Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — T.J. Oshie and plenty of other former members of the Blues organization are rooting for their old team to win the Cup for the first time in franchise history. That includes a couple of executives who helped build the team and are beaming with pride at St. Louis living up to the potential that it appeared to have over this run of eight playoff appearances in 11 seasons.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Whit Merrifield got a lucky hop on an RBI single in the 10th inning, and the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Yankees 8-7 despite blowing a six-run lead. Merrifield hit a sharp, two-out grounder toward third baseman Gio Urshela with speedster Billy Hamilton at second. The ball skipped over the head of Urshela, giving Hamilton time to race home. Hamilton had walked against Josh Holder and stolen second to set up the play.

BOSTON (AP) — The biggest star at Stanley Cup Final media day doesn’t play for the Boston Bruins or St. Louis Blues. He’s 18-month old “Today” show dog Sunny who roamed the interview room the day before the Cup Final begins, interacting with players in collaboration with NBC Sports and the Guide Dog Foundation. It also had a real-life benefit of helping him practice skills he’ll need as a service dog.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brian McCann drew a bases-loaded walk in the 10th inning and the Atlanta Braves rallied for a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Atlanta, which scored three runs in the ninth to tie it, has won 12 of 16 and captured its fifth successive series by winning two of three from St. Louis.

BOSTON (AP) — Bruins winger Brad Marchand says his left hand is good heading into Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. Marchand sat out practice Sunday after being given a maintenance day by coach Bruce Cassidy. Marchand injured his hand during an intrasquad scrimmage last week. He is the Bruins’ leading scorer in the playoffs with 18 points.

UNDATED (AP) — The television ratings for this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs have been steady despite many top markets not being in the mix. Game 1 of the final between the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins is Monday night. So far, television ratings for all games across NBC’s Sports Group are slightly down from last year but up 4% from 2017. An average of 1.174 million viewers have tuned in per game, which is the fifth most since 1994.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Griffan Smith and Andrew Magno combined to hold down Nebraska’s offense and Ohio State mustered just enough of its own to beat the Cornhuskers 3-1 in the Big Ten Tournament championship game. The seventh-seeded Buckeyes claimed the Big Ten’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid with their 11th win in 13 games. Two crucial video reviews went in Ohio State’s favor and swung the game.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Six Southeastern Conference schools are among the 16 regional hosts for the NCAA baseball tournament, with LSU playing at home in the first round for the 26th time. SEC schools hosting regionals in addition to LSU are Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi State, Mississippi and Vanderbilt. The ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 have three teams apiece hosting regionals. West Virginia will host for the first time.