Sports category, Page 1034
‘NFL on CBS’ rules analyst Gene Steratore on late penalty in Super Bowl: ‘It needs to be called’Video
Ever since the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35, there have been complaints from fans about the officiating. Specifically, a defensive holding call against Philadelphia’s James Bradberry on Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster with 1:54 left in the game, deep in the Eagles defensive...
Chuks Okorafor has become a reliable presence on Steelers offensive line, but will he be retained?
What player has been on the field most for the Pittsburgh Steelers over the past three years? Not T.J. Watt, not Cameron Heyward, not Minkah Fitzpatrick nor Diontae Johnson. The man who (literally) has played the most for the Steelers through the 2020-22 seasons is right tackle Chuks Okorafor. Okorafor...
LJ Cryer leads No. 9 Baylor to win over West Virginia
WACO, Texas — Baylor coach Scott Drew couldn’t even wait to get to the podium for his postgame session with reporters Monday night before expressing his excitement. “It’s a good night for the Baylor Bears,” Drew said. LJ Cryer helped make sure of that, scoring 26 points to lead ninth-ranked...
Tony Stewart to run full season in NHRA top alcohol dragster
NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart will return to full-time competition this season — as an NHRA drag racer. Stewart, a three-time NASCAR champion, will run a top alcohol dragster for McPhillips Racing for the full 2023 NHRA season. Stewart, who turns 52 in May, will be sponsored by longtime...
Tim Benz: Jerome Bettis’ critique of Mike Tomlin’s offense should resonate
In his post-retirement life, former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis has done his fair share of media work at ESPN, NBC and locally at WPXI. At no point has anyone ever labeled Bettis a “hot-take artist.” At no point has The Bus garnered the reputation of a flamethrower, spewing...
First Call: JuJu Smith-Schuster describes recruitment to K.C.; predictions for Cam Sutton’s contract; big Super Bowl TV ratings
Tuesday’s “First Call” features some interesting offseason predictions for the Pittsburgh Steelers, including one about Cam Sutton’s future. JuJu Smith-Schuster describes how his recruitment to Kansas City began. The Super Bowl television ratings were gigantic. And the Pitt basketball team looks to stay hot against Boston College. Recruitment revealed Wide...
Former NFL offensive lineman Conrad Dobler dies at 72Video
TEMPE, Ariz. — Conrad Dobler, one of the NFL’s top offensive linemen with the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1970s, has died. He was 72. The Cardinals announced Dobler died Monday in Pueblo, Colo. No cause of death was given. Dobler played left guard on an offensive line that included...
Breaking down the 2023 WPIAL boys basketball playoff brackets
A closer look at the WPIAL boys basketball playoffs, which begin Thursday night: Class 6A Favorite: New Castle was bumped up to the WPIAL’s largest classification this winter, but that move hasn’t slowed the Red Hurricanes. They’re led by a pair of 17-point scorers in seniors Jonathan Anderson and Isaiah...
Bruins’ Linas Ullmark NHL’s biggest goalie surprise this seasonVideo
Linus Ullmark moved to the Boston area in summer 2021 with his wife, their two young children and their dogs after signing with the Bruins. Settling in with his new team didn’t happen right away. Fresh off signing a $20 million, four-year contract, Ullmark shared the net with rookie Jeremy...
Super Bowl averages 113 million, 3rd-most watched in history
The Super Bowl on Sunday was the third most-watched television show in history, with an estimated 113 million people watching the Kansas City Chiefs rally to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles. The 2015 game between New England and Seattle on NBC holds the record at 114,442,000 viewers followed by Super Bowl...
Chiefs revel in Super Bowl title, but NFL offseason arrives quicklyVideo
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Kansas City Chiefs awoke Monday still reveling in the glow of their second Super Bowl title in a four-year span, while the Philadelphia Eagles were left to lament how close they came to winning another Lombardi Trophy of their own. The rest of the league? Well,...
Penguins forward Rickard Rakell still learning to play with Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin
Rickard Rakell experienced a career milestone Friday. He took the ice at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., for the first time in his 11-year career. Of course, he played plenty of games there before. But the first 275 contests he appeared in at that venue came in the black,...
‘Ghost runner’ in extra innings made permanent by MLB
NEW YORK — Starting extra innings with a runner on second base during the regular season was made a permanent rules change by Major League Baseball on Monday after three seasons of use during the coronavirus pandemic. Known by some as the “Ghost Runner” and by others as the “Manfred...
Eagles’ James Bradberry owns up to pulling the jersey in the Super Bowl. To the ref, it was a clear penaltyVideo
PHOENIX — Having hope isn’t the same as having a plan. The Eagles defense had a chance to get off of the field late in the fourth quarter and get the ball back in quarterback Jalen Hurts’ hands with Super Bowl LVII against the Kansas City Chiefs tied, 35-35, on...
WPIAL reveals basketball playoff brackets asking: ‘What have you done lately?’
If the season ended three days ago, the Penn Hills boys probably would’ve earned a No. 1 seed in the WPIAL basketball playoffs. So, too, might’ve Mohawk. Instead, losses in their section finales Friday night opened the door for Peters Township in Class 5A and Steel Valley in 3A to...
Unranked still, Pitt’s climb toward 1st place in the ACC started in August
Back in late August, Jeff Capel first realized, “OK, we have something,” when the last of the new players finished checking into Petersen Events Center. “As I started watching us as we started workouts,” he said Monday on the ACC coaches conference call, “we started seeing the camaraderie, just how...
Alabama hoops No. 1 in AP Top 25 for 1st time in 20 years
Alabama is the new No. 1, rising to the top spot in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for the first time in 20 years. Purdue’s loss to Northwestern last week caused a jumble at the top of the AP Top 25 and that helped the Crimson...
Long way to go? Oddsmakers peg Steelers twice as unlikely to win Super Bowl as Jets, Jaguars
Super Bowl LVIII is 363 days away. If the people who set the betting lines have anything to say anything about it, don’t bet on the Pittsburgh Steelers playing in it. Then again, a wager on the Steelers would pay off quite handsomely if they do lift the Lombardi Trophy...
Pirates by Position: Around the horn as the Bucs get ready for spring training
The Pittsburgh Pirates head to Bradenton, Florida, this week as pitchers and catchers report on Wednesday. The whole team reports on Monday. Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the players the Pirates have and what we can expect. Starting pitchers Mitch Keller expected to anchor starting rotation that added 2 veterans...
Deer Lakes grad Armend Karpuzi earns big role as freshman with Pitt-Greensburg men’s basketball
When Greensburg native Chris Klimchock was hired to take over the Pitt-Greensburg men’s basketball program in July 2021, the recruiting class for the upcoming season already had been set. The Bobcats finished 10-15 overall and 8-8 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. Klimchock was able to bring in his first...
Franklin Regional grad Jo-Michelle Huczko believes best days are ahead as pole vaulter at CMUVideo
Two Richard Nixons. That’s the response Carnegie Mellon junior pole vaulter Jo-Michelle “JoJo” Huczko gave to some friends when they queried her about what height she would like to clear in her event. A bit of an explanation is required: Huczko, a Franklin Regional grad, is interested in politics and...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Frye ties Seton Hill’s single-game scoring record
Don’t plan on leaving Seton Hill women’s basketball games early. You might miss the best part. The Griffins have been taking games down to the wire lately: Four recent games were decided by a total of 10 points. They knocked off IUP, 65-60, at home during their 100th anniversary celebration,...
Tim Benz: Fancy stats prove a simple notion in Chiefs’ Super Bowl win — coach, QB shine en route to victory
Sometimes we oversimplify NFL coverage. We make everything about the coach and the quarterbacks. Sometimes, though, that is the case. And sometimes fancy stats can be used to highlight a simple premise. All that was proven true in Super Bowl LVII as the Kansas City Chiefs outscored the Philadelphia Eagles...
Mark Madden: ‘Just play’ strategy not working for cowardly Penguins
A certain vulgarity used to describe absence of bravery does not, as popularly thought, have an anatomical origin. Rather, it derives from the word pusillanimous, which is defined as “showing a lack of courage or determination; timid.” That understood, the Pittsburgh Penguins are as pusillanimous as can be. The latest...
Analysis: Super Bowl had feel-good vibes for all
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Super Bowl had something for everyone. Long before Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs lifted the Vince Lombardi Trophy, the biggest winner of this NFL season walked onto the field. Damar Hamlin came out to a rousing ovation during a pregame ceremony honoring the men...
