Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Madison Bumgarner pitched five strong innings, Daulton Varsho had two hits and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2. Bumgarner outdueled Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright in a game featuring two starters who have combined for 314 career wins. Bumgarner threw a season-high 89 pitches in five innings, giving up one run on three hits. Luis Frias, Noé Ramirez, Joe Mantiply and Ian Kennedy combined for four innings of relief. Wainwright gave up a season-high five walks. Paul Goldschmidt's solo home run in the first snapped an eight-game homerless drought for the Cardinals.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs drafted Western Michigan wide receiver Skyy Moore on Friday night, then used their other second-round pick on Cincinnati safety Bryan Cook, adding them to a first-round haul of Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie and Purdue defensive end George Karlaftis. The Chiefs used their late third-round pick Friday night to add big, rangy Wisconsin linebacker Leo Chenal. They have one pick apiece in the fourth and fifth rounds and four more in the seventh before the draft concludes Saturday.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres all homered and the New York Yankees won their seventh in a row, beat the Kansas City Royals 12-2 in a rain-shortened game. The game was called after eight innings. New York took a 3-2 lead into the seventh before scoring four runs, three on Judge's homer. Torres connected for a two-run drive during a five-run eighth. Winning pitcher Nestor Cortes allowed one earned run and eight hits in five innings.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jack Eichel had two goals and an assist, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 7-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues in the regular-season finale for both teams. The Blues finished third in the Central Division and will open the postseason at Minnesota next week. St. Louis, which lost its final two games, finished with a record of 49-22-11 for 109 points. For the first time since entering the NHL as an expansion franchise in the 2017-18 season, the Golden Knights missed the playoffs. Vegas ended the season at 43-31-8 with 94 points.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs are actively considering the future of Arrowhead Stadium, pushing ahead with plans far earlier than expected following the Kansas City Royals' decision to investigate a new downtown ballpark. Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said Friday that the Chiefs, who have shared the Truman Sports Complex with the Royals since the early 1970s, would help the Major League Baseball team evaluate what is best for them. But the Chiefs also have to plan for the future of their own stadium, which will celebrate its opening 50 years ago during the upcoming season.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators have given final approval to a bill that authorizes betting on sporting events. Most of the state's revenues from the new legal gambling would go to efforts to lure the Missouri-based Kansas City Chiefs to the Kansas side of the metropolitan area. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 21-13 early Friday to approve the gambling bill. The Republican-controlled House passed the measure, 73-49, so it goes next to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. She is expected to sign it. The bill says that 80% of the state's revenues would go into a fund to provide incentives for professional sports teams to come to Kansas. Supporters were thinking specifically of the Chiefs.
CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals have continued to add defensive depth, taking Florida defensive tackle Zachary Carter in the third round of the NFL draft. The Bengals had traded up three spots to get Nebraska cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt in the second round after taking safety Daxton Hill in the opening round. Cincinnati is seeking to pump up the pass rush after losing interior lineman Larry Ogunjobi to free agency. The 6-foot-4, 285-pound Carter started 12 games for the Gators, compiling 32 tackles with eight sacks.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Keeneland says an exercise rider has died after being thrown from a horse at its training track. A Keeneland spokeswoman confirmed 20-year-old Callie Witt died Friday morning after being thrown from a 2-year-old horse. On-site medical personnel immediately tended to Witt for life-threatening injuries, according to a statement by Keeneland. The Lexington Fire and Emergency arrived quickly and took her to the University of Kentucky Hospital Emergency Department. Witt was later pronounced dead from blunt force injuries. A native of Nebraska, she had worked for trainer Joe Sharp.
Update on the latest sports
NBA PLAYOFFS
Grizzlies rally past Wolves 114-106 to reach 2nd round
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks each scored 23 points and the Memphis Grizzlies rallied yet again to eliminate the Minnesota Timberwolves, winning 114-106 in Game 6.
Brandon Clarke added 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Grizzlies, who withstood another quiet night by star Ja Morant and another double-digit deficit entering the fourth quarter.
The Grizzlies advanced in the playoffs for the first time in seven years, this time to meet Golden State. They'll host Game 1 in Memphis.
NBA-NEWS
76ers' Embiid has broken orbital bone, as East semis loom
MIAMI (AP) — Joel Embiid (joh-EHL' ehm-BEED') has a right orbital fracture and a mild concussion and the Philadelphia 76ers say the MVP finalist is out for the foreseeable future.
Embiid was injured late in Philadelphia's victory at Toronto on Thursday night, when the 76ers were closing out the Raptors and finishing off a six-game win in an Eastern Conference first-round series.
The win sent fourth-seeded Philadelphia into the East semifinals against top-seeded Miami, a matchup that begins Monday night. But Embiid's status is now very much in doubt. A similar fracture, to his left orbital bone, kept him out for about three weeks — spanning 10 games, including two playoff games against the Heat.
MLB-SCHEDULE
No-no-no-no-no! 5 Mets pitchers combine to no-hit Phillies
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Mets starter Tylor Megill and four relievers combined on the first no-hitter of the Major League Baseball season, teaming up to throw a whopping 159 pitches in a 3-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Megill was pulled after five innings and 88 pitches. The bullpen took over from there, with Drew Smith, Joely Rodríguez, Seth Lugo and Edwin Díaz completing the second no-hitter in Mets history. Díaz finished it off in style, striking out Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto in the ninth.
In other major league action:
— The Yankees' winning streak is now at seven after clubbing the Royals in Kansas City. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres all homered for a 12-2 victory in a rain-shortened game. The game was called after eight innings.
— The Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 11-1, as Hunter Renfroe hit two of Milwaukee's season-high five home runs. Adrian Houser struck out six and scattered two hits over six shutout innings to earn the win.
— Taylor Ward and Shohei Ohtani (SHOH'-hay oh-TAH'-nee) hit first-inning solo home runs off Lucas Giolito and Los Angeles rode a combined three-hitter to beat Chicago 5-1. The Angels used seven pitchers to climb seven games over .500 for the first time since June 2018.
— The Red Sox used a dominating pitching performance by Rich Hill and four relievers to beat the Orioles 3-1 in Baltimore. Christian Arroyo hit his first homer of the season in the second inning to provide Boston with all the offense they needed to saddle the Orioles with their fifth straight defeat.
— Jeremy Peña hit a three-run home run, Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman also connected, and the Houston Astros beat the Toronto Blue Jays 11-7. The Astros matched a season-high with 14 hits and extended their winning streak to four games.
— The Padres were 7-3 victors over the Pirates in Pittsburgh. Ha-Seong Kim and Jake Cronenworth homered. Yu Darvish pitched six effective innings for San Diego.
— Jorge Soler (soh-LEHR') and Miguel Rojas homered and the Miami Marlins won their sixth straight game, beating the Seattle Mariners 8-6. The first inning blast by Soler bounced off a column behind the left-center field pavilion and was measured at 468 feet, the third-longest in the major leagues this season.
— Josh Lowe and Mike Zunino homered for the first time this season, as the Tampa Bay Rays beat Minnesota 6-1 to snap the Twins' seven-game win streak. Corey Kluber gave up one hit in six innings for the Rays.
— William Contreras hit two long home runs, Austin Riley also connected and Travis Demeritte had an inside-the-park homer as the Atlanta Braves beat the Texas Rangers 6-3. Atlanta starter Ian Anderson allowed two runs and three hits over six innings.
— Madison Bumgarner pitched five strong innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2. Bumgarner outdueled Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright in a game featuring two starters who have combined for 314 career wins.
— Cincinnati continues to founder at the bottom of the standings. This time it was in Denver, where the Rockies trounced them 10-4. The Reds have lost 17 of 20 games so far this season.
— The Cleveland Guardians rallied to beat the Oakland Athletics 9-8, snapping a seven-game losing streak. Josh Naylor's two-run home run capped a four-run seventh inning for the A's.
— Justin Turner and Chris Taylor each hit their first home runs of the season to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-1 win over the Detroit Tigers. Tyler Anderson earned the win for the Dodgers, allowing one earned run on five hits in five innings.
— Juan Soto homered and the Washington Nationals pounded out a season-high 22 hits, ending an eight-game losing streak by beating the San Francisco Giants 14-4. The Giants played without several regulars due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the team.
MLB-DODGERS-BAUER SUSPENDED
Dodgers' Bauer suspended 2 seasons over alleged sex assault
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball has given Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer an unprecedented two-season suspension without pay for violating the league's domestic violence and sexual assault policy, a charge he has denied.
Bauer is vowing to overturn the discipline before an arbitrator.
The suspension covers 324 games without pay and if left in place would cost the 31-year-old pitcher just over $60 million.
The 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner was placed on administrative leave last July under the joint domestic violence and sexual assault policy of MLB and the players' association.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Playoff matchups take shape as teams close out the regular season
TORONTO (AP) — Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and an assist and the Minnesota Wild clinched home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs by beating the Colorado Avalanche 4-1.
Jordan Greenway had two goals and Tyson Jost also scored while Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves for the Wild.
Minnesota will face St. Louis in the first round next week.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
— Jack Eichel (EYE'-kul) had two goals and an assist, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 7-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues. The Golden Knights missed the playoffs. for the first time since entering the NHL as an expansion franchise in the 2017-18 season.
— William Nylander scored twice and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 5-2. Both teams rested most of their stars in the regular-season finale. The Maple Leafs ensured they will face the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, while the Bruins are set to meet the Carolina Hurricanes.
— Steven Stamkos scored three goals for his first hat trick of the season, and the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied to beat the New York Islanders 6-4. Tampa Bay trailed by two before scoring five times in the third period. The Islanders will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
— Dryden Hunt scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, Alexandar Georgiev (GEER'-gee-ehv) made 34 saves and the New York Rangers closed out the regular-season season with a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals. The Capitals' loss means the Pittsburgh Penguins take the No. 3 seed in the Metropolitan Division and will play the Rangers, who are in the postseason for the first time since 2017. Washington will go into the playoffs as the East's second wild card, and will match up with the Florida Panthers.
— Evgeni Malkin scored his 20th goal of the season and had an assist, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3. Kris Letang, Brian Boyle, Evan Rodrigues and Marcus Pettersson also scored for the Penguins, while Casey DeSmith stopped 33 shots.
— The Florida Panthers have finished the regular season with best record in the NHL. But the Presidents' Trophy winners got knocked around in Montreal in their season finale. Cole Caufield had his first NHL hat trick as the Canadiens blasted the Panthers 10-2.
— Devin Shore scored the lone shootout goal and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2. The Oilers rested star forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as the prepare to face the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs.
— Jason Robertson scored on a power play against an emergency replacement goalie midway through the third period and the Dallas Stars beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2. Thomas Hodges made his first appearance in an NHL game after Ducks' goalies John Gibson and Anthony Stolarz were injured. Hodges has been the emergency goalie for the Stars and the ECHL's Allen Americans for three seasons.
— Connor Hellebuyck (HEH'-leh-buhk) made 32 saves to help the Winnipeg Jets beat the playoff-bound Calgary Flames 3-1. Blake Wheeler, Mason Appleton and Brenden Dillon scored for Winnipeg, who will conclude their season Sunday at home against the Seattle Kraken.
— The Arizona Coyotes rallied from a four-goal deficit to beat the Nashville Predators 5-4 in their final game at Gila River Arena. Shayne Gostisbehere (GAHS'-tihs-behr) scored two goals including the game winner to rally the Coyotes from a 4-0 first period deficit.
— Brady Tkachuk (kah-CHUHK') had a goal and an assist to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Neither team qualified for the postseason and the Philadelphia fans booed their team off the ice.
— Pius Suter (pyoos SOO'-tur) scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and the Detroit Red Wings beat the New Jersey Devils 5-3 in the teams' season finale.
— Casey Mittelstadt scored 2:07 into overtime to give the Buffalo Sabres a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in the final regular-season game for two non-playoff teams.
— Yanni Gourde and Adam Larsson scored in the first period to help Seattle a 3-0 win over the San Jose Sharks in the Kraken's final home game of the season. Victor Rask scored an empty-net goal in the final minute and Chris Driedger had 24 saves for his first shutout of the season — the Kraken's third.
NHL NEWS
NHLPA begins search for executive director Fehr's successor
UNDATED (AP) — The NHL Players' Association has begun a search for Don Fehr's successor as executive director.
Fehr has been in charge of the union since December 2010. Fehr led players through two rounds of collective bargaining negotiations in 2013 and 2020. He will remain in his job until a successor is found by a seven-player committee.
An investigation recently found he was not at fault for the NHLPA's handling of sexual assault allegations made by a player early in his tenure.
NFL DRAFT
Seemed forever for QBs to go in 1st 2 rounds of NFL draft
LAS VEGAS (AP) — It took 42 selections Friday before a second quarterback was taken in the NFL draft.
It was a proven commodity in college, Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder going to Atlanta a full 54 spots after Kenny Pickett of Pittsburgh went 20th to the Steelers in round one. Ridder, who led a non-Power Five team to the College Football Playoff for the first time, has a skill set that's been compared to Marcus Mariota, who the Falcons have brought in as a potential starter.
The Tennessee Titans selected Malik Willis with the 86th overall pick. That prodded the Carolina Panthers to trade for the 94th pick so they could grab Matt Corral from Mississippi.
This is the first draft since 2000 that only one quarterback went in the first two rounds: Pickett this year, Chad Pennington to the Jets back then.