AP Sports Headlines for Sunday Morning, June 11, 2023
Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston score as Stars beat Kraken 2-1 in Game 7 to advance to West final
DALLAS (AP) — Roope Hintz and Wyatt Johnston scored goals and the Dallas Stars advanced to the Western Conference final with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Kraken in Game 7. Dallas moves on to play first-year coach Pete DeBoer's former team, the Vegas Golden Knights. Game 1 of the West final is Friday night in Las Vegas. DeBoer improved to 7-0 in Game 7s. The 19-year-old Johnston made it 2-0 with 7:12 left, when he gathered a puck that ricocheted off the back board to the left of the Seattle net and scored. Jake Oettinger had 22 saves, and the only Seattle score came with 17.6 seconds left.
Padres pitcher Michael Wacha has no-hitter through 7 against Royals
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Padres pitcher Michael Wacha has not allowed a hit through seven innings against the Kansas City Royals. Wacha has thrown 101 pitches and struck out a career-high 11. He had a perfect game going before hitting Edward Olivares with a pitch with one out in the fifth. The right-hander walked Bobby Witt Jr. with two outs in the sixth before first baseman Jake Cronenworth made a terrific diving stop of Vinnie Pasquantino's grounder to preserve the no-hit bid.
Oakland A's reach agreement for potential stadium site on Las Vegas Strip
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Oakland Athletics have reached an agreement with Bally's and Gaming & Leisure Properties to build a potential stadium on the Tropicana hotel site along the Las Vegas Strip. Bally's on Monday unveiled plans for a 30,000-seat stadium on the 35-acre site. The project is expected to cost about $1.5 billion. The A's are asking for nearly $400 million in public support from the Nevada Legislature, which could vote on a proposal this week.
MLB's new pitch clock may be leading to more blown saves
NEW YORK (AP) — The pitch clock has sped up baseball as hoped, and it might be leading to more exciting endings, too. A quarter of the way through Major League Baseball's first season with the pitch timer, relief pitchers seem to be bearing the most stress from it, with save conversions dropping to 61.4% from 67.8% at a similar point last season. The save percentage is near the bottom range of the past decade, which averaged 65.1%, MLB said Monday. The high was 70% in 2015 and the low 61% in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Pitchers say the stress of the late innings has become more difficult to process with the pitch clock.
Ja Morant in limbo again as he awaits review of latest gun video on social media
Ja Morant still had his endorsement deals Monday. His latest gun video on social media is costing him plenty in public relations currency, but he hasn't lost any money because of it. That could change any day. Once again, Morant is in limbo. He's awaiting the outcome of yet another NBA investigation into what could end up becoming a cataclysmic off-court decision. The clock is ticking with Game 1 of the NBA Finals is scheduled for June 1. Commissioner Adam Silver traditionally holds a news conference before the Finals. Morant's status will be a big topic as league officials gather information about the latest off-court issue involving Morant and possible firearms.
Wembanyama about to learn his NBA destination, with the draft lottery on Tuesday
Actor Michael Douglas is a huge basketball fan. And he's become a big fan of Victor Wembanyama. Douglas and every other basketball follower in the world is about to find out where Wembanyama's NBA journey will begin. The NBA draft lottery is Tuesday night in Chicago. The team that wins the lottery gets the right to choose No. 1 overall in next month's draft. And they'll use that pick on Wembanyama, the 7-foot-3 French phenom.
Minor league host families, once a pillar of pro baseball, phased out by new CBA
PHOENIX (AP) — After decades of supporting poor, young baseball players as they began their professional careers, minor league host families have officially been phased out. As part of their first collective bargaining agreement with Major League Baseball this spring, minor league players negotiated an end to the practice. Players are now guaranteed furnished housing, something they are celebrating as a more professional arrangement. Many players are also sorry to see host family programs end. So are the families. One former host family organizer told The Associated Press that "when you open your home, you're opening your heart. I'm so sad it's not continuing."
Ohtani pitches 7 innings, reaches base 5 times as Angels beat Orioles 9-5
BALTIMORE (AP) — Shohei Ohtani made more history, becoming the first starting pitcher since 1964 to reach base five times in a game as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-5. Ohtani had four hits and a walk, making up for his shaky pitching with a stellar performance at the plate. He hit a titanic three-run homer and finished a double shy of the cycle on a night the Orioles hit three home runs off him. The last person to reach base five times in a game he started on the mound was Mel Stottlemyre of the New York Yankees, on Sept. 26, 1964, against Washington.
Denver Nuggets focused on vanquishing LeBron James and Lakers, not ghosts of the past
DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets aren't concerned about their horrendous history against the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA playoffs as they begin their Western Conference finals against L.A. on Tuesday night. The Nuggets have lost all seven times they've faced the Lakers in the playoffs, including inside the NBA bubble in 2020. But coach Michael Malone said his team is focused on continuing its stellar play regardless of whether it's against their nemesis or not. Neither team has a home game in the playoffs but it's the Nuggets who own the homecourt advantage as the West's top-seeded team.
Peacock will exclusively carry NFL playoff game in a first for streaming service
The NFL is taking another big step into streaming by putting one of its playoff games exclusively on a digital platform for the first time. The league and NBC Universal announced that the Saturday night game on Wild Card weekend will be on Peacock. It will be preceded by a late afternoon playoff game on NBC and Peacock that will kick off at 4:30 p.m. EST. The Peacock game will also be broadcast on NBC stations in the markets of the two teams. Subscription rates for Peacock start at $4.99 per month.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the latest scores from today's sports events:
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INTERLEAGUE
Final Arizona 5 Detroit 0
Final Miami 5 Chicago White Sox 1
Final Oakland 2 Milwaukee 1
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Seattle 3 L.A. Angels 0 (Bot 3rd)
Final Minnesota 9 Toronto 4
Final Baltimore 6 Kansas City 1
Final Texas 8 Tampa Bay 4
Final Houston 6 Cleveland 4
Final N.Y. Yankees 3 Boston 1
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Cincinnati 8 St. Louis 4
Final San Diego 3 Colorado 2
Final Atlanta 6 Washington 4
Final N.Y. Mets 5 Pittsburgh 1
Final L.A. Dodgers 9 Philadelphia 0
Final Chicago Cubs 4 San Francisco 0
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Vegas 3 Florida 2
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Final Atlanta 3 D.C. United 1
Final tie Seattle 3 Charlotte FC 3
Final CF Montréal 4 Minnesota 0
Final New England 3 Miami 1
Final tie Nashville 1 Toronto FC 1
Final Orlando City 2 Colorado 0
Final Columbus 2 Chicago 1
Final Houston 4 Los Angeles FC 0
Final Sporting Kansas City 4 Austin FC 1
Final New York City FC 0 Real Salt Lake 0
Final Philadelphia 0 San Jose 0
Final Cincinnati 0 Vancouver 0
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