Sports category, Page 1417
Keith Dambrot navigates new Dukes through rough start to season
Consider the misfortune that has struck Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot in the past three months: • The day Dambrot turned 63 — two weeks before the Dukes’ first game — his father, Sidney, died at the age of 90. Sidney Dambrot played on Duquesne’s great teams of the 1950s, and...
Steelers’ T.J. Watt unanimously selected AP All Pro, Cam Heyward also on 1st team
For the second time in three seasons, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive teammates T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward were named first-team AP All-Pro. Watt, the Steelers’ outside linebacker who tied the NFL season record for sacks with 22½, was a unanimous choice of 50 media members who regularly cover the league. The...
ACC commissioner says CFP expansion should be put on hold
Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner Jim Phillips says now is not the time for College Football Playoff expansion, citing an abundance of uncertainty throughout college sports and the NCAA. “To the ACC, we don’t have a College Football Playoff problem,” Phillips said Friday during a conference call with reporters. “We have...
Penguins, Chatham University bring college hockey to Hunt Armory
With Robert Morris hockey on the shelf until the 2023-24 season, the Chatham Cougars men’s and women’s teams are the new local college hockey teams on center stage. Now the center stage itself is also new. For a few nights anyway. The Cougars men’s team will be playing a game...
Mark Madden: Evgeni Malkin needs to play within Penguins’ structure
The Pittsburgh Penguins just had a 10-game win streak. Jake Guentzel just had an 18-game points streak. Behold the majesty of 12 consecutive refreshing Penguins notes. Never stop never stopping! (Except the Penguins and Guentzel both got stopped.) • No one said Evgeni Malkin’s return would disrupt the Penguins’ chemistry....
Forward Jeff Carter extended his career with the Penguins, but for how long?
If things had ended for Jeff Carter in Los Angeles, he was more than comfortable with that. Having helped the Kings win the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014 — he scored the Cup-clinching goal in 2012 — Carter carved out an enduring legacy with that franchise. And there are...
Tim Benz: We’ve heard all week why the Steelers won’t beat the Chiefs. If they do, 3 things must happen
By now, you’ve probably heard a dozen reasons why the Kansas City Chiefs are going to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday night’s wild-card round playoff game. Unfortunately, I agree with just about all of them. If you play this game 100 times, the Chiefs probably win 95. But —...
First Call: Chiefs encouraged to rest stars vs. Steelers; Ben Roethlisberger rated worst QB in playoffs
Apparently, the postseason means open season on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Because everybody is taking pot shots. Meanwhile, ex-Steeler Melvin Ingram III is getting praise from his new Kansas City Chiefs teammates. And the Robert Morris women’s hockey team can add a third Olympian to its list of alumni. All that...
Novak Djokovic faces deportation as Australia revokes visa again
MELBOURNE, Australia — Tennis star Novak Djokovic faces deportation again after the Australian government revoked his visa for a second time. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said Friday he used his ministerial discretion to revoke the 34-year-old Serb’s visa on public interest grounds three days before the Australian Open is to...
Penguins’ defense falters in ugly loss to Kings
For as much as the Penguins are routinely celebrated as an offensive force – goals are as much their brand as the skating member of the taxonomic family Spheniscidae on the crest of their black and yellow jerseys – it’s been their defense that has largely buoyed whatever success they’ve...
Robert Morris loses another close conference game
The UPMC Events Center has been almost kind to the Robert Morris men’s basketball team since the Colonials switched conference allegiances before the start of last season. A bounce here, a bucket there could have been the difference between the team’s 2-9 record so far in its 11 Horizon League...
Novak Djokovic in Australian Open draw despite visa uncertainty
MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic now knows he’ll face fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round of his Australian Open title defense, if he’s allowed to play. Djokovic’s visa status dominated attention until the moment the draw was conducted Thursday, after a postponement of 75 minutes, to determine the...
Pitt rewards former walk-on guard Onyebuchi Ezeakudo with a scholarship
Onyebuchi Ezeakudo can omit the adjective walk-on from in front of his name. Ezeakudo, a 6-foot-1 senior point guard, was rewarded Thursday by Pitt coach Jeff Capel with a scholarship for the winter semester. A native of Fort Wayne, Ind., Ezeakudo has been with the Panthers for four seasons as...
Alexander Ovechkin, Connor McDavid headline NHL All-Star roster
NEW YORK — Washington star Alexander Ovechkin and high-scoring Edmonton Oilers teammates Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl headline the rosters for the NHL All-Star Weekend announced Thursday. Selected for the eighth time, Ovechkin led voting in the Metropolitan Division to earn the captaincy for the Feb. 4-5 event at T-Mobile...
U.S. Olympic men’s hockey roster includes 15 college playersVideo
Matty Beniers called his parents to ask them to answer a group FaceTime request so he could deliver some big news. Of course that’s how the 19-year-old would tell loved ones he is going to the Olympics. Beniers was one of 15 college players named Thursday to the U.S. Olympic...
Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry selected for All-Star Game eventVideo
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry was selected to the NHL’s upcoming All-Star Game event. He was the lone member of the team to receive this honor. The “game,” which is really a three-game tournament between the four squads based on the league’s four divisions, will be Feb. 5 in Las...
Pitt hires Frank Cignetti as offensive coordinator
Frank Cignetti Jr. is Pat Narduzzi’s choice as Pitt’s next offensive coordinator. Cignetti, 56, has been offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Boston College the past two seasons. He will replace Mark Whipple, who left for Nebraska after the season. Cignetti will be Narduzzi’s fifth offensive coordinator in eight seasons....
MLB talks resume after 42-day gap, little progress evidentVideo
NEW YORK — Baseball labor talks to end the lockout resumed Thursday for the first time in 1 1/2 months with little evident progress during a bargaining session that lasted about an hour, jeopardizing a timely start to spring training. MLB imposed the lockout Dec. 2 as soon as the...
PIAA denies Aliquippa appeal asking to avoid promotion to Class 5A football
The PIAA on Thursday denied an initial appeal from Aliquippa, which wants to avoid a pending promotion to Class 5A football next season. But the appeal process isn’t over. Aliquippa superintendent Phillip Woods said the school district will appeal again, this time to the entire PIAA board of directors, which...
Steelers must deal with Travis Kelce, full-strength Tyreek Hill this time vs. ChiefsVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The last time the Kansas City Chiefs played the Pittsburgh Steelers, their record-setting wide receiver had just recovered from covid-19 and their star tight end was sitting at home and still dealing with the virus. They still rolled to a 36-10 victory at Arrowhead Stadium. That...
Texans fire David Culley after just 1 season as coachVideo
HOUSTON — The Houston Texans have fired coach David Culley after just one season, a person familiar with the decision told the Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on Thursday on condition of anonymity because the move hadn’t been announced. His firing comes days after Houston closed a...
Jeff Capel remains hopeful in midst of Pitt’s ‘rebuild of a rebuild’
If you’ve watched Jeff Capel this season, you might notice the passion he puts into his job. He vigorously defends his players against officials’ calls he perceives as wrong, unfair or both. He speaks animatedly during timeouts, trying to ensure instructions to his players stick. In times of trouble during...
Guess who’s back? JuJu Smith-Schuster practices with Steelers 3 months after surgery
If JuJu Smith-Schuster’s return to practice Thursday for the Pittsburgh Steelers was unexpected to outsiders, imagine the reaction inside the locker room at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Three months after undergoing supposed season-ending surgery on his right shoulder, Smith-Schuster was designated to return from injured reserve, leaving open the possibility...
Concern ‘high’ about Najee Harris’ availability after he again misses Steelers practice
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris missed practice for a second consecutive day Thursday because of an elbow injury suffered during last week’s game. Coach Mike Tomlin, though, said Harris is “scheduled to” practice Friday, the final session before Sunday’s AFC wild-card playoff game at the Kansas City Chiefs. “I...
Diontae Johnson: No room on bandwagon ‘once’ Steelers beat Chiefs in playoffs
Add wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the list of Pittsburgh Steelers players unhappy with the perceived lack of respect the team is getting heading into the AFC playoffs against the Kansas City Chiefs. But while quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has led the charge by playfully using it as a motivational tool,...
