January 22, 2021 11:34 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Vance McDonald is retiring. The 30-year-old announced the decision less than two weeks after his eighth season came to an end when the AFC North champion Steelers were upset by Cleveland in the opening round of the playoffs. McDonald spent four seasons each with San Francisco and Pittsburgh. He caught just 15 passes in 2020 and saw his playing time decrease as the Steelers moved toward a more pass-heavy attack.
January 22, 2021 2:34 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Dwayne Haskins will attempt to kick-start his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers signed the former Washington quarterback to a futures contract giving the 23-year-old a second chance after he flamed out in the nation’s capital in less than two seasons. Haskins was released by Washington in December following poor play on the field and questionable decisions off it. The 15th overall pick in the 2019 draft was fined $40,000 and lost his captaincy after violating NFL COVID-19 protocols shortly before being cut.
January 22, 2021 3:55 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Patrick Mahomes is giving strong indication that he’ll be the Kansas City Chiefs’ starting quarterback for the AFC championship game Sunday against Buffalo. The 2018 NFL MVP took the majority of first-team reps in practice Thursday, even though he remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol. Mahomes was initially listed as a full participant when he returned to practice Wednesday, but the Chiefs quickly corrected his status to limited because he remains in the protocol. He must be cleared by team physicians and an independent neural consult before the reigning Super Bowl MVP can be a full participant in practice or play in a game.
January 22, 2021 3:58 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Washington Capitals will be without three-time NHL MVP Alex Ovechkin and three other prominent players for at least the next four games because of COVID-19 protocols. That announcement comes from coach Peter Laviolette and leaves the Caps without the quartet for two games each against the Sabres and Islanders. Ovechkin was placed on the league’s unavailable list Wednesday along with center Evgeny Kuznetsov, goaltender Ilya Samsonov and defenseman Dmitry Orlov. Laviolette indicated there was a positive virus test and the league did contact tracing. Washington was fined $100,000 for breaking pandemic protocol for the players being in a hotel room together unmasked.
January 21, 2021 3:52 am
UNDATED (AP) – Three-time MVP Alex Ovechkin and three other Washington Capitals players have been added to the NHL’s COVID-19 list and the team has been fined $100,000 by the league for violating coronavirus protocols. Center Evgeny Kuznetsov, defenseman Dmitry Orlov and top goalie Ilya Samsonov are the other Capitals who can’t practice for the time being. Five players from the Carolina Hurricanes also have been on that list and that team’s games were called off by the league through “at least” Saturday.
January 21, 2021 3:54 am
UNDATED (AP) – Outfielder Michael Brantley has agreed to a $32 million, two-year contract with the Houston Astros, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. The deal is pending completion of a physical. Brantley spent the last two seasons in Houston after playing for Cleveland for his first 10 MLB seasons. Brantley hit .300 with five homers and 22 RBIs in 46 games in last year’s pandemic-shortened season.
January 21, 2021 2:43 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Longtime NFL quarterback Philip Rivers has decided to retire after playing one season with the Indianapolis Colts. His decision at age 39 comes less than two weeks after the Colts suffered a 27-24 loss at Buffalo in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Rivers spent his first 16 seasons with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers after they acquired him in a draft-day trade that sent Eli Manning to the New York Giants in 2004. Rivers finishes his career ranked among the league’s top five in career completions, career yards passing and career TDs. He never played in a Super Bowl.
January 20, 2021 3:56 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Sidney Crosby scored 1:11 into overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 5-4 victory over the Washington Capitals. Crosby collected his third goal of the season when he pounced on a rebound off a Kris Letang shot and flipped it by Vitek Vanecek and into the open net to give the Penguins their second win over their rivals in three days. Colton Sceviour, Evgeni Malkin, Teddy Blueger and Jake Guentzel also scored for Pittsburgh. Tom Wilson scored twice for the Capitals. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Lars Eller both picked up their first goals of the season but Washington let leads of 3-1 and 4-2 slip away.
January 20, 2021 3:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Justin Champagnie tied a career-high 31 points on 12-for-15 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds, and Pittsburgh held off Duke for a 79-73 win. It was the fifth 20-plus point, 10-plus rebound effort for the sophomore Champagnie in just his eighth game of the season for the Panthers . Following Matthew Hurt’s layup with 1:23 remaining to bring Duke within 75-73, Au’Diese Toney threw down a dunk off a pass from Johnson with 56 seconds left to seal the win despite the fact the Panthers missed four foul shots in the last 17 seconds. Jalen Johnson scored a career-high 24 points for Duke.
January 20, 2021 3:58 am
Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton has died. He was a stalwart of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ rotation spanning an era from Sandy Koufax to Fernando Valenzuela. The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, says Sutton died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, after a long struggle with cancer. He was 75. The Atlanta Braves, where Sutton was a long-time broadcaster, said he died in his sleep. Sutton had a career record of 324-256 and an ERA of 3.26. He spent 16 of his 23 major league seasons with the Dodgers.
