Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 127
Richmond ends Duquesne’s hopes for double bye in A-10 TournamentVideo
If he could stand the pain, Keith Dambrot might want to make a list of all that led to Duquesne’s 73-62 loss to Richmond on Friday night. • The Dukes missed 15 of 25 free throws after entering the game with a 71.7 percent accuracy rate, fifth in the Atlantic...
Pirates offer free admission to kids under 14 in April and May
It’s never been easy for the Pittsburgh Pirates to attract people to PNC Park in April and May when the weather is not always appropriate for spectators. But Pirates officials hope their latest promotion — free admission for anyone 14 and under — helps draw a crowd. The only conditions:...
Pitt freshman running back Izzy Abanikanda puts on pads, makes an impactVideo
When the hole opened in the middle of Pitt’s defense, Izzy Abanikanda zigged and zagged through traffic. All of sudden, the freshman running back, only three months removed from high school, was in the open. That’s when he turned on his speed and outran sophomore A.J. Woods, one of the...
Pitt’s Rashad Weaver recovered from knee injury, ready to take next step
Rashad Weaver retweeted the slight against his teammates without comment, which says something about Pitt’s senior defensive end. It merely was a listing of someone’s ranking of the top 10 defensive lines in college football. Clemson’s line is No. 1 on the list for 2020. Pitt’s Coastal division rival Miami...
Pitt puts on pads, produces two long scoring plays in spring drillsVideo
Real football returned to the South Side on Friday. On the third day of Pitt’s spring drills, the team strapped on pads and started hitting each other on the indoor practice field at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. The team also lined up in regular offensive and defensive formations and...
Keith Dambrot pushes, prods Duquesne toward ‘big prizes’Video
Keith Dambrot senses something special percolating on the fourth floor of the Power Center on Duquesne’s campus. Every day at practice, he pushes his Duquesne team as hard as he can — even beyond, he hopes, the limit of its potential. Because that is what it might take as the...
Losses to Dayton could put Duquesne at disadvantage in Atlantic 10 tournamentVideo
There’s an argument to be made no Atlantic 10 team played a more difficult conference schedule than Duquesne. The Dukes are one of only five A-10 teams that played two games against Dayton (28-2, 17-0), the No. 3 team in the nation and a good bet to get at least...
New Castle native Lorri Johnson, leading scorer in Pitt basketball history, dies
Lorri Johnson, who scored more points than any male or female basketball player in Pitt history, has died, the school confirmed. She was 51. Johnson scored 2,312 points (20.5 per game) and recorded 908 rebounds while playing in 113 games from 1987-1991. Kirk Bruce, who was Johnson’s coach at Pitt,...
Pitt’s Narduzzi rips NCAA transfer portal, hopes players use it properlyVideo
Pat Narduzzi again raised objections to the NCAA transfer portal Wednesday after the second day of Pitt’s spring drills. On Monday, he said, “The portal’s a bad thing, in my opinion, as far as how people are using it. Kids need to have their options, but you hope the options...
Pitt’s Tre Tipton granted 6th year of eligibilityVideo
When Tre Tipton came to Pat Narduzzi to talk about playing a sixth season at wide receiver, Pitt’s coach was honest about the future. “We had long talks,” Narduzzi said. “I just told him when you become 40 years old, and you can’t kneel down to play with the kids,...
Robert Morris’ Andy Toole savors NCAA Tournament memoriesVideo
The first time Robert Morris coach Andy Toole visited Pittsburgh, he received a police escort to his hotel. He was a guard on the University of Pennsylvania basketball team on its way to play California-Berkeley in the first round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament at Mellon Arena. “I walk in...
3 Pitt wrestlers earn No. 1 seeds for ACC Tournament
Pitt wrestlers Micky Phillippi (133 pounds), Gregg Harvey (174) and Demetrius Thomas (285) are seeded No. 1 in their weight classes for the ACC Wrestling Championships that begin at 11 a.m. Sunday at Petersen Events Center. This season marks the first time since 2015 that three Pitt wrestlers earned top...
Former Pitt tight ends Grant Carrigan, Jason Collier improve depth on offensive line
Pitt bolstered its numbers on the offensive line on the first day of spring drills Monday when two growing men, Grant Carrigan and Jason Collier, shifted from tight end. “Grant came to me (about making the shift),” coach Pat Narduzzi said. “It was like, `Hey, I’m a blocking tight end....
Pitt’s Kenny Pickett approaches senior season with confidence
His eyes never dropped. His chin remained elevated. His words were direct and confident. If Kenny Pickett is feeling pressure as he approaches the last of his three seasons as Pitt’s starting quarterback, he wasn’t showing it Monday after the first day of spring drills. With seven starters returning on...
It’s still winter, but Pat Narduzzi opens spring drills at PittVideo
Three weeks before the end of winter, Pat Narduzzi opened spring drills Monday morning at Pitt, only 67 days after the last game of 2019. With the outdoor fields on the South Side still wet from winter, drills were held at the indoor facility at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex....
Duquesne beats George Mason, reaches historic 20th victory
After Duquesne’s 81-78 victory Saturday night against George Mason, coach Keith Dambrot might have walked off the court feeling like he just robbed a bank. And maybe he walked a little faster, too, before someone realized the numbers didn’t add up and George Mason should have won. Let’s count the...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi tries to put puzzle together as spring practice opensVideo
When Pat Narduzzi stands in front of his team Monday for the first of 15 spring practice sessions, he won’t let anyone see it, nor will he readily acknowledge what everyone is thinking. Yet, the heavy weight of expectations will be on his shoulders. He has won 36 games, a...
Pitt seeks reversal of fortune after another 2-8 slump
Pitt’s current stretch of two victories in its past 10 games is all too familiar to players, fans, even coach Jeff Capel. The Panthers have had 2-8 stretches in four consecutive seasons — every year since former coach Jamie Dixon left for TCU in 2016. In the 2016-2017 season, Pitt...
Duquesne survived Bonnies, balloon in overtime victory
Playing on the road in college basketball can be difficult under normal circumstances, but Duquesne’s thrilling 81-78 overtime victory at St. Bonaventure on Wednesday nearly was derailed by – of all things — an orange balloon. Duquesne held a lead for more than 32 minutes in the game, but St....
Displaced Dukes hit the road even when they play ‘home’ gamesVideo
It has been said winning can be like a drug to a competitive person. Maybe that is why Keith Dambrot was in such a good mood Friday when he met with reporters. After a thrilling 81-77 overtime victory Wednesday night in front of a hostile crowd at St. Bonaventure, Duquesne’s...
Blueberry pancakes, dedication keys to success for No. 8 Pitt wrestling
Micky Phillippi and Nino Bonaccorsi have followed a strict regimen while helping Pitt ascend to No. 8 in the national wrestling rankings: • Focus at practice for the entire two hours; • Get to bed by 9 p.m., asleep by 10. • And don’t forget Phillippi’s blueberry pancakes for breakfast....
Pitt walk-on Anthony Starzynski enjoys his spotlight moment
Anthony Starzynski won four letters at Baldwin, scoring an average of 10, 15 and 21 points during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. But in three seasons as a walk-on at Pitt, he’s played 41 minutes in bits of 17 games, scoring five baskets (all 3-pointers). And he’s OK with...
Pitt coach Jeff Capel questions team’s effort after lopsided loss to SyracuseVideo
No one should be surprised when the basketball doesn’t go through the net after a Pitt player attempts a shot. Many of them are not natural scorers. And, sometimes, their instincts backfire, and the ball deflects out of bounds or into the hands of an opponent. It happens to the...
Penn State football coach James Franklin could earn guaranteed $35.4 million over next 6 seasons
Penn State football coach James Franklin, who agreed to a new six-year contract in December, will be paid a guaranteed $35.4 million through 2025, according to terms released Wednesday by the university. The contract, which took effect Jan. 1, includes an annual base salary of $500,000, plus supplemental pay of...
How lunch with Jim Boeheim helped Pitt’s Jeff Capel understand Syracuse’s zone
Jeff Capel didn’t get where he is today by wasting a rare opportunity. Perhaps that valuable character trait will help Pitt’s coach and his players Wednesday night when he matches wits with Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim at Petersen Events Center. Capel has had a long relationship with Boeheim, who’s won 961...
