St. Louis 2 0 1 1—4 Winnipeg 1 1 1 0—3 First Period_1, St. Louis, Kostin (Blais), 5:32. 2, St. Louis, Edmundson (Kostin, Blais), 12:11. 3, Winnipeg, Ehlers, 12:49. Penalties_Kostin, STL, (holding), 15:23. Second Period_4,…

St. Louis 1 0 1—2 Washington 0 1 2—3 First Period_1, St. Louis, Poganski (Fabbri), 13:37. Penalties_Hagelin, WSH, (hooking), 5:08; Bozak, STL, (holding), 7:04. Second Period_2, Washington, Gudas (Leason, Ovechkin), 7:15. Penalties_Oshie, WSH, (slashing), 0:58;…

St. Louis had better dig in for its repeat bid. The defending Stanley Cup champion Blues will have their hands full in the Western Conference, which seems to have a slew of contenders. And, every…

Getting swept in the first round wasn’t enough to knock the Tampa Bay Lightning off the mountaintop. After finishing 21 points ahead of everyone else during the 2018-19 regular season, the Lightning are again Stanley…

CHICAGO (AP) — Yadier Molina and Paul DeJong homered on Craig Kimbrel’s first two pitches in the ninth inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals handed the reeling Chicago Cubs their fifth straight loss with a…

CHICAGO (AP) — Yadier Molina trotted around the bases while his teammates celebrated in the dugout. Paul DeJong lost his voice because he was screaming so much. It was one wild party for the St.…

A look at what’s happening around the majors today: TEXAS ONE-STEP The Astros can clinch a third straight AL West title with a win over the Angels or a loss by Oakland. Houston has won…

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves clinched their second straight NL East title as Ronald Acuña Jr. hit his 41st homer in a 6-0 win over San Francisco on Friday night that eliminated the Giants…

A look at what’s happening around the majors Saturday: TEXAS ONE-STEP The Astros can clinch a third straight AL West title with a win over the Angels or a loss by Oakland. Houston has won…

CHICAGO (AP) — Yadier Molina and the St. Louis Cardinals are taking charge of the NL Central by grinding out tough, ugly wins. And bouncing back after absorbing some unpleasant blows. Molina overcame a painful…

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Mark Whipple installed the play he dubbed “Pitt Special” during the second week of training camp. Whipple had his first-stringers run it once against the starting defense and it…

Once, the Ravens at Chiefs would have been looked at as one of those old-fashioned strong defense vs. dangerous offense matchups. You know: “Here’s what we do, try to stop us” against “Here’s what we…

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Antonio Brown was released by the New England Patriots on Friday after a second woman accused him of sexual misconduct — the third team in seven months to tire of the…

Part of the lore emanating from the Immaculate Reception is built around Steelers founder Art Rooney heading down to the locker room and missing the greatest play in NFL history. His grandson and namesake, Art…

Immaculate indeed. Pittsburgh running back Franco Harris’ scoop of a deflected pass and subsequent run for the winning touchdown in a 1972 playoff victory against Oakland — forever known as the “Immaculate Reception” — has…

A look at what’s happening around the majors today: THE BIG 2-0 Justin Verlander tries to become a 20-game winner for the second time in his career as the Astros aim to clinch the AL…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — With no postseason hopes on the line, the Colorado Rockies will still take any win they can get, especially at Dodger Stadium. Ryan McMahon and Josh Fuentes hit solo homers, and…

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Marcus Semien is going to need a little bit of luck to become the first Athletics player in more than 15 years to get 200 hits. Getting into the AL MVP…

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A new manager didn’t change the results for the staggering San Diego Padres. Rod Barajas lost his debut as San Diego’s interim manager, falling 4-2 to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday…

BALTIMORE (AP) — Edging off second base with two outs in the 13th inning, Mallex Smith had one thought in mind as Orioles third baseman Rio Ruiz whipped the ball across the diamond. “I am…

Anaheim 0 1 2 0—3 Arizona 1 1 1 0—4 Arizona won shootout 2-0. First Period_1, Arizona, Bunting (Chaput, Ekman-Larsson), 12:09. Penalties_Del Zotto, ANA, (interference), 1:42; Ekman-Larsson, ARI, (hooking), 4:24; Larsson, ANA, (high sticking), 9:44;…

Boston 0 1 1 0—2 Chicago 1 1 0 1—3 First Period_1, Chicago, Strome (DeBrincat, Kane), 3:14 (pp). Penalties_Fitzgerald, BOS, (hooking), 2:01. Second Period_2, Boston, Fitzgerald, 3:23. 3, Chicago, Saad (Wedin), 18:37. Penalties_Carpenter, CHI, Penalty…

Tampa Bay 1 1 2 0—4 Nashville 1 1 2 1—5 First Period_1, Nashville, Forsberg (Johansen, Josi), 6:31 (pp). 2, Tampa Bay, Gaunce (Joseph), 8:36. Penalties_Witkowski, TB, (interference), 5:35; Maroon, TB, (roughing), 18:54. Second Period_3,…

Vegas 1 1 1—3 San Jose 0 1 0—1 First Period_1, Vegas, Zykov (Pacioretty, Glass), 11:06. Penalties_Roy, VGK, (holding), 7:30. Second Period_2, Vegas, Pacioretty (Smith, Glass), 14:38. 3, San Jose, Suomela (Labanc, Vlasic), 14:55. Penalties_None.…

Montreal 0 2 2—4 Ottawa 0 0 0—0 First Period_None. Penalties_Kotkaniemi, MTL, (tripping), 3:52; Fleury, MTL, (holding), 8:43; Weal, MTL, (holding), 17:22; White, OTT, (holding), 17:57; Formenton, OTT, (slashing), 18:40; Kotkaniemi, MTL, (slashing), 18:40. Second…

The NBA’s board of governors was unanimous Friday in its approval of a plan to stiffen potential penalties for tampering with players and employees under contract with other clubs, hoping for increased compliance in existing…

USA Basketball has kept its No. 1 spot in the FIBA world men’s rankings, even after a disappointing seventh-place showing in the World Cup that ended earlier this week. It’s now nine-years-and-counting in the top…

NEW YORK (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets have a new owner and a new CEO. Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai completed his purchase of the team and Barclays Center on Wednesday, then announced that he had…

NEW YORK (AP) — That LeBron James jersey could get a little more expensive. Companies that make clothing and shoes for the National Basketball Association players are in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s escalating…

BEIJING (AP) — Kobe Bryant went to China for the first time in 1998, making the trip to Beijing to help operate an instructional basketball clinic for about a dozen kids. The local coaches working…