Sports category, Page 1593
The NBA awaits new champion, and path is wide openVideo
In this NBA, this much is already clear: There will be a new champion. A lot of first-time champions, too. The second round of the NBA playoffs start Saturday night, and nowhere to be found are the franchises that have combined to win almost two-thirds of the titles awarded in...
Bryson DeChambeau-Brooks Koepka feud continues in Koepka’s absence
DUBLIN, Ohio — Brooks Koepka isn’t playing the Memorial. It just sounded like it at times Friday. From the tee or from the fairway, Bryson DeChambeau would hit a shot only to hear someone in the crowd scream out, “Let’s go, Brooksy!” It was a not-so-subtle reminder of the beef...
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin undergoes knee surgeryVideo
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin underwent surgery on his right knee. The team announced his surgery Friday evening but did not specify when the surgery took place or the nature of his injury. According to a release from the team, Malkin is not expected to be available for the start...
Elizabeth Forward grad Daniel Jacobs earns All-American honors in javelin for Point ParkVideo
A little pizza goes a long way. Two hundred feet, 2 inches to be exact. To wit: Point Park’s Daniel Jacobs earned All-American status at the recent NAIA track and field national championships. The Elizabeth Forward grad placed fifth in the javelin with a throw of 200-2, becoming just the...
Belmont notes: Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. out after scary fall
NEW YORK — Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. is out of the Belmont Stakes after a scary fall while racing but seems to have escaped long-term injury. Ortiz was thrown off a horse during a race Thursday at Belmont Park and then trampled by the horse being ridden by younger brother...
Bryan Reynolds is back to barreling balls for the Pirates, who see CF as ‘major component’
In what now sounds like a game of telephone, where something gets lost in translation, Bryan Reynolds wanted to clarify a conversation he had with Jacob Stallings about only hitting home runs. Stallings joked about it after Reynolds hit his fourth home run in seven games Thursday night against Miami....
Supporters donate thousands to Jeannette athletics in memory of dedicated fan
All his life, Jay Clayton celebrated Jeannette athletics. You might say he put the Jay in Jayhawks. Now, Jeannette athletics are celebrating him. Clayton, a longtime Jayhawks fan, died in April at age 84. In lieu of flowers, Clayton wanted donations to be made directly to the Jeannette athletic department....
Islanders’ new home arena on horizonVideo
NEW YORK — On a rainy morning at Belmont Park, boots are an absolute necessity to trudge through the mud at the construction site of the New York Islanders’ new arena. It’s been a slog to get to this point, but brighter days are ahead. After more than a decade...
Sites, times announced for PIAA 1st-round softball playoff games
The six WPIAL softball champions will start their state tournament runs at Norwin, Peterswood Park or North Allegheny next week. The PIAA scheduled doubleheaders at all three venues. All first-round games are Monday. PIAA softball playoffs Class 6A 1-1 Spring-Ford vs. 11-2 Whitehall at Boyertown, 11 a.m. 2-1 Hazleton vs....
‘Formidable group’ of horses finish Triple Crown at Belmont
NEW YORK — The Kentucky Derby winner could be disqualified for the second time in three years, the Preakness winner pulled off a big upset and now nobody knows who is the best 3-year-old horse in the country. Perhaps it’ll be settled at the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. The Belmont...
Jets’ Mark Scheifele won’t appeal ‘excessive’ 4-game suspension
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele won’t appeal his four-game suspension for a crushing blow to the head and shoulder of Montreal’s Jake Evans. Scheifele called the NHL’s decision “excessive” but said Friday he doesn’t want to be a distraction for his team. He added that he did...
20 of 30 MLB teams reach 85% vaccinations, relax protocols
NEW YORK — Two-thirds of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams have been able to relax coronavirus protocols after four additional clubs qualified and raised the total to 20 franchises reaching 85% vaccinations for players and other on-field personnel. The commissioner’s office and the players’ association said Friday that two additional...
Steelers’ B.J. Finney ready to make most of 2nd chance
He had a seven-figure signing bonus in his bank account and a partially guaranteed contract assured, and he didn’t want to lose it. That is the Cliffs Notes version of how B.J. Finney showed up “overweight and out of shape” last year with the Seattle Seahawks, a decision that ultimately...
Home crowd now backs No. 2 Medvedev because of French coach
PARIS — Daniil Medvedev had never been past the first round at the French Open before. And his surprise reward for reaching the fourth round now is that he’s carrying the hopes of the French crowd. Why? Because there are no French players left in the men’s or women’s draw,...
Duke’s Jon Scheyer ‘not afraid’ of test as Krzyzewski’s successor
DURHAM, N.C. — Jon Scheyer remembers handling the pressure of playing for a national championship or in front of hostile crowds in high-profile games at Duke. He confidently points to that history in his approach to managing an even bigger challenge: being the successor to Mike Krzyzewski. “I’ve always been...
Brother of Steelers DE Stephon Tuitt killed in hit-and-run
The brother of Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt was struck and killed in a hit-and-run accident Wednesday night in Georgia. According to a police report, Richard Bartlett III was killed in Johns Creek, which is located about 25 miles northeast of Atlanta. WGCL-TV reported that Bartlett was struck when...
Penn State men’s basketball picks up 1st high school commitment under Micah Shrewsberry
STATE COLLEGE — The Penn State men’s basketball team picked up its first commitment from a high school prospect under new coach Micah Shrewsberry. Virginia point guard Kanye Clary announced his commitment to Shrewsberry and the Lions in a social media post Thursday evening. Clary tweeted his commitment came after...
Jordan Staal scores in OT, Hurricanes beat Lightning in Game 3
TAMPA, Fla. — Jordan Staal scored on a power play at 5:57 of overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night in Game 3 of the second-round series. Staal deflected Sebastien Aho’s shot with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov serving a penalty...
PIAA reveals 1st-round sites, times for state baseball playoffs
The PIAA on Friday released sites and times for next week’s first-round games in the state baseball playoffs. All games are Monday. Among the opening round games is an all-WPIAL matchup in Class 5A that pairs champion Franklin Regional against fourth-place finisher West Allegheny. They’ll meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday...
Carmouche riding at ‘new level’ into Belmont for first time
NEW YORK — Five months after breaking his right leg, Kendrick Carmouche needed to get back on a horse. “I start watching those horses go around the track,” he said, mimicking goosebumps popping up on his arms and tingling in his fingers. “That itch came back.” Carmouche came back with...
Mark Madden: Mark Scheifele’s hit has polarized hockey fans, but the incident has shades of gray
Near the conclusion of Wednesday’s NHL playoff game between Montreal and Winnipeg, the Canadiens’ Jake Evans scored a game-clinching empty-net goal on a wraparound. The Jets’ Mark Scheifele chugged into Evans just after he scored and knocked him flying. Evans received on-ice medical treatment for 10 minutes, then got stretchered...
‘We won a division for God’s sake’: Brian Burke defends Tristan Jarry, Mike Sullivan, core 3 and ‘Penguins DNA’
Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations Brian Burke hears the fans and media members who are voicing frustration and calling for change. Speaking on 105.9 The X on Thursday afternoon, Burke offered a straightforward reminder about the 2021 East Division champions. “We won a division for God’s sake,” Burke exclaimed...
First Call: Can the Maulers return in the new USFL?; a snag in Robert Morris hockey talks already; Jordan Staal comes up big
Friday’s “First Call” wonders if a return of the Pittsburgh Maulers could be coming. Brandon Saad and Jordan Staal are keeping Pittsburgh hockey fans interested in the NHL playoffs. Gerrit Cole gets burned by an ex-Pirates teammate. And things may already be going backward in the Robert Morris hockey negotiations....
This Date in Sports History: June 4
1870 — Ed Brown becomes the first African-American jockey to win the Belmont Stakes, with Kingfisher. 1927 — The United States wins the first Ryder Cup golf tournament by beating Britain, 9½-2½. 1932 — Faireno, ridden by Tommy Malley, wins the Belmont Stakes by 1½ lengths over Osculator. Burgoo King,...
Tim Benz: What was Bill Cowher’s best Steelers team he ever coached? His answer is surprising.
One of the more surprising declarations in Bill Cowher’s new book “Heart and Steel” comes when the former Pittsburgh Steelers coach describes the disappointment of losing the 1997 AFC Championship game. “That 1997 team might have been the best team we had in my 15 seasons in Pittsburgh,” Cowher wrote....
