July 13, 2024 4:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson quickly agreed to extend his stay with a New York Knicks team that has been on the rise since his arrival. Brunson signed a four-year contract extension with the Knicks on Friday that a person with knowledge of the details said was worth about $156.5 million. The Knicks did not reveal terms of the deal, which were confirmed to The Associated Press under condition of anonymity. Brunson’s extension will begin with the 2025-26 season. He averaged 28.7 points last season and finished fifth in the voting for NBA MVP.
July 12, 2024 2:48 pm
PHOENIX (AP) — Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes will start the All-Star Game for the National League on Tuesday night, becoming just the fifth rookie pitcher given the honor. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo, who will lead the NL team, made the announcement Friday on the SiriusXM MLB Network Radio. Lovullo says: “It’s such a well-deserved honor for him.” A 21-year-old right-hander, Skenes was selected by Pittsburgh with the top pick in last year’s amateur draft. He made his major league debut on May 11 and is 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA in 11 starts
July 12, 2024 2:41 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Paul Skenes struck out 11 in seven no-hit innings in another dominant performance, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 1-0. Skenes threw 99 pitches in his 11th major league start, 65 for strikes. The All-Star right-hander walked one while lowering his ERA to 1.90. Colin Holderman replaced Skenes and surrendered a leadoff single to Jake Bauers for Milwaukee’s first hit. The Brewers loaded the bases with two down in the eighth, but Holderman escaped the jam when he struck out William Contreras swinging. Aroldis Chapman handled the ninth for his fourth save, finishing a two-hitter for Pittsburgh.
July 12, 2024 4:29 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A U.S. appeals court in Philadelphia has ruled that some college athletes may qualify as employees under federal wage-and-hour laws. The court says a test should be developed to differentiate students who play college sports for fun from those whose effort “crosses the legal line into work” that benefits the school. The NCAA had hoped to have the case dismissed. It now goes back to a trial judge for fact finding. The ruling follows a Supreme Court case that led the NCAA to allow athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness.
July 12, 2024 4:30 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The CW Network announced Thursday that Bill Belichick will be one of the analysts on “Inside the NFL” this season. Belichick coached the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles during his 24 years at the helm. He will also appear this season on the Manningcast during “Monday Night Football.” Belichick joins Ryan Clark, Chad Johnson and Chris Long. Johnson and Long each played one season for Belichick in New England.
July 12, 2024 4:31 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Monte Kiffin, the longtime NFL and college assistant coach whose Tampa Bay defenses routinely ranked among the league’s best, died Thursday. He was 84. One of the architects of the ultra successful Tampa 2 defensive scheme, Kiffin spent 13 seasons as defensive coordinator of the Bucs under former coaches Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden from 1996 to 2008 and helped the franchise win the first of its two Super Bowl titles. The University of Mississippi football program announced on the social media platform X that Kiffin passed away surrounded by family and friends in Oxford, Mississippi, where Kiffin’s son, Lane, is coach of the Rebels.
July 10, 2024 4:31 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Tobias Myers pitched eight scoreless innings and Rhys Hoskins and Willy Adames homered as the Milwaukee Brewers cruised past the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-0. Myers (6-3) didn’t allow a hit until Bryan Reynolds’ leadoff single in the fourth. The rookie right-hander gave up four hits, struck out six, walked one and threw 103 pitches in his 13th start. Adames hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and finished with four RBIs. The Pirates had homered in 12 consecutive games at American Family Field entering Wednesday — including five on Tuesday.
July 11, 2024 4:32 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Adolis García will represent the host Texas Rangers in Monday night’s Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández completed the eight-man field. García was knocked out by Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena last year in the first round at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. The New York Mets’ Pete Alonso, Philadelphia’s Alec Bohm, Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson, Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna, Cleveland’s José Ramírez and Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. previously committed to the competition. García, last year’s AL Championship Series MVP, is the only player in the derby who wasn’t selected to the All-Star Game.
July 11, 2024 4:33 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — For USA Basketball, the road to the Paris Olympics has started with a win. Anthony Davis scored 13 points, Stephen Curry added 12 and the United States opened its tune-up schedule for the Paris Games by topping Canada 86-72 on Wednesday night. Jrue Holiday scored 11 points and Anthony Davis finished with 10 for the U.S., which has four more exhibitions before getting to France. RJ Barrett scored 12 points for Canada, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dillon Brooks each had 10. President Barack Obama was at the game, as were many NBA coaches and dozens of USA Basketball dignitaries in town for the federation’s 50th anniversary celebration.
July 11, 2024 4:34 am
The NBA has agreed to terms on its new media deal, an 11-year agreement worth $76 billion that assures player salaries will continue rising for the foreseeable future and one that will surely change how some viewers access the game for years to come. A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that the networks have the terms sheets, with the next step being for the league’s board of governors to approve the contracts. The deal sets NBA records for both its length and total value and goes into effect for the 2025-26 season.
