It has been almost three decades since the NHL took the names off the back of officials' jerseys and replaced them with numbers.
Since then, with the notable exception of Wes McCauley and his popular, flamboyant calls, most referees and linesmen generally fly under the radar and don't mind the relative anonymity.
CARSON, Calif. (AP) — The LA Galaxy clinched a berth in Major League Soccer's playoffs for the first time since 2019, coming from behind in a 1-1 draw against Real Salt Lake on Saturday night as Douglas Costa converted a penalty kick in the 68th minute.
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge went 0 for 2 with two walks and was hit by a pitch on Saturday, remaining at 61 homers on the 61st anniversary of Roger Maris setting the American League record as the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-0.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Thomas Hasal delivered a five-save shutout while Ryan Gauld scored in the Vancouver Whitecaps’ 2-0 victory over Austin on Saturday night.
Ryan Gauld’s goal put the Whitecaps (12-14-7) up for good at 1-0 in the seventh minute.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Salvador Perez had four hits and drove in a pair of runs, Kris Bubic struck out a season-high eight and the Kansas City Royals beat the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians 7-1 on Saturday night.
SEATTLE (AP) — Luis Castillo struck out eight in six innings of two-hit ball and the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 5-1 on Saturday to keep pace with the Toronto Blue Jays in their bid to host an AL wild-card series.
TORONTO (AP) — Teoscar Hernández homered, doubled twice and singled, Danny Jansen drove in five runs and the Toronto Blue Jays moved one step closer to wrapping up the top spot in the AL wild-card race, routing the Boston Red Sox 10-0 Saturday.
SEATTLE (AP) — Because of one stat, pitcher Matthew Boyd has become the go-to player to ask about the Seattle Mariners' situation.
Not the stats on the back of his baseball card, mind you. It's the fact Boyd was born in Bellevue, Washington, on Feb.
SEATTLE (AP) — More than an hour after Cal Raleigh ended the longest playoff drought in baseball, he was back on the field with his teammates, circling the perimeter of the field to acknowledge the tens of thousands of fans who still stuck around.
ATLANTA (AP) — Cal Raleigh homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Seattle Mariners ended the longest playoff drought in baseball with a 2-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.
NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees All-Star closer Clay Holmes received a cortisone injection for inflammation in his right rotator cuff and likely won't pitch again until the Division Series starts on Oct. 11.
TORONTO (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer homered, Alek Manoah pitched six innings and the playoff-bound Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 9-0 on Friday night.
Raimel Tapia also connected for the Blue Jays, who clinched an AL wild-card berth Thursday when the Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles.
HOUSTON (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros both had reasons to like how things turned out Friday night.
Drew Rasmussen and the Rays were the only ones celebrating, however.
Rasmussen pitched seven effective innings and the Rays clinched a playoff spot for the fourth straight season, posing on the field for a team picture after beating Houston 7-3.
TORONTO (AP) — Gonzalo Higuaín scored in the 86th minute to give Miami a 1-0 victory over Toronto FC on Friday night.
Miami (13-13-6), which entered holding onto the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, has won two straight and is tied with Orlando City for sixth place in the conference standings with 45 points.
TORONTO (AP) — The Boston Red Sox put right-handed pitcher Kaleb Ort on the restricted list Friday and recalled outfielder Jarren Duran from Triple-A Worcester.
A Canadian requirement that prevents foreign nationals who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 from entering the country expires Saturday, the first day of October.
TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays punched their postseason ticket without taking the field, so the celebration will wait until Friday night.
The Blue Jays locked up an AL wild-card spot a night earlier when Baltimore lost 5-3 at Boston.
SYDNEY (AP) — Breanna Stewart and the United States used a dominant defensive effort to beat Canada and reach the gold-medal game of the World Cup for the fourth consecutive tournament.
Stewart scored 17 points and the Americans raced out to an early lead to put away Canada 83-43 on Friday.
North Americans playing in the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League have been put in a difficult position amid calls from the U.S and Canadian governments for them to leave the country because of the war in Ukraine.
BOSTON (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles arrived in Boston to face the last-place Red Sox with a chance to make a run at the postseason.
They leave after losing three out of four and watching their AL wild-card hopes fall apart.
SEATTLE (AP) — Mitch Haniger and Jarred Kelenic both homered twice, J.P. Crawford singled home the winning run in the 11th inning and the Seattle Mariners closed in on their first playoff berth in 21 years by beating the Texas Rangers 10-9 Thursday night.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani pitched no-hit ball into the eighth inning and extended his hitting streak to 14 games, leading the Los Angeles Angels over the Oakland Athletics 4-2 on Thursday night.
TORONTO (AP) — The Blue Jays clinched a postseason berth Thursday without taking the field.
Toronto was assured of an AL wild card berth when the Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-3.
Aaron Judge's homers almost always impress, and No. 61 on Wednesday night was no exception — a laser-beam shot that landed in the Blue Jays bullpen amidst huge cheers from the crowd in Toronto.
TORONTO (AP) — When Aaron Judge's American League record-tying 61st home run dropped into Toronto's bullpen, coach Matt Buschmann picked it up — a souvenir worth potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars.
SYDNEY (AP) — Alyssa Thomas and her United States teammates were tested for the first time in the World Cup by a physical Serbia team.
After a slow start, the Americans used a dominant run spanning the half to take control of the game and reach the semifinals again.
SYDNEY (AP) — No one on Canada's roster was born the last time the team won a medal at the women's World Cup. Now the Canadians are a win away from securing one for the first time since 1986, when they captured the bronze.
TORONTO (AP) — When Tim Mayza made a mistake pitch, Aaron Judge made sure the Blue Jays left-hander wound up on the wrong end of history.
Judge tied Roger Maris’ American League record of 61 home runs in a season with a tiebreaking, two-run drive in the seventh inning that lifted the New York Yankees over the Toronto Blue Jays 8-3 on Wednesday night.
TORONTO (AP) — Aaron Judge tied Roger Maris’ American League record of 61 home runs in a season with a tiebreaking, two-run drive in the seventh inning that helped the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-3 on Wednesday night.
SEATTLE (AP) — George Kirby allowed one run over six innings, Eugenio Suarez had three hits and an RBI and the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 3-1 on Wednesday night.
Trying to secure a playoff spot for the first time since 2001, Seattle rebounded after dropping the series opener Tuesday night.
TORONTO (AP) — Aaron Judge had gone seven games since his last home run, 34 plate appearances of fans quieting to a hush and snapping photos with every pitch.
Then with the score tied in the seventh inning on Wednesday night, he drove a 94.5 mph belt-high sinker to left, a no doubt rocket.
HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros lost out on an opportunity to clinch the top seed in the AL when Christian Walker capped Arizona’s three-run 10th inning with a two-run single, sending the Diamondbacks to a 5-2 victory Wednesday night.
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Doc Rivers was not expecting guests one day this summer when members of his staff turned up uninvited at his house with a direct demand of the Philadelphia 76ers coach: Tyrese Maxey needed an intervention.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — One year after missing the playoffs for the first time in the franchise’s existence, the Vegas Golden Knights are eyeing a return with their third coach in six seasons.
Bruce Cassidy replaced Peter DeBoer after both were fired from their respective jobs after last season.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — After making the playoffs last season for the first time in four years, Todd McLellan thinks the easy part is done for the Los Angeles Kings in their rebuilding project. Now comes living up to expectations.
DENVER (AP) — Mikko Rantanen can’t believe how quickly the summer flew by. One moment the Colorado Avalanche were riding through the streets of Denver on firetrucks and the next they’re back on the ice.
DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer sees similarities between his new team and the two that he led to the Stanley Cup Final in the first seasons with them.
TORONTO (AP) — Aaron Judge walked four times and stayed at 60 home runs, one shy of Roger Maris’ American League record, as the New York Yankees clinched the AL East title by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 Tuesday night.
SEATTLE (AP) — Robbie Ray has an idea for how to get the Seattle Mariners refocused and hopefully out of their late-season slide.
Stop worrying about what is happening elsewhere.
“For me, we’ve just got to stop looking at the scoreboard.
CLEVELAND (AP) — With Hurricane Ian and the playoffs foremost on their minds, the Tampa Bay Rays started a season-ending trip with a gritty win.
A wild-card spot is drawing near.
Harold Ramírez's two-run double with two outs in the 11th inning pushed Tampa Bay past Cleveland 6-5 on Tuesday night, helping the Rays tighten the AL wild-card race and ending the Guardians' seven-game winning streak.