Penn State category, Page 74
First Call: Steelers-‘MNF’ ratings tank. O.J. Simpson defends Saquon Barkley. Terry Bradshaw’s new TV show.
The Steelers. Plus, a New York audience. That should jolt “Monday Night Football” ratings to open the season! Guess again, ESPN. That’s how we start Thursday’s “First Call.” We also see how O.J. Simpson is supporting Saquon Barkley. And we preview Terry Bradshaw’s new television show. Where’s the remote? A...
NCAA sets Nov. 25 start date for men’s, women’s basketballVideo
The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball season will begin Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving. The Division I Council voted Wednesday to push the start date back from the originally scheduled Nov. 10 as one of several precautions against the spread of coronavirus. The later start date coincides with the...
Big Ten changes course, aims for October start to football
The Big Ten is going to give fall football a shot after all. Less than five weeks after pushing football and other fall sports to spring in the name of player safety during the covid-19 pandemic, the conference changed course Wednesday and said it plans to begin its season the...
Wisconsin chancellor says Big Ten football on hold until questions answeredVideo
The University of Wisconsin chancellor said Tuesday that Big Ten football will remain on hold until there are answers to questions about covid-19 testing and tracing, along with possible long-term heart issues related to the coronavirus. Chancellor Rebecca Blank said once the Big Ten leaders have their concerns addressed “we...
Big Ten presidents to discuss starting footballVideo
Big Ten university presidents will meet Sunday to hear a presentation about playing a fall football season after all — maybe as soon as late October — amid pressure from parents, players, coaches and even the president to kick off. A person with direct knowledge of the situation told the...
Penn State stops workouts for ‘several’ sports programs because of positive covid-19 tests
Penn State has shut down sports activities for “several” of its athletic programs after an influx of positive tests for coronavirus. The school reported 48 positive results out of 920 tests given to athletes from Aug. 31 through Sept. 4, a 5% positivity rate. As a result, the university said...
Penn State lands latest Class of 2022 commitment, 4-star Ken TalleyVideo
Penn State landed another four-star recruit in the Class of 2022. The Lions picked up a pledge from Philadelphia, four-star end/linebacker Ken Talley, on Tuesday. He is the first defender to join the six-member group and is the second junior-to-be to do so this month, as four-star offensive tackle Drew...
Former PSU QB Trace McSorley survives Ravens cuts, which offered no surprisesVideo
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Former Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley survived the Baltimore Ravens’ final cut and is poised to return for a second season behind Lamar Jackson and Robert Griffin III on the depth chart. Baltimore’s initial 53-man roster, formed after Saturday’s moves, offered no real surprises. The Ravens...
Penn State football doctor: 30-35% of covid-19-positive Big Ten athletes had myocarditis
New data helps illustrate what Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren might have meant when he described “too much medical uncertainty and too many unknown health risks” as reasons for postponing the Big Ten’s 2020-21 fall sports season. During a State College Area school board of directors meeting on Monday night,...
Steelers sign another former Penn State receiver, DeAndre Thompkins
The Pittsburgh Steelers added a former Penn State wide receiver to their roster for the second time in three days, announcing the signing of DeAndre Thompkins on Sunday. Tompkins left Penn State tied for fourth in school history with two punt-return touchdowns and 21st in career receiving yards (1,245). The...
Steelers, ex-PSU OL Stefan Wisniewski: ‘The Big Ten is going to look really stupid not playing’
Late during a 10-minute video conference call with media that mostly dealt with his role on the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line this season, Stefan Wisniewski cracked a smile. It was one part incredulity, one part an attempt at restraint. “I don’t know how to say this without offending lots of...
Will the Giants play their opener against the Steelers? Saquon Barkley won’t rule out boycotts.
Of course, Steelers fans want to get off to a 1-0 start against the New York Giants. They don’t want it to happen this way, though. On Thursday, New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley said he and his teammates aren’t ruling out the possibility of boycotting games this...
First Call: Steelers, Ravens considering Clowney? Nebraska players sue Big Ten.
Friday’s “First Call” starts with an unlikely free-agent target for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A former Steelers coach makes some headlines discussing our nation’s civil unrest. The Big Ten is getting sued over its football cancellation. And an honor for Tony Dungy that may help the late, great Bill Nunn’s legacy....
After opt-outs, Pitt’s Jaylen Twyman, PSU’s Micah Parsons still named preseason All-American
Jaylen Twyman continues to make news — even after opting out of the 2020 season. Twyman, who would have been a junior defensive tackle at Pitt this season, was named Tuesday to the Associated Press’ preseason All-America first team. Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons joins Twyman as two of 11...
Big Ten’s Kevin Warren, under fire, elaborates on virus concernsVideo
Facing backlash from fans, players’ parents and others, Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren sought to elaborate on the decision last week to postpone football season until spring. The first-year commissioner has been criticized for a lack of transparency in how the decision to call off football this fall was made....
McKeesport native Johnasia Cash to join Penn State women’s basketball program
Former McKeesport girls basketball standout Johnasia Cash will play her final collegiate season a little closer to home. Penn State announced Wednesday afternoon that Cash, a cousin of former WNBA star Swin Cash, will join the Nittany Lions after three seasons as a starting forward at Southern Methodist University. Because...
Penn State’s James Franklin says frustration, questions build in wake of Big Ten postponementVideo
For James Franklin, the frustration of losing the fall football season might never disappear. The looks on his Penn State players’ faces — he described them as “confused” — the day he delivered the bad news may remain seared in his mind for as long as he is coaching. He...
Police: 3 Penn State football players facing charges after marijuana, LSD found in their apartment
Three Penn State football players were charged Monday after university police officers said they found marijuana and LSD in the trio’s on-campus apartment. Officers responded about 3:40 p.m. Aug. 2 to sophomore running back Devyn Ford and redshirt freshman offensive linemen Sal Wormley and Caedan Wallace’s apartment for a fire...
Ex-Penguins prospect Nikita Pavlychev signs with Lightning affiliate
Former Penguins forward prospect Nikita Pavlychev has signed a one-year American Hockey League (AHL) contract with the Syracuse Crunch, affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Penguins selected Pavlychev in the seventh round (No. 197 overall) in the 2015 draft but never signed him. The deadline to retain his signing...
Penn State AD: Big Ten’s decision was based on science, not likely to be reversedVideo
Despite the intention of the ACC, SEC and Big 12 to press on, criticism of the conference’s process and backlash from coaches, athletes and parents, Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour said the Big Ten’s decision to postpone fall sports, including football, isn’t likely to be reversed. In a video...
Spring college football: When? How much? Who plays?
Back in April, not long after the NCAA basketball tournaments were canceled because of the pandemic, the idea of moving the college football season to the spring of 2021 already was being tossed around. Conference commissioners and athletic directors called it a last resort. And when it looked like the...
How Penn State’s Micah Parsons, Pitt’s Jaylen Twyman will do in the NFL Draft. And how they may help change it.
The chances of playing any semblance of a college football season in the fall are looking bleak. It’s unclear if the sport will try to function in the spring. And who knows if either option will be safe enough for the players. For those reasons, many top-tier NFL prospects have...
What they’re saying about Big 10, Pac-12 calling off football season
Here are what some of the top officials in the Big Ten and Pac-12 are saying about the decisions to postpone fall sports in their Power 5 conferences, and what might happen going forward: Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez has no doubt about one of the residual effects: “There will...
Big Ten, Pac-12 bow to covid-19, call off football, other fall sports
Big Ten and Pac-12 chancellors and presidents, representing two of the Power 5 conferences, postponed football and all fall sports for the 2020 season, choosing not to face the risk of the coronavirus pandemic. The Pac-12 went one step further, postponing all sports through the end of 2020, including the...
Penn State’s James Franklin hopes Big Ten presidents don’t cancel season before getting ‘more information’
With tan lines on his face from wearing his mask at practice, Penn State coach James Franklin said Tuesday that there is no need to decide immediately on the fate of college football. “I’m not saying we should cancel the season at this point. I’m not saying we should definitely...
