Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 136
Pirates pick up contract option for Starling Marte, Chris Archer
The Pittsburgh Pirates committed $20.5 million in salary Monday for center fielder Starling Marte and starting pitcher Chris Archer, picking up the contractual options on the team’s most expensive players. Marte will be paid $11.5 million and Archer $9 million in 2020, according to spotrac.com. The moves were not surprising,...
Pirates’ Dave Parker one of 10 names on Hall of Fame ballot
Dave Parker, who played 11 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates and won consecutive National League batting titles in 1977 and 1978, was one of nine players named Monday to the Hall of Fame ballot for possible election to the class of 2020. Also included on the ballot, which will be...
Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot faces season of transition
The odds appear stacked against Keith Dambrot, but he is eager to tackle his third season as Duquesne’s men’s basketball coach. While renovations continue on the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse that won’t open until the 2020-21 season, he shares a fourth-floor practice gym with several other teams on campus. If a...
What’s good, what’s worrisome as Pitt enters the home stretch
Pat Narduzzi used the words “spectacular” and “outstanding” when discussing his defense after a 20-10 victory Saturday against Georgia Tech. He was not guilty of hyperbole, especially when considering: • Senior free safety Damar Hamlin, the team’s second-leading tackler and a reliable pass defender, was “a little dinged up” and...
New arena, seasoned team create optimism at Robert Morris
Coaches, teachers and parents like to tell students if they stick at something long enough, good things will happen. Andy Toole proves that theory. The Robert Morris basketball coach has presided over one of the Northeast Conference’s most successful programs since the 2010-11 season. “Scary,” he said, noting his impressive...
Transfers could play vital role for Robert Morris men’s basketball
A closer look at the Robert Morris men’s basketball team: Players to watch Josh Williams: On a team with four returning starters, the 6-foot-2 senior guard is Robert Morris’ top scoring threat. He averaged 14.5 points and shot 37.9 percent on 3-pointers last season. He tied an NCAA Division I...
Pitt men’s basketball: Season preview capsule
Players to watch Gerald Drumgoole Jr.: Coach Jeff Capel likes Drumgoole’s court awareness and scoring ability. At 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, he is a freshman guard/forward who is not afraid to step back and try a 3-pointer. Pitt needs that after Jared Wilson-Frame exhausted his eligibility. ••• Abdoul Karim Coulibaly: The...
Pitt men’s basketball needs new players to blend with veterans quickly
No one appreciates Xavier Johnson’s athleticism more than Jeff Capel. Especially when the Pitt sophomore guard hangs in the air to avoid a defender and scores, causing the crowd to go, “Oooh.” The Pitt coach also appreciates and encourages Trey McGowens’ willingness to take on bigger, stronger opponents at the...
Pitt gets verbal commitment from Virginia running back Hammond
Pitt received its second commitment from a high school junior when running back Rodney Hammond announced his intentions to enroll in 2021. Hammond, who attends Booker T. Washington in Norfolk, Va., made his announcement Friday after his team’s game. He is considered a prime target among juniors, and he holds...
Linebacker Elias Reynolds leaves Pitt team
Elias Reynolds, a junior middle linebacker who hasn’t played since Pitt’s third game of the season, has left the team, a source told Trib Total Media. Reynolds started seven games last season, but was benched for the Sun Bowl after recording seven tackles against Clemson in the ACC Championship game....
Georgia Tech game launches season-defining stretch for Pitt
With only four games left in the regular season, Pitt is approaching a point on the calendar that will define Pat Narduzzi’s fifth year as coach. The Panthers will take a 5-3 record and a reasonable chance to repeat as ACC Coastal champions to Atlanta on Saturday to play Georgia...
Coin toss, failures on the ground plague Pitt on eve of Georgia Tech game
Pat Narduzzi believes he has found a solution to the problem that has plagued his team longer than any other. The coin toss. Pitt has lost the past nine pregame coin tosses, dating to the Sun Bowl on New Year’s Eve. How will he fix such a vexing problem? “I’m...
Pirates trade relief pitcher Parker Markel to the Angels
With assistant general manager Kevan Graves temporarily monitoring the roster, the Pittsburgh Pirates opened up a spot Thursday when they traded right-handed relief pitcher Parker Markel to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for cash considerations. Markel, 29, spent most of last season in the Seattle Mariners’ minor-league system, appearing...
Gerrit Cole moves swiftly to distance himself from Astros
Gerrit Cole might have enjoyed his two seasons as a member of the Houston Astros, getting to the World Series and all. But now the former Pittsburgh Pirates first-round draft choice and free-agent-to-be looks like he’s ready to try a third team. Gerrit Cole, an impending free agent, was resistant...
Pitt shows off new-look team in exhibition rout of Slippery Rock
Eric Hamilton had only one word to describe the first half of his first game as a Pitt basketball player: “Ridiculous,” he said, a look of disgust on his face. It didn’t matter Pitt was on its way Wednesday night to a 98-47 exhibition game victory against Slippery Rock at...
Pirates claim relief pitcher Sam Howard from Rockies
The Pittsburgh Pirates made their first player move of the off-season Wednesday when they claimed left-handed relief pitcher Sam Howard off waivers from the Colorado Rockies. Howard 26, spent most of last season with the Rockies’ Triple-A team in Albuquerque. He was 4-1 with a 3.91 ERA and 62 strikeouts...
Pitt’s upperclassmen only can dream of video game glory
Saleem Brightwell’s timing is a bit off, so he never will know the joy of playing himself in the NCAA Football video game. “I’m so mad,” Pitt’s senior linebacker said. “I wanted to go to college just to be in the game.” But athletes who follow him at Pitt and...
Ex-Pitt defensive coordinator Josh Conklin ready for return trip to Death ValleyVideo
When Wofford coach Josh Conklin walks into Death Valley on Saturday, faced with the daunting task of confronting No. 4 Clemson with his FCS Terriers, he might look around and declare, “This looks familiar.” And, then, he could smile. It was three seasons ago, when Conklin was Pitt’s defensive coordinator,...
How Pitt tight ends coach Tim Salem deals with players who drop passes
Tim Salem has been around football for most of his 58 years. Pitt’s tight ends coach played quarterback at a high level as a prep star at St. Thomas Academy in Minneapolis. At Minnesota in 1980, he set the Big Ten record for consecutive completions. He also is the son...
No triple option and fewer cut blocks, but Georgia Tech still a challenge for PittVideo
For college coaches, the process of preparing a team to play a football game is long and arduous. Video study of your team and the opponent. Practice. Grading video of practice. More practice. Meetings with coaches and players. Fielding and making recruiting calls. And, of course, practice. Pitt tight ends...
Pitt prospect Timothy Brown arrested in Florida on charges of robbery, battery and kidnapping
Palm Beach (Fla.) Gardens High School defensive tackle Timothy Brown, who verbally committed to Pitt in June, is under house arrest after he was charged with robbery, felony battery and kidnapping in connection with an incident Thursday in Lake Park, Fla. The Palm Beach Post, citing a police report, reported...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi hopes `complacency’ didn’t plague his team in loss to Miami
Since the loss to Penn State six weeks ago, Pitt’s season had gone so well that coach Pat Narduzzi wasn’t sure what led to the loss to Miami and the end to his team’s four-game winning streak. “Tough one for our kids, tough one to swallow,” he said Monday during...
New Pirates president Travis Williams eager ‘to crack the code’Video
When he was asked why he agreed to join Bob Nutting’s Pittsburgh Pirates management team as its president, Travis Williams gave an answer that precisely describes the situation that confronts him. “I like challenges,” the former Pittsburgh Penguins chief operating officer said. Williams also wants to make something else clear....
Pirates chairman Bob Nutting knew management changes were needed in AugustVideo
In the next few weeks, Bob Nutting will name a new general manager and manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He already has a new president in place who will chart a plan he hopes eventually will lift a struggling team back among the National League’s contenders. A couple of coaches...
Title hopes alive, but ACC standings are the least of Pitt’s concerns
One month to go in the college football regular season, and Pitt finds itself in the middle of the ACC Coastal’s cluttered mess. Pitt remains in the hunt to repeat as Coastal champion, but the Panthers could have been leaders of the pack. One stop on defense, more care when...
