December 13, 2019 3:59 am
BALTIMORE (AP) — Only minutes removed from watching his team roll to its 10th consecutive victory, coach John Harbaugh showed up to the post-game news conference wearing a white hat proclaiming Baltimore to be AFC North champions. No small accomplishment, winning that tough division two years in a row. “We’re very proud of that,” Harbaugh said. “It’s our first goal. Not our top goal.” Indeed. After Lamar Jackson ran and passed the Ravens past the New York Jets 42-21 on Thursday night, the shirt he wore reflected the feeling of just about everyone associated with the team that owns the best record in the NFL. “THE NORTH IS NOT ENOUGH,” yelled the sentiment in capital letters. Yes, the Ravens have another division title after they clinched a playoff berth four days earlier in Buffalo. With a victory next week in Cleveland, the Ravens will be assured the top seed in the AFC, a distinction that comes with home-field advantage leading up to the Super Bowl. Super Bowl. That’s the target. Victories in December are merely steps in that direction. “We just have to keep it going,” Jackson said. “The job is not over,” safety Earl Thomas said. “We got a couple more goals in front of us.” Jackson threw five touchdown passes and scurried into the NFL record book. He’s only started 21 games as a professional, yet Jackson looks like he’s been doing it forever. Baltimore (12-2) took control with touchdowns on its first three possessions and Jackson made it 28-7 in the third quarter with a 24-yard scoring pass to rookie Marquise Brown following a turnover by New York (5-9). Jackson ran for 86 yards (on eight carries) to break Michael Vick’s single-season record for a quarterback (1,039 for Atlanta in 2006). Jackson has 1,108 yards rushing.
December 12, 2019 3:43 am
Major League Baseball is pushing ahead with a rules’ change for 2020 that requires pitchers to face at least three batters or finish a half-inning. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred also says the injured list for pitchers will revert to 15 days from 10 days. Pitchers optioned to the minors will have to spend 15 days with the farm teams before they can be recalled unless they replace a pitcher going on the IL. Active rosters will increase by one to 26 from opening day through Aug. 31. Expanded September rosters will drop from 40 to 28 through the end of the regular season.
December 11, 2019 8:47 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Gerrit Cole quickly ended Stephen Strasburg’s tenure as baseball’s highest-paid pitcher. Cole agreed to a $324 million, nine-year contract with the New York Yankees on Tuesday night, a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced. Cole’s deal established marks for pitchers in total dollars, topping the $245 million, seven-year contract Stephen Strasburg finalized a day earlier to remain with the World Series champion Washington Nationals. Its $36 million average is a record for any player, beating the $35.5 million in outfielder Mike Trout’s $426.5 million, 12-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels that started last season. Cole gets an even $36 million annually and can opt out after the 2024 season. He also has a full no-trade provision.
December 10, 2019 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – The New England Patriots have acknowledged that a video crew working for the team shot the Cincinnati Bengals sideline during Sunday’s game at Cleveland. Any videotaping of a sideline by another team is a violation of league rules that echoed the team’s 2007 Spygate scandal. The Patriots said on their website that a three-person crew for a web series titled “Do Your Job” “inappropriately filmed the field from the press box” as part of a feature on the scouting department. The filming took place “without specific knowledge of league rules,” according to the team statement. The Pats also said that while it was granted credentials for the crew from the Browns, their failure to inform the Bengals and the NFL was an unintended oversight. When confronted, the team said the crew “immediately turned over all footage to the league and cooperated fully.”
December 10, 2019 3:47 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Philadelphia Eagles own a share of first-place in the NFC East after erasing a 17-3 halftime deficit against the lowly New York Giants. Carson Wentz tossed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz in overtime to lead the Eagles to a 23-17 win over the Giants. Wentz threw for 325 yards and a pair of TDs, including a 5-yard toss to Ertz to tie it at 17-17 with 1:53 left in the fourth quarter. Ertz racked up 91 yards on nine receptions for the Eagles, who played the second half without receiver Alshon Jeffery because of a foot injury. Eli Manning looked good in the second quarter of his first start since Week 2, leading three scoring drives that put New York ahead by two touchdowns. Manning finished 15 of 30 for 203 yards, but he couldn’t prevent the 2-11 Giants from suffering their team record-tying ninth straight loss. The 6-7 Eagles snapped a three-game losing streak and moved into a first-place tie with Dallas. Philadelphia captures the division if it wins its final three games, including a matchup with Dallas in Week 16.
December 9, 2019 2:34 am
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Diontae Johnson ran for an 85-yard touchdown on a punt return and caught a pass for another score to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Arizona Cardinals 23-17. Pittsburgh’s defense had three crucial interceptions in the second half to secure its seventh win over the past eight games. Arizona has lost six straight games. Rookie free agent quarterback Devlin Hodges completed 16 of 19 passes and threw a touchdown pass in his third career start. Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray threw two touchdown passes, but his three interceptions were very costly.
December 8, 2019 8:07 am
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – Penn State coach James Franklin has agreed to a new six-year contract with the school that runs through 2025. It adds three years on to his previous deal. Penn State’s Board of Trustees approved the contract, though financial terms were not immediately released. Since taking over in 2014, Franklin is 55-23, including 40-11 and three double-digit victory seasons in the last four years. The Nittany Lions are 10-2 this season and in position to go to a major bowl.
December 7, 2019 4:24 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Tristan Jarry spoiled Phil Kessel’s return to Pittsburgh. He turned aside all 33 shots he faced to post his second straight shutout and lead the Penguins to a 2-0 victory over the Arizona Coyotes. Kessel received a standing ovation in his first game in Pittsburgh since being traded to the Coyotes last summer. Kessel helped the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 and is one of the reasons the Coyotes are off to one of the best starts in franchise history. Kessel and the Coyotes couldn’t solve Jarry. The goalie has won 5 of 6 starts.
December 7, 2019 2:47 am
Shane Stump ran for four touchdowns and threw for another as Thomas Jefferson crushed Dallas Area, 46-7, to win the PIAA Class 4A football championship Thursday night. The Jaguars dominated the Mountaineers on both sides of the ball, running for nearly 300 yards while holding Dallas to just 60 yards rushing. TJ picked off Dallas QB Michael Starbuck three times, including Ian Hansen’s 38-yard “pick six” on the third play of the second half. Running back Dylan Mallozzi carried 24 times for 212 yards and one touchdown as Thomas Jefferson finished the season 16-0 and won its fourth PIAA football title, the first since going back-to-back in 2007-2008. Dallas suffered its first loss of the year, losing in its first state championship game since beating Washington in 1993.
Two weeks ago, Avonworth won its first outright WPIAL football championship and Friday afternoon, it was all over. The Antelopes were crushed by District 4 champion Southern Columbia 74-7 in the PIAA Class 2A football championship game. The Tigers have been the premier football program, all classes, in the state for many years, winning a record nine PIAA titles and were in the finals for the 18th time in 26 seasons. Avonworth (15-0) failed to find a way to slow down an SCA team, also 15-0, that’s scored an average of 54 points a game this year, and allowed just 75 points all season, including 10 shutouts. The Antelopes have allowed an average of 11 points a game, a mark that’s held steady through a perfect five-game run in the postseason.
December 5, 2019 4:57 am
Derek Shelton’s garage is clean, the byproduct of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ drawn out managerial hiring process, one that took extended after the club fired general manager Neal Huntington in late October. A 49-year-old baseball lifer who spent last season as the bench coach for the Minnesota Twins, Shelton already had interviewed for the chance to be Clint Hurdle’s replacement when Huntington was let go on Oct. 28. While the search was paused until Huntington’s successor was hired, Shelton wandered around his Florida home to burn off the nervous energy. He kept finding himself in the garage, arranging and rearranging in a waiting game that he admits made him “a little bit uncomfortable.” Shelton estimated he went through the garage “about 15 times.” The Pirates introduced Shelton as the team’s 40th manager on Wednesday, tasking him to create a more positive clubhouse culture following a second-half slide that included sloppy play and a series of clashes between players and staff off the field. The self-described former “poor minor league catcher” said his focus will be on making sure players don’t settle for thinking they’ve arrived once they reach the majors.
