Sports category, Page 771
Lexi Thompson ready for the bright lights of Vegas and big stage of PGA TourVideo
In the midst of one of her roughest years, Lexi Thompson faces her biggest challenge. Thompson was coming off her first top-10 finish of the year two weeks ago when she said her management company told her the Shriners Children’s Open had offered her a sponsor exemption to play on...
Jonas Johansson wins in debut as Lightning beat Predators in NHL season openerVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — Jonas Johansson made 29 saves in his first start in place of the injured Andrei Vasilevskiy, Nicholas Paul had two third-period power-play goals and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Nashville Predators, 5-3, in the NHL regular-season opener Tuesday night. Johansson was signed to be Vasilevskiy’s backup....
Column: MLB’s playoff format penalizing top seeds with all that time offVideo
The Baltimore Orioles won an AL-leading 101 games during the regular season. The Los Angeles Dodgers also reached triple digits in victories. Those impressive accomplishments earned both teams a bye in the opening round of the playoffs. Clearly, the time off did them no good. Tossing in the 104-win Atlanta...
Astros hit 4 homers, with a pair by Abreu, to rout Twins and take 2-1 ALDS leadVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — José Abreu hit a three-run homer for Houston in a four-run first inning against Sonny Gray and piled on with a two-run shot in the ninth, powering the Astros past the Minnesota Twins, 9-1, on Tuesday for a 2-1 lead in their AL Division Series. Yordan Alvarez hit...
Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton ‘fighting for her life’ with rare form of pneumonia
Gold medal-winning gymnast Mary Lou Retton is in the ICU, where she’s fighting for her life, her daughter McKenna Kelley said on Tuesday. On a fundraising page asking for prayers and donations, Kelley revealed that the 55-year-old tumbler has been in the hospital for over a week with a “very...
Cardinals place RB James Conner on injured reserve with knee injuryVideo
TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals placed leading rusher James Conner on injured reserve on Tuesday after a knee injury in Sunday’s loss to the Bengals. It’s another blow for the Cardinals (1-4), who already are missing franchise quarterback Kyler Murray and two-time All-Pro safety Budda Baker because of injuries....
Barry Melrose retiring as ESPN’s longtime hockey analyst after Parkinson’s disease diagnosis
Former NHL player and coach Barry Melrose is stepping away from his career as one of hockey’s most recognized analysts after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, ESPN announced on Tuesday. The news of Melrose’s illness and retirement was made on ESPN’s SportsCenter on the same day the NHL 2023-24 season...
Steelers rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. may have to wait a bit longer before making 1st NFL start
Fans clamoring for Joey Porter Jr. to start at cornerback in the wake of his second-half showing against the Baltimore Ravens might be in for a letdown when the Pittsburgh Steelers return from their bye. Despite Porter’s interception in the end zone that changed momentum and set up the winning...
As NHL season begins, long-anticipated salary cap boom coming in summer 2024Video
Welcome to what folks around the NHL hope is the last season of the flat cap era. Since the pandemic depleted the hockey business like so many others and after the playoffs were bubble wrapped to award the Stanley Cup, the league has been digging out of a hole deeper...
Steelers notes: Kenny Pickett, team in much better place than when last year’s bye hit
Kenny Pickett’s first bye week as a pro couldn’t have had him or his team any lower. Last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers were 2-6 when they embarked on their annual idle weekend, having been blown out by three or more touchdowns twice over the prior four games. Pickett, meanwhile, had...
Column: Steve Stricker is having a record year with seniors. Now he’s contemplating the PGA TourVideo
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The voice still cracks, and Steve Stricker fights to hold back the tears, a sure sign winning isn’t getting old. If anything, it’s making the 56-year-old Stricker feel young. That’s why his remarkable, record-setting year on the PGA Tour Champions has Stricker thinking about playing more on...
NHL issues updated theme night guidance, which includes a ban on players using Pride tape on the iceVideo
The NHL sent a memo to teams last week clarifying what players can and cannot do as part of theme celebrations this season, including a ban on the use of rainbow-colored stick tape for the Pride nights that have become a hot-button issue in hockey. The updated guidance reaffirms on-ice...
Norwin grad Declan O’Brien leading nation in receiving for Allegheny College
The nation’s leading pass catcher continues to turn heads — those of defensive backs and casual observers. Declan O’Brien, a senior wide receiver at Allegheny College, had a career game Saturday with a school-record 18 receptions for 233 yards and a touchdown in a 35-28 loss to Washington & Jefferson....
Joining Penguins ‘a blessing’ for defenseman John Ludvig
Somewhere between the Florida-Georgia line and the Piedmont of North Carolina, John Ludvig received a change in his itinerary Monday. One of the final cuts from the Florida Panthers’ training camp roster, Ludvig was en route to join their American Hockey League affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, and then found out...
Reports: Dolphins rookie sensation De’Von Achane expected to miss multiple weeksVideo
Dolphins rookie running back De’Von Achane reportedly will miss multiple weeks after suffering a knee injury in Miami’s win over the New York Giants. Coach Mike McDaniel said Monday that the team is still gathering information on the severity of Achane’s injury and didn’t have details on exactly when it...
Reports: Vikings WR Justin Jefferson to go on injured reserve, miss at least 4 gamesVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings will place wide receiver Justin Jefferson on injured reserve, according to multiple reports, forcing the 2022 NFL Offensive Player of the Year to miss at least the next four games because of a hamstring injury. Jefferson slipped on the U.S. Bank Stadium turf while trying...
Jim Furyk hopes for Stewart Cink among fresh faces as U.S. assistants at Presidents Cup
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Stewart Cink debuted as an assistant captain in the Ryder Cup, and he likely will be part of Jim Furyk’s backroom for the Presidents Cup next year at Royal Montreal. Furyk has not announced any of his assistants, but he did suggest it would be a blend...
Chiefs’ Travis Kelce expected to play against Broncos on Thursday night after ankle injury
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Travis Kelce is expected to be available when the Kansas City Chiefs play the Denver Broncos on Thursday night, despite hurting his ankle when he slipped on the turf in last weekend’s win over the Minnesota Vikings. The Chiefs did not practice Monday, but Kelce was...
Analysis: Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi might need to reach back into transfer portal for QB help
The list of transfer quarterbacks Pitt has lured on campus is a long one, just as long as Pat Narduzzi’s nine-year tenure as head coach. Yet only two of the nine — Nathan Peterman and Kedon Slovis — made significant, positive contributions as starters. And Slovis quickly transferred out last...
Change of pace: Peter Laviolette brings an up-tempo style to Rangers as third coach in four seasonsVideo
NEW YORK — Peter Laviolette is the New York Rangers’ third coach in four seasons. His arrival in the offseason brought in another system, another philosophy and another coaching style. The championship expectations remain the same. Laviolette, who led Carolina to the Stanley Cup championship in 2006, said he knows...
WR Diontae Johnson confident he will come off IR after bye for Steelers’ next game
The minimum time for his injured reserve stint having expired, does Diontae Johnson believe he is ready to return in time for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ next game? “(Heck) yeah, I’m coming back,” the team’s veteran No. 1 receiver said Tuesday. Johnson has not played since suffering a hamstring injury early...
Tim Benz: Biggest questions in need of answers heading into Penguins’ opening night
The Pittsburgh Penguins open their season Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. It’s the first of 82 games and the start of six months worth of angst, tension, excitement and agony. That’s why we love it. Here are the five biggest questions I...
Vegas Golden Knights winning the Stanley Cup shows the value of depth at every positionVideo
Leon Draisaitl acknowledged there was a reason he and the Edmonton Oilers lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in the playoffs last season. Asked what stood out about the team that eliminated them and went on to win the Stanley Cup, one thing came to the German star’s mind. “They’re...
Penguins’ Sidney Crosby ready for another ‘next’ one in Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard
Sidney Crosby has seen this before. For the past 18 seasons, he has witnessed it. And 18 years ago, he lived it. Being the “next” one. The latest claimant to that designation, Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard, made his NHL debut in front of a national television audience Tuesday in...
Lessons from last season could shape how NHL’s top contenders vie for Stanley Cup in 2024Video
All Connor McDavid wants to do after establishing himself as the best hockey player in the world is win the Stanley Cup. He knows he can’t do that in October, when the NHL playoffs feel like they are a lifetime away. “There’s 82 full games before you can get back...
