Sports category, Page 1154
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Hard to trust goaltenders for NHL’s top contenders
My prediction for the Stanley Cup Final is the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Edmonton Oilers. Toronto is too good to not get there sometime. The same can be said for Oilers uber-star Connor McJesus. But I don’t trust either team because I don’t trust either goaltender. The race for...
Penguins to start goaltender Tristan Jarry against Lightning
The Penguins are scheduled to start goaltender Tristan Jarry in Saturday’s home contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning at PPG Paints Arena. Jarry was in net for the Penguins’ season-opener Thursday, a 6-2 home win against the Arizona Coyotes. He made 26 saves on 28 shots in that victory. In...
Blake Snell, Trent Grisham lead Padres over Dodgers for NLDS lead
SAN DIEGO — Blake Snell pitched five-hit ball into the sixth inning and Trent Grisham homered at a festive Petco Park, helping the San Diego Padres top the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1, on Friday night for a 2-1 lead in their NL Division Series. San Diego can clinch its first...
Armstrong’s Cadin Olsen capitalizes on Mars’ mistakes in high-scoring Greater Allegheny win
Giving Armstrong quarterback Cadin Olsen short fields, time to pass and extra possessions is a dangerous combination. The Penn recruit passed for 349 yards, threw four touchdowns and rushed for two more Friday night as Armstrong capitalized on four Mars turnovers to win 55-31 in the highest-scoring game in River...
Central Catholic beats Penn Hills on improbable blocked field goal for TD
Trailing by a point with one second left, Central Catholic lined up for a 49-yard field goal that would have won its nonconference game with Penn Hills on Friday night. Instead, the Vikings won in an even more improbable way. The kick was blocked, but while Penn Hills players celebrated...
Franklin Regional trounces Hempfield to clinch at least a share of Big East title
Franklin Regional clinched at least a share of the WPIAL Class 5A Big East Conference title Friday by playing nearly a perfect football game. The Panthers (5-2, 4-0) scored on their first five possessions and rolled to a 56-21 victory against Hempfield to celebrate senior night. It was the Panthers’...
Spike This! Hoskins, Harper homer, Phils rout Braves in NLDS
PHILADELPHIA — Rhys Hoskins raised his arms in triumph, and then spiked his bat in celebration — a raw, emotional moment destined for Philadelphia’s rich sports history. Hoskins then trotted around the bases in front of a rabid crowd of 45,538 fans already in a tizzy over the Phillies’ first...
East Allegheny denies Deer Lakes chance to clinch playoff spot with runaway win
A large crowd lined the streets for the annual homecoming parade and then filed into Lancer Stadium hoping to watch the Deer Lakes football team clinch a playoff berth for the third time in program history. But East Allegheny and its duo of Michael Cahill and Amir Rollins had other...
Guardians rally past Yankees 4-2 in 10 innings, tie ALDS 1-1
NEW YORK — Little hits turn into big wins for the Cleveland Guardians. José Ramírez hustled to reach third base leading off the 10th inning with a popup that dropped in left field, 200 feet from home plate. Oscar Gonzalez drove him in with the tiebreaking run on an even...
Big 12 targeting 9-game schedule without divisions for 2023, 2024 seasons
DALLAS — The Big 12′s new look for 2023 will also include a refreshed schedule format. The conference is targeting a nine-game football schedule without divisions for next year and 2024, when the Big 12 will expand to 14 schools. A conference source with knowledge of the scheduling discussions confirmed...
Source: Tom Brady fined for attempted kick of Grady Jarrett
Tom Brady was fined by the NFL on Friday for trying to kick the Atlanta Falcons’ Grady Jarrett following the play in which the defensive tackle was flagged for a disputed roughing-the-passer penalty, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback was fined...
No mere ‘Meatball’ – Connor Heyward expected to take on bigger role in Steelers offense
Connor Heyward is one of two literal little brothers among the Pittsburgh Steelers, so perhaps it’s no surprise he also is filling a “kid brother” role in his position room. As such, Heyward’s brush with rookie hazing came in the form of a not-entirely flattering nickname bestowed upon him by...
Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen looks to build on early offensive outputVideo
With his goal late in the third period of Thursday’s season opener, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen could breathe easier. He beat Arizona Coyotes netminder Karel Vejmelka to finish a two-on-one break for the final goal in a 6-2 victory for the Penguins. It was the first time in his...
NASCAR playoffs round of 8 begins, focus back on the track
LAS VEGAS — There has been a NASCAR reset, on the track at least, with the third round of the playoffs beginning Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and a new Cup champion set to be crowned after four races. Kyle Larson was knocked out of contention for consecutive championships...
LeBron James closing in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA scoring record
It was Oct. 29, 2003. LeBron James played his first NBA game. The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Sacramento Kings, and James scored 25 points. That night, there were 2,708 names ahead of him on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. He’s caught 2,707 of them. Only one person remains ahead...
Bruce Sutter, Hall of Famer and Cy Young winner, dies at 69
Bruce Sutter, a Hall of Fame reliever and the 1979 Cy Young winner, has died. He was 69. Sutter was recently diagnosed with cancer and died Thursday night in hospice, surrounded by his family, one of Sutter’s three sons, Chad, told The Associated Press. The Baseball Hall of Fame said...
New defensemen Jeff Petry, Jan Rutta are already paying dividends for the Penguins
By most measures, the Penguins had a strong offseason, particularly in trying to retool their blue line with the additions of veteran defensemen Jeff Petry and Jan Rutta. The Penguins drew mostly strong reviews for those transactions, aimed at improving their play around their net. Perhaps the strongest endorsement came...
Steelers will be without 4 starting defensive backs, plus DL DeMarvin Leal vs. Bucs
The consensus greatest quarterback of all time is coming to Pittsburgh. And the Steelers will have to face him without four of their five top defensive backs. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and cornerbacks Ahkello Witherspoon, Cameron Sutton and Levi Wallace all were announced as out for Sunday’s home game against Tom...
Despite 100-loss season, Pirates GM calls manager Derek Shelton ‘an incredible partner’Video
When Ben Cherington addressed another 100-loss season by the Pittsburgh Pirates, the third-year general manager didn’t make any promises about future payroll or player acquisitions. What Cherington did make clear is he remains in lockstep with manager Derek Shelton, saying he “loved working with” the coaching staff, and the only...
Isaiahh Loudermilk preps to make Steelers 2022 debut Sunday
By all indications, the Pittsburgh Steelers were generally pleased with Isaiahh Loudermilk’s rookie season. A defensive lineman for whom the Steelers aggressively traded up for in fifth round of the 2021 draft, Loudermilk appeared in 15 games, made two starts and seemed to make his presence felt over the 288...
Steelers RB Najee Harris has been playing with steel plate in his shoe
When it comes to limiting a power running back, you’ve heard of the Steel Curtain. But what about a steel plate? Pittsburgh Steelers featured back Najee Harris played the first five games of the season with one of those in his left foot, Harris said Friday. Harris suffered a foot...
Mark Madden: Steelers need to set parameters for Mike Tomlin, limit his power with personnel
The Pittsburgh Steelers are 1-4. It’s a bad team, and the organization seems broken. There’s no foolproof way to fix it, and the timetable is hardly immediate. But I’ve got a plan. It’s based on the assumption that coach Mike Tomlin has usurped almost all the franchise’s power when it...
Friday Football Footnotes: Steelers must address plenty of specific areas if they are to hang with Tom Brady, Bucs
The Pittsburgh Steelers are eight-point underdogs to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home. That’s not something this fanbase is used to seeing. But they are used to seeing Tom Brady shred the Steelers defense. And that’s usually when the defense has been good. Without T.J. Watt, this year’s Steelers defense...
Tim Benz: Penguins put early season advantages on display in season opener
If this version of the Pittsburgh Penguins wants to be what it thinks it can be, then it needs to do a lot more of what it did in Thursday night’s 2022-23 regular-season opener. Wait. Save it. I’ll fill in your response here. “Oh really, Tim? You mean, beat a...
30 years after Sid Bream’s slide, the Pirates still can’t escape the fallout
More than anything, John Wehner remembers a sound in the locker room. The Pittsburgh-born Pirates infielder was part of the team that lost Game 7 of the 1992 National League Championship Series, 3-2. “It’s dead silent except for the clubhouse guys. Out of breath. Heavy breathing,” Wehner said. The clubhouse...
