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St. Louis CITY SC drops regular season finale, set for Sporting KC or San Jose in playoffs

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:58:02 GMT

ST. LOUIS - It's not the finish to the regular season that St. Louis CITY SC fans were hoping for, but their first run at playoffs is right around the corner. St. Louis CITY SC dropped its regular season finale, 2-0, on Saturday to the Seattle Sounders FC. CITY SC closes its regular season with a 17-5-12 record and 56 points. That's good enough for first place in the Western Conference. CITY also set a record for most games won by an MLS expansion team in their first year, but missed the record for most points by just one. Breaking down this year’s MLS playoffs format: What does it mean for St. Louis CITY SC? St. Louis will play the winner of the No. 8 or No. 9 seed in the MLS Wild Card Round for the Western Conference. Sporting Kansas City has the eight-seed, while the San Jose Earthquakes have the nine-seed. The winner of that matchup will advance to take on CITY SC in a best-of-three playoff round. Playoff schedules being the Wild Card Rounds are being finalized and could be a...

Saad scores twice, Blues beat Penguins 4-2

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:58:02 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brandon Saad scored twice and Jordan Binnington stopped 31 shots as the St. Louis Blues beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 on Saturday night.Jake Neighbours and Colton Parayko also scored for the Blues, who were coming off a loss at home to Arizona two nights earlier and won in regulation for the first time this season. Robert Thomas and Kasperi Kapanen, playing in his first game against his former team since being waived by Pittsburgh last season, each had two assists.“After last game, we didn’t have our best game and we wanted to come out with some pace and some chances tonight and I think we did a good job of moving the puck and creating some chances,” Saad said. “As a line all night, I thought we played pretty well.”Binnington entered the game with a 0.92 goals-against average and a .969 save percentage. He evened his career record against Pittsburgh to 3-3-1.“I think the guys really, you know, kept the foot on the gas and continued to play the way we wanted to pl...

Improved depth, dynamite special teams keep Avalanche rolling past depleted Hurricanes

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:58:02 GMT

The Colorado Avalanche are steamrolling teams to start the 2023-24 season, and the opponent Saturday night was the best of the lot to date.Colorado fell behind in the middle of the second period, but rolled to a 6-4 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes behind an avalanche of goals in the second half of the middle stanza. The Avs scored four times in a span of seven minutes and 14 seconds to blow open what had been a frenetic back-and-forth affair.The Avs are now 5-0 to start the season and have affirmed all of the preseason hype about being one of the top teams in the NHL. They’ve defeated three playoff teams from a year ago, including the Hurricanes, who reached the conference finals last season and are a popular pick to go one round further this spring.Now, there are some significant caveats about Saturday night. This was billed as a potential Stanley Cup Final preview when the Hurricanes arrived in Denver. But this version of their lineup was not close to whole. Carolina was m...

Thousands expected to gather for 8th annual P-22 festival in Griffith Park

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:58:02 GMT

Thousands of people from communities across Los Angeles are expected to gather at Griffith Park on Sunday for the National Wildlife Federation’s #SaveLACougars campaign 8th annual P-22 day festival. Taking place from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the festival honors the beloved mountain lion P-22 who passed away in December 2022. In celebration of L.A.’s unique wildlife, plant life and natural open spaces, the day festival will feature activities for the community to enjoy including hundreds of exhibitors, live music performances, arts and crafts activities, food trucks, live painting by talented muralists, and native-plant giveaways. Attendees can also expect to learn about California’s rich biodiversity and what they can do to protect and care for local wildlife. Late last year, the famed mountain lion P-22 was captured and humanely euthanized after being struck by a car near Griffith Park, the urban park he once roamed. Final necropsy results revealed that he died of mu...

San Jose Earthquakes headed to MLS playoffs for first time since 2020

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:58:02 GMT

SAN JOSE — A relentless attack and a surplus of golden opportunities never matured into a decisive goal for the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night.There was no final payoff for the sellout crowd at PayPal Park to let out its collective emotion and celebrate a much-needed victory.And yet, in the end, the result was enough. The Earthquakes finished their regular season with a 1-1 draw against Austin FC to punch their ticket to the MLS playoffs for the first time since 2020 and just the third time in the last 11 seasons.It was just last August that United States Men’s National Team assistant coach Luchi Gonzalez took the job as the Earthquakes head coach, inheriting a last-place team that needed a cultural makeover, and made this proclamation: “We must make the playoffs next year.”Behind Gonzalez’s calm presence and defensive-minded approach, the Earthquakes turned themselves from a team that conceded the most goals in the Western Conference to a team that conceded the fourth...

San Jose State football: Spartans celebrate homecoming with rare win over Utah State

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:58:02 GMT

SAN JOSE — San Jose State scored 28 second-half points to defeat Utah State 42-21 in front of an announced homecoming crowd of 15,000 Saturday night.Running back Kairee Robinson rushed for 102 yards and broke a school record by running for a touchdown for the eighth consecutive game. Chevan Cordeiro completed 15 of 20 passes for 119 yards and 3 touchdowns.SJSU earned its first win over Utah State since 2009, breaking a 10-game losing streak.The Spartans jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter. After Robinson caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Cordeiro, the Spartans led 14-0 with 1:03 left in the first quarter.Utah State’s offense came alive in the second quarter. The Aggies tied the game when freshman quarterback McCae Hillstead threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Micah Davis with just over four minutes left in the second quarter.Related ArticlesCollege Sports | San Jose State Spartans’ run game picking up steam heading into Homecoming Game vs. Utah St...

Wheeler deals, Schwarber, Harper, Realmuto homer and Phillies beat D-backs 6-1 for 3-2 NLCS lead

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:58:02 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Zack Wheeler delivered another postseason gem with seven shutdown innings, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmulto homered and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-1 on Saturday night to take a 3-2 NL Championship Series lead.Philadelphia moved one win from its second straight World Series appearance, regaining control after wasting late leads in consecutive one-run losses at Chase Field.Bryson Stott hit an RBI single and Harper slid home in a collision with catcher Gabriel Moreno as part of a double steal that built a 2-0 lead in the first off Zac Gallen. Schwarber’s homer was his fifth in the NLCS and 20th of his postseason career as the Philadelphia lineup roughed up Gallen for a second time this series. Schwarber’s sixth-inning drive traveled 461 feet over the swimming pool beyond the right-center fence, quieting a crowd of 47,897. Two batters later, Harper hit a 444-foot homer into the right-field seats.Realmuto added a two-run homer ...

Undefeated Golden Knights beat Bedard and the Blackhawks 5-3

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:58:02 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Nicolas Roy, Mark Stone and Paul Cotter scored in the third period, and the undefeated Vegas Golden Knights beat Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Saturday night.Bedard scored on his first shot in Chicago’s home opener, but Vegas’ superior depth proved to be too much for the rebuilding Blackhawks. The Golden Knights became the first Stanley Cup champions to begin their title defense with six consecutive victories.William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault also scored for Vegas, which extended its franchise-record start. Adin Hill made 21 saves.Reese Johnson and Corey Perry scored for Chicago, which returned home after beginning the season with a 2-3-0 road trip. Arvid Soderblom made 19 stops.RED WINGS 5, SENATORS 2OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Joe Veleno scored his first two goals of the season and Dylan Larkin added a goal and two assists as Detroit posted its fourth straight win.Larkin, Shayne Gostisbehere and David Perron added power-play goals for Detroit, ...

No. 3 Ohio State beats No. 7 Penn State 20-12 in pivotal Big Ten showdown

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:58:02 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — All-American Marvin Harrison made all the difference for No. 3 Ohio State in a pivotal Big Ten match-up, making 11 catches for 162 yards and late touchdown as the Buckeyes beat No. 7 Penn State 20-12 on Saturday.The Buckeyes smothered Drew Allar and the Nittany Lions (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten), extending Ohio State’s winning streak in the series to seven games.Penn State needed 58 minutes to convert a third or fourth down and didn’t get into the end zone until 29 seconds were left in the game. Penn State failed to convert on its first 15 third-down attempts.Kyle McCord was 22 for 35 for 286 yards and the Buckeyes (7-0, 4-0) put up 367 total yards, a season-high against Penn State’s stingy defense.No. 2 MICHIGAN 49, MICHIGAN STATE 0EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — J.J. McCarthy threw three of his career-high four touchdown passes in the first half and Michigan routed Michigan State.The Wolverines (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) were dominant from the start and didn’t let up, predictably a...

Travis accounts for 3 TDs, No. 4 Florida State beats 16th-ranked Duke 38-20 to stay unbeaten

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:58:02 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Jordan Travis accounted for three touchdowns, including a 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter that gave Florida State its first lead, and the fourth-ranked Seminoles rallied to beat No. 16 Duke 38-20 on Saturday night.The Seminoles (7-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) extended their winning streak to 13 and became the league’s lone remaining unbeaten after North Carolina lost to Virginia.Travis had everything to do with the latest victory — the 22nd in as many tries against Duke. The sixth-year senior completed 27 of 36 passes for 268 yards and two scores against the ACC’s stingiest defense. He also led the team with 62 yards rushing, including 40 on the go-ahead drive.He followed that with a 21-yard TD pass to Lawrance Toafili that extended Florida State’s scoring streak of at least 30 points to 13.Duke (5-2, 2-1) could pin its collapse on losing standout quarterback Riley Leonard to a right ankle injury. Leonard, returning after missing a game because o...