© 2024
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
An update has been released for the Android version of the WAMC App that addresses performance issues. Please check the Google Play Store to download and update to the latest version.

#SportsReport: Penguins Beat Maple Leafs; Senators Rip Sabres

Penguins logo
wikipedia.org
Pittsburgh Penguins Logo

There's a new leader in the NHL's Metropolitan Division. Sidney Crosby continued his scoring binge by furnishing a goal and three assists as the Penguins knocked off the Maple Leafs, 5-2. The outcome moves the Pens one point ahead of Washington in the Metropolitan standings. 

Crosby has collected seven goals and 23 points in 13 games since returning from core muscle surgery on Jan. 14. The Pens were six points off the division lead when Crosby made his comeback. Bryan Rust had a goal and two assists in Pittsburgh's third consecutive win and sixth in eight games. Teddy Blueger's goal gave the Penguins a 5-0 lead with 7:25 left in the second period.

The Senators whipped the Sabres, 7-4 as Craig Anderson made 23 saves in his 200th win with Ottawa. Jean-Gabriel Pageau contributed two goals and two assists for the Senators, who also received a two-goal night from Artem Anisimov.

The Blues ended their season-high, five-game losing streak as Ivan Barbashev scored twice in a 3-0 victory against the Devils. Jaden Schwartz furnished the other goal and Jordan Binnington made 17 saves for his seventh career shutout and second this season. The outcome gives St. Louis a two-point edge over Dallas in the Central Division.

The Flyers are in third place in the Metropolitan Division after Travis Konecny had a goal and two assists in their 5-1 rout of the Blue Jackets. Kevin Hayes, Sean Couturier, Philippe Myers and Jakub Voracek also scored as Philadelphia made the most of its 15 shots to move one point ahead of the Islanders and Columbus in the division standings.

Andrei Svechnikov and Nino Niederreiter each scored in the second period as the Hurricanes knocked off the Predators, 4-1. That puts Carolina in a virtual tie with Columbus and the Islanders for the two Eastern Conference wild-card berths. Jordan Staal scored a goal in the first, Sebastian Aho added a third-period tally and Justin Williams had two assists.

The Jets doubled up the Kings, 6-3 behind Blake Wheeler's two goals and one assist. Nikolaj Ehlers added a goal and two assists to Winnipeg's fifth victory in seven games, which leaves the Jets one point away from a Western Conference playoff slot.

Andreas Athanasiou scored twice while the Red Wings were netting three unanswered goals in the third period to rally past the Canadiens, 4-3. Athanasiou gave Detroit its first lead with 5:15 remaining before the Wings ended a four-game skid.

In NHL news, Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester is back in St. Louis after collapsing on the bench during a game in Anaheim last week. Bouwmeester issued a statement saying he's "on the road to recovery" after going into cardiac arrest in the first period versus the Ducks. He had a cardioverter defibrillator implanted into his chest at UCI Medical Center in Orange County, California, where he had been hospitalized until returning to St. Louis on Sunday. The Blues put Bouwmeester on long-term injured reserve, which gives them salary-cap relief. They added blueline help by acquiring defenseman Marco Scandella from the Canadiens for a 2020 second-round pick and conditional fourth-rounder next year.

The Capitals have bolstered their blue line by acquiring veteran Brenden Dillon from the San Jose Sharks for Colorado's 2020 second-round pick and a conditional 2021 third-rounder. Dillon has averaged just under 20 minutes a game this season and could play on the Capitals' second pairing with Dmitry Orlov. The nine-year NHL veteran has scored 22 goals and 114 points in 588 regular-season games.

NASCAR

NASCAR driver Ryan Newman is awake and speaking with family and doctors a day after his horrific crash on the final lap of the Daytona 500. Roush Fenway Racing released an update on its driver about 20 hours after Newman's car slammed into the wall at nearly 200 mph, flipped, got T-boned by another car, flipped several more times and skidded to a halt in flames. Everyone watching feared the worst Monday night and had to wait nearly two hours to learn that Newman's injuries were not considered life-threatening.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

In men's college basketball, UMass defeated Saint Louis 67-63. 

In men's top-25 basketball, top-ranked Baylor has become the Big 12 record-holder for most consecutive victories with 23, breaking the mark set by Kansas 23 years ago. The mark could further motivate the Jayhawks when they visit the Bears on Saturday in a 1-versus-3 matchup. Jared Butler scored 22 points as the Bears downed Oklahoma, 65-54 to improve to 24-1 overall and 13-0 in the conference. Mark Vital had 10 points and Freddie Gillespie grabbed 10 rebounds for Baylor, which played a second straight game without leading scorer MaCio Teague because of a wrist injury. The Sooners led 10-5 until the Bears went on a 23-9 spurt to take control. Kristian Doolittle had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma.

Jalen Crutcher scored 18 points and No. 5 Dayton picked up its 15th straight victory by downing VCU, 66-61. Obi Toppin finished 12 points and Dwayne Cohill made a pair of free throws with 22.4 seconds left after the Rams closed within one point.

Jalen Smith dropped in 22 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as seventh-ranked Maryland held off Northwestern, 76-67 to take a two-game lead in the Big Ten Conference at 12-3. Anthony Cowan added 19 points for the Terrapins, who are 22-4 overall following their ninth consecutive victory.

Eighth-ranked Florida State was an 82-67 winner against Pittsburgh as freshman Patrick Williams contributed 16 points and Anthony Polite added 10 with six rebounds. Williams scored in double figures for the 10th time this season as the Seminoles improved to 14-0 at home and 22-4 overall.

Ayo Dosunmu scored 24 points and Illinois snapped a four-game losing streak with a 62-56 victory over ninth-ranked Penn State. Kofi Cockburn added 14 points for the Fighting Illini, who led most of the way and ended the Nittany Lions' eight-game winning streak.

Immanuel Quickley scored 21 points and No. 10 Kentucky shot 8-for-9 from 3-point range in the second half to pull out a 79-76 victory against LSU. Nick Richards scored 13 points and blocked six shots for the 21-5 Wildcats, who have won five straight and nine of 10.

Miles McBride and Sean McNeil provided 11 points apiece to help No. 17 West Virginia knock off Oklahoma State, 65-47. Oscar Tshiebwe added eight points and 15 rebounds for the Mountaineers, who held the Cowboys to a season-low 14 second-half points. Bob Huggins earned his 879th career victory to tie North Carolina's Dean Smith for sixth all-time among Division I coaches.

Ty-Shon Alexander scored 22 points and Marcus Zegarowski added 17 in leading 15th-ranked Creighton to a 73-65 victory at No. 19 Marquette. The Bluejays have won eight of nine to move within a half-game of first-place Seton Hall in the Big East standings.

NBA

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving won't play in their first game after the All-Star break Thursday at Philadelphia because of more trouble with his right shoulder that sidelined him earlier this season. Nets coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters Tuesday that Irving would see a specialist this week. Irving has missed 26 games during his first season in Brooklyn with an impingement. He has played in just 20 of the Nets' 53 games.

The Pistons and Reggie Jackson have agreed on a contract buyout that allows the veteran guard to sign with another team. Jackson is in the final season of his five-year, $80 million deal he signed in 2015 with the Pistons, who acquired him earlier that year in a trade with Oklahoma City. The 29-year-old Jackson is averaging 14.9 points and 5.1 assists this season, but he has been limited to just 14 games due to a back injury.

MLB

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge did not hit or throw during the team's first full squad workout Tuesday because of what the team said was a minor right shoulder issue. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the problem is not considered serious and that Judge could start to ramp up activities in a couple days. Judge is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season. Judge had been taking part in early workouts at the Yankees' minor league complex and experienced some soreness in the last couple weeks. He shut down from hitting about a week ago.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has apologized for what he called a disrespectful reference to the World Series trophy as a "piece of metal." Even before being asked about it at the Cactus League media day, Manfred said he made a mistake with those comments when trying to deliver a rhetorical point in an interview two days earlier. Players became infuriated by his "piece of metal" comment during a lengthy interview with ESPN on Sunday, the same day he spoke in Florida.

NFL

Quarterback Drew Brees says he intends to play for the New Orleans Saints again next season. The 41-year-old Brees used a social media post to announce his intention to "make another run at it" in what would be his 20th NFL season. Brees is the NFL's all-time leader with 6,867 completions, 77,416 yards passing and 547 touchdown throws. He was productive in leading the Saints to the playoffs last season despite missing five games with a throwing hand injury, completing 74.3% of his passes with 27 touchdowns and only four interceptions.

A person familiar with the situation says three-time Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen has agreed to a one-year, $7 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks. Olsen was released by the Carolina Panthers earlier this month after nine seasons with the team amid a rebuilding process under first-year coach Matt Rhule. Olsen has caught 718 passes for 8,444 yards and 59 touchdowns during a 13-season NFL career that began with a four-year run with the Chicago Bears.

Punter Ryan Allen and kicker Younghoe Koo are set to return to the Falcons next season. Allen and Koo each joined the Falcons midway through the 2019 season and performed well enough to earn one-year contract extensions for the 2020 season.

The Cardinals have re-signed starting left tackle D.J. Humphries to a three-year contract that keeps him with the team through the 2022 season. The 26-year-old Humphries started all 16 games at left tackle last season, anchoring an offensive line that protects franchise quarterback Kyler Murray.

President Donald Trump has pardoned Edward DeBartolo Jr., the former San Francisco 49ers owner convicted in a gambling fraud scandal. DeBartolo Jr. built the San Francisco 49ers' 1980s-1990s dynasty. He was involved in one of the biggest owners' scandals in the sport's history. In 1998, he pleaded guilty to failing to report a felony when he paid $400,000 to former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards in exchange for a riverboat gambling license.

NCAA

The NCAA is moving toward allowing all Division I athletes to transfer one time without sitting out a season of competition. A plan to change the waiver process is expected to be presented to the Division I Council in April. If adopted, new criteria would go into effect for the 2020-21 academic year. Currently, football, men's and women's basketball, men's hockey and baseball players must sit out one season after transferring. The NCAA's announcement comes a day after the ACC became the second Power Five conference to publicly support the so-called one-time exception for all transfers. The Big Ten announced its support last fall.

Michigan State reportedly is investigating allegations of NCAA violations made by a former football staffer in a lawsuit. Curtis Blackwell filed a lawsuit claiming his employment agreement was violated when he was disciplined while the school addressed sexual assault allegations against players in 2017. A recent filing in that case from Blackwell's lawyer suggested that deposition testimony by then-coach Mark Dantonio may have revealed NCAA violations. Athletic director Bill Beekman said then that it was his understanding that the allegations were "patently false." But an athletic department spokesman told The Detroit News on Tuesday that the school is looking into them.

© The Associated Press 2020. All Rights Reserved.