Sports category, Page 1384
Driver Greg Biffle trying to race into Daytona 500 after 5-year NASCAR absenceVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Greg Biffle grabbed a seat on stage and flexed a bicep as he posed for pictures. He smiled, exhaled and summed up his return to Daytona International Speedway in four words: “It’s been a while.” Nearly six years, to be more precise. The former NASCAR Cup...
Penn State beats Minnesota, avenging loss to Golden Gophers 5 days earlierVideo
UNIVERSITY PARK — Jalen Pickett scored 20 points, John Harrar had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Penn State beat Minnesota, 67-46, on Thursday in the second meeting in five days. It was Penn State’s largest win over Minnesota in program history. Pickett sank a long 3-pointer with 9 minutes,...
Former Angels employee convicted in Skaggs’ overdose death
FORT WORTH, Texas — A former Los Angeles Angels employee was convicted Thursday of providing Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs the drugs that led to his overdose death in Texas. Eric Kay was convicted on one count each of drug distribution resulting in death and drug conspiracy. He faces up to...
MLB labor talks last 15 minutes as lockout continues
NEW YORK — The threat to Opening Day on March 31 appeared to intensify Thursday when the drawn-out talks to end Major League Baseball’s lockout ended just 15 minutes after they had resumed following a four-day break. What was supposed to be the second day of spring training workouts instead...
Michigan raises Harbaugh’s pay back to over $7 million per year
Michigan has once again made Jim Harbaugh one of the highest paid coaches in college football. Harbaugh’s reworked five-year contract with the school, obtained Thursday through a records request, runs through the 2026 season and guarantees he will make more than $7 million annually. Harbaugh’s salary starts at $7.05 million...
Pitt’s 3-game winning streak provides chance to salvage season
The narrative surrounding Pitt before its stunning upset of North Carolina was this: The two-game winning streak was nice, but it’s time to confront the big boys of the ACC. Yes, the Panthers play hard, connect on defense and — thank you, Ithiel Horton — make the opponent respect the...
After near-historic rookie season, Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth vows improvement in Year 2
Before taking the field of the Hall of Fame Game in August, Pat Freiermuth had been limited to four live football games over the previous 20 months. He would play in 21 over the ensuing 23 weeks. That’s almost as many as he played throughout the entirety of his career...
USFL reveals Pittsburgh Maulers uniforms
The rebooted Pittsburgh Maulers have their updated, modern-style fashion uniforms. One of eight teams in the United States Football League’s return this spring, the Maulers share a name and purple-and-orange color scheme with their forerunners who played one season as part of the original USFL in 1984. But the new...
Greensburg fighter wins MMA title in Ohio Combat League
Greensburg got itself a mixed-martial arts champion in January. Mataeo Garner captured the Ohio Combat League’s light heavyweight championship Jan. 29, fighting in the amateur division at 204 pounds. The 24-year-old Greensburg resident won a unanimous decision in the third round against Dayton, Ohio, fighter Darryl Booker. At 5-foot-9, Garner...
Mikaela Shiffrin’s Olympics: 5 individual races, no medals, 3 DNFs
BEIJING — There was simply no way to predict this. Not for anyone, including Mikaela Shiffrin herself. That the American skier would go 0 for 5 in individual races at the Beijing Olympics, leaving without a medal from any and with a best showing of ninth place, was hard enough...
Anna Shcherbakova wins figure skating gold as Russian teammate Kamila Valieva, at center of doping scandal, falls short of medals podium
BEIJING — Anna Shcherbakova won a stunning gold medal in women’s figure skating at the Beijing Games on Thursday night, relying on her experience to deliver a clean performance, while Russian teammate Kamila Valieva tumbled out of the medals in a mistake-filled end to her controversial Olympics. Shcherbakova performed a...
After Sidney Crosby’s 50th goal vs. the Flyers, a former linemate recalls how that rivalry began
As the Penguins look to extend their winning streak to five games Thursday night in Canada against the Toronto Maple Leafs, many fans are still basking in the afterglow of Tuesday’s victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Not only was it an enjoyable 5-4 comeback win for the Metropolitan Division-leading Penguins...
Bubba Wallace, Kurt Busch vow to turn Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing into champs
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Kurt Busch first met Michael Jordan in a board room last summer as the free-agent driver weighed his racing options. Busch was star-struck in an “awesome moment” when the 6-foot-6 NBA Hall of Famer stood and shook hands with his future 23XI Racing employee. The basketball...
Grandfather-grandson duo works together officiating WPIAL basketball games
When Matthew White was a little kid, he enjoyed going to high school basketball games and seeing the officials, because his grandfather was one of them. “From when I was very young, I have memories of him taking me with his partners back to the locker room and then going...
U mad, bro?: No Valentines this week, but lots of agitation about Steelers offensive line, quarterbacks, Kenny Pickett’s hands
My inbox this week was stuffed with plenty of emails about the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback conundrum. Offensive line concerns. Journalism lectures. Penguins negativity. And hamburger commercials. I didn’t get any Valentine’s Day e-cards though. That was sad. But in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, “U mad, bro?” is like a...
Poulin leads Canada women to Olympic gold in 3-2 win over U.S.
BEIJING — Marie-Philip Poulin reminded everyone of her Captain Clutch reputation. And Canada regained its place atop the women’s hockey world. It was only fitting that Poulin delivered at a time her team needed it most by scoring twice, including her third Olympic gold-medal clinching goal, in Canada’s 3-2 win...
Minor league report: Nathan Legare scores Penguins’ only goal in loss to CheckersVideo
Forward Nathan Legare scored the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ only goal in a 4-1 road loss to the Charlotte Checkers at Bojangles’ Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C. Goaltender Alex D’Orio made 19 saves on 23 shots for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (19-21-2-3). Highlights: The Penguins’ next game is a home contest against the Springfield Thunderbirds on...
Pitt stuns North Carolina in Chapel Hill
The noise from a crowd of 17,270 at North Carolina’s Dean E. Smith Center seemed to grow louder every time North Carolina hit a shot in the second half. And the Tar Heels made plenty of them, seven in a row at one point. Who knew the struggling Panthers could...
Duquesne men lose 11th game in row
Duquesne has hit bottom. The last-place Dukes completed a stretch of three games in five days by sputtering to their 11th consecutive loss Wednesday night, in part because of a horrendous offensive showing against George Washington at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Joe Bamisile scored 21 points to lead the visiting Colonials...
Cal (Pa.) women’s basketball team outmuscles Seton Hill
When the Cal (Pa.) and Seton Hill women meet on the hardwood, the games are usually battles. It was no different Wednesday when the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference rivals collided for first place atop the West Division at Salvitti Gymnasium. It was a battle to the end with Cal (Pa.)...
The meticulous path to ideal Olympic curling ice
BEIJING — Curling ice has come a long way in the 600 years since the Scottish began sliding stones across frozen lochs. A modern curling sheet like one at the Ice Cube venue in Beijing is made with ultra-purified water and maintained at a precise range of temperature and acidity....
Penguins getting significant contributions from 4th line
Entering this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins knew they would be missing some major components of their roster with franchise centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin sidelined as they recovered from offseason surgeries. That led them to bring in steady veteran Brian Boyle to training camp on a tryout basis. By...
Enrolling early easy choice for Pitt’s Marquan Pope, Sean FitzSimmons, 5 others
Time was running out for freshmen to enroll for Pitt’s winter semester, but Marquan Pope wasn’t worried. He had organized the first and final term of his senior year at Guyer High School in Denton, Texas, so he could graduate in December, spend the winter training for Pitt’s 2022 season...
Looking for ‘more sustained offense,’ Penguins shuffle 2nd, 3rd lines
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ middle two lines were shuffled during practice Wednesday in Cranberry. With Evgeni Malkin centering the second line, he was flanked by Jeff Carter on the left wing and Danton Heinen at right wing. Meanwhile, Evan Rodrigues pivoted the third line with Brock McGinn to his left side...
U.S. women’s soccer coach earned 28% of men’s coach’s salary
NEW YORK — Vlatko Andonovski earned $357,597 over his first full year as U.S. women’s soccer coach, less than 28% of the $1,291,539 that went to men’s coach Gregg Berhalter. The figures were revealed in the U.S. Soccer Federation’s tax filing for the year ending on March 31, 2021, which...
