Sports category, Page 11
Pirates counting on DH Marcell Ozuna’s magnetic personality to rub off on Oneil Cruz
BRADENTON, Fla. — Marcell Ozuna was all smiles as he stretched his legs in activation drills before the first full-squad workout of spring training, and it wasn’t just because his $12 million free agent contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates had been finalized. The 35-year-old Ozuna had a companion in Oneil...
Penguins defenseman Ilya Solovyov is enjoying a new startVideo
Ilya Solovyov didn’t hesitate for a moment. On Jan. 31, during the third period of a 6-5 home win against the New York Rangers, Solovyov took a cross-checking penalty. And he had a pretty good reason to do so. Matt Rempe, a 6-foot-9, 261-pound aircraft carrier who is squeezed into...
Mark Madden: Picturing Ty Simpson to the Steelers, Konnor Griffin in the big leagues and more sports notes
Men’s curling scandal at the Winter Olympics: Sweden accused Canada of double-touching after the hog line. Canada accused Sweden of secretly filming. I have no idea what that all means, but it sounds sexy. Enjoy these refreshing sports notes while I figure it out. • Don’t be shocked if the...
With arrivals of All-Stars, Pirates GM proclaims this team the ‘most talented group we’ve had’
BRADENTON, Fla. — Don Kelly was pumped to see the new All-Star additions to the Pittsburgh Pirates on the field together for the first time, as sluggers Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn and Marcell Ozuna made their Pirate City debuts in black and gold. Only to be upstaged by Paul Skenes...
First Call: Another former Steeler has a gripe with Ben Roethlisberger; Chargers snag 2 coaches with Pittsburgh ties
Monday’s “First Call” includes the latest former Pittsburgh Steeler to take a swat at Ben Roethlisberger. The Los Angeles Chargers are bringing two familiar names with Pittsburgh backgrounds onto their coaching staff. And Sidney Crosby wasn’t the only player with Pittsburgh Penguins ties on the scoresheet in the Olympic hockey...
Madden Monday: Art Rooney II may not be able to resist the temptation of drafting a QB in Pittsburgh
Ty Simpson’s name is frequently brought up when conversations about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ draft strategy take place. The Alabama quarterback might be available at or around pick No. 21 when the Steelers are on the clock. In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of TribLive and 105.9 the X...
Tim Benz: Recent squabbles between former Steelers highlight a deeper issue
Former Steelers safety Ryan Clark spoke for a lot of Steelers fans last week when he called for a halt to the negative banter between former teammates. Retired Steelers linebacker Joey Porter recently panned fellow Steelers Hall of Honor inductees James Harrison and Ben Roethlisberger for having critical things to...
Anthony Edwards claims MVP award, leads Stars to tourney win in an entertaining NBA All-Star Game
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Anthony Edwards won the Most Valuable Player award while leading his “Stars” team past their fellow Americans on the “Stripes” team 47-21 to win the final of the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday. The Minnesota Timberwolves star claimed his first All-Star MVP award with a tying 3-pointer...
Minor league report: Penguins fall to Monsters in overtimeVideo
Forward Ville Koivunen had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Cleveland Monsters at Mohegan Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. Defenseman Emil Pieniniemi and forward Rutger McGroarty each scored goals for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (32-13-3-2). For Pieininiemi, it was his first career goal...
U.S. beats Germany to stay unbeaten at the Olympics, but Canada is the top seed
MILAN — Matthew Tkachuk insists he and his U.S. teammates were only focused on beating Germany in their preliminary round finale and never worried about scoring enough goals to pass Canada for the top seed at the Olympics. “We never talked once about the top seed at all,” Tkachuk said....
Collin Morikawa birdies the 18th to win Pebble Beach and end 16-month droughtVideo
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Collin Morikawa went 45 starts over more than two years to finally win again on the PGA Tour, and he faced a wait that felt just as long on the final hole Sunday in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He kept his poise, hit a 4-iron...
Tyler Reddick wins Daytona 500 for Michael Jordan-owned 23XI RacingVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Tyler Reddick won the Daytona 500 in a car owned by Michael Jordan when Chase Elliott crashed as he and Reddick were battling for the win in NASCAR’s season opener. Reddick, in a Toyota for 23XI Racing, led only one lap on Sunday: the one to...
BYU guard Richie Saunders will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACLVideo
PROVO, Utah — BYU guard Richie Saunders will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL, the school announced Sunday. Saunders was injured Saturday on No. 22 BYU’s first possession only 45 seconds into its 90-86 overtime victory over Colorado. He fell awkwardly after driving to the rim...
Batman Returns: A.J. Burnett accepts invitation to Pirates camp to mentor pitchers
BRADENTON, Fla. — The request for help came in the form of a phone call instead of a bat signal, but A.J. Burnett was ready to respond to the Pittsburgh Pirates in an instant. Burnett said he was “thrilled” to receive an invitation from manager Don Kelly to visit Pirate...
Robert Morris avenges blowout loss to Oakland to earn 4th straight victory
Nope, not this time. From the start, it was apparent Robert Morris wasn’t about to let it happen again. The Colonials’ worst Horizon League loss of the season — a 23-point beatdown more than a month ago at Oakland — was behind them. It was time to return the favor,...
Penguins’ Sidney Crosby totals 3 points as Canada routs France
A look at how members of the Pittsburgh Penguins are performing in the Winter Olympics: Penguins forward Sidney Crosby had three points (one goal, two assists) for Canada, which concluded the preliminary round with a 10-2 rout of France at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan on Sunday....
Tom Wilson fights in Canada’s game vs. France at the Olympics
MILAN — Who says there’s no fighting in hockey at the Olympics? Tom Wilson clearly does not care that it’s shunned in international play. Wilson dropped the gloves late in Canada’s 10-2 rout of France on Sunday, going after the player who delivered a forearm to the head of teammate...
Joe Starkey’s Cup of Joe: Elroy Face and old baseball stories that never get old
CUP OF JOE: Starkey on Sports in 350 words or less I had only a few conversations with Elroy Face, but he was always ready with a story. His passing Thursday at age 97 reminded me of that. And of a few other things: • How quickly time flies and...
NBA’s Adam Silver to consider changing draft lottery, revoking picks to stop teams from tanking
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — NBA commissioner Adam Silver believes teams are tanking more aggressively this season than the league has seen in recent years, and he is considering many possible remedies to ensure real competition, from taking away draft picks to making wholesale changes to the draft and the lottery. Silver...
Clash winner Ryan Preece leads Ford top-5 sweep in final Daytona 500 practice
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Clash winner Ryan Preece kept his Ford on the ground Saturday, and the manufacturer took the top five spots in the final Daytona 500 practice. Preece helped RFK Racing sweep the top three spots a day ahead of NASCAR’s season-opening race. Preece outlasted sleet, a wet...
Padres sign ex-Phillies slugger Nick Castellanos, pitchers Canning and Márquez, AP source says
The San Diego Padres agreed to terms with outfielder Nick Castellanos and right-handers Griffin Canning and Germán Márquez, a person with knowledge of the deals told the Associated Press on Saturday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Padres hadn’t announced the deals, which are pending physicals. After...
Heat’s Keshad Johnson soars to a slam dunk title, edging Carter Bryant who had a perfect score
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Keshad Johnson of the Miami Heat won the Slam Dunk contest at NBA All-Star Saturday, overcoming perfect scores by San Antonio rookie Carter Bryant on his first dunk in the final round. For his final dunk, Johnson started behind the judges’ table, took off from the free...
Minor league report: Penguins shut out by CrunchVideo
Goaltender Sergei Murashov made 24 saves on 29 shots for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 5-0 loss to the Syracuse Crunch at Mohegan Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. The result dropped Murashov’s record to 18-6-0. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (32-13-2-2) had a five-game winning streak snapped and was shut out for the second...
Poulin scores in return, Canada beats Germany 5-1 in women’s hockey quarterfinal
MILAN — Marie-Philip Poulin’s injured right knee held up just fine. And the Canadian women’s hockey icon added another entry to her “Captain Clutch” reputation. Returning to the lineup after missing two-plus games, Poulin injected a spark into a slow-starting Canadian team by making a key defensive play and then...
Brazil’s first Winter Games gold is about much more than the medal
RIO DE JANEIRO — With Brazil entering the joyous throes of Carnival, Alpine ski racer Lucas Pinheiro Braathen on Saturday gave it another reason to celebrate: an Olympic medal. It was the first medal at the Winter Games for any country in South America. And not just any medal: gold....
