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Pirate suspended
NEW YORK (AP) -- Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Chris Devenski was suspended for two games and fined for intentionally throwing at Cincinnati Reds rookie Sal Stewart, Major League Baseball said Tuesday.
MLB announced a three-game ban for Devenski early Tuesday, then said the suspension was reduced to two games later in the day after negotiations with the players' association. Devenski will begin serving the suspension Tuesday night when the Pirates open a road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Devenski's fine was not disclosed.
Devenski intentionally threw at Stewart in the top of the seventh inning of Pittsburgh's 17-7 win at PNC Park on Saturday. He was ejected following the incident.
Pirates manager Don Kelly was also suspended for one game and received an undisclosed fine, MLB senior vice president for on-field operations Michael Hill announced. Kelly was also set to serve his suspension on Tuesday night.
Referees close in on deal
(AP) -- The NFL and its officials are moving closer toward a new agreement that avoids a work stoppage.
After a lengthy stalemate, negotiations have reached a point where the NFL Referees Association is planning to have a ratification vote this week, a person with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Skinner starred with 1960 Pirates
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Bob Skinner, who earned three World Series rings and was named to the All-Star team three times during a baseball career that spanned more than four decades as a player and coach, has died. He was 94.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, where Skinner began his career and helped the franchise stun the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series, said Tuesday they were informed of Skinner's death from his wife, Joan. He died in San Diego. A cause was not provided.
"Bob was an important part of one of the most beloved teams in our storied history and helped deliver a moment that will forever be woven into the fabric of our city," Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. "Bob was a talented player, a proud Pirate and a respected member of the baseball community."
Skinner, a 6-foot-4 left-handed-hitting outfielder who threw right-handed and was known as "Sleepy" for his laid-back demeanor, spent 12 seasons in the majors with Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and St. Louis.
A career .277 hitter, Skinner was named to the National League All-Star team in 1958 and twice in 1960, during the brief period when Major League Baseball held two All-Star games a season. Skinner spent eight-plus seasons with Pittsburgh from 1954-63 before being traded to Cincinnati and then the Cardinals, where he was part of the 1964 team that won the World Series.
Skinner retired at the end of the 1966 season before going into coaching and managing. He went 93-123 during a short managerial run with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1968-69 and a one-game interim stint with his hometown San Diego Padres in 1977.
A respected coach who worked with six different organizations in various capacities, Skinner returned to Pittsburgh in 1979 as the club's hitting coach, winning a third ring as part of the "We Are Family" Pirates that beat Baltimore in the 1979 World Series.
Skinner's best season may have been 1960, when he drove in a career-high 86 runs while hitting in the middle of a Pirates lineup that reached the World Series. He started in Game 1 against the New York Yankees but injured his thumb while sliding into a base, forcing him to sit out until Game 7. He went 0 for 2 with a walk in Game 7, scoring on Rocky Nelson's second-inning homer and later laying down a sacrifice bunt that advanced two runners during an eighth-inning rally that put Pittsburgh in front.
Massey's homer lifts Royals past Guardians
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Michael Massey hit a go-ahead two-run homer, Isaac Collins also went deep and the Kansas City Royals pushed their winning streak to five with a 5-3 victory over the AL Central-rival Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night.
Stephen Kolek allowed a three-run shot by Rhys Hoskins but little else over six innings in his season debut. The right-hander strained his oblique in his first start of spring training, but Kolek had pitched well in four rehab starts at Triple-A Omaha before the Royals had him make a spot start for Noah Cameron, who's dealing with some lower back tightness.
Nick Mears and Daniel Lynch IV handled a scoreless inning apiece in relief for Kansas City, and Lucas Erceg worked around a two-out walk in the ninth to earn his third save in four games and 10th of the season.
The Guardians' Gavin Williams (5-2) allowed five runs and eight hits with two walks while losing for the first time since March 27, when the Mariners beat him in the second game of the season. Williams had since won five decisions covering six starts.
The Royals jumped to a 2-0 lead on Salvador Perez's single in the first, but the Guardians pulled ahead in the fourth. With two runners aboard, Hoskins sent a 2-1 pitch from Kolek clanking off the left-field foul pole just above the outfield padding for a 3-2 lead.
Massey answered with his two-run homer in the bottom half, though.
Women's college volleyball hits big time
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Four women's college volleyball teams will play for a total of $1 million in a made-for-TV exhibition at AT&T Stadium in August, event organizers announced Tuesday.
Florida, Nebraska, Penn State and SMU are the participating teams in Spikes Under the Lights on Aug. 27. Two semifinals will be followed by a final, with all played in a best-of-three set format designed to fit a three-hour broadcast window.
GSE Worldwide and Full Day Productions formed a partnership to put on the event. A Full Day spokeswoman said each team would be paid a $200,000 appearance fee. An additional $200,000 in prize money will be at stake, with the largest portion going to the winner. Sports Business Journal first reported the purse structure. Each school will decide how it distributes the money among players.
Spikes Under The Lights will be the first volleyball event of its kind at AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. Organizers plan for it to be an annual event with rotating participants.
"We are excited and honored to be part of this historic event that showcases the continued growth of women's volleyball," Nebraska coach Dani Busboom Kelly said. "This will be a great opportunity to face some talented teams in an iconic setting as we ramp up to the start of the season. It should be an awesome night and hopefully a lot of Husker fans will be able to experience it with us in Dallas."
Nebraska hosted a 2023 outdoor volleyball event at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln that attracted a crowd of 92,003, the largest attendance ever recorded for a women's sporting event.
Spikes Under the Lights will feature three longtime powers and a program on the rise. Penn State has made a record 45 NCAA Tournament appearances and won eight national championships. Nebraska has 44 NCAA appearances and five titles and Florida has 36 appearances. SMU has played in three straight NCAAs and five overall.