Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins postponed their game against the Kansas City Royals on Friday night because of stormy weather. They scheduled a straight doubleheader for Saturday afternoon to start the series. Jake Odorizzi and Jose Berrios will pitch for the Twins. Ian Kennedy and Danny Duffy will start for the Royals. This was Minnesota's first postponed game of a season that began four months late due to the pandemic. The Twins and Royals will continue their four-game series on Sunday and Monday. The Royals swept a three-game set from the Twins in Kansas City last weekend.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Bo Horvat scored on a breakaway at 5:55 of overtime Friday night to give the Vancouver Canucks a 4-3 victory over the defending champion St. Louis Blues and a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference series. Horvat took a stretch pass from Quinn Hughes and chipped the puck through Jordan Binnington's legs. Game 3 of the best-of seven series is Sunday. St. Louis overcame a 3-1 deficit in the third period to tie it, with Jaden Schwartz tying it with eight seconds left. With Binnington pulled for the extra attacker, Alex Pietrangelo shot the puck from the point, and it was redirected past Markstrom. It was initially waved off as a high stick but ruled a goal on review. David Perron was initially credited with the goal.
UNDATED (AP) — Folks in the South aren't giving up on their beloved fall tradition of college football just yet. While other power conferences have conceded the fall to COVID-19, the Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 are all playing a shortened season. It's almost certainly not a geographic coincidence, because from Oklahoma to Alabama college football is king. Charles Reagan Wilson is a professor at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. He says college football is deeply rooted in the South and part of the very culture.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cardinals coach Willie McGee has opted out of being with the team for the rest of the season while Major League Baseball announced Friday several doubleheaders to make up for games St. Louis has missed because of the coronavirus. The 61-year-old McGee, a four-time All-Star outfielder and the 1985 NL MVP for the Cardinals, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he has high blood pressure. The Cardinals are 2-3 this season and haven't played since July 29 because of a virus outbreak that hit the team. They are set to resume with a doubleheader Saturday in Chicago against the White Sox.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs are gambling that big contracts paid out to quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce and defensive tackle Chris Jones this offseason will work out. The first consideration is whether the salary cap will continue to grow over the next few years, allowing them to absorb their increasing salaries. The second is that players such as Kelce, who turns 31 in October, will continue to produce at a Pro Bowl level as they reach their mid-30s.
Update on the latest sports
NHL-PLAYOFFS
Bruins goalie Tuuka Rask opts out of NHL playoffs
UNDATED (AP) — Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask has opted out of the team's playoff run. The Vezina (VEH'-zih-nuh) Trophy finalist said in a statement Saturday morning before Game 3 of Boston's playoff series against Carolina that "at this moment there are things more important than hockey in my life, and that is being with my family."
Rask led the NHL with a 2.12 goals-against average and was second in save percentage and shutouts.
Boston and Carolina are tied 1-1 in the best-of-seven series. After a 3-2 loss on Thursday night, Rask said he complained that the NHL's fan-free playoffs lacked the usual intensity.
The other playoff games on Saturday's schedule are Tampa Bay vs. Columbus, Colorado vs. Arizona and Las Vegas vs. Chicago. Colorado and Vegas have 2-0 leads in their series while Tampa Bay and Columbus each have one win.
NBA-GRIZZLIES-TRAIL BLAZERS
Play-in time: Blazers, Grizzlies to play Game 1
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Portland and Memphis meet today in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference play-in series. The Trail Blazers have the upper hand by finishing the seeding-game portion of the NBA's restart ahead of the Grizzlies. Portland needs one win while Memphis needs two to advance to a first-round matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Grizzlies came into the restart at Walt Disney World in control of the play-in race, then sputtered before winning the game they needed to on Thursday against Milwaukee to clinch a spot.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Cardinals finally set to play
UNDATED (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals finally get back to work after a COVID-19 outbreak forced the club to shut down for more than two weeks. They'll play for the first time since July 29 when they meet the White Sox on Saturday for a doubleheader in Chicago.
Game 1 will be just the sixth of the season for the Cardinals. Every other team in the NL Central has played at least 17 times. Major League Baseball has scheduled St. Louis to play in at least seven doubleheaders to make up for the games they missed.
St. Louis will be without coach Willie McGee, who has opted out of the season. McGee told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he is dealing with high blood pressure and is concerned about how his body would react if he fell ill.
The White Sox placed reliever Ian Hamilton on the 10-day injured list Saturday because of a sore right shoulder and transferred utilityman Leury García to the 45-day injured list with a sprained right thumb.
Elsewhere in the majors:
— Weather is contributing to Major League Baseball's scrambled schedule. Saturday's game between Milwaukee and the Chicago Cubs has been moved up to an afternoon start due to the threat of inclement weather in Chicago later in the day. A rainout in Minneapolis last night pushed the Royals and the Twins into a doubleheader starting this afternoon.
— The AL East-leading Yankees will have to continue their torrid start without Aaron Judge. The team put the star right fielder is on the injured list retroactive to Wednesday with a strained right calf. Manager Aaron Boone is confident Judge — who leads the majors with nine home runs — will only be out briefly, but it's certain that Judge will miss a three-game series with second-place Tampa Bay next week.
— Cleveland's Shane Bieber looks to stay hot against the surprising Detroit Tigers. The 25-year-old is 3-0 with a major league-low 1.63 ERA through four starts, and he has excelled against Detroit during his young career. Bieber is 3-1 with a 2.28 ERA in four starts against the Tigers, including a 2-0 mark with a 1.23 ERA last season.
PGA-WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Hoge shares lead with 3 others
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — There's a four-way tie for the lead heading into the third round of the PGA's Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Tom Hoge (HOH'-gee) stayed in front Friday with a steady 2-under 68 to get to 10-under par. That left him tied with Si Woo Kim, Talor Gooch and Billy Horschel. Horschel birdied four of his last six holes for a 64, while Kim and Gooch each shot 65 to move up.
NASCAR-DILLON
Austin Dillon out after positive COVID-19 test
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — NASCAR driver Austin Dillon has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not compete in Sunday's Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway's road course.
Richard Childress Racing says Dillon tested positive Saturday morning. He is now self-quarantining away from the team. His wife and son remain healthy and symptom-free.
Kaz Grala will drive the No. 3 Chevrolet at Daytona. Dillon is the third Cup Series drive to test positive for the coronavirus
Dillon is the third Cup Series drive to test positive for the coronavirus, joining seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson and part-timer Brendan Gaughan. Johnson missed just one race.
The 30-year-old Dillon has already qualified for NASCAR's playoffs by winning at Texas last month.