Sports category, Page 2118
Tim Benz: Path to coronavirus sports cancellations confused, confounded and contradicted
I’m not a huge fan of “The Office.” It’s OK. Not great. The humor is forced. The characters became two-dimensional characterizations of themselves after the third season. And I found the plot lines repetitive. There. I said it. Unpopular TV hot take for you. But I ran through five episodes...
First Call: How MLB, NHL, NBA can salvage their seasons
In the wake of the coronavirus sports shutdown, sadly, the 2020 NCAA basketball tournament could not be saved. Maybe that could’ve happened with more time to plan. But arena availability is at issue. Many venues are in a state of flux between attempts to reschedule pro sports, events, and shows...
Penguins’ minor league affiliates halt play
Like virtually every sports team and league in North America, the Penguins’ minor league affiliates have halted play as a precaution against coronavirus. After the American Hockey League (AHL) announced it was suspending play indefinitely, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins issued a statement: With the health and safety of players, officials, staff...
PGA Tour decides to scrap rest of Players Championship, next several eventsVideo
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The PGA Tour decided Thursday night to scrap the rest of The Players Championship and shut down its other tournaments for the next three weeks. Commissioner Jay Monahan said earlier Thursday there would be no fans at TPC Sawgrass for the final three rounds or...
Mixed results for Pitt basketball, but things looking up
It was always Jeff Capel’s intention and the hope of Pitt fans for the Panthers to play on the last day of the ACC Tournament. Just not this way. After Pitt was eliminated Wednesday in a 73-58 second-round loss to N.C. State, the ACC canceled the remaining three days of...
Kevin Gorman: Shutdown of the sports world showed us that leaders are not to be trusted
In a surreal span of 24 hours, the sports world shut down and sent a mighty message about the power of a global pandemic. The games mustn’t go on. All that talk about concerns over the coronavirus couldn’t convince officials, from preps to the pros, to stop playing the games....
NASCAR, IndyCar closed to fans this weekendVideo
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — IndyCar and NASCAR will race this weekend without spectators, the latest sports series affected by concerns over the covid-19 pandemic. IndyCar pushed forward with Sunday’s season-opening race after the mayor of St. Petersburg said Thursday fans would not be permitted to attend. Only essential personnel can...
Steelers RT Matt Feiler receives $600K in bonus compensation from 2019
Right tackle Matt Feiler was the lowest-paid starter on the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line in 2019, but he nearly matched his compensation in performance-based pay, according to figures released by the NFL on Thursday. Feiler earned $387,578 in performance-based pay for his play last season, but he also was awarded...
Swimmer Leah Smith setting sights on qualifying for another Olympics
Oakland Catholic graduate Leah Smith is making good progress in her quest to make the Olympic Games this summer in Tokyo. Smith, who will turn 25 in April, produced this year’s fastest time in the world in the women’s 800-meter freestyle in 8 minutes, 23.46 seconds in the TYR Pro...
NCAA cancels men’s, women’s basketball tournaments
March Madness came to a screeching halt before a bracket could even be filled out. The NCAA canceled its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments Thursday because of the spread of coronavirus, putting an abrupt end to the season less than a month before champions were to be crowned. The unprecedented...
ACC suspension of all spring athletic activities will impact Pitt athletes
The ACC has decided to suspend all athletic activities, which will significantly impact Pitt teams on several fronts, including participation in the NCAA Wrestling Tournament, which was subsequently canceled by the NCAA. Also, spring football practice, games and recruiting will be discontinued for the duration of the spring. The ban...
Blue Jays beat Pirates in final game before MLB suspends spring training
In one of the final games before MLB suspended spring training, the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-5, on Thursday at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla. MLB announced during the game it decided to suspend spring training games and the start of the 2020 season by at least...
Big Ten, Penn State scrap all sports through the end of academic year
Penn State has canceled all spring sports, including the April 18 Blue-White football game, due to coronavirus outbreak. In a release disseminated early Thursday afternoon, Penn State announced it had postponed all football-related activities — practice, recruiting and media availability — indefinitely. That included pro day workouts for NFL-bound players,...
MLB cancels spring games, delays openers
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball is delaying the start of its season by at least two weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak and suspended the rest of its spring training game schedule. Opening day had been scheduled for March 26. Statement from Major League Baseball: pic.twitter.com/0bWS5VTRPu— MLB (@MLB) March...
NFL cancels annual meeting in Florida because of coronavirus outbreak
The NFL has canceled its scheduled league meeting later this month in Palm Beach, Fla., because of the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement came on a day when the NCAA Tournament was canceled, and the NHL and Major League Baseball followed in the NBA’s lead by suspending their season and spring...
PGA Tour to carry on without spectators for the next month
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The PGA Tour plans to keep playing, just without anyone watching from outside the ropes because of the coronavirus outbreak. Commissioner Jay Monahan said Thursday that fans will not be allowed at the final three days of The Players Championship or three other tournaments —...
USL Championship suspends league play for at least 30 days
The United Soccer League has announced the USL Championship has temporarily suspended the 2020 season for a minimum of 30 days because of health concerns surrounding the coronavirus. USL Championship Temporarily Suspends Play pic.twitter.com/lUwfXvnIbl— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) March 12, 2020 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC was set to begin its season this...
NHL suspends season over coronavirus concerns
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The NHL paused its regular season because of concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic. Via a statement released by the league early Thursday afternoon after a teleconference among league owners and commissioner Gary Bettman, the league cited the NBA suspension of its season after at least one...
A-10 cancels tournament; Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot wonders if NCAA will do the same
Duquesne’s men’s basketball team was in Brooklyn, N.Y., less than 24 hours before the Atlantic 10 canceled the remainder of its tournament Thursday morning in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. Duquesne was scheduled to play its first game in the tournament at 8:30 p.m. Thursday...
Robert Morris men, women deal with disappointment
In a span of less than 48 hours, Robert Morris’ men’s basketball team went from elation to devastation when the NCAA canceled this year’s tournament. After beating St. Francis (Pa.), 77-67, on Tuesday night in the championship game of the Northeast Conference Tournament, the ultimate prize was taken away when...
March Madness: Conferences scrap tourneys; NCAAs in doubt
The most powerful conferences in college sports canceled their men’s basketball tournaments Thursday because of the coronavirus, putting in doubt this month’s NCAA Tournament — one of the biggest events on the American sports calendar. Within minutes of each other, the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern...
PIAA suspends basketball tournament, swimming championships for 2 weeksVideo
The PIAA will reassess the coronavirus situation in two weeks, said executive director Bob Lombardi, and decide then whether to resume the winter sports championships. The state basketball tournaments and the Class AA swimming championship were suspended Thursday as the PIAA joined a growing list of sports organizations impacted by...
Minor league report: Riley Barber leads Penguins past Phantoms
An overtime goal by forward Riley Barber, a native of Washington, Pa., gave the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins a 2-1 road win against the rival Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the PPL Center in Allentown on Wednesday. Goaltender Dustin Tokarski made 24 saves for the Penguins (29-26-3-5) while forward Kevin Roy also scored...
Jazz stars Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert test positive for coronavirus
Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz confirmed Thursday he tested positive for the coronavirus, saying he is personally dealing with the pandemic that has temporarily shut down the NBA and other major sports leagues. Later, his Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert — the first NBA player to test positive, which prompted...
First call: Video shows Rudy Gobert mocking coronavirus before testing positive, shutting down NBA; will NFL Draft pull out of Vegas?
It’s all coronavirus talk in sports. Nothing else. The NBA is done. For now. Many think the NHL and college basketball will soon follow. In Thursday’s “First Call,” we look at how Rudy Gobert’s diagnosis brought down the NBA. What may become of the NFL Draft. And how one college...
