat champion since the early 1980s. Colorado’s core led by MacKinnon, captain Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Mark got the job done after years of playoff disappointments. It’s the franchise’s third championship and first since 2001.
June 26, 2022 7:55 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Isaac Paredes hit a solo homer in the eighth inning and a two-run single with two outs in the ninth, sending the Tampa Bay Rays to a 6-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. Ji-Man Choi and Vidal Bruján reached on two-out walks before Jonathan Aranda’s pinch-hit single loaded the bases against David Bednar (3-2). Paredes then hit an opposite-field liner to right for his game-ending single. Paredes’ teammate celebrated by dumping two containers of sports drink and then a bucket of ice on him in front of the Rays dugout after his hit on an 0-2 pitch. Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Bednar “just didn’t execute pitches.” Paredes got the Rays within one in the eighth with his team-leading 10th homer — all over his last 25 games. He has gone deep five times in his last three games. Ralph Garza Jr. (1-2) worked two scoreless innings for the win in Tampa Bay’s fourth straight one-run game. It also was a Rays-record 11th consecutive game decided by two or fewer runs. Jack Suwinski hit a three-run homer for the Pirates. JT Brubaker allowed three runs and nine hits in six innings.
June 26, 2022 7:56 am
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson’s short-term future with the Browns could be coming into focus. Cleveland’s quarterback will have a hearing next week with NFL disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson, three people familiar with the scheduled meeting told The Associated Press on Saturday. Watson, who is facing a potential suspension from the league stemming from accusations of sexual misconduct by two dozen massage therapists in Texas, will meet with Robinson on Tuesday, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the hearing have not been disclosed publicly. It’s not yet known how long Watson is scheduled to meet with Robinson. The hearing is a significant development in Watson’s case as Robinson will decide if the 26-year-old violated the league’s personal conduct policy. The league is expected to recommend significant discipline for Watson, who will be defended by the NFL Players Association in the high-profile case.
