Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE (AP) ā Paul DeJong knocked in the go-ahead run with a two-out single in the ninth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 to salvage a split of their doubleheader Monday. Both games went to extra innings after being scheduled for seven. The Brewers won the opener 2-1 when Keston Hiura hit a sacrifice fly to score Avisail Garcia with the winning run in the eighth. Monday's doubleheader opened a three-day, five-game series between these NL Central rivals who were facing each other for the first time this season.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) ā The Sun Belt Conference went 3-0 against the Big 12 over the weekend, a stunning performance highlighted by Louisiana's romp over then-No. 23 Iowa State. Arkansas State also won at Kansas State and Coastal Carolina won at Kansas. It may have been the best day in the history of the league. In the latest Top 25, Louisiana-Lafayette landed at No. 19 and Appalachian State is tied with Kentucky at No. 23 following its win over Charlotte. Arkansas State received the sixth-most votes of schools that are just outside the weekly rankings.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ā The Kansas City Chiefs threw the adage that defense wins championship right on the ol' barbecue and cooked it till it was charred last season, relying instead on their dynamic offense to win their first Super Bowl in 50 years. They also leaned on it to win their season opener against Houston. That game to kick off the NFL's season on Thursday night, though, may have illustrated just how exceptional their offense can be. They used balance in the run game and the pass game to blow out a team that has Super Bowl aspirations of their own this season.
Update on the latest sports
NFL-SCHEDULE
Steelers ride Big Ben, Snell to victory
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) ā Ben Roethlisberger (RAWTH'-lihs-bur-gur) looked like his former self on Monday after missing the final 14 games of last season following elbow surgery.
Roethlisberger threw for three touchdowns as the Pittsburgh Steelers opened their schedule with a 26-16 win over the New York Giants. The Giants led 10-3 until Roethlisberger hit JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Washington for scores in the second quarter.
It remained 16-10 when Daniel Jones engineered a 19-play drive that got the Giants near the goal line. But Bud Dupree deflected the final pass of the drive, allowing Cam Heyward to come up with the interception.
Bennie Snell rushed for 113 yards on 19 carries, his first 100-yard performance in his second NFL season. He received the bulk of the carries while James Connor battled an injury.
The Steelers also bottled up Saquon (SAY'-kwahn) Barkley, who was held to six yards on 15 carries.
Jones threw for 279 yards and a touchdown but was picked off twice for the Giants.
NFL-NEWS
NFL reminds team about mask requirements
UNDATED (AP) ā The NFL is reminding team personnel on the sidelines about the rules for wearing face coverings. There were several games Sunday in which team members other than players were not using them.
Troy Vincent oversees the league's football operations. He sent a memo to the 32 clubs on Monday saying teams "must remain vigilant" about following protocols set not only by the league, union and clubs, but by state and local governments. Otherwise, he says, the season could be "at risk."
Elsewhere in the NFL:
ā Colts starting running back Marlon Mack will miss the rest of this season after rupturing his right Achilles tendon. Mack suffered the injury on a 3-yard catch midway through the second quarter Sunday.
ā The Titans have placed starting cornerback Adoree Jackson on injured reserve and replaced him by signing corner Tye Smith to the active roster from the practice squad. ackson was added to the injury report Friday after being limited by a knee issue.
ā The Browns have switched kickers after one game, waiving Austin Seibert and signing Cody Parkey. Seibert missed an extra point and field goal in Sunday's 38-6 loss at Baltimore.
ā Jets running back Le'Veon Bell could miss a few weeks after injuring his left hamstring in the team's season-opening loss at Buffalo. Coach Adam Gase says Monday he doesn't want to put a timetable on Bell's return, but says it could take some time because it's a soft-tissue injury.
ā The Jaguars placed starting safety Jarrod Wilson on injured reserve with a left hamstring injury. He's expected to miss at least a month.
NHL-STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
Stars finish off Knights
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) ā The Dallas Stars have advanced to the Stanley Cup final for the first time in 20 years.
The Stars erased a two-goal deficit in the last half of the third period before Denis Gurianov (goor-ee-AH'-nahf) scored on a one-timer during a power play 3:36 into overtime to give the Stars a 3-2 triumph over Vegas. The Stars are 5-0 in overtime this postseason. They also won 3-2 in Game 3 against Vegas, when Alexander Radulov scored 31 seconds into OT.
Reilly Smith scored just 15 seconds into the third period to put the Golden Knights ahead, 2-0. The lead held until Jamie Benn scored for the first time in 11 games, beating Robin Lehner (LEH'-nur) midway through the third. Rookie Joel Kiviranta (yool kih-vah-RAHN'-tah) tied it on a power play with 3:47 remaining in regulation.
Anton Khudobin (hoo-DOH'-bihn) had 34 saves to help the Stars close out the Western Conference final in five games.
NHL-FLAMES-WARD
Ward named coach of Flames
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) ā The Calgary Flames have removed the "interim" tag from Geoff Ward's job and made him the NHL club's head coach. Ward was promoted from associate coach Nov. 29. Calgary was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in six games by the Dallas Stars.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Lewis leads Mariner comeback
UNDATED (AP) ā Kyle Lewis showed the Oakland Athletics why he's being touted as an AL Rookie of the Year candidate.
Lewis belted a two-run homer and walked with the bases loaded in the sixth inning to help the Mariners top Oakland, 6-5 in the opener of a doubleheader. The center fielder ended the game with a .293 average, 10 home runs and 27 RBIs.
Seattle trailed 5-0 after home runs by Sean Murphy and Marcus Semien off Marco Gonzales. Tim Lopes' third double of the game drove in Phillip Ervin with two outs, tying it at 5 in the sixth.
The A's easily earned a split as Mike Minor picked up his first victory of the year with a two-hitter in a 9-0 rout of Seattle. Jake Lamb homered in his first game since Oakland acquired him from Arizona earlier in the day. Mark Canha (KAN'-ah) added a two-run homer and three RBIs to the win.
Elsewhere around the majors:
ā Adam Engel delivered a tiebreaking pinch-hit single in the eighth inning to lead the White Sox to their ninth win in 10 games, 3-1 over the Twins. Tim Anderson had three hits, including an RBI single that capped the scoring. The outcome allowed the Pale Hose to open a two-game lead over the Twins in the AL Central.
ā Jorge Ona's (OHN'-yuhz) tiebreaking, RBI double sparked a five-run seventh as the Padres knocked off Los Angeles, 7-2 to get within 1 1/2 games of the NL West-leading Dodgers. The Padres also scored in the seventh on a pair of fielder's choices and an RBI grounder en route to their eighth win in a row. Winning pitcher Dinelson Lamet (dih-NEHL'-suhn lah-MEHT') struck out 11 while limiting the Dodgers to a run and three hits over seven innings.
ā DJ Stewart, Ryan Mountcastle and Jose Iglesias all homered while the Orioles erupted for nine runs in the third inning of a 14-1 drubbing of the Braves. Pat Valaika also homered and Jorge Lopez allowed a run and five hits over seven innings for Baltimore. Lopez blanked Atlanta until Freddie Freeman homered in the sixth.
ā Pablo Lopez allowed one run in seven innings with the help of flashy defense by right fielder Matt Joyce, pitching the Marlins to a 6-2 win over the Phillies. Lopez allowed only three hits and retired his final 13 batters to help the Marlins beat the Phils for the fifth time in the just-concluded seven-game series. Jesus Aguilar put the Marlins ahead with a two-run double in the third inning before Miguel Rojas and Starling Marte homered off David Phelps.
ā Keston Hiura's (HEER'-uhz) sacrifice fly in the eighth inning gave the Brewers a 2-1 decision over the Cardinals in Game 1 of their twinbill. St. Louis took the lead in the eighth, but Ryan Braun laced an RBI double that also put the winning run on third.
ā Game 2 in Milwaukee also went extra innings before Paul DeJong's (deh-YUHNGZ') RBI single in the top of the ninth gave the Cardinals a 3-2 victory and a split of the doubleheader. Tyler O'Neill and Brad Miller also provided run-scoring singles for the Redbirds.
ā The Reds took Game 1 of their doubleheader by beating the Pirates, 3-1 on rookie Tyler Stephenson's two-run, walk-off home run in the seventh inning. Trevor Bauer led 1-0 and retired 14 straight batters before Colin Moran led off the seventh with his eighth homer. Bauer was trying for his third seven-inning shutout of the pandemic-shortened season.
ā Cincinnati completed a sweep as Mike Moustakas (moos-TAH'-kahs) slammed a three-run homer in a 9-4 win over the Bucs. Brian Goodwin and Joey Votto (VAH'-toh) also homered for the Reds.
MLB-NEWS
Buy the Mets, buy the Mets, step right up and buy the Mets
NEW YORK (AP) ā Billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen has agreed to buy the New York Mets from the Wilpon and Katz families, a deal that's subject to the approval of Major League Baseball owners. Cohen also entered negotiations to buy the Mets last year, but the deal fell apart in February.
Sportico reported Cohen will own 95% of the team, with the rest staying with the Wilpon and Katz families. The deal reportedly values the franchise at about $2.4 billion.
Former major league star Alex Rodriguez and fiancee Jennifer Lopez also attempted to buy the team, but they dropped out of the bidding last month.
Fred Wilpon purchased a piece of the Mets 1980 as part of an investment group headed by Nelson Doubleday. Wilpon and Saul Katz bought out Doubleday in 2002.
GOLF-US OPEN-HORSFIELD
Horsfield out of Open after positive test
MAMARONECK, N.Y. (AP) ā Sam Horsfield of England is the second player in as many days to withdraw from the U.S. Open because of a positive result from a coronavirus test.
Horsfield had a negative result Thursday from a pre-travel test. Upon landing in New York, he tested positive without having symptoms.
TENNIS-FRENCH OPEN
Murray gets wild card for Paris
PARIS (AP) ā Andy Murray has received a wild card into the French Open. The former No. 1 was the only non-Frenchman to be given a free pass into the men's main draw of the grand slam which starts in 13 days.
Murray was also awarded a wild card into the U.S. Open after pelvic and shin injuries, and went two rounds.
Tsvetana Pironkova (sveh-TAH'-nah pih-RAHN'-koh-vah) of Bulgaria and Eugenie Bouchard of Canada were the only non-Frenchwomen to receive wild cards.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-OHIO STATE DEPARTURES
Tired of waiting: Ohio State stars opt out, move on to draft
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) ā Ohio State stars Shaun Wade and Wyatt Davis got tired of waiting for a decision on the football season and chose to opt out and begin preparing for the NFL draft.
Wade was a preseason All-American cornerback and Davis is an offensive guard. Both are likely to be first-round picks in the 2021 draft.
All eyes will now be on quarterback Justin Fields, who could be one of the top picks in the 2021 draft regardless of whether he plays another down of football for the Buckeyes.
HORSE RACING-HONOR A.P.
Derby horse retired by injury
ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) ā Honor A.P. has been retired because of an injury suffered while completing a fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby this month.
The 3-year-old colt will stand at stud for next year's breeding season at Lane's End Farm in Versailles, Kentucky.
Honor A.P. had two wins in six career starts and earnings of $532,200, according to Equibase.