Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 12
Grading the Panthers: Pitt gets high marks for season’s first half while expectations continue to rise
Just for fun and to pass the time during Pitt’s open (don’t call it a bye) week, let’s set up a fake scenario of two Pitt fans before the season sitting at the bar at Cupka’s Cafe on the South Side drinking Crown and Coke. Man 1: “Hey, how do...
Pitt’s Ishmael Leggett named to All-ACC preseason 2nd team while Panthers projected to finish 7th
Pitt is ranked seventh in the ACC preseason poll, and Panthers senior guard Ishmael Leggett was named to the All-ACC second team, according to voting from a panel of 54 voters released Tuesday. Leggett averaged 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds (No. 1 among all conference guards), 1.9 assists, and 1.3 steals...
Pitt by the numbers at the halfway point of the season
If you need proof that a year is a long time, merely turn to Pitt football and see how matters surrounding the program have changed. Here are some numbers that illustrate the dramatic shift in fortunes for the 6-0 and No. 20-ranked Panthers: 2-4/6-0 — Pitt was 2-4 after six...
Analysis: Plenty of gifts from California helped No. 20 Pitt remain undefeated
The speed in Desmond Reid’s legs, the power in Ben Sauls’ left foot and Pat Narduzzi’s risk-taking on fourth down were vital elements in Pitt’s 17-15 victory against California on Saturday. Give Pitt credit for all three. Those were not gifts. Without them, the Panthers (6-0, 2-0 ACC) would not...
Pitt offense stumbles, but Panthers edge California, improve to 6-0 for 1st time since 1982
When Eli Holstein walked into the interview room Saturday night after Pitt’s 17-15 victory against California that in reality was a lesson in survival, reporters were ready for him. His captivating season hit a roadblock in his second career ACC game when he threw two interceptions, completed just half of...
Pitt basketball announces plans to retire Sam Clancy’s No. 15 jersey
Pitt will retire the No. 15 jersey of legendary basketball star Sam Clancy during its game Jan. 18 against Clemson at Petersen Events Center. Coach Jeff Capel made the announcement at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday between the first and second quarters of Pitt’s football game against California. Clancy, a member...
Pitt Take 5: Undefeated Panthers insist ‘we haven’t done anything’
Pitt is one of 12 unbeaten teams nationwide, a distinction the Panthers (5-0, 1-0) share with only one ACC rival, Miami. That being the case, there’s nothing left to say other than: The time has come for Pitt to get down to the serious business of competing for a second...
Fueled by NCAA Tournament snub, Pitt basketball hopes to ‘leave no doubt’
The pain, the empty feeling, the anger won’t go away, and that’s OK, according to Pitt guards Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett. They thrive on it, actually. “Fuel to the fire,” Leggett said Thursday afternoon on the ACC Network during an appearance at the ACC Tip-off Event in Charlotte, N.C....
Pat Narduzzi speaks on subjects ranging from players’ financial investments to Matt Canada’s time at Pitt
Talk was scattered in many different directions Thursday in the conference room adjacent to Pat Narduzzi’s office, where he presided over his final news briefing of the week. The weekly sessions are not exactly akin to FDR’s fireside chats from the 1930s and 1940s, but it’s an opportunity for reporters...
Hoping to look like Fred Rogers, Pat Narduzzi invites his ‘neighbors’ to Pitt’s game at Acrisure StadiumVideo
Pat Narduzzi has been known to make an occasional show on Pitt’s sideline, whether it’s having an animated conversation with an official or even kissing a player on the cheek. (Chris Blewitt remembers that one.) After Getting Kiss from Pat Narduzzi, Pitt Kicker Chris Blewitt Boots Field Goal to Upset...
Pitt linebacker crew will confront stiff test when speedy California running backs come to town
Like his head coach two decades before him, Pitt linebackers coach Ryan Manalac played middle linebacker to some distinction. A walk-on when he first enrolled at the University of Cincinnati, he ended up with a scholarship, four letters, a starting job for two seasons and nearly 200 tackles. Manalac has...
Pitt coach Jeff Capel hopes to grow the same culture that led to 46 victories past 2 seasons
Approaching his seventh season as Pitt’s men’s basketball coach and 16th overall, Jeff Capel has many reasons to be proud. There are the 259 victories, advancing to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament with Oklahoma, becoming a trusted advisor to Mike Krzyzewski and sending seven players into the NBA...
Yes, Pitt tight end Gavin Bartholomew can catch, but he also contributes in other ways
While climbing the status ladder among the best quarterbacks in college football, Pitt redshirt freshman Eli Holstein has learned to be an equal opportunity dispenser. Six pass catchers have at least 14 receptions for at least 117 yards each. Already, seven have caught touchdown passes. Meanwhile, Holstein has thrown for...
While Pitt’s offense continues to click, don’t forget how defense steps up on the money downs
Back when Pat Narduzzi was playing linebacker for Youngstown State and Rhode Island, he knew a third-down stop meant success. Series over, offense trudging to the bench, punt or field-goal try upcoming. That was in the 1980s and even into the next century, to be honest, which might as well...
Pitt ranked No. 22 in AP poll, but improvements on defense could lead to greater heights
Not unlike every coach before him, each of his colleagues across the nation and anyone who will walk a sideline in the future, Pat Narduzzi insists on playing games one at a time. His credo: Try to go 1-0 every week and at the end of the season, look up...
Eli Holstein, Pitt stay unbeaten with victory against North Carolina in ACC opener
Pat Narduzzi admitted to being witness to a bit of “dancing and celebrating” in Pitt’s Kenan Stadium locker room after the 34-24 victory against North Carolina. He even made mention on his postgame interview — via 93.7 FM — of the subject he repeatedly avoided in the days leading up...
Pitt Take 5: Winless in Chapel Hill, unbeaten Panthers return for ACC opener
Pitt’s 0-7 record against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., is a meaningless bit of trivia. For the record, Pat Narduzzi shares those losses with former Pitt coaches Paul Chryst and Walt Harris, even Jackie Sherrill and Johnny Majors. As expected and as he should, Narduzzi scoffed at the stat....
No. 1 Pitt women’s volleyball recovers from season’s 1st set loss, defeats Boston College
Pitt’s No. 1 women’s volleyball team lost its first set of the season after a program-record 36 consecutive victories, but in the end, it didn’t matter. Pitt (13-0, 3-0 ACC) defeated Boston College (7-8, 0-3), 23-25, 25-7, 25-9, 25-20, on Friday night in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Olivia Babcock set an...
Pitt reinstates RB Rodney Hammond after he was declared ineligible for 2024 season
Pitt senior running back Rodney Hammond, who was expected to carry a significant workload before he was declared ineligible for the season the day before the opener, has been reinstated and will be available Saturday when the Panthers visit North Carolina. “It was something we were hoping (for),” coach Pat...
Pitt men’s soccer stretches winning streak to 6 in 8-1 victory against Howard
Pitt men’s soccer, the No. 1 team in the nation, hit three milestones Wednesday night in an 8-1 victory against Howard at Ambrose Urbanic Field. • The Panthers (9-1-0, 4-0-0 ACC) have won six matches in a row, the longest winning streak in the nation. • Pitt scored eight goals,...
After the football is snapped, Pitt offensive linemen’s goal is to survive ‘6 seconds of hell’
At first, Pitt center Lyndon Cooper was too much of a gentleman to accurately describe what happens when the football is snapped and 300-pound men start crashing into each other. In the end, there were no other words. “Six seconds of hell, if I can say that,” he said. “Block...
NCAA Basketball Tournament 1st- and 2nd-round games will return to PPG Paints Arena in 2027
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will return to PPG Paints Arena in 2027 for the sixth time, with Duquesne back as the host school, SportsPITTSBURGH and the Pittsburgh Bid Committee announced Wednesday. It will be the eighth time since 1997 that first- and second-round games will be held in Pittsburgh....
Pitt’s George raising funds in late teammate’s honor to support families of young cancer victims
In his nearly 24 years, Pitt senior middle linebacker Brandon George has been on the football field for many punt returns. Some are special, such as the blocked punt he scooped up and returned for a touchdown against West Virginia. Most are routine, forgettable. Anthony Myers’ 80-yard punt return six...
Pitt, coach Pat Narduzzi gear up for 1st ACC game at North Carolina
During his regular Monday news conference, Pat Narduzzi was as welcoming as you might expect from any undefeated coach, especially when his most recent game was a 73-17 victory nine days ago. “Good to see you again, missed having you guys in here (last week). I did,” Pitt’s coach told...
Top-ranked Pitt women’s volleyball, men’s soccer record road victories
Pitt’s two top-ranked teams in the national polls continued to dominate away from home when women’s volleyball defeated No. 13 Georgia Tech on Sunday after men’s soccer shut out No. 17 Virginia Tech. Pitt volleyball (12-0, 2-0 ACC) won 25-11, 25-17, 25-8 to raise its streak of undefeated sets to...
