Jonathan Bombulie stories, Page 6

Trade winds are swirling around popular Pittsburgh Penguins winger Patric Hornqvist. Kevin Weekes of the NHL Network reported Wednesday afternoon that the Penguins were trading Hornqvist to the Florida Panthers for defenseman Mike Matheson. Later in the day, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported the deal was “falling apart” thanks to potential...

For the first two-thirds of this season, it looked like the Penguins would have to break the bank to bring back forward Jared McCann. For the last quarter of the season, it looked like they’d be ill-advised to give him minimum wage. When the dust settled, they met McCann in...

On Wednesday, when the Big Ten made the decision to move forward with a football season, it was hailed as a victory for players, coaches and fans — a cause for great celebration. By Thursday, a little bit of reality began to set in. Penn State’s James Franklin is about...

When it comes to All-American linebacker Micah Parsons, Penn State coach James Franklin is like Tom Bodett in those old Motel 6 commercials. He’ll leave the light on for him. Parsons announced last month that he was opting out of his junior season at Penn State and would begin to...

In an effort to trim their salary cap, the Penguins traded forward Nick Bjugstad to the Minnesota Wild on Friday night. They didn’t get much in return. The Penguins will receive a conditional pick in the 2021 draft in exchange for the 28-year-old Bjugstad, who will cost $4.1 million against...

The Penguins have promoted from within to fill the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coaching vacancy. JD Forrest, an assistant with the AHL club for the past four seasons, has been bumped up to the top job, the organization announced Friday, replacing Mike Vellucci, who was promoted to NHL assistant last week. Jason...

The Devils fired former Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero in January, but the pipeline of former Penguins moving to New Jersey continues to flow. The Devils hired Mark Recchi as an assistant coach Tuesday, less than a month after he was let go from the same position with the Penguins....

Most Class 2A coaches who hope to win a WPIAL championship this season were probably thinking it. Leave it to irrepressible Seton LaSalle coach Mike Zmijanac to say it out loud. “Avonworth, thank God, went to Triple-A,” he said. The Antelopes were a true juggernaut last season, rolling through the...

Looking back with 20-20 hindsight, the Steel Valley football team needed some time to get its bearings at the start of last season. The core players who led the Ironmen to three consecutive WPIAL Class 2A title games — including championship seasons in 2016 and ‘18 — had moved on....

The Tribune-Review is following its Best to Ever Wear It series, a daily countdown of the greatest college and pro athletes to wear every jersey number from 99 to 0/00, by honoring the Best to Never Wear It. The six athletes spotlighted didn’t wear a numbered uniform but brought pride...

It wouldn’t have been surprising if coach Mike Zmijanac said he made changes to his coaching style when he arrived at Seton LaSalle. After all, Seton LaSalle is a Catholic school with a small roster. Aliquippa is a big-roster public school in a football-mad town where he won six WPIAL...

At this time of year, most high school football coaches will profess a desire to get the ball into the hands of a variety of players. South Side’s Luke Travelpiece actually means it. Last season, the Rams had four players with at least 650 yards from scrimmage, but no one...

Blackhawk coach Zach Hayward has a motto that his players hear most every time they step on the practice field or in the weight room. “We want Heinz Field effort,” Hayward said. “That’s been the motto since Day 1, that I want Heinz Field effort. If we don’t make it...

Edge rushers Jaylan Cox and Allen Bradley make coach Joe Cowart optimistic about how disruptive New Castle’s defense could be this season. They also make the 1999 New Castle graduate feel old. “I keep talking about all the Steelers outside linebackers those guys could be like, and they’re like, ‘Who?’”...

When Ron Gallagher was promoted to the head coach position at Carmichaels in January, he took over a program with momentum. One of the biggest reasons things are looking up is a drop in classification. After spending the previous two seasons as the smallest public school in Class 2A football...

The Jefferson-Morgan football team has some players who might turn some heads as they step off the bus this season. A pair of wide receivers who stand at least 6-foot-3. A 1,000-yard rusher in the backfield. A 300-pound defensive tackle. These are assets that most teams don’t have at the...

As Mapletown coach George Messich and his staff gathered at his home on Friday nights last season, watching video of the game their team just played, a thought often occurred to them. “We have a really, really great JV football team,” Messich said with a laugh. “They just happened to...

Coach Joe Lamenza read a book over the summer that he found useful when preparing for the Ellwood City football season. Called “The Obstacle is the Way,” it explores the philosophy of stoicism, the wisdom of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and the idea that struggles are a necessary part of...

It’s not the kind of distinction any football team would want to earn, but Laurel is one of the top candidates all the same. The Spartans might just be the best team to not qualify for the WPIAL playoffs either of the last two seasons. “It’s nice to be noticed,”...

The Mohawk football team has made the climb from the bottom of the standings to playoff contender once in the past few seasons. Now it’ll just have to do it again. After winning a total of one game in his first two seasons on the Mohawk sidelines, coach Tim McCutcheon...

After going 8-2 in the regular season and advancing to the WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals last season, Neshannock lost some productive skill players to graduation. Gone are 1,500-yard rusher Braden Gennock, who coach Fred Mozzocio called the MVP of the Midwestern Athletic Conference, and 1,000-yard passer Jason Nativio. Yet optimism...

One of the things Washington coach Mike Bosnic has been repeatedly drilling into his team in the run-up to the season is the importance of hand washing. It wasn’t a trick designed to get players to focus on the fundamentals, like how UCLA coaching legend John Wooden used to show...

Looking for the biggest winner in the WPIAL’s biennial realignment? How about Waynesburg? For the past two seasons, the Raiders have been through the meat grinder in the Class 3A Tri-County West, butting heads with powers such as Aliquippa, Central Valley and Beaver Falls on an annual basis. They went...

Penn State’s Micah Parsons will opt out of the 2020 college football season and enter the 2021 NFL draft, the All-American linebacker announced in a video posted to his Instagram page Thursday. “As I consider all my options for the 2020 season, I decided I needed to make a choice...