Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 140
Could Pitt be favored in its final eight games?
The lessons to be learned from college football are things aren’t always what they seem, favorites do lose (a lot) and trying to figure out what happens in Vegas is a foolish endeavor. Nonetheless, there is an argument to be made that Pitt (2-2) could be favored in its final...
Pitt gains motivation from slight by ESPN analyst Jesse PalmerVideo
Some Pitt players were motivated Saturday by ESPN college football analyst Jesse Palmer calling a Central Florida victory a virtual lock. “A virtual lock. (Friday) night, I watched that,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “Are you kidding me? But I appreciate Jesse Palmer juicing us up.” “What’s his name? Jesse...
Pitt rallies for improbable victory against No. 15 Central FloridaVideo
During the timeout before the play that led Pitt to its 35-34 victory against No. 15 Central Florida on Saturday, there was indecision on the sideline. It was fourth down in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter. Pitt trailed by six on the UCF 3 and had only one...
Pitt volleyball team sweeps No. 4 Penn State, 3-0
Pitt’s volleyball team recorded a series of firsts Friday night in its 3-0 sweep of No. 4 Penn State, 25-17, 25-21 and 25-23. With the sweep, the No. 6-ranked Panthers defeated Penn State for the first time since 1987, a span of 16 matches. Also, it was Pitt’s first victory...
Duquesne’s Frankie Hughes will miss the 2019-2020 season with a knee injury
Duquesne junior guard Frankie Hughes, who was one of the top 3-point shooters in the Atlantic 10 last season, will miss the upcoming season after a doctors found a torn meniscus in his knee. He is scheduled to undergo surgery next month. For all who don’t know I will be...
Basketball player-turned football player Sam Clancy headlines Pitt Hall of Fame classVideo
Jackie Sherrill knew a good football player when he saw one, even if he was wearing basketball shorts and sneakers. “Come out and play for me,” Sam Clancy said, recalling the recruiting pitch from Pitt’s football coach. “I’ll make you an All-American.” But Clancy was a Pitt basketball player. To...
Pitt finished with ‘close,’ hopes to get over the top against No. 15 UCF
There was an argument to be made last week that Pitt could be excused for losing a close game at Penn State. Coaches and players wouldn’t agree, but it’s a fact Kenny Pickett stepped up, the defense was stout and the Panthers didn’t flinch in front of 108,661 people. OK,...
For Pitt’s Jaylen Twyman, it’s never too early for video work
When Pat Narduzzi walked into Charlie Partridge’s office one day at 6 a.m., he expected to see his defensive line coach already at work. What surprised him was the fact that Partridge had company. “I go in to see coach Partridge and I think it’s him behind the computer,” Narduzzi...
Perfection is nice for Pitt, but turnovers would be even betterVideo
If there’s one lesson Mark Whipple has learned in four decades of coaching football, it is this: You hang around long enough, you’ll see it all. That’s what happened to Pitt’s offensive coordinator over the past two games. He was a sideline witness to perfection. The only problem was the...
Face-to-face play-calling works for Pitt’s Mark Whipple, Kenny PickettVideo
Kenny Pickett’s day starts early and ends late. He’s the quarterback of a Pitt team that will confront its third Top 25 opponent this season when No. 15 Central Florida comes to Heinz Field on Saturday. There’s much work to do. Pickett’s day begins with an early wake-up call and...
Pirates’ Trevor Williams nominated for Roberto Clemente Award
Pitching means almost everything to Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams, but his work off the mound is equally important to him. Williams, who has been a regular in the Pirates’ starting rotation for the past three seasons, is the team’s nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, given annually to the...
James Marvel, Mason Martin receive Pirates’ top minor-league honors
James Marvel, who has made two starts for the Pittsburgh Pirates in September, and first baseman Mason Martin were named the franchise’s minor-league pitcher and player of the year. Marvel, a 36th-round draft choice in 2015, recorded a minor-league high 16 victories, the most by Pirates farmhand since Austin Coley...
Pirates show little fight in home loss to Mariners
If the Pittsburgh Pirates’ hearts and heads were somewhere other than PNC Park on Tuesday night, no one should be surprised. On a day when Felipe Vazquez, the team’s best pitcher, was arrested on child solicitation charges, the Pirates put up little resistance in a 6-0 loss to the Seattle...
Pitt’s Randy Bates hopes faster ‘D’ can slow down Central FloridaVideo
Pitt defensive coordinator Randy Bates has enough problems this week, drilling his players on how and where to line up against the perpetual-motion Central Florida offense. But he does have one request of the officials assigned to Saturday’s game at Heinz Field. “You would hope sometimes the officials would keep...
Felipe Vazquez’s arrest stirs up emotions in Pirates’ clubhouseVideo
Chris Archer thought about his 14-year-old sister. Clint Hurdle said he felt the need to make calls and seek advice from five trusted mentors. As a team, the Pittsburgh Pirates went about the regular routine Tuesday of preparing to play a baseball game. But it was difficult after two-time All-Star...
Beset by injuries, Pirates add 2 players to roster
The Pittsburgh Pirates added two players to a depleted roster Tuesday when relief pitcher Chris Stratton was reinstated from the injured list and infielder Jake Elmore was brought back after spending most of the season with Triple-A Indianapolis The Pirates will play the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday without injured regulars...
Kenny Pickett nearly sets Pitt completions record in Penn State game
After the frustration and disappointment over Pitt’s close loss to Penn State subsided, coach Pat Narduzzi was able to look through the rubble and see a pleasant reality: Quarterback Kenny Pickett played the best game of his career. Pickett nearly set a Pitt record for completions in a game, successfully...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi confronts play-calling issue, maintains stance
Before anyone could ask the only question about Pitt football on anyone’s mind, Pat Narduzzi tried to get behind the steering wheel of the runaway bus and bring it to a stop. “I know it’ll probably come up,” he said, reading the room correctly, “so I figured I’d address it...
With Chris Archer shut down, Pirates claim infielder Corban Joseph to fill roster vacancy
After shutting down pitcher Chris Archer for the remainder of the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates filled his spot on the 40-man roster Monday with 30-year-old minor-league infielder Corban Joseph. Joseph, who finished second in batting average (.371) with Las Vegas in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League this season, was claimed...
Pitt can’t run to Pat Narduzzi’s satisfactionVideo
Pat Narduzzi made many statements after Pitt’s 17-10 loss to Penn State, but two stand out for those people — including the coach himself — who believe good teams are built on a strong running game. The overriding talking point is Narduzzi’s baffling decision to kick a field goal, down...
History repeats itself in Penn State victory at Beaver Stadium, 37 years later
Pat Narduzzi isn’t the only Pitt coach to opt for a field goal in the fourth quarter of a close game when his team was on the 1-yard line. But he’s the only one to defend the decision. In 1982, No. 5 Pitt was trailing No. 2 Penn State, 16-7,...
Penn State’s defense makes up for lack of offense vs. Pitt
UNIVERSITY PARK — There wasn’t much offense in Penn State’s 17-10 victory over Pitt, and coach James Franklin noticed. “We had guys behind them, but a couple of plays we overthrew,” he said. “A couple of them we left inside, especially the vertical balls. “We want our receivers to leave...
Pitt opts for late FG try while down 7, loses to Penn StateVideo
UNIVERSITY PARK — If you left Beaver Stadium on Saturday wanting more from the 100th, and possibly final, game in the Pitt-Penn State series, you weren’t paying attention. Penn State’s 17-10 victory in front of a crowd of 108,661 had it all, including a lightning storm that delayed the start...
Pitt-Penn State game kicks off 40 minutes late
STATE COLLEGE — The Pitt/Penn State game started at 12:40 p.m. — 40 minutes late — after the threat of lightning left the area. Prior to and during the delay, Penn State officials closed the gates, suspended entry into the stadium and cleared people who were already inside from uncovered...
What if Pitt loses to Penn State, but it’s a close game?
Here’s the thing — the most important thing — about the Pitt-Penn State game Saturday at Beaver Stadium: The outcome matters, of course, but how Pitt competes against the 13th-ranked team in the nation counts just as much. Unless the college football landscape changes dramatically over the next two months,...
