Pirates announce coaching staff assignments for minor league affiliates
BRADENTON, Fla. — The Pittsburgh Pirates announced the staff assignments for their minor league affiliates, including multiple managerial changes. At Triple-A Indianapolis, Eric Patterson has been promoted from bench coach to manager. He replaces Chris Truby, who was elevated to infield coach on the major league staff. The Indians also...
U mad, bro?: Aaron Rodgers, the unearthed Steelers-Ravens officiating debate, 3-on-3 Olympic hockey all take shots from fansVideo
This week’s “U mad, bro?” goes from Milan to the North Side Notch. Hockey in the Summer Olympics to the reconstruction of PNC Park. Three-month-old football games to WWE wrestling. In other words, just a typical week. Here’s the latest edition. I took a jab at Team Canada coach Jon...
Joe Starkey: The Steelers are Omar Khan’s show now. Is that a good thing?
Evaluating the Steelers’ personnel decisions in recent years was always tricky, because it was often unclear whether coach Mike Tomlin or general manager Omar Khan dictated a given decision. Who was pulling the trigger on many of the main acquisitions, via the draft, trades and free agency — and where...
Caleb Downs, Kenyon Sadiq may provide strong draft value for NFL teams at often undervalued spots
INDIANAPOLIS — Caleb Downs and Kenyon Sadiq played it cool Thursday at the NFL’s annual scouting combine. Rather than brag about sitting atop their respective positional rankings — safety and tight end — for April’s NFL Draft, the two All-Americans spoke confidently about simply what they could add next fall....
Reports: 3-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer, Blue Jays agree to 1-year, $3M deal
NEW YORK — Max Scherzer is returning to the Toronto Blue Jays. Two weeks into spring training, the three-time Cy Young Award winner has agreed with the reigning American League champions on a $3 million, one-year contract, according to multiple reports Thursday. The 41-year-old Scherzer can earn another $10 million...
Hornets’ Kon Knueppel breaks NBA rookie record for 3-pointers in a season in just 59 games
INDIANAPOLIS — Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel reached yet another milestone in a remarkable rookie season for the No. 4 overall pick from Duke. The Hornets swingman broke Keegan Murray’s NBA rookie record for 3-pointers, making his 207th Thursday night against the Indiana Pacers. Knueppel connected on five 3s in the first...
Reports: Colts give injury-plagued QB Anthony Richardson permission to seek trade
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts have given quarterback Anthony Richardson permission to find a trade partner, according to multiple reports Thursday. Indy believed Richardson could become its longtime franchise quarterback when it drafted him with the No. 4 overall selection in 2023, but nothing has gone according to plan for...
Bruce Froemming, record-setting major-league umpire, dies at age 86
Bruce Froemming, a major-league umpire for 37 consecutive years who worked the third-most games in big-league history and a record 11 no-hitters, died Wednesday, his son said. He was 86. Froemming fell just after midnight Tuesday and hit his head on the hardwood floor at his home in Mequon, Wisc.,...
Austin Smotherman leads the Cognizant Classic, making 6 straight birdies in a first-round 62
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Austin Smotherman’s one previous PGA Tour appearance at the tournament now known as the Cognizant Classic was in 2022, and it was forgettable. He shot 70 in the first round, 76 in the second and missed the cut by four shots. Given that, he didn’t...
Penn State’s Rocco Becht ready to resume throwing after recovery from shoulder surgery
STATE COLLEGE — Drew Allar isn’t the only Penn State quarterback who is expected to throw on Saturday. Veteran Rocco Becht, the Iowa State transfer who will lead Matt Campbell’s Penn State offense in the fall, said Wednesday his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery is progressing nicely. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound...
NCAA rules panel proposes letting player ejected for targeting in 2nd half to play entire next game
INDIANAPOLIS — Division I football rules makers have proposed a one-year trial rule allowing a player disqualified for targeting for the first time to play in his team’s next game regardless of which half the penalty was assessed, the NCAA announced Thursday. Currently, players disqualified for targeting must miss the...
IndyCar roars into season opener as Ganassi driver Alex Palou chases 4th straight title
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — IndyCar opens its season with a roaring four races in March, a return to Phoenix Raceway, three new venues and the son of a motorsports icon making his debut in a North American-based series. Oh, and Alex Palou will be racing for his fifth championship in...
NFL combine notebook: Penn State’s Dani Dennis-Sutton analyzes pass-rush moves
INDIANAPOLIS — While his 6-foot-5 frame and high-level athleticism certainly did not hurt, that wasn’t all Dani Dennis-Sutton had going for him in posting 17 sacks over the past two seasons for Penn State. A two-time team captain and part of the Nittany Lions’ run to the College Football Playoffs...
Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs scheduled to start against Devils
Pittsburgh Penguins rookie goaltender Arturs Silovs is scheduled to start Thursday’s game against the New Jersey Devils at PPG Paints Arena. Coach Dan Muse announced Silovs’ status following an optional morning skate in Cranberry. In 26 games this season, Silovs has an 11-7-8 record, a 2.93 goals-against average, an .894...
Sidney Crosby remains confident in the Penguins’ playoff hopes as he lands on injured reserve
It was an important day for Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby on Wednesday. His celebrated Little Penguins Learn to Play program for area youth was staged at UPMC Lemieux Complex. Crosby has helmed this initiative since 2008 and routinely has spread the gospel of hockey to children who have been...
On Sports: Penguins prepare to run gauntlet; where will Pitt’s Kyle Louis fit on an NFL roster?Video
Thursday’s “On Sports” takes a look at the challenge currently in front of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who begin a difficult final month-and-a-half of the regular season minus captain Sidney Crosby. At the NFL Combine, former Pitt standout linebacker Kyle Louis looks to further showcase his next-level potential, while Paul Skenes...
Joel Quenneville wins his 1,000th game, joining Scotty Bowman in an elite club for NHL coaches
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Joel Quenneville became the second coach in NHL history to win 1,000 games when his Anaheim Ducks rallied to beat the Edmonton Oilers, 6-5, on Wednesday night. Quenneville joined Scotty Bowman in this exclusive hockey club with a milestone win in the Ducks’ first game back from...
Pirates’ Paul Skenes slogs through 1st spring start, ready to ‘go win gold’ for Team USA
NORTH PORT, Fla. — Paul Skenes found his first start of spring training — and only one for the Pittsburgh Pirates before joining Team USA in the World Baseball Classic — to be rather challenging. The National League Cy Young Award winner allowed one earned run on one hit and...
1st-round DT prospect Kayden McDonald, family friend of Heywards, meets with Steelers
INDIANAPOLIS — In 2011, Cam Heyward was a defensive tackle taken in the first round of the NFL Draft who went to high school in Suwanee, Ga., and to college at Ohio State. Fifteen years later, Kayden McDonald is a defensive tackle projected to go in the first round of...
Stats, streaks and factoids as the WPIAL prepares for the 10th year of 6-class basketball championships
Through the decades, there has always been growth in high school sports. Many sports began with just one classification, then more schools meant more classes. This year marks the 50th anniversary of multiple classes in girls high school basketball. The PIAA expanded girls hoops from one to two classifications and...
Having already shown he’s a playmaker, Pitt’s Kyle Louis eager to show off speed at combineVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Perhaps the only thing Kyle Louis does faster than run as compered to other draft-eligible linebackers is answer a question about what drill he’s most excited about during his workouts Thursday at the NFL combine. “Obviously,” Louis said Wednesday from the combine site, “that 40. I’m trying to...
Joe Starkey’s Cup of Joe: Steelers not alone in quarterback quandary
The ESPN.com headlines Tuesday felt like one big cry for quarterback help: • “Browns GM: Starting QB up for grabs, includes Sanders, Watson” • “Falcons GM: QB Cousins to be released March 11” • “Dolphins GM: ‘Everything’s on the table’ with Tua” • “Texans GM: Stroud trade speculation is ‘moronic’”...
A Boston Celtics game-inspired friction test finally pinned down the sneaker squeak
NEW YORK — As he watched the Boston Celtics play from the stands of TD Garden, one noise kept catching Adel Djellouli’s ear. “This squeaking sound when players are sliding on the floor is omnipresent,” he said. “It’s always there, right?” Squeaky shoes are part of the symphony of a...
Ebuka Okorie’s 2nd-half eruption powers Stanford over Pitt
Dynamic Stanford freshman point guard Ebuka Okorie likely was the focal point of Pitt’s preparation for Wednesday’s matchup on the West Coast. Okorie entered the evening ranking second in the ACC in scoring (22.3 points per game) and has demonstrated an ability to take over games in his young career....
Robert Morris men extend winning streak to 6, take over 2nd place in Horizon League
Heading into the final two games of the regular season, the Robert Morris men’s basketball team was in a three-way tie for second place with the Detroit Mercy and Oakland. As luck would have it, one of the Colonials’ final two games would be against Detroit Mercy, giving them a...
