December 20, 2019 11:33 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers have cut reserve safety Kameron Kelly hours after he was arrested during a dispute with police at a bar. The 23-year-old Kelly is charged with two counts of making terroristic threats and one count of resisting arrest. Authorities say they were called to the bar after an employee reported Kelly for becoming disorderly. The situation escalated when an officer stepped on the foot of Kelly’s female companion. Kelly told police the woman was with him and became aggressive with officers, according to the complaint.
December 19, 2019 3:42 am
UNDATED (AP) – The New York Yankees have introduced the new ace of their pitching staff. The Yanks and Gerrit Cole have finalized the record nine-year, $324 million contract they agreed to during the winter meetings last week. His deal is the largest for a pitcher in both its total and its average annual value of $36 million. Cole was 20-5 with an AL-leading 2.50 ERA and a major league-leading 326 strikeouts for Houston last season.
December 17, 2019 3:45 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Kansas has become the fifth team to occupy the top of The Associated Press men’s basketball poll already this season. The Jayhawks picked up 47 of 65 first-place votes to move up one spot on the rankings. They unseated Louisville, which dropped to third following last Tuesday’s 70-57 loss to Texas Tech. Gonzaga claimed 15 first-place votes to climb from sixth to second. Former No. 1 Duke moved up three spots to fourth, just ahead of Ohio State. Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia and Baylor round out the top 10. No. 23 Penn State is ranked for the first time in 23 years. The poll doesn’t include North Carolina, which had been ranked since February 2014.
December 15, 2019 8:02 am
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – Lamar Stevens scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Penn State to a 73-71 win over Alabama. Curtis Jones scored 18 points, Myreon Jones added 17 and Mike Watkins grabbed 10 rebounds for Penn State (9-2) who trailed 40-34 at halftime.
December 15, 2019 4:11 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Despite some encouraging signs to the contrary earlier in the week the depleted Pittsburgh Steelers offense won’t be getting its top wide receiver back for what is a crucial game this weekend. JuJu Smith-Schuster will not play when the Steelers host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night. The Steelers’ No. 1 wideout left Thursday’s practice early and did not participate in Friday’s session at all. That ended hope he would avoid missing a fourth consecutive game because of a knee injury. Smith-Schuster has not played since being knocked out of a Nov. 14 loss at Cleveland when two Browns defensive backs delivered helmet-to-helmet hits to Smith-Schuster that also left him concussed.
December 14, 2019 4:08 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Army is trying to win its fourth consecutive game against Navy in the 120th edition of the football game between the service academy rivals. The game is set for Saturday in Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field. It would be the first four-game winning streak for the Black Knights in the series since the 1990s. The Midshipmen lead the series 60-52-7. President Donald Trump will attend the Army-Navy game for the second straight year. Trump also was at the 2016 game as president-elect. Presidents, by custom, sit on the Army side of the stadium for one half and the Navy side for the other.
December 13, 2019 3:59 am
BALTIMORE (AP) — Only minutes removed from watching his team roll to its 10th consecutive victory, coach John Harbaugh showed up to the post-game news conference wearing a white hat proclaiming Baltimore to be AFC North champions. No small accomplishment, winning that tough division two years in a row. “We’re very proud of that,” Harbaugh said. “It’s our first goal. Not our top goal.” Indeed. After Lamar Jackson ran and passed the Ravens past the New York Jets 42-21 on Thursday night, the shirt he wore reflected the feeling of just about everyone associated with the team that owns the best record in the NFL. “THE NORTH IS NOT ENOUGH,” yelled the sentiment in capital letters. Yes, the Ravens have another division title after they clinched a playoff berth four days earlier in Buffalo. With a victory next week in Cleveland, the Ravens will be assured the top seed in the AFC, a distinction that comes with home-field advantage leading up to the Super Bowl. Super Bowl. That’s the target. Victories in December are merely steps in that direction. “We just have to keep it going,” Jackson said. “The job is not over,” safety Earl Thomas said. “We got a couple more goals in front of us.” Jackson threw five touchdown passes and scurried into the NFL record book. He’s only started 21 games as a professional, yet Jackson looks like he’s been doing it forever. Baltimore (12-2) took control with touchdowns on its first three possessions and Jackson made it 28-7 in the third quarter with a 24-yard scoring pass to rookie Marquise Brown following a turnover by New York (5-9). Jackson ran for 86 yards (on eight carries) to break Michael Vick’s single-season record for a quarterback (1,039 for Atlanta in 2006). Jackson has 1,108 yards rushing.
December 12, 2019 3:43 am
Major League Baseball is pushing ahead with a rules’ change for 2020 that requires pitchers to face at least three batters or finish a half-inning. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred also says the injured list for pitchers will revert to 15 days from 10 days. Pitchers optioned to the minors will have to spend 15 days with the farm teams before they can be recalled unless they replace a pitcher going on the IL. Active rosters will increase by one to 26 from opening day through Aug. 31. Expanded September rosters will drop from 40 to 28 through the end of the regular season.
December 11, 2019 8:47 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Gerrit Cole quickly ended Stephen Strasburg’s tenure as baseball’s highest-paid pitcher. Cole agreed to a $324 million, nine-year contract with the New York Yankees on Tuesday night, a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced. Cole’s deal established marks for pitchers in total dollars, topping the $245 million, seven-year contract Stephen Strasburg finalized a day earlier to remain with the World Series champion Washington Nationals. Its $36 million average is a record for any player, beating the $35.5 million in outfielder Mike Trout’s $426.5 million, 12-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels that started last season. Cole gets an even $36 million annually and can opt out after the 2024 season. He also has a full no-trade provision.
December 10, 2019 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – The New England Patriots have acknowledged that a video crew working for the team shot the Cincinnati Bengals sideline during Sunday’s game at Cleveland. Any videotaping of a sideline by another team is a violation of league rules that echoed the team’s 2007 Spygate scandal. The Patriots said on their website that a three-person crew for a web series titled “Do Your Job” “inappropriately filmed the field from the press box” as part of a feature on the scouting department. The filming took place “without specific knowledge of league rules,” according to the team statement. The Pats also said that while it was granted credentials for the crew from the Browns, their failure to inform the Bengals and the NFL was an unintended oversight. When confronted, the team said the crew “immediately turned over all footage to the league and cooperated fully.”
