August 18, 2019 8:03 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Mason Rudolph guided a long first-half touchdown drive to perhaps nudge ahead of Josh Dobbs in the race to be the backup behind Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 17-7 on Saturday night. Rudolph finished 10 of 15 for 77 yards while Dobbs completed 6 of 11 for 95 yards with a red-zone interception on a night the Steelers (2-0) opted to keep several key starters on the sideline, from quarterback Roethlisberger to Pro Bowl offensive linemen David DeCastro and Maurkice Pouncey to rookie linebacker Devin Bush. Kansas City coach Andy Reid suggested Patrick Mahomes would play most of the first half. Not quite. The reigning NFL MVP – who directed a touchdown in his lone drive in Kansas City’s preseason opener last week – did little during two series of work following a thunderstorm that forced the opening kickoff to be pushed back nearly an hour. Mahomes completed just 2 of 5 passes for 11 yards, a far cry from his previous visit to Heinz Field, when he threw for six touchdowns in a Week 2 win last September that served as a harbinger of the season to come. Mahomes’ best play during his cameo may have been his decision to slide during an 8-yard scramble, something he didn’t do a week ago when he lowered his shoulder against Cincinnati rather than step out of bounds. Chad Henne found Mecole Hardman for a 17-yard touchdown late in the first half for Kansas City (1-1), which managed a lone touchdown a week after putting up 38 against the Bengals. Hardman, a second-round pick, has two touchdowns in two weeks and his rapid emergence could give Reid another option to play with in what could be the NFL’s most potent offense. Pittsburgh chose to give the 37-year-old Roethlisberger the night off. Rudolph, a third-round pick a year ago who is hoping to supplant Dobbs as the top backup, was given the start instead. Playing with a group that included Pro Bowl running back James Conner and star wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, Rudolph struggled early to gain some momentum. It wasn’t until Rudolph found himself playing with the reserves that he started to get going. He directed a 14-play, 89-yard drive in the second quarter, a series that ended with a 14-yard sprint to the end zone by Jaylen Samuels. Dobbs started off brilliantly, hitting Washington for a 40-yard gain. He couldn’t sustain the momentum, thanks in part to an interception in the end in which he overthrew Diontae Johnson. The ball sailed into the arms of Kansas City’s Charvarius Ward to cut short a scoring chance late in the first half. Johnson, a third-round pick, ended up scoring in the fourth quarter when he made a diving grab in the end zone on a heave from fourth-stringer Devlin Hodges.
August 16, 2019 3:44 am
MASON, Ohio (AP) – Roger Federer suffered his quickest loss on the ATP Tour since 2003. Federer made numerous mistakes during the 62-minute match, a 6-3, 6-4 loss to 21-year-old qualifier Andre Rublev at the Western & Southern Open near Cincinnati. Federer has won the tournament a record seven times, but he fell to an opponent who has just one other victory against a top-five opponent. Meanwhile, Nick Kyrgios has been fined $113,000 by the ATP after his second-round match at the Western & Southern Open. The tour announced the penalties a day after Kyrgios insulted chair umpire Fergus Murphy and left the court to smash two rackets during a three-set loss to Karen Khachanov.
August 16, 2019 12:16 am
Defending champion Chinese Taipei scored nine times over the final four innings on the way to a 9-1 win over Bay County, MI, in the World Series championship game. Sun, Yi Lei held the North Zone champions to one run and four hits over 6.1 innings to get the win. The teams went scoreless to the fourth inning, each sending just one batter over the minimum to the plate. Chinese Taipei loaded the bases with one out then scored the game’s first run on Yang, Yu Cheng’s sacrifice fly to center. After a wild pitch, Hsu, Shao Yu singled to left, scoring a pair of runs. A fifth inning error allowed the winners to plate two unearned runs. Tseng, Yi Wei pushed the lead to 6-0 with an RBI single in the sixth. Two doubles, a single, two walks and a strikeout/wild pitch combined to extend the margin to 9-0. Bay County finally got on the board with two singles, a ground out and a balk. Chinese Taipei has now won 16 consecutive World Series games and 10 championships since 1994.
August 15, 2019 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jameson Taillon will miss the 2020 season after undergoing reconstructive surgery on his right elbow for a second time. The team said the right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in New York. The club initially hoped Taillon, who hasn’t pitched since May 1, would only need surgery on his right flexor tendon. During the operation, Dr. David Altchek determined Taillon also needed surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow.
August 13, 2019 3:44 am
UNDATED (AP) – Oakland Raiders receiver Antonio Brown has lost his grievance with the NFL over his use of an old helmet that is no longer certified as safe to use for practice or play. The arbitrator issued the ruling Monday after holding a hearing last week with Brown, representatives from the league and the players’ union. Brown said in a statement on Twitter that he disagreed with the decision. He also said he looks forward to getting back on the field as soon as he is fully healthy. Brown has not participated in a full practice for the Raiders after starting training camp on the non-football injury list with injuries to his feet that reportedly came from frostbite suffered while getting cryotherapy treatment in France. Brown was cleared to practice on July 28 and participated in part of two sessions but wasn’t around the team last week when he had a grievance hearing with the NFL over his helmet.
August 11, 2019 10:35 pm
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Lane Thomas hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning, Paul Goldschmidt and Dexter Fowler also homered, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-9 Sunday. St. Louis rallied from an 8-4 deficit to sweep the three-game series and move into second place in the NL Central, two games behind the Chicago Cubs. Josh Bell had two homers and four RBIs for Pittsburgh, which has lost eight straight, and 24 of 28 games since the All-Star Break. Pablo Reyes added a solo shot in the ninth. Thomas, a rookie outfielder playing his 21st game, drove in five runs. His first career slam came off Kyle Crick (3-7) and put the Cardinals ahead 9-8. He also had an RBI triple in the fourth. John Gant (8-0) tossed a scoreless seventh to pick up the win. Andrew Miller picked up his fourth save in six tries. Bell hit two-run homers in the first and fifth innings. It was the fifth multihomer game of his career, all this season. The homers, his 28th and 29th, were his first since July 5. He has an NL-leading 68 extra-base hits. Pittsburgh starter Steven Brault gave up four earned runs on five hits over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked three. Brault had a seven-game hitting streak halted with an 0-for-2 performance. He came into the contest on an 8-for-10 run. RHP Mitch Keller (0-1, 10.50) will face Los Angeles Angels LHP Jose Suarez (2-3, 6.22) in the first of a three-game set in Anaheim on Monday. Keller will be recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday. He will be making his fourth major league start.
August 10, 2019 3:42 am
(AP)- Josh Dobbs and Mason Rudolph led the offense on four scoring drives. Two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger gave way to recent draft picks Josh Dobbs and Mason Rudolph to battle for the backup quarterback job in a Steelers 30-28 win over the Buccaneers. Jameis Winston led the Bucs’ first-team offense to a touchdown in his only offensive series against a Steelers defense that featured few regulars.
August 10, 2019 12:01 am
Anthony Miller threw five shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out 10 batters as Youngstown, OH beat Guasave, Mexico, 6-0, to advance to Monday’s winners’ bracket game. Jarrod Malagise drilled a two-run home run in the sixth to give reliever Stephen Tarnoci some breathing room. In the opening game, Arecibo, PR scored nine times in the middle innings, rallying past Hagerstown, MD, 11-9. Joaniel Sanchez and Joel Core hit home runs for the Caribbean champions. Marcos Arocho threw 3.2 innings of shutout relief, allowing one hit, to get the win.
Saturday’s action begins at noon with Bay County, MI taking on Brownsville TX. Washington County hosts London at 2-30 with Chinese Taipei facing Arecibo in the final game of the day. Follow the action on WJPA-AM (1450) and on our PONY World Series webpage: CLICK HERE!
August 9, 2019 3:48 am
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) – Troy Merritt isn’t obsessed with his position in the FedEx Cup and what he needs to advance in the PGA Tour’s postseason. He figures the best solution is good golf, and he delivered his best round of the year Thursday in The Northern Trust. Merritt began with a 10-foot par save, followed with a pair of 20-foot birdie putts and took advantage of calm, rain-softened Liberty National by tying the course record with a 9-under 62 for a one-shot lead over Dustin Johnson. It wasn’t a career low – Merritt twice has shot 61 on the PGA Tour – but it might have been his best round hardly anyone saw. The storm was so fierce on the eve of the FedEx Cup playoffs opener that the public was not allowed in until 10 a.m., nearly three hours after the round began. And when the fans arrived, most of them were watching the action – what little there was – two groups behind him with Tiger Woods.
August 8, 2019 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Pro Bowl will return to Orlando for the fourth straight year and be held one week before the Super Bowl. The NFL’s all-star game will be an afternoon match at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26. A week later, the league’s championship game will be played a few hours south in the Miami area. Fans, players and coaches will vote for the 88 Pro Bowlers. The game matches the AFC against the NFC.
