MLB
Outfielder Cody Bellinger has been acquired by the New York Yankees from the Chicago Cubs for right-hander Cody Poteet. Chicago will send the Yankees $5 million as part of the trade. The 29-year-old Bellinger, whose father Clay helped the Yankees win World Series titles in 1999 and 2000, could play center field next year as Aaron Judge returns to right following the departure of Juan Soto to the Mets. Bellinger also can play first base, a position that opened when Anthony Rizzo became a free agent.
A yearlong study by Major League Baseball has concluded rising velocities, pitch shaping and emphasis on maximum effort are the likely causes of the vast increase in pitcher injuries and recommended exploring rules changes to address the problem. The 62-page report says the trends extend to high school and youth baseball because of the incentive to get noticed by professional scouts. The study says there is no evidence linking the pitch clock to injuries. Illustrated with 26 tables of data, the report was based on interviews with more than 200 people that included former players, front office executives and orthopedic surgeons.
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Former Flame Elias Lindholm had a goal and an assist and David Pastrnak scored 4:22 into overtime as the Boston Bruins came from behind on Tuesday night for a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames. Morgan Geekie and Marc McLaughlin also scored for the Bruins, who have won six of their last eight. Matt Coronato, Nazem Kadri and Ryan Lomberg, with his first of the season, scored for Calgary. Jeremy Swayman, who made 20 stops, has won five of his last six starts. Rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf had 31 stops for the Flames.
Pyotr Kochetkov made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Islanders 4-0. Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist, while Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Martinook and Tyson Jost also scored. Shayne Gostisbehere provided two assists. The Hurricanes won back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 25 and 27. With the loss, the Islanders have their second three-game stretch of the season without a point. Goalie Ilya Sorokin was pulled after allowing four goals on 23 shots through two periods, with Marcus Hogberg finishing with six saves in the third.
Jonathan Marchessault and Adam Wilsby scored and Juuse Saros made 25 saves to lead the Nashville Predators to a 2-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. The Predators have won two of three following a franchise record-tying eight-game losing streak. Igor Shesterkin made 30 saves for the struggling Rangers, losers of three straight. The shutout was the third of the season and 26th of Saros’ career. Steven Stamkos and Filip Forsberg each had two assists.
Patrik Laine scored his first hat trick with Montreal and the Canadiens extended the Buffalo Sabres’ winless streak to 11 games with a 6-1 victory. Juraj Slafkovsky, Joel Armia and Josh Anderson also scored for Montreal while Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson provided two assists each and Sam Montembeault stopped 20 shots. Armia scored only 19 seconds into the game. Dylan Cozens scored for struggling Buffalo and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 15 saves on 21 shots, while backup James Reimer stopped all six that he faced after entering to start the third.
Ondrej Palat and Stefan Noesen scored and the New Jersey Devils beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1. Brenden Dillon also scored and Jesper Bratt added an empty-net goal for the Devils, who won their third straight game and fifth out of their last seven. Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves. Jordan Kyrou scored and Jordan Binnington made 24 saves for the Blues. Palat gave New Jersey the lead with 4:47 left in the first period with a slap shot off a banked entry pass from Luke Hughes. Palat has three goals in his last four games.
Rickard Rakell scored at 1:44 of overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 on Tuesday night. Rakell deflected Erik Karlsson’s point shot behind Darcy Kuemper for the game-winner. Evgeni Malkin scored, while Matt Grzelcyk forced overtime with 5:35 left in the third period with his first goal as a Penguin. Michael Bunting had two assists in his 300th NHL game. Alex Nedeljkovic made 29 saves. Adrian Kempe scored 33 seconds into the game for Los Angeles, and Alex Turcotte also scored. Vladislav Gavrikov added two assists. Kuemper stopped 28 shots.
Nick Paul had a goal and two assists to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jake Guentzel, Luke Glendening, Brayden Point and Mitchell Chaffee also scored for Tampa Bay, which has won five of six. Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 28 saves. Adam Fantilli, Cole Sillinger and Mikael Pyyhtia scored for the Blue Jackets. Jet Greaves made 27 saves for Columbus, which has one win in its past nine games. The Lightning pulled away in the second period, scoring three times. Paul had the first goal and assisted on the next two.
Ryan Donato scored his team-leading 11th goal with 2:18 left in regulation to cap Chicago’s three-goal, third-period rally and lift the Blackhawks to a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night. TJ Brodie connected with 5:53 left in the third period to tie it at 2. Ilya Mikheyev scored Chicago’s first short-handed goal of the season, connecting 51 seconds into the third to start the Blackhawks’ comeback from a two-goal deficit. Pierre-Luc Dubois and Andrew Mangiapane scored for Washington in the first period. Arvid Soderblom made 20 saves and and Thompson blocked 20 shots.
Linus Ullmark made 30 saves and the Ottawa Senators won their fourth straight game with a 3-0 win over the Seattle Kraken. Shane Pinto broke the scoreless tie 8:02 into the second period, and Noah Gregor scored a few minutes later to put the Senators ahead for good. Tim Stutzle made it a three-goal game at 4:18 the third period when he snuck one past Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord for his 11th goal of the season and first since Nov. 30. Daccord finished the night with 24 saves.
Adam Lowry scored the winning goal with just over a minute left in regulation, Kyle Connor had two goals, and the Winnipeg Jets rallied from a third-period deficit to beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3. Gabriel Vilardi had three assists and Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists for the Jets. Tyler Toffoli had a goal and an assist for San Jose, and Fabian Zetterlund and Macklin Celebrini each added a goal. The Jets trailed 3-2 midway through the third when Connor scored his 19th goal on a power play. Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck had 32 saves. Alexandar Georgiev turned back 29 shots for San Jose.
NBA
Everyone has a lucky number in Las Vegas. For the Milwaukee Bucks, it was 3. And the NBA Cup was their prize. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 26 points to go along with 19 rebounds and 10 assists, Damian Lillard added 23 points and the Bucks connected on 17 3-pointers on the way to beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-81 in the NBA Cup title game on Tuesday night.
The NBA’s All-Star Game is going to be an All-Star tournament this season, with the league announcing that it has finalized plans to use a different format for the upcoming midseason showcase in San Francisco. And scoring is sure to be down — way, way, way down. This season’s format announced Tuesday is a four-team, three-game, one-night tournament, three teams of eight All-Stars apiece and the fourth team being the winner of the Rising Stars challenge for first- and second-year players. The winning team in all games will be the first to score 40 points.
NFL
The Atlanta Falcons are turning to rookie Michael Penix Jr. as their starting quarterback and benching veteran Kirk Cousins as they fight for their first playoff berth since 2017. Coach Raheem Morris announced the decision in a statement Tuesday night. Morris calls it “a football decision” and says the team is focused on preparing to face the New York Giants on Sunday. The Falcons (7-7) ended a four-game losing streak with Monday night's ugly 15-9 win at Las Vegas. Cousins passed for 112 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Patrick Mahomes is battling another ankle injury. Josh Allen has a banged-up shoulder. Geno Smith is dealing with a knee issue. Those are just the quarterbacks who got injured in Week 15. The Detroit Lions keep losing players at an alarming rate. Other teams are dealing with injuries to key players. It’s often not the best team that’s standing at the end, but the one that was healthiest going into the playoffs.
The Washington Commanders are another step closer to the possibility of returning to the franchise’s old home in the nation’s capital. A provision to transfer the land that is the site of the old RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia is included in Congress’ short-term spending bill, which is expected to pass. It’s a significant victory for the organization and the NFL after controlling owner Josh Harris and Commissioner Roger Goodell lobbied lawmakers on Capitol Hill on the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act. The Commanders are considering places in the district, Maryland and Virginia to build a new stadium in the coming years.
WOMEN’S SPORTS
Record numbers of basketball fans filled arenas to watch the rookie seasons of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese unfold. Simone Biles captivated the world at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Coco Gauff made women’s tennis history. It was all part of a pivotal year for women in sports, both financially and culturally, and after a steady rise in popularity and reach over the past few years, the women’s game is more valuable than ever. The WNBA had one of its most successful seasons ever, and new leagues and athletes in other sports have been able to capitalize on that momentum.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
St. Bonaventure 65 Siena 48
Marist 68 Stony Brook 66
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Holy Cross 66 Marist 49
UConn 101 Iowa State 68
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Michael Vick has agreed to become the head coach at Norfolk State in a return to football for the former NFL star, who has never coached at any level. The 44-year-old Vick announced on his Facebook page on Tuesday night that he has accepted the job. Norfolk State did not immediately confirm the hiring of Vick, who grew up in nearby Newport News. Vick starred in college at Virginia Tech and was a four-time Pro Bowler in 13 seasons for Atlanta, Philadelphia, the New York Jets and Pittsburgh. He served 18 months in federal prison in the prime of his career after pleading guilty to his role in a dogfighting ring.
Auburn standout center Johni Broome left Tuesday's win over Georgia State after injuring his right shoulder while going for a defensive rebound in the first three minutes of the eventual 100-59 victory. Tigers coach Bruce Pearl said Broome's shoulder ‘slipped out and came back.’ The coach said Broome will be checked again on Wednesday. Broome suffered an injury to the same shoulder during a preseason exhibition in 2023. He did not miss any time during the regular season, but wore a protective sleeve on the shoulder for the first several games.
© 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
