“Victory!!! Thank you to EVERYONE for helping #FreeMitch,” the Twitter account of the Kentucky Republican’s re-election campaign, @Team_Mitch, said Friday. “Help us keep winning,” they added while including a campaign donation link. The celebration came after Twitter unlocked the account, which was on temporary suspension for violating the platform’s abusive behavior policy for sharing a video of protesters outside McConnell’s home earlier this week who were calling for physical violence to occur against the Senate’s top Republican for not yet acting on gun control in the wake of two mass shootings....

Pope John Paul II arrives in Denver this week “to celebrate life–the value of life, the beauty and joy of life.” The occasion is World Youth Day, an international Roman Catholic jamboree that this pope has previously celebrated in Poland, Spain and Brazil–but never in the United States. Upwards of 500,000 Catholic pilgrims, the equal of Denver’s population, are expected to descend on the city for the chance to pray with the pope and savor his moral exhortations....

Now, I might not be an expert at relationships all the time (as my wife can attest), but do I ever know about relationships in pro wrestling, and Rule No. 1 is: “Never break up with your spouse in a story line." It never ends well; typically the real marriage ends just as surely as the on-screen one does. MORE: The stories behind the MITB stories Unfortunately for these five infamous former power couples, they learned that lesson too late....

After Michael Sam came out to the public on Sunday, Mizzou has been very supportive of their former All-American defensive end.

The Armenia international’s future is the subject of intense speculation as a result of his failure to nail down a place in Jose Mourinho’s plans at Old Trafford. The 28-year-old managed substitute appearances in the EFL Cup loss to Bristol City and the 2-2 Premier League draw with Leicester City in the past week, but he has not started a top-flight match since the 1-0 loss to Chelsea on November 5....

MLB wanted “to send a message to everyone in every clubhouse” that domestic violence is verboten, Gomez told Sporting News in a telephone interview. MORE: Scenes from spring training “They wanted to be sure they got the attention of everyone: players, coaches, managers, everybody, that this type of behavior is just not going to be tolerated. I think that probably is the biggest reason behind 30 games. I think every player right now is probably saying, ‘Did you hear what Chapman got?...

The career hits leader generally is not allowed in any areas of major league ballparks not open to fans. But the former Reds star was allowed to participate in baseball’s All-Century team ceremony at Atlanta’s Turner Field during the 1999 World Series and was permitted to be on the field at Great American Ballpark in 2010 for a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of his record-setting 4,192nd hit. He also was on the field in Cincinnati last September for the unveiling of a bronze sculpture honoring Hall of Fame teammate Joe Morgan....

For the first time since the inaugural game in 1933, one player will be the starting pitcher and in the starting lineup as a hitter. It’s pretty incredible stuff, the reward for a pretty incredible first half of the season for Ohtani, the Angels’ best hitter and best pitcher. In fact, MLB has agreed to tweak the game rules to maximize Ohtani’s time on the field. MORE: Full results, totals from 2021 Home Run Derby...

The Rangers (8-6) have won all three starts by Hamels (2-0, 2.95 ERA) this season, continuing the run he had to close out the 2015 regular season when they won his last 10 starts. That’s 13 consecutive regular season wins by the Rangers behind the left-hander and if they win tonight it’ll tie the Rangers record of 14 straight wins behind Bobby Witt in 1990. MORE: MLB live odds page...

When it comes to starting pitching, there is no doubt that Jake Arrieta and Yu Darvish will hog all the attention this offseason. On top of that, both right-handers will also command lump sums of cash. There is also Japanese starter (and left-handed hitter) Shohei Otani who may attract all 30 teams as suitors. MORE: Free agents whose contracts will likely burden their new teams But there are alternatives for teams that want to avoid hefty contracts and/or won’t stick out when trying to entice an international superstar....

Back on April 13, the MLB Network studio host told colleagues Dan Plesac and Carlos Pena on the air that he believed Albert Pujols would reach 700 home runs, and that it would happen on a Friday in September at Dodger Stadium against Clayton Kershaw. At Dodger Stadium on Friday, Sept. 23, Albert Pujols hit the 700th home run of his career, though it was off Phil Bickford. Kershaw, as it happens, pitches on Saturday....

Angels outfielder Mike Trout showed us Friday why he’s the face of baseball. With the first of two home runs on the night, he became the youngest player in MLB history to reach 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases. Trout led LA to a 6-3 victory over the Astros. A look at what else happened across MLB on Friday: Impact players C — Stephen Vogt, Athletics: Vogt homered twice as part of a 3-for-4 effort in Oakland’s 6-4 loss to Kansas City....

Brewers starting pitcher Jimmy Nelson threw seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out nine Pirates, as the Brew Crew became the final MLB team to win a game this season. The White Sox also got their first win of the season earlier in the day after J.B. Shuck delivered a pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the eighth in a 5-4 win over the Twins....

Commissioner Rob Manfred touched on possible expansion and relocation as part of a wide-ranging Q&A with Yahoo Sports and sounded as if he’s keeping an open mind on both fronts. MLB hasn’t had a franchise relocate since the Expos moved from Montreal to Washington in 2005 and became the Nationals, but the stadium situations in Oakland and the Tampa Bay area are becoming more unpalatable by the year. Asked how close the A’s or Rays might be to the point of no return with their current markets, Manfred offered up no specifics but also didn’t dismiss the notion of relocation....

It’s not by accident. Teams are seemingly trying to force a freeze-out of free agents until their asking prices drop, allowing teams to spend less on players and pocket more money, and it may not be a coincidence that so many of them adopted the strategy at the same time. MORE: Ranking the top 101 MLB free agents for 2018 Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (perhaps inadvertently) hinted toward it in the opening of a recent article about the number of Scott Boras clients still on the market when he said that teams have adopted a “newfound strategy of slow-playing the market to force players into accepting lesser deals....

Check The Linemakers on Sporting News’ odds page for current baseball lines from Las Vegas. Milwaukee Brewers -110 (vs Chicago White Sox)Jimmy Nelson vs Jose Quintana We have said it before and will say it again – the Brewers are not as bad as they’re rated by oddsmakers. And vice versa, the White Sox might actually be worse than graded, especially playing on the road. Milwaukee has the upper hand in AccuScore predictions, at a 60....

Check The Linemakers on Sporting News’ odds page for current baseball lines from Las Vegas. Kansas City Royals -116 (@ Texas Rangers), 2:05 p.m. ETRoss Detwiler vs Jeremy Guthrie The Royals and Rangers have exchanged victories, with Texas taking the first and third games of this series. The pitching department provides a big edge for the Royals today, with Guthrie starting and Detwiler struggling all season long. The Rangers are 1-5 when Detwiler starts, and we don’t see that trend changing here....

The Blue Jays became just the third team in postseason history to win a best-of-five series after losing the first two games at home with a bizarre Game 5 win over the Rangers on Wednesday. MORE: Incredible images from the ALDS | Cueto’s spectacular performance Kansas City’s return to the ALCS for the second straight year was a bit more conventional after Johnny Cueto delivered a stellar outing, retiring the last 19 Astros batters he faced as the Royals bats came to life in a 7-2 victory....

Your browser does not support iframes. Roberto Perez led off the inning with a game-tying home run. He had just three homers in the regular season. Jason Kipnis gave the Indians the lead two batters later with a monster shot to right-center field. The next batter, Francisco Lindor, followed with a shot that cleared a leaping Mookie Betts in right field. MORE: Top 50 players in MLB playoffs All three homers came off Boston starter Rick Porcello, who allowed 23 in the regular season....