June 13, 2024 4:35 am
DALLAS (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and the Boston Celtics held off a furious Dallas rally to reach the brink of a record 18th championship with a 106-99 victory over the Mavericks for a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals. No team has rallied from 3-0 down in an NBA playoff series. Jaylen Brown had 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Celtics extended their franchise record with a 10th consecutive playoff victory. The Mavs almost pulled off a crazy comeback to avoid the big hole. Boston led 91-70 at the end of a 20-5 run early in the fourth quarter before Dallas answered with a 22-2 spurt to get within a point.
June 13, 2024 4:38 am
Jerry West, who was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and executive and whose silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo, has died. The Los Angeles Clippers say West died Wednesday morning with his wife, Karen, by his side. He was 86. West was nicknamed “Mr. Clutch” for his late-game exploits as a player, and he won both NBA and Olympic titles. He was an All-Star in all 14 of his NBA seasons and won the 1972 championship with the Lakers. West was later the general manger of eight Lakers championship teams.
June 13, 2024 4:39 am
PINEHURST, N.C. (AP) — Pinehurst No. 2 is the site of this year’s U.S. Open that starts Thursday. Much was made about replacing rough with the original sandy areas dotted with clumps of wiregrass for the previous U.S. Open at Pinehurst. But it’s all about the domed, Donald Ross greens. That much hasn’t changed. They’ve been called turtlebacks and upside-down cereal bowls. But they are a problem. And that’s probably why a total of four players have broken par for the U.S. Open the previous three times at Pinehurst. Viktor Hovland is among those who say Pinehurst will be a supreme test.
June 12, 2024 4:34 am
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Connor Joe and Oneil Cruz drove in ninth-inning runs, lifting the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Colin Holderman (2-0) gave up two hits but no runs in the eighth and David Bednar earned his 14th save by pitching the ninth despite giving up a leadoff home run to the Cardinals’ Nolan Gorman. Both starters were splendid and neither gave up a run. The Cardinals’ Miles Mikolas gave up one hit over seven innings, striking out six and walking one. He took a no-hitter into the seventh. Pittsburgh rookie Paul Skenes pitched 6 1/3 innings. He allowed five hits with eight strikeouts.
June 12, 2024 4:36 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — New Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith says he jumped at the chance to get back in the NFL after being fired by Atlanta. The Falcons dismissed Smith as head coach in January following a third straight 7-10 season. Smith took a short break with his wife after his firing but says he never planned to take a sabbatical. He is eager to get to work with the Steelers, who are looking to revive an offense that’s finished in the bottom 10 in yards per game for each of the past five seasons.
June 12, 2024 4:38 am
PINEHURST, N.C. (AP) — Tiger Woods has never gone this long without seeing a major championship course he has played before. He last played Pinehurst No. 2 in a U.S. Open 19 years ago. So much has changed about the Donald Ross course. It now has Bermuda greens instead of bent. And the rough as been replaced by sandscapes. So much has changed about Woods, too. He’s now 48 with a battered body. He hasn’t won since the fall of 2020 and hasn’t finished closer than 10 shots of a tournament winner in about three years. This is his first U.S. Open since 2020.
June 11, 2024 12:01 am
Chartiers-Houston carried a 4-0 lead to the bottom of the fifth but committed three errors in the inning, allowing Carmichaels to tie the state semifinal. The Mikes’ Carys McConnell stroked a walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the seventh, clinching a trip to Thursday’s state championship game.
Thomas Jefferson, Elizabeth-Forward & Neshannock softball teams all clinched berths in the state finals. Avonworth, Eden Christian and Indiana won baseball semifinals to advance as well. PIAA Brackets: Softball Baseball
Monday, June 10
PIAA Softball Semifinals
1A Carmichaels 5, Chartiers-Houston 4
4A Elizabeth-Forward 8, Arch. Wood 0
2A Neshannock 1, Laurel 0
5A Thomas Jefferson 9, Central Mountain 8
PIAA Baseball Semifinals
1A Eden Christian 7, Saegertown 5
4A Indiana 10, Fleetwood 3
3A Avonworth 5, Punxsutawney 3
June 11, 2024 2:54 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The NFL’s longest-tenured head coach isn’t leaving Pittsburgh anytime soon. The Steelers have signed Mike Tomlin to a three-year extension that will carry through at least the 2027 season. Tomlin was about to enter the final year of the deal he agreed to in April 2021. The 52-year-old Tomlin is 173-100-2 with a Super Bowl victory since taking over for Hall of Famer Bill Cowher in 2007. Tomlin has yet to endure a losing season and despite speculation late last season that he was considering taking some time off, he remains intent on trying to help the Steelers stay in the mix in a highly competitive AFC.
June 11, 2024 4:31 am
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Evan Rodrigues had two goals in the third period, Niko Mikkola and Aaron Ekblad also scored and the Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 to take a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 18 shots for Florida, which was 1-8 all-time in Cup final games before this series started — and now is two wins away from capturing its first championship. But the win came with a price for Florida as the Panthers lost captain Aleksander Barkov when Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl launched toward him midway through the third period and hit him in the head. Mattias Ekholm scored and Stuart Skinner stopped 25 shots for the Oilers, who now have to buck some serious history.
June 11, 2024 4:32 am
PINEHURST, N.C. (AP) — Tiger Woods was out early on Pinehurst No. 2 for the first official practice day at the U.S. Open. He hasn’t played a U.S. Open on this course in 19 years and some changes to it make it feel new. There’s nothing new for Adam Scott. The Australian is playing in his 92nd major in a row. But it wasn’t easy. A week ago, Scott was the first alternate at one of the qualifying spots. He got in through the world ranking when the USGA went one spot lower because the late Grayson Murray is still listed in the ranking.
