The NHL isn’t a copycat league. It’s a response league. After the big and gritty St. Louis Blues muscled their way to the Stanley Cup, division rivals have responded in different ways. The Nashville Predators…

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Oakland Athletics knew they had a big hole to fill in their starting rotation when they lost ace Frankie Montas to a long suspension. For one night, Daniel Mengden slipped…

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Mitch Garver hit two of Minnesota’s five home runs, and the Twins held on for an 8-6 victory over the New York Yankees after a tone-setting triple play in the first inning…

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt hit his fifth career grand slam in the top of the 10th and right fielder Jose Martinez threw out the tying run at the plate to help the St. Louis…

CINCINNATI (AP) — Utility player Yairo Munoz wants his St. Louis manager to trust that he’ll produce in any situation. He banked a lot of trust on Sunday. Munoz celebrated a rare start with a…

At Wrigley Field, misters in the back of the bleachers tried to cool the crowd. At Yankee Stadium, only one player took batting practice on the field. In Cleveland, rules were relaxed on what fans…

CINCINNATI (AP) — Josh VanMeter’s attempt to move the runner cleared the bases. Yasiel Puig hit a game-tying double to end Miles Mikolas’ shutout bid, VanMeter followed with his first major league home run and…

CINCINNATI (AP) — Even from the training room, Adam Wainwright could sense something brewing. “You just had that feeling,” he said. “Every one of those guys said, ‘We’ve got you.’ Jose Martinez homered and singled…

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Looking for a positive vibe after a disappointing season, the Atlanta Falcons instead faced scrutiny Monday over a coaching decision that would normally attract scant attention. Shortly after taking the…

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks will be without defensive lineman Jarran Reed for the first six games of the season after he was suspended by the NFL on Monday for violating the league’s personal…

NEW YORK (AP) — In some versions of a July 19 story about the Sports Matter initiative, The Associated Press erroneously identified the RAND Corp. as the RAND Institute. A corrected version of the story…

Until the NFL shortens its preseason, there will be one goal in late July and early August. Stay healthy. Unfortunately, nearly every team sustains significant injuries, some of which can be devastating for the regular…

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Texans have placed star defensive end J.J. Watt and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins on the physically unable to perform list. Also going on the PUP list was wide receiver DeAndre…

Here are the latest scores from today’s sports events: ——— INTERLEAGUE Philadelphia at Detroit 7:10 p.m. Kansas City at Atlanta 7:20 p.m. Miami at Chi White Sox 8:10 p.m. Baltimore at Arizona 9:40 p.m. L-A…

A look at what’s happening around the majors today: STAY OR GO? Madison Bumgarner has been mentioned a lot in the last month as a top trade target. That was before the Giants went on…

SEATTLE (AP) — Marco Gonzales gave up a run in the first inning in part due to a fan. He gave up four singles in five batters to open the second and was immediately in…

PHOENIX (AP) — Diamondbacks outfielder Adam Jones wasn’t caught up in the emotions of playing against his former team. Jones downplayed the significance of his first game against the Baltimore Orioles since he was a…

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The fog machine, strobe lights and blaring music in the clubhouse tell the story of San Francisco’s winning midseason vibe after all those months of losing when contending seemed so far…

SEATTLE (AP) — Ron Francis has all kinds of eye-popping statistics attached to his Hall of Fame career. He averaged more than point a game, is second in NHL history in assists behind Wayne Gretzky…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin will go to China as part of the NHL’s continued outreach in that country. Ovechkin will visit Beijing in early August as a league ambassador. He’s expected to…

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle’s NHL expansion team is close to an agreement with Hockey Hall of Famer Ron Francis to become its first general manager, a person with direct knowledge tells The Associated Press. The…

After the New Jersey Devils acquired P.K. Subban, Taylor Hall texted Ray Shero a green checkmark. “Like, ‘Check that box off,'” Shero said. “I guess that’s good.” The Devils have a much longer checklist to…

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA 2K League has partnered with internet giant Tencent to stream games in China for the first time. The league announced the deal Tuesday. Tencent is the league’s first distribution…

Tim Duncan is back with the San Antonio Spurs, this time as an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich. Duncan, the Spurs’ all-time leader in points, rebounds and blocked shots — and the only player to…

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers have been awarded the rights to Kostas Antetokounmpo on a waiver claim. The Lakers announced the move Monday to acquire the 21-year-old brother of Milwaukee Bucks…

BOSTON (AP) — If this basketball thing doesn’t work out for Brad Stevens, he already has a backup plan in mind. The Boston Celtics coach joked on Wednesday that he’s hoping to capitalize on his…

BOSTON (AP) — Enes Kanter took a playful swipe at him. Kemba Walker will try to replace him. Kyrie Irving is no longer with the Celtics, but his brief flameout in Boston is still on…