• The Associated Press

    Friday Sports in Brief

    Nationals star right-hander Stephen Strasburg left Friday night's game after throwing just 16 pitches. Strasburg got a late start on the season because of a nerve issue in his right hand. CLEVELAND (AP) - After hearing Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac explain their actions, the Cleveland Indians sent the pitchers to their alternate training site on Friday after the two broke team rules and Major League Baseball coronavirus protocol last weekend in Chicago.

  • The Associated Press

    NHL provides playoff hub teams a few tastes of 'home'

    As much as NHL chief of events and entertainment Steve Mayer would like to include those features, and so many others distinctive to the league's markets, there is only so much he and his hundreds of staffers can do given the limitations of being inside the playoff hub-city bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta. From the Ramones' ''Blitzkrieg Bop,'' to Jimmy Eat World's ''Sweetness'' pounding through the PA systems, Toronto's Scotiabank Arena has been made to resemble everyplace from Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York, to the Panthers' BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.

  • The Associated Press

    Another shorty for Flames in 2-0 win over Stars for 2-1 lead

    Mikael Backlund scored Calgary's second short-handed goal in as many nights, Cam Talbot stopped 35 shots in his second shutout this postseason and the Flames beat the Dallas Stars 2-0 on Friday night to take a 2-1 series lead in their Western Conference playoff series. The goal by Backlund in the second period hit the stick of goalie Anton Khodobin, who couldn't get the puck in his glove before it fell back onto the pads of his left leg, hanging there briefly before falling to the ice and rolling over the line. ''We've been really aggressive this whole tournament,'' said Backlund, who had a rush after a Stars skater fell down.