Sports category, Page 1338
Pitt secures commitment from junior college tight end Karter Johnson
When Karter Johnson left Pickerington Central High School for TCU in 2019, he was a 286-pound defensive tackle. One of the best in the nation, by the way. Rivals.com ranked him No. 21 at his position. In Ohio, he was the No. 12 overall prospect. I am excited to announce...
Former Pitt, West Virginia offensive coordinator Calvin Magee dies at age 59
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — Jacksonville State offensive coordinator Calvin Magee has passed away. He was 59. The school said the longtime college football coach died on Friday but didn’t release the cause of death. New Jacksonville State coach Rich Rodriguez hired Magee in December, the fourth school where they have worked...
Naomi Osaka at French Open news conference: ‘I think I’m OK’
PARIS — Naomi Osaka cracked jokes at Roland Garros on Friday — and, yes, laughed at those jokes. She smiled after some reporters’ questions. She paused to contemplate, as is her wont, before offering answers. All of which seemed to confirm this assessment that she offered during an 18-minute pre-tournament...
Near-record heat for Preakness another test for Epicenter
BALTIMORE — Epicenter lost the Kentucky Derby because of a hot pace. Now he’ll face hot temperatures in the Preakness. Two weeks after getting passed by 80-1 long shot Rich Strike just before the finish line at the Derby, Epicenter goes into Saturday’s Preakness as the favorite and clearly the...
Penguins season ticket holders paint the ice in annual event at PPG Paints Arena
The ice surface at PPG Paints Arena won’t be needed for hockey again until the fall. But it perhaps never looked better than it did Thursday night. Pittsburgh Penguins season ticket holders were invited for what the organization has made a tradition: a night in which they were free to...
Pitt signs former Marquette guard Greg Elliott for rebuilt backcourt
Pitt coach Jeff Capel has secured the second of his two new backcourt players with the signing Friday of former Marquette guard Greg Elliott, who announced his verbal commitment Tuesday. Elliott will join returning guards Jamarius Burton and Nike Sibande, plus Nelly Cummings, who transferred from Colgate. Burton, Sibande and...
Aston Martin cleared of suspicion it copied Red Bull design
MONTMELÓ, Spain — Formula One team Aston Martin was cleared of suspicion that it had broken competition rules by allegedly copying a design from a Red Bull car, FIA said Friday. The governing body for F1 said an investigation had concluded that Aston Martin had not reverse engineered parts of...
Mark Madden: Penguins GM Ron Hextall hasn’t done anything to lose his job or to keep it
If my program director asks me what’s on today’s show, I tell him. When the home-plate umpire asks a manager for the lineup card, he can’t decline. A chef submits a menu. A football coach designs a playbook. A movie producer needs a script. These are requirements and not kept...
One of the longest-tenured Penguins, Chad Ruhwedel has best season at age 31
As the Pittsburgh Penguins’ most recent Stanley Cup grows further into the rearview mirror, there stands only four players left under contract for next season who appeared in that 2017 championship run. Sidney Crosby, of course. His running mate, Jake Guentzel, was a rookie that year. Brian Dumoulin isn’t surprising,...
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...
