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Pirate rookie shines

PITTSBURGH — All of the emotions were there, from joy to jitters and everything in between. Well, almost everything. The one thing Konnor Griffin didn’t feel when the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop — all 19 years and 344 days of him — ahead of his big league debut Friday against the Baltimore Orioles was shock. “I’m ready for this,” Griffin said a few hours before stepping onto the field at PNC Park as a professional for the first time. Certainly looks that way. All of Griffin’s considerable physical gifts were on display over 2 hours and 44 electric minutes in ...

AROUND THE HORN

Judge pays tribute to Gardner NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge turned to the Bleacher Creatures during their first-inning Roll Call at the New York Yankees’ home opener Friday, bent a knee and flexed with both arms in honor of Brett Gardner. “Still hoping he gets a chance to come back here and share his knowledge with the boys a little bit,” Judge said after his go-ahead, two-run homer in the first inning started the Yankees to an 8-2 win over the Miami Marlins. “He was a big part of this team, his long tenure here as a Yankee, so I always like paying him a little credit. ...

Italians will be left at home for third straight Cup

Qualifying is done. The lineup is complete. The countdown to the biggest-ever World Cup is on, with the 48-team tournament in North America a veritable hodgepodge of stellar names and unheralded upstarts. Here’s a look at what we learned from a qualification campaign that lasted 2 1/2 years, featured 2,527 goals, and finished Tuesday with six nations booking the final spots at soccer’s biggest event. You can qualify for the World Cup without winning a qualifying match Sweden appears to have done the impossible. How, people might ask, can a team that didn’t win a match ...

Skenes finds himself against Reds

CINCINNATI — Paul Skenes quickly shrugged off the shortest start of his dominant major league career. Pirates fans shouldn’t worry either after Skenes returned to form on Wednesday. The reigning NL Cy Young winner allowed one run in five innings and struck out five in the Pirates’ 8-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds. “I’m pretty insulated from a lot of stuff that’s out there. The stuff that I do see or hear, I don’t really care anyway because it doesn’t have anything to do with the play. I’m just thinking about getting back to execution and executing my pitches,” ...

Mendonza looks the part

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Fernando Mendoza warmed up with his college roommate Wednesday while nearly two dozen college teammates took turns running the 40-yard dash. Then the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback did what he always seems to do — deliver another impressive performance. All 32 NFL teams sent scouts to Indiana, more than 100 media members were credentialed and dozens of family members and friends of ex-Hoosiers showed up for a pro day unlike any other in school history. Most came to see the guy expected to be the first-overall pick in this month’s NFL draft and ...

UConn not like past versions

Geno Auriemma is taking an undefeated UConn team into the women’s Final Four for the ninth time. This group, while extremely talented like the rest, is a bit different than the previous ones for the coach. Auriemma recalls those earlier teams with AP Player of the Year winners Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart as having “that kind of swagger, trash-talking kind of mentality” when wondering why people were surprised that they hadn’t lost any games. “We don’t walk around with that attitude,” Auriemma said. “That’s why I think, for ...