Offensive lineman Ryan McCollum returns to Steelers on 1-year contract
The Pittsburgh Steelers brought back offensive lineman Ryan McCollum, who served as the team’s backup center the past two seasons. McCollum signed a one-year contract. The 28-year-old appeared in 24 games over the past two seasons and started twice in 2024 when center Zach Frazier was injured. McCollum spent the...
Penguins defenseman Sam Girard appears close to rejoining the lineup
Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Sam Girard appears to be a likely candidate to rejoin his team’s lineup for Saturday’s home game against the Winnipeg Jets after being scratched for the previous five contests because of an undisclosed injury. During practice Friday in Cranberry, Girard was a full participant and inhabited the...
Bednarik Award-winning linebacker among 4 NFL Draft prospects visiting Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers welcomed four more NFL Draft prospects on Friday including the Chuck Bednarik Award winner. Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez was joined by North Dakota State quarterback Cole Payton, Washington cornerback Tacario Davis and Georgia Tech offensive lineman Keylan Rutledge. The draft is April 23-25 in Pittsburgh. Newly...
Leveraging bulkier frame, year of experience, Pitt’s Max Hunt eyes role at tight end
It’s customary and commonplace for upperclassmen, especially seniors, to take on leadership roles and help younger players along. But Pitt redshirt freshman tight end Max Hunt has assumed a reverse role among his position mates. This spring, Hunt, Pitt’s lone returning tight end to record a statistic from a season...
Mark Madden: The Pirates will be better, but can they contend for a playoff berth?
The Pittsburgh Pirates are spending more. But are they spending enough? The Pirates will be better. But how much better? The Pirates went out and got three solid bats. But not Aaron, Clemente and Mays. A lot is being assumed by cockeyed optimists and media fanboys. But with Opening Day less...
Beyond the Bylines: Pens push for the playoffs; Pirates win totals; missing Pitt in March MadnessVideo
“Beyond the Bylines” is back after a week off. Joe Starkey and Tim Benz dive into March Madness. They discuss the state of the Penguins’ playoff chase, their upcoming schedule, Evgeni Malkin’s history and contract status, and the goaltending. The guys also look at the Pirates’ projected win total, Konnor...
On sports: Steelers eye North Dakota State QB; Andrew McCutchen lighting it up with RangersVideo
In Friday’s “On Sports,” the Steelers are bringing in an FCS standout quarterback for a visit fresh off of his pro day, while the Pirates, despite most recently losing to the Orioles, continue a strong spring training. Speaking of strong springs, Andrew McCutchen is tearing it up in a prove-it...
NL West preview: Everyone still chasing World Series champion Dodgers
SAN FRANCISCO — Dave Roberts spent much of spring training thinking about how to manage the health of his two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers so they can play for the long haul once again. That’s what happens when a club competes deep into October year after year. Now, the...
AL East preview: Yankees, Blue Jays eye something more after recent AL pennants
The AL East hasn’t produced a World Series champion since 2018, equaling the longest drought in the history of this powerful division. The breakthrough almost came last year, when the Toronto Blue Jays led by two runs in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the World Series. The Los...
Former Penguins forward Billy Tibbetts arrested once again
Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Billy Tibbetts, a member of the organization in the early 2000s, has been arrested once again. Per the Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre, Tibbetts, 52, was arrested Tuesday by U.S. Marshals and Plains Township police at a hotel in Luzerne County on a warrant in his native...
Penn State sends 8 to quarterfinals at NCAA wrestling tournament
Penn State is on track to win its fifth straight NCAA wrestling title, sending eight wrestlers into Friday’s championship quarterfinals. The Nittany Lions went 10-0 in the first round Thursday before Braeden Davis (141) and Cole Mirasola (285) were bounced in the second round. Marcus Blaze (133), Shayne Van Ness...
NCAA roundup: High Point stuns Wisconsin on Chase Johnston’s first 2-point basket of season
PORTLAND, Ore. — Chase Johnston made his first 2-point basket of the season, a fast-break layup with 11.7 seconds remaining that gave No. 12 seed High Point an 83-82 victory over fifth-seeded Wisconsin on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Johnston finished with 14 points, including four...
No. 11 seed VCU erases 19-point deficit, stuns sixth-seeded North Carolina 82-78 in OT
GREENVILLE, N.C. — Terrence Hill Jr. made a stepback 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in overtime, and 11th-seeded VCU erased from a 19-point second-half deficit to stun sixth-seeded North Carolina, 82-78, on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Hill finished 7 for 10 from 3-point range...
Early deficit too much for Pirates to overcome in spring training loss to Orioles
Samuel Basallo hit a pair of home runs as the Baltimore Orioles built a five-run lead the Pittsburgh Pirates couldn’t overcome. Basallo hit a solo shot off Cam Sanders in the first inning and a two-run homer off Mike Clevinger in the third to boost Baltimore to a 5-2 win...
Greensburg Central Catholic girls win program’s 2nd state title
HERSHEY — Greensburg Central Catholic girls basketball coach Chris Skatell is an attorney whose face appears on two billboards on Route 30 in Westmoreland County. It was his players who had their name up in lights Thursday night, state champions for the first time in 29 years. Senior standouts Erica...
The Warriors know they’re headed back to the play-in tournament; other teams might think the same
Golden State coach Steve Kerr can do the math. He knows the Warriors are headed to the play-in tournament. The Warriors have 13 games left in the regular season, and their loss in Boston on Wednesday night — another game that Stephen Curry missed with a knee issue — left...
Konnor Griffin, Trey Yesavage and JJ Wetherholt among MLB’s most intriguing rookies
CHICAGO — Nick Kurtz and Drake Baldwin made a smooth transition to the major leagues last season. Kurtz was rewarded with the AL Rookie of the Year award, and Baldwin took home the NL honor. Here is a closer look at a group of rookies looking to have a similar...
NL Central preview: Loaded Cubs going for division title, but Brewers, Reds lurking
CHICAGO — Alex Bregman, welcome to the NL Central. Welcome back, Eugenio Suarez. Bregman is hoping to lead the Chicago Cubs to their first Central title since 2020 after signing a $175 million, five-year contract with the North Siders in free agency. But the competition is tough in a division...
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. expresses fondness for Pittsburgh, excited for city to host NFL Draft
The longtime face of NFL Draft season is a big fan of the traveling roadshow approach used nowadays for the marquee offseason event. “I can’t wait to be up in Pittsburgh,” said ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., the most famous of the NFL draftniks. For about a decade now, the draft...
No. 1 overall seed Duke survives 16-seed Siena
GREENVILLE, S.C. — For most of Thursday, Duke looked nothing like the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Not with 16th-seeded Siena challenging the Blue Devils at every turn, determined to pull off the rarest of March Madness upsets. And Duke barely avoided exactly that. The Blue Devils...
Penn State, WPIAL legend Tanisha Wright named Nittany Lions’ women’s basketball coach
Seeking new leadership to stabilize a women’s basketball program which has mostly disappointed for over a decade, Penn State will turn to a program legend and 14-year WNBA veteran. Tanisha Wright, a West Mifflin native, was named coach of the Lady Lions by athletic director Pat Kraft on Thursday. She...
NL East Preview: Phillies bring back core as they try to hold off new-look Mets, banged-up Braves
NEW YORK — Still powered by Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, the Philadelphia Phillies are bringing back mostly the same team that won its second consecutive NL East title last season and made a fourth straight playoff appearance. Time to take yet another run at that elusive World Series championship....
AL West Preview: Cal Raleigh and Mariners look to defend their first division title since 2001
Cal Raleigh and the Seattle Mariners switched things up in the American League West last season, and got as close as they ever have to making a World Series. After winning their first division title since 2001, the Mariners are looking to do it again this year with slugging switch-hitting...
AL Central Preview: Tigers open as favorites while the White Sox try to climb out of the basement
The Detroit Tigers and two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal have their sights set on winning the AL Central for the first time since 2014. The Chicago White Sox would love to simply get out of the division’s basement. As for the AL Central’s other three teams — the...
‘I feel really good about everything’: Penn State’s Drew Allar is at peace with his NFL Draft uncertainty
UNIVERSITY PARK — There’s a world in which Penn State’s pro day would have been in a circus with everyone in town to see Drew Allar, the No. 1 QB in the 2026 NFL Draft. But that is not the world we live in. Instead, Holuba Hall was filled with...
