Red Sox owners look to buy Penguins

Blue Jays left-hander Robbie Ray bounced back from a dismal season to win the AL Cy Young Award and Brewers righty Corbin Burnes returned from a bout of COVID-19 to win the NL’s top pitching prize Wednesday.

In the Year of the Pitcher, Burnes led the majors with a 2.43 ERA and Ray topped the AL at 2.84. Both put up impressive strikeout totals, too, helping build their cases with those studying new-era stats and others looking at more traditional numbers.

Burnes edged the Phillies’ Zack Wheeler for the award, with both receiving 12 firstplace votes from members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Max Scherzer finished third.

Ray got 29 first-place votes. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole got the other top vote and finished second and White Sox righty Lance Lynn was third.

Burnes was 11-5 and fanned 234 in 167 inningsfortheNLCentralchampionBrewers. „ RHP Justin Verlander agreed to a one-year, $25 million contract with the Astros that includes a conditional $25 million player option for a second season. He pitched just one game in that span after injuring his elbow in the 2020 season opener . ... 1B Brandon Belt accepted an $18.4 million qualifying offer from the Giants . ... The Indians will officially transition to Guardians on Friday, completing a name change that has been happening in stages over the past few months.

College basketball: The NCAA women’s tournament is expanding to 68 teams beginning with the current season, giving it an equal number of participants as the men’s tournament as part of a concerted effort at gender parity. The first four of the tournament will take place on the campuses of teams seeded in the top 16 this season, but they will move to a to-be-determined neutral site beginning in 2023.

NBA: Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard has received a contract extension amid the team’s fast start to the season.

NFL: The league is requiring players and staff to wear masks inside team facilities regardless of vaccination status for a week starting on Thanksgiving, and they must be tested twice for COVID-19 after the holiday. The NFL’s protocols were updated as a result of increasing rates of COVID-19 across the country . ... QB Joe Flacco will start for the Jets on Sunday at home against the Dolphins. The Jets (2-7) will be without injured starter Zach Wilson for the fourth straight game . ... The Buccaneers placed CB Richard Sherman (calf ) on injured reserve, meaning he will miss at least three more games . ... A Las Vegas judge ordered former Raiders WR Henry Ruggs III to appear before her Monday after learning he missed a required alcohol test while on house arrest following a fatal crash he’s accused of causing by driving drunk at speeds up to 156 mph.

NHL: The owners of the Red Sox are in talks to buy the NHL’s Penguins. Red Sox President Sam Kennedy confirmed Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Major League Baseball team as well as Liverpool FC of the Premier League and is partners in the RFK Racing NASCAR team, has been working on a deal for the professional hockey club. Former Penguins star and current partowner Mario Lemieux and the management team will reportedly remain in place.