April 19, 2024 4:27 am
The 2024 NFL draft has the potential to set a record for most players on offense selected in the first round. No draft has seen more than 19 players on offense chosen in the first round. That happened three times, most recently in 2009. Many draft experts are predicting more than 20 offensive players will go in the first round and some have up to 25. The AP’s final mock draft had 22 going in the first round, including 10 offensive linemen, six wide receivers, five quarterbacks and one tight end. Only once in the past 57 years have the first seven picks all been offensive players. That happened in 2021.
April 18, 2024 4:37 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Simon Holmstrom scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, Ilya Sorokin stopped Sidney Crosby on a late penalty shot and the playoff-bound New York Islanders edged the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4. Samuel Bolduc and Brock Nelson each had a goal and an assist, and Casey Cizikas and Kyle Palmieri also scored for the Islanders, who ended the regular season having won eight of their last nine (8-0-1). Sorokin finished with 39 saves. Pittsburgh’s Jeff Carter had a goal in what was likely his final NHL game. Rickard Rakell, Evgeni Malkin and Valtteri Puustinen also scored for the Penguins.
April 18, 2024 2:56 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Starling Marte hit his 150th career homer, powering the New York Mets to a 9-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates and a sweep of a three-game series. Marte, who spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Pirates, hit the milestone two-run homer off the railing beyond the left-center field fence to give the Mets a 2-1 lead in the third inning. Tyrone Taylor hit a two-run single in the sixth and Harrison Bader homered on the next pitch for the Mets, who are 10-3 since an 0-5 start. Brandon Nimmo’s two-run single capped a three-run eighth.
April 16, 2024 4:30 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Jose Hernandez balked home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, Jeff McNeil added an RBI double and the New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1. Joey Wendle came off the bench and delivered a tying double for the Mets, who have won nine of 12 following an 0-5 start to move over .500 for the first time since early June last year. New York came back to beat the Pirates for the second consecutive night and has won four straight series after dropping its first two. Wendle replaced an ailing Brett Baty at third base in the top of the seventh and doubled off losing pitcher Luis Ortiz moments later. Reed Garrett struck out six over two scoreless innings in relief of Mets starter Jose Quintana.
April 17, 2024 4:32 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Although the Pittsburgh Pirates lost a close ballgame, they might have found their future ace. And like it or not, they’re going to handle him with kid gloves. Rookie right-hander Jared Jones fired five shutout innings in his fourth major league start, throwing 50 of 59 pitches for strikes against the Mets. Featuring a 97-99 mph fastball and a 90-92 mph slider, Jones struck out seven, walked none and allowed just one hit. But with the 22-year-old pitching on four days’ rest for the first time in the majors, he was pulled by manager Derek Shelton after five innings.
April 17, 2024 4:34 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — T.J. Oshie scored into an empty net in the rare situation of a team pulling its goaltender in a tie game, and the Washington Capitals are in the playoffs after beating the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1. Philadelphia coach John Tortorella pulled goalie Samuel Ersson for an extra attacker because his team needed to win in regulation to keep its hopes alive. Oshie’s goal with exactly 3 minutes left came perhaps a minute after Detroit scored to force overtime in Montreal, eliminating the Flyers. The Capitals will face the NHL-best New York Rangers in the first round.
April 17, 2024 2:55 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Whitey Herzog, the gruff and ingenious Hall of Fame manager who guided the St. Louis Cardinals to three pennants and a World Series title and perfected an intricate, nail-biting strategy known as “Whiteyball,” has died. Herzog, affectionately nicknamed “The White Rat,” was a manager for 18 seasons, compiling an overall record of 1,281 wins and 1,125 losses. He was named Manager of the Year in 1985. Under Herzog, the Cardinals won pennants in 1982, 1985 and 1987 and won the World Series in 1982, when they edged the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games. Cardinals spokesman Brian Bartow said Tuesday the team had been informed of his death by Herzog’s family. He was 92.
April 16, 2024 4:30 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored his 42nd goal and added an assist as the Pittsburgh Penguins preserve their playoff hopes with a 4-2 win over Nashville. Erik Karlsson also had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, and Reilly Smith and Emil Bemstrom also scored. Alex Nedeljkovic made 28 saves while making his 12th straight start for the Penguins. Pittsburgh remains one point out of a playoff spot with one game remaining. Filip Forsberg scored his franchise-record 48th goal for the Predators. Nashville has already locked up a playoff spot.
April 16, 2024 4:33 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Harrison Bader drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning for the second day in a row, hitting a two-run double off an angry Aroldis Chapman that lifted the New York Mets over the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3. New York overcame a 3-0, sixth-inning deficit and reached .500 for the first time since last June. The Mets have won eight of 11 following an 0-5 start under first-year manager Carlos Mendoza.
April 16, 2024 4:37 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees radio broadcaster John Sterling has announced his immediate retirement at age 85, a few weeks into his 36th season in New York’s broadcast booth. Sterling had cut back his schedule in recent years and was not with the team for its trip to Houston and Toronto. He called 5,420 regular-season games, the last against the Blue Jays on April 7, plus 211 postseason games. Sterling broadcast 5,060 consecutive games from September 1989 through July 2019 after starting with the Yankees as a pregame host.
