Browns sign running back Kareem Hunt, on NFL exempt list

Browns sign running back Kareem Hunt, on NFL exempt list
CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Browns have signed Kareem Hunt, the running back cut by Kansas City in November after a video showed him pushing and kicking a woman the previous February.
Hunt was placed on the NFL’s commissioner’s exempt list hours before the Chiefs released him. He was in his second season with Kansas City and was one of the team’s most productive players as it won the AFC West the last two years.
Hunt still could be suspended by the league under its personal conduct policy for the February incident at a hotel in Cleveland and for two others that surfaced after he was released by the Chiefs.
Cleveland general manager John Dorsey, who drafted Hunt while working for Kansas City, on Monday said the Browns “fully understand and respect the complexity of questions and issues in signing a player with Kareem’s history and do not condone his actions.”
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Pirates sign OF Melky Cabrera to minor-league deal

Pirates sign OF Melky Cabrera to minor-league deal
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed veteran outfielder Melky Cabrera to a minor-league contract that includes an invitation to big-league camp.
The Pirates announced the deal on Monday. The 34-year-old Cabrera will make $1.15 million with an additional $850,000 available in performance bonuses if he makes the 40-man roster.
Cabrera is a career .286 hitter in 14 seasons split among seven different teams. He made the All-Star team in 2012 while playing for the San Francisco Giants and was named the All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player. He was suspended 50 games later in the 2012 season for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drugs policy.
Cabrera hit .280 with six home runs and 39 RBIs in 78 games last season for Cleveland. He will get a chance to compete with Lonnie Chisenhall and others for a spot in Pittsburgh’s outfield while right fielder Gregory Polanco recovers from shoulder surgery.
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High School Basketball: February 11, 2019

ALL games in high school basketball tonight are non-section.

BOYS

6:30pm
Erie vs. Lincoln Park (at Pine-Richland)
Western Beaver at Freedom

7:30pm
Hopewell at Ellwood City
New Brighton at OLSH
Highlands at Beaver
Quaker Valley at Summit Academy
Peters Township at Central Valley
Union at Riverside

8:00pm
Sewickley Academy at Pine-Richland

GIRLS

6:00pm
Union at Riverside
Quigley Catholic at Fort Cherry

7:30pm
Moon at South Side Beaver
Blackhawk at Neshannock
Central Valley at Mohawk
Rochester at Mars
Sewickley Academy at Avonworth
Quaker Valley at Shady Side Academy
West Allegheny at Peters Township

8:00pm
Lincoln Park at Freedom

Byron wins Daytona 500 pole, All Hendrick front row

Byron wins Daytona 500 pole, puts Hendrick up front again
By MARK LONG, AP Sports Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — William Byron put Hendrick Motorsports in a familiar position: on the pole for the Daytona 500. His bigger goal is to make the starting spot pay dividends for the NASCAR powerhouse.
The 21-year-old Byron and 25-year-old teammate Alex Bowman locked in the front row for “The Great American Race” during qualifying laps Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. They comprise the youngest front row in Daytona 500 history.
The coveted starting spot hasn’t meant much for NASCAR’s season opener over the last two decades, though. The last Daytona 500 pole-sitter to win the race was Dale Jarrett in 2000.
The last four — Hendrick’s Jeff Gordon, Chase Elliott (twice) and Bowman — have failed to notch a top-10 finish.
“To have them on top of each other means the organization did a heck of a job,” Hendrick said. “This is the deal to sit on the pole at Daytona.”
Byron and Bowman edged the other two Hendrick drivers: seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and fan favorite Chase Elliott.
“That’s a pretty amazing feat, I feel,” said longtime Hendrick crew chief Chad Knaus, who is entering his first season with Byron after 18 years with Johnson.
Knaus and Johnson landed the Daytona 500 pole in their first race together in 2002. After splitting with Johnson at the end of last season, Knaus essentially repeated the feat with Byron.
“I think it’s huge,” Knaus said. “We’ve had a lot of late nights, a lot of long hours. The last time I came here with a new driver, we sat on the pole. This is really special for me.”
Byron reached a top speed of 194.304 mph in the final round of qualifying, nearly two-tenths of a second faster than Bowman (194.153).
“I thought we were going to be somewhere in the hunt,” Byron said. “I was excited to get down here and see what we had. It’s really cool.”
The rest of the 40-car lineup will be set by two qualifying races Thursday. Thirty-six of those spots are already filled because of NASCAR’s charter system.
Former Hendrick driver Casey Mears and Tyler Reddick secured two of the remaining spots in the Daytona 500. They posted the top speeds of the six drivers vying for four open spots in NASCAR’s season opener.
“I really feel like we’ll be able to be competitive,” Mears said. “I can tell you this: I’ve been at Daytona with a lot less and ran inside the top five.”
Joey Gase, Ryan Truex, Parker Kligerman and Brandan Gaughan likely will have to race their way into the 500 during the qualifying races. Two of them will make it, and the other two won’t.
Byron and his teammates will spend the week being lauded as the Daytona 500 favorites. They also will try to stay out of trouble in the qualifying races.
“We want to take care of the cars for sure,” Hendrick said. “We don’t want to put the cars in any unnecessary harm’s way. It’s kind of a two-edge sword on the front row. You don’t want to take a chance of tearing up a really good car, but you’ve got to figure out what to race.”
Hendrick has been outspoken about how difficult the 2018 season was on the organization, calling it one of the worst in team history.
The Hendrick cars were mediocre at best — Johnson failed to win for the first time in his Cup career — and it took 22 races for the organization to get its first victory. The final tally included three victories for Elliott and no drivers in the championship-deciding finale for the second consecutive year.
Hendrick responded by splitting up Johnson and Knaus, tasking Knaus with building another team around Byron. A new racing package in 2019 also should benefit Bowman and Byron because neither had much experience under the old rules.
For at least one day or maybe even a week, the moves are paying off.
“You work all these years coming down here and you want all the cars to run well,” Hendrick said. “And if you have one up front and a couple in the back, in the middle; but this is a tribute to our organization, the engine shop, the chassis, body shop, and the teams to come down here and run with four cars running that good. I can’t believe it.”
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NC State holds off Pitt 79-76

NC State holds off Pitt 79-76 to snap 3-game skid
By WILL GRAVES, AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — North Carolina State opted for modified shootaround late Friday night after arriving in Pittsburgh. No plays. Just shots. Lots and lots of shots, not the worst idea in the world less than a week removed from a record-setting loss to Virginia Tech in which the Wolfpack managed just nine baskets in 40 minutes.
Head coach Kevin Keatts jumped in the fray during the laidback session, pointing out he might have been the best shooter on the floor. While his players don’t quite remember it that way — guard Braxton Beverly claims Keatts was “extending the truth” — either way it created the desired effect. The Wolfpack walked onto the Petersen Events Center floor loose, kept their composure when the host Panthers made a second-half push and held on for a 79-76 win to snap a three-game losing streak.
“I think we played a complete game,” Keatts said. “We played through some adversity.”
The Wolfpack (17-7, 5-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) let a 14-point lead briefly get away in the middle of the second half before relying heavily on Beverly, C.J. Bryce and Markelle Johnson to pull through. Bryce scored 21 points, including three free throws in the final 10 seconds. Beverly added 17 behind five of N.C. State’s season-high 14 3-pointers and Johnson finished with 10 points and a season-high eight assists.
After being limited to just 24 points — the fewest ever by a team ranked in The AP Top 25 (the Wolfpack were 23rd last week) in the shot-clock era — last Saturday, N.C. State is averaging 87.5 points over its last two contests.
“We know we can score,” Bryce said. “We have very talented players. We have players who can go get buckets if we need it. We were just focused on playing as a team tonight and I think we did great at that.”
Bryce went to the line with the Wolfpack (17-7, 5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) holding onto a 76-75 lead with 9.9 seconds left. He calmly drained both free throws in front of the blacked-out T-shirt student section.
N.C. State opted to foul ahead by three. Pitt’s Sidy N’Dir made just one of two with 7 seconds remaining. Bryce grabbed his seventh and final rebound and made one of two with 5.5 seconds left. N’Dir collected the rebound and weaved his way through traffic but his off-balance 3-pointer from outside the top of the key was left all the way as time expired.
“I wanted to make the last one to make it a four-point game but I felt like we did a really good job, once I missed it, getting back and forcing a tough shot,” Bryce said after N.C. State won its eighth straight over the Panthers.
Xavier Johnson led Pitt (12-12, 2-9) with 17 points to go with five rebounds and four assists. Jared Wilson-Frame hit 6 of 7 shots to finish with 16 points, N’Dir and Terrell Brown added 12 each and Trey McGowens finished with 11 points but the Panthers ran out of gas late.
Pitt missed its last seven shots, including potentially game-tying 3-point attempts by Johnson, N’Dir and Brown during an extended possession in the final 90 seconds. Johnson did make two free throws to get Pitt within 76-75 but the Panthers would get no closer. Pitt has dropped seven consecutive games, the last three by nine points or less.
“It’s frustrating because you’re always right there,” Wilson-Frame said.
N.C. State won each of last seven meetings, including an 86-80 victory at home on Jan. 12 thanks to 54 points off the bench. The Wolfpack built a slim 41-38 halftime lead, relying heavily on a massive advantage off the backboard and some sloppy ballhandling by the Panthers, who turned it over 11 times and struggled to keep N.C. State off the offensive glass.
N.C. State pushed the advantage to 14 early in the second half before Pitt responded with an 18-2 surge led by Wilson-Frame and N’Dir to go in front 61-59.
The momentum didn’t last. Dorn and Bryce knocked down 3-pointers on the Wolfpack’s next two trips and while Pitt managed to tie it a couple of times, the Panthers couldn’t quite sneak out in front.
“We’re on the ropes a little bit right now, but we have to fight our way off of it,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said.
BIG PICTURE
N.C. State: The Wolfpack showed an ability to defend when they had to against Pitt, particularly after the sudden 3-point barrage that briefly gave the Panthers the lead. “We weren’t panicking,” Beverly said. “In this conference, every team has the capability of going on runs like that. To get through it you’ve got to stay solid and stay together.”
Pitt: The Panthers remain engaged under Capel but the losses are starting to pile up. Getting five players in double figures is a positive development for a group that’s become overly reliant on Johnson and Wilson-Frame to provide the offense of late.
UP NEXT
N.C. State: Hosts Syracuse on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Pitt: Visits Boston College on Tuesday at 7.
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Central Connecticut over Robert Morris 77-68

Kohl lifts Central Connecticut over Robert Morris 77-68
Associated Press
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — Tyler Kohl had 23 points as Central Connecticut beat Robert Morris 77-68 on Saturday.
Kohl also had seven turnovers but only five assists.
Joe Hugley had 15 points and seven rebounds for Central Connecticut (11-14, 5-7 Northeast Conference). Ian Krishnan added 14 points. Deion Bute had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the visiting team.
Malik Petteway had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Colonials (13-12, 8-4). Josh Williams added 12 points. Dante Treacy had 10 points.
The Blue Devils evened the season series against the Colonials with the win. Robert Morris defeated Central Connecticut 70-59 on Jan. 21. Central Connecticut matches up against Wagner on the road on Thursday. Robert Morris plays Mount St. Mary’s on the road on Thursday.
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This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com

Lightning beat Penguins 5-4

Johnson has go-ahead goal, Lightning beat Penguins 5-4
By MARK DIDTLER, Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tyler Johnson had a key goal and a tussle with Sidney Crosby, too.
Johnson and J.T. Miller scored third-period goals as the Tampa Bay Lightning stopped a rare two-game skid with a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.
After Johnson got his first goal in 15 games just under five minutes into the period, Miller gave Tampa Bay a 5-3 lead with 5:57 remaining.
“I knew it was just a matter of time,” Johnson said of his 19th goal.
Tanner Pearson pulled the Penguins within 5-4 shortly after Miller’s goal off a steal and pass from behind the net by Crosby.
Crosby played in his 916th game, moving past Mario Lemieux for the most in Penguins history.
Johnson checked Crosby into the boards midway through the second period, and the Penguins star dropped his gloves during a scrum between the two. Both were given roughing penalties at 13:14.
The game also had two fighting majors and a pair of 10-minute misconducts.
“I just think it’s two quality teams,” Johnson said. “Very competitive. Both teams hate to lose, and both teams give it their all. Those things are going to happen.”
The Lightning have lost two in a row just twice this season.
Yanni Gourde, Erik Cernak and Anthony Cirelli also scored for the NHL-leading Lightning, who reached 40 wins for the sixth consecutive season. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves.
The Penguins also got goals from Garrett Wilson, Jared McCann and Bryan Rust, and Casey DeSmith stopped 29 shots.
Pittsburgh, 2-5-1 over its last eight games, tied it at 3-all on 4-on-4 second-period goals by McCann and Rust.
“I still think to a certain extent, the type of mistakes that we make, we beat ourselves,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought our fight was there all night long. We pushed back.”
Cirelli stopped a 21-game drought with his fourth short-handed goal to put Tampa Bay ahead 3-1 at 7:42 of the second.
The Penguins have allowed eight short-handed goals.
“I have nothing more to say about the power play,” Sullivan said.
Tampa Bay went up 2-1 on goals by Gourde and Cernak in the first. Brayden Point set up Gourde during a 2-man breakaway at 15:02, and Cernak scored 57 seconds later.
Wilson got his first NHL goal — coming in his 26th game this year and 60th overall — at 13:36 of the first.
Pittsburgh fell to 18-11-5 when scoring first.
Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov, who entered with an NHL-best 81 points, was minus-four and had one shot. He has not scored a goal in 10 straight games.
“I don’t worry about Kuch,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said.
NOTES: Pittsburgh C Evgeni Malkin missed his fifth straight game but took part in the morning skate. … Cirelli became the third NHL player to have four short-handed goals this season. … Penguins G Matt Murray was the backup after missing the previous game with an upper-body injury. … Lightning D Braydon Coburn played in his 900th NHL game and had an assist.
UP NEXT
Penguins: Complete a three-game trip Monday night at Florida.
Lightning: Play Sunday at Florida.
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Ambridge’s Late Rally Comes up Short!!!

The New Castle Red Hurricane held off a late Ambridge Bridger’s rally to hold on for a  56-48 victory which gave the Red Hurricane the Class 4A Section 2 Championship.

Beaver County Radio’s Bob Barrickman and Tom Hays carried live coverage of the game on 1230 WBVP, 1460 WMBA and e Trib-Live High School Sports Network.

Photo courtesy of Tom Hays

New Castle held the lead through most of the game. Ambridge fought back in the 4th tying the game at one point. After the Bridger’s tied the game the Red Hurricane went a run and  took the lead back and pulled away down the stretch winning the game by eight points.

New Castle finishes the season with a 10-2 section record and Ambridge falls into a second place tie with Quaker Valley at 9-3 in the section.

All WPIAL teams that have qualified for the playoffs will learn their playoff opponents on Tuesday night this week. Beaver County Radio will carry live coverage of the pairings meeting starting at 7 pm.

CCBC Players of the game are:

New Castle: Sheldon Cox

Ambridge: Aaron Hilzendeger

New Castle vs. Ambridge for the Class 4A Section 2 Title TONIGHT On Beaver county Radio and the Trib-Live Sports Network

Bob Barrickman and Tom Hays WBVP-WMBA

Tune into 1230 WBVP and 1460 WMBA for a special high school basketball broadcast at 7:05 p.m. tonight, Saturday February 9, 2019.

Bob Barrickman and Tom Hays will have the call of this winner take all Class 4A Section 2 game live from Wright Field House in Ambridge as the Ambridge Bridgers host the New Castle Red Hurricane. The team that comes away with  the win will be crowned the Section Champion this season.  The Red Hurricane beat the Bridgers in their first section match-up 69-49 on January 25, 2019. New Castle is 9-2 in the section with both losses coming at the hands of the Quaker Valley Quakers . New Castle is 15-4 over all. The Bridgers also 9-2 in the section have lost to the Red Hurricane and the Beaver Bobcats for their two section losses. The Bridgers are 14-7 over all. The loser will fall into a 2nd place tie at 9-3 with the Quakers.

If you are unable to listen to the broadcast and want to hear it streaming live over the Trib-Live High School Sports Network  click on the logo below at 7:05 p.m. to hear it streaming Live ……

No DH or draft changes likely for 2019

Manfred: No DH or draft changes likely for 2019
By RONALD BLUM, AP Baseball Writer
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Don’t look for a National League designated hitter this year or for new anti-tanking rules in June’s amateur draft.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Friday that management is focused on pace-of-game changes for 2019 and bolder ideas proposed by the players’ association are too complex to be put in place for this season.
Speaking Friday after an owners’ meeting, Manfred felt encouraged the union responded to management’s proposal for a pitch clock and a three-batter minimum for a relief pitcher unless an inning ends.
“Some of these items need to be part of broader discussions that certainly will continue after opening day, and I hope we can focus on some of the issues that need to get resolved quickly in the interim,” Manfred said.
Baseball is in its third year of a five-year labor deal, one in which the free-agent market has slowed considerably — even with premier players available such as Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. Management would discuss larger changes as part of a deal for a new collective bargaining agreement extending beyond December 2021.
“I hope and I really do believe that there is a common interest between the players’ association, the players, the owners and the commissioner’s office in changes, whether they’re midterm or otherwise, that make our entertainment product the best it could possibly be,” Manfred said.
After the 2016 and 2017 seasons, players rebuffed management’s proposal for a pitch clock designed to speed the pace of play. Management has the right to implement a clock, but Manfred has been reluctant to make on-field changes without players’ agreement.
Management presented its latest proposal Jan. 14, one that included a requirement that pitchers face at least three batters or finish an inning. Players responded Feb. 1 with a broader plan, renewing their push for the DH in all games, an earlier trade deadline aimed at discouraging teams with losing records from trading stars, increasing service time for top young stars called up early in the season and rewarding and penalizing teams in the draft based on their records.
“Those are significant economic issues. They are different in kind than the type of playing-rule changes that that we have out there,” Manfred said. “I think that there are pieces of their response on the on-field proposal that were very encouraging. I think what needs to be sorted out is how closely the two agendas are tied, in other words, the on-field stuff and the economic stuff.”
Last offseason, negotiations were hampered by player anger over the slow free-agent market. This offseason’s pace of signings has been faster but remains far slower than most previous years.
“We want players signed, particularly star players. I wish they were signed and ready to go,” Manfred said. “We got another week before they have to report. I’m really hopeful that it’s going to get resolved during that period of time.”
MLB’s proposal that pitchers face a minimum of three batters in an inning unless it ends was designed both for pace and to slow or reverse the increased use of relievers. The union wants its use at the big league level delayed until 2020.
“Repeated pitching changes obviously take a lot of time,” he said. “The idea of relievers having to go longer is appealing in terms of promoting the role of the starting pitcher, encouraging pitchers to pitch a little longer at the beginning of the game. … I think historically some of our biggest stars (are) starting pitchers and we want to make sure those big stars are out there long enough that that they are marketed.”
ATTENDANCE
After three straight years of drops that left attendance at its lowest since 2003, Manfred said it is too early to speculate about 2019.
“We’re hopeful that we see a rebound from last year but, again, difficult to predict at this point,” he said.
He said he doesn’t think the operation of the free-agent market was a big issue affecting ticket sales.
“I do think that negative commentary surrounding the game that is not factually supported can have an impact on attendance — assertions about clubs not trying to win and the like, I think that’s not helpful,” he said.
GAMBLING
MLB has talked to the union about expanding the anti-gambling provision section of the Major League Rules to prohibit the disclosure of confidential information that could be used in betting.
REVENUE SHARING GRIEVANCE
Manfred said the union is still in the fact-gathering stage of its grievance filed last winter accusing Miami, Oakland, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay of not properly spending money they received in revenue sharing.
On other matters:
SOCIAL MEDIA
MLB will make game highlights available to players for use on social media.
150TH ANNIVERSARY OF PRO BALL
Teams will wear a special patch to mark the 150th anniversary of professional baseball, and there will be special hats on opening day. The Cincinnati Reds, the first pro team in 1869, will be at the forefront of the celebration.
REGIONAL SPORTS NETWORKS
MLB received a second round of data in its effort to purchase 14 team regional sports networks from The Walt Disney Co., which is selling them after acquiring the networks from 21st Century Fox. If successful, MLB could resell rights to streaming services or cable providers. “I think that we recognize that the media landscape is changing quickly and if somebody is going to be managing that changing landscape, we just as soon that it be us,” Manfred said.
RAWLINGS
MLB extended its agreement with Rawlings to supply baseballs, a deal that also includes helmets and gloves.
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Boston’s John Henry and Colorado’s Dick Monfort were elected to the executive council, replacing Atlanta’s Terry McGuirk and the New York Yankees’ Hal Steinbrenner. The council also includes the Chicago Cubs’ Tom Ricketts and Tampa Bay’s Stu Sternberg (whose terms expire in 2020); San Diego’s Ron Fowler and Houston’s Jim Crane (2021); and Milwaukee’s Mark Attanasio and Jerry Reinsdorf of the Chicago White Sox (2022).
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