Sports category, Page 159
Pirates farm report for Aug. 30, 2025: Esmerlyn Valdez powers Curve with 3-run homer
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 75-55) edged out Buffalo (Blue Jays), 2-1, despite being held to four hits. LF Jase Bowen (.254) went 2 for 3 with a double, triple, run scored and RBI. CF Sammy Siani (.267) went 1 for 3 with a run scored. RHP Chase Shugart (1.00) started and went...
Riverhounds give up lead, lose at Tampa Bay
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds have hit a late summer slump of sorts, giving up a pair of second-half goals and falling 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday night. The Riverhounds (7-8-7) are winless in their last four games (0-2-2) and have slipped into seventh place in the USL Championship...
Coco Gauff vs. Naomi Osaka is next at U.S. Open
NEW YORK — Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka set up a high-profile showdown between two past title winners in the U.S. Open’s fourth round with victories Saturday. “Everyone will be watching,” Venus Williams said. “That’s what tennis needs.” Their meeting Monday, with a quarterfinal berth at stake, is a rematch...
Florida State stuns No. 8 Alabama, delivering blow to Crimson Tide’s playoff hopesVideo
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — New quarterback Tommy Castellanos led a punishing rushing attack for Florida State with 78 yards and a touchdown as the Seminoles stunned No. 8 Alabama, 31-17, on Saturday, ending the Crimson Tide’s streak of 23 straight wins in season openers. Coming off a 2-10 season, Florida State...
Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen lead No. 2 Penn State in opening romp over NevadaVideo
UNIVERSITY PARK — Nicholas Singleton ran for two touchdowns, Penn State forced three turnovers and the No. 2 Nittany Lions pulled away to beat Nevada, 46-11, on Saturday in the opener for both teams. Singleton capped Penn State’s opening possession with a 1-yard run then scored on another short plunge...
Behind big 6th inning, Pirates score 10 runs, most ever against Red Sox
The Pittsburgh Pirates already had scored four runs when Oneil Cruz crushed a solo home run over the Green Monster to start a five-run sixth inning that put them in position to do something special. Not since 1915 — when Hall of Famers Max Carey and Honus Wagner were in...
Jelena Ostapenko apologizes for what she said to Taylor Townsend
NEW YORK — Jelena Ostapenko apologized on social media Saturday for telling Taylor Townsend she had “no education” after losing to her at the U.S. Open earlier in the week, explaining that she intended to call out Townsend for what Ostapenko perceived as poor tennis etiquette. Ostapenko, the 2017 French...
Why U.S. Open postmatch handshakes sometimes go awry
NEW YORK — There’s been a lot of talk about the unwritten rules of tennis during Week 1 of this U.S. Open, whether it’s the necessity of a “sorry, not sorry” raised hand after a let cord, the proper way to warm up with an opponent or the legitimacy of...
Chase Briscoe’s NASCAR playoff expectations rise at Darlington
DARLINGTON, S.C. — The pressure has ramped up for defending Southern 500 winner Chase Briscoe as the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs approach. Then again, all playoff drivers feel things heating up at Darlington Raceway as the postseason begins. A season ago, Briscoe was on the outside hoping to squeeze into...
WVU overcomes slow start to pull away from Robert Morris in season opener
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A “Tiger” was on the loose Saturday at West Virginia. When Robert Morris coach Bernard Clark met the media after the Colonials’ season-opening 45-3 loss to the Mountaineers, he wasn’t in the mood for moral victories. “It’s just not in my DNA,” said Clark, the former Orange...
Josef Newgarden’s nightmare IndyCar season pulls into Nashville
LEBANON, Tenn. — Josef Newgarden, two-time IndyCar champion and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, wrote a children’s book about his first Indy victory titled “Josef’s Big Dream.” Midway through this miserable year he proposed a sequel: “Josef’s Bad Season.” Gallows humor, sure, but he’s not really laughing. If Newgarden doesn’t win...
Former Southmoreland QB Anthony Smith enrolls at high school in West Virginia
Maligned sophomore quarterback Anthony Smith, who transferred from Southmoreland to Seton LaSalle where he was ruled ineligible for the season, has enrolled at Fairmont Senior High School in Fairmont, W.Va. Smith (6-foot-2, 190 pounds), a Division I prospect with three scholarship offers, was added to the Polar Bears’ roster Tuesday...
Pirates place Ronny Simon on IL with dislocated shoulder, recall Cam Devanney
The Pittsburgh Pirates placed outfielder Ronny Simon on the 10-day injured list with a dislocated left shoulder and recalled infielder Cam Devanney before Saturday’s game at the Boston Red Sox. Simon was serving as a pinch runner for Andrew McCutchen when he was injured during a head-first slide into home...
Julian Sayin, defense propel No. 3 Ohio State past Arch Manning, top-ranked TexasVideo
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State coach Ryan Day and his players spent the preseason saying the opener against top-ranked Texas wouldn’t be about defending last year’s national championship but about establishing the identity of this year’s team. Julian Sayin and the defense took a big first step toward accomplishing that....
TE Jonnu Smith ready for 3rd go-round with Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith
Jonnu Smith flashed a smile last week when he was asked about his collaboration with Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. It’s a question Smith estimates he has answered a million times. From a four-year association with the Tennessee Titans to a 2023 season spent together on the Atlanta Falcons...
Eli Holstein throws career-high 4 TDs as Pitt steamrolls Duquesne in opener
Perfection eluded Pitt on Saturday at Acrisure Stadium in its season-opening thumping of Duquesne. Coach Pat Narduzzi likely will dial in on the Panthers’ slow offensive start, an ugly interception by Eli Holstein and some other miscellaneous mishaps when he reviews the game tape. But on the heels of a...
Lee Corso picks Ohio State over Texas in final ‘College GameDay’ appearanceVideo
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Just as it was the first time, Lee Corso’s final headgear pick was Brutus Buckeye. Corso selected the third-ranked Buckeyes to beat top-ranked Texas on his final appearance on ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday. “This is one of the easiest picks I’ve ever made. Texas is loaded....
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Only Steelers fans value TJ Watt over Micah Parsons, Myles Garrett
Micah Parsons got traded from Dallas to Green Bay, then signed a four-year contract worth $47 million per year. T.J. Watt’s new deal only calls for $41 million per year. Time to hold in. Time to renegotiate. Time for autocorrect. Myles Garrett’s contract in Cleveland pays just $40 million per....
Roman Thompson thrives in ‘violent game,’ carries Central Catholic past Pine-Richland
If any game perfectly fits Central Catholic’s Roman Thompson, this three-hour battle with Pine-Richland was surely the one. Ruthlessly physical for all four quarters, a kicker was hurt on the first play, a top lineman was helped off the field later and countless other players got banged up Friday night,...
Pirates farm report for Aug. 29, 2025: Konnor Griffin’s 2 homers, 7 RBIs fuel Curve victory
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 74-55) scored a 5-3 victory over Buffalo (Blue Jays). 1B Nick Yorke (.288) had four hits, and DH Brett Sullivan (.204), LF Sammy Siani (.259) and C Rafael Flores (.273) all homered. Flores’ was a two-run shot. RF Nick Solak (.331) was 2 for 4 with an RBI...
High school football roundup for Aug. 29, 2025: Mars scores in final seconds to top Bethel Park
Liam Corcoran scored on a 3-yard run with 15 seconds left in the game to give Class 4A No. 5 Mars a 17-13 win at Class 5A No. 5 Bethel Park (1-1) in a nonconference football game Friday night in the South Hills. Corcoran then intercepted a pass on the...
Samir Crosby steals show as Greensburg Central Catholic rolls past Mt. Pleasant
Samir Crosby put on quite a show Friday night at Mt. Pleasant. The Greensburg Central Catholic senior rushed for 121 yards and a score, caught seven passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns and returned a punt 50 yards to set up the game’s first score to help the Centurions...
Andrew McCutchen, Tommy Pham upstage young hurlers as Pirates rally to beat Red Sox
As much anticipation as there was for Paul Skenes to pitch for the first time at Fenway Park, it was even greater for Payton Tolle to make his major-league debut for the Boston Red Sox. At 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, the mustachioed left-hander looked like a mirror image of Skenes last...
Carlos Alcaraz’s brief knee problem at the US Open doesn’t slow him down in a win
NEW YORK — Carlos Alcaraz was cruising along in the U.S. Open’s third round, leading by a set and a break after taking 10 of the first 14 games in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday, when an awkward step while striking a forehand caused an issue with his right knee....
Savannah Bananas bring tricks, flips to Pittsburgh’s PNC Park
Alex “Ziggy” Ziegler, a Butler native and bat trickster for the Savannah Bananas, choked up when he walked out onto the field at PNC Park on Friday. For those who don’t know, the Savannah Bananas are an exhibition baseball team known for Banana Ball — a fast-paced, entertainment-driven twist on...
