Sports category, Page 1647
Empty Thoughts: Penguins 5, Rangers 2Video
Observations from the Penguins’ 5-2 win against the Rangers: The idiom “if the Penguins are fully healthy” is foolhardy. It’s an ideal they can strive for but rarely attain, especially in a grinder of a season such as the 2020-21 campaign being played during a global pandemic. Buuuuutttt … if...
Frozen Four in Pittsburgh: UMass beats 2-time defending champ Minnesota Duluth in OT
It’s been almost seven decades since college hockey has had a national championship “three-peat.” Fans of the sport who want to see another are going to have to Wait. Garrett Wait scored 14½ minutes into overtime to earn Massachusetts a berth in a second consecutive Frozen Four title game. The...
NHL grapples with vaccine inequity between U.S., CanadaVideo
His smile covered by a light blue surgical mask, Jacob Trouba’s eyes shined as the needle went into his left arm. The New York Rangers gave players, coaches and staff a day off this week so they could get vaccinated against covid-19. “We’re very fortunate to be able to get...
Dustin Johnson begins Masters defense with sloppy 74
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Dustin Johnson found conditions much more challenging Thursday than they were in November for his record-setting romp to the Masters green jacket. The result was a lackluster 2-over-par 74 that ended his unprecedented streak of below-par rounds at Augusta National. Johnson finished with a sloppy, double-bogey 6...
Penguins defense gets back on track in win against Rangers
Even if his team had given up at least the equivalent of a touchdown in its two previous games, captain Sidney Crosby didn’t feel substantial alterations were needed to get the Pittsburgh Penguins’ house in order. In Crosby’s eyes, an adjustment here and a tweak there would fortify the Penguins’...
Lance Armstrong’s son charged with sexual assault from 2018
AUSTIN, Texas — The son of former cyclist Lance Armstrong was charged with sexual assault from 2018 when he was 18, according to a police arrest warrant. The alleged victim told police in November 2020 she was assaulted by Luke Armstrong after he drove her from a party to his...
Justin Rose tames tough Augusta National, holds 4-shot lead at the MastersVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Even before the Masters began, it was obvious Augusta National in April was nothing like it was in November. Far less clear was which course Justin Rose was playing Thursday. Rose made seven birdies and an eagle during a torrid 10-hole stretch for a 7-under-par 65 and...
Masters notebook: Rory McIlroy sends errant shot off his father
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rory McIlroy hit his approach on the seventh hole Thursday at the Masters right where he was aiming. Problem was, he was aiming at his father. Here’s a tale that will be part of McIlroy family lore for probably forever: Gerry McIlroy was standing near the right...
Frozen Four in Pittsburgh: Final-minute goal gives St. Cloud State thrilling win
Nolan Walker sent these Huskies to Cloud Nine. Walker’s goal with 53.2 seconds to play sent St. Cloud State to its first hockey national championship game, lifting the Huskies to a 5-4 win against Minnesota State in the first of two Frozen Four semifinals Thursday evening at PPG Paints Arena....
Penguins notebook: Can Sam Lafferty replace Brandon Tanev in the lineup?
There’s only one Brandon Tanev. And the Pittsburgh Penguins have him. They just don’t have him in the lineup at the moment as the auger drill bit of a forechecking forward is expected to be sidelined a handful of weeks because of an undisclosed injury. There is really no true...
Mars graduate David Bednar’s 1-pitch outing promises to be long on memories
After several minutes of postgame handshakes, hugs and enough posing for pictures to fill several photo albums, it was time. David Bednar had to walk away from the crowd gathered along the left-field foul line at PNC Park. It wasn’t easy for Bednar, a Mars graduate, to leave his parents,...
Brooks Koepka refuses to blame rare bad round at Masters on knee painVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Brooks Koepka’s surgically repaired right knee wasn’t the problem in the opening round of the Masters. His swing was. Koepka never got clicking Thursday at Augusta National, his 2-over-par 74 putting him squarely in the middle of the Masters pack. He started with six pars and then...
Cubs belt 3 homers to spoil Pirates’ home opener
The first game with fans back at PNC Park was emotional for Derek Shelton, who spent his first season as Pittsburgh Pirates manager playing in an empty ballpark on the way to the worst record in baseball. So Shelton’s heart got pumping when the crowd came to life in the...
Penguins forward Teddy Blueger remains sidelined
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Teddy Blueger will miss Thursday’s road game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden because of an undisclosed injury. Blueger, who regularly has been skating in full capacity during practices as of late, will miss his 12th consecutive game. Coach Mike Sullivan indicated Blueger “continues...
Pitt plans to welcome 5,000 football fans into Heinz Field for spring game
They will be socially distanced and wearing masks, but football fans will be permitted inside Heinz Field when Pitt holds its Blue-Gold Spring Game at 1 p.m. April 24. Pitt officials announced Thursday that, with expanded gathering limits in Pennsylvania, a maximum of 5,000 people will be seated in pods...
Pirates manager Derek Shelton savoring return of fans for home opener at PNC Park
On the day Derek Shelton was introduced as Pittsburgh Pirates manager, a photo captured the moment he took his family through the dugout and onto the field at PNC Park for the first time. Shelton has the framed photo hanging in his office, and it’s the closest his family has...
Authorities: NFL player Phillip Adams killed 5, then himself
ROCK HILL, S.C. — Former NFL player Phillip Adams fatally shot five people, including a prominent doctor, his wife and their two grandchildren before killing himself early Thursday. York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson told a news conference that investigators had not yet determined a motive for Wednesday’s mass shooting. “There’s...
Tim Benz: As schedule eases, Penguins can’t afford a slump with points on the table
The Pittsburgh Penguins have nothing to worry about. This is just a little slump with about one-third of the season left. They’ve been playing so well, for so long now, that they are bound to pull out of it. I mean, good teams like this don’t fall in the tank...
First Call: Will Ben Roethlisberger stay with Steelers through 2022? A potential landing spot for James Conner
It’s an all-NFL “First Call” for Thursday morning with lots of Pittsburgh Steelers tidbits. At least one reporter thinks Ben Roethlisberger will be back with the Steelers after 2021 ends. A familiar foe from the AFC North is looking for work. And one outlet thinks it has found a landing...
20 years after PNC Park opener, Pittsburgh’s Sean Casey reflects on hitting 1st homer (and his quest for the ball)
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2021 home opener is Thursday afternoon at PNC Park. They host the Chicago Cubs at 1:35 p.m. The first regular-season game ever played at PNC Park — an 8-2 Pirates loss to the Cincinnati Reds — was April 9, 2001. That means the 20th anniversary of the...
This date in sports history: April 8Video
1935 — Gene Sarazen gets a double eagle on the 15th hole to erase Craig Wood’s three-stroke lead, and goes on to win the Masters. 1943 — The Detroit Red Wings beat the Boston Bruins, 2-0, to win the Stanley Cup with a four-game sweep. 1956 — Jack Burke, Jr....
Duquesne gets verbal commitment from Mercer (Ga.) transfer Leon Ayers III
Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot continued to use the NCAA transfer portal in an attempt to restock his roster, getting a verbal commitment Wednesday from former Mercer (Ga.) University player Leon Ayers III Blessed to have been given the opportunity to play college basketball at the highest level this has no...
Penn State’s James Franklin: ‘I’ll take any vaccine they can give me’
James Franklin won’t insist his Penn State football players get vaccinated against the coronavirus. “I don’t think you can ever mandate,” he said Wednesday on a conference call with reporters. “We’ve learned that in our country. You’re going to have a difficult time doing that.” But he will encourage, and...
Islanders acquire Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac from DevilsVideo
The New York Islanders acquired veteran forwards Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from the New Jersey Devils in a move to improve their Stanley Cup chances. The teams announced the deal Wednesday night, with the Devils getting the Islanders’ first-round pick this year, a conditional fourth-round choice next year and...
Masters notes: New dad Jon Rahm arrives sleep-deprived and happy
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jon Rahm arrived at the Masters on Wednesday, after not sleeping much or touching a club for the past few days. Such is life for a first-time father. Rahm and his wife, Kelley, welcomed their son — Kepa Cahill Rahm — on Friday, and it’s been a...
