Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 135
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi wants more from already stout defenseVideo
Pat Narduzzi praises his team when he determines players have earned it. He will defend them when he believes it’s appropriate. But when the defense allows 322 passing yards, is gashed by a 59-yard run and fails to get off the field on six of 14 third downs, he will...
Here’s how Pitt can play in the Orange Bowl (but it’s far from a lock)
Pitt never has played in the Orange Bowl, but two more victories in the regular season and some help the day after Thanksgiving could make it happen. If Clemson wins the ACC championship and is among the top four teams in the College Football Playoff rankings at season’s end, the...
Malkin, top line help Penguins roll to blowout victory against Maple LeafsVideo
Without skates, he stands 6-foot-3 on a 195-pound frame. So when he skates into a scoring zone, Evgeni Malkin is a sight to behold. He also has 1,011 points in 861 career games. Two of those points came Saturday night when he had a goal and assist in the first...
Penguins backup goalie Tristan Jarry gets the call against Maple LeafsVideo
Tristan Jarry is in the net and Nick Bjugstad is out for the Pittsburgh Penguins in their game Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs at PPG Paints Arena. Jarry will appear in his fifth game this season after losing three of his previous four starts. He has a 2.25...
West Virginia thunders past Pitt with 2nd-half surgeVideo
If the Backyard Brawl is supposed to create a hostile environment for the opposing team, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins didn’t see anything like that Friday night at Petersen Events Center. Pitt was anything but a hostile host in a 68-53 loss to Mountaineers in the 187th renewal of one...
Pitt-North Carolina wrap-up: Kenny Pickett, penalties, Coastal chances
In the aftermath of Pitt’s 34-27 overtime victory against North Carolina, so many thoughts must be on the minds of Pitt fans. Some good, some concerning: • The resurgence of Kenny Pickett and the introduction of a deep passing game heads the list. • Too many penalties and Pat Narduzzi’s...
Pitt’s Shocky Jacques-Louis conducts himself — and the band — in a winning manner
Pitt sophomore wide receiver Shocky Jacques-Louis caught four passes for 104 yards, carried twice for another 20 and even returned two kickoffs for a total of 36. Then, after Pitt’s 34-27 overtime victory against North Carolina on Thursday night at Heinz Field, he climbed a ladder and conducted the Pitt...
Pitt ends skid against North Carolina with wild OT victoryVideo
When the band stopped playing and Heinz Field was nearly empty after Pitt’s tense 34-27 overtime victory, Jaylen Twyman turned to his older teammate, senior cornerback Dane Jackson, in one of those private locker room moments and put Thursday night in perspective. “It’s all for you, bro,” he said. Finally,...
Pitt football seeks record number of wins for Pat Narduzzi’s tenure
During the final days of the 2019 season, Pat Narduzzi has an opportunity to keep Pitt’s program on an upward trajectory. At least in terms of victories, which is the ultimate measuring stick. After winning six of its first nine games, Pitt has a chance over the final three games,...
Robert Morris opens its doors to new arena, new era
Robert Morris has played Division I basketball for 44 years and gone to eight NCAA tournaments. Andy Toole has been its coach for the past decade. Yet, it almost felt like he was starting over Tuesday night, but under the best of circumstances: with an experienced team that isn’t afraid...
Pirates’ Erik Gonzalez fractures foot in winter ball
Misfortune has followed the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Erik Gonzalez to the Dominican Republic. The utility infielder fractured his left foot this past weekend while playing winter ball. It is his second bone break in the past seven months after he fractured his clavicle April 19 in a collision with Pirates center...
Pitt hopes to reverse sour history with North Carolina
Nothing comes easy for Pitt football. Not this season, and certainly not in past seasons. But coach Pat Narduzzi needs to change that reality and beat North Carolina (4-5, 3-3) on Thursday night at Heinz Field. It would be a first for Pitt since joining the ACC in 2013. Pitt...
Pitt steals the show on Robert Morris’ opening night with a 71-57 victoryVideo
Jeff Capel had to smile. His Pitt team had survived opening night at Robert Morris’ $45 million UPMC Events Center, rolling to a 71-57 victory Tuesday after settling for a 27-27 tie at halftime. It was Pitt’s first victory in a true road game since Feb. 8, 2017, at Boston...
Pat Narduzzi seeks perfection (or something close to it) with Pitt’s season on the lineVideo
In the context of his offense and quarterback, Pat Narduzzi said mistakes happen, and no one’s perfect. Which is true. But Pitt has made just enough misplays this season to be in the precarious position of needing to win Thursday at Heinz Field against North Carolina to stay alive in...
Pitt basketball hopes to spoil opening of Robert Morris’ new $45 million homeVideo
When Pitt plays Robert Morris on Tuesday night, serving as the first guest in the Colonials’ new home, Jeff Capel knows what to expect. “The place will be jumping,” Pitt’s coach said. And for good reason. It’s the first basketball game in Robert Morris’ $45 million, 4,000-seat UPMC Events Center,...
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi disappointed over sharing national TV stage with Steelers
Pat Narduzzi is disappointed more consideration wasn’t given to his football program and the ACC when the NFL forced Pitt to share the national stage Thursday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers’ only Thursday night game this season will kick off in Cleveland only 20 minutes after the start...
Pitt kicker Alex Kessman knows how to handle stressVideo
Alex Kessman speaks slowly and thoughtfully, a pace he prefers. Hey, you don’t rush a kicker. It’s no different than how he methodically marches off distances while lining up a kick — three steps back, two steps over — after getting his traditional fist pump and a good word from...
Penguins’ Kris Letang ‘week-to-week’ with lower-body injuryVideo
There is no definite timetable for Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang’s return from the lower-body injury he suffered Tuesday in Boston, but it will be at least a week. Coach Mike Sullivan said Letang’s status is “week-to-week,” which is not a downgrade in the team’s eyes from what was previously...
Jared McCann, Penguins benefit from shaking up linesVideo
Jared McCann didn’t score a hat trick in his first game with his new Pittsburgh Penguins linemates, but he did hit for the cycle. McCann hasn’t been with the Penguins a full calendar year — that won’t happen until Feb. 1, 2020 — but when he joined Evgeni Malkin and...
ACC’s new opening-night schedule draws mixed reviews
Jeff Capel was a winner. Jim Boeheim a loser. That important distinction dictated how the Pitt and Syracuse coaches perceived their season openers Wednesday night. Capel’s Pitt team was not at its best, missing more than two-thirds of its shots in a 63-61 victory against Florida State. Capel was pleased...
Pitt’s Jaylen Twyman feels no pressure living up to Aaron Donald’s No. 97Video
George S. Patton is credited with saying it first while commanding U.S. troops in Europe during World War II. “Pressure makes diamonds,” the famous American general once said as a way of praising his men who survived and thrived in tough times. Many years later, Guy Young embellished those words...
Pitt finds a way to win season opener over ACC foe Florida StateVideo
Allison Murphy wasn’t especially pleased when her son Ryan, who grew up in Calabasas, Calif., decided to transfer to Pitt. “My mom is going to hate me for saying this,” Pitt’s junior guard said Wednesday night. “But no part of her wanted me to go to the East Coast. She...
Duquesne opens season at PPG Paints Arena with 94-67 victory against Princeton
There was plenty for Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot to like about his team’s 94-67 opening-night victory against Princeton on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena. How about that 85-44 surge after falling behind 23-9 nine minutes into the game? And it was hard not to like Sincere Carry’s pain-free performance on...
Three things to watch as Pitt basketball opens season vs. Florida State
Pitt’s basketball opener Wednesday night against ACC opponent Florida State represents a departure from traditional nonconference scheduling procedures across the nation. Which, in many cases, revolves around teams trying to stack up wins before the conference season starts. That’s part of the reason Pitt has won 21 of its past...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel senses ‘different level of urgency’ for opener against Florida StateVideo
When Pitt lines up against Florida State on Wednesday in the season opener, sophomore Au’Diese Toney has the easy job. All he must do is try to position his 6-foot-6, 210-pound frame in such a way to help outrebound a strong, athletic Seminoles front line that includes 260-pounders Balsa Koprivica...
