August 14, 2019 3:51 am
Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown has returned to training camp after missing time to see a specialist for his frostbitten feet and losing a grievance with the NFL over the use of a helmet. Brown was surrounded by cameras as he walked onto the field late in practice and greeted his teammates for the first time since leaving camp about a week ago. Coach Jon Gruden says he expects him to be ready to play the season opener Sept. 9 against Denver.
August 12, 2019 3:42 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers coach Darryl Drake has died. He was 62. The team said Drake, who joined the coaching staff in 2018, died early Sunday morning. Drake joined the Steelers in 2018, his third NFL stop after stints with the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals. Steelers president Art Rooney II called Drake a “passionate coach” with a “tremendous spirit toward life, his family, his faith and the game of football.” Drake is survived by his wife and three daughters.
August 10, 2019 3:46 am
(AP)- Paul Goldschmidt’s single snapped a tie, Marcell Ozuna’s home run provided some insurance runs, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2 on Friday night. Goldschmidt’s single in the eighth broke a 2-2 tie. Ozuna followed with a two-run homer, his second in as many games.
August 10, 2019 3:45 am
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) – Dustin Johnson is hitting the ball so well he doesn’t have to make every putt. He made enough birdies Friday for a 4-under 67 that gave him a one-shot lead in The Northern Trust.Johnson holed an 8-foot putt on the 18th at Liberty National to take the lead going into the weekend of the FedEx Cup playoffs opener, a tournament he has won twice at other courses.
Jordan Spieth (speeth) began the PGA Tour postseason not assured of advancing beyond the first event. He had a 64 and is one round away from having a chance to end a two-year victory drought.
Johnson was at 12-under 130.Rory McIlroy had a 68 and was three shots behind, which was better than five. He originally was assessed a two-shot penalty in the bunker until it was rescinded based on intent.Tiger Woods withdrew before his round started with a mild oblique strain.
August 9, 2019 3:38 am
UNDATED (AP) – An attorney suing the NFL over the failure to call a crucial penalty in a January playoff game disputes claims that allowing the lawsuit to proceed would lead to a burdensome flood of further such suits over game outcomes. Anthony LeMon filed his response Thursday to the league’s attempt to block the lawsuit at Louisiana’s Supreme Court. It notes that no other such suits are pending in state court in New Orleans, where his suit was filed. And it says the circumstances in the playoff game are unique. At issue is officials’ failure to flag a Los Angeles Rams player for an illegal hit on a New Orleans Saints receiver at a key point in the playoff game. The Rams won the game and advanced to the Super Bowl. Lawyers for the Saints have joined NFL lawyers in opposing the lawsuit.
August 8, 2019 3:47 am
The Chicago Cubs have signed catcher Jonathan Lucroy. The 33-year-old Lucroy was designated for assignment by the Angels last Friday. The two-time All-Star is expected to join the NL Central-leading Cubs in Cincinnati on Thursday. Lucroy will help plug a gap created when All-Star Willson Contreras strained his hamstring.
August 6, 2019 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Christian Yelich hit two home runs and took over the major league lead with 39, powering the Milwaukee Brewers to a 9-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.
Yelich homered in the first inning for the second straight game. The first of his four hits came on a sinker by Dario Agrazal (2-3), and he sent it 408 feet into the bleachers in left. He also hit a solo homer in the first inning against the Cubs on Sunday. In the ninth inning, Yelich crushed a slider from Geoff Hartlieb 425 feet onto the river walk beyond right field to make the score 9-6. It was Yelich’s sixth career multi-homer game, and his fourth this season. Brewers starter Jordan Lyles (7-7) limited his former team to three runs (one earned) on two hits in five innings in his first start against the Pirates since being traded on July 29. Lyles walked two and didn’t allow a hit through the first three innings. Bryan Reynolds led off the fourth with the 10th homer of his rookie season, cutting Milwaukee’s lead to 5-1. Pablo Reyes hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer to left off Lyles in the fifth to make it 5-3. In his last outing for the Pirates, Lyles allowed eight runs (five earned) on seven hits in 1 2/3 innings of a 14-8 loss to St. Louis on July 24. He was 5-7 with a 5.36 ERA for Pittsburgh this season. The Brewers snapped a four-game losing streak and entered as losers of six of the last seven games. The Pirates are last in the NL Central after falling to 4-19 since the All-Star break. Brewers closer Josh Hader got the final four outs for his 25th save. He struck out two before giving up a two-out double to Reynolds and a triple to Starling Marte as the Pirates closed to 9-7 in the ninth. Agrazal lost a third straight start for Pittsburgh, lasting five innings while allowing five runs on eight hits. Four runs came in the fourth, including one on a homer from Mike Moustakas, his 27th, that put the Brewers ahead 2-0.
August 5, 2019 7:22 am
The field is set for this year’s DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series. The final four berths were claimed Sunday. Hagerstown, MD, Brownsville, TX and Simi Valley, CA won US Zone tournaments and Youngstown, OH claimed the Host Area title, each qualifying for the 68th PONY championship tournament. Hagerstown returns after a one-year absence. Brownsville and Youngstown are each making their third-straight appearances. Simi Valley won the West for the first time since 2006. The four teams join London, UK, Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Guasave, Mexico, Chinese Taipei, Bay County, MI and Washington County in the two-division double-elimination field. Play begins Friday. Follow the action on WJPA-AM (1450) and on our PONY World Series webpage: CLICK HERE!
August 4, 2019 7:52 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A.J. Davis and Todd Sibley Jr. are ready to be next in a long line of great running backs at Pittsburgh. Davis and Sibley will take over the position this year after Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall headed to the NFL. Hall and Ollison each ran for more than 1,000 yards last season while helping the Panthers win the ACC’s Coastal Division title. Davis says he is embracing the high standards at the place that calls itself “RB U.” Davis says the goal is to outdo those who came before him.
August 4, 2019 7:50 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Marcus Stroman’s debut with the New York Mets didn’t quite go as planned. Wilson Ramos made sure it didn’t matter, hitting a go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth inning and adding a three-run double in the ninth to lift the Mets to a 7-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night. Stroman, acquired in a trade with Toronto last Sunday, allowed three runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 sometimes shaky innings but received a no decision when the Mets pounced on Pittsburgh’s bullpen. New York trailed 3-1 in the seventh when Jeff McNeil hit a pinch-hit solo home run to get the Mets within a run. Robinson Cano doubled off Kyle Crick (3-6) leading off the eighth and Ramos followed with a shot to the seats in right-center field to put New York in front. Ramos provided insurance in the ninth when his drive to the Clemente Wall in right field off Chris Stratton cleared the bases. Ramos finished 4 for 5 with a career-high six RBIs for New York, which won for the ninth time in 11 games. Amed Rosario added three hits for the Mets. Justin Wilson (3-1) earned the victory by pitching a scoreless seventh. Bryan Reynolds had four hits for Pittsburgh. Starling Marte went 3 for 5, including a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth off Mets closer Edwin Diaz to get the Pirates within two. Diaz struck out the last two batters to end it. The Mets acquired Stroman last Sunday in exchange for pitching prospects Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson, a surprisingly aggressive move for a team that hasn’t been above .500 since mid-May and found itself on the fringe of the NL wild-card race as the trade deadline neared. The deal gave New York a needed jolt, and the Mets arrived in Pittsburgh riding a seven-game winning streak that ended in an 8-4 loss on Friday night, just their sixth since the All-Star break. Stroman grew up on Long Island about 50 miles from Citi Field. A first-time All-Star this season for Toronto, Stroman welcomed the pressure of playing for a team where the pressure to win is unrelenting. Still, he looked jittery early. His new teammates handed him the lead before he threw his first pitch as a Met thanks to an RBI-single by Ramos and Stroman immediately gave it right back. The Pirates welcomed the 5-foot-7 right-hander to the National League by ripping four straight singles before Stroman managed to record his first out. Marte’s sharp single tied the game and Stroman walked in a run when Jose Osuna held on a borderline full count pitch to force home Reynolds. In all Stroman needed 35 pitches to get through the first inning. He eventually settled down to retire eight straight at one point but was lifted after walking Josh Bell to put runners on first and second with one out in the fifth. Reliever Luis Avila?n came on to put out the fire but Pittsburgh pushed its advantage to 3-1 when Avila?n hit Kevin Newman with a pitch to force in a run. Stroman’s debut with the Mets came on the same night Pittsburgh starter Chris Archer celebrated his one-year anniversary in Pittsburgh. Archer received a standing ovation after earning a victory over St. Louis in his debut with the Pirates on Aug. 3, 2018, a nod to the optimism the trade to bring him over brought to a young club trying to stay competitive in the NL Central. Things haven’t exactly gone as planned. Archer has struggled to find any sort of consistency with the Pirates and headed to the mound winless in his last nine starts. While Archer’s winless streak continued, he overcame a shaky 33-pitch first inning to work six innings, giving up one run on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Archer also kept the ball in the park, a rarity for a pitcher who led the National League in home runs allowed (25) entering Saturday. Archer’s sharp performance wasn’t enough to keep Pittsburgh from falling to 4-17 since the All-Star break.
