Sports category, Page 1397
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....
Steelers interview 3 external candidates to replace outgoing GM Kevin Colbert
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ search for their next general manager has led them to interviewing three candidates from outside the organization. The team announced Friday that interviews were conducted this week with Ryan Cowden of the Tennessee Titans, Ed Dodds of the Indianapolis Colts and JoJo Wooden of the Los Angeles...
Brewers hire ex-Pirates slugger Pedro Alvarez in baseball operations, player development role
Former Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Pedro Alvarez, who starred on their three wild-card teams from 2013-15, has found a post-playing job with one of their NL Central rivals. The Milwaukee Brewers have hired Alvarez as a baseball operations and player development assistant. Alvarez, 34, is the son-in-law of Brewers bench coach...
Penguins have a better grasp on forward Radim Zohorna’s potentialVideo
Mike Sullivan was at a loss for words. Just over 10 months ago, after Pittsburgh Penguins rookie forward Radim Zohorna scored a brilliant goal in a 5-2 road win against the New York Rangers on April 8, the team’s coach was asked what Zohorna’s potential in the NHL could be....
Congress questions independence of NFL’s Washington probe
An investigation into sexual harassment of women employed by Washington’s NFL franchise was not as independent as the team and the league claimed, members of Congress said Friday. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform released documents that showed the league and the team, now known as the Commanders, agreed...
China’s pandemic Olympics begin, with lockdown and boycotts
BEIJING — China, which used its first Olympics to amplify its international aspirations, invited the world back Friday — sort of — for the pandemic era’s second Games, this time as an emboldened and more powerful nation whose government’s authoritarian turn provoked some countries’ leaders into staying home. Chinese president...
First Call: ESPN’s QB projection for all of NFL; Steelers assistant Teryl Austin injected into Brian Flores conversation
ESPN.com’s NFL quarterback predictions won’t get Steelers nation very excited. One former Pittsburgh Steeler is in the mix for a coaching promotion, while another is pulling out of one contest. And Steelers assistant coach Teryl Austin has been thrown into the Brian Flores conversation regarding the topic of valid coaching...
Tim Benz: Tom Brady’s retirement offers more than just memories of bitter defeat for Steelers fans
With Tom Brady’s retirement from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week, that assures one thing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Well, two things. First of all, there’s another team that is now thrust into the offseason quarterback carousel (unless head coach Bruce Arians really believes his own Blaine Gabbert hype). Secondly,...
With both coaches in place, Robert Morris men’s and women’s hockey can focus on rebuilding rosters
For the recently reinstated Robert Morris University ice hockey programs, maybe these were the last of the first steps toward a return to the ice. With two head coaches now entrenched, the big strides toward rebuilding can truly begin. Both programs were cut by the university in May 2021. But...
Was Trai Turner’s first season with the Steelers also his last?
Trai Turner joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in June. Was he done with them by January? Turner during the 2021 season dutifully filled his designated role as starting right guard and steadying veteran presence for a young offensive line. But he played under a one-year contract which, by its nature, suggests...
Rams’ Matthew Stafford hopes to follow in Clayton Kershaw’s footsteps
LOS ANGELES — Matthew Stafford got a call this week from a childhood friend who knows a little something about waiting a long time to win his first championship. Clayton Kershaw is hoping to be at SoFi Stadium next Sunday when Stafford leads the Los Angeles Rams (15-5) in search...
Jaguars name Doug Pederson as next coach
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars hired Doug Pederson as their head coach Thursday night, ending a wild and winding search that ended up where it started more than a month ago. Pederson, who led the Philadelphia Eagles to their lone Super Bowl title, was Jacksonville’s first candidate interviewed when...
Browns owner: Hue Jackson ‘never accepted’ blame for losing
CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam denied paying former coach Hue Jackson for losing games and said his one-time employee is only good at “pointing fingers” and needs to accept some blame for his dreadful NFL record. Earlier this week, Jackson intimated in a series of posts on Twitter...
Robert Morris struggles on road again in loss to Illinois-Chicago
If there’s one thing that irks Robert Morris men’s basketball coach Andy Toole as much as anything, it’s when his teams fall asleep on defense. As much as he tried Thursday night in Chicago, Toole wasn’t able to wake up the Colonials long enough to see them get their first...
Gorgeous day at Pebble and Tom Hoge has a scorecard to matchVideo
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Tom Hoge enjoys being at Pebble Beach even in a frigid wind and relentless rain. He loved it even more Thursday in brilliant sunshine, especially with nine birdies on his card. Hoge began his day along the Pacific Ocean with a 30-foot birdie putt on No....
Apparent beating of 49ers fan outside SoFi Stadium was kept secret for days, raising questions as Super Bowl nearsVideo
LOS ANGELES — Officials faced mounting questions Thursday about why they didn’t inform the public about the apparent beating of a San Francisco 49ers fan outside SoFi Stadium on Sunday and whether more security measures are needed before the Super Bowl. It took three days and an inquiry from The...
Team event up 1st as Olympic figure skating beginsVideo
BEIJING — The team competition in Olympic figure skating always has been a three-team scramble for the podium. There’s the Russians, who won gold at the event’s 2014 debut in Sochi and silver in Pyeongchang. There’s the Canadians, who took silver before winning gold four years later. And there’s the...
Pat Narduzzi likes his 2022 Pitt roster, but 3 transfers fill some holes
Pat Narduzzi’s feelings shifted from pleased to proud when he walked inside Pitt’s indoor practice facility. There, he found the defending ACC champions in the midst of workouts, preparing for the start of spring — actually, late winter — drills Feb. 28. “When you look around,” he thought to himself,...
Olympic spotlight back on China for a covid-tinged GamesVideo
BEIJING — Long before the global pandemic upended sports and the world in general, the 2022 Winter Olympics faced unsettling problems. It started with the fact that hardly anybody wanted to host them. Beijing ended up solving that problem, but only after four European cities thought about it and dropped...
Former Robert Morris hockey player, assistant Logan Bittle named head coach of the women’s team
When the Robert Morris women’s hockey program returns to the ice in time for the 2023-24 season, a familiar face will be behind the bench. Athletic director Chris King announced Thursday that Logan Bittle, who spent 10 years at Robert Morris as an assistant and associate head coach after playing...
Ryan Larsen named football coach at Carnegie Mellon
While he has big shoes to fill, Ryan Larsen is excited to begin his quest as the next head football coach at Carnegie Mellon. “I cannot wait to get to work,” said Larsen, who was announced Thursday as the replacement for longtime coach Rich Lackner, who stepped down after 36...
Elway defends himself, says Flores interview was no shamVideo
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — John Elway is refuting Brian Flores’ claim in a lawsuit that his interview with the Denver Broncos in 2019 was a sham and conducted only to satisfy the NFL’s Rooney Rule. “While I was not planning to respond publicly to the false and defamatory claims by Brian...
Report: Mickelson accuses PGA Tour of ‘obnoxious greed’Video
KING ABDULLAH ECONOMIC CITY, Saudi Arabia — Phil Mickelson claims the “obnoxious greed” of the PGA Tour and its ownership of media rights are why players are tempted by the prospects of rival tours, such as one backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Golf Digest reported. Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau...
Hall of Fame coach Bill Fitch dies, led Celtics to ’81 titleVideo
CLEVELAND — Bill Fitch, who guided the Boston Celtics to one of their championships during a Hall of Fame coaching career spanning three decades, has died. He was 89. A two-time NBA Coach of the Year, Fitch died Wednesday in Lake Conroe, Texas. Fitch’s daughter, Marcy Ann Coville, told Indiana...
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin: ‘I know I can play better. And I will’Video
It was a play that displayed the brilliance that will ensure him a plaque in the Hockey Hall of Fame. And he didn’t even get an assist on it. During Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime home loss to the rival Washington Capitals, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin helped set up his team’s second...
