Sports category, Page 1761
New Tokyo Olympic president tries to assure Japan on safety
TOKYO — The new president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee has begun holding weekly news conferences hoping to win over a doubting Japanese public with the postponed games opening in just under five months. Seiko Hashimoto is trying to assure everyone that the Olympics will be safe and secure,...
Football ‘March Madness’: Duquesne starts 4-game ‘spring season’ Sunday
It’s March Madness on the campus of Duquesne University. And I’m not just talking about the school’s upset win over Richmond in the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Thursday. Onto the next one ?#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/L0mDb1l6JU— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) March 4, 2021 I’m talking about the football team, too. Since the Northeast...
First Call: JuJu and J.J. together in Arizona?, Larry Fitzgerald’s future, Baker Mayfield saw a UFO
Friday’s “First Call” is stacked with news about JuJu Smith-Schuster, J.J. Watt, Larry Fitzgerald and Baker Mayfield. Also, UFOs and ice baths. I’ll let you guess the order. My turn! Now that Ben Roethlisberger’s contract is done, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster wants the Steelers to turn their attention to someone...
Tim Benz: Ben Roethlisberger’s new contract may not be the big picture fix some are anticipating
Let’s get the working of mechanics ironed out as we talk about Ben Roethlisberger’s new Pittsburgh Steelers contract. Then we’ll get to what all of this means. Because the words we use — and how we chose them — to describe Big Ben’s big decision are important to properly frame...
Empty Thoughts: Flyers 4, Penguins 3Video
Observations from the Penguins’ 4-3 loss to the Flyers: You don’t need to be all that steeped in the annals of hockey to know what the Penguins and Flyers rivalry is all about. It’s pretty simple really. The two base components of most great rivalries — history and geography —...
Walter Gretzky, father of NHL great Wayne Gretzky, dies at 82
TORONTO — Walter Gretzky, the father of hockey great Wayne Gretzky, has died. He was 82. Wayne Gretzky said in a social media post Thursday night that his father battled Parkinson’s disease and other health issues the past few years. “It’s with deep sadness that Janet and I share the...
This date in sports history: March 5Video
1924 — Frank Carauna, of Buffalo, N.Y., becomes the first to bowl two straight 300 games. Carauna throws five strikes to open his third game, giving him 29 straight strikes. 1931 — WGL radio broadcasts the first game of the American Basketball League championship series. The Brooklyn Visitations beat the...
Penguins stumble in late comeback win by Flyers
The Pittsburgh Penguins enjoyed something of a rare treat Thursday. They scored first. The first three times, in fact. In their first 21 games of the 2020-21 season, they have yielded the first goal 13 times and typically needed to mount some type of gutsy comeback in order to earn...
Pitt senior Nike Sibande says he’ll use bonus season of eligibility, return in 2021-22
A week after two players left the Pitt basketball program, coach Jeff Capel found one who could leave but wants to stay. Guard Nike Sibande, a senior transfer from Miami (Ohio), announced Thursday night on “The Jeff Capel Show” on 93.7 FM, that he plans to take advantage of the...
LeBron James, Kevin Durant choose All-Star teams
LeBron James has faced Giannis Antetokounmpo as an opponent in the last three All-Star Games. The Los Angeles Lakers star got him as a teammate this year. James used the No. 1 overall pick on Antetokounmpo — the NBA’s two-time reigning MVP from Milwaukee — in the draft for Sunday’s...
Bay Hill fans get to see show from Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeauVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Bay Hill was bustling Thursday, just like golf before the pandemic. The fans were limited in numbers, but they all wanted the same dose of entertainment provided by Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau. First it was McIlroy, slowly feeling better about his game, and with good reason....
LSU banned Les Miles from 1-on-1 contact with female students after 2013 investigationVideo
Kansas football coach Les Miles, during his tenure at LSU, was accused of kissing a female student and texting her and another from his personal phone, leading the school to bar him from being alone with women who were student employees, according to a 2013 LSU investigation that the school...
Sidney Crosby, Todd Reirden clear covid-19 protocol for Penguins
Penguins forward Sidney Crosby and assistant coach Todd Reirden have been given clearance to return to their team after clearing the NHL’s covid-19 protocol and will be available for Thursday’s home game against the rival Philadelphia Flyers at PPG Paints Arena. Crosby and Reirden were each absent for Tuesday’s 5-2...
Kevin Newman, Ke’Bryan Hayes stay hot, bullpen solid in Pirates’ spring win
Kevin Newman and Ke’Bryan continued to reach base and the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen continued to put up zeros Thursday. The Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-1, in a seven-inning game played at Bradenton’s LECOM Park. Hayes upped his spring on-base percentage to .556 with an RBI triple and single in...
Baker Mayfield ‘almost’ certain he saw a UFO flying over Texas
Count Baker Mayfield among those who “want to believe.” The Cleveland Browns quarterback decided to go to the one place all people seemingly go to after an encounter with the third kind — Twitter — to let the world know he is “almost” certain he saw a UFO on Wednesday...
Ali, Frazier and the Fight of the Century 50 years later
The money was huge — a cool $2.5 million apiece — and so was the stage for Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Their first fight at Madison Square Garden was so epic it was billed as the Fight of the Century, and 50 years later it reigns undefeated. Frazier was...
Boston Marathon plan to hand out 70,000 medals roils runners
BOSTON — Distance running, traditionally one of the world’s most genteel sports, has been roiled by an ugly mid-pandemic squabble over who should get a shot at a coveted Boston Marathon medal. Rival camps in the running world began snapping at each other’s heels this week. It began after the...
Penguins admit to altering Twitter photo showing fans wearing masks
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ Twitter account on Thursday was making news for the wrong reasons. A seemingly innocuous tweet from the team’s verified account Wednesday showed a Getty Images photo of fans applauding in the stands, with text saying, “Thanks for the continued support, Penguins fans.” Tuesday night’s game against the...
Steelers sign QB Ben Roethlisberger to new contract for 2021 season
Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to a contract Thursday that includes a pay cut for the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback and provides some much-needed salary cap relief for the organization. The contract is for one year and $14 million, according to national reports, and is $5 million less...
Duquesne rallies in 2nd half, beats Richmond to advance in Atlantic 10 Tournament
In a few words, senior Michael Hughes told the story of Duquesne’s season and the 67-62 victory against Richmond in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament. First, consider the Dukes trailed by seven at halftime, missed their first eight shots of the second half and were down eight...
Michael Jordan: LaMelo Ball has ‘exceeded our expectations’
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rookie LaMelo Ball has seized the attention of the NBA this season with his highlight reel passes and a surprising ability to score the basketball, including Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan. The six-time NBA champion said when the Hornets selected Ball with the No. 3 overall pick...
Major League Baseball to hold first Lou Gehrig Day on June 2
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball will hold its first Lou Gehrig Day on June 2, adding Gehrig to Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente on the short list of players honored throughout the big leagues. Each home team will have “4-ALS” logos in ballparks to mark Gehrig’s No. 4, and...
Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin fined $5K for spearing Bruins’ FredericVideo
NEW YORK — Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was fined $5,000 by the NHL on Thursday for spearing Boston Bruins rookie Trent Frederic, an amount that is the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement. Ovechkin delivered a spear in an upward direction to Frederic’s groin with five minutes left...
Sidney Crosby, Todd Reirden remain in covid-19 protocol for Penguins
Penguins forward Sidney Crosby and assistant coach Todd Reirden remain in the NHL’s protocol for absences related to covid-19 according to coach Mike Sullivan. Citing league rules, Sullivan declined to say if Crosby would be available for Thursday’s home game against the Philadelphia Flyers at PPG Paints Arena. Being in...
Once ‘fearful’ baseball career was over, Pirates’ Oneil Cruz embraces opportunity in outfield
When Oneil Cruz was involved in an auto accident that killed three people in September in his native Dominican Republic, the Pittsburgh Pirates prospect worried his blossoming baseball career was over. “In the beginning, I was very fearful of not being able to continue to play the game that I...
