Sports category, Page 1031
Pitt Take 5: Underdog role seems to fit 1st-place Panthers
Pitt fans don’t need another reason to feel disrespected, but KenPom, a ranking service that projects outcomes and ranks teams and conferences, has found one more. Virginia Tech 75, Pitt 72, Saturday in Blacksburg, Va. But why worry? DraftKings says Pitt is a 5-point underdog, but the Panthers are 19-6-1...
First Call: NFL Star to host ‘SNL’; surprising Steeler named ‘most improved’; could Super Bowl go pay-per-view?
A surprising name is listed as the Pittsburgh Steelers most improved player. Might we see the Super Bowl go to pay-per-view? A Kansas City Chiefs star player is slated to host “Saturday Night Live” — and it’s not MVP Patrick Mahomes. Plus, we wrap up a three-pack of games from...
Penguins slight underdogs for crucial meeting with Islanders
HOME FIELD SPORTS STAFF REPORT The Pittsburgh Penguins will be slight underdogs when they travel to UBS Arena to face the New York Islanders in a crucial Metropolitan Division game Friday night. Pittsburgh (27-17-9, 63 points) is currently betting at -105 on the money line, and the Islanders (27-23-7) are...
NFL may ban Eagles’ QB sneak, making some current, former Steelers very happy
Here’s a potential NFL rule change some Pittsburgh Steelers defensive players will actually embrace for a change. Pro Bowl defensive lineman Cameron Heyward recently ripped the idea of the NFL implementing a “hip-drop tackle” ban. But he may like the latest possible addendum to the rule book. Heyward is one...
Tim Benz: Atop ACC — yet unranked — perception of Pitt raises questions about NCAA hoops evaluations
It’s the week of Valentine’s Day in Pittsburgh. It’s been well above 60 degrees the last few days. And the Pitt men’s basketball team is tied for the ACC lead. What’s next? Snow on the Fourth of July and the Pirates leading the National League Central? Honestly, back in early...
Tiger Woods’ 3-birdie finish keeps him in Genesis Invitational contentionVideo
LOS ANGELES — A day that started with butterflies ended with birdies — three in a row — as Tiger Woods navigated Riviera Country Club on Thursday with a round as crisp as the cool afternoon. Woods, playing his first competitive round in a non-major in 844 days, shot a...
Same ol’ same ol’: No progress for Black head coaches in NFL
After completing the latest round of coaching hires this week, the NFL won’t look much different on the sidelines in 2023. DeMeco Ryans was the lone Black candidate to land one of the five openings, which means the 32-team league remains stuck at three Black coaches heading toward a new...
U.S. women blank Canada, show support in labor disputeVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Mallory Swanson scored a pair of first-half goals and the United States beat Canada 2-0 Thursday night in a SheBelieves Cup match clouded by a labor dispute between the Canadian players and their federation. The Canadian women wore purple shirts during the pregame national anthems that read...
Jimmie Johnson, Travis Pastrana seek new thrills in Daytona 500 run
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Travis Pastrana has jumped out of a plane without a parachute but never driven NASCAR’s top Cup Series car over 40 mph. He never took the car for so much as a single spin on the high-banked, high-speed track at Daytona International Speedway. And despite a...
Saints’ Alvin Kamara indicted in 2022 Vegas nightclub fightVideo
LAS VEGAS — A grand jury in Nevada has indicted New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, Cincinnati Bengals newly acquired cornerback Chris Lammons and two others on two criminal counts in connection with an alleged beating at a Las Vegas nightclub last February. The Clark County grand jury handed...
Robert Morris dominates down the stretch to top Green Bay
Judging by what happened to Milwaukee on Feb. 6, Robert Morris coach Andy Toole knew it would be a bad idea to overlook the Green Bay Phoenix. On the road in Milwaukee, Green Bay pulled off a stunning 1-point upset, dealing the Panthers a loss that could compromise their Horizon...
IndyCar’s Conor Daly makes Daytona 500 for Floyd Mayweather
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — IndyCar driver Conor Daly raced Floyd Mayweather into the Daytona 500 for a second consecutive year by bobbing and weaving his way through myriad issues for the ill-prepared team. Daly’s attempt to make his first Daytona 500 only was announced last week as part of a...
MLB: Bally network troubles could lead to end of blackoutsVideo
DUNEDIN, Fla. — As baseball prepares for a possible local broadcasting crisis, commissioner Rob Manfred sees an opportunity. Manfred said Thursday that MLB can produce games digitally in conjunction with MLB.TV if Bally Sports regional networks are no longer broadcasting them. In fact, he said this is a chance to...
Jeff Capel, Pitt players try to ignore outside talk, but ACC preseason poll remains motivation
There’s a specific reason why Jeff Capel doesn’t concern himself with the noise outside his office, unless it’s coming from basketballs bouncing on the floor below — where his team practices. And the reason is rooted in Capel’s personal history. The story goes back to his four seasons at Duke...
Kevin Durant says Suns have ‘all the pieces’Video
PHOENIX — Kevin Durant watched the Phoenix Suns from afar over the past few years, admiring the budding nucleus of Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton. Now he’s thrilled to be a part of it. “We’ve got all the pieces to be successful,” Durant said. The 13-time All-Star was...
Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry’s status remains uncertain
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry’s uncertain status remains … well … uncertain. Sidelined for the past seven games, Jarry was absent from Thursday’s practice session at the team’s facility in Cranberry in order to attend previously scheduled doctors’ appointments, coach Mike Sullivan said. Jarry is slated to join his teammates...
Reports: Kevin Love discussing possible buyout from CavsVideo
CLEVELAND — Kevin Love’s long, winding run with the Cleveland Cavaliers could be ending after nearly nine years. The five-time All-Star forward has discussed the possibility of a contract buyout with the Cavs after being dropped from their rotation, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press on...
Pirates GM: Door ‘will continue to be open’ for Bryan Reynolds on contract extension talks
DUNEDIN, Fla. — A day after Bryan Reynolds said he would be willing to waive his trade request if the Pittsburgh Pirates offer a contract extension that is a “fair deal for both sides,” general manager Ben Cherington responded by saying the door “will continue to be open.” At Grapefruit...
Atlantic 10 commissioner, many coaches embrace NCAA Tournament expansion
It’s almost time for March Madness. So get your field-of-96 bracket ready to go! OK. Maybe not this year. But start warming up to the idea of an expanded NCAA Tournament field for the men and the women. Because it certainly feels like momentum is building within NCAA basketball circles...
Penguins players aren’t oblivious to the trade deadline, but they’re not dwelling on it
Rickard Rakell is in a very different position today than he was roughly 11 months ago. He knows he’s not going anywhere by the time the NHL’s trade deadline rolls around in just under two weeks on March 3. But March 21, 2022, his future was far from certain. As...
Jameson Taillon working on new slider in Cubs spring training
MESA, Ariz. — Jameson Taillon had been thinking about a new slider for a couple of years. When his new team also brought up the idea, he was more than ready to give it a shot. So Taillon is working on a new sweeper slider in his first spring training...
Tim McCarver, big league catcher and broadcaster, dies at 81
NEW YORK — Tim McCarver, the All-Star catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster who during 60 years in baseball won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals and had a long run as the one of the country’s most recognized, incisive and talkative television commentators, died Thursday. He...
A player prop and money line on NBA’s final day before All-Star break: Best bets for Feb. 16
BY ZACH EWING | Home Field Sports Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer. Here are...
All-Star weekend arrives, as NBA heads to Salt Lake City
SALT LAKE CITY — If so inclined, and if fellow captain LeBron James was to cooperate with his own selections, Giannis Antetokounmpo could pick Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Lauri Markkanen to play on his team Sunday night. Imagine that: an All-International All-Star starting lineup. It’s one of...
As spring training begins, MLB betting market heats up, including World Series odds
BY ZACH EWING | Home Field Sports The Super Bowl is over, and though it’s still winter in most parts of the country, we’ve heard the magical words that tell us springtime is on the way: “Pitchers and catchers report.” Indeed, spring training has started across Major League Baseball camps...
