Sports category, Page 1664
First Call: Questions about Al Villanueva’s status, Chase Claypool’s discipline, JuJu Smith-Schuster’s knee
Thursday’s “First Call” is caked with Steelers conversation. We look at Alejandro Villanueva’s future. Steven Nelson’s possible suitors. Potential discipline for Chase Claypool. And concerns about JuJu Smith-Schuster’s knee. And for hockey fans, a forecast of how Pittsburgh’s “Frozen Four” may turn out. Doubling down? It’s been a week on...
How did your March Madness bracket get busted? One coach explains the path to all those upsets
Is your March Madness bracket busted? Yeah. Mine, too. Whose isn’t? If ever there was a year to “expect the unexpected” in the NCAA tournament, this is it. After all, with the odd circumstances affecting almost every conference — and nearly every team that qualified for the tournament — it...
This date in sports history: March 25Video
1934 — Horton Smith wins the first Masters golf tournament by one stroke over Craig Wood. 1947 — Holy Cross, led by George Kaftan, beats Oklahoma, 58-47, in the NCAA basketball championship. 1958 — Sugar Ray Robinson regains the middleweight title for a record fifth time with a 15-round decision...
Empty Thoughts: Penguins 5, Sabres 2Video
Observations from the Penguins’ 5-2 win against the Sabres: First things first, there was no substantive update on Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen following the game. He left the contest after dealing with some kind of injury throughout the second period. At one point, he was in so much discomfort he...
Minor league report: Penguins lose fifth straightVideo
Forwards Josh Currie and Tim Schaller each had a goal and two assists for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 6-3 home loss to the Syracuse Crunch at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (5-5-3-1) has lost five consecutive games. Forward Nick Schilkey also scored a goal for the...
Son of former Steeler Ryan Switzer going to Boston hospital for care
CLEVELAND — Browns wide receiver Ryan Switzer said his 9-month-old son is being transferred to a Boston hospital specializing in rare children’s illnesses. Switzer provided an update Wednesday with a live video on his Instagram account from his son Christian’s hospital room at Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina....
David Yanni drives in 7 runs in Pitt’s 17-9 victory against Bucknell
David Yanni hit and later got hit — both times with the bases loaded — and the result was Pitt’s 17-9 victory against Bucknell in the Panthers’ home opener Wednesday at Charles L. Cost Field. Pitt had opened the season with 16 consecutive road games. “Guys were excited to get...
Penguins batter lowly Sabres, lose forward Kasperi Kapanen
It’s pretty clear what the Pittsburgh Penguins’ top line is these days. Jake Guentzel, Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust. A more cynical perspective might label that as the Penguins’ only line. In all reality, there are no other options considering injuries have waylaid the likes of forwards Teddy Blueger, Evgeni...
Saint Vincent women, Westminster men recognized for title run with PAC awards
Defense was a big part of Saint Vincent’s run to a conference championship. Coaching had a little to do with it, too. Both were exemplified by a key senior and the Bearcats’ unfettered leader on the sidelines. The Presidents’ Athletic Conference recognized both with postseason awards Wednesday. Saint Vincent guard...
Blues hockey great Bob Plager dies in car accident
ST. LOUIS — Former St. Louis Blues defenseman Bob Plager was killed Wednesday in a car crash in St. Louis. He was 78. Police said Plager was alone in his vehicle when it collided with a vehicle carrying two women on Interstate 64 in St. Louis about 1:30 p.m. One...
Match Play championship brings out emotions, upsetsVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — Jon Rahm and Patrick Cantlay thrust their fists in celebration with birdies on the final hole to win, the kind of emotions typical for a final round. In the Dell Technologies Match Play, every day can feel like Sunday. The opening round of group play Wednesday featured...
Experience still matters to teams in NCAA Sweet 16Video
Michigan’s second-round game against LSU was intense from the start. Up and down the court the teams went, trading runs and momentum swings with the season on the line. One player for the Wolverines seemed calm and steady: guard Eli Brooks. “I think just all the amount of reps we...
U mad, bro?: Salty Steelers fans. Mad Mike Tomlin critics. Jacked-up JuJu defenders. Chase Claypool’s angry fan club.
This week’s “U mad, bro?” features some salty Steelers fans. Chase Claypool’s fan club is ready to “fight back.” Mad Mike Tomlin critics. And jacked up JuJu Smith-Schuster defenders. In other words, March is going out like a lion. Speaking of the Lions, who thinks they may have a better...
Pitt sophomore Abdoul Karim Coulibaly will transfer; 4th team member to leave in past month
Pitt coach Jeff Capel’s roster reclamation job became bigger and more important Wednesday when sophomore forward Abdoul Karim Coulibaly, who provided a presence in the paint, entered the NCAA transfer portal, according to university officials. Coulibaly started 20 of 22 games this season. He is the third member of Pitt’s...
JT Brubaker throws 5 innings, Nick Gonzales homers as Pirates rally to beat Braves
On a day when the Pittsburgh Pirates lost one starting pitcher for at least the next two months, another came through with a performance that proved he is ready for a spot in the rotation. With lefty Steven Brault (left lat strain) out, right-hander JT Brubaker delivered the deepest outing...
Steelers bring back reserve OLB Cassius Marsh on 1-year contract
Linebacker Cassius Marsh, whose three-team tour of the NFL last season ended with a brief appearance with the Steelers, returned to the organization Wednesday after signing a one-year contract. Marsh previously played for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts last season before the Steelers signed him from Indy’s practice squad...
Syracuse stay defenders of the zone as other NCAA powers man upVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — It had been nearly a decade since West Virginia coach Bob Huggins had to draw up a game plan to beat the infuriating zone defense run by Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, going all the way back to their time together in the old Big East. The job hasn’t...
Lower cap leads to more cuts than usual in NFL
If it seemed as if NFL teams have been shedding contracts nearly as fast as signing them in recent weeks that’s because it’s almost true. With a shrinking salary cap in a sport with few contracts that are fully guaranteed, teams have spent the weeks leading up to free agency...
MLB steps up ball monitoring to suppress foreign substances
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball is increasing its monitoring of baseballs in an attempt to suppress any use of foreign substances by pitchers. Mike Hill, newly hired as executive vice president of baseball operations and disciplinarian, wrote in a memorandum to team officials on Tuesday that “players are subject...
Former Steelers OLB Bud Dupree thanks teammates, coaches, fans in farewell article
Bud Dupree wanted to say goodbye to Pittsburgh and Steelers fans after spending six seasons wearing the black and gold. It was a farewell that didn’t quite fit into 280 Twitter characters. One week after joining the Tennessee Titans in free agency, the 28-year-old outside linebacker penned a lengthy goodbye...
Betting sites offer software blocks for compulsive gamblers
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Some sports betting companies are offering tools that allow compulsive gamblers to block themselves from most online sites. Unibet last week announced it was making software from U.K.-based Gamban available to customers in the U.S. The tools allow customers to in effect ban themselves from gambling...
Penguins forward Radim Zohorna already stands out
Things looked different to Mike Matheson on Tuesday. Like 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds of different. During the Penguins’ practice in Cranberry, the veteran defenseman worked the point on the team’s second power-play unit with an imposing net-front presence above the crease in the form of rookie forward Radim Zohorna. “I’ve...
Linebacker Rob Spillane signs contract tender with Steelers
Inside linebacker Robert Spillane, who emerged as a starter last season after Devin Bush’s season-ending ACL injury, signed his exclusive rights tender with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday. Spillane was tendered his one-year contract before the start of the new NFL calendar season March 17, but he was vacationing and...
Ohio State player E.J. Liddell speaks out about social-media abuse
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State star E.J. Liddell says he’ll continue speaking out against social-media users who direct racist, abusive and threatening messages at him and other athletes. Liddell was rattled by a social-media rant directed at him after the Buckeyes were upset by Oral Roberts in the first round...
Former Penn State standout Donovan Smith reportedly cashes in with new contract
Former Penn State left tackle Donovan Smith has had a good couple of months. In February, he won Super Bowl XLV with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And Wednesday, he reportedly agreed to a lucrative contract extension to continue to protect Tom Brady’s blindside. Smith and the Bucs agreed to a...
