Go to Source Author: Chris Mannix Have the 76ers quit? It’s a legitimate question after watching Philadelphia plod through the final three quarters of a 128-101 loss to Boston that has the team's future looking bleak.LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla – Have the 76ers quit? It’s a legitimate question after watching Philadelphia sleepwalk through the final three quarters of a 128-101 loss to Boston. After building a 14-point first quarter lead, the Sixers quickly blew it. The defense allowed the Celtics to shoot 51.2% while the offense looked lifeless, often reduced to quick drives or late dumps to Embiid. The outlook is bleak for Philly, which won’t have a homecourt advantage—they were 31-4 at home this season—to lean on in Game 3.After the game,

Go to Source Author: AP News CHICAGO (AP) Jose Abreu hit a tie-breaking homer in the eighth inning, then Edwin Encarnacion followed with his second solo shot of the game to lift Chicago over the Detroit Tigers 5-3 on Wednesday night, the White Sox fourth straight win.Abreu lofted the first pitch he faced from Gregory Soto (0-1) just over the wall in right to give Chicago a 4-3 lead with one out. Encarnacion then sent a drive to left-center for his 37th career multi-homer game, sealing the Tigers' eighth loss in row.The right-handed hitting Abreu at first thought he had just poked a deep opposite-field fly. Through an interpreter, he said he realized he had homered ''when it was gone.''The 37-year-old Encarnacion,

Go to Source Author: AP News KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Trevor Bauer pitched seven innings of one-hit ball, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Kansas City Royals 5-0 on Wednesday night to split a doubleheader marked by strong starting pitching.In the opener of the two seven-inning games, Brad Keller didn't allow a hit until the sixth and extended his shutout streak, leading the Royals to a 4-0 win.Bauer allowed only a single by Adalberto Mondesi in the fifth. He walked three and struck out nine, lowering his ERA to 0.68. He has allowed two runs on eight hits in 26 1/3 innings this season.''It's always nice to pitch well, especially coming off the first game of the doubleheader, and we needed

Go to Source Author: AP News TORONTO (AP) Nick Suzuki buried the winner 22 seconds after Philadelphia tied it in the third period, Brendan Gallagher snapped a goal drought and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Flyers 5-3 on Wednesday night in Game 5 to stave off elimination in the first-round playoff series.Joel Armia scored twice for the Canadiens, Phillip Danualt sealed it into an empty net, and Carey Price made 26 saves. Brett Kulak and Jonathan Drouin each had two assists, and Suzuki also had a helper.Game 6 is Friday.Jakub Voracek scored twice for the Flyers - both on a five-minute power play in the second period - and added an assist. Joel Farabee had the other goal. Carter Hart, coming

Go to Source Author: AP News PITTSBURGH (AP) Cleveland Indians catcher Roberto Perez challenged starter Aaron Civale to get through eight innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night to give the team's hard-working bullpen a break.Civale did Perez one better, throwing the first complete game of his young career as the Indians rolled to a 6-1 victory. Civale (3-2) allowed just five hits against six strikeouts without issuing a walk, narrowly missing a shutout when Pittsburgh pushed across a run on Josh Bell's sacrifice fly in the ninth.''Bebo asked for eight innings before the game, so I gave him one more,'' Civale said.Civale kept the floundering Pirates off balance with a series of changeups and cutters mixed in with a

Go to Source Author: AP News LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) Jayson Tatum scored 33 points and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 128-101 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.Tatum had a career playoff high for the second straight game after scoring 32 points in the opener Monday.''I'm playing confident,'' Tatum said. ''Just trying to be aggressive and trying to make the right play. I say that a lot, but that's as easy as I can break it down.''Kemba Walker added 22 points and Jaylen Brown had 20 for the Celtics, who shot 51% from the field.''I think it got deflating when their shot makers went bananas,'' 76ers coach Brett Brown

Go to Source Author: Pat Forde Kevin Warren's open letter officially closes the book on fall football. And it's time for the rest of the Big Ten to move on.The Big Ten can stop fighting itself now, right?Right?Can we get a peace sign out of the folks in Columbus? A white flag from Lincoln? Some happiness from Happy Valley? Can all the nice people who go to Iowa games get back to waving? Can the looney player parents who talked about going to Chicago to confront commissioner Kevin Warren at league HQ find something more important to protest?Warren’s open letter Wednesday closes the book on fall football in America’s oldest and richest college athletic conference. The decision made last week—“a gut-wrenching decision,”

Go to Source Author: AP News There will be no sneaking up on anybody now as the hottest team in the NBA bubble figures to be in for a stern test Thursday when the Portland Trail Blazers take on the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.The Blazers have been in playoff mode for some time, winning five of their last six regular-season games just to get the crack at the play-in game in order to advance to the first round, and then winning that, too, when they knocked off the Memphis Grizzlies 126-122 on Saturday.Throughout that late run, though, the Blazers never had to face the same team twice, much less face the same team in consecutive

Go to Source Author: Jon Wertheim Despite tennis' successful return so far, questions about the 2020 U.S. Open still remain, plus thoughts on Jennifer Brady's Lexington win, the Bryan brothers and more tennis news.Hope everyone is safe, sane and masked.• Our most recent podcast featured ATP ascending star Jannik Sinner, who was lovely talking about being a teenage prospect in the age of Corona.• Next: Stacey Allaster, the tournament director, will go through FAQ about the 2020 U.S. Open. • Speaking of, we were told that—pointedly as a one-time exception—the tours and USTA have agreed to permit players to issue messages of social justice on their attire and shoes. There are all sorts of sizing restrictions (as there always are with patches)

Go to Source Author: Ross Dellenger The model includes five hours a week that can be spent on the field in contactless drills.Schools that have canceled their fall seasons will be allowed to practice this fall for up to five hours a week, according to a proposal that’s expected to be approved by the Division I Council later Wednesday.The NCAA Football Oversight Committee approved a recommendation Tuesday to grant those impacted teams 12 hours a week of football work with their players this fall, five of which can be spent on the field in contactless drills and seven of which can be spent in strength and conditioning work and meetings. This somewhat unprecedented hybrid model is a middle ground between the typical