Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 114
‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 13: From midgets to the NFL, Dan Marino wore lucky number
The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 13: Dan Marino He was the coach’s son, so it was only right that a very young Dan Marino had to accept he was...
Joey Yellen’s eligibility triggers 3-way competition for Pitt’s backup quarterback
With covid concerns in the air, Pat Narduzzi likes the fact he has a third candidate to be Pitt’s backup quarterback this season. The NCAA last week granted Arizona State transfer Joey Yellen immediate eligibility. He is competing with Nick Patti and Davis Beville for the No. 1 backup job...
Uncertain about the future, Pitt finds haven in ‘our little paradise’Video
Training camp moments often test a team’s will and define its personality. Perhaps a long completion that shows the passing game is finally in sync. A perfectly executed inside run that springs the back for a significant gain. One August afternoon seven years ago at Pitt’s practice facility, it was...
Thanks to postponements, Pirates have potential for plenty of uninterrupted baseball
By the time JT Brubaker throws the first pitch Tuesday night at PNC Park, the Pittsburgh Pirates will have more games to play (42) than there are days remaining (41) in the season. With a 4-14 record that is the worst in MLB and eight pitchers on the injured list...
Pirates, Reds won’t make up postponed games Monday
The two games postponed in Cincinnati because a Reds player tested positive for covid-19 won’t be played Monday, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced Sunday afternoon. Manager Derek Shelton said he was not told why there won’t be a doubleheader Monday when both teams are idle. “Major League Baseball has decided, protocol-wise,...
Pitt transfer quarterback Joey Yellen granted immediate eligibility
The NCAA granted Pitt redshirt freshman quarterback Joey Yellen immediate eligibility Friday, giving him the opportunity to challenge sophomore Nick Patti and redshirt freshman Davis Beville for the No. 2 job behind senior starter Kenny Pickett. Yellen enrolled in January after one season at Arizona State (2019) and an appearance...
Pitt practice canceled, covid tests come back negative after players display possible symptoms
Pitt canceled football practice Thursday after several players displayed symptoms that are associated with covid-19. “Our medical team decided it was in everyone’s best interest to temporarily pause our Thursday training camp activities so that we could test symptomatic players per our protocol,” athletic director Heather Lyke said. “Based on...
Pirates’ Chad Kuhl, Steven Brault will start separately in CincinnatiVideo
Derek Shelton will break up the Chad Kuhl/Steven Brault piggyback situation in his starting rotation. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ manager said Kuhl will start Friday in the second game of the series in Cincinnati; Brault gets the start Saturday. Shelton’s reasoning is simple. The Pirates need another arm in the rotation...
Pirates closer Keone Kela returns to bullpenVideo
Keone Kela had a bag of balls, a net to throw them into and plenty of free time while quarantined after a positive covid-19 test. That wasn’t enough, though. Passersby might have seen the Pittsburgh Pirates’ closer under the I-279 bridge on the North Side, throwing baseballs off the pillars....
Big 12 Conference moving forward with plans for fall sports
Although the Big Ten and Pac-12 shut down fall sports, the Big 12 Board of Directors decided to join the ACC and SEC among Power 5 conferences with plans to proceed with the fall sports seasons. That means football at West Virginia, for now. The first of nine conference football...
Robert Morris postpones football to spring after Big South delays fall sports
Robert Morris plans to move its football season to the spring after the Big South announced Wednesday it will delay fall sports until then. Robert Morris is an associate member of the Big South in football. The Big South will allow its members to play as many as four nonconference...
What they’re saying about Big 10, Pac-12 calling off football season
Here are what some of the top officials in the Big Ten and Pac-12 are saying about the decisions to postpone fall sports in their Power 5 conferences, and what might happen going forward: Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez has no doubt about one of the residual effects: “There will...
ACC’s medical adviser says football season can be conducted safely
The ACC is proceeding with the intent of starting the football season on time, and the conference’s top doctor said Tuesday it can be done safely. Dr. Cameron Wolfe, an infectious disease specialist at Duke and chair of the ACC’s medical advisory team, told Sports Business Daily he recognizes the...
Big Ten, Pac-12 bow to covid-19, call off football, other fall sports
Big Ten and Pac-12 chancellors and presidents, representing two of the Power 5 conferences, postponed football and all fall sports for the 2020 season, choosing not to face the risk of the coronavirus pandemic. The Pac-12 went one step further, postponing all sports through the end of 2020, including the...
Penn State’s James Franklin hopes Big Ten presidents don’t cancel season before getting ‘more information’
With tan lines on his face from wearing his mask at practice, Penn State coach James Franklin said Tuesday that there is no need to decide immediately on the fate of college football. “I’m not saying we should cancel the season at this point. I’m not saying we should definitely...
Pitt gets commitment from IMG tight end Jake Renda
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi continued to build his class of 2021 on Monday night when tight end Jake Renda flipped from his commitment to Michigan State and announced on Twitter his plan to enroll at Pitt. The Panthers have 19 players in next year’s recruiting class, which is ranked 26th...
WVU’s Neal Brown sees ‘demeanor’ change as Mountaineers open football drills
Neil Brown was in a familiar place Monday. Surrounded by his team, beard stubble around his chin. (Who has time to shave?) Instructing groups of (socially distanced) players. It was the first day of football practice at West Virginia. For now, all was right in his world. “You see guys,...
Pitt has work to do on 2 fronts: Safety, moving the footballVideo
Jimmy Morrissey lives on the South Side. Temptations that most 22-year-old Pitt seniors can’t resist are on every corner. Morrissey barely notices, however, as he moves between his apartment and Pitt’s Duratz training facility only a mile or two away. Every day it’s a straight line back and forth, with...
Pitt players join national plea to play football this fall
Monday was a regularly scheduled day off for Pitt football, but while the practice fields on the South Side were silent, players’ voices were not. Several of them went on Twitter — using the hashtag #WeWantToPlay — to join players from around the nation in pleading with Power 5 officials...
Report: Canceling or postponing fall college football appears inevitable
Pitt’s Jaylen Twyman and Penn State’s Micah Parsons, who decided to opt out this season, soon might be joined by the entirety of their college football brethren. ESPN reported Sunday night that sources told the network postponing or canceling the football season appears inevitable. Power 5 commissioners held an emergency...
‘Burgh’s best to wear it, No. 22: Andrew McCutchen taught Pirates how to win
The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 22: Andrew McCutchen Andrew McCutchen will be remembered for many achievements in his nine seasons in Pittsburgh: swinging a reliable bat, stealing bases, running...
Pitt defensive coordinator Randy Bates ready to pump up players
Randy Bates is a cancer survivor who spent quarantine “sitting in my living room thinking about weird things I’m going to do” when Pitt opens training camp. So why wouldn’t you expect the Panthers’ 60-year-old defensive coordinator to use a water pump that looked like it came from the Civil...
Pitt’s Jaylen Twyman opts out, returns home to ‘be with my family’
A day after Pitt defensive coordinator Randy Bates said he would be shocked if one of his players decided not to play this season out of respect to covid-19, All-ACC defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman revealed Saturday his plans to return home and skip the 2020 season. “This past year has...
Pitt opens training camp with no opt-outs
The question made Damar Hamlin chuckle. He considered it for a moment and gave an answer that said a lot about what will push Pitt through a season overflowing with expectations. Athletes and their coaches don’t usually like to play the what-if game with reporters. They prefer to deal with...
‘Burgh’s best to wear it, No. 24: Barry Bonds leads a strong group of all-time greatsVideo
The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 24: Barry Bonds The first remarkable fact that comes to mind about Barry Bonds — other than his all-time record 762 home runs, an...
