November 4, 2020 3:32 am
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) – The Denver Broncos say general manager John Elway and team president Joe Ellis have tested positive for COVID-19. The team says both Elway and Ellis are experiencing mild symptoms and will work from home in self-isolation. The team said no players or coaches came into close contact with either Elway or Ellis recently. The Broncos have had three assistant coaches go under the league’s COVID-19 protocols – Curtis Modkins, Mike Munchak and Ed Donatell – in addition to right guard Graham Glasgow. There were also others in the building who have been infected by the coronavirus.
November 3, 2020 3:44 am
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – Tom Brady threw touchdown passes to Rob Gronkowski and Mike Evans, lifting Tampa Bay to a 25-23 victory over the New York Giants, and giving the Buccaneers quarterback the career lead in TD throws once more. Ryan Succop booted four field goals for Tampa. The Saints’ Drew Brees had passed Brady on Sunday, but now the six-time Super Bowl champ is back on top with 561. Evans’ diving 8-yard catch provided the go-ahead points. But Tampa Bay had to sweat it out. Daniel Jones drove New York 70 yards in 13 plays and connected with Golden Tate for a 19-yard touchdown with 28 seconds remaining. The 2-point conversion failed. The Bucs move to 6-2 for the season. The Giants are now 1-7.
November 3, 2020 3:45 am
UNDATED (AP) – The NFL suspended Chicago Bears receiver Javon Wims two games Monday for punching New Orleans Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Wims was ejected in the third quarter Sunday, after Allen Robinson caught a 5-yard pass from Nick Foles. On the other side of the field, Wims approached Gardner-Johnson from behind and appeared to reach for his mouth or neck. He threw a right-handed punch to his helmet and then another before both teams joined the scrum, and he wound up at the bottom of a pile.
November 3, 2020 2:18 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Linebacker Avery Williamson is going from winless to undefeated. The Pittsburgh Steelers, who are 7-0, have acquired Williamson from the 0-8 New York Jets. The Jets also sent a 2022 seventh-round draft pick to the Steelers for Pittsburgh’s 2022 fifth-rounder. The deal moves Williamson from one of the NFL’s worst teams to one of its best. The Steelers have yet to lose but are in need of depth at inside linebacker following a season-ending injury to rising star Devin Bush last month. Williamson is in the final year of a three-year contract he signed with the Jets in 2018.
November 3, 2020 2:44 am
UNDATED (AP) – There are more positive cases in the NFL. Arizona Cardinals linebacker Devon Kennard says he has tested positive for COVID-19 but feels “completely normal so far.” Baltimore Ravens All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey says he also has tested positive for the coronavirus. Humphrey missed practice last Wednesday but returned Thursday and played in Sunday’s 28-24 loss to Pittsburgh. Green Bay also reported having a player test positive, and the Browns said they would hold meetings remotely today after an active player was experiencing symptoms of the coronavirus.
November 2, 2020 3:50 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers have matched the best start in team history while retaining first place in the AFC North. The Steelers are 7-0 after turning a 17-7 halftime deficit into a 28-24 win over the Ravens in Baltimore. Ben Roethlisberger tossed a pair of second-half touchdown passes to help the Steelers remain the NFL’s only unbeaten team. After completing only four of 10 passes for 24 yards in the first half, the 38-year-old Roethlisberger finished 21 for 32 for 182 yards. Reigning MVP Lamar Jackson had a miserable day, losing a pair of fumbles and completing just 13 of his 28 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson was stopped on fourth down at the Pittsburgh Steelers with less than two minutes remaining and had a pass batted down in the end zone on the game’s final play.
November 1, 2020 7:34 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Inconsistent for most of the season, West Virginia finally put together an all-around performance to boast about against a ranked opponent. Jarret Doege threw two touchdown passes, Dylan Tonkery returned an interception for a score and West Virginia beat No. 16 Kansas State 37-10 on Saturday. Leddie Brown rushed for 102 yards and a score as the Mountaineers (4-2, 3-2 Big 12) knocked the Wildcats from their solo perch atop the league standings. Kansas State freshman Will Howard was intercepted three times and the Wildcats (4-2, 4-1) went scoreless after halftime to see their four-game winning streak snapped. The Big 12′s top defense held Kansas State to 225 total yards, including 73 after halftime.
November 1, 2020 7:32 am
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Justin Fields doesn’t need the energy of 110,000 people mostly rooting against him in a stadium to put on a show. The Ohio State quarterback is just fine shredding defenses in front of a more intimate gathering. Justin Fields passed for 318 yards and four touchdowns, two to Chris Olave, and No. 3 Ohio State beat No. 18 Penn State 38-25 on an eerily quiet Saturday night at what is usually one of the most raucous settings in college football. Jeremy Ruckert also caught a pair of touchdowns, Master Teague II ran for another and the Buckeyes generated 526 yards of offense in their 15th straight Big Ten win and 10th straight on the road against a ranked opponent. Ohio State (2-0) didn’t take long to break the game open and hand Penn State (0-2) its first 0-2 start since 2013.
November 1, 2020 7:36 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Chris Archer’s $11 million option for 2021 has been declined by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the 32-year-old right-hander became a free agent. Archer will receive a $250,000 buyout, completing a contract he agreed to with Tampa Bay in April 2014. The deal originally guaranteed $25.5 million over six seasons and included a $9 million club option for 2020 that the Pirates exercised. Archer was a two-time All-Star with the Rays, then was traded to the Pirates on July 31, 2018, for right-hander Tyler Glasnow, outfielder Austin Meadows and a player to be named, who later became minor league right-hander Shane Baz.
October 31, 2020 4:29 am
The Pittsburgh Pirates claimed catcher Michael Perez off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. Perez appeared in 38 games in 2020. He went 2 for 7 with a home run and 3 RBI in 8 post season games this year. In addition to the claim of Perez, Kevin Kramer, Luke Maile, Yacksel Rios and Jason Martin were reinstated from the injured list and outrighted off the 40 man roster. John Ryan Murphy cleared waivers and was outrighted. The Minnesota Twins claimed Brandon Waddell and the Mets claimed Nick Tropeano off the Pirates roster. There are currently 36 players on the Pittsburgh’s 40 man roster.
