July 3, 2024 4:30 am
LONDON (AP) — Novak Djokovic wore a gray sleeve on his surgically repaired right knee while winning his first-round match at Wimbledon. Djokovic never faced a break point along the way to a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory over qualifier Vit Kopriva in under two hours on Tuesday. It was Djokovic’s first match since tearing the meniscus in his knee at the French Open on June 3. The 37-year-old Djokovic has won seven of his men’s-record 24 Grand Slam titles at the All England Club and was the runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz last year. Djokovic hurt his knee during a five-set win at Roland Garros, then had surgery in Paris on June 5.
July 2, 2024 4:37 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded forward Reilly Smith. Smith goes to the New York Rangers for a 2025 5th-round draft pick and a 2027 2nd-round draft pick, the team announced Monday. Smith was with the Penguins for one season, scoring 13 goals and 27 assists for 40 points in 76 games. The Penguins will retain 25% of Smith’s salary.
July 2, 2024 4:39 am
The Nashville Predators made a big splash on the opening day of NHL free agency by signing Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei. Marchessault, the 2023 playoff MVP got a five-year deal worth $27.5 million. Stamkos leaves Tampa Bay after 16 seasons that included winning the Stanley Cup twice and making two other trips to the final. He signed for $32 million over four years. Jake Guentzel signed with the Lightning as part of them replacing Stamkos. Teams combined to commit a record $1.12 billion in salaries.
July 2, 2024 4:40 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The United States was eliminated from the Copa America with a 1-0 loss to Uruguay on a questionable second-half goal by Mathías Olivera, a defeat that will increase pressure on the U.S. Soccer Federation to remove coach Gregg Berhalter before the 2026 World Cup. Uruguay scored when Nicolas De La Cruz swung a free kick in front of the U.S. goal. Matt Turner parried a header by Ronald Araújo, who outjumped defender Tim Ream, but the rebound went right to Mathias Olivera and he tapped the ball in with his left foot. Olivera appeared to be offside on the initial header.
July 2, 2024 4:40 am
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Naomi Osaka has played a match at Wimbledon for the first time in five years and played at the tournament for the first time in six. The former No. 1-ranked player has won four Grand Slam titles elsewhere but has never been a big fan of grass-court tennis. Osaka moved into the second round at the All England Club by pulling out a 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 victory over Diane Parry. Coco Gauff and Emma Raducanu also won. And so did defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who said he felt nerves before facing a qualifier at Centre Court. One of the tournament favorites, Aryna Sabalenka, pulled out with a shoulder injury.
July 1, 2024 4:35 am
ATLANTA (AP) — Oneil Cruz and Rowdy Tellez hit two-run homers in the fifth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves 4-2 to avoid a three-game sweep. Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds’ 25-game hitting streak ended. It was the longest streak in the majors this season. Cruz’s homer traveled 452 feet and reached the right field seats quickly with a listed exit velocity of 117.3 mph. Schwellenbach walked Edward Olivares before Tellez hit his fourth homer off the right field foul pole. Left-hander Bailey Falter allowed only one run in five innings despite four walks.
July 1, 2024 4:39 am
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded forward Lukas Svejkovsky to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Bennett MacArthur. MacArthur, 23, is signed through the 2024-25 season. He carries an average annual value of $925,000. He has two years of professional hockey experience. He played the majority of last season in the ECHL, tallying 11 goals, 21 assists and 32 points. He added two goals in five playoff games with the Allen Americans.
July 1, 2024 4:37 am
LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — Joey Logano won the rain-delayed race at Nashville Superspeedway in a NASCAR Cup Series-record fifth overtime Sunday night, stretching his fuel enough to hold off a group of pursuers at the finish line. Logano held off a charge by Tyler Reddick, then beat Zane Smith, Reddick, Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher to the line in the race that started nearly six hours earlier and went 31 laps longer than the 300 that were scheduled. The fuel light in Logano’s Ford came on going into Turn 3, and Logano — who ran the last 110 laps without stopping on the 1.33-mile concrete oval — said it stumbled across the line. Logano won for the first time this year, pushing his career tital to 33.
July 1, 2024 4:40 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Simone Biles is heading back to the Olympics. The gymnastics star clinched an automatic spot on the five-woman U.S. team by breezing to victory at the Olympic trials. Biles posted a two-day total of 117.225 in what was essentially a tuneup before the games. The 2016 Olympic champion appears as good as ever at age 27. Biles is returning to the spotlight three years after pulling herself out of multiple finals at the 2020 Games to focus on her mental health. Biles says she isn’t worried about history repeating itself in Paris.
June 30, 2024 6:22 am
ATLANTA — A Paul Skenes and Max Fried pitchers’ duel gave way to a battle of the bullpens with the Atlanta Braves prevailing 2-1 over the Pittsburgh Pirates in 10 innings on Saturday at Truist Park. Adam Duvall was first to the plate in the bottom of the 10th and delivered a walk-off base hit for the Braves (46-35) against right-hander Kyle Nicolas (0-2) after the Pirates (39-43) came up empty in the top of the inning. Edward Olivares opened the top of the 10th on second base as the automatic runner and moved up to third base on a Nick Gonzales groundout. Olivares attempted to score from third on a wild pitch thrown by Daysbel Hernández (2-0) and was initially ruled safe but the call was overturned after the Braves challenged.
This article originally appeared on PittsburghBaseballNOW.com.
