Other Local Sports category, Page 56
Chip Ganassi Racing ready to take E-racing to extreme
Fox Chapel native Chip Ganassi has never been one to shy away from innovation, and earlier this week his racing team announced its next adventurous endeavor. After celebrating its 30th anniversary earlier this year, Chip Ganassi Racing revealed it will be joining its first electrical racing venture, confirming its 2021...
Southwestern PA summer baseball leagues still hoping to have seasonVideo
The crack of the bat and the pop of the mitt are sounds associated with kids playing baseball or softball during the summer. Will those sounds be heard in Southwestern Pennsylvania come June or July? That is unknown, but American Legion Region 7 director, District 31 president and Latrobe manager...
Virtual reality: Western Pa. coaching clinics move to web
Health officials are trying to stop the spread. Burrell football coach Shawn Liotta still is teaching teams how to run it. Liotta refers to the football offense, not the coronavirus, when he addresses a captive audience via his laptop computer. The coronavirus’ spread, though, has not stopped coaches like Liotta...
Dek hockey tournament planned for Belle Vernon area
Hockey fans might not be able to watch Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins play hockey this summer because of the state’s restrictions against large gatherings, but they may be able to take part in a Dek hockey tournament open to youngsters and adults in July that will serve as...
Riverhounds Development Academy graduates record number of players
With 39 standouts committed to play collegiate soccer, and more on the way, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Development Academy announced a program record for graduating players. “The variety of schools that the players will be attending shows the positive impact of our developmental platform and recruiting network,” RDA director Scott Gibson...
FIBI organizers optimistic tournament will take place
Chuck Sarver’s voice rang out with optimism and hope. The president of the Freeport International Baseball Invitational said Monday that plans are going forward to host games this year, provided national or state regulations in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic give them the green light. “The bottom line and...
Blackhawk alum Brendan McKay embracing life at the major league level
All athletes dream of the day they’ll step on the field at a professional stadium. They put in countless hours of work, sacrifice time with friends and family and do whatever it takes to make their dreams become a reality. On June 29 last year, Blackhawk graduate and Tampa Bay...
Plum graduate Alex Kirilloff healthy, excited for next step with Twins
In his first four years in professional baseball, Plum alum Alex Kirilloff has suffered plenty of ups and downs. After hitting .306 at the rookie ball level in 2016, the 15th overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the 2017...
Despite social distancing regulations, area golfers happy to be back on courseVideo
Jim Dunn felt like a little kid anticipating the first day of school. It didn’t matter temperatures were in the upper 40s and low 50s and light rain fell, the 83-year-old Murrysville native couldn’t wait to play his first round of the season. At 8 a.m. Friday, Dunn walked to...
AAABA cancels annual August tournament in Johnstown
The All-American Amateur Baseball Association will not hold its annual August tournament in Johnstown and at other locations in the region because of the ongoing uncertainty with the coronavirus pandemic. “As everybody is aware, the AAABA Tournament is a Johnstown and national tradition. So after 47 years with AAABA, it...
Golf Pass on sale to benefit American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society has sponsored the Pennsylvania Golf Pass Booklet for more than 20 years. The booklet includes more than 60 golf courses from across the state this season, and senior community development manager Jen Barron is hoping to have more than 100 courses in 2021. “In 2013, we...
USL extends 2020 season suspension for 3rd time
The United Soccer League announced the temporary suspension of the USL Championship season has been extended. On March 18, the league announced the season would be suspended until May 10. This came after the league — home to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds — decided to suspend the beginning of the season...
Riverhounds set to play in USL eCup: 2020 FIFA Edition
Virtual sporting events have become relatively popular during the coronavirus pandemic. The NBA held an NBA 2k20 virtual tournament where players from across the league faced off to see who was the best. MLB players are competing in an MLB The Show tournament with one representative from each team. Now,...
Courses will open, but golfers will have new guidelines during pandemic
Golfers itching to hit the links Friday will see many changes. It’s going to be a little different, but nothing that should make rounds less enjoyable. The Pennsylvania Alliance for Golf sent out a list of safe reopening guidelines for golf courses. Similar guidelines are on the Western Pennsylvania Golf...
While golfers rejoice, courses in a rush to get ready
Golfers are rejoicing all over Pennsylvania after Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday he was allowing courses across the state to open Friday. While most golfers have been eagerly awaiting a chance to hit the links and cursing every wasted beautiful day away from the fairways and greens, course managers, pros...
Sibling athletes finding ways to stay competitive, in shape during lockdown
Social-distancing is as novel a term in the American vernacular as the virus that created it. But the concept of creating 6-foot spacing between people can be a challenge in a full household. What about a home filled with aspiring college and high school athletes who otherwise at this time...
Sunnehanna Amateur moved to July
If everything goes as planned and things start to get back to somewhat normal because of the coronavirus pandemic, the 67th annual Sunnehanna Amateur will be held, but a month later than usual. One of the top amateur tournaments in the country, which has featured a Who’s Who list of...
Former Seton Hill WR Leatherbury signs with Arizona Cardinals
Shane Leatherbury, who played one season at Seton Hill in Greensburg, is set to embark on a professional football career. Leatherbury, who was a freshman for the Griffins in 2015, signed a free agent contract with Arizona Cardinals. After a year in Greensburg, Leatherbury transferred to Towson. There, the Salisbury,...
Beadling SC joins the Girls Academy League
Beadling SC, an established soccer club in Western Pennsylvania, is starting to gain traction as one of the top clubs in the country. On Friday, Beadling announced that it would be joining the newly formed Girls Academy League as a part of its inaugural Mid-America conference for the upcoming season....
Little League programs planning for possible start to season
There is a chance Little League International will have baseball and softball seasons — just a lot later than usual. Little League International sent a bulletin to district administrators Friday, instructing leagues to hold off until May 11 before launching a season. Leagues usually have started by now, but the...
John Klinchock takes over as Sunnehanna Country Club golf pro
John Klinchock never thought he would leave Ligonier Valley Country Club. He was the head golf professional for 22 years, and his family was enjoying life in the eastern Westmoreland County borough. But things changed in November. Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown was looking head golf professional and hired Klinchock....
Ligonier racer Garrett Smithley experiences iRacing successVideo
Over the past two months, sports leagues around the world have had to find a way to adapt because of the the coronavirus pandemic. Most leagues have suspended play. Some have brainstormed ways to restart their seasons, and others have come up with completely new ways to play their sports...
Long-snapper Michael Pifer hopes for NFL Draft call
Could a surprise pick in the NFL Draft be … wait for it … a local long-snapper? Michael Pifer is one of the best at the position in the country, and the former Navy standout could hear his name called in the mid- to-late rounds or perhaps draw a free...
David ‘Rooster’ Fleming: Hazelwood legend, CFL star signed with Steelers out of high school
Rooster Fleming would have been a Hazelwood legend — if not for his cocksure nickname then for signing straight out of Gladstone High School to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rooster befriended Paul Martha and roomed with Joe Namath, scored on a record 108-yard touchdown and won weightlifting competitions into...
Monroeville’s Ahmad Matour hopes for shot at Mr. Olympia title
Ahmad Matour hopes to compete in the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding competition in September. The 26-year-old Monroeville resident and native of Jordan punched his ticket to the prestigious annual competition in Las Vegas with a strong showing last month at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio. But as the coronavirus pandemic...
