MLB:
A busy trade deadline day in major league baseball yesterday nine months after winning the World Series, the last-place Red Sox unloaded five key members of their championship team. The Red Sox sent left-hander John Lester, outfielder Jonny Gomes and cash to the Oakland Athletics for Yoenis Cespedes, and a draft pick. Then they traded lefty reliever Andrew Miller to the Baltimore Orioles. The Bosox also shipped Lackey to St. Louis for fellow righty Joe Kelly and outfielder Allen Craig. And Shortstop Stephen Drew was dealt to the New York Yankees for third-baseman Kelly Johnson.
And speaking of the Yankees, the Bronx Bombers have acquired veteran infielder Martin Prado from the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league catcher Peter O'Brien. The Diamondbacks will also get either a player to be named or cash in the deal that was completed before yesterday's trade deadline.
The Detroit Tigers have amassed quite a collection of Cy Young Award winners. The latest is David Price, who was acquired from Tampa Bay in a three-team deal with Seattle before yesterday’s trade deadline. The Rays received left-hander Drew Smyly and minor league infielder Willy Adames from the Tigers. Tampa Bay also got infielder Nick Franklin from Seattle, with Detroit outfielder Austin Jackson going to the Mariners.
The trade joins Price with Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in the rotation for the AL Central-leading Tigers, giving Detroit the last three AL Cy Young winners.
On the field, in the American League, The Yankees and Red Sox were off, elsewhere, Toronto topped Houston 6-5, the Angels edged Baltimore 1-0 in 13, Kansas City doubled up Minnesota 6-3, Seattle beat Cleveland 6-5, and the White Sox bested Detroit 7-4.
In the National League, The Mets were off, … the Cubs defeated Colorado 3-1, Philadelphia trumped Washington 10-4, St. Louis bested San Diego 6-2, Cincinnati won against Miami 3-1, Arizona beat Pittsburgh 7-4, and it was the Dodgers over Atlanta 2-1.
Horse Racing:
At Saratoga Race Course, Jockey Jack Doyle rode Makari to win the Grade 1 $100,000 dollar A.P. Smithwick Memorial for Trainer Elizabeth Voss.
Tomorrow marks three Grade 1 Stakes races including the Whitney. The Grade 1 race worth 1.5 million dollars starts at 5:46 p.m., the Grade 1 Test for 500,000 dollars at 5:14 p.m., and the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbuilt Handicap for 350,000 dollars kicks off at 4:42 p.m.
NFL:
Baltimore running back Ray Rice says his actions against his then-fiancee were "totally inexcusable" and insists he had never been a part of any domestic violence incidents before.
He was arrested on assault charges following a Feb. 15 altercation in New Jersey in which he allegedly struck his fiancé now wife Janay Palmer. Rice has been accepted into a diversion program, which upon completion could lead to the charges being dropped.
He received a two-game suspension from the NFL and a fine in excess of $500,000. He said he never intended to appeal the punishment.
Donald Trump's attorney confirms the real estate mogul has been chosen to advance to the next round of bidding to purchase the Buffalo Bills. A person close to the process tells The Associated Press that Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula have also been selected.
WNBA:
In the WNBA, Atlanta beat Tulsa 85-75, Chicago bested New York 87-74, Minnesota defeated Phoenix 75-67, and it was Indiana over Seattle 76-67.
NCAA:
In men's college basketball, defending champion Connecticut will face St. John's in the ninth annual Maggie Dixon Classic on January 4th. The Huskies, who went 40-0 last season en route to a record ninth national title, will be making their fourth appearance in the game at Madison Square Garden. The event honors former Army coach Maggie Dixon, who died in 2006.
WWE:
The WWE is set to make its video vault of classic matches on its video-streamed network available around the globe. WWE has hit 700,000 subscribers since the company launched the WWE Network in February.
NBA:
The NBA is adding its Twitter handle to its official game ball for next season. The handle @NBA will be added to the left of the league's logo, making it the first game ball to have it in any of the four major pro sports in North America.
©2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
