Predictably, minor skirmish breaks out between 2 Pitt teammates on 1st day of padded practice
Pitt players donned their big-boy pads Friday for the first time since the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 30, and three elements surfaced, according to coach Pat Narduzzi. Intensity. Enthusiasm. A fight. Friendly fire is nothing new to football practices, and Narduzzi was not upset by it. Nonetheless, he declined...
‘What’s up, Junk?’ For longtime Pitt coach, recruiter Bob Junko, it’s time to retire
For Bob Junko, the best moments of his 54 years as a football coach and administrator weren’t the Missouri Valley Conference and ACC championships he helped bring to Tulsa and Pitt, respectively. They weren’t his role in recruiting future Pro Football Hall of Famers Steve Largent (to Tulsa) and Jason...
Season’s final games will offer additional insight into present, future of Pitt program
The calendar, finally, has turned to March, and the madness that has been Pitt’s season soon will end. But the remaining games — starting Saturday at Notre Dame and continuing Tuesday with Pitt’s ACC Tournament opener — are not meaningless. Keeping watch over the game will be TV cameras, announcers,...
Tim Benz: Feeling nostalgic about college basketball after a rough year for the sport in Western Pa.
Nostalgia can be a wonderful thing in sports. Just look at the way Pittsburgh recently basked in the memories of Ben Roethlisberger’s career as he faded into retirement in January. We are also just getting back from our extended trip in the “way back machine” to relive Sidney Crosby’s journey...
First Call: Joe Manganiello narrates Sidney Crosby doc; progress on Aaron Donald contract; Tom Brady update; Gronk to Bills?
In Thursday’s “First Call,” Hollywood star Joe Manganiello channels his Western Pennsylvania roots as narrator of a new Sidney Crosby documentary. Also, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may not look kindly on Tom Brady going elsewhere if he comes out of retirement. The Buffalo Bills may try to bring Rob Gronkowski...
Pitt’s Jordan Addison eager to accept increased expectations
If you’re a wide receiver and you insist on running past opposing players like they’re fence posts … If you get your kicks wrestling the football from a cornerback, turning and running into the end zone to clinch a championship … If you must make 166 catches at more than...
Nearing the end of his farewell tour, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s emotions run high, but he said it’s all about team
There were grown men holding back tears on the floor of the Petersen Events Center on Tuesday, but emotions might flow more freely Saturday night in Durham, N.C. Before its 86-56 loss to the Blue Devils, Pitt honored retiring Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski with a ceremony recognizing his 47 years...
In playing at Pitt, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski recalls family ties to Western Pa.
There’s plenty to hold Mike Krzyzewski’s attention these days. The ACC regular-season title that the Duke team he coaches just won. The looming end of a 47-year Hall of Fame career. The upcoming conference and NCAA tournaments. An emotional final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium against rival North Carolina on...
Family of member of Pitt’s 1974 Elite 8 team Tom Richards donates $5 million to Pitt athletics
The grand lobby at the entrance to the Petersen Events Center has been renamed the Thomas E. Richards Family lobby in honor of the member of Pitt’s 1974 Elite Eight team who later became chair of the university’s board of trustees. Richards died in October, and his wife, Mary Beth,...
Pitt, coach Jeff Capel honor Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski with gift, video tributeVideo
In the minutes before his team began figuratively pounding Pitt into submission, Mike Krzyzewski was presented with a literal iron fist. True to form for a man whose soft-spoken and unobtrusive demeanor belies his status as a colossal basketball icon, Krzyzewski appeared choked up by the gesture. Tuesday night’s game...
Duke treats Mike Krzyzewski to 86-56 victory against Pitt in his last game at the Pete
Reality and emotion – large doses of both – surrounded Jeff Capel on Tuesday night almost from the moment he walked inside Petersen Events Center. Pitt’s 86-56 loss to No. 4 Duke was not unexpected. Even the 30-point margin of defeat – Pitt’s most decisive since a 94-60 loss to...
Ellis L. Williams: Kenny Pickett does a lot the Carolina Panthers should like, but little to exciteVideo
Not everyone has lost faith in Panthers’ quarterback Sam Darnold. “I know everybody has kind of punted on Sam,” NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said. “But golly, maybe I’m just a slave to my college grade, but I liked him so much coming out of USC, and you still think that’s...
First Call: Steelers sparse on NFL.com list of top free agents; Aaron Rodgers update; ticket prices for Coach K’s finale
Tuesday’s “First Call” shows us an apparent lack of appetite for Pittsburgh Steelers free agents. We try to figure out Aaron Rodgers’ future in Green Bay. A tough anniversary for Pittsburgh to celebrate on behalf of Sidney Crosby. And the ticket prices for Mike Krzyzewski’s farewell game at Cameron Indoor...
Pitt Take 5: Jeff Capel recalls 11 seasons with Mike Krzyzewski
There isn’t much for fans to savor while Pitt trudges toward the end of its sixth consecutive losing season. But there’s a nice treat at Petersen Events Center on Tuesday night when No. 4 Duke (25-4, 15-3) and Mike Krzyzewski arrive for the coach’s final ACC game in Pittsburgh. He...
Emotion of final home game can wait for Duke’s Coach K, who won’t look past Pitt
Mike Krzyzewski has spent more than 800 weeks as a college basketball head coach, logging 1,560 games on the sidelines. It was posited to him Monday that none of those prior weeks will be as emotional for him than this one. Nor that any previous game might pull at his...
High expectations greet Pitt on 1st day of spring practice
The football sailed on a high arc toward the far corner of the end zone. It didn’t look like the intended receiver had a chance. But Jared Wayne was there, making the catch over his shoulder. If this had been a game at Heinz Field, ESPN’s SportsCenter would have showcased...
NCAA Tournament returns to PPG Paints Arena carrying history of upsets
Dave Saba was there the first time the NCAA Tournament came to Pittsburgh. It was 1997, and the Civic Arena (where it all happened) was still standing. Today, that site features a big pile of dirt in an empty lot. Then, Saba was seen as an outsider from Texas whose...
Pitt Take 5: 2 months after bowl game, spring drills kick off Monday
Never mind the loss of Heisman Trophy finalist Kenny Pickett. He was one of the best players to wear a Pitt uniform this century, and now he’s gone. Never mind that starting linebackers John Petrishen, Phil Campbell III and Cam Bright — the heart of a good defense — must...
U mad, bro?: Steelers fans voice opinions on Super Bowl aspirations, Kenny Pickett, JuJu and the Pats, even T.J. Watt’s allergy
The Pittsburgh Steelers offseason doesn’t mean that the team is off the radar. At least not with Steelers fans who read “Breakfast With Benz.” As usual, this week my inbox and Twitter interactions are flooded with Steelers fans giving their opinions on all sorts of topics. You know, like JuJu...
Turnovers compound Pitt’s problems in blowout loss to Miami
The finger of blame can be pointed in a variety of directions after Pitt’s 18th loss of the season Tuesday night, 85-64, to Miami. The game was close for only a few moments in the first half, and the 21-point margin of victory was not indicative of how low Pitt’s...
Aaron Donald, Pat Narduzzi make financial commitments to Pitt football
Aaron Donald never played for Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi, but they are part of the same team of donors to the football program. On Pitt’s sixth annual Day of Giving, Donald donated $200,000 to the Pitt Football Championship Fund. Narduzzi and his family gave an unspecified amount. Both men have...
Facing tough finishing stretch, Pitt’s Jeff Capel remains encouraged
Two weeks before the start of the ACC Tournament – and with Pitt’s signs of life slowed down considerably by Georgia Tech on Saturday night — Jeff Capel wants to be clear about the current state of his team. “One loss we had the other day is not indicative of...
Christian Spears leaving Pitt to become athletic director at Marshall
Christian Spears, who has been Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke’s top assistant since 2017 and administrator for football and men’s basketball, is leaving to become athletic director at Marshall University. Marshall’s Board of Governors voted Monday to approve the hire. Spears was Pitt’s deputy athletic director and chief operating officer,...
Mouhamadou Gueye’s versatility offers Pitt hope over final days of season
A man sporting an eclectic collection of skills, Mouhamadou Gueye blocks shots and makes 3-pointers with greater frequency than any of his Pitt teammates — 38 3s, 59 blocks. In fact, he is one of only two players from a power conference — Stanford’s Spencer Jones is the other —...
Pitt senior Jayla Everett dismissed from women’s basketball team
Senior guard Jayla Everett, who leads Pitt women’s basketball in scoring, was dismissed from the team Sunday for unspecified reasons, coach Lance White said. Everett had not played in Pitt’s most recent two games, but scored 18 at North Carolina on Feb. 10. It was her sixth game with at...
