Sports category, Page 1188
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Steelers are bound for a losing season
Here’s my Pittsburgh Steelers prediction. You won’t like it. The Steelers will go 7-10. Coach Mike Tomlin’s first losing season. (What a relief that will be. The streak of years without a playoff win will be extended to six, however.) I’m not totally convinced of my prediction. This Steelers team...
Fox Chapel grad Patrick Monteverde gets promotion to Double-A
Patrick Monteverde is movin’ on up. The 2016 Fox Chapel graduate continued his rise through the Miami Marlins farm system when he was promoted from the Class A Beloit (Wisc.) SkyCarp to the Double-A Pensacola (Fla.) Blue Wahoos. Monteverde is now two steps away from the Major Leagues in only...
Scottie Scheffler overwhelming choice as PGA Tour player of the year
Scottie Scheffler went 58 tournaments over more than two years between getting a PGA Tour card and getting his first win at the Phoenix Open. That turned out to be just the beginning of a year that topped all others in golf. A month later, Scheffler went to No. 1...
No longer the series’ bully, Steelers make 1st trip to Cincinnati, out to avenge ‘embarrassing’ loss
The descriptors used in the immediate aftermath of one the Pittsburgh Steelers’ most lopsided defeats in decades? They said it all. “We stunk it up today,” coach Mike Tomlin said that gray November afternoon. T.J. Watt chose the verbiage “absolutely embarrassing” to sum up the 41-10 loss at the Cincinnati...
Pirates farm report for Sept. 9, 2022: Quinn Priester’s 7 shutout innings lift Curve to victory
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 69-63) scored twice in the ninth inning to defeat Omaha (Royals), 7-5. LF Blake Sabol (.300) hit a two-run homer for the winning margin. Sabol was 2 for 3 with two runs scored. 3B Kevin Padlo (.284) was 1 for 4 with an RBI. C Jose Godoy (.211)...
Penn Hills’ Amir Key scores 3 times in victory over Pine-Richland and his former coach
Jon LeDonne spent five seasons building Penn Hills into a big-play dynamo and saw that explosive energy work against his new team Friday night. With LeDonne now on the opposite sideline, running back Amir Key rushed for 216 yards and three touchdowns as No. 2-ranked Penn Hills defeated No. 3...
Hempfield runs past Latrobe, gets off to 3-0 start
There were a lot of happy faces in the Hempfield locker room following Friday’s nonconference game at Latrobe Memorial Stadium. The Spartan players were posing for photos and music was blaring after their convincing 49-14 victory against Latrobe in a battle of the unbeaten — and they should be happy,...
Burrell tops Valley on fourth-quarter field goal in rivalry thriller
Burrell coach Shawn Liotta had no doubts about calling upon his junior kicker Ryan Croushore with a potential game-winning field goal late in the fourth quarter. And a week after missing a potential winner from the exact same distance, Croushore got his redemption Friday night. Croushore booted a 31-yard field...
Pirates rack up 15 hits, beat NL Central-leading Cardinals
Fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates got a taste of things that may happen far more regularly in the years to come Friday evening as a plethora of solid individual performances by the team’s youngsters contributed heavily in an 8-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park. Roansy Contreras...
Former Penguins defenseman Nathan Beaulieu joins Ducks on tryout
With NHL training camps approaching, former Penguins defenseman Nathan Beaulieu has joined the Anaheim Ducks on a professional tryout contract (PTO). Cap Friendly, a website that tracks any and all contractual information throughout the NHL, reported the transaction. Beaulieu joined the Penguins via a trade with the Winnipeg Jets on...
Pirates react to MLB rule changes to restrict shifts, add pitch timer, make bases bigger
When asked about the three MLB rules changes for 2023, Bryan Reynolds broke into a big smile. The Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder couldn’t hide his enthusiasm for the elimination of one in particular. Reynolds is sick of the shift, so he welcomes the requirement that teams must have a minimum...
MLB prepared to voluntarily recognize minor league union
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball is ready to voluntarily accept the formation of a minor league union, a key step that will lead to collective bargaining and possibly a strike threat at the start of next season. The Major League Baseball Players Association launched the unionization drive on Aug....
WNBA to crown first-time champion: Aces or Sun
The WNBA will crown a first-time champion when Las Vegas and Connecticut meet in the Finals starting Sunday. Both franchises have come close, with Connecticut falling to Washington in the 2019 Finals and Las Vegas to Seattle a year later. It’s the Sun’s fourth trip to the Finals, also advancing...
Pirates closer David Bednar inches toward return, will throw BP session Saturday
All-Star closer David Bednar, who was 3-4 with a 2.70 ERA and 17 saves before being placed on the injured list Aug. 3 with lower back tightness, continues to inch his way back to action. According to Pittsburgh Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk, Bednar is slated to throw...
Najee Harris says he’s 100% healthy as season opens, appreciates Steelers captaincy
Two days before the regular-season opener, Najee Harris declared his left foot completely healed from the Lisfranc injury suffered early on during training camp. “It’s been six or seven weeks,” the Pittsburgh Steelers’ workhorse running back said Friday, “so I am on track with everything. It’s all good.” Harris, who...
Steelers ready to trot out seasoned cornerback group for opener at Cincinnati
When the Pittsburgh Steelers last faced the Cincinnati Bengals, their cornerback room was in a state of flux. Veteran Joe Haden was out with a Lisfranc injury. Cameron Sutton was in his first year starting at the other outside spot. Undrafted free agent James Pierre replaced Haden as a starter,...
Chase Elliott only looking forward in NASCAR’s playoff push
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Chase Elliott wasn’t around to see the fireworks at the end of last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington. Or, for that matter, the fire coming from Kevin Harvick’s car. Elliott’s playoff opener was over early after the regular-season champion lost control of his No....
Steelers to wear helmet decal this season to honor late teammate Dwayne Haskins
The Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday announced the team will wear a No. 3 decal on the back of its helmets throughout this season in memoriam of late quarterback Dwayne Haskins. Haskins, who spent last season as the Steelers’ No. 3 QB, died in April. He wore No. 3. A star...
Diontae Johnson, Chuks Okorafor each declares himself ‘good to go’ for Steelers opener
Two tenured, important starters on the Pittsburgh Steelers offense declared themselves “good to go” Friday for Sunday’s season opener. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson has been hindered by a shoulder injury, and he left Thursday’s practice because of a painful cramp in his foot. Right tackle Chuks Okorafor was listed on...
Ravens GM: Lamar Jackson talks on hold until after season
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Get ready for at least a few more months of uncertainty about Lamar Jackson and his contract. Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement Friday that the Ravens and Jackson still haven’t agreed on an extension for the star quarterback and will keep working...
3 things Steelers defense must do to prevent a 4th straight loss to Bengals
The Pittsburgh Steelers should have two goals heading into their season opener Sunday in Cincinnati. • Make this opener look as much like the one last year in Buffalo as possible. • Make this game as unrecognizable as possible when comparing it to the two games against the Bengals last...
MLB adopts pitch clock, shift limits, bigger bases for 2023
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball adopted its first pitch clock, limits on defensive shifts and larger bases for next season in an effort to shorten games and increase offense in a tradition-bound sport. The decision on the clock and shift restrictions by the sport’s 11-man competition committee was made...
Mark Madden: Futures bets that could pay off during NFL season
The NFL season is here. The most important thing is to get your bets down. What would football be without gambling? The most flawed wager I’ve witnessed so far this season is Carolina back Christian McCaffrey drafted second overall in a $6,500-per-team fantasy league. McCaffrey has played just 10 games...
Pitt Take 5: Victory against Vols could push Panthers toward early-season elite status
The outcome of Saturday’s game between Pitt and Tennessee might decide the Panthers’ status going forward: elite or just another above-average team. Nothing wrong with above-average, but the national perception around Pitt may need the kind of jolt that a victory in a showdown of ranked teams would bring. Pitt...
Friday Football Footnotes: Steelers history in openers vs. division foes; Aaron Donald’s ‘retirement’ note; NFL revenge games
This week’s “Friday Football Footnotes” examines the Steelers’ history in AFC North season-opening games — and why this one in Cincinnati is so unique. There are some other quirks to the NFL’s schedule to begin 2022. We get the story behind Aaron Donald’s alleged retirement letter. An old Tennessee team...
