Chris Adamski stories, Page 138
Penguins power play has turned into weapon through structure, flexibilityVideo
Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan often has remarked about the need to establish a structure for the team while allowing its talented players to freelance and use their world-class skill. It’s a balancing act, and it is tested most by the power play. Recent results suggest the Penguins are navigating...
Penguins’ Mike Sullivan: Sidney Crosby has ‘been terrific’ since return from surgeryVideo
That Sidney Crosby has 23 points and has been part of just three regulation losses in the 13 games he’s played since a two-month injury layoff is not surprising to Mike Sullivan. Neither is that Crosby has 15 points while leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 6-1-1 record over the...
Evgeni Malkin did not practice Wednesday, but will travel with Penguins to TorontoVideo
Evgeni Malkin was not on the ice when the Pittsburgh Penguins practiced Wednesday. He was with teammates as they departed for Toronto soon thereafter, though, according to coach Mike Sullivan. “He is going to make the trip,” Sullivan said soon after the practice session ended in Cranberry Township. “We are...
Penguins’ Brian Dumoulin has resumed skating, ‘making progress’ from surgeryVideo
Top-pairing defenseman Brian Dumoulin has resumed skating in recent days and is progressing in his return from December ankle surgery, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Wednesday. “Dumo is making progress,” Sullivan said after practice Wednesday in Cranberry Township. “He skated the last couple of days. He’s, I think, tracking...
Steelers have NFL’s 2nd-easiest 2020 schedule, according to CBS Sports
After a two-year hiatus, the Pittsburgh Steelers are hopeful for a return to the postseason in 2020. By one imperfect-yet-commonly-cited measure, they have an advantage over most of the rest of the league in their quest. The Steelers have the NFL’s second-easiest schedule in 2020, according to CBS Sports’ calculations....
Fastest 40 time? Highest vertical jump? Yes, you can bet on NFL combine props
With gaming now legal in Pennsylvania and many other states, sports fans are learning that there’s more to bet on than just the scores of games. Take, for example, superlatives at the NFL combine. The annual meeting for testing and interviewing draft-eligible football players is next week in Indianapolis. It...
‘No hesitation’ in planning on Ben Roethlisberger’s return, Steelers’ Mike Tomlin says
It was Christmas Day when Ben Roethlisberger made his first public statements regarding his return to the playing field in 2020. It was earlier this month when Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II said that his franchise quarterback’s rehab has been “positive,” and it was last week when general manager...
Mike Tomlin: Steelers open to helping Antonio Brown – but not to signing him
As Antonio Brown continues on an apparent effort to regain favor in the NFL in hopes of continuing his playing career in 2020, his former head coach said not to expect it to be in Pittsburgh. During his ESPN “First Take” appearance ostensibly to stand up for Mason Rudolph, Pittsburgh...
Mike Tomlin defends Mason Rudolph, ‘hacked off’ at ESPN’s portrayal of Steelers QB
Characterizing himself as “hacked off” at ESPN’s portrayal of his young quarterback over the weekend, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin went on the network Monday morning to clear the air. Saying he “thought it was appropriate that Mason was properly defended,” Tomlin said on “First Take” that he “fully supports...
In wake of cheating scandal, sportsbook takes bets on Astros getting hit by pitches
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is trying to prevent teams from intentionally throwing at hitters, particularly the cheating-shamed Houston Astros. But who wants to bet those warnings will be heeded? At at least one website, you can. Sportsbettingdime.com is taking wagers on potential beanballs directed at Houston players. According...
Outlook for every attendee at Pirates spring training 2020
Outlook for every attendee at Pirates spring training 2020: Note: Format is uniform number, player name, age, bats/throws, height/weight, MLB seasons, how acquired Infielders— 55 Josh Bell, 27, S/R, 6-4/250, 4, 2nd rd pick 2011 draft Bell was challenging Babe Ruth records his first two months of 2019; he cooled...
4 position players on the bubble as Pirates spring training opensVideo
Selection Sunday remains five weeks away. But that doesn’t mean that talk of the “bubble” hasn’t started already, nor does it have to be limited to college basketball. A week before Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers and catchers were required to report to spring training, here are four position players who enter...
4 pitchers on the bubble as Pirates spring training opensVideo
Selection Sunday remains five weeks away. But that doesn’t mean talk of the “bubble” hasn’t started, nor does it have to be limited to college basketball. On the eve of Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, here are four pitchers who enter it on a proverbial bubble...
WR Deon Cain: ‘I know how much I can help Steelers out’ in 2020
Though he did not join the Pittsburgh Steelers until mid-November and played only 72 offensive snaps for them, Deon Cain made an impact. Cain caught five of the six targets thrown his way and twice drew important pass interference penalties (one gained 26 yards, another was in the end zone)....
Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings earns trust of teammates in seizing No. 1 roleVideo
His affable father, fair or not, was not necessarily one of the more popular figures in Pittsburgh sports. But the just-as-genial Jacob Stallings, undoubtedly, is one the most popular players among his Pittsburgh Pirates teammates. Less than two years after Kevin Stallings was let go by Pitt following a winless...
New Pirates OF Guillermo Heredia provides much-needed positivityVideo
Through the words and actions of their management team since Guillermo Heredia was signed as a free agent early last month, the Pittsburgh Pirates have made it clear they do not expect Heredia to be an everyday outfielder. A glance at his career offensive statistics (.240 average, .659 OPS, 17...
New-look Chad Kuhl prepares for return to Pirates
The first glimpse Pittsburgh Pirates fans and observers get of Chad Kuhl this spring could cause a double-take. Kuhl said he will have a different look in his comeback from Tommy John surgery. The 27-year-old righty has not pitched in a game since June 2018 but is on track to...
Pirates sign INF/OF JT Riddle as possible center field platoon candidateVideo
New Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington continued to supplement his roster, announcing the signing of free agent infielder/outfielder JT Riddle on Friday. Riddle was signed to a major league deal and became the final member of the 40-man roster with the start of spring training less than two weeks...
Pirates sign LHP Robbie Erlin, C Andrew Susac, OF Charlie Tilson to minor league deals
With spring training less than two weeks away, the Pittsburgh Pirates fortified their depth in some notable areas by announcing the signings of veterans to minor league contracts that include invites to spring training. Robbie Erlin joined Derek Holland as veteran left-handed relievers signed. Erlin, 29, made 106 appearances (38...
Pirates sign veteran LHP Derek Holland to minor league contractVideo
The Pittsburgh Pirates signed four players to minor league contracts that include invites to spring training, most notably veteran left-handed pitcher Derek Holland. Holland, 33, has pitched for four teams over 11 seasons in the majors, most recently splitting last season primarily as a reliever for the San Francisco Giants...
Recharged Penguins gear down for grueling stretch
With the possible exception of Anthony Angello on the day of his first call-up to the NHL, introductions between Pittsburgh Penguins players weren’t necessary Thursday. But that didn’t mean UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex didn’t carry something of a long-lost-friends-meet-again vibe. “It was probably the most excitement I’ve seen in the...
Penguins’ Sidney Crosby: Kobe Bryant ‘inspired so many people’Video
When Sidney Crosby first heard the news of the helicopter crash that claimed the life of Kobe Bryant, he didn’t believe it. “I spent a lot of time just trying to search and find out … if it was true,” Crosby said Thursday, four days after Bryant and eight others...
New Pirates braintrust Ben Cherington, Derek Shelton adjusting to new MLB rules
A new management team and new manager will have to navigate new MLB rules during their first season in charge of the Pittsburgh Pirates. MLB is the midst of a dramatic, if gradual, reshaping of decades-long rules practices. For the 2020 season, the most notable of these changes is active...
Finally healthy, Pirates reliever Nick Burdi offers intrigueVideo
Nick Burdi is not sure where. But somewhere in the Chicago-area home of the Pittsburgh Pirates reliever is a human bone. Not just any bone —Burdi’s right first rib. “I don’t know where it is now,” Burdi said with a sheepish chuckle last week at PiratesFest. “They give you a...
Pirates appear to have few options to fully replace Starling Marte’s offense
By this past weekend, it had been two months since the Pittsburgh Pirates’ new management team started engaging in trade talks regarding their starting center fielder. So Monday’s announcement of the trade of Starling Marte to the Arizona Diamondbacks probably didn’t catch new manager Derek Shelton by surprise. “The one...
