Sports category, Page 1255
Penguins give assistant coach Todd Reirden contract extension, new job title
Todd Reirden has earned a reputation as an assistant coach who makes his team’s defensemen better. That’s a talent the Penguins are willing to pay for. The Penguins signed Reirden, 51, to a two-year contract extension and upgraded his title from assistant coach to associate coach, the team announced Thursday....
Pitt’s quarterbacks won’t trot to the sideline this season for play calls
Pat Narduzzi expects to be especially wary of play-stealers this season after he has changed the method of delivering calls to the quarterback. Throughout former offensive coordinator Mark Whipple’s three seasons at Pitt, the quarterback trotted almost to the sideline to get the play call. In the few seconds available,...
Steelers sign rookie RB Max Borghi, waive/injured Master Teague
The Pittsburgh Steelers swapped a pair of undrafted rookie running backs on and off their roster, signing former Washington State star Max Borghi and waiving/injured former Ohio State star Master Teague III. Teague signed with the Steelers 15 days prior and was getting a heavy workload in training camp practices...
Mason Rudolph: Focus is on Steelers’ game Saturday, not on trade rumors or QB depth chart
He didn’t start the preseason opener, and he’ll be the third quarterback in for the second preseason game. He’s spent most of this abbreviated week of practice taking third-team reps. But if any of that is bothering the Pittsburgh Steelers’ most tenured quarterback, Mason Rudolph wasn’t letting it show Thursday....
Kenny Pickett to back up Mitch Trubisky in Steelers’ preseason game at Jacksonville
Mitch Trubisky will start at quarterback for the second preseason game in a row, but the order in which the backups will enter the game has been flipped. Coach Mike Tomlin confirmed Thursday that first-round pick Kenny Pickett will be the first quarterback off the bench when the Pittsburgh Steelers...
Browns QB Deshaun Watson settles for 11-game suspension
BEREA, Ohio — Deshaun Watson has reached a settlement with the NFL and will serve an 11-game suspension and pay a $5 million fine rather than risk missing his first season as quarterback of the Cleveland Browns following accusations of sexual misconduct. Watson was accused of sexual assault and harassment...
Mark Madden: No lies detected with Dennis Eckersley’s comments about Pirates
Dennis Eckersley of the Boston Red Sox TV crew was not complimentary of the Pittsburgh Pirates during Tuesday’s broadcast: “You talk about a no-name lineup. There’s no team like this,” Eckersley said. “This is a hodgepodge of nothingness. It’s ridiculous. It really is.” Eckersley sounded dumbfounded. The Pirates hadn’t played...
B1G deal: Big Ten lands $7 billion, NFL-style TV contracts
The Big Ten’s new $7 billion media rights deal will string the conference’s top football games across three major networks each week, creating an NFL-style television schedule on Saturdays. The Big Ten announced Thursday it has reached seven-year agreements with Fox, CBS and NBC to share the rights to the...
First Call: Antonio Brown goes after Tom Brady on Twitter; Fox’s Jay Glazer says Steelers are ‘Mitch Trubisky’s team’
Thursday’s “First Call” features Antonio Brown’s latest social media meltdown. Jay Glazer tamps down any quarterback controversy with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Plus, we have updates on Joe Burrow’s health in Cincinnati and Baker Mayfield’s starting status with the Carolina Panthers. A.B. goes after TB12 Antonio Brown is using social media...
U mad, bro?: Steelers fans split on booing Mason Rudolph, Pirates fans on edge about Dennis Eckersley’s comments
Some people are mad that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph got booed Saturday night. Others seem to think he got off easy. Some people are angry at what Red Sox broadcaster Dennis Eckersley said about the Pirates. Others seem to think he could have poured it on more. Some people...
Tim Benz: Talk of trading Chase Claypool for Roquan Smith is one thing, dealing him for the sake of it is something else
I’ve been pretty hard on Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool over the past year and a half. But even I’m a little hesitant to jump on all the recent talk about him being traded. The latest salvo in that regard came from ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio. Speaking Wednesday on 93.7...
Pirates encouraged with how rookie RHP Roansy Contreras battled in return to majors
Roansy Contreras was making his first major-league start in more than a month when the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie right-hander ran into trouble in the second inning Wednesday night against the Boston Red Sox. Contreras was experiencing command issues and, after giving up three runs on four hits and a walk,...
Penn State’s James Franklin addresses transfers, position battles, moreVideo
Since James Franklin addressed the media last week, two former blue-chip recruits left the program. On Saturday, running back Caziah Holmes was removed from Penn State’s roster. Two days later, defensive end Ken Talley entered the transfer portal. Not surprisingly, those were the first two questions Franklin fielded Wednesday. “In...
Pirates farm report for Aug. 17, 2022: Nick Gonzales has 4 hits, walk-off double for Altoona
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 55-56) doubled up Iowa (Cubs), 10-5. RF Travis Swaggerty (.266) went 3 for 4 with a homer, his 13th, a double, a walk and two RBIs. 2B Hoy Park (.232) went 3 for 3 with a double, his sixth homer, a walk and three RBIs. LF Cal Mitchell...
Roansy Contreras outdueled by Rich Hill in return as Pirates drop 6th straight
When Bryan Reynolds followed Kevin Newman’s leadoff single by hitting a towering, two-run home run in the first inning, the Pittsburgh Pirates looked like a team ready to snap its five-game losing streak. It was but a tease. Rich Hill was the model of efficiency thereafter. He allowed only one...
Pitt signs baseball coach Mike Bell to contract through 2027 season
Athletic director Heather Lyke took a significant step toward further stablity in Pitt’s baseball progam, signing coach Mike Bell to a new contract that runs through the 2027 season. Bell has an 83-87 record in four seasons after replacing longtime coach Joe Jordano before the 2019 season. Nine of Bell’s...
Report: LIV draft contract has restrictions and major bonusVideo
WILMINGTON, Del. — A draft contract to play for Saudi-funded LIV Golf includes clauses that require players be available to recruit other players to the league and to get permission before granting exclusive interviews, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The Journal said it reviewed a draft contract that LIV...
With season approaching, Pitt ramps up the optimism
With no fresh evidence to prove otherwise, streams of positivity flow when Pitt players discuss the upcoming season. For example: • Players often mention national championship as a goal. • Backup offensive lineman Ryan Baer spoke Wednesday of “great coaches, great players. Put those together. Who’s going to stop it?”...
‘Bush league’: Pirates fire back at Red Sox broadcaster Dennis Eckersley’s on-air criticism
The Pittsburgh Pirates had a hodgepodge of reactions to Boston Red Sox color analyst Dennis Eckersley’s harsh criticisms that were trending on Twitter during the broadcast of Tuesday night’s game. Where some shrugged it off as nothingness, Pirates reliever Wil Crowe fired back by calling Eckersley “bush league” for taking...
Pirates call up Roansy Contreras to start against Boston
The Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday recalled right-hander pitcher Roansy Contreras from Triple-A Indianapolis and designated reliever Austin Brice for assignment. Catcher Jose Godoy was optioned to Indianapolis while catcher Tyler Heineman (right groin strain) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Contreras started Wednesday evening in the second game of...
Pirates’ Ke’Bryan Hayes on track to return from injured list as soon as eligible
Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, who was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a mid-back muscle strain, is expected to return Aug. 23, the first day he’d be eligible, the team’s director of sports medicine said Wednesday. “Ke’Bryan (is) completing some advanced upper-level plyometic activities,” Todd Tomczyk said....
Steelers inside the ropes: Light, non-padded practice includes ‘scout-team’ work
The weather Wednesday was among the best it has been for a practice during this entire Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. The level of intensity and game-likeness, however, was not. A day before camp breaks at Saint Vincent and three days before their second preseason game, the Pittsburgh Steelers conducted a...
LeBron James inks 2-year, $97M extension with Lakers
LOS ANGELES — LeBron James has agreed to a two-year, $97.1 million contract extension through the 2024-25 season with the Los Angeles Lakers, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because James and the Lakers haven’t yet...
Former Norwin slugger JJ Matijevic recalled to Astros a day after getting his own bobblehead
Another MLB promotion and a bobblehead? JJ Matijevic’s dream summer just keeps getting better. A day after getting his own bobblehead, Matijevic is headed back to “The Show.” The former Norwin star is set to join the Houston Astros again after a third call-up from Triple-A Sugar Land where he...
Players-only private meeting was all about a better PGA TourVideo
WILMINGTON, Del. — Tiger Woods showed up for a private meeting of top PGA Tour players dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved plaid shirt. By the sound of his impact, he might as well have been wearing a Sunday red shirt. “I think it’s pretty apparent that whenever we all...
