Sports category, Page 1934
Madden Monday: Steelers opener; Penguins ‘in organic decline,’ see themselves ‘as what they were, not how they are’
The first game of the 2020 Steelers season is Monday night against the New York Giants. So Mark Madden and I start this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast with a heavy dose of football. But the Penguins conversation is intriguing as well. Those that follow the team are trying to figure...
Tim Benz: If Steelers don’t slow Saquon Barkley, Giants could pull off upset
If the Steelers are to win their season opener Monday night against the New York Giants, they are going to have to stop superstar running back Saquon Barkley. Check that. The Steelers are going to have to slow superstar running back Saquon Barkley. Stopping Barkley doesn’t happen very often. Just...
This date in sports history: Sept. 14Video
1923 — Jack Dempsey knocks out Luis Firpo in the second round for his last successful defense of his world heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden in New York. 1947 — Jack Kramer beats Frank Parket to win the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championship. Kramer wins 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-0,...
Rams open SoFi Stadium in style with 20-17 win over CowboysVideo
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Malcolm Brown rushed for a career-high 79 yards and two touchdowns, Jared Goff passed for 275 yards and the Los Angeles Rams opened SoFi Stadium with a 20-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. Robert Woods had six catches for 105 yards to help the...
Joe Burrow struggles in NFL debut as Bengals lose to Chargers
CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow ran 23 yards for a touchdown in his NFL debut and put the Bengals in range for a dramatic, last-minute win. Instead, he ended up like so many Cincinnati quarterbacks before him, wondering what the heck just happened. They lost a game Cincinnati-style: Chargers 16, Bengals...
Dominic Thiem 1st since 1949 to win US Open after ceding 1st 2 setsVideo
NEW YORK — At a U.S. Open unlike any other, Dominic Thiem constructed a comeback the likes of which hadn’t been seen in 71 years. After dropping the opening two sets against Alexander Zverev on Sunday at a nearly empty Arthur Ashe Stadium — fans were banned because of the...
John Steigerwald: Gallup survey shows maybe it’s time for leagues to return focus to sports
Sports have nowhere to go but up. That’s as in up in the ratings. Actually, they could go down a little bit and become lower rated than the pharmaceutical industry and the federal government. We’re not talking about TV ratings here. We’re talking about Gallup’s annual survey of Americans’ views...
After offseason of ‘twists and turns,’ Steelers focus on Giants, Monday Night opener
That the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing their first game during the second week of September in a high-profile time slot is about the only thing that lends a semblance of normalcy to the 2020 opener. For the fourth time in six years, the Steelers open in prime time. The 7:10...
Quick-strike Lightning beat Islanders, take 3-1 lead in seriesVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Blake Coleman tied the score 15 seconds after the New York Islanders took the lead, Ondrej Palat scored the go-ahead goal 12 seconds later and the Tampa Bay Lightning moved within a victory of the Stanley Cup Final with a 4-1 victory Sunday in Game 4 of...
Pirates go from bad to worse as Royals sweep series with 11-0 victory
Bothered by a blister and a cuticle, Chad Kuhl had no command on his fastball from the start, and it didn’t take long for the Pittsburgh Pirates to watch their game against the Kansas City Royals spin out of control. What transpired was a comedy of errors and their biggest...
Newton runs for 2 TDs, Patriots hold off Dolphins 21-11Video
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Cam Newton looked just fine as Tom Brady’s replacement, rushing for two touchdowns Sunday, and the New England Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins, 21-11, to open the season. Newton rushed 15 times for 75 yards and threw for 155 yards, leading a Patriots offensive attack that did...
Reigning MVP Lamar Jackson off to hot start as Ravens rout BrownsVideo
BALTIMORE — Looking every bit like the reigning NFL MVP, Lamar Jackson threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns to help the Baltimore Ravens beat the Browns, 38-6, on Sunday, ruining Kevin Stefanski’s debut as Cleveland’s coach in a game played without fans in attendance. Although the covid-19 pandemic kept...
Pitt lands at No. 25 in Associated Press poll
Pat Narduzzi has found the respect for his team he believed was lacking in the preseason. The Associated Press released its Top 25 on Sunday — its first since the start of the college football season — and Pitt landed at No. 25 after its dominant 55-0 victory against Austin...
La.-Lafayette leads 10 new teams in AP Top 25 rankings
Louisiana-Lafayette and Appalachian State were among 10 new teams ranked Sunday in first regular-season Associated Press college football poll, which was stripped of the teams not yet scheduled to play a fall season. There was no change at the very top: Preseason No. 1 Clemson received 60 of 61 first...
Pirates’ Mitch Keller to pitch Monday against Reds, his 1st start in 6 weeks
Mitch Keller will make his first start for the Pittsburgh Pirates in six weeks on Monday, when the right-hander pitches in the second game of a doubleheader at the Cincinnati Reds. Keller (1-1, 3.52 ERA) will face the Reds’ Anthony DeSclafani (1-2, 7.20), after Pirates right-hander Cody Ponce (1-1, 3.46)...
Phil Mickelson returns to scene of spectacular crash at Winged Foot
Whether it was at Winged Foot where Phil Mickelson lost his best chance to win the U.S. Open is up for debate. It certainly was the most memorable, if not spectacular. A tee shot off the hospitality tent that caromed into yellow grass that had been trampled by a week’s...
How did Josh Bell get groove back? Pirates slugger stopped taking BP, started laying off pitchesVideo
Josh Bell got the joke right away, given that he had homered in back-to-back games against the Kansas City Royals without taking batting practice before either one. “Yes,” Bell said, with a smile, “I might’ve taken batting practice for the last time this year.” The Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman has...
This day in sports history: Sept. 13
1930 — Tommy Armour beats Gene Sarazen, 1-up, to win the PGA Championship. 1964 — Roy Emerson beats fellow Australian Fred Stolle to win the men’s title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships. Brazil’s Maria Bueno wins the women’s title. Emerson wins in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, and...
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi has covid warning for his players: ‘We don’t want to be next’Video
Pat Narduzzi had no appetite for discussing why seven players were kept home from Pitt’s season-opening victory Saturday against Austin Peay. School officials said the players were absent for “covid-related protocols.” That doesn’t mean they tested positive for covid-19; it could be a result of contact tracing. Defensive Rashad Weaver,...
Brad Keselowski dominates in NASCAR playoff win at Richmond
RICHMOND, Va. — Brad Keselowski entered NASCAR’s playoffs certain he has as good a chance at the Cup championship as favorites Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. He even predicted he’d win at Richmond Raceway. His confidence was correct as Keselowski indeed won Saturday night at Richmond, the second playoff race,...
Anton Khudobin, Stars beat Knights to take 3-1 lead in West finalVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Anton Khudobin made three of his 32 saves on a crucial 5-on-3 penalty kill late, Joe Pavelski and Jamie Benn scored in the second period and the Dallas Stars are a victory away from the Stanley Cup Final after beating the Vegas Golden Knights, 2-1, on Saturday...
Royals give Trevor Williams trouble, overcome Pirates’ early homers for 5th straight win
Despite missing batting practice after a delayed arrival to Kauffman Stadium, the Pittsburgh Pirates came out swinging and hit three solo home runs in the first three innings. When the Kansas City Royals punched back, Pirates starter Trevor Williams got knocked out. The right-hander couldn’t protect a two-run lead and...
Riverhounds capture playoff berth with dominating win over Hartford Athletic
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds clinched a USL Championship playoff berth for the third straight season Saturday and did so in dominating fashion. Ropapa Mensah and Ryan James scored two goals apiece, and Anthony Velarde scored a penalty kick as Pittsburgh (9-3-1) defeated Hartford (6-3-1) opponent 5-0 to take a nine-point lead...
AFC North preview: QBs rule roost in Steelers’ division
It’s all about the quarterbacks in the AFC North, a division that includes the reigning NFL MVP, the top pick in the 2020 draft and a two-time Super Bowl winner looking to make a successful comeback. The Baltimore Ravens won the AFC North last year behind Lamar Jackson, who accounted...
Pirates manager Derek Shelton reflects on losing his mentor, Mark NewmanVideo
For Derek Shelton, learning of the death of his mentor, Mark Newman, was “a gut punch” that had made the Pittsburgh Pirates manager emotional before Saturday’s game at the Kansas City Royals. As vice president of baseball operations for the New York Yankees, Newman gave Shelton his start as a...
