BASEBALL
Matthew Gorst, Eduard Bazardo and Durbin Feltman combined on a one-hitter in a 1-0 victory for the Portland Sea Dogs that capped a sweep of the Rumble Ponies in an Eastern League doubleheader on Tuesday in Binghamton, New York.
Gorst threw three perfect innings, Bazardo allowed a walk in two innings, and Feltman allowed an infield single over the final two.
Joey Curletta doubled and scored on Brett Netzer’s single in the second inning.
Curletta led Portland to a 5-3 win in the opener, launching a two-run homer in the first inning and adding a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
HOCKEY
NHL: Journeyman goaltender Mike McKenna announced his retirement after a career that included stints with 15 NHL organizations and 22 professional teams, among them the Portland Pirates – twice.
McKenna’s decision comes two weeks before the start of training camps. The 36-year-old was open to playing another season but wanted to be rooted in one place because his oldest daughter is now in school.
A sixth-round pick of the Nashville Predators in 2002, McKenna has played in the NCAA, ECHL, AHL and NHL. He played 15 games for the Lightning, 10 for the Senators, four for the Blue Jackets, two each for the Stars and Devils and one apiece for the Coyotes and Flyers.
McKenna spent a vast majority of that time in the AHL, including 150 games for the Pirates across three seasons – 2007-08, ’14-15 and ’15-16.
NWHL: The National Women’s Hockey League is taking its game outdoors with the Buffalo Beauts scheduled to host the Metropolitan Riveters on Dec. 28 in what’s being called the “Buffalo Believes Classic.”
The game will be played at RiverWorks, a year-round bar/entertainment complex located on the banks of the Buffalo River and features a rink exposed to the elements while covered by a roof. The rink’s capacity is about 1,000.
The five-team NWHL is preparing to open its fifth season, though a majority of U.S. and Canadian Olympians are among more than 200 players who have pledged to not compete in North America this season in a bid to establish one professional league with a long-term sustainable financial model.
BASKETBALL
CHINA: Jeremy Lin, who became an overnight sensation with the New York Knicks during the 2011-12 season as “Linsanity” swept the NBA, announced on social media that he will play for the Beijing Shougang Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association for the 2019-20 season.
Lin, 31, spent last season with the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors. He was part of the Raptors team that beat the Golden State Warriors in June to win the franchise’s first NBA title. But Lin did not garner much interest in free agency and said in an emotional interview in Taiwan last month that he had hit “rock bottom” and that “in some ways the NBA’s kind of given up on me.”
WNBA: Brittney Griner had 29 points and 14 rebounds, Leilani Mitchell added a career-high 29 points and visiting Phoenix beat the New York Liberty 95-82, moving the Mercury a step closer to the playoffs.
• Teaira McCowan had 24 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks to lead the Indiana Fever to a home win over the Las Vegas Aces 86-71.
• Aerial Powers scored 20 points, Elena Delle Donne added 14 and the first-place Washington Mystics beat the Los Angeles Sparks 95-66 for their eighth straight home win.
SOCCER
ENGLAND: Bury, one of the oldest clubs in English soccer, was expelled from the English Football League after 125 years of membership following its failure to find a new owner.
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