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…

St. Louis 0 2 0—2 Dallas 0 0 0—0 First Period_None. Penalties_Harley, DAL, (hooking), 12:55. Second Period_1, St. Louis, Kostin (Barbashev), 9:02. 2, St. Louis, Bortuzzo (Walker, Laferriere), 14:31. Penalties_MacEachern, STL, (cross checking), 18:57. Third…

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…

CHICAGO (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs wasted no time trading blows in the first game of their crucial four-game series. Then, the Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter delivered a haymaker that put the…

A look at what’s happening around the majors Friday: POPPIN’ Ronald Acuña Jr. and the Braves are poised to break out the bubbly, with a magic number of one to clinch their second straight NL…

NEW YORK (AP) — The resilient New York Yankees powered their way to the club’s first AL East title since 2012, routing the Los Angeles Angels 9-1 Thursday night behind three RBIs each from old…

CHICAGO (AP) — Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo hit a tying home run in his surprise return to the lineup Thursday night for the opener of a crucial four-game series against the NL Central-leading St. Louis…

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…

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…

So many factors went into Antonio Brown’s release by the Patriots on Friday. It would be stunning if he draws interest from any other teams as the league’s investigation continues. His time in the NFL…

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard said he knew he had a concussion in the season opener against Dallas but played to try to help the team win. Speaking…

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…

BALTIMORE (AP) — Félix Hernández labored through five innings in what was likely his penultimate start with Seattle, and the Baltimore Orioles got home runs from Anthony Santander and Hanser Alberto in a 5-3 victory…

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…

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán is being investigated for an alleged domestic violence incident involving his girlfriend at home this week, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on…

MIAMI (AP) — Don Mattingly says he’s glad to be returning next year as the Miami Marlins manager to provide stability for a struggling franchise, because as a player he experienced the other extreme. Mattingly…

N.Y. Islanders 0 1 2 1—4 Detroit 1 0 2 0—3 First Period_1, Detroit, Athanasiou 1 (Filppula, Hirose), 7:53. Penalties_Athanasiou, DET, (interference), 1:15; Nelson, NYI, (hooking), 4:42; Kaski, DET, (tripping), 18:18. Second Period_2, N.Y. Islanders,…

N.Y. Rangers 0 1 1—2 New Jersey 3 1 0—4 First Period_1, New Jersey, Hughes 1 (Hall), 0:34. 2, New Jersey, Hall 1 (Palmieri, Hughes), 11:55 (pp). 3, New Jersey, Coleman 1 (Zajac), 18:00. Penalties_Strome,…

Buffalo 0 0 0—0 Toronto 1 1 1—3 First Period_1, Toronto, Johnsson 1 (Matthews, Agostino), 9:48 (pp). Penalties_Borgen, BUF, (hooking), 8:51. Second Period_2, Toronto, Matthews 1 (Nylander, Johnsson), 12:15. Penalties_Marincin, TOR, (interference), 12:37; Lazar, BUF,…

Nashville 1 0 0—1 Tampa Bay 0 0 3—3 First Period_1, Nashville, Jarnkrok 1 (Bonino, Turris), 15:32 (pp). Penalties_Rutta, TB, (interference), 8:03; Katchouk, TB, (tripping), 14:58; Paquette, TB, (tripping), 15:42. Second Period_None. Penalties_Santini, NSH, (roughing),…

Filip Chytil beat the last defender to the net, snapped the shot past Tuukka Rask and barreled over the goaltender he had just scored on. Rask flipped his mask off, lay prone and needed assistance…

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…