NHL-STANLEY CUP FINAL

Blackhawks knot series

CHICAGO (AP) — Brandon Saad notched a go-ahead goal in the third period for the second straight game. This time, the Chicago Blackhawks held the lead.

Saad snapped a 1-1 tie 6:22 into the final stanza before the Blackhawks completed a 2-1 victory that ties the Stanley Cup finals at two games apiece.

Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews opened the scoring with his 10th goal of the playoffs 6:40 into the second period. The lead lasted until Alex Killorn beat Corey Crawford 5:07 later.

The Lightning had a chance to take control early, receiving three power-play opportunities and outshooting the Blackhawks 9-2 in the first period. But Crawford kept the game scoreless heading into intermission and finished with 24 saves. Crawford also made a big stop on Steven Stamkos in the final minute after the Lightning pulled their goaltender.

Chicago fired 17 shots on 20-year-old rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made his first career playoff start. Vasilevskiy got the victory in Game 2 of the series, making five saves in nine minutes after replacing No. 1 netminder Ben Bishop twice in the third period.

Bishop appeared to be dealing with some sort of groin or leg injury while making 36 saves in Tampa Bay's 3-2 victory on Monday night. He participated in the morning skate, but the team now says Bishop is day to day with an undisclosed injury.

Game 5 is Saturday in Tampa.

NHL-COYOTES-FUTURE

Coyotes lease dissolved

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Quebec City has spent the last two decades looking for a way to bring the NHL back to its city. It may have one.

The Glendale City Council has put the future of the Arizona Coyotes in doubt by voting 5-2 to end the team's 15-year, $225 million lease agreement signed by the city and the club's owners in 2013.

Members who voted in favor of dissolving the deal cited a state statute that allows an agency to cancel a contract if an employee directly involved with the agreement becomes an employee or agent to the other party. At issue was the Coyotes' hiring of former city attorney Craig Tindall as general counsel in 2013.

The city of Glendale issued a statement before the meeting that it would be open to renegotiating the arena deal, a proposal the Coyotes flatly refused.

NBA-FINALS

Delly released from hospital

CLEVELAND (AP) — Matthew Dellavedova spoke with the media on Wednesday, just a few hours after the Cleveland Cavaliers guard was hospitalized with dehydration.

Dellavedova cramped up after Tuesday night's 96-91 victory over Golden State and was hospitalized after receiving IV treatment at Quicken Loans Arena. He said he's ready to play in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.

Dellavedova scored 20 points in 38 minutes on Tuesday and converted a three-point play with about 2 1/2 minutes left after the Warriors cut a 20-point, second-half deficit to just one.

Golden State forward Draymond Green is battling back spasms but is expected to play in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Coach Steve Kerr says Green is getting treatment and will be evaluated each day, but "should be OK" for Thursday's game.

The Cavaliers lead the series 2-1.

MLB-SCHEDULE

Jays make it eight in a row...Yanks lose game and closer

UNDATED (AP) — The New York Yankees' lengthy winning streak is over, but the Toronto Blue Jays' streak continues.

Scott Copeland won his first major league start and the Jays banged out four homers in their eighth consecutive win, 7-2 win over Miami. Copeland allowed one run and six hits over seven innings in place of Aaron Sanchez, who was skipped because of general soreness.

Justin Smoak and Russell Martin hit consecutive homers in the fourth, three innings before Jose Reyes and Josh Donaldson delivered back-to-back blasts. The home runs helped Toronto move a game over .500 for the first time since May 19.

The Yankees had won seven straight before they blew a 4-2 lead in the eighth inning of a 5-4, 11-inning loss to Washington. Michael A. Taylor tied it with a two-run blast and Denard Span put the Nationals ahead with an infield single. Span finished with two RBIs and Danny Espinosa hit a solo shot as the Nats won for just the third time in 12 games.

Also in the majors:

— Alex Gordon belted a three-run homer and Edinson Volquez handled Minnesota over seven innings of Kansas City's 7-2 rout of the Twins. Volquez allowed a run and six hits as the Royals won their fourth in a row to stretch their lead in the AL Central to two games over the Twins.

— J.J. Hardy drove in a pair of runs and Baltimore's bullpen retired all 12 hitters it faced in a 5-2 triumph against Boston. Ryan Flaherty, Adam Jones and Travis Snider hit RBI singles for the Orioles, who are 6-2 against the Red Sox this season.

— Houston absorbed its seventh straight loss as Geovany Soto launched a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh inning of the Chicago White Sox's 4-1 win over the Astros. Jose Abreu and Adam LaRoche also went deep as the White Sox completed a three-game sweep of the AL West leaders.

— Sam Fuld singled and scored the winning run on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the ninth to complete Oakland's rally in a 5-4 victory over Texas. The Rangers led 4-2 in the eighth until Ben Zobrist and Billy Butler hit RBI singles.

— Evan Longoria snapped a 2-2 tie with a solo homer and Asdrubal Cabrera added a ground-rule, RBI double to carry Tampa Bay past the Los Angeles Angels 4-2. Erasmo Ramirez gave up two runs in five innings to improve to 5-2 despite a 4.96 ERA.

— Kyle Seager put Seattle ahead to stay with a grand slam before finishing with five RBIs in a 9-3 romp over Cleveland. Seager, Logan Morrison and Seth Smith each hit RBI doubles to back Taijuan Walker, who gave up one run in six innings.

— Carlos Martinez worked 6 1/3 innings and Randal Grichuk hit a solo homer as St. Louis doubled up Colorado 4-2 to avoid a three-game sweep. Martinez picked up his seventh win and was working on a seven-hit shutout until Ben Paulson launched a two-run homer in the seventh, chasing the St. Louis starter.

— Pittsburgh blanked Milwaukee 2-0 as Charlie Morton held the Brewers to three hits in 7 1/3 innings. Pedro Alvarez hit a solo homer and Starling Marte singled home the first run to help the Pirates avoid a three-game sweep.

— Chris Coghlan and Miguel Montero hit three-run homers and Anthony Rizzo added a two-run single as the Chicago Cubs hammered Detroit 12-3. Jake Arrieta shut out the Tigers until Yoenis Cespedes hit a three-run shot in the sixth.

— Brandon Belt and Justin Maxwell homered off Matt Harvey in a five-run sixth that carried San Francisco past the Mets 8-5 in New York. Joe Panik also homered off Harvey, who is 1-3 with a 7.20 ERA in his last four starts.

— Williams Perez was sharp in Atlanta's 4-1 verdict over San Diego, giving up an unearned run and four hits in seven innings. Kelly Johnson, Andrelton Simmons and Cameron Maybin delivered RBI singles as the Braves won their second straight since a 1-5 skid.

— Ivan De Jesus Jr. socked a three-run homer and Jon Moscot allowed two runs in six innings of Cincinnati's fourth consecutive win, 5-2 against Philadelphia. The Reds finished the game without shortstop Zach Cozart, who had to be helped from the field after he twisted his right ankle and knee as he tried to beat out a grounder in the first inning.

HORSE RACING

Monmouth or Saratoga next step for Triple Crown winner

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — Bob Baffert's phone is ringing with calls from racetracks eager to have the trainer bring Triple Crown winner American Pharoah to their places.

It appears the early leaders in the sweepstakes are Monmouth Park in New Jersey and Saratoga in upstate New York.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Baffert singled out the $1 million Haskell Invitational on Aug. 2 at Monmouth and the $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 1 as the likeliest options for the colt's next race.

FIFA-SCANDAL

World Cup bidding halted

SAMARA, Russia (AP) — FIFA has suspended the 2026 World Cup bidding process amid a widening corruption scandal implicating previous bid contests.

FIFA planned to write to its 209 member federations this week to explain the bidding timetable and rules. The 2026 host is expected to be chosen by the 209 members at their May 2017 meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Potential bidders include the United States, Mexico, Canada and countries from Europe.

US-SOCCER

Team USA beats Germany for first time

COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — It's been quite a week for Bobby Wood and the United States men's soccer team.

Wood scored a late goal for the second time in six days to lead the Americans to a 2-1 triumph over World Cup champion Germany in a friendly at Cologne. Wood entered in the 74th minute and fired a 23-yard blast that found the net in the 87th minute. He also scored in the 90th minute to lead the U.S. past the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Friday.

The U.S. had lost its previous two games against the Germans in Germany, 4-2 in 2002 and 4-1 in 2006.

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