Sports category, Page 170
Pirates pitcher Johan Oviedo return to majors, set to make 2nd start of season
Right-handed pitcher Johan Oviedo will make his second start of the season Wednesday afternoon when the Pittsburgh Pirates host the Toronto Blue Jays, Pirates manager Don Kelly said Tuesday afternoon at PNC Park. Oviedo joined the team in Pittsburgh ahead of Tuesday’s matchup against the Blue Jays but has not...
Riverview QB Connor Kmetz returns from injury-interrupted season bigger, stronger, faster
Connor Kmetz was perfect. In the first half of last year’s victory over Valley, the Riverview quarterback completed all nine of his pass attempts for 125 yards and three touchdowns as the Raiders led 21-12 at the break of what turned out to be a 37-35 victory. However, Kmetz was...
Riverhounds announce planned expansion to stadium on Pittsburgh’s South ShoreVideo
Paul Heisley had a vision in 1999. It was not only to bring professional soccer to Pittsburgh but give it a home that would be a center for the sport in the city. He had blueprints. Even a place on the Monongahela River in Homestead to make his vision a...
After full year with Steelers, Brandon Johnson strives to make WR corps for season
Considering it’s been since Christmas Eve 2023 since he’d last scored a touchdown during the regular season, Brandon Johnson wasn’t going to complain that his most recent score came in a preseason game. Johnson had the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first points — a 2-yard touchdown reception from Mason Rudolph — in...
Steelers sign outside linebacker Kenny WillekesVideo
Two days before their preseason finale, the Pittsburgh Steelers added to their depth at edge defender by signing former Michigan State star Kenny Willekes. Willekes (6-foot-3, 264 pounds) had 26 sacks in 39 games over his final three college seasons but has not stuck in the NFL over the six...
Pitt notebook: Defense evens score with offense in scrimmage; RB2 emergesVideo
It’s a privilege for Pitt’s players to sport blue practice jerseys during fall camp, and the Panthers’ offense and defense compete for the honor throughout August. Scrimmages serve as that battleground, and, initially, on Aug. 9, it was the offense that came on top, earning the right to wear blue...
WPIAL announces new host stadium for Class 4A, 6A football championship games
Pine-Richland will host the WPIAL Class 4A and 6A football championship games this fall, with the four other finals played at Acrisure Stadium, the league announced Tuesday. The WPIAL in recent years had used Norwin as its alternate site for football championships, but that stadium is under renovation and unavailable....
Pitt announces 2025-26 men’s basketball nonconference schedule
Pitt men’s basketball announced its 2025-26 nonconference schedule Tuesday morning, featuring 13 games, including nine at home starting Nov. 3 against Youngstown State. Longwood visits Petersen Events Center on Nov. 7, followed by Eastern Michigan on Nov. 10. The Panthers then travel to Morgantown for the hardwood Backyard Brawl, facing...
First Call: Tommy Pham chirps back at Toronto catcher on social media; Gabe Davis to visit Bills after Steelers
Tuesday’s “First Call” has some fallout from that Pirates-Blue Jays scrum Monday night. We have an update on Vlad Guerrero’s injury from that game. An ex-Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back is now a Baltimore Raven. And we continue to watch the developments in Cincinnati regarding Trey Hendrickson’s contract situation. Discussing the...
Tim Benz: Vibe around potential Penguins sale changes as a buyer not named Mario Lemieux emerges
According to Elliotte Friedman of SportsNet.ca, the Chicago-based Hoffmann Family of Companies “has emerged as a serious contender” to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins from Fenway Sports Group. One of the businesses the Hoffmann Family owns is the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, winners of the Kelly Cup from 2022-24. Multiple stories emerged in recent...
Paul Skenes continues to be his own stopper after rare rough outings
As Paul Skenes began his outing against the American League East-leading Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night, he wasn’t wild about his four-seam fastball. “The first four-seamer I threw was terrible metrically,” Skenes said following the game. “After that, I threw one with a shape that I haven’t thrown at...
Pirates icon Andrew McCutchen marvels at Konnor Griffin making Double-A debut at 19
When Konnor Griffin makes his Double-A debut Tuesday night, the 19-year-old shortstop will become the youngest player ever for the Altoona Curve. Pittsburgh Pirates icon Andrew McCutchen can relate to reaching Double-A as a teenager — he made his Curve debut at 19 years, 10 months and five days on...
Henry Davis delivers at plate, Paul Skenes shines as Pirates pull away to beat Blue Jays
Henry Davis provides most of his support behind the plate, serving as the personal catcher to Paul Skenes on a night when the Pittsburgh Pirates ace fired fastballs that the Toronto Blue Jays couldn’t touch. But Davis delivered in a different way in the seventh inning, when he hit a...
WR Justin Jefferson returns to practice with Vikings after hamstring injuryVideo
EAGAN, Minn. — Justin Jefferson rejoined the Minnesota Vikings for practice after a mild strain of his left hamstring kept him sidelined for 3½ weeks. Jefferson was on the field for the light session Monday, the latest ramp-up of his activity since he suffered the injury during the second practice...
Imani Christian 4-star DB Gabe Jenkins commits to Penn State
Penn State already had a commitment from one talented Imani Christian defensive back, and now the Nittany Lions have another. Junior cornerback Gabriel Jenkins announced his commitment to Penn State on Monday, joining teammate David Davis, a senior who committed there in March. Another former Imani Christian standout, linebacker Dayshaun...
Report: Billionaire businessman a ‘serious contender’ to buy Penguins
A billionaire businessman who owns an ECHL hockey team in Florida has emerged as a “serious contender” to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins from Fenway Sports Group, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.ca reported Monday. According to the report, David Hoffmann and his family are trying to buy the team for about $1.75...
Mike Rupp won’t return to Penguins broadcasts this season
Television analyst Mike Rupp won’t be back on Penguins broadcasts this season. The former NHL winger confirmed Monday that he will not return for a third season as color analyst on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Rupp, Colby Armstrong and Phil Bourque rotated in as color analysts with play-by-play man Josh Getzoff on...
Steelers notes: As Calvin Austin III mends, will team add to its WR depth?
Monday became the latest occasion in which a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ brain trust expressed praise for the team’s wide receivers corps. Of course, it also became the latest day in which the team was reported to have sought to add to the position from the outside. Speaking about...
Facing a crunch at his position, Beanie Bishop fights to keep roster spot on Steelers
Beanie Bishop not only returned for his second NFL season as an incumbent starter at his position with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the player who shared slot/nickel with him last season was let go. But after the offseason additions of veterans Brandin Echols and Jalen Ramsey, Bishop not only isn’t assured...
Browns sign rookie wide receiver Isaiah Bond after sexual assault case is dropped
Undrafted rookie wide receiver Isaiah Bond signed with the Cleveland Browns on Monday, less than a week after a sexual assault case against him was dropped. Bond ran a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine — the ninth-fastest time among wide receivers — and was projected...
Playing with renewed confidence, LB Cole Holcomb looks for strong finish to Steelers preseason
When he took the field for the preseason opener, linebacker Cole Holcomb looked like someone who hadn’t played an organized football game in 21 months. Which, of course, he hadn’t. When he played last weekend against Tampa Bay, Holcomb looked like someone more at ease playing in the middle of...
Julian Sayin named Ohio State’s starting quarterback for season opener against Texas
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Julian Sayin will be Ohio State’s starting quarterback when the No. 3 Buckeyes open the season against top-ranked Texas on Aug. 30, coach Ryan Day announced Monday. Day, who is in his seventh year leading the Buckeyes, said Sayin was more consistent in the competition with Lincoln...
Nebraska-Omaha basketball player Deng Mayar drowns in a Utah reservoir
Nebraska-Omaha basketball player Deng Mayar drowned Saturday in a Utah reservoir, police said. Herriman police said Mayar died at Blackridge Reservoir after going underwater about 35 yards from shore. Mayar, 22, was a graduate student who joined the Mavericks after playing two seasons for Summit League rival North Dakota. Mayar,...
Joe Flacco selected as Browns starting QB for season opener against BengalsVideo
After four weeks, Joe Flacco has emerged as the winner of the Cleveland Browns’ four-way quarterback competition. The Browns announced Monday that Flacco will get the start when the Browns host AFC North rival Cincinnati in the Sept. 7 opener. Coach Kevin Stefanski indicated over the past week that decision...
Steelers add 3 to roster, including 37-year-old long snapper Jake McQuaide
The Pittsburgh Steelers made a flurry of roster moves in advance of their preseason finale, announcing the additions of a long snapper, cornerback and offensive lineman on Monday. Jake McQuaide, Kam Alexander and Julian Pearl were signed to the 90-man roster eight days before it needs trimming to 53 as...
