July 2, 2019 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Golden State Warriors have reason to smile again after losing All-Star forward Kevin Durant to a free-agent contract with the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. All-Star guard Klay Thompson has announced on Instagram that he is staying in the Bay Area. He is expected to sign a five-year max contract for $190 million when the NBA free agent moratorium period ends, remaining with Golden State just as he had hoped all along. Thompson had been scheduled for surgery this past week for a torn ACL in his left knee after he was injured during a Game 6 loss to the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals.
July 2, 2019 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Josh Bell certainly looks ready for the Home Run Derby. Pittsburgh’s All-Star first baseman hit three home runs to boost his season total to 25, leading the Pirates to an 18-5 rout over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night. Bell, who will be part of the eight-man derby field in Cleveland next week, hit a three-run shot off rookie Adbert Alzolay (1-1) in the first, a two-run drive off Alzolay in the second and finished off a four-hit, seven-RBI night by taking new Chicago closer Craig Kimbrel deep in the eighth as Pittsburgh began a pivotal seven-game homestand by pounding out a season-high 23 hits. Adam Frazier finished 5 for 6 and tied a major league record with four doubles. Colin Moran had a career-high five hits for the Pirates. Jung Ho Kang hit his seventh home run of the season off Chicago infielder Daniel Descalso, who made a cameo on the mound in the seventh with the game well out of hand. Jose Osuna hit a solo home run off Kimbrel, who came on to get some work after making his debut with the Cubs last week. Bell became the 20th Pirates player to hit three home runs in a game and the first left-handed batter to do it since Hall of Famer Willie Stargell in 1971. Frazier’s four doubles matched a mark shared by many players – Matt Carpenter of St. Louis was the last to do it on Aug. 26, 2018.
July 2, 2019 3:47 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford began his team’s longer-than-expected offseason by talking about the need for a culture change. Two months later, the process is finally underway. The Penguins opened free agency by signing versatile forward Brandon Tanev to a six-year deal worth $3.5 million annually. The 27-year-old Tanev spent the first four seasons of his career with Winnipeg, earning a reputation as a quality penalty killer and a hard-working two-way player.
July 1, 2019 4:23 pm
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) – In a match up of youth vs. experience, the youngest woman in the draw beat the oldest at Wimbledon. Fifteen-year-old Coco Gauff beat five-time champion Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 in a first-round meeting between two players with a 24-year age gap on Court 1. The 39-year-old Williams had won four of her seven Grand Slam titles before Gauff was even born in 2004. The 313th-ranked Gauff is the youngest player to enter the main draw at Wimbledon since Laura Robson in 2009, having come through qualifying last week. Gauff, playing in her first Grand Slam match, converted her fourth match point when Williams sent a forehand into the net, then broke into sobs before shaking hands with her opponent.
July 1, 2019 8:20 am
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) – Play has started on Day 1 at Wimbledon in cool, dry conditions. Among the players in early action on the outside courts are 2018 runner-up Kevin Anderson and three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka. The high temperature is expected to be about 21 degrees C (70 degrees F) with only occasional clouds. Matches on Centre Court and No. 1 Court are scheduled to begin later.
July 1, 2019 8:18 am
UNDATED (AP) – Kevin Durant is on the move, Khris Middleton is staying put and Damian Lillard is going nowhere after the NBA free agent frenzy began on Sunday. Durant says on Instagram that he has worked out a max deal of four years and about $164 million with the Nets. The All-Star forward could have gotten five years and $221 million from the Warriors if he stayed with them. Middleton plans to agree to a five-year deal worth nearly $179 million to remain with the Bucks. Bucks general manager Jon Horst confirmed an agreement has been reached with Middleton. A person with knowledge of the negotiations says Lillard and the Trail Blazers have agreed on a four-year Supermax extension that will be worth nearly $200 million. The Blazers will pay Lillard $29.8 million next season and $31.6 million in 2020-21, according to the source. No deals can be signed until July 6 because of the league’s annual moratorium.
June 30, 2019 11:13 pm
DETROIT (AP) – Nate Lashley shot a bogey-free 9-under 63 on Saturday to open a six-stroke lead in the Rocket Mortgage Classic at 23-under 193. The 36-year-old Lashley slipped into the field at Detroit Golf Club as an alternate and the 353rd-ranked player has put himself in position to win for the first time on the PGA Tour. He tied for eighth in February in the Puerto Rico Open – played opposite the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship – for his only top-10 finish on the tour. Lashley, the first- and second-round leader, started Saturday with a one-shot lead and pulled away with the low round of the day. J.T. Poston (66) was second. Cameron Tringale (65) was another stroke back.
June 27, 2019 1:41 pm
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) – Florida Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo has decided to retire after 19 seasons.
The 40-year-old Luongo made the announcement Wednesday on his Twitter account. His 489 career victories are third in NHL history behind only Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy, and Brodeur is the only goalie to have appeared in more games or made more saves than Luongo.
June 24, 2019 11:01 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Kevin Newman walked with the bases loaded in the 11th inning to cap a four-run rally as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Diego Padres 11-10 on Sunday. The Pirates rallied from three-run deficits in the ninth and 11th innings to earn the series weep and improve their winning streak to five. Jacob Stallings hit a pitch-hit, two-run single to tie the game at 10. The Pirates then loaded the bases before Newman’s sharp eye ended the four-plus hour affair. Francisco Liriano (2-1) earned the win, while Matt Wisler, who entered the game with one out in the 11th, took the loss. After San Diego led 7-4 following an eighth-inning two-run single from Manny Machado, closer Kirby Yates – who was previously 26 for 26 in save situations – allowed three runs on three hits and a walk. With runners on second and third, Newman started the comeback with an RBI single off Yates that scored Diaz. Bryan Reynolds drove in Adam Frazier, and Melky Cabrera scored Newman on a dribbling ground-out to the pitcher two batters later to force the extras. Pirates starter Steven Brault lasted five innings, giving up three runs (three earned) and six hits. Joey Lucchesi gave up four runs (four earned) and six hits on 86 pitches (56 strikes) over five innings.
June 5, 2019 9:34 am
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – UCLA is back on top. Kinsley Washington’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted the Bruins past Oklahoma 5-4 on Tuesday night, and UCLA won the championship series 2-0. It is the school’s 13th national title, and first since 2010. Rachel Garcia was named the Most Outstanding Player of the World Series. She threw 179 pitches and hit a walk-off homer in the semifinal win over Washington on Sunday, then got the victory in Game 1 against Oklahoma on Monday. She gave up four runs and eight hits to earn the win in the clincher on Tuesday. Brianna Tautalafua had three hits, and Washington and Aaliyah Jordan each had two for UCLA (56-6). The Bruins rolled past the Sooners 16-3 in Game 1 on Monday and tied the record for most runs scored in a World Series game.
