January 14, 2021 3:48 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Philadelphia Flyers have won the first NHL game of the 2021 season. Joel Farabee had a goal and three assists in the Flyers’ 6-3 decision over the Penguins. The game was tied 3-3 until Michael Raffl tallied 5:37 into the third period to begin a flurry of scoring for Philadelphia. Oskar Lindblom and Kevin Hayes scored 20 seconds apart to turn this one into a rout. Nolan Patrick also scored in his first game since April 2, 2019. The 22-year-old center and No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 draft was stricken with debilitating migraines that caused him to miss all of last season.
January 14, 2021 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Phoenix Suns are dealing with contact tracing that has forced the postponement of Wednesday’s game against Atlanta and Friday’s contest versus Golden State. In addition, Friday’s game between the Pistons and Washington in Detroit has been postponed amid contact tracing among the Wizards. Neither the Wizards nor the Suns would have enough available personnel to meet the minimum 8-player requirement. Eight NBA games have been scrubbed since Sunday. Three of those games were slated for Wednesday.
January 14, 2021 3:51 am
TORONTO (AP) – Mark Shapiro has been given a five-year contract extension as the Toronto Blue Jays’ president and chief executive officer. Rogers Communications chairman Edward Rogers said Shapiro’s leadership and commitment over the last five years have been critical to the team’s growth and development. The Blue Jays returned to the playoffs last season for the first time since 2016. Toronto was 32-28 during the pandemic-shortened season, earning a wild card in the expanded playoffs.
January 13, 2021 3:45 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin expects a significant amount of change following his team’s stunning wild-card loss to Cleveland. The Steelers finished 12-5 in dropping five of their final six games after starting 11-0. The biggest questions surround the status of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and defensive coordinator Keith Butler. Tomlin says it is “reasonable” to expect Roethlisberger to return for an 18th season. The contracts for both Fichtner and Butler are up and change could be coming to the offense after the Steelers finished last in the NFL in yards rushing.
January 13, 2021 3:46 am
UNDATED (AP) – With five games called off this week already and more teams dealing with virus-related issues, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have enacted additional rules in the hope of keeping the season going safely. Among the new policies: for “at least the next two weeks,” the league and union said Tuesday, players and team staff will have to remain at their residence when in their home markets and will be prohibited from leaving their hotels or having outside guests when on the road. Tonight’s matchup in Chicago between the Bulls and the Boston Celtics has been postponed because of coronavirus concerns. Tomorrow’s Wizards-Jazz game in Washington is the latest to be scrubbed.
January 13, 2021 3:48 am
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) – Augusta National Club chairman Fred Ridley says the Masters intends to have a limited number of spectators when it is played April 8-11. He says the club still plans to operate the tournament the way it did in November with healthy and safety standards set because of the coronavirus pandemic. Those standards included mandatory COVID-19 testing for everyone on site, along with CDC guidelines such as social distancing and wearing masks.
January 12, 2021 3:46 am
MIAMI (AP) – Alabama’s top offense threats were too much for Ohio State. The top-ranked Crimson Tide are national champions for the sixth time in 12 seasons after DeVonta Smith, Mac Jones and Najee Harris led an explosive offensive performance in a 52-24 rout of No. 3 Ohio State. The Heisman Trophy-winning Smith had 12 catches for 215 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half as the Crimson Tide bolted out to a 35-17 lead. Jones chewed up the Buckeyes’ secondary while throwing for a CFP championship-record 464 yards and five touchdowns. Harris accounted for three TDs, running for 79 yards and two scores while grabbing seven passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields struggled after lighting up Clemson for six touchdowns in the CFP semifinals. The 13-0 Tide limited Fields to 17 of 33 passing for 194 yards and one TD as the Buckeyes fell to 7-1. Ohio State running back Trey Sermon left the game for good after suffering an injury on his team’s first drive. Master Teague carried 15 times for 65 yards and two touchdowns by halftime as Sermon’s replacement, but he had just three yards in the second half.
January 12, 2021 3:50 am
UNDATED (AP) – The men’s basketball game Tuesday between No. 13 West Virginia and No. 2 Baylor in Waco, Texas, has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues with the Mountaineers. West Virginia said in a statement that it will work with Baylor and the Big 12 to reschedule the game. Both teams last played on Saturday.
January 12, 2021 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – Gonzaga and Baylor remain atop The Associated Press men’s basketball poll for the seventh consecutive week in the regular season. The Zags received 63 first-place votes from a national media panel and the Bears had one. Villanova, Texas and Iowa rounded out a top 5 that remained the same from last week. Sixth-ranked Kansas is followed by Michigan, Creighton, Wisconsin and Tennessee. No. 25 Connecticut moved into the poll for the first time since reaching No. 18 in 2016-17. Louisville is back in the rankings at No. 16 and Ohio State returned at No. 21. Rutgers, Michigan State and Florida State tumbled out.
January 12, 2021 3:39 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Philadelphia Eagles fired coach Doug Pederson less than three years after he led them to the franchise’s only Super Bowl title. Pederson was 42-37-1 in five seasons. He led the Eagles to two division titles and three playoff appearances before going 4-11-1 in 2020. Pederson was a starting quarterback in Philadelphia in 1999 and later served as an assistant coach under Andy Reid with the Eagles. The Eagles hired him in 2016 after abruptly firing Chip Kelly. Pederson led the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory over New England in just his second season with backup quarterback Nick Foles filling in after Carson Wentz was injured.
