l Page 975 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Rays, Nationals turn to struggling pitchers in series opener
Time is running out for the Tampa Bay Rays.,As August winds down, the Rays are lingering on the fringe of the American League wild-card race with three teams between them and the Seattle Mariners, who hold the final spot.,A ray of hope has been provided by the schedule makers. On Friday night, Tampa...

Bottom-third of order slugs Diamondbacks past Brewers
Tyler Locklear, Alek Thomas and Ildemaro Vargas each drove in a pair of runs on Thursday afternoon to propel the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks to a 6-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.,Nabil Crismatt (2-0) threw 5 2/3 innings for Arizona, allowing four runs (two earned) on eight hits, while strik...

Tennessee awards coach Rick Barnes lifetime contract
Rick Barnes has job security at Tennessee for as long as he wants to continue coaching.,Barnes received a lifetime contract to remain the men's basketball coach in Knoxville, athletic director Danny White announced Thursday.,"Rick has taken our program to unprecedented heights, and we are absolutely...

Cardinals break away late to split series with Pirates
Jordan Walker hit a two-run home run to power the St. Louis Cardinals past the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 Thursday afternoon.,Thomas Saggese went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run as the Cardinals earned a split of the four-game series.,Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas allowed one run on four hits i...

Christian Walker blasts two homers, including game-winner in win over Rockies
Christian Walker's second home run of the game broke a tie in the eighth inning and gave the host Houston Astros a 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.,The Astros, who took the two of three in the series, also got a homer from Jose Altuve.,Ezequiel Tovar and Yanquiel Fernandez homered for ...

Mets C Francisco Alvarez plans to play through pinky fracture
Despite yet another injury, this time a small fracture on the pinky finger of his left hand, New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez still intends on playing in the major leagues down the stretch.,Alvarez was on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday when he was hit by a pitch and forc...

Rob Refsnyder homers in return, Red Sox finish 4-game sweep of O's
Trevor Story and Rob Refsnyder homered, and Romy Gonzalez's tiebreaking single in the eighth inning lifted the Boston Red Sox to a 3-2 victory against the host Baltimore Orioles to complete a four-game series sweep Thursday afternoon.,Roman Anthony had two hits for the Red Sox, who went 7-1 on an ei...

Hawaii rides wave of momentum into Arizona visit
A week after Hawaii achieved the biggest win of the coach Timmy Chang era, the Rainbow Warriors are in search of an even larger accomplishment Saturday on the mainland against Arizona at Tucson, Ariz.,Hawaii's 23-20 season-opening win over Stanford at Honolulu last week was the first victory over a ...

NFC East Primer: Sleeping Giants in New York?
Finding a passing lane in the NFC East might be a pipe dream.,Based on the talent and depth assembled by Super Bowl champion Philadelphia, the Eagles are still viewed as the team to beat in the division. Upstart Washington came out of nowhere to beat the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the Detroit Lions, and...

Chasing 21st straight home win, Washington hosts Colorado State
Washington had a losing record last season just one campaign after falling to Michigan in the College Football Playoff national championship game.,Kalen DeBoer fled to become Alabama's coach and player departures were rampant on both sides of the ball. Still, the Huskies managed a 6-0 home mark.,Now...

Guardians release veteran 1B Carlos Santana
The Cleveland Guardians released veteran first baseman Carlos Santana on Thursday, ending his third tenure with the club.,Santana, 39, is having the least productive season of his career, with a .225/.316/.333 slash line through 116 games. His .650 OPS is the lowest of his career.,The 2019 All-Star ...

Legal NFL wagering expected to reach $30B this season
Legal wagering on the NFL continues to expand, with the American Gaming Organization estimating that the handle during the upcoming season is expected to reach $30 billion for the first time.,That total would represent an 8.5 percent increase over the $27.6 billion wagered on the NFL in the 2024 sea...

Freshman QB takes lead as BYU faces Portland State
When BYU's Bear Bachmeier takes the field against Portland State in Provo, Utah, on Saturday, he will be the first true freshman quarterback to start a season opener for the Cougars.,Bachmeier transferred from Stanford after spring practices and earned a shot to claim the starting job after returnin...

Doris Burke extended by ESPN, but out on NBA Finals team
Doris Burke signed a multi-year contract extension with ESPN, but she will no longer be part of the NBA Finals announcer team for ABC/ESPN, the company revealed Thursday.,Following an initial report of Burke's demotion in The Athletic, ESPN announced that Tim Legler will join the four-person "lead N...

Yakutou Brothers added to The International
Yakutou Brothers have been added to The International 2025 field as late replacements for the Gaimin Gladiators, who withdrew from Dota 2's season-ending event.,Also known as Yakult Brothers, the team shared its addition via social media. It also gives The International a trio of Chinese teams in th...

AFC East Primer: MVP Josh Allen, Bills ride again
Buffalo rolls into the 2025 season as the continued standard-bearer in the AFC East.,Last season, the Bills were perfect at home (8-0) and won 13 games in the regular season before another painful dismissal from the playoffs at the hands of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. ,Quarterback Jo...

Astros RHP Lance McCullers Jr. makes 'short term' move to bullpen
Houston Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. will be available to work out of the bullpen in the "short term," manager Joe Espada said prior to Thursday's game against the Colorado Rockies.,McCullers initially was in line to start Friday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. Right-hander Cristia...

Red Sox activate RHP Justin Slaten, OF Rob Refsnyder
The Boston Red Sox activated right-hander Justin Slaten from the 60-day injured list Thursday and brought back outfielder Rob Refsnyder from the 10-day IL.,Slaten has been out since late May with shoulder inflammation, while Refsnyder was sidelined with a left oblique strain.,To make room on the act...

Cowboys ($13B) top Forbes' list, average team worth $7.1B
The Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable NFL team for a 19th consecutive year, according to the annual list published by Forbes on Thursday.,The Cowboys have a record valuation of $13 billion. That serves as a 29-percent increase from last August when "America's Team" became the first pro sports clu...

Missouri State opens FBS chapter against USC
Southern California welcomes Missouri State to the ranks of the Football Bowl Subdivision when the programs meet on Saturday in Los Angeles. ,USC embarks on a pivotal 2025 campaign against the fledgling FBS program, which is in its first season as a Conference USA member. ,The Bears were members of ...