September 26, 2020 4:24 am
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) – The Boston Celtics have extended their season with an outstanding third quarter in Game 5 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals. The Celtics trailed by seven before outscoring the Heat 41-25 in the third period of a 121-108 win against Miami. Boston went on a 13-0 run over a stretch of only 3:06 to turn a nine-point deficit into a 64-60 lead. Jayson Tatum scored 17 of his 31 points in the third quarter and finished with 10 rebounds. Jaylen Brown added 28 points and Daniel Theis had 15 with 13 rebounds for Boston, which missed 11 of its first 12 shots to fall behind, 17-5. Miami is shooting 24.8% on 3-pointers in its last 13 quarters after going 7-for-36 on Friday. Goran Dragic scored 23 points before fouling out with 4:27 left for the Heat. Game 6 is Sunday.
September 25, 2020 5:25 pm
(AP) – The Mid-American Conference, the first major college football league to postpone its season, has become the final one to jump back in. That makes it 10 out of 10 conferences that will play in the fall. University presidents in the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Mountain West have all decided to play this fall after all instead of spring. MAC games will start Nov. 4 and the championship game will be played Dec. 18 or 19.
September 25, 2020 2:55 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Patric Hornqvist’s grit helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win a pair of Stanley Cups. To keep their championship window opened, they decided it was time to move on without him. The Penguins have traded the 33-year-old Swedish forward to Florida on Thursday in exchange for Mike Matheson and forward Colton Sceviour. Hornqvist spent six seasons in Pittsburgh after being acquired in a 2014 trade that sent James Neal to Nashville. Known for his hard-nosed play around the net, Hornqvist scored 132 goals in 407 games for the Penguins and added 22 more in the playoffs, including 14 during Pittsburgh’s run to consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.
September 25, 2020 2:52 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Chad Kuhl pitched seven sharp innings and Colin Moran and Bryan Reynolds hit home runs in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 7-0 victory over the slumping Chicago Cubs on Thursday. Kuhl finished his comeback season on a strong note, allowing two hits, struck out five hits and three walks. He sat out last season while rehabbing after Tommy John surgery. The Cubs, who clinched a postseason berth Tuesday, are stumbling toward the playoffs with five losses in six games. They have scored two or fewer runs in each of the five defeats.
September 25, 2020 2:59 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — The Washington Wild Things and the Frontier League have announced a partnership with Major League Baseball. The designation announced Thursday allows the Frontier League to collaborate with the MLB to jointly discuss marketing and promotional initiatives to grow, expand and enhance the game of baseball, according to a release.
September 25, 2020 2:56 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will do something no Steelers player has ever done when Pittsburgh hosts Houston in Week 3. When Roethlisberger trots onto the field, he will appear in his 221st game with the Steelers. That will break a tie with Hall of Fame center Mike Webster for the most appearances in black-and-gold in team history. The 38-year-old Roethlisberger credits his faith and his 6-foot-5 frame for his durability. Roethlisberger took a pounding early in his career but says he’s learned over time to avoid big hits when he can.
September 25, 2020 2:53 am
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Well-traveled Ryan Fitzpatrick has become the first NFL quarterback to beat the same opponent with six different teams. Fitzpatrick also led the Miami Dolphins to their first victory of the year, accounting for three touchdowns in a 31-13 downing of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He completed his first 12 passes for the first time as Miami scored touchdowns on its first three drives, something the Dolphins hadn’t accomplished since 2011.
September 25, 2020 3:28 am
The Pac-12 has set a Nov. 6 start date for a seven-game football season, following the Big Ten in overturning its August decision to postpone until spring because of concerns about playing through the pandemic. The conference’s CEO group of university presidents voted unanimously to resume football and basketball, lifting a Jan. 1 moratorium on athletic competition for Pac-12 schools. The Mountain West announced it was coming back in the fall, too, targeting Oct. 24 to start an eight-game football season. Both conferences plan to hold their league championship games the weekend of Dec. 19.
September 24, 2020 2:54 am
The postponed football game between No. 7 Notre Dame and Wake Forest will be moved to Dec. 12, while the Demon Deacons also are moving their nonconference game against Campbell a week earlier to Oct. 2. The ACC’s revamped scheduling model allows for 11 games to be played over 13 weeks through Dec. 5, as well as the possibility of playing Dec. 12. Meanwhile, Ohio State says it is cutting a handful of jobs, furloughing hundreds of other employees and asking coaches to take pay cuts to deal with a budget shortfall expected to be over $100 million because of the pandemic. Athletic director Gene Smith says none of the 36 sports will be cut and athlete support services will be maintained.
September 24, 2020 2:52 am
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – Steven Stamkos played sparingly in his return to action, but he opened the scoring in the first period of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 5-2 victory against the Dallas Stars in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final. Stamkos was playing for the first time in almost seven months and didn’t hit the ice over the final two periods. Victor Hedman’s power-play goal was the eventual game-winner as the Lightning took a two-games-to-one lead in the series.
