April 26, 2025 4:20 am
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Shedeur Sanders is still waiting to hear his name called in the NFL draft — after three rounds, 102 picks and five quarterbacks selected ahead of Coach Prime’s highly touted son. The Colorado quarterback was widely considered a first-round talent. But his stunning slide continued Friday night when his name wasn’t called in the second or third round. Sanders was arguably the most recognizable player in the country entering the draft — largely because of his father, Deion Sanders, the Pro Football Hall of Famer and innovative, outspoken Colorado coach. Few if any mock drafts had Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough, Jalen Milroe or Dillon Gabriel getting picked before Sanders, but that’s what happened.
April 26, 2025 4:23 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers first-round draft pick Derrick Harmon’s mother, Tiffany Saine, died shortly after Pittsburgh selected the defensive lineman from Oregon with the 21st overall pick. Harmon said after he was drafted that he planned to visit his mother, who he said was on life support. Saine had endured several brain surgeries and a stroke in recent years. Harmon pointed to his mother as an inspiration for him to keep going as he made his way from Michigan State to Oregon.
April 25, 2025 4:35 am
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Zach Neto hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the eighth inning and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Thursday night to avoid a three-game series sweep. Neto, who missed the first three weeks of the season recovering from right-shoulder surgery, lined an 81 mph sweeper from Pirates reliever Chase Shugart over the wall in left to snap a 3-all tie and finished with three hits. Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz homered for the second straight game.
April 25, 2025 4:29 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers gave their defensive line a boost, selecting tackle Derrick Harmon from Oregon with the 21st overall pick in the NFL draft. While the Steelers remain in the market for a quarterback, they opted to pass on Colorado star Shedeur Sanders, who met with the team before the draft and received glowing reviews from head coach Mike Tomlin. Pittsburgh is hoping the 6-foot-4, 313-pound Harmon can help a defensive front that was frequently manhandled near the end of the season and gave up 299 yards rushing to Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and company in a first-round playoff loss to Baltimore.
April 25, 2025 4:27 am
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Cam Ward went from zero-star recruit to No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. Travis Hunter cost Jacksonville a premium. Jaxson Dart was selected before Shedeur Sanders. While Ward, Hunter and Abdul Carter went 1-2-3 as expected, Sanders wasn’t picked at all in the first round. Sanders was passed over by every team that had a need for a potential franchise quarterback, even though some draft analysts had him rated higher than Ward. The New York Giants had two chances to take Sanders and went with Penn State edge rusher Carter with the No. 3 pick, bolstering an already strong pass rush. The Giants then moved back into the first round and selected Dart, a quarterback from Ole Miss, at No. 25.
April 25, 2025 4:31 am
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Shedeur Sanders is still on the board. The New York Giants passed on the former Colorado quarterback with the No. 3 pick in the NFL draft. So did Las Vegas, the New York Jets, New Orleans and Pittsburgh, four teams seemingly in need of signal callers. How far will Sanders fall now? He definitely will be available when the second round begins Friday. There was some thought a team would trade into the bottom end of the first round and grab Sanders. But no one did. Concerns about Sanders’ arm strength have become an issue in recent weeks, although his father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, laughed at that notion.
April 24, 2025 4:24 am
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Oneil Cruz blasted a 463-foot home run to center field — the fourth longest in MLB this season — and Andrew Heaney retired the first 13 batters he faced to help the Pittsburgh Pirates shut down the Los Angeles Angels 3-0. Heaney (2-1) struck out nine and allowed just one hit in six innings for his first win at Angel Stadium since being traded by Los Angeles in February. Travis d’Arnaud got the Angels’ first hit in the fifth with a one-out double down the left-field line. Their second hit came with one out in the ninth before Dennis Santana earned his third save by getting Mike Trout to pop out. Trout struck out three times for Los Angeles, which has lost seven of its last nine games.
April 24, 2025 4:26 am
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The main question everyone is asking ahead of the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night: Where is Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders going? They’re not just debating it on television and sports radio. Even casual football fans in town for other business are wondering which team is going to pick “Prime Time’s” son. That was a discussion among a group sitting at a restaurant near Lambeau Field on Wednesday. In a draft loaded with talented players, Sanders has dominated the conversation in the days leading up to it.
April 24, 2025 4:26 am
CHICAGO (AP) — Steve McMichael, a star defensive tackle on the Chicago Bears’ famed 1985 Super Bowl championship team, has died following a battle with ALS. He was 67. McMichael’s publicist, Betsy Shepherd, told The Associated Press that he died Wednesday afternoon. McMichael had a larger-than-life personality that made him a fixture in the Windy City for decades and a natural for professional wrestling. He was a two-time All-Pro and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024. He ranks second to Richard Dent on the Bears’ career sacks list. McMichael revealed in April 2021 that he was battling ALS.
April 24, 2025 4:29 am
The judge overseeing the sprawling $2.8 billion antitrust lawsuit settlement involving the NCAA and the nation’s five largest conferences has delayed final approval of the plan until it is modified to address concerns about roster limits. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken signaled she is ready to approve the rest of the settlement but wants both sides to come up with a way to not harm current athletes who will lose their spots on teams. The settlement calls for scholarship limits to be replaced by roster limits. Some attorneys argued that Wilken’s order could throw college sports into chaos.
