Mark Madden’s Hot Take: With future in mind, the Penguins had to trade Tristan Jarry
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ dressing room perhaps wasn’t overjoyed by Friday’s trade of goalie Tristan Jarry to Edmonton. He was popular and mostly played well this season. But president of hockey ops/GM Kyle Dubas did the right thing. At 21, Sergei Murashov may not be the present of the Penguins’ goaltending...
Minor league report: Nailers, Taylor Gauthier shut out ThunderVideo
Goaltender Taylor Gauthier made 29 saves for the Wheeling Nailers in a 3-0 win against the Adirondack Thunder at the Harding Mazzotti Arena in Glen Falls, N.Y. on Friday. The result was Gauthier’s first shutout of the season and it kept his record perfect at 2-0-0. Forward Matty De St....
Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza wins Maxwell and O’Brien awards with Heisman on deck
BRISTOL, Conn. — Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza won the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards on the eve of the Heisman Trophy presentation, and the redshirt junior is heavily favored to take the top prize in college football. Mendoza took the honors for the nation’s player of the year and top...
Wild acquire Quinn Hughes from the Canucks in blockbuster trade
The Minnesota Wild have acquired Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in the biggest blockbuster trade of the NHL season. The teams announced the seismic move Friday night, after the 2024 Norris Trophy winner as the league’s top defenseman had been the most talked-about trade candidate over the past couple...
Michigan State’s Tom Izzo gets $1 million raise and is the highest-paid coach in Big Ten
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State’s Tom Izzo is getting a $1 million raise in his 5-year contract that automatically renews annually, a boost that makes him the highest-paid coach in the Big Ten with a salary of about $7.2 million. The school said Friday that its Board of Trustees...
What is dry needling? More about the treatment that led to T.J. Watt’s injury
After Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt needed emergency surgery for a partially collapsed lung following a “dry needling” treatment this week, many sports fans are asking, “What is dry needling, and how could it result in such a serious complication?” The freak injury suffered at the Steelers’ practice facility,...
North Allegheny’s Mack Leftwich builds explosive Texas Tech offense
The life of a football coach, any coach at the college or professional level, is nomadic. In Tulsa for a time, then a cup of coffee in Columbus, then jetting to Jacksonville. All the while leading young men to winning games. Mack Leftwich is no stranger to this life. He’s...
Pitt, Purdue volleyball exchange scouting reports ahead of regional final showdown
A quick glance at the NCAA Tournament results for Pitt volleyball would suggest that the Panthers have steamrolled their way into the Elite Eight. To be sure, sweeps over UMBC, Michigan and No. 4 Minnesota by the top-seeded Panthers (29-4, 18-2 ACC) have been convincing. But heading into Saturday’s regional...
Steelers injury report: Yahya Black misses practice, adding even more attrition to defensive line
One of the NFL’s top rushing offenses is coming to Acrisure Stadium, and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ already-leaky rush defense is facing even more attrition on its front line. Yahya Black did not practice Friday, per the injury report, and fellow rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon continues to sit out. That...
Penguins have high hopes for goaltender Stuart Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak
Members of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ roster weren’t terribly familiar with the two players they added Friday. Defenseman Brett Kulak and goaltender Stuart Skinner — as well as a second-round draft pick in 2029 — were acquired in a trade that sent goaltender Tristan Jarry and rookie forward Sam Poulin to...
Steelers’ T.J. Watt ‘at home, resting comfortably’ after having surgery for collapsed lung
Pittsburgh Steelers star pass rusher T.J. Watt was released from the hospital and is “at home, resting comfortably,” coach Mike Tomlin said Friday inside UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Tomlin described Watt as out for the “Monday Night Football” game against the Miami Dolphins at Acrisure Stadium but said he doesn’t...
Ex-Michigan coach charged with stalking, home invasion after being fired
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Fired Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore threatened to kill himself in front of a woman with whom he had been having an affair after she broke off the relationship and reported it to school officials, prosecutors said Friday, charging him with stalking and home invasion. The...
Steelers outside linebackers brace for facing Dolphins without top pass rusher T.J. Watt
For the first time since 2022, the Pittsburgh Steelers will play a game without former NFL Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt. Watt was ruled out of the Steelers’ game Monday night against the Miami Dolphins after he spent two nights in a hospital while undergoing a procedure to...
Penguins to waive defenseman Matt Dumba
The Pittsburgh Penguins have designated defenseman Matt Dumba to the non-roster list in order to formally place him on waivers at 2 p.m. Friday. That transaction was made after the Penguins swung a major trade with the Edmonton Oilers that sent goaltender Tristan Jarry and forward Sam Poulin to the...
Mark Madden: The version of Aaron Rodgers many expected has shown up
The NFL’s quarterbacking situation is nuts. Forty-four-year-old Philip Rivers is making a comeback with Indianapolis. He’s got a fat backside and extra chins, so he’s my favorite quarterback ever. Steelers reject Kenny Pickett is likely to start Sunday for Las Vegas against Philadelphia, another of his former teams. Cleveland rookie...
Penguins trade Tristan Jarry, Sam Poulin to Oilers
In June of 2023, a handful of weeks after he was installed as president of hockey operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Kyle Dubas flew to Edmonton, Alberta, to meet with goaltender Tristan Jarry, then a pending unrestricted free agent, at his offseason home. From that encounter, Dubas felt comfortable enough...
Penguins activate forward Rickard Rakell from injured reserve
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Rickard Rakell was activated from injured reserve Friday morning. He had been sidelined for the past seven weeks because of a left hand injury that required surgery in late October. Often deployed on the left wing of the top line and the top power-play unit, Rakell has...
Paul Skenes Cy Young bobblehead highlights Pirates’ 2026 promotion schedule
Fans lined around PNC Park and across the Roberto Clemente Bridge last season to get their hands on a Paul Skenes bobblehead. They will have their chance to do so again this coming spring. The Pirates announced their 2026 promotional schedule Thursday, including a Paul Skenes Cy Young bobblehead giveaway...
Football Footnotes: Steelers’ approach if T.J. Watt can’t play; 3rd-down play-calling; Miami’s strengths
As everyone associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers waits for health updates on T.J. Watt, the team has to create plans if he can’t play Monday night against the Miami Dolphins. Given the personnel the Steelers have at outside linebacker, those contingencies would seem obvious. Then again, have you seen the...
Tim Benz: Penguins reverted to the Dark Side on ‘Star Wars’ nightVideo
There was a great disturbance in the force during Thursday’s “Star Wars” night game for the Pittsburgh Penguins. “It was horrible,” defenseman Kris Letang said. “It was not good at all.” Letang was a big part of the Planet Alderaan-esque disintegration during a 4-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. It...
First Call: ESPN projects T.J. Watt’s playing status; ex-MLB GM rips Pirates ‘eye wash’ free-agent offers
Friday’s “First Call” paints a bleak picture when it comes to T.J. Watt’s playing status for Monday night. A former MLB general manager is mocking the Pirates’ alleged contract offers to some significant free agents. The Penguins need to salvage their homestand against some teams from the Western Conference this...
Kirk Cousins leads Falcons to comeback win over reeling Buccaneers
TAMPA, Fla. — Maybe Kirk Cousins should’ve been starting the entire season. Cousins threw three touchdown passes to Kyle Pitts Sr., and Zane Gonzalez kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired to complete the Atlanta Falcons’ rally for a 29-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night....
After delayed start, Penguins stumble vs. Canadiens for 3rd straight loss
The start of Thursday’s game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens at PPG Paints Arena was delayed because of an accident on I-279 that snarled traffic entering the city, impacting several players who live in the north suburbs. The contest started about a half-hour later than scheduled, and, in...
Pitt volleyball sweeps Minnesota, punching ticket to Elite 8
The expectations set by Dan Fisher and Pitt volleyball have made just about every NCAA Tournament match, minus a national championship, a can’t-lose or must-win. That’s a result of the Panthers riding four straight trips to the Final Four since 2021. If there was going to be a shot at...
Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley is out at least 8 weeks with a lower-body injury
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley is expected to miss a minimum of eight weeks with what the team is calling a lower-body injury. General manager Bill Armstrong announced Cooley’s timeline Thursday. Cooley, 21 and a West Mifflin native, was injured Dec. 5 in Vancouver when he...
