Sports category, Page 1327
Mark Madden: Penguins’ goaltending situation is nobody’s fault
With Tristan Jarry potentially out for the start of the playoffs with a reported broken foot, the Penguins have a goaltending dilemma. But it’s nobody’s fault. Sure, GM Ron Hextall could have traded for a backup superior to Casey DeSmith. Perhaps Hextall should have. But would that acquisition win a...
Yough grad Nicole (Sleith) Schaffer playing role in success of Duke softball teamVideo
Since joining the Duke softball staff as a volunteer assistant coach, Yough grad Nicole (Sleith) Schaffer has become popular with the players. Although her popularity wanes when she steps on the mound to throw batting practice. The players found out quickly why she graduated from Robert Morris as the softball...
Recruited as an outfielder, Fox Chapel grad Dante DiMatteo shines for W&J baseball as relieverVideo
Mention Fox Chapel grad Dante DiMatteo around these parts, and those who follow high school baseball might remember him as the kid who pitched pitched 11 consecutive no-hit innings last April. He pitched a five-inning no-hitter in a mercy-rule victory over Woodland Hills on April 23. Five days later, he...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Saint Vincent baseball sweeping past PAC competition
The brooms are going to need new bristles at Saint Vincent. The Bearcats baseball team earned its fourth straight sweep of a Presidents’ Athletic Conference opponent, and ran its winning streak to 11, with wins of 9-4 and 10-8 against Franciscan. Junior Jordan Sabol (Penn-Trafford) was the standout of the...
Kyle Busch steals Bristol win as Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe crash
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Kyle Busch backed into the record book by stealing a win at dirt-covered Bristol Motor Speedway. That’s what he’d say if it had been anyone else, right? Busch won his first race of the season Sunday night by sliding past the leaders as Tyler Reddick and Chase...
Sean Clifford, Penn State offense hopes to reap benefits of 2nd year under Mike Yurcich
STATE COLLEGE — Sean Clifford’s revolving door of offensive coordinators at Penn State has been well-documented. In his first three years as a starting quarterback, he had three different voices in his ear, from Ricky Rahne in 2019 to Kirk Ciarrocca in 2020 to Mike Yurcich in 2021. This spring,...
Madden Monday: After Tristan Jarry’s injury, Penguins are ‘hitting the trifecta of doom’
Many Penguins fans had talked themselves into a state of optimism regarding their team’s playoff chances during the regular season. And much of that hope was built on the premise that goaltender Tristan Jarry’s All-Star-worthy regular season was proof he had rebounded from his awful playoff series against the New...
First Call: Ohio State quarterback honors Dwayne Haskins; NFL team shows late interest in Kenny Pickett
Monday’s “First Call” takes a look at how former Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was honored by his college football alma mater over the weekend. Another NFL team is being tied to Kenny Pickett in advance of the draft. There was action in the NHL’s Eastern Conference. And we examine the...
Pirates utility player Michael Chavis learns to harness his diverse skills in quest for playing time
Michael Chavis can do so much on a baseball field that he needs to be careful: Sometimes, he ends up trying to do too much. That was his dilemma with the Pittsburgh Pirates in spring training while competing for playing time. He settled down in the final days before the...
Pirates farm report for April 17, 2022: Luke Brown’s grand slam sparks Bradenton’s blowout win
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 6-5) lost 5-1 to St. Paul (Twins). SS Oneil Cruz (.219) was 0 for 4 but knocked in the lone run for the Indians. DH Travis Swaggerty (.194), Crus, 3B Rodolfo Castro (.333) and 1B Mason Martin (.359) combined to go 0 for 14 at the top of...
Pittsburgh Maulers’ season opener postponed because of severe weather
Football fans hoping to watch the Pittsburgh Maulers for the first time in nearly 40 years will have to wait another day. The Maulers’ scheduled USFL season opener against the Tampa Bay Bandits on Sunday night was postponed due to the risk of severe weather in Alabama. The game is...
Perfect spring weather greets Boston Marathon’s April returnVideo
BOSTON — The daffodils have sprouted, the fall foliage has all been raked away, and the Boston Marathon is back in the spring where it belongs. The world’s most prestigious marathon will return to the streets from Hopkinton to Copley Square on Monday, three years after the last Patriots’ Day...
What are Penn State’s areas of concern as spring season winds down?Video
One week to go. Penn State’s spring season concludes with Saturday afternoon’s Blue-White game at Beaver Stadium. James Franklin’s Nittany Lions, coming off a disappointing 2021 that saw them drop six of their final eight games, are replacing talented players at wideout, left tackle, linebacker, cornerback, safety and even at...
Spieth beats Cantlay with playoff bunker shot to 7 inchesVideo
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Thinking he might have a chance for a playoff, Jordan Spieth rolled in a 10-foot birdie on the 18th hole in regulation. He made an even bigger shot at Habour Town’s signature hole in a playoff to win the RBC Heritage. Spieth’s 56-foot shot from...
Workload doesn’t bother David Bednar in Pirates’ victory against Nationals
David Bednar stands 6-foot-1, 250 pounds, with a muscular upper body and the look of a guy who believes he can do almost anything. So it was no surprise when — several hours before the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 5-3 victory against the Washington Nationals on Sunday at PNC Park — the...
Mike Matheson evolves into one of the Penguins’ most reliable playersVideo
Mike Matheson was in an unusual situation last week. A fight. During the Penguins’ 3-2 overtime home win against the Nashville Predators on April 10, the veteran defenseman dropped the gloves for only the second time in his seven-year career. His choice of combatants? Predators power forward Tanner Jeannot, a...
Despite bleak draft history, Steelers could be tempted by ‘strong’ cornerback draft class
As the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare for the NFL Draft, they can take comfort in knowing they fortified the cornerback position in free agency. By signing Ahkello Witherspoon and Levi Wallace to matching two-year, $8 million contracts, the Steelers are set on the outside for at least the 2022 season. Those...
Stefanos Tsitsipas successfully defends title in Monte CarloVideo
MONACO — Stefanos Tsitsipas became the first repeat champion at the Monte Carlo Masters since Rafael Nadal in 2018 with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win against unseeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Sunday. “It’s a great feeling because we had the crowd this year,” the third-seeded Greek said after winning the...
Father-daughter tandem trying to boost youth basketball in Penn Hills
Don Johnson referees youth basketball games and is always amazed at the traffic in the parking lot at North Allegheny. The school’s parking lot is always filled when he goes to call games. Johnson wants to see the same type of attendance grow at Penn Hills. Johnson has been volunteering...
Minor league report: Juuso Riikola, Penguins edge IslandersVideo
Defenseman Juuso Riikola recorded a career-best four assists for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 6-5 home win against the Bridgeport Islanders at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. Forwards Drew O’Connor, Valtteri Puustinen and defenseman Mitch Reinke each had a goal and an assist for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (33-29-4-4) while goaltender...
Pirates farm report for April 16, 2022: Rehabbing Anthony Alford doubles in Bradenton win
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 6-3) lost by a field goal to St. Paul (Twins), 16-13. Four Indianapolis pitchers gave up at least three runs. RHP Jerad Eickhoff (8.53) started and surrendered five runs on five hits and three walks in 2.2 innings. LHP Cam Alldred (0-1, 5.06) took the loss, allowing three...
Riverhounds go bust in Las Vegas
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds took their first loss of the season Saturday night, losing 1-0 to Las Vegas Lights FC. It was the first meeting between the Riverhounds (4-1-1) and Lights (4-3), who began play in the USL Championship as an expansion team in 2018. Las Vegas scored the game’s lone...
Backup catcher Andrew Knapp delivers as Pirates beat Nationals
When the Pittsburgh Pirates were searching for a backup catcher before the season opener, they didn’t hesitate when Andrew Knapp became available because of his reputation behind the plate. With starter Roberto Perez out with a quad contusion after taking a foul tip off his left leg Friday night, Knapp...
Willie Green, upstart Pelicans get top-seeded Suns in 1st round
PHOENIX — Willie Green’s time as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns taught him quick improvement can happen with the right mix of talent, desire and steady leadership. Turns out that blueprint can travel. Green, the first-year New Orleans Pelicans coach who was Phoenix’s top assistant last season, leads...
Josh VanMeter ready, willing in case Pirates need to break glass on emergency catcher
When Roberto Perez took a foul tip off his left quad, the Pittsburgh Pirates turned to backup catcher Andrew Knapp but knew that they had to have someone else ready, in case of an emergency. That’s how Josh VanMeter learned he was the backup to the backup catcher, when Pirates...
