Category: Saturday Sports Slam

Home of Patriots’ Gronk robbed during Super Bowl week

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Police say the home of New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was robbed while he was away at the Super Bowl.
Foxborough Police Chief William Baker confirmed Tuesday morning that his department is investigating a burglary at Gronkowski’s home.
He said officers responded to the home just after 6 p.m. Monday.
Baker said “out of respect for Mr. Gronkowski’s privacy and because this is an active and dynamic criminal investigation we’re not going to be releasing any information right now about what was stolen and whether any suspects exist.”
But in a recording of call between responding officers and dispatch, a dispatcher says “multiple safes and possibly guns” were taken.
Gronkowski had nine catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns in the Patriots’ 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Pitt loses 11th Straight Game- Longest skid in school history!!

By AARON BEARD, AP Basketball Writer
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Luke Maye scored 26 points to help No. 19 North Carolina beat Pittsburgh 96-65 on Saturday night, ending its first three-game losing streak in four years.
The Tar Heels (17-7, 6-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) found themselves in a close game late in the first half with a team that had yet to win a league game, but they blew it open with a big run spanning halftime.
Graduate transfer Cameron Johnson scored eight points against his former team in UNC’s 14-3 half-ending flurry, which grew to 25-5 when Joel Berry II hit his fourth 3-pointer for a 56-37 lead with 16:48 left.
Freshman Marcus Carr scored 22 points for the Panthers (8-16, 0-11), who hit eight first-half 3s to hang around but made 2 of 16 after halftime as the Tar Heels’ lead ballooned.
That sent Pitt to its 11th straight loss, the longest skid in program history.
BIG PICTURE
Pittsburgh: Things just keep getting worse for the Panthers. They entered Chapel Hill ranked last in the league in major categories such as scoring offense, shooting percentage, rebounding margin and turnover margin. Now they’ve lost 15 straight regular-season ACC games and are approaching a year since their last win.
UNC: The Tar Heels were facing the possibility of their first four-game losing streak since February 2010, the only one of the Roy Williams era. And the past week in particular had been bumpy: There was an overtime home loss to North Carolina State last weekend, a loss at No. 20 Clemson on Tuesday and the suspension of freshman guard Jalek Felton from the university for unspecified reasons. This win — a relatively easy get-right cruise in front of a friendly home crowd — might have helped drain a bit of the tension that had built during the skid.
UP NEXT
Pittsburgh: The Panthers visit No. 20 Clemson on Thursday.
UNC: The Tar Heels host No. 4 Duke on Thursday night in the latest renewal of the fierce rivalry.
___
More AP college basketball: https://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
___
Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aaronbeardap

Zajac has 2 goals and assist as Devils beat Penguins 3-1

By TOM CANAVAN, AP Sports Writer
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Travis Zajac scored two goals and set up another as the New Jersey Devils limited Pittsburgh to a season-low 16 shots in posting a 3-1 victory on Saturday night, ending the Penguins’ four-game winning streak.
Blake Coleman also scored and Stefan Noesen had two assists in helping the Devils win their third straight since returning from the All-Star break. Keith Kinkaid made 15 saves and benefited from a goaltender interference call that denied Sidney Crosby a third-period goal.
Evgeni Malkin, the NHL player of the month in January with 12 goals, scored in the third period. He now has eight goals in his last four games, 15 since Jan. 1, and 29 overall. Rookie goaltender Casey DeSmith made 35 saves for the Penguins, who looked sluggish after beating Washington on Friday night.
Sidney Crosby, who also missed an open net in the second period, had his 11-game point scoring streak stopped. The run is tied for the NHL best this season.
After a scoreless first period, Zajac gave the Devils the lead 30 seconds into the second period after a mistake by DeSmith. The rookie goaltender tried to pass or poke the puck toward the corner and Zajac intercepted it close to the net and stuffed it into the net for his first goal in 10 games.
Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta fanned on clearing attempt near the right circle a little more than two minutes later and Zajac collected the puck. He sent a pass to Noesen, who quickly found Coleman for a shot that got between DeSmith’s arm and body at 3:05.
Malkin got the Penguins on the board early in the third period with a great backhander past Kinkaid that was set up by defenseman Ian Cole.
Zajac got his seventh goal at 9:51, deflecting a point shot by defenseman Damon Severson past DeSmith.
Crosby lost his goal when it was ruled that Bryan Rust skated through the crease and hit Kinkaid in the mask. The blow knocked the goaltender down and allowed Crosby to bank a shot from the corner into the net off the goalie.
NOTES: Penguins F Zachary Ashton-Reese made his NHL debut. … The win ended the Devils’ five-game losing streak against the Penguins, all last season. …. This was Pittsburgh’s first loss in regulation against a Metropolitan Division opponent since Jan. 1 (5-1-1).
UP NEXT
Penguins: Host Vegas on Tuesday night.
Devils: at Ottawa on Tuesday night.
___
More NHL hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Kessel, Malkin lead surging Penguins past Capitals, 7-4

By WILL GRAVES, AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Phil Kessel scored twice and picked up assist, Evgeni Malkin added two goals and two assists, and the surging Pittsburgh Penguins rolled past the Washington Capitals 7-4 on Friday night.
Bryan Rust, Carl Hagelin and Patric Hornqvist also scored for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, who won their fourth straight to pull within four points of first-place Washington in the crowded Metropolitan Division. Sidney Crosby had two assists to push his scoring streak to 11 games, the longest active streak in the NHL.
Matt Murray stopped 29 shots for Pittsburgh, which won its seventh consecutive home game by jumping on the Capitals early then pulling away late.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice to push his season total to an NHL-best 32 and Dmitry Orlov and Evgeny Kuznetzov also scored for the Capitals, but Washington couldn’t keep pace with the Penguins. Braden Holtby finished with 27 saves but gave up three goals in the opening 8 minutes of the third period before being pulled in favor of Phillpp Grubauer as Pittsburgh broke open a tight game.
The Penguins came in rolling, ripping off an NHL-high nine wins in January to climb from 10th in the Eastern Conference to within striking distance of the division-leading Capitals with still two months to go before the postseason.
The prospect of another potential playoff showdown looms for the longtime rivals, even if the rivalry tends to be one-sided when they meet in the spring, when the series usually ends with the Penguins skating on to the next round and Washington left to wonder how it let it get away once again.
Pittsburgh never trailed and never wavered after the Capitals erased 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3 deficits. Kuznetzov tied it at 3 when he flipped a bouncing puck in the slot by Murray 11:57 into the second to give Washington a shot at picking up its seventh victory this season in a game in which it trailed by at least two goals.
Not this time. Malkin put in his own rebound 1:01 into the third to put the Penguins back in front. Ovechkin evened it just 49 seconds later after a slick cross-ice feed from Kuznetzov, but Pittsburgh simply kept on coming.
Rust picked up his third goal in his last two games to put the Penguins ahead to stay, Kessel followed with his second of the night and 23rd of the season to chase Holtby. Malkin finished the outburst with his team-leading 28th of the season, 14 of which have come since Jan. 1.
NOTES: Pittsburgh F Carter Rowney played 9:05 in his return after missing a month with an upper-body injury. … The Penguins scratched D Chad Ruhwedel, D Matt Hunwick and injured F Conor Sheary (lower-body). … Washington scratched D Taylor Chorney and F Jakub Vrana. … Pittsburgh went 3 for 4 on the power play. The Capitals were 0 for 3 with the man advantage.
UP NEXT
Capitals: Host Las Vegas on Sunday.
Penguins: Play at New Jersey on Saturday.
___
More AP hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Eagles fans have extra reason to cheer at Wing Bowl

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Thousands of Philadelphia Eagles fans will be heading to a sports arena for a popular contest started years ago to make up for the fact their team was unlikely to appear in the Super Bowl.
Only this year, Philadelphia will be in the big game — so the chicken wing-eating competition known as the Wing Bowl also will be a rally for the Eagles.
Wing Bowl 26 takes place Friday at the Wells Fargo Center and is expected to draw nearly 20,000 spectators.
Bob “Notorious B.O.B.” Shoudt won last year by gnawing his way through 409 wings.
The event was started in the 1990s by local sports radio hosts. It’s turned into a huge and boozy spectacle with a parade of flamboyant contestants and a competition for women called “Wingettes.”

Shazier out of hospital…

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Injured Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier has been released from the hospital, nearly two months after suffering a spinal injury in a victory over Cincinnati. The Pro Bowler underwent spine stabilization on Dec. 6. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center says Shazier will transition to an outpatient therapy program.

$1.7M to injured Sewickley Little League player hit by foul ball

$1.7M to injured Little League player hit by foul ball
SEWICKLEY, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania jury has awarded $1.7 million to a Little League player who was hit in the head by a foul ball in the dugout on the day before his 12th birthday.
His lawyer says Zachary Hoffman sustained a traumatic brain injury when he was struck at Chadwick Field in Sewickley in 2015. Alan Perer argued the dugout was not properly protected by a fence.
A jury on Tuesday found the Pittsburgh suburb and the Avonworth and Quaker Valley Athletic Associations responsible for the 14-year-old’s injuries.