Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 164

Pitt continued to fortify a position where it is losing three prominent seniors when linebacker SirVocea Dennis said Saturday night he gave coach Pat Narduzzi a verbal commitment. Dennis, 6-foot-1, 214 pounds, attends the Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J. Unranked by Rivals.com, he nonetheless signed with the Air Force Academy...

When two teams get together and one has trouble shedding the other and building a comfortable advantage, the outcome is often decided by moments. Plays that last mere seconds, but ultimately determine a winner and loser. Pitt’s 65-56 loss to Syracuse on Saturday at Petersen Events Center had three of...

Nearly halfway into the Atlantic 10 season, Duquesne finds itself among four teams bunched at the top of the standings, all separated by no more than a game. If coach Keith Dambrot had time to look (unlikely), he might have shrugged his shoulders and resumed preparations for Saturday’s game at...

No one should be surprised if Pitt’s players are showing signs of fatigue as they approach the end of the first half of the ACC season. Game 9 is Saturday at Petersen Events Center against Syracuse, and it will be a good test for two reasons. It will reveal: •...

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ game against the Philadelphia Flyers Feb. 23 will be special for more than it will be played outdoors at Lincoln Financial Field. The Penguins, NHL and adidas unveiled Friday morning the jersey the Penguins will wear for the Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game at Lincoln Financial...

Evgeni Malkin has an upper-body injury and won’t play Friday against the Ottawa Senators or Saturday night in Toronto, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. Sullivan said Malkin’s status is day-to-day. Malkin was injured Wednesday when he recorded two assists in the 4-2 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It...

Perhaps the trade seven hours earlier had a little something to do with it. Or maybe what happened was mere coincidence. In any case, the Pittsburgh Penguins finally proved they can do more than once what almost every other NHL team does rather easily. They defeated a last-place team Friday...

After Keith Dambrot was finished trying to explain Duquesne’s hard-to-believe 75-72 victory against Rhode Island, he knew what he had to do next. “I’m going to go take a nap now,” the Dukes coach said. He was tired, pleased and amazed all at the same time. Duquesne (15-6, 6-2 Atlantic...

Jeff Capel continues trying to recruit some of the top high school players on the East Coast, especially those who can score in the paint, but he struck out Wednesday when four-star center Qudus Wahab chose Georgetown. Wahab (6-foot-10, 230 pounds) was rated the 20th center in the U.S. (115th...

Jeff Capel chuckled, but you could tell he really wasn’t in a joking mood. He was talking about how easily Clemson, a team that had lost five of its first six ACC games, hit shots in the first half of the Tigers’ 82-69 victory against Pitt on Tuesday night. Capel,...

There may not be a busier university president in the U.S. than Robert Morris’ Chris Howard. Howard, who is a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, was named to the NCAA Board of Governors Ad Hoc Committee on Sports Wagering and...

Pitt senior infielder Olivia Gray was named to the preseason All-ACC softball team while the defending Coastal Division champion Panthers were projected to finish fourth by the coaches poll. Gray was an All-ACC first-team selection last year after hitting .311, with four home runs and 25 RBIs. She also finished...

Four years later, Andy Toole doesn’t begrudge Marcquise Reed. “While he was here, he put his all into our program,” Robert Morris’ coach said of Clemson’s 6-foot-3 senior guard. Yet, there are wistful thoughts that occasionally cross Toole’s mind. “I would have loved to have coached him for four years,”...

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi has returned to the graduate transfer pool for the third consecutive year in an attempt to fortify his offensive line. Nolan Ulizio, who played at Michigan the past four seasons, posted Sunday on Twitter his intention to play his final season of eligibility at Pitt. He...

There’s plenty of information to dissect following Pitt’s 66-51 loss to Louisville on Saturday. Some good, some bad. Let’s start with the good stuff. 1. Team defense improving Pitt played reliable defense for much of the game, holding the Cardinals to 66 points, their lowest total by 13 in seven...

In two separate, one-hour question-and-answer sessions Saturday during PiratesFest at PNC Park, the Pittsburgh Pirates invited people, literally off the street, to sit and chat with three of the four highest-ranking members of the organization. General manager Neal Huntington, manager Clint Hurdle and president Frank Coonelly spoke willingly and eloquently...

Not long ago, Pitt had a 16-point lead on Louisville with 14 minutes, 37 seconds left in the second half. The Panthers survived in overtime 89-86 because they don’t know how to stop fighting. In the subsequent four games and the 19:37 left against Louisville, Pitt was outscored by 32...

Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot thinks he knows what the rest of the Atlantic 10 thinks of his team. And it doesn’t have a lot to do with the Dukes’ record (14-5, 5-1). “I don’t think anybody respects Duquesne yet,” he said. “They just think we played some home games (11-1...

When an otherwise successful season ended with a three-game losing streak, Pat Narduzzi moved swiftly to fix the problem. He fired two coaches — the first time he did it with more than one assistant in the same offseason — and hired Mark Whipple as offensive coordinator and Chris Beatty...

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi may need to find a new holder for his kicking game next season, but he otherwise barely is affected by the NCAA’s transfer portal that ushers free agency into college athletics. But that doesn’t mean he likes it. “It’s become really a mess,” he said Friday...

The first order of business for Pitt freshman Au’Diese Toney at Louisville on Saturday will be to remain calm. “You always have to be level-headed and keep your composure,” he said. Still, there’s nothing wrong with talking to the guy you’re guarding, perhaps getting him riled up a bit as...