A playoff beard is the superstitious practice of an NHL player not shaving his beard during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The player stops shaving when his team enters the playoffs and does not shave until his team is eliminated or wins the Stanley Cup. This year, hockey fans across the …

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Masahiro Tanaka struggled a bit in one of his final tuneups for the regular season, allowing three runs while pitching into the sixth inning, but the New York Yankees still beat the Minnesota Twins 5-4 victory Saturday. Facing a close approximation of the Minnesota Twins’ opening-day …

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies are ready to rumble again. Two years after slugging it out in a Western Conference semifinal series that went the full seven games, the two rough-and-tumble rivals will square off again starting in Game 1 in Oklahoma City on Sunday. …

DALLAS – An autopsy has found that Dallas Cowboys practice squad player Jerry Brown Jr. was sober when he was killed in a crash that led to an intoxication manslaughter charge against the teammate at the wheel. The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office reported Thursday that Brown died of head …

Of all the statistics the Busch brothers might pore over as they prepare for Sunday’s third Sprint Cup race of the season – at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, this one perhaps stands out: Kyle Busch 1, Kurt Busch 0. Three years ago, Kyle Busch put a Joe Gibbs Racing car …

CHICAGO – Robbie Gould kicked a 38-yard field goal to lift the Chicago Bears to a 23-20 victory over Baltimore Sunday in a game delayed about two hours by a torrential downpour. Justin Tucker tied it for the Ravens with a 21-yard field goal at the end of regulation. The …

Artificial intelligence is no longer just a tool for homework or simple tasks. Today, many teens use AI-powered companions for emotional support, advice and even simulated relationships. These apps simulate conversation in ways that feel deeply personal and, for some teens, deeply real. Recent survey data shows that nearly three-quarters …

Many assume that memory loss and cognitive decline are an inevitable part of aging — but new research suggests that doesn’t have to be the case. A 25-year study from Northwestern University analyzed the brains of “super agers” to determine what traits they share that may contribute to their mental …

Just more than one week after President Donald Trump unveiled plans to deploy troops from the D.C. National Guard and to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department to tackle crime in Washington, six states have pledged to send in their own National Guard troops to pitch in with the effort. Now, …

Texas Democrat James Talarico has campaigned on getting megadonor cash out of elections, but records show he has been cashing checks from an unlikely source: a Republican, Trump-backing billionaire. Talarico’s single largest donation last year came from a PAC backed by casino mogul Miriam Adelson, the widow of longtime Republican …