August 12, 2020 3:55 am
TORONTO (AP) – Brayden Point scored 10:27 into the fifth overtime, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Tuesday in the fourth-longest game in Stanley Cup playoff history. Point scored from just above the left circle, beating Joonas Korpisalo after the goaltender made an NHL-record 85 saves. Point also scored way back in the first period of Game 1 of the best-of-seven series. The teams are meeting in the first round for the second straight year, with the Lightning looking to rebound from being swept 16 months ago by the underdog Blue Jackets, who became the first No. 8 seed to oust the winner of the Presidents’ Trophy in four games. Game 2 is Thursday.
August 12, 2020 3:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford says he still believes the championship window is open for his club but changes need to be made following a quick playoff exit. The Penguins were stunned in four games by the underdog Montreal Canadiens in the qualifying round of the NHL playoffs. It marked the second straight early exit by Pittsburgh, which was swept by the New York Islanders in the first round in 2019. Rutherford said the team will need to get younger in the offseason. Goaltender Matt Murray and defenseman Justin Schultz will both likely leave in free agency.
August 12, 2020 3:50 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – An unexpected break didn’t stop the steady stream of pitchers to the injured list for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team has placed opening day starter Joe Musgrove on the 10-day IL with what manager Derek Shelton called a right triceps issue. The Pirates scratched Musgrove before a start against Detroit with what Shelton called an ankle injury. Musgrove is 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA. He is the sixth Pittsburgh pitcher to be placed on the injured list this season. The list includes starter Mitch Keller and relievers Nick Burdi, Clay Holmes, Michael Feliz and Kyle Crick.
August 11, 2020 3:52 am
President Donald Trump has joined Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse and a number of coaches in the push to save the college football season from a pandemic-forced shutdown. A growing number of athletes have spoken out in support of saving the season. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh says the Wolverines have shown players can be safe after they return to school. Sasse wrote a letter to Big Ten school presidents and chancellors saying that players will likely be safer with football than without, because of the “structure and discipline of football programs.”
August 11, 2020 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – Will there be any college football this season? The Mountain West has become the second FBS conference to postpone its football season, punting on the fall with an eye toward playing in the spring. A person involved in the decision told The Associated Press the Mountain West would not play any sports in the fall. The 12-team Mountain West joins the Mid-American Conference as leagues from the highest tier of NCAA Division I football to bail on the fall season and hope to make a go of it in the spring. The Mountain West features Boise State, Air Force and San Diego State, each of which were ranked at some point last year.
August 11, 2020 3:53 am
ST. LOUIS (AP) – The St. Louis Cardinals continue to have their schedule altered after eight players tested positive for the coronavirus. Major League Baseball has announced that the Cardinals’ scheduled Thursday doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers has been postponed. MLB and the Cards believe it is prudent to continue additional testing while players and staff are quarantined before the team returns to play. MLB has seen 29 games postponed by the coronavirus, 15 involving the Cardinals.
August 11, 2020 3:55 am
The Rangers won the second phase of the NHL draft lottery and will have the first overall pick, giving them a shot at selecting Alexis Lafreniere. The Rangers were among eight teams that lost in the qualifying round of the playoffs with a chance to claim quite a consolation prize. The league’s bottom seven teams ended up not winning the first phase of the lottery in June.
August 11, 2020 3:54 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Florida Panthers will have a new general manager next season, making the announcement that Dale Tallon is leaving the franchise after 10 years. Tallon’s contract as president of hockey operations and general manager expired July 1. It was extended by Panthers owner Vincent Viola to get through the remainder of a season that was stretched out by the coronavirus pandemic. The Panthers were eliminated from the playoffs on Friday, falling to the New York Islanders in four games.
August 10, 2020 3:43 pm
(WPXI) – Member schools of the Big Ten Conference have voted to cancel the fall football season due to ongoing concerns with the coronavirus pandemic, according to reports from multiple media outlets. A formal announcement on the decision is expected to be made Tuesday, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press. The presidents of the member schools voted 12-2 Sunday to end the fall sports in the conference with only Nebraska and Iowa voting to play, Dan Patrick said on his radio show Monday. Unnamed sources told The Free Press Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren prefers the conference to play a spring football season, however no final decision has been made.
August 10, 2020 4:08 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Spencer Turnbull pitched seven strong innings and Miguel Cabrera singled home the tiebreaking run in the eighth as the Detroit Tigers edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 for a three-game series. Cabrera’s single to left-center field off Richard Rodriguez scored Jonathan Schoop, who was hit by a pitch with two outs and took second on a wild pitch. Detroit improved to 8-5, including 5-1 on the road, a year after having the worst record in the major leagues at 47-114. Pittsburgh lost for the 10th time in 11 games and fell to 3-14.
