Sports category, Page 1036
Minor league report: Ty Smith returns in Penguins lossVideo
Forward Valtteri Puustinen scored two regulation goals for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-3 home shootout loss to the Providence Bruins at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday. Defenseman Ty Smith returned to the lineup after being sidelined since Feb. 18 due to facial bone fractures and recorded two...
2021 ACC champion John Petrishen returned for his 2nd Pitt Pro Day, chasing a dream
At first, Pat Narduzzi wasn’t sure about allowing John Petrishen to work out on Pitt’s Pro Day. That day usually is intended for draft-eligible players from the previous season. Petrishen played outside linebacker to considerable acclaim while helping Pitt win an ACC championship two years ago. But it’s hard to...
Vandergrift native, GCC grad Warren Schaeffer rises into role as Rockies 3rd-base coach
If Vandergrift’s Warren Schaeffer keeps this up much longer, he will be able to say that literally half his life has been spent in professional baseball. Since summer 2007, Schaeffer has been employed by the Colorado Rockies organization. That’s a lot of games — and a lot of Opening Days....
Friendships put aside as fighters collide at Western PA Golden Gloves finals Saturday
Michael Williams and Brian Mowry know each other well as boxers who train at Boyce Gym in Plum. On Saturday, they will put friendship and camaraderie aside for 15 to 20 minutes as they face each other for the 203-plus pound open division championship as part of the Western PA...
Calijah Kancey, Izzy Abanikanda open NFL eyes at Pitt’s Pro Day
Perhaps the two most significant takeaways from Pitt’s Pro Day belong to defensive tackle Calijah Kancey and running back Izzy Abanikanda. First, Kancey: • It’s interesting to listen to what Kancey said to reporters after the NFL came into Pitt’s practice facility Wednesday and measured him. “They thought I was...
Pirates notebook: Ke’Bryan Hayes hoping for a healthy Opening Day, Mitch Keller’s wait is over
CINCINNATI — Ke’Bryan Hayes is hoping for an Opening Day that more closely resembles his first than his last, even though he has 70 million reasons to feel the opposite. If the Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman prefers the two-run homer he hit as a rookie in the 2021 opener against...
Temple hires Penn State assistant Adam Fisher to replace Aaron McKie
PHILADELPHIA — Temple named Penn State assistant Adam Fisher just its fifth coach since 1973 on Wednesday. Fisher’s goal will be to turn around a program that hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2019. Fisher replaces Aaron McKie, who was transferred out of the coaching job earlier this month after...
Entering 4th season as manager, Derek Shelton expects that Pirates ‘have a team that’s better’
CINCINNATI — Derek Shelton sat in the visiting dugout at Great American Ball Park on the eve of Opening Day, believing his fourth season managing the Pittsburgh Pirates finally will bring progress. If that’s received with a shrug, it’s because Shelton’s first three seasons have been a bit of a...
Cy Young odds in both AL and NL predictable, but could there be value on longshots?
BY JIM DERRY | Home Field Sports Baseball fans seem to love to place a few bucks down before the season for their favorite team to win the World Series. Quite often, however, there isn’t a ton of value in doing that; rather, it’s more a bet of “just in...
Valero Texas Open top 20 value, NBA favorite must win: Best Bets for March 22
BY JIM DERRY | 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...
Penn State hires VCU’s Mike Rhoades as basketball coach
Though the past three weeks has been a bumpy ride for Penn State men’s basketball, new athletic director Pat Kraft has managed to land the plane. It was officially announced that Mike Rhoades, former coach of Virginia Commonwealth, will replace Micah Shrewsberry as the new head coach. The university’s Board...
Nashville Predators’ McDonagh remembers shooting victims
BOSTON — When the Nashville Predators’ team flight took off for Boston, defenseman Ryan McDonagh wasn’t aboard. He stayed home Monday, to be with his three young daughters in the shaken community. A day after a fatal grade school shooting in Nashville left six dead, including three children, McDonagh caught...
U.S. to play Mexico in Nations League semis on June 15
MIAMI — The defending champion United States will play Mexico in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Nations League on June 15 at Las Vegas. The winner advances to the final against Canada or Panama on June 18, also in Las Vegas, the regional governing body said Wednesday. The semifinal match...
Duke’s Dariq Whitehead entering NBA draft after one season
DURHAM, N.C. — Duke freshman Dariq Whitehead is entering the NBA draft. The 6-foot-7 wing announced his decision Wednesday. He averaged 8.3 points and shot a team-best 42.4% from 3-point range in 28 games. Whitehead missed the first four games while recovering from an offseason foot injury, then missed another...
MLB Rookie of the Year odds show a couple of young hitters as favorites
BY ZACH EWING | Home Field Sports Unlike the other primary individual awards in Major League Baseball, the MVP and Cy Young, handicapping the Rookie of the Year race is difficult. You have to know young players coming up, international arrivals and playing-time situations. That’s no different in 2023, where...
Defenseman Jeff Petry’s 1st season with the Penguins has been ‘frustrating’ at timesVideo
Games in Detroit are always profound for Jeff Petry. A son of Michigan (and the son of Detroit Tigers All-Star pitcher Dan Petry), he went to Red Wings games at Joe Louis Arena as a fan (then played there on occasion while suiting up for Michigan State). And even if...
What did players learn about MLB’s new rules this spring?Video
PHOENIX — It was the defining moment of the recently finished World Baseball Classic Japan’s star pitcher Shohei Ohtani vs. United States slugger Mike Trout. Ninth inning. Two outs. One-run game. Team USA pitcher Merrill Kelly said the storybook scene was just as dramatic for the players in the dugout...
Mark Madden: GM Ron Hextall deserves blame for Penguins’ goaltending disaster
It gets boring to continuously crucify GM Ron Hextall and president of hockey ops Brian Burke for their part in mangling the Pittsburgh Penguins. They’re not on the ice. But it’s also hard to ditch such criticism, not least after Tuesday’s damaging 7-4 loss at Detroit. Goaltending lost that game....
3 takeaways: Penguins defenseman Jeff Petry takes some lumps in return to lineup
Three takeaways from the Penguins’ 7-4 road loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night: Petry returns After missing five games due to a suspected head injury, defenseman Jeff Petry returned to the Penguins lineup. Primarily playing on the second pairing the second power-play unit, Petry logged 24:26 of...
AL West futures odds preview: Can the Seattle Mariners catch the Houston Astros?
BY JIM DERRY | Home Field Sports As we wrap up our Major League Baseball division previews, we come to what might be the most fun division in baseball – not the one with the most total wins, mind you, but one every fan will enjoy watching. The biggest question...
First Call: Steelers were interested in Terrell Edmunds; ACC receiver gets praise from Steelers
Wednesday’s “First Call” features Omar Khan’s reaction to Terrell Edmunds’ decision to leave for Philadelphia. The Steelers were apparently impressed with an ACC receiver who may be a good fit in the draft. Plus, there are plenty of decisions that have been made about potential NFL rules changes that have...
Tim Benz: After Penguins’ costly loss in Detroit, Casey DeSmith’s comment resonates
What Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith said about Tuesday night’s 7-4 loss in Detroit was 100% true. “We didn’t miss the playoffs because we lost tonight,” DeSmith said after the defeat. Indeed. Technically, Casey, that’s accurate. In fact, the Penguins (82 points) still hold the Eastern Conference’s second of two...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Johan Oviedo uses positive spin to earn starting role for Pirates
Even though the Pittsburgh Pirates’ rotation appeared set at the start of spring training and his bet to make the Opening Day roster was as a reliever, Johan Oviedo was absolutely positive that he wanted to be a starting pitcher. The 25-year-old right-hander worked in a relief role for the...
Riverhounds remain unbeaten after scoreless draw with Tulsa
While it probably won’t be cause for great celebration, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds did go on the road Tuesday night and keep their season-opening unbeaten streak alive. Despite outshooting FC Tulsa 18-7, the Riverhounds settled for a scoreless draw to run their record to 1-0-3 for the season. Albert Dikwa nearly...
Penguins’ defense diced up in loss to Red Wings
For a few weeks now, the Pittsburgh Penguins have viewed the final stages of the regular season as their playoffs just to qualify for the actual playoffs while they battle with other teams for the only two wild-card positions in the Eastern Conference. “If you’re in the situation that a...
