Sports category, Page 1691
Penn State football adds safety commit, continues Lackawanna College pipeline
Penn State football picked up its second commitment in the 2022 recruiting class in five days Wednesday morning. Safety Tyrece Mills committed to the Nittany Lions and head coach James Franklin via his personal Twitter account. “It’s been a long hard fought journey trying to stay out the way in...
Alejandro Villanueva embraces joining Ravens, takes veiled shot at JuJu Smith-Schuster
As is customary for most NFL teams when their signings in free agency become official, Alejandro Villanueva was made available to the media Wednesday. The veteran left tackle’s comments might raise some eyebrows with the fans and players of his former team. Villanueva joined the Baltimore Ravens for a reported...
Pitt baseball escapes shadow of covid-19 pause
Mike Bell knew it was coming. Football couldn’t escape it. Men’s basketball found its routine disrupted, too. How could baseball, the most successful of those three Pitt sports this academic year, hide from the scourge of covid-19? After winning eight of 11 games in April, No. 14 Pitt (20-12, 14-10...
Slippery Rock tabs Greensburg native Roberta Page as university’s 1st female athletic director
Slippery Rock has found its next athletic director. On Wednesday, the school announced the hiring of 1988 SRU alumna and 2015 Rock Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Dr. Roberta Page as its next director of intercollegiate athletics. She will replace Paul Lueken — the longest tenured athletic director in department...
It’s been a banner spring for Seton Hill sports teams
Spring sports teams at Seton Hill felt they had plenty to prove after their 2020 seasons were sawed short because of the pandemic. Many of them have used this year to take out pent up frustration, and it led to conference titles, national rankings and potentially pending success in the...
NHL suspends Flyers’ Shayne Gostisbehere for 2 games for late hit on Penguins’ Mark Friedman
The NHL Department of Player Safety announced Wednesday it was issuing a two-game suspension to Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere for his hit on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Mark Friedman during the previous evening’s game. Gostisbehere was assessed a two-minute penalty for cross-checking after he shoved Friedman moments after Friedman added...
Mark Madden: While many draft needs were addressed, the Steelers still need a cornerback
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ draft did a lot to fix their offense, specifically their running game. But is their defense broken? The Steelers’ playmaking defense has been the team’s cornerstone the last two seasons. It was third- and second-best in yards allowed per play in 2020 (4.9) and 2019 (4.7). It...
Pirates closer Richard Rodriguez completes reliever’s equivalent of a perfect game
When Austin Nola hit a deep fly to left field, the Pittsburgh Pirates had to hold their breath a moment before Ka’ai Tom made a catch at the warning track. Even before getting the final out of the 2-1 win over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night for his...
Travis Swaggerty hits leadoff homer, as Pirates prospects start minor league season with blasts
The Pittsburgh Pirates raised eyebrows by having outfielder Travis Swaggerty report to the Indianapolis Indians, skipping a step in the minor leagues to make the jump to Triple-A. Ranked the Pirates’ No. 9 prospect by MLB Pipeline (and No. 14 by Baseball America), the 2018 first-round pick rewarded their confidence...
Connor McDavid focused on playoffs, not 100 points in 56 games
Connor McDavid is within reach of a milestone that could go down in hockey history. McDavid needs seven points in Edmonton’s final five games to reach 100 in 56 games during this shortened NHL season. Getting there would be an achievement remembered alongside Wayne Gretzky’s 50 goals in 39 games,...
First Call: Steelers projected to get 3rd-round compensatory pick for Bud Dupree; Rangers rip NHL over Tom Wilson decision
The Pittsburgh Steelers are getting a sense of their 2022 draft compensation for losing Bud Dupree in free agency. And the franchise is finally getting some national praise for their 2021 draft class from a national outlet. In the NHL, the New York Rangers are irate over the lack of...
Tim Benz: One thing is clear for 2021 Steelers: T.J. Watt is never allowed to get hurt
With the NFL Draft in the books and the first wave of free agency completed, one thing has become abundantly clear for the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. T.J. Watt is not allowed to get hurt. Ever. Not a pulled calf. Not a jammed finger. Not a bee sting. Not a hangnail....
Steelers legend Jerome Bettis offers prediction about Ben Roethlisberger’s future, endorses drafting of Najee Harris
It should be no surprise that Steelers Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis is endorsing the franchise’s 2021 first-round draft pick, fellow running back Najee Jerome Harris (Alabama). Yup. He’s got a “Jerome” and a “Harris” in his name. That’s a pretty decent way to get off to a good start...
This Date in Sports History: May 5
1904 — Cy Young of the Red Sox pitches a p+erfect game against the Philadelphia Athletics, beating Rube Waddell, 3-0. 1934 — Cavalcade wins the Kentucky Derby by more than three lengths over Discovery. It’s his third victory in less than two weeks. 1966 — The Montreal Canadiens beat the...
Empty Thoughts: Penguins 7, Flyers 3
Observations from the Penguins’ 7-3 win against the Flyers: First things first, no one got injured, substantially at least, in this game. That’s something of a minor miracle given how heated this was. If this game went five minutes longer, someone might have ended up in the hospital. Each instance...
Mitch Keller’s strong start leads Pirates past Padres to snap 5-game losing streak
Mitch Keller had a game plan to establish command of his fastball and use it inside and out, and the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander followed every sign catcher Jacob Stallings threw down for him. The result was Keller’s longest and most successful outing of a season where he has struggled, one...
Pirates farm report for May 4, 2021
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 1-0) blanked Iowa (Cubs), 3-0. Chase DeJong allowed two hits and struck out 10 in six innings. Geoff Hartlieb, Chasen Shreve and Jandel Gustave each pitched a perfect inning of relief with Gustave earning the save. CF Travis Swaggerty, a 2018 first-round pick, went 3 for 4 and...
Penguins’ top line sparks win against Flyers
The way Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan sees it, things don’t need to be complicated for his team to have success. Quite the opposite. Literally. “There’s an element of simplicity associated with our game that gives us a chance to be successful and makes us hard to play against,” Sullivan...
Golf notes: Only a few spots remain for British Open
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — The PGA Championship field will start to take shape after this week with the top 70 on a special PGA Tour money list getting into the field. For the U.S. Open, anyone not already eligible who doesn’t crack the top 60 in the world ranking can...
Robot umps and dogs, minor league ball back after lost year
TAMPA, Fla. — It took just four batters at George Steinbrenner Field before a fan yelled “C’mon, blue!” toward home plate umpire Kaleb Devier after two consecutive close pitches were called balls. Never mind that a computer was making the calls. Didn’t matter Tuesday night as the Tampa Tarpons took...
Pirates place RF Gregory Polanco on IL, select Hunter Owen from taxi squad
The Pittsburgh Pirates placed right fielder Gregory Polanco on the injured list Tuesday and selected infielder/outfielder Hunter Owen to the major league roster from the taxi squad. Polanco is batting .200 with three doubles, three home runs and five RBIs through 24 games. He was 0 for 3 in the...
Pete Alonso cites fictional coach, unhappy with Mets change
NEW YORK — Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor learned from phones messages that the New York Mets had fired hitting coach Chili Davis and assistant Tom Slater, a move that left players unhappy. New York made the announcement late Monday night, two days after Alonso started to publicly mention the...
Penguins notes: Defenseman Mark Friedman hopes to make the most of chance
Having played all of 15 NHL games over three seasons, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Mark Friedman isn’t all that particular over how opportunity arrives. He’s just grateful when it does arrive. “An opportunity is an opportunity,” Friedman said via video conference. “In this business, when you get an opportunity, you’ve got...
Column: Another long road back for slumping Henrik StensonVideo
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — The tee markers at the Valspar Championship were paint cans, except they were filled with sand. This would have been useful information for Henrik Stenson, known to take out his frustrations on inanimate objects. That was never going to be an issue at Innisbrook. Sure, the...
‘Everybody’s tired’ as condensed NHL schedule takes its toll
It was the second night of a back-to-back, and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 10th game in 18 days, and the defending Stanley Cup champions just didn’t have it. “Everybody’s tired,” coach Jon Cooper said after that loss to Carolina. “Not just our team — all the teams.” Fatigue has set...
