July 25, 2020 4:00 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Atlantic Coast Conference and Notre Dame are considering whether the Fighting Irish will give up their treasured football independence for the 2020 season play as a member of the league. Two people involved in the ACC’s discussions say the league is looking at an 11-game schedule that would include 10 conference games. It would start Sept. 12. Notre Dame would play a full 10-game ACC schedule. Whether those games would count in the standings and the Irish would be eligible to participate in the ACC championship game for a slot in the Orange Bowl is still to be determined.
July 24, 2020 3:47 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – First-year Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton will have a homecoming of sorts when the club opens the 2020 season in St. Louis. Shelton grew up in southern Illinois and his parent’s first date was to a St. Louis Cardinals game. The former minor league catcher spent 14 seasons as a major league assistant before the Pirates hired him to replace Clint Hurdle last fall. The 49-year-old Shelton has won his players over with his upbeat attitude and his focus while trying to manage in the middle of a global pandemic.
July 24, 2020 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – The New York Yankees have opened the Major League Baseball season by defeating the defending World Series champs. Giancarlo Stanton and newcomer Gerrit Cole led the Yanks to a 4-1, rain-shortened win at Washington. Stanton opened the scoring with a two-run blast in the first inning off Max Scherzer, who struck out 11 over 5 1/3. Cole tossed one-hit ball over five innings and blanked the Nationals after Adam Eaton’s solo shot in the first. The Yankees had runners on first and third with one out in the sixth when the game was called. Dr. Anthony Fauci had the honor of throwing out the first pitch, a toss that skipped between home plate and the Nationals’ dugout. Washington had to begin the season without slugger Juan Soto. The outfielder tested positive for COVID-19 and was put on the injured list hours before gametime.
August 6, 2020 5:51 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Kevin Newman’s pinch-hit two-run single with one out in the bottom of the ninth lifted the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Newman ended Pittsburgh’s seven-game losing streak when he took a pitch from Minnesota closer Taylor Rogers (1-1) and laced it up the middle against a drawn-in infield to score Cole Tucker and Bryan Reynolds. Gregory Polanco added a three-run home run for the Pirates. Miguel Sano hit a three-run shot for the Twins. Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario also went deep but the bullpen faltered late to snap Minnesota’s seven-game winning streak.
July 24, 2020 3:54 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Mookie Betts singled for his first hit with Los Angeles and scored the go-ahead run in an 8-1 opening victory over the San Francisco Giants in a fan-less Dodger Stadium. Betts went 1 for 5, a day after signing a $365 million contract covering 2021-32. Kike Hernandez homered and drove in five runs while tying his career high with four hits. Dustin May became the first Dodgers rookie to start on opening day since Fernando Valenzuela in 1981 after Clayton Kershaw went on the injured list because of a back issue. Gabe Kapler managed his first game for the Giants.
July 24, 2020 3:50 am
Major League Baseball and the players’ union have agreed to expand the playoffs from 10 teams to 16 for the pandemic-delayed season. According to MLB, each of the 16 teams will participate in a best-of-three first round before heading into a best-of-five Division Series. A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that MLB agreed to guarantee a postseason pool that would be $50 million if the entire postseason is played.
July 24, 2020 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – The NFL team formerly known as the Redskins will go by the Washington Football Team for the 2020 season. The temporary name gives the organization time to choose a new moniker. Washington will keep its burgundy and gold colors and replace the Indian head logo on helmets with a player’s jersey number. Owner Dan Snyder recently dropped the Redskins name amid pressure from sponsors and after decades of criticism from Native American advocacy groups.
July 24, 2020 3:53 am
SEATTLE (AP) – The NHL’s newest team finally has a name: the Seattle Kraken. The expansion franchise unveiled its nickname Thursday, ending 19 months of speculation about whether the team might lean traditional or go eccentric with the name for the league’s 32nd team. Seattle bypassed options like Sockeyes, Evergreens or Metropolitans, the last of which would have been a nod to Seattle’s hockey history.The primary logo is a tentacle shaped into an “S” in the style of the old Seattle Metropolitans jersey and logo. The Metropolitans were the first American team to win the Stanley Cup in 1917.
July 23, 2020 3:47 am
TORONTO (AP) – The state of Pennsylvania won’t allow the Toronto Blue Jays to play at PNC Park in Pittsburgh amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced the decision Wednesday. Earlier in the day, two officials familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that an agreement to share the stadium with the Pirates was pending state approval. Canada previously denied the Blue Jays’ request to play in Toronto because the regular-season schedule would require frequent travel back and forth from the United States. Canada has flattened the epidemic curve. But cases are rising in Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh.
July 23, 2020 3:52 am
UNDATED (AP) – Mookie Betts has said yes to a huge contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Betts and the Dodgers have struck baseball’s first big-money deal since the coronavirus pandemic decimated the sport’s economics. The 12-year, $365 million contract runs through 2032 and removes the top offensive player from next off-season’s free-agent class. The 27-year-old outfielder was acquired by the Dodgers from the Boston Red Sox on Feb. 10, along with pitcher David Price for three players. His deal is baseball’s second-largest in total dollars behind the $426.5 million, 12-year contract for Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout covering 2019-30. The four-time Gold Glove winner captured the 2018 AL MVP award en route to Boston’s World Series title. He hit .295 with 29 homers and 80 RBIs last year, down from a major league-leading .346 average with 32 homers and 80 RBIs in his MVP season.
