Sports category, Page 1779
Penguins request opening PPG Paints Arena at 25% capacity
The Pittsburgh Penguins have made requests to Gov. Tom Wolf as well as the Pa. Department of Health seeking permission since the start of the NHL’s season in mid-January to open PPG Paints Arena to spectators at 25% capacity. The team presented a plan to the state for when it...
Gannon, West Chester top PSAC softball coaches polls
Gannon and West Chester will meet for the next Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference softball title. At least that’s the sentiment of conference coaches, who voted those teams as the division favorites on the eve of a new season. The PSAC will be broken into East and West divisions this year....
Burrell takes down Burgettstown to capture 15th straight WPIAL Class AA wrestling titleVideo
It didn’t take long for the Burrell wrestling team to let Burgettstown know what was in store for it during the WPIAL Class AA team championship Saturday at Canon-McMillan. No. 1 Burrell (13-1) used a quick start, winning its first six matches, and rolled to a 38-18 victory for its...
Denny Hamlin seeks historic 3rd straight Daytona 500 victory
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Denny Hamlin, considered perhaps the best NASCAR driver without a Cup Series championship, can look past that hole on his record. He instead points to a pair of Southern 500 trophies, a Bristol night race victory, three road course wins, six at Pocono and the big...
Rain washes out NASCAR’s final practices for Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Rain washed out the final two practices Saturday before NASCAR’s season-opening Daytona 500, a potential setback for the nine drivers switching cars before “The Great American Race.” Former Cup Series champions Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. as well as front-row qualifier William Byron are among...
Previewing the Pirates: Team has bull’s-eye on the bullpen, searching for a closer
When asked in December if the Pittsburgh Pirates have a closer, Derek Shelton gave a point-blank answer that put a bull’s-eye on the bullpen. “As of right now,” Shelton said, “no, I really don’t think we do.” The Pirates didn’t have a closer last season, either, as two-time All-Star Felipe...
Rested and (hopefully) refreshed, Pitt visits Georgia Tech as grind begins
College basketball enters the final month of the regular season, staggered by covid-19, but somehow still standing. Most scheduled games were played Saturday, but 22 were postponed or canceled, with six more called off Sunday. Pitt-Georgia Tech isn’t one of them. The game will tip at 4 p.m. Sunday at...
Working with Jack Wilson helps Pirates 1st-round pick Nick Gonzales find his own flash
The first day, the infield instructor kept close watch on the top-100 prospect with a vested interest, observing and analyzing every movement of the No. 7 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft. Finally, Jack Wilson asked Nick Gonzales this question: Do you want to know what I see? The...
Mark Madden Hot Take: Why would Ben Roethlisberger want to return to the Steelers?
Ben Roethlisberger has made $253.2 million in football earnings. So, take the $19 million he’s due if he plays in 2021 out of the equation. Roethlisberger doesn’t need the money. Maurkice Pouncey retired. He and Roethlisberger are tight. Vance McDonald retired. He and Roethlisberger are tight. Alejandro Villanueva will leave...
This date in sports history: Feb. 13Video
1923 — The New York Renaissance, the first all-black pro basketball team, is organized. The Rens become one of the dominant basketball team of the 1920s and 1930s. 1937 — Maribel Vinson wins her ninth and final U.S. figure skating singles championship. Robin Lee wins his third straight men’s title....
Minor league report: Nailers beat Komets in shootoutVideo
A shootout goal by forward Austin Fyten gave the Wheeling Nailers a 3-2 home win against the Fort Wayne Komets at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va. on Friday. Goaltender Francois Brassard made 40 saves on 42 shots in the victory while Fyten and defenseman Patrick McNally scored regulation goals for...
Robert Morris loses A.J. Bramah to transfer portal, beats Oakland in double OT
A dizzying series of events unfolded Friday night at Robert Morris’ UPMC Events Center, leading the Colonials to their first victory since New Year’s Day, an 88-82 double-overtime thriller against Oakland. In the end, it was difficult to determine what mattered most. Was it Kahliel Spear’s double-double that included 16...
NASCAR could be biggest leap yet for Michael JordanVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Michael Jordan might take his biggest leap yet — and he’s trying to change the game again. Jordan enters NASCAR not just as the first Black principal owner of a full-time Cup Series team in nearly 50 years. The Hall of Famer is trying to reach...
Newberry: FCS, Fan Controlled Football will get us through to the NFL DraftVideo
Are you ready for some (more) football? You see, there’s no reason to take a break from the gridiron just because the NFL season is over. A host of second-division college teams are practicing for their winter/spring season — snow-covered fields and all — after sitting out the fall because...
3 Brooklyn-born players set to tangle when Pitt visits Georgia Tech
At last look, the floor inside Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion isn’t made of concrete. Yet, it might feel that way for three intense competitors from Brooklyn, N.Y., who will play pivotal roles Sunday in the Pitt/Georgia Tech game in Atlanta. Pitt’s Justin Champagnie and Femi Odukale and Georgia Tech’s Jose...
Former Penguins power-play savant Todd Reirden looks to jumpstart struggling unit
The raw numbers, to be sure, are not pretty in regards to the Pittsburgh Penguins power play. But believe it or not, the deeper you dig, the worse it looks. The Penguins 13.5% conversion rate ranks 24th in the league and would have finished dead last compared to the 31...
Steelers teammates past, present, NFL world react to Maurkice Pouncey’s retirement
Twenty-four members of the Pittsburgh Steelers organization have already been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Five more have been voted into the exclusive Canton, Ohio, club and are due for formal induction later this year. Aside from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, there arguably wasn’t an active Steelers player...
In revised spring training schedule, Pirates play 29 games in 31 days, 15 at LECOM Park
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced their revised spring training schedule, with 29 Grapefruit League games in 31 days starting with the opener on Sun., Feb. 28, at the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota and the home opener on Tues., March 2, against the Detroit Tigers at LECOM Park. The Pirates will play...
J.J. Watt, Texans ‘mutually’ agree to split in more team upheaval
HOUSTON — J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans split Friday, ending the tenure of the face of the franchise and adding further turmoil to an offseason of upheaval. “I have sat down with the McNair family and I have asked them for my release and we have mutually agreed to...
Expected top pick Trevor Lawrence throws for Urban Meyer, NFL teams
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence worked out for several NFL personnel including his expected future pro coach, Urban Meyer of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The national championship winner is projected as the No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL draft, the spot held by the Jaguars. Lawrence had planned...
Baseball Hall of Fame cancels traditional ceremony, moves indoors
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Baseball’s Hall of Fame has canceled its traditional outdoor induction ceremony for the second straight summer because of the pandemic and plans an indoor, televised event for Derek Jeter and others being honored. Jeter, Larry Walker, Ted Simmons and late players’ association executive director Marvin Miller were...
Mark Madden: Penguins should stick with goalie Casey DeSmith
The Penguins don’t have a goaltending controversy. Well, not unless new GM Ron Hextall thinks he can still play. That might not be a bad idea. Casey DeSmith has to keep playing. That’s beyond debate, at least for now. Tristan Jarry played in last season’s NHL All-Star event. He finished...
J.J. Watt released by Texans; brother T.J. appears to campaign to bring him to Steelers
The first domino fell in the sequence of events that could unite all three of the NFL’s famed Watt brothers on one NFL team. Plenty of hurdles remain, but T.J. Watt appeared to openly campaign for older brother J.J. to join him with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Three-time NFL defensive player...
9-time Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey retiring from Steelers
Citing the “sacrifice” playing pro football carries on his life, nine-time Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey announced his retirement from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday. Pouncey and his twin brother, Mike, made their joint announcement via Maurkice Pouncey’s longtime teammate and friend, Ramon Foster, on Foster’s verified Twitter page. Foster,...
Tim Benz: Fun subplot to trade rumor of Marc-Andre Fleury coming back to the Penguins
When I heard the report that the Pittsburgh Penguins tried to reacquire former goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (twice) from the Vegas Golden Knights in recent months, a lot ran through my head. Via Vegas Hockey Now, TSN’s Bob McKenzie said on NBCSN Wednesday that “the Penguins have tried ‘very hard’ since...
