According to multiple reports, the Toronto Maple Leafs placed Nick Shore on waivers Tuesday afternoon. The move is seen as a precursor to Mitch Marner’s return to the Leafs’ lineup after he missed nearly a month with a high ankle sprain. NHL POWER RANKINGS: Bruins, Caps surging to start December, Habs struggling Shore has appeared in 21 games for Toronto this season, tallying three total points (two goals, one assist)....

McConnell defeated Democratic challenger Amy McGrath in December, with his seat in the upper chamber not up for a vote again until 2026. “Now that he has won reelection, McConnell is likely viewing this as his last term in the Senate. He wants to cement the party in his preferred vision and also fix his legacy in history,” Dr. David Andersen, assistant professor in U.S. politics at Durham University, told Newsweek....

The 44-year-old former Marine is counting on McConnell’s unpopularity—polls show he’s one of the single least-liked lawmakers in the country—to turn his seat blue this November. After all, deep dissatisfaction with Republican Governor Matt Bevin was enough to get him ousted from office in 2019. “People in Kentucky know that he doesn’t care about them and they want him gone. They’re tired of him,” McGrath said about McConnell during an interview with Newsweek....

President Joe Biden has set August 31 as the deadline for the full withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. On Thursday—amid the rapid evacuation of Americans, allies and Afghan refugees—the militant extremist group ISIS-K carried out an attack at the Kabul airport that left more than 170 people dead, including 13 U.S. service members. “We’re looking at the exit, and over the next two days our heroic military is doing the best they can with a horrible policy decision....

The Serbia international was retrospectively sanctioned by the FA on Tuesday after appearing to catch West Ham forward Manuel Lanzini with an elbow during Saturday’s clash at St James’ Park. Magpies 10/3 with dabblebet for the drop Newcastle won the game 3-0, with Mitrovic scoring the third goal after 86 minutes, but his clash with Lanzini shortly before that has landed him in trouble. The incident was missed by referee Neil Swarbrick, but was caught on video....

But this year, the vibe was different. His friends had noticed over the season that he seemed battered, not enjoying himself. In North Carolina, too, his bearing was changed. Michael was more at peace. ““He used to play R&B on the radio,’’ says Whitfield. ““Now he’s mellowing out with jazz.’’ Before he retired briefly in 1994 to play minor-league baseball, he’d called each of the friends to sound them out....

Fan voting determined the starters for the game; the commissioner’s office filled out the rosters with input from the players. MORE: Live All-Star Game highlights There’s also room for one more player from each league. Those players will be chosen by fans from a group of candidates who were not selected as starters or reserves. The Final Vote lists were announced Sunday night: American League: Elvis Andrus, SS, Rangers; Xander Bogaerts, SS, Red Sox; Didi Gregorius, SS, Yankees; Mike Moustakas, 3B, Royals; Logan Morrison, 1B, Rays....

The preliminary rosters for the 2018 MLB All-Star game were announced on Sunday, July 8. MORE: Home Run Derby: Start time, how to watch, participants MLB fans voted to determine starters representing their respective conferences for the game, while the commissioner’s office filled out the rosters with input from the players. When is the 2018 MLB All-Star Game? The 89th MLB All-Star Game will be played on Tuesday, July 17, at Nationals Park in Washington, D....

The Minnesota Twins had the first pick, and they surprised a lot of people by taking Royce Lewis, a prep shortstop from California. Will the rest of the first round be as surprising? (UPDATE: Yes, it was. Good times). The first two rounds of the 2017 MLB Draft happen on Monday night, then Rounds 3 through 40 are spread out over the next two days. Scroll through for all the updates you’ll need to catch up on the first round....

The 2021 MLB Draft is, once again, a bit different from what we’ve seen in the past. While the 2020 draft was cut to just five rounds, this year, the draft is a bit more normal, with 20 rounds and 612 total selections for MLB teams to fill out their rosters with this weekend. On July 11, the 2021 MLB Draft gets underway in Denver, Colo., as MLB has decided to shift the first-year player draft from the first week in June to a much more comfortable — and sensical — date, making the draft a potential staple of MLB All-Star weekend....

So, which team might be ready to pay Ruiz $10 million a year, which is double what he made last year with the Philadelphia Phillies? The early money is on the world champion Boston Red Sox, who would be upgrading from Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Toronto Blue Jays are in the conversation, too, according to Fox's Ken Rosenthal. PHOTOS: SN ranks the top 25 free agents The Post's Troy Renck speculated that if the Rockies miss on Ruiz, they would likely keep Willin Rosario behind the plate and then pursue a power-hitting corner player....

Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, who’s listed at 6-7, 282, destroyed a hanging breaking ball by the White Sox’s Dylan Covey. The official distance into the left field bleachers was 448 feet. That seems a little . . . light. It sure looked as though the ball would have gone out in the old, old Yankee Stadium, back when Death Valley basically extended to Yonkers. MORE: White Sox-Yankees Game Center...

Baltimore is in the midst of a real-world crisis as protesters march through the city to decry the death of resident Freddie Gray. The situation is a reminder that there are things much more important than sports. MORE: Updates on Baltimore situation | O’s exec defends protesters | Hamilton trade to Rangers finalized | Fantasy rankings, sleepers for Tuesday Monday’s White Sox-Orioles game at Camden Yards was postponed after MLB officials spoke with local police and decided it would be safer to keep people away from an area that had turned violent....

Baseball makes its long-awaited comeback on July 23 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees, the bookmakers’ two main favorites to succeed the Washington Nationals as World Series champions, both in action on opening night. The Dodgers and the Yankees begin the season as 19/5 and 15/4 joint-favorites to win the World Series with Fan Duel and Bet MGM respectively, while DraftKings has the Dodgers at 15/4 and the Yankees at 4/1....

Tonight, the Dodgers open a three-game set up north against the defending World Champion Giants, padded with a six-game lead in the division and riding a seven-game winning streak. Baseball betting: Current MLB lines | World Series odds Meanwhile, right on cue for an odd-numbered year, the Giants have the championship hangover, just like they did in failing to make the playoffs in 2011 and 2013 after winning the World Series the previous seasons....

Restricting defensive shifts, limiting pitching changes, altering the strike zone and installing pitch clocks were among the ideas commissioner Rob Manfred spoke of Thursday as major league owners embarked on a multiyear review of the game. Major league officials made a presentation at the owners’ quarterly meeting in Houston, detailing changes to the game over the past four to five decades. With the current collective bargaining agreement expiring Dec. 2, seeing new rules by the start of the 2018 season isn’t out of the question....

Visit The Linemakers on Sporting News’ odds page for current MLB betting lines. Houston Astros +110 (@ Los Angeles Angels) Jared Weaver vs Roberto Hernandez Arguably the most surprising team so far in the season, the Houston Astros will try to add another road win to their quite impressive column. The Astros have lost only two of their 13 games on the road and already beat the Angels last night in a close affair....

Check The Linemakers on Sporting News’ odds page for current baseball lines from Las Vegas. Kansas City Royals -104 (vs St. Louis Cardinals)Chris Young vs Lance Lynn The Royals have the edge in pretty much all current trends, and even if the Cardinals have been on good form lately, so have the Royals. Royals’ starter Chris Young has been great so far, and the Royals have gone 3-0 when he starts, while Lance Lynn has pitched well but not spectacularly, with a record of 4-4 as a starter....

Snell, the 2018 American League Cy Young Award winner for the league’s best pitcher, made his comments Wednesday night through a video on social media. The rant came after Major League Baseball proposed a 50-50 split of revenue during a shortened season. For Snell, it means not earning the full potential of his $7 million for the 2020 season. “Y’all gotta understand, man, for me to go—for me to take a pay cut is not happening, because the risk is through the roof,” Snell said through his Twitch channel....

MLB has long benefited from the talents of foreign-born players, though this move is to increase brand awareness and popularity of the sport on an international scale. MORE: BIlly Beane talks MLB international appeal Here are the initial plans for international series, starting in 2018: 2018: Opening Day in Asia; series in Mexico in April; series in Puerto Rico/Dominican Republic in May2019: Opening Day in Asia; series in Mexico in April and May; series in the United Kingdom in June2020: Opening Day in Asia; series in Mexico in April; series in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic in May; series in the United Kingdom in June2021: Series in Mexico in April; series in Mexico in May...