July 17, 2019 3:54 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Chicago Blackhawks have traded Artem Anisimov to Ottawa for Zack Smith in a swap of 31-year-old forwards. Anisimov played four seasons for the Blackhawks, scoring 77 goals and adding 78 assists in 291 games. He provided 15 goals and 37 points last season. The Russian has also played with the Rangers and Blue Jackets over 11 NHL seasons. Smith played 70 games last season for the Senators, scoring nine goals and adding a career-high 19 assists.
July 15, 2019 3:44 am
CHICAGO (AP) – Jason Heyward, Albert Almora Jr. and Kyle Schwarber hit home runs and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-3 on Sunday for a three-game sweep. The NL Central leaders posted their first series win since taking all three from St. Louis on June 7-9. Robel Garcia had a pair of doubles and Anthony Rizzo added two hits as Chicago improved to 32-16 at Wrigley Field. Bryan Reynolds got two hits and drove in a run for Pittsburgh, which has dropped five of seven. Cubs starter Jose Quintana (7-7) allowed three runs on six hits in six innings to win his third straight start. The left-hander struck out four and walked two. Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the second on an RBI double by Garcia, before Pittsburgh rallied for three in the third to make it 3-1. Reynolds drove in the first run with a single, Starling Marte followed with a sacrifice fly and Jung Ho Kang capped the rally with an RBI double. The Cubs pulled within 3-2 in the fourth on a two-out RBI single by Quintana after David Bote had been intentionally walked. Quintana was 1 for 34 for the season before his hit off Trevor Williams (3-3). Victor Caratini had a tying sacrifice fly in the fifth and Heyward hit a two-run homer for a 5-3 lead. Almora had a pinch-hit homer in the sixth and Schwarber followed with a drive to right on the next pitch. Williams (3-3) was pulled after giving up a single to the next batter, Javier Baez, and Rizzo later had a sacrifice fly.
June 17, 2020 3:45 am
OTTAWA (AP) – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is “open” to the NHL operating a playoff “hub city” in Canada as long as it is allowed by local health authorities. If the NHL returns to play amid the coronavirus pandemic this summer, it would start with the playoffs and with 24 teams, preferably split between two hub cities. The league has narrowed down its potential sites to 10 cities, including Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver in Canada. Pittsburgh is reportedly under consideration here in the U.S. The NHL has said it will not choose a Canadian city if players are subject to the 14-day quarantine currently in effect at the border.
June 16, 2020 3:43 am
UNDATED (AP) – Roger Goodell would like to see Colin Kaepernick back in the NFL this season. The NFL commissioner said during ESPN’s “The Return of Sports” special on Monday that he is encouraging teams to sign the 32-year old quarterback, who hasn’t played the past three seasons. Kaepernick was with the San Francisco 49ers in 2016 when he kneeled during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said last week that he received a call from another team about Kaepernick. Carroll and the Seahawks brought in Kaepernick for a workout in 2017 and had another planned in 2018 before it was canceled. Goodell set up a tryout for Kaepernick in Atlanta last year for scouts of all 32 teams to attend, but it unraveled at the last moment due to lack of media access and what Kaepernick’s representatives saw as an unusual liability waiver.
June 15, 2020 3:47 am
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – The PGA Tour completed a safe and successful return to competition, and so did Daniel Berger. He made a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole and then won the Charles Schwab Challenge by saving par behind the 17th hole in a playoff. Collin Morikawa, who missed a 6-foot putt in regulation for the win, missed a 3-foot par putt in the playoff. Berger closed with a 4-under 66, his 28th consecutive round at par or better dating to Oct. 11 at the Houston Open. Even over the final hour, a half-dozen players were still in the mix. All that was missing was the sound and energy of a gallery, with the PGA Tour not allowing spectators for the opening five events in its return. Commissioner Jay Monahan called it a phenomenal return because all 487 coronavirus tests at Colonial came back negative.
June 15, 2020 3:44 am
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – NFL free agent Antonio Brown will serve two years of probation for charges related to a fight with a moving truck driver outside his South Florida home earlier this year. As part of a deal with Broward County prosecutors, Brown pleaded no contest Friday to burglary with battery, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance and criminal mischief. Brown was accused of attacking the driver. Hollywood police say Brown didn’t want to pay a $4,000 moving bill. Brown played nine seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers before being traded. Off-the-field incidents derailed his attempts to play for the Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots.
June 14, 2020 7:26 am
CLEVELAND (AP) – Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield plans to kneel during the national anthem this upcoming season to support protests of social injustice, police brutality and racism. In answering a post from a fan on his Instagram account Saturday that pleaded with him not to kneel, Mayfield responded: “Pull your head out. I absolutely am.? Mayfield has been outspoken recently about the need for more understanding and justice in the nation following the killing of George Floyd, a black man, while in police custody in Minneapolis. On Friday, Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien said he would kneel with his players if they chose to do so during the anthem. Earlier this week, while not going as far as O’Brien, new Browns coach Kevin Stefanski made it clear he would back his players in any peaceful demonstrations.
June 14, 2020 7:26 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Baseball players told Major League Baseball additional talks to start the season during the coronavirus pandemic are futile and said owners should order a return to work, which likely would spark lengthy litigation and the sport’s return to labor wars. The union’s action could lead to a season of about 50 games rather than the 82 initially proposed by MLB. The Major League Baseball Players Association could respond by filing a grievance that would be heard by arbitrator Mark Irvings. Players and MLB agreed to a deal March 26 calling for prorated salaries. That deal gave baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred the right to start the season provided there were no travel restrictions and games could be played before fans in regular-season ballparks. It called for “good faith” negotiations to play in empty ballparks or neutral sites. MLB made three economic offers, the last Friday, and the union proposed two. The sides remain far apart on how much players should get of the $4 billion in salaries they originally were set to earn: MLB has offered to guarantee $1.27 billion and increase the total to $1.45 billion if the postseason is completed. Players want $2.25 billion. Players insist they should not have to accept additional cuts. A unilateral decision to start play could mean the playoffs would remain at 10 teams and not expand to 16, as both sides have proposed.
June 13, 2020 4:30 am
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – Harold Varner III took his place in history in the PGA Tour’s technology era, all because of a triple bogey. Jordan Spieth had his lowest 36-hole score in four years. Rory McIlroy shot 63 with a bogey on his last hole. The strongest field of the year in golf’s return to competition produced an All-Star leaderboard at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Varner had plenty of juices flowing after his first tee shot on No. 10 went onto a bridge, led to a one-shot penalty, and eventually a triple bogey that quickly knocked him out of a share of the lead. No worries. He answered with eight birdies and a place in the record book with a 66. It was the lowest score on the PGA Tour by a player who began his round with a triple bogey. He was at 11-under 129, the lowest 36-hole score of his career. He heads into the third round with a one-shot lead over Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau. The PGA Tour has returned after three months because of the pandemic. And if the opening round felt like the first day of school, Friday was a small step toward normalcy, even without fans.
June 12, 2020 3:50 am
UNDATED (AP) – NHL training camps will open July 10 if the league and players’ union can reach an agreement to resume the season. Setting the date gives the 17% of players overseas time to make arrangements to return in light of U.S. and Canada quarantine regulations. The league and NHLPA said the July 10 start of camps is pending medical and safety conditions and agreeing on getting back to games. Camps are expected to run two to three weeks with games taking place in two “hub” cities without fans. If the league and players finalize a deal to return, games could resume in early August.
