Sports category, Page 1296
Tim Benz: Steelers, Penguins both idling in Pittsburgh playoff purgatory
Pittsburgh once referred to itself as the “City of Champions,” based on the success of its sports teams in the 1970s, 1990s and early 2000s. Of late, though, those franchises have gone from playoff champions to playoff chumps. • The Penguins’ recently completed playoff series loss to the New York...
Struggling Pirates hitters now have to face pitching nemesis
For the Pittsburgh Pirates hitters, coming back to PNC Park on Friday might be a case of getting the wrong guy at the wrong time. The Buccos batters will face a familiar foe in Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals to open a three-game series and a six-game homestand....
First Call: Another in-house candidate gets 2nd Steelers GM interview; Mike Tomlin applauds retiring Raven
Friday’s “First Call” has an update on the Pittsburgh Steelers general manager interviews. We also get a look at the franchise’s offseason “to do” list. Mike Tomlin pays respect to a retiring Baltimore Raven. And an ex-Penguin plays a role in St. Louis’ win in Colorado on Thursday night. Keeping...
Pirates farm report for May 19, 2022: Greensboro’s Matt Gorski homers twice for 2nd straight game
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 19-18) split a doubleheader with Toledo (Tigers). The Mud Hens won the first game, 4-2. RHP Roansy Contreras (0-1, 2.66) started and went 5.2 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits and a walk with four strikeouts. SS Oneil Cruz went 1 for 1 with three...
Pirates can’t solve Adam Wainwright, as Cardinals use 4-run 6th to win
Derek Shelton was well aware of Adam Wainwright’s mastery of the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the 40-year-old St. Louis Cardinals ace was 9-0 with a 1.65 ERA in his last 11 starts against them. “We’ve got to do something different,” Shelton said. “The formula, so far, has not worked.” Nothing Shelton...
Ross Colton scores late, Lightning beat Panthers in Game 2
SUNRISE, Fla. — Ross Colton scored with 3.8 seconds remaining, giving the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Thursday night. The stunning finish put the Lightning up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series...
McIlroy seizes early lead at PGA Championship; Woods strugglesVideo
TULSA, Okla. — Rory McIlroy was more interested in his own history in the majors than the peculiar heritage at Southern Hills on Thursday at the PGA Championship. Southern Hills has proven to be favorable to frontrunners. As for McIlroy, he has failed to break par in the opening round...
Seton Hill softball, baseball teams win NCAA regional games
The Seton Hill softball team moved a game closer to qualifying for the NCAA Division II World Series on Thursday by defeating host Kutztown, 7-0, in the Atlantic Super Regional Championship. Morgan Ryan, the Notre Dame transfer who played at Hempfield, threw a six-hit shutout and helped her cause with...
A happier Andretti returns to Indy 500 as part-time racerVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Marco Andretti doesn’t want to be at the track if he’s not racing. He’ll watch on television, though, and offer advice from 650 miles away. Andretti was at home in Nazareth, Pa., watching Andretti Autosport race the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week when he had...
Jordan Addison makes it official, announces he will transfer from Pitt to USC
All-American wide receiver Jordan Addison, who made the Pitt passing game special last season on his way to winning the Biletnikoff Award, ended nearly three weeks of speculation Thursday when he announced he will transfer to USC. Addison entered the NCAA transfer portal May 3 after reports arose that he...
Tiger trouble: Woods winces way through opening 74 at PGAVideo
TULSA, Okla. — By the time Tiger Woods walked toward the fifth tee box Thursday, the hot start to his return to the PGA Championship had turned cold, and what quickly was becoming a steamy day at Southern Hills also had become an agonizing grind. Two early birdies that had...
Burrell grad Taylor Johnson saves her best for last with W&J trackVideo
Ask Derek Workman about one of his athletes, and the fourth-year W&J track and field coach is more than happy to talk. He will gush at length about some quality or some performance related to said athlete. Stories abound, but there is one tale Workman said he will tell far...
Former Pitt basketball player Charles Small named athletic director at Valparaiso
Charles Small, who rose through the ranks of sports administration at Pitt after four seasons on the basketball team from 2003-06, has been named athletic director at Valparaiso, University President José D. Padilla, J.D., announced Thursday. Small began his professional career in 2006 as a graduate assistant for Student Life...
Mets ace Max Scherzer likely out 6 to 8 weeks with oblique strainVideo
NEW YORK — Mets pitcher Max Scherzer is expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks with a strained oblique muscle in his left side, the latest blow to a New York pitching staff already missing Jacob deGrom. Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, had an MRI on...
BRP Modified Tour set for season opener at Lernerville Speedway
Two-time defending champion Chad Brachman of Sanborn, N.Y., will help open the 25th anniversary of the Bicknell Racing Products Tour on Friday at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver. The BRP Big Blocks will be joined at the track by the weekly Fab4 Revved Up divisions of the sprints and pro stocks,...
Like his predecessor at Samford, QB Chris Oladokun not ducking challenge of earning roster spot with Steelers
Chris Oladokun is well aware of the parallels between his story and the one authored three years ago by Devlin Hodges. Oladokun followed Hodges’ path in college by spending two years at Samford, the FCS school located in Alabama. Like Hodges, he is entering offseason workouts in his rookie season...
Predators extend coach John Hynes, assistants through 23-24Video
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Nashville Predators extended the contracts of coach John Hynes and his assistants through the 2023-24 season, trying to build on a season with several individual successes for a franchise that wound up being swept in the playoffs for the first time. General manager David Poile announced...
Pirates catcher Roberto Perez to have season-ending surgery on hamstring
May 19—Veteran catcher Roberto Perez, who was helping guide the Pittsburgh Pirates pitching staff through the difficult early days of the season, will have season-ending surgery to repair his hamstring, director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday afternoon. Perez, who signed a one-year, $5 million contract in November, to...
SEC spat: Jimbo Fisher, Nick Saban exchange accusations over NIL deals
The Southeastern Conference spring meetings will be held in person for the time since 2019 in a little less than two weeks. It is unlikely two of the league’s superstar coaches will be chumming around Destin, Florida, together. Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher called Nick Saban a “narcissist” on Thursday...
Pitt, WVU create logo to highlight Sept. 1 renewal of the Backyard Brawl
Conference realignment killed many of the most storied rivalries in college football, but West Virginia and Pitt are scheduled to meet eight times over the next 11 seasons, starting Sept. 1 at Heinz Field. To commemorate the occasion, the schools put their heads together to create the official Backyard Brawl...
Female referees to officiate men’s World Cup for 1st time
GENEVA — Female referees will make World Cup history this year by working games at a major men’s tournament for the first time in Qatar. Three female referees and three female assistant referees were announced Thursday by FIFA among 129 officials selected for World Cup duty, including one man who...
While Pirates hope bats heat up, bullpen cools off the opponents
Considering the angst created by the Pirates’ recent offensive deficiencies, it was shocking to look up Thursday morning and discover they had won three of their past five games. This is a team that is last (15th) in the National League in runs scored (122), 14th in home runs (28)...
Does Rickard Rakell expect to return to Penguins next season?
Rickard Rakell spent the past two months living alone. Speaking earlier this week, he was eager to get back to his wife — and not just because of relative newlywed bliss. Married last year, Emmeli and Rickard are expecting their first child. “I am really excited about that,” Rakell said...
Another Triple Crown long shot? Fenwick is 50-1 in Preakness
BALTIMORE — Rich Strike winning the Kentucky Derby at 80-1 may not be the only big upset this Triple Crown season. Not if Fenwick has anything to do about it. Two weeks after Rich Strike became the second-biggest long shot to win the Derby, Fenwick could join him in the...
U mad, bro?: Fans unload on Penguins for blowing playoff lead; rip Pirates’ hitting; mock Vogelbach’s mad dash
To the surprise of no one, Pittsburgh Penguins fans are ticked off about their team blowing a 3-1 series lead against the New York Rangers en route to playoff elimination. Meanwhile, Pirates fans are ticked off about … everything. That’s why we invented “U mad, bro?” It’s basically a public...
