NEW YORK (AP) – The major league All-Star game is coming back to Coors Field. A person familiar with the decision tells The Associated Press that MLB will relocate the All-Star Game to Denver’s Coors Field after pulling the Midsummer Classic from Atlanta over objections to sweeping changes to Georgia’s voting laws. The league is expected to announce Tuesday that the Rockies will host the game. Coors Field last hosted the All-Star Game in 1998, the fourth season for the stadium and sixth for the Rockies franchise.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Stanford held off Arizona to win the women’s NCAA title Sunday night. Haley Jones scored 17 points and Stanford beat Arizona 54-53, giving the Cardinal and coach Tara VanDerveer their first national championship in 29 years. It wasn’t a masterpiece by any stretch with both teams struggling to score and missing easy layups and shots, but Stanford did just enough to pull off the win surviving a miss by Aari McDonald that bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
You can hear the Men’s title game Monday on WJPA-AM (1450) and online Listen Here! From the first tip to the final whistle, we’re you home for NCAA March Madness!
Men’s National Championship (Monday):
7:00 pm #1 Baylor vs. #1 Gonzaga
CHICAGO (AP) – Zach Davies pitched into the sixth inning in his Chicago Cubs debut, leading his new team to a 4-3 victory over the short-handed Pittsburgh Pirates. Ian Happ homered and Kris Bryant reached three times as Chicago earned its second straight win after losing on opening day. Joc Pederson also drove in a run with a groundout. Davies, who was acquired in the December trade that sent Yu Darvish to San Diego, permitted two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings.
CHICAGO (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates have placed third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes on the 10-day injured list with a strained left wrist. One of the preseason favorites for NL Rookie of the Year, Hayes got hurt on a swing during Saturday’s 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs. He also used his left hand diving back to first on a pickoff attempt. Manager Derek Shelton says X-rays were negative, but an MRI showed some inflammation.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Jordan Spieth has ended a slump that lasted 82 starts and nearly four years, closing with a 6-under 66 to win the Valero Texas Open. It’s his first victory since the 2017 British Open at Royal Birkdale. Now he heads to Augusta National as one of the favorites at the Masters. Spieth sealed it with a 5-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole, and he won by two shots over Charley Hoffman.
NCAA March Madness hits its crescendo this weekend with the Women’s & Men’s Final Four and the National Championship games.
You can hear the Women’s National Championship game Sunday and the Men’s title game Monday on WJPA-AM (1450) and online Listen Here! From the first tip to the final whistle, we’re you home for NCAA March Madness!
Women’s Final Four (Friday):
#1 Stanford 66, #1 South Carolina 65
#3 Arizona 69, #1 UConn 59
Men’s Final Four (Saturday):
#1 Baylor 78, #2 Houston 59
#1 Gonzaga 93, #11 UCLA 90 OT
Women’s National Championship (Sunday):
5:30 pm #1 Stanford vs. #3 Arizona
Men’s National Championship (Monday):
7:00 pm #1 Baylor vs. #1 Gonzaga
BOSTON — Brad Marchand had two of his three goals and set up another in Boston’s five-goal second period, and the Boston Bruins rebounded from a lackluster effort with a 7-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday afternoon. Patrice Bergeron moved into a tie for fourth on the club’s all-time scoring list. David Pastrnak scored twice, David Krejci and Bergeron each had a goal for Boston. Bergeron has 899 career points to equal Rick Middleton (898). Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Jared McCann, Mark Jankowski and Cody Ceci each scored for the Penguins, who had ended a 10-game winless stretch in Boston (0-8-2) with a 4-1 victory over the Bruins on Thursday. It was their first win in TD Garden since Nov. 24, 2014. The loss ended Pittsburgh’s five-game winning streak and was just its fourth in the last 15 games (11-3-1). Casey DeSmith had 21 saves for Pittsburgh. He had allowed just two goals or less in his last eight games for a 1.05 goals-against-average.
CHICAGO (AP) — Jake Arrieta pitched six solid innings in a triumphant return to the Cubs, Kris Bryant and Jason Heyward homered, and Chicago beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1 on Saturday afternoon. Arrieta (1-0) got a warm reception prior to the game, then gave up just one run and six hits. The 35-year-old right-hander struck out five and walked one. Arrieta played 4 1/2 years for Chicago, winning a Cy Young Award and a World Series, before signing with Philadelphia in March 2018. He returned to the Cubs in February for a $6 million, one-year contract. Pittsburgh’s Ke’Bryan Hayes left the game because of discomfort in his left wrist. He jammed his hand diving back to first on a pickoff attempt after walking in the first inning. Hayes scored on Kevin Newman’s two-out single. But Erik González batted for him in the third and remained at third base. Anderson (0-1) went five innings in his Pirates debut, allowing three runs and five hits. The left-hander, who signed with Pittsburgh in free agency, struck out seven and walked two.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The Associated Press has learned that the NCAA has not tested players for performance-enhancing drugs at March Madness and other recent college championships. Three people with direct knowledge of NCAA testing protocols tell AP that testing has not resumed since the coronavirus pandemic shut down college sports a year ago. Although athletes may have been tested on campus, the NCAA has not ramped up its usual testing program at national championships such as the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The women’s Final Four semifinals games are Friday, with the men playing Saturday. á The people who spoke to AP about testing all confirmed the same thing: No samples from the organization’s signature events have been sent to the labs that analyze NCAA tests.
UNDATED (AP) – There will be no baseball played in Washington this weekend, and no All-Star Game in Atlanta this summer. A COVID-19 outbreak affecting more than a third of the Nationals’ roster has caused the postponement of their season-opening, three-game series against the visiting New York Mets. General manager Mike Rizzo says four of Washington’s players have tested positive for the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, and another five were quarantining after contact tracing determined they might have been exposed. The Mets plan to spend the weekend practicing at Nats Park before heading to Philadelphia to play their new season opener on Monday. The Nationals still hope to open their scheduled series with the Braves on Monday. Meanwhile, Major League Baseball is pulling this year’s All-Star Game from Atlanta over objections to sweeping changes to Georgia voting laws that critics have condemned as being too restrictive. The decision to move the July 13 game from Truist Park amounts to the first economic backlash against Georgia for the voting law that Republican Gov. Brian Kemp quickly signed into law last week. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred made the decision to move the All-Star events and the amateur draft from Atlanta after discussions with the Major League Baseball Players Association, individual players and the Players Alliance.
