January 20, 2021 3:59 am
UNDATED (AP) -Tiger Woods has undergone a fifth back surgery that has put the start to his new year on hold. Woods did not say when he had the microdiscetomy, only that doctors deemed it a success and expect a full recovery. He will miss two tournaments he normally plays in Southern California – the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines and the Genesis Invitational at Riviera. Woods still plans to be at Riviera as the tournament host. He says the surgery was to remove a pressurized disc fragment that was giving him nerve pain last month when he played the PNC Championship with 11-year-old son Charlie.
January 19, 2021 3:58 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Padres are adding yet another pitcher to their rotation, agreeing to bring right-hander Joe Musgrove to his hometown team in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to a person familiar with the deal. Another person confirmed the New York Mets were also involved in the trade, acquiring left-hander Joey Lucchesi from San Diego. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the deal had not been announced. Musgrove, who played at Grossmont High in suburban El Cajon, California, will join a rotation that includes Yu Darvish and Blake Snell, who were obtained in blockbuster trades after Christmas. Musgrove will head from a Pirates team that had the worst record in the majors during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season to a Padres club that ended a 13-year playoff drought and believes it can contend for the World Series title. The Pirates will get a number of prospects in return, including well-regarded outfielder Hudson Head. The Pirates also get three young pitchers; Pittsburgh native David Bednar, Omar Cruz and Drake Fellow from San Diego. They also get catcher/outfielder Endy Rodriguez from the Mets. Musgrove, Pittsburgh’s opening day starter in 2020, went 1-5 with a 3.86 ERA last season, striking out 55 in 39 2/3 innings.
January 19, 2021 8:57 am
NEW YORK (AP) – New York Mets general manager Jared Porter has been fired after sending graphic, uninvited text messages and images to a female reporter in 2016 when he was working for the Chicago Cubs in their front office. Mets owner Steve Cohen says “we have terminated Jared Porter this morning.” ESPN reported that Porter sent dozens of texts to the woman. ESPN said it obtained a copy of the text history. New York hired the 41-year-old Porter last month after he spent the past four seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks as senior vice president and assistant general manager. Mets president Sandy Alderson said Porter acknowledged to him a serious error in judgment.
January 19, 2021 3:52 am
UNDATED (AP) – The NFL will not allow in-person workouts for the scouting combine for health and safety precautions because of COVID-19. The league informed teams Monday that any workouts will take place on the individual pro days on college campuses. Interviews of prospects and psychological testing and assessments will be done virtually. The league is working with club physicians and athletic trainers to obtain comprehensive medical information on each of the invited prospects. The plan will likely involve a combination of virtual interviews by club medical staffs and testing done at labs and medical facilities near the invited prospect’s residence.
January 19, 2021 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – Gonzaga once again has racked up all but the two first-place votes that went to Baylor in the latest Associated Press men’s college basketball poll. Villanova remained firmly behind the preseason top two despite not playing a game since Dec. 23 due to COVID-19 pauses within its program. Iowa and Texas swapped places to round out the top 5, while Duke plummeted from the poll for the first time since February 2016 following its loss to Virginia Tech. Louisville also fell out while No. 18 Alabama and No. 24 UCLA were newcomers to the poll.
January 18, 2021 4:02 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Kansas City Chiefs have moved on in the NFL playoffs after a 22-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns. And they closed out the win despite losing quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the third quarter to a concussion. Backup Chad Henne, who is 35 years old, helped ice the game with a long third-down scramble and then a daring fourth-down completion to Tyreek Hill with just over a minute left. The Chiefs say Mahomes is doing great. The Chiefs now head to their third straight AFC title game and will face the Buffalo Bills next Sunday. In other playoff action:
Tom Brady’s best game in three tries against New Orleans has the Buccaneers moving on in the NFL playoffs and Saints quarterback Drew Brees headed home – perhaps for good. Brady and the Bucs’ offense turned three of the Saints’ four turnovers, which included three Brees interceptions, into touchdowns, and Tampa Bay beat New Orleans 30-20 in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. Two touchdowns came on short passes to Mike Evans and Leonard Fournette. Brady also scored on a 1-yard run. The Bucs advanced to the NFC championship game in Green Bay.
January 18, 2021 4:03 am
COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) – The Los Angeles Chargers have hired Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley to become the team’s head coach. The Chargers made the decision Sunday after having a second interview with Staley. The interview was held a day after the Rams were eliminated from the playoffs with a 32-18 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The 38-year old Staley was in demand with interviews also scheduled with the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles. Staley has been an NFL assistant for only four years. He joined the Rams this past season after being a linebackers coach with the Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos.
January 18, 2021 3:57 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Jake Guentzel beat Ilya Samsonov in the fourth round of a shootout and the Pittsburgh Penguins picked up their first win of the season with a 4-3 victory over Washington. Casey DeSmith stopped 20 shots in regulation then turned aside T.J. Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin in the shootout as the Penguins avoided their first 0-3 start since 2015-16. Evan Rodrigues, Colton Sceviour and Marcus Pettersson all scored their first goals of the season for Pittsburgh. Ovechkin got his 707th career goal to move within one of Hall of Famer Mike Gartner for seventh on the all-time list.
January 18, 2021 4:05 am
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – An additional 25 tennis players have been forced into quarantine in Australia ahead of the season’s first tennis major after a fifth person tested positive for the coronavirus test after arriving on a charter flight. That takes the total number of competitors isolating in hotel rooms to 72 on Sunday. Australian Open organizers say the latest positive test came from a passenger on a flight from Doha, Qatar, who was not a member of the playing contingent. But all 58 passengers, including the 25 players, will be confined to their hotel rooms for two weeks. Organizers had previously announced that 47 players had to quarantine after four COVID-19 cases emerged from two other charter flights bringing players, staff, officials and media to Australia. No players are among the five people who have tested positive.
January 17, 2021 7:49 am
PITTSBURGH — Justin Champagnie had a big game after missing a month with an injury, Ithiel Horton hit five 3-pointers and Pittsburgh pulled away from Syracuse for a 96-76 win on Saturday. Champagnie, who injured a knee on Dec. 20th, had 24 points and 16 rebounds. Xavier Johnson added 23 points, going 13 for 13 from the foul line, with six rebounds and seven assists for Pitt (7-2, 3-1 ACC). Horton scored 20 points and Au’Diese Toney 18. Champagnie had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the second half as the Panthers took over in the last eight minutes. Johnson had 15 points and Horton 14 after the break. Champagnie was averaging 17.8 points, third in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and 12.3 rebounds, second in the nation but only missed two games because of coronavirus postponements. Alan Griffin scored 28 points for the Orange (7-4, 1-3), 20 after the break, and Quincy Guerrier 18 with 12 rebounds. Marek Dolezaj scored 14 and Buddy Boeheim 12. Pitt, which erased an 18-point first-half deficit to beat Syracuse 63-60 10 days ago, trailed 37-32 at the half. Pitt’s intervening two games had been postponed before facing Syracuse again Saturday.
