June 18, 2024 4:38 am
BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 31 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as the Celtics topped the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 to claim the franchise’s 18th championship, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in league history. Boston earned its latest title on the 16th anniversary of hoisting its last Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2008. It marks the 13th championship won this century by one of the city’s Big 4 professional sports franchises. Jaylen Brown added 21 points. Jrue Holiday finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Luka Doncic finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas, which failed to extend the series after avoiding a sweep with a 38-point win in Game 4.
June 18, 2024 4:39 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated during testimony in federal court Monday that the league’s “Sunday Ticket” package, the subject of a class-action lawsuit, is a premium product while also defending the league’s broadcast model. Goodell was called as a witness by the NFL as the trial for the lawsuit filed by “Sunday Ticket” subscribers entered its third week. The class-action covers 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses who paid for the package from 2011 through 2022. The lawsuit claims the league broke antitrust laws by selling its package of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games at an inflated price. The subscribers also say the league restricted competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only on a satellite provider.
June 17, 2024 4:36 am
DENVER (AP) — Jared Triolo had two hits and two RBIs, Jason Delay had a three-run double, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies 8-2. Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds singled in the seventh to extend his hitting streak to 14 games, the longest active streak in the majors. Four Pittsburgh pitchers combined to hold Colorado a pair of runs. Carmen Mlodzinski got the victory with two innings of shutout relief of Josh Fleming. Andrew McCutchen had a single for the Pirates but his streak of consecutive games with a home run at Coors Field was snapped at five.
June 17, 2024 4:41 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts broke his left hand when he was hit by a pitch during the seventh inning of Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Royals. The former MVP and seven-time All-Star was drilled in the hand by a 97.9 mph fastball from Dan Altavilla and fell to the ground, writhing in extreme pain. Manager Dave Roberts didn’t know how much time Betts would miss but said the injury would not require surgery. Betts made an appearance in the clubhouse after the Dodgers’ 3-0 victory with his left hand wrapped. He will see Dr. Steven Shin, a hand specialist, on Monday.
June 17, 2024 4:39 am
PINEHURST, N.C. (AP) — Bryson DeChambeau is the U.S. Open champion for the second time. It was another thriller at Pinehurst No. 2 that came down to the last hole. He was tied with Rory McIlroy, who was in the group in front. McIlroy missed a 4-foot par putt to fall one shot behind. DeChambeau blasted out of a bunker from 55 yards away to 4 feet and made the par putt for a 71. It wasn’t quite the famous putt of Payne Stewart in 1999 when he made par from 15 feet. But DeChambeau celebrated the second major for a LIV Golf player.
June 17, 2024 4:42 am
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Florida Panthers return home for another chance to win the Stanley Cup licking their wounds from an 8-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers that prevented the final from being a sweep. They are still up 3-1 and have the opportunity to close out the series in front of their fans in Game 5 on Tuesday night. And coach Paul Maurice and the players think they understand what went wrong to cause Game 4 to get away from them. Isolating and fixing how they defend some of the Oilers’ best and quickest players could be key to clinching the first championship in franchise history.
June 16, 2024 6:55 am
DENVER (AP) — Hunter Goodman had two homers and five RBIs in his first four-hit game, Ryan McMahon doubled twice and stole home, and the Colorado Rockies scored their most runs in two years in a 16-4 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Goodman made his second big league start at catcher and put the Rockies ahead with a 440-foot solo homer in the third inning against rookie Jared Jones. He doubled in a run in a three-run fourth, singled and scored in the sixth, hit a 429-foot, two-run homer in the seventh off Justin Bruihl and had an an RBI groundout in a six-run eighth.
June 16, 2024 7:15 am
PINEHURST, N.C. (AP) — World top-ranked player Scottie Scheffler closed play Saturday at the U.S. Open with his third straight over-par round. Scheffler says he’s having “a lot of trouble” reading Pinehurst No. 2’s tricky domed greens. He survived the cut at 5 over entering the weekend, then shot a 1-over 71 on Saturday. His round included two birdies and three bogeys. And there were multiple holes where Scheffler barely missed birdie putts to improve his scorecard. The PGA Tour says Scheffler has four consecutive rounds over par for the first time as a pro going back to last week’s win at the Memorial.
June 14, 2024 4:12 am
DENVER (AP) — Jack Suwinski, Bryan Reynolds and Andrew McCutchen homered, Luis Ortiz worked five solid innings of relief and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies 5-2. Ortiz (3-2) came on for opener Carmen Mlodzinski in the second inning and scattered seven hits in his five innings. Ortiz was backed up by the long ball, with a big shot coming in the seventh off the bat of Suwinski, whose two-run blast off starter Ryan Feltner (1-6) gave Pittsburgh a 4-1 lead. Charlie Blackmon homered and doubled twice for Colorado, which has the third-worst record in the major leagues at 24-45.
June 15, 2024 7:20 am
Charles Barkley says that next season will be his last on TV, no matter what happens with the NBA’s media deals. The Hall of Fame player has spent the last 24 years working as a studio analyst for TNT, which could lose the rights to broadcast NBA after next season. But no matter where the games end up, Barkley won’t be following. The 61-year-old says his 25th season will be his last and he hopes to pass the baton to one of his TNT teammates such as Vince Carter or Jamal Crawford. The NBA hopes to complete new media deals soon and his network could lose the rights to broadcast games.
