Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 89
Pitt builds support platform to help athletes with their name, image and likeness branding
After Gov. Tom Wolf signed name, image and likeness legislation into the next state budget Wednesday, Pitt has introduced a program designed to help its student-athletes maximize their brand. Pitt’s athletic department announced the formation of Forged Here, a program that will equip Pitt student-athletes with knowledge and resources to...
Pitt signs freshman Cole Mitchell, 10th tight end on the 2021 roster
In the midst of securing verbal commitments from five rising high school seniors in the past three days, Pat Narduzzi also successfully recruited tight end Cole Mitchell. And he doesn’t need to wait to get him on campus. Mitchell, who played this spring at Linganore High School in Frederick, Md.,...
Pitt basketball will host Minnesota in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
Pitt’s 2021-22 basketball schedule has not been finalized, but the Panthers do know they will serve as hosts for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Minnesota, with first-year coach Ben Johnson, will be Pitt’s opponent Nov. 30 at Petersen Events Center. Game time and TV designation will be announced at a later...
Pitt lands Virginia offensive lineman; class of 2022 grows to 11 prospects
Pitt’s class of 2022 continues to grow in a short space of time after offensive lineman Isaiah Montgomery said Monday he plans to enroll next year. 100% committed @Pitt_FB @CoachDuzzPittFB @CoachBorbs @RivalsFriedman @BrianDohn247 @LHRubama @hatfieldsports @ReeseBecker pic.twitter.com/8DoiY0FBQQ— Isaiah Montgomery (@IsaiahMontgom13) June 28, 2021 Montgomery, who attends Landstown High Schol in...
5 Rockies pitchers shut out Pirates in series opener
Monday was Adam Frazier’s day off. Then, four batters into the game, cleanup hitter Colin Moran was hit by a pitch, suffered a nasty bruise on his wrist and was lost for the rest of the day. Losing two good hitters — Frazier, batting .331, and Moran, hitting .280 in...
Pirates’ Colin Moran hit by pitch, leaves game against Rockies in first inning
After missing 24 games earlier this season with a left groin strain, Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Colin Moran left the game against the Colorado Rockies in the first inning Monday after he was hit by a pitch in the left wrist. Moran came out for warmups in the bottom of...
Max Kranick sent back to Triple-A Indianapolis; Cody Ponce recalled to help bullpen
Max Mania barely lasted 24 hours. About 20 minutes after Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Monday he and general manager Ben Cherington were “working through” Max Kranick’s immediate future, he was optioned back to Triple-A Indianapolis. Kranick’s perfect record — 1-0, 0.00 ERA and 0.000 WHIP in his major...
Pirates’ Max Kranick throws 5 perfect innings in MLB debut, beats Cardinals
On the day he could do no wrong — when only a force as powerful as the weather could stop him — Max Kranick still found it necessary to say, “I’m sorry.” KE'BRYAN HAYES.THAT'S IT. THAT'S THE TWEET. pic.twitter.com/Bh3Mrir1i4— Pirates (@Pirates) June 27, 2021 Kranick said his phone was “blowing...
Pitt secures verbal commitment from Florida prospect Camden Brown, 2nd wide receiver in class of 2022
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi and his staff were busy Sunday, serving as hosts to eight prospects and securing verbal commitments from at least three, making the Panthers’ haul of high school talent four in the past two days. The first to publicly reveal his commitment was three-star wide receiver Camden...
Pirates notebook: Cherington says team will use 6-man starting rotation into All-Star break
Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday on his radio show on 93.7 FM that the team plans to stick with a six-man rotation through the All-Star break. He said that before Max Kranick’s major league debut when he retired the first 12 batters he faced in the finale...
Pitt gets commitment from Texas defender Marquan Pope
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi reached into the talent-rich state of Texas on Saturday, getting a verbal commitment from safety/outside linebacker Marquan Pope. Pope, 6-foot-1, 206 pounds, has scholarship offers from Kansas and service academies Army, Navy and Air Force. Unranked by Rivals.com, he also has offers from Liberty, Tulsa and...
Cardinals’ veteran pitcher Adam Wainwright stymies Pirates again
Two months shy of his 40th birthday, it’s unclear what Adam Wainwright does best. Is it his defiance of the normal aging process for athletes? Or is it his continuing ability to baffle the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wainwright put both on display Saturday, throwing 102 pitches in the St. Louis Cardinals’...
Pirates notebook: Scranton native Max Kranick promoted to start Sunday
With Mitch Keller in Triple-A, Steven Brault and Trevor Cahill still on the injured list and the schedule showing no off days until the All-Star break, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting pitching staff needed a lift. The call went out to Indianapolis where Max Kranick, 23, was chosen to make his...
Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds focused only on this season, with perhaps a quick glance toward the All-Star Game
Bryan Reynolds was polite with his answer, but adamant in his insistence. “I don’t want to talk about last year anymore,” he said. Actually, he said it twice, making his point as forcefully as any hit he has launched off the barrel of his bat this season. Translation: Please leave...
Pirates open road trip with 8-2 victory against Cardinals
Misery shifted sides and moved into the St. Louis Cardinals dugout Thursday night at Busch Stadium. The escorts for the evening were named Adam Frazier, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Bryan Reynolds and Chad Kuhl, and they were largely — almost solely — responsible for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 8-2 victory, their fourth in...
Pitt volleyball adds Penn State transfer Serena Gray
After leading Pitt volleyball to its first NCAA Regional Final this year, coach Dan Fisher hopes he improved his lineup by adding Penn State transfer Serena Gray to the team. Gray transferred to Pitt after earning Honorable Mention All-America from the American Volleyball Coaches Association in 2018 and 2019. “I’m...
Pirates notebook: Indianapolis’ Miguel Yajure moves to 60-day injured list, out until August
In the midst of 20 games without a day off, the Pittsburgh Pirates might need to bolster their starting rotation, but Indianapolis Indians pitcher Miguel Yajure won’t be able to help. Yajure, who was placed on the seven-day minor league injured list June 2 with a sore forearm, was transferred...
Duquesne ponders long-term effects of Supreme Court ruling on college athletics
When Keith Dambrot was playing baseball at the University of Akron and merely trying to keep ground balls from smacking him in the face, he never imagined how college athletics would change in the next four decades, and how he must change with it. “Never,” he said. “I was just...
Penn State’s recruiting class ranked 5th in nation after Virginia wide receiver Tyler Johnson commits
Six months before signing day, Penn State’s 2022 recruiting class stands No. 5 in the nation — No. 2 in the Big Ten — after wide receiver Tyler Johnson made a verbal commitment Monday to coach James Franklin. Johnson (6-foot, 175 pounds) made the announcement on his Twitter account. C...
Former Pitt star Jaylen Twyman shot 4 times in Washington, D.C., expected to recover, agent says
Former Pitt defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman, a sixth-round draft choice of the Minnesota Vikings this year, was shot four times while visiting a family member in Washington, D.C., but he is expected to make a full recovery, his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told ESPN on Monday. “Wrong place, wrong time,” Rosenhaus...
Pitt hires former player Gilbert Brown as director of player, alumni development
Jeff Capel has replaced one Pitt man with another. Former Pitt player Gilbert Brown, who scored 1,048 points, was part of five NCAA Tournament teams and made an Elite Eight appearance with the Panthers in 2009, was named Director of Player and Alumni Development. Brown was associate head coach at...
Oddsmakers rank Pitt’s schedule 2nd-easiest, Georgia Tech’s toughest in ACC
If you believe in the power of numbers and analytics, Pitt has the second-easiest schedule among ACC football teams this season. Odds-makers at SportsBettingDime.com developed a formula that leads to a ranking of the schedules of all 130 FBS teams. The formula sounds all-encompassing, taking into account opponents’ 2020 efficiency...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel secures 1st commitment from class of 2022
With his 2021-22 roster largely — if not totally — finalized, Pitt coach Jeff Capel received his first verbal commitment from the Class of 2022 on Friday when rising high school senior Judah Mintz announced his plans to enroll next year. “Limits like fears are often just an illusion”????????➕ pic.twitter.com/VoG4wlUARd—...
ACC will bring its softball tournament to Pitt in 2022
Improvements to Pitt’s Vartabedian Field at its Petersen Sports Complex have led to the school landing the host role for the 2022 ACC Softball Championship tournament. The event will be held May 11-14. It will be the third ACC championship held at Pitt after the 2015 and 2020 wrestling tournaments...
Pitt lands Georgia cornerback for its class of 2022
Pitt secured a second defensive back for its class of 2022 when Ryland Gandy, a cornerback from Buford (Ga.) High School, announced on Twitter his intentions to enroll next year. COMMITTED!!!?? #Hail2Pitt pic.twitter.com/G0yasxtPka— Ryland Gandy (@iamrdg10) June 16, 2021 Gandy (6-foot, 170 pounds) holds an impressive offer sheet, with 17...
