January 27, 2021 3:55 am
BOSTON (AP) – Craig Smith scored with 11 seconds left in overtime, and the Boston Bruins recovered after blowing a two-goal lead to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2. Brad Marchand had a short-handed goal and assisted on Nick Ritchie’s goal to help the Bruins earn their third straight victory. Tuukka Rask stopped 28 shots, giving up both Pittsburgh goals after he injured himself midway through the third period. Kasperi Kapanen tied it with 3:16 to go for the Penguins. Tristan Jarry stopped 33 shots for Pittsburgh, which had won four straight games since starting the season 0-2.
January 27, 2021 3:57 am
NEW YORK (AP) – There will be no Class of 2021 at this summer’s baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Cooperstown. No one received the required 75% of the vote. Curt Schilling was the lone player to receive at least 62%, showing up on 71.8% of the ballots submitted by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Barry Bonds was named on 61.8% of the ballots, Roger Clemens 61.6% and Scott Rolen 52.9%. The highest first-year eligible player was Mark Buehrle at just 11%. It’s the 19th time the BBWAA has failed to elect a Hall member and just the third time since 1971. With the Hall of Fame’s Era Committees postponing their scheduled elections until next offseason because of the pandemic, there won’t be a 2021 Hall class. The 2020 Hall class will be the guests of honor this year after their induction ceremony was pushed back due to the pandemic.
January 27, 2021 3:58 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – J.T. Realmuto is staying put. Two people familiar with the deal tell The Associated Press that the Philadelphia Phillies and the two-time All-Star catcher have agreed to a five-year, $115.5 million contract. Realmuto’s average annual salary of $23.1 million will become the highest for a catcher, topping the $23 million Joe Mauer averaged in a $184 million, eight-year deal with the Minnesota Twins for 2011-18. Realmuto was acquired from the Marlins in 2019 in a trade that sent right-hander Sixto Sanchez and catcher Jorge Alfaro to Miami. He has flourished in Philadelphia, hitting .273 with 36 home runs, 115 RBIs and .492 slugging average.
January 26, 2021 3:52 am
Miles McBride made a go-ahead jumper with 6 seconds left and finished with a season-high 24 points, helping No. 11 West Virginia rally for a wild 88-87 victory over No. 10 Texas Tech. Jalen Bridges and reserve Sean McNeil each scored 13 points for West Virginia, which trailed by 12 with about seven minutes left. Texas Tech wasted a stellar performance by Mac McClung, who scored a season-high 30 points.
January 26, 2021 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – Gonzaga, Baylor and Villanova remain atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll. The latest Top 25 also saw ninth-ranked Alabama climb to its highest ranking in 14 years. Gonzaga and Baylor have been 1-2 atop all 10 polls this season. The Crimson Tide had the biggest jump by rising nine spots for their highest ranking since January 2007. No. 16 Florida State, No. 24 Oklahoma and No. 25 Louisville were new additions to this week’s poll. Clemson, Oregon and Connecticut fell out of the rankings.
January 26, 2021 3:45 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t look far to find their new offensive coordinator. The club has promoted quarterbacks coach Matt Canada to the position. Canada replaces Randy Fichtner. Fichtner’s contract was not renewed after the Steelers were upset by Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs. Canada joined the Steelers a year ago following several assistant coaching stints at the collegiate level. Canada takes over an offense that sputtered down the stretch this season. Pittsburgh lost five of its final six games and finished last in the NFL in yards rushing. The Steelers also hired longtime NFL assistant Alfredo Roberts as their new tight ends coach. Roberts replaces James Daniel, who retired earlier this month after 17 seasons with the Steelers and 27 overall in the NFL. Pittsburgh is the sixth NFL stop for Roberts.
January 26, 2021 3:46 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed catcher Joe Hudson to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training. The 29-year-old Hudson has appeared in 18 major-league games for St. Louis, Seattle and the Los Angeles Angels. Hudson is a career .167 hitter with one RBI in 30 career at-bats. He will be in the mix to compete for the backup job behind Jacob Stallings, a Gold Glove finalist in 2020.
January 26, 2021 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Cactus League and Arizona community leaders have asked Major League Baseball to delay the start of spring training due to coronavirus concerns just over three weeks before pitchers and catchers are supposed to report. The Cactus League made the request in a letter to Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred obtained by The Associated Press. The letter was co-signed by the mayors of Mesa, Scottsdale, Surprise, Glendale, Goodyear and Peoria, as well as representatives from Phoenix and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Arizona is averaging just under 7,000 new coronavirus cases per day.
January 25, 2021 3:56 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Patrick Mahomes threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns with most of it going to favorite targets Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill as the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs rolled to a 38-24 victory over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC championship game. The Chiefs advanced to face a familiar foe in Tom Brady and the NFC champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl in two weeks in Tampa, Florida. Buffalo’s Josh Allen finished with 287 yards passing and two touchdowns with an interception.
January 25, 2021 3:59 am
UNDATED (AP) – Guess who’s going back to the Super Bowl? Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are NFC champions following a 31-26 win at Green Bay. Their next opponent is the defending-champion Kansas City Chiefs, who earned a 38-24 win over Buffalo in the AFC championship game. The game will be held on Feb. 7 in Tampa. Brady overcame interceptions on three straight drives by throwing for 280 yards and three touchdowns in reaching the Super Bowl for the 10th time in his career. Scotty Miller grabbed a 39-yard scoring strike with just one second left in the first half, putting the Bucs ahead 21-10. Brady struck again 66 seconds into the third quarter, hitting Cameron Brate for an eight-yard TD that made it 28-10. The Bucs earned their franchise-record eighth consecutive road victory to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since their 2002 championship season. After winning three straight playoff games on the road, Tampa Bay will become the first team to play a Super Bowl in its own stadium.
