September 5, 2020 4:00 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – The field for the Kentucky Derby has been reduced to 16 after Finnick the Fierce was scratched. The one-eyed gelding has an apparent foot issue. Saturday’s Derby will have its fewest starters since 2003, when Funny Cide beat 15 rivals.
September 4, 2020 3:54 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – First-time father Bryan Reynolds hit a three-run homer in his return from paternity leave to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Chicago Cubs 6-2. Reynolds, who along with wife Blair welcomed son Reese on Monday, sent a drive off Alec Mills into the seats in right field in the third inning for his third home run of the season to help Pittsburgh snap a four-game losing streak. Reynolds also doubled leading off the second and celebrated by pretending to rock a baby to sleep.
September 4, 2020 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – The New York Islanders owned overtime periods while winning four straight Stanley Cups in the 1980s. Those days are over. The Philadelphia Flyers have forced a seventh game in their second-round series after Ivan Provorov scored 15:03 into double-overtime to complete a 5-4 win over the Islanders. All three of Philadelphia’s series wins have come in OT. Carter Hart turned back 49 shots and was perfect after Mathew Barzal scored with 30 seconds left in the second period. But the Flyers blew a 2-0 lead and had to come back from 3-2 and 4-3 deficits before Provorov ended it with his second OT goal of the series. Michael Raffl and Scott Laughton provided the tying tallies. Mathew Barzal and Derick Brassard each had a goal and an assist for New York. Game 7 is Saturday.
Like the Flyers, the Canucks have forced a seventh game after trailing 3-1 in their second-round series. Thatcher Demko stopped 48 shots for his second straight win as Vancouver stifled Vegas, 4-0. J.T. Miller and defenseman Quinn Hughes each had a goal and an assist for the Canucks, who carried a 1-0 lead into the final period. Jake Virtanen and Bo Horvat also scored for the Canucks, who were outshot 48-23. Game 7 is Friday.
September 4, 2020 3:56 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Serena Williams’ drive for her 24th major championship continues at the U.S. Open The 38-year-old Williams has advanced to the third round with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Margarita Gasparyan. Williams improved her career record to 20-0 in the second round at Flushing Meadows and will play Sloane Stephens in the next round. Williams leads the series 5-1. Williams had 27 winners and seven aces to put away Gasparyan. Stephens continued her path toward a second U.S. Open championship with a dominant 6-2, 6-2 win over Olga Govortsova.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray was beaten in his second-round match as he continues to work his way back from a pair of hip operations. Felix Auger-Aliassime dispatched Murray, 6-2. 6-3, 6-4. It was a successful day for the No. 2 singles seeds. Dominic Thiem earned a spot in the third round on his 27th birthday, posting a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over over Sumit Nagal. American Sofia Kenin has won her second-round match at the U.S. Open against unseeded Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3. Kenin had more winners than unforced errors and never faced a break point. Daniil Medvedev beat Australian Christopher O’Connell 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the third round. Victoria Azarenka won the battle of the Belarusians with a 6-1, 6-3 win over fifth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka. There was a pair of top-10 upsets on the women’s side. Romania’s Sorana Cirstea knocked off No. 9 Johanna Konta, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 to earn her spot in the third round. Tsvetana Pironkova has reached Round 3 in her first tournament following a three-year maternity break, beating No. 10-seeded Garbine Muguruza, 7-5, 6-3.
September 3, 2020 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – First-time father Bryan Reynolds hit a three-run homer in his return from paternity leave to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Chicago Cubs 6-2. Reynolds, who along with wife Blair welcomed son Reese on Monday, sent a drive off Alec Mills into the seats in right field in the third inning for his third home run of the season to help Pittsburgh snap a four-game losing streak. Reynolds also doubled leading off the second and celebrated by pretending to rock a baby to sleep.
September 3, 2020 3:53 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Hall of Fame pitcher and New York Mets icon Tom Seaver has died at 75. Seaver died Monday from complications of Lewy body dementia and COVID-19. His family announced in 2019 he had dementia. Tom Terrific was one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, the revered and resplendent star of the 1969 Miracle Mets championship team. A classic power pitcher nicknamed The Franchise, he won 311 games and struck out 3,640 batters from 1967-86. Former Mets catcher Mike Piazza said Seaver “will always be the heart and soul of the Mets.” After retirement, Seaver tended to his Northern California vineyard. George Thomas Seaver was 75.
September 3, 2020 3:56 am
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) – The Houston Rockets are in the NBA’s Western Conference semifinals after winning a gritty seventh game in their series with the Oklahoma City Thunder. James Harden made up for a miserable shooting night with a big blocked shot that secured the Rockets’ 104-102 triumph over the Thunder. The Thunder got the ball to Lu Dort, who attempted a 3-pointer that Harden blocked with 4.8 seconds left. Robert Covington had 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Eric Gordon also scored 21 points for the Rockets. Harden finished with 17 points and nine assists. Jimmy Butler bailed out the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Milwaukee. The Heat squandered a six-point lead in the closing seconds before Butler drained two free throws with no time left to give Miami a 116-114 triumph over the top-seeded Bucks. The foul shots give the Heat a 2-0 lead in the series. Goran Dragic scored 23 points, Tyler Herro added 17 off the bench and Jae Crowder had 16 for the Heat.
September 3, 2020 3:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Todd Reirden is back with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins have hired Reirden as an assistant coach under Mike Sullivan, just over a week after Reirden was fired as head coach of the Washington Capitals following a playoff loss to the New York Islanders. This is Reirden’s second stint in Pittsburgh. He served as an assistant under Dan Byslma from 2010-14. Reirden worked four seasons as an assistant under Barry Trotz in Washington, helping guide the Capitals to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 2018. Reirden was promoted to head coach in the summer of 2018 but was removed after failing to lead the team past the first round of the playoffs.
September 2, 2020 3:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Ian Happ singled home Nico Hoerner in the top of the 11th to lead the Chicago Cubs to an 8-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Happ, who led off the game with a home run, went 3 for 6 with two RBIs as Chicago spoiled the major league debut of Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. Hayes, the son of longtime major league infielder Charlie Hayes, hit a game-tying home run in the eighth and added an RBI double. Kris Bryant added two hits for the Cubs in his return from the injured list.
September 2, 2020 2:24 am
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby underwent surgery to his wrist, the team announced Tuesday. The arthroscopic wrist surgery was successful, executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford said. Crosby had the surgery Monday in New York. Recovery time is expected to be three to four weeks.
