Sports category, Page 1396
Taylor, McVay reunited as opposing head coaches on Super Bowl stage
Zac Taylor’s path to a head coaching gig was cleared the moment he joined Sean McVay’s staff with the Los Angeles Rams five years ago. Well, maybe it wasn’t actually until the two sat down together in the team cafeteria. “I think the joke is if you had a cup...
Robert Morris tops IUPUI for 1st Horizon road victory this season
Not much has been easy for the Robert Morris men’s basketball team since joining the Horizon League a year ago. The Colonials have had their moments, but most times — even in battles down to the wire — they’ve come up short. Saturday’s matchup against shorthanded IUPUI in the teams’...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Instead of trading for Minkah Fitzpatrick, Steelers should have tanked in ’19
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick has played almost three full seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He made first-team All-Pro in 2019 and 2020 and is a key component to the defense. The Steelers gave Miami their first-round pick for 2020 to acquire Fitzpatrick after Week 2 of the 2019 season. Quarterback Ben...
Therese Johaug wins 1st gold medal of Beijing Olympics in skiathlon
ZHANGJIAKOU, China — Therese Johaug won the first gold medal of the Beijing Olympics on Saturday, finishing first in the women’s 15-kilometer cross-country skiathlon. The Norwegian fought wind and frigid temperatures to ski away from a chase group of four, winning in 44 minutes, 13.7 seconds. “I’ve trained thousands of...
Women’s hockey world still playing catch-up to Canada, U.S.
BEIJING — Immediately after one of Finland’s most lopsided losses in international women’s hockey history, general manager Tuula Puputti marveled with envy at the depth of talent Canada has assembled. She began by referencing Canada’s top line centered by captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who has drawn comparisons to Sidney Crosby for...
NFL to bolster inclusion policies, probe tanking allegations
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told teams Saturday that the league will look to bolster policies meant to encourage hiring of minorities, particularly as head coaches, and he pledged an investigation into tanking allegations raised by Brian Flores in his discrimination lawsuit against the NFL. “We will reevaluate and examine all...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi completes staff, names Tiquan Underwood wide receivers coach, pass game coordinator
With the contact signed and filed, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi filled the last vacancy on his coaching staff Saturday, officially naming former NFL player Tiquan Underwood as the Panthers’ wide receivers coach — with a twist. Underwood also will carry the title of pass game coordinator. The hiring of Underwood...
After a year in Pittsburgh, executive Brian Burke is high on the Penguins’ future
Brian Burke still is trying to figure out Pittsburgh. Nearly a year after he was hired as the Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations, he hasn’t been able to dine out as much as he would like because of the pandemic. And he’s still fuzzy on some of the outlying...
The ‘other’ veteran leader who might’ve played his last game for the Steelers: Joe Haden
Last month, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ oldest, most veteran NFL player got plenty of attention while playing his final games. But what about the team’s second-oldest and second-most tenured NFL player who was still active at the end of the 2021 season? His Steelers career also very well could have come...
Duquesne men’s basketball team loses 7th in row
Duquesne’s basketball woes just keep continuing. Even without its leading scorer and rebounder, VCU survived the reeling Dukes’ challenge Saturday and handed them their seventh consecutive loss, a 71-62 decision at Siegel Center in Richmond, Va., behind Hason Ward’s 13 points and 10 rebounds. “They tried hard,” Duquesne coach Keith...
Victor Hedman, Jordan Kyrou, Sebastian Aho win big in NHL All-Star skills competitionVideo
LAS VEGAS — Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman won the Hardest Shot competition and St. Louis’ Jordan Kyrou was the Fastest Skater during an NHL All-Star skills competition with a distinct Vegas flavor Friday night. Carolina’s Sebastian Aho won the Accuracy Shooting contest at T-Mobile Arena on a night when the...
Minor league report: Penguins extend winning streak to season-best 4 gamesVideo
Defenseman P.O Joseph scored a goal for the third consecutive games and led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 4-3 home win against the Bridgeport Islanders at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Friday. Forward Sam Poulin recorded two assists for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (18-17-1-3) which extended a winning streak to a season-best...
Seamus Power sets 36-hole record at Pebble to lead by 5Video
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Even for being located next to the ocean, the iconic finishing hole at Pebble Beach is short for par 5s by modern standards. That didn’t keep Seamus Power, who has plenty of pop, from taking an iron off the tee and playing it as a three-shot...
Duke’s Coach K making last trip to UNC in famed rivalry
The famed rivalry between No. 9 Duke and North Carolina is changing. One Hall of Fame coach is gone, with the Tar Heels’ Roy Williams retiring last spring and former UNC player and assistant Hubert Davis replacing him. On Saturday, outgoing Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski will make his final trip...
NHL All-Stars sad to miss Olympics, but happy to be in Vegas
LAS VEGAS — Most of the world’s best hockey players are spending this weekend in opulent hotel suites in one of the planet’s top party towns instead of being confined to modest Olympic accommodations in freezing-cold Beijing. The NHL All-Stars still aren’t happy about missing their chance to compete for...
Column: Golf’s $800 million man says PGA Tour is greedyVideo
Phil Mickelson just ripped the PGA Tour for what he called “obnoxious greed.” Now that — pardon the expression — is rich. “I know I will be criticized,” Mickelson said earlier this week, soon after arriving in the golf-forsaken Saudi Arabian metropolis of King Abdullah Economic City — you cannot...
NASCAR bet more than $1 million to bring cars into ColiseumVideo
LOS ANGELES — NASCAR’s top stars have seen the Los Angeles Coliseum on television, and they know what it looks like as a football stadium. But as a racetrack? This they had to see right away, up close as soon as they arrived in Los Angeles. Much of the NASCAR...
Statehouses latest front in college athlete recruiting warsVideo
With millions of dollars pouring into endorsements for college athletes, the latest battleground in the recruiting wars is the statehouse: A handful of states are already considering changing barely dried rules to help their flagship schools land — or keep — top prospects. Over the past three years, at least...
Pitt’s Kenny Pickett auditions to be first QB drafted with strong Senior Bowl showingVideo
MOBILE, Ala. — The Senior Bowl quarterbacks are vying to be No. 1. In an NFL Draft where it seems unlikely for a passer to be the top overall pick, that means a competition among players like Pitt’s Kenny Pickett, North Carolina’s Sam Howell and Liberty’s Malik Willis to be...
Ravens still trying to reach new deal with Lamar JacksonVideo
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens are working under quarterback Lamar Jackson’s timeline when it comes to a potential contract extension. Jackson’s contract status was at the forefront of a news conference held by Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta. The 2019 NFL MVP is playing under a fifth-year option that...
Bengals rookie kicker Evan McPherson on record playoff runVideo
Joe Burrow knew Evan McPherson must be a special kicker if the Cincinnati Bengals were willing to spend a fifth-round pick on a position usually filled by undrafted players and journeymen. But the Bengals targeted McPherson and made him the only kicker taken in the 2021 draft, a decision that...
Take 5: Difficult times hover over Pitt, but players haven’t lost hope
Almost nothing worth mentioning happened during Pitt’s 91-75 loss to Wake Forest on Wednesday night. Double-digit losses are becoming the norm. But it was instructive to hear what sophomore guard Femi Odukale had to say in the aftermath. He offered hope that players still care after 14 losses in 22...
Kraken endure rocky path in 1st half of expansion seasonVideo
SEATTLE — If there was a single game that served as a snapshot of how the Seattle Kraken wanted their inaugural season to look, it came on the night of Jan. 23. The home arena was rocking during a 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers, at the time the best...
Locked out MLB players reject offer of federal mediation, further threatening to delay spring trainingVideo
NEW YORK — The start of spring training likely will be a casualty of MLB’s lockout, which will threaten Opening Day unless the drawn-out talks lead to a deal in less than a month. After months of bickering over the sport’s economics, baseball’s warring factions couldn’t even agree on whether...
Mark Madden: Brian Flores’ case has merit, but proving guilt will be challenging
The Brian Flores lawsuit against the NFL has many sidebars, some of which Flores should have stifled at least temporarily. Flores says he was offered $100k per loss by Miami ownership by way of getting a better draft pick. I don’t buy it. Tanking isn’t done once the game starts....
