Sports category, Page 2140
Expanded NFL playoffs would have benefited Steelers over past decade
Despite losing their final three games of the season to finish with an 8-8 record, the Pittsburgh Steelers earned the AFC’s No. 7 playoff seed and faced the second-seeded Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in the wild-card round. Imagine the quarterback matchup: Duck Hodges against Patrick Mahomes with a...
NCAA announces violations against Pitt football, basketball
The NCAA placed Pitt’s athletic program on three years probation Thursday and issued penalties against the men’s basketball and football programs as a result of rules violations — and cover-ups — between August 2015 and March 2018. The violations occurred while Kevin Stallings was basketball coach — before Jeff Capel...
Penguins ‘encouraged’ Evgeni Malkin will return to lineup vs. Maple Leafs
TORONTO — Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin appears to be a good bet to return to the lineup for Thursday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Malkin missed Tuesday’s 5-2 win against the Maple Leafs at PPG Paints Arena because of an illness and was absent from Wednesday’s...
Report: NFL would add 2 playoff teams under new CBA; 17-game season possible
The NFL would add two teams to the playoffs, increase the number of regular-season games and shorten the preseason under a proposed collective bargaining agreement that would also increase the players’ revenue share, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported. Schefter reported Wednesday that the CBA proposal offered by owners expands the playoff...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Baseball needs its best players to speak up like LeBron on scandalVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — LeBron James might not play baseball but the NBA icon has earned the respect of professional athletes for using his platform to speak up on social issues. When the Los Angeles Lakers star called out MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Twitter for his handling of the Houston...
Minor league report: Nailers beaten by Royals, 6-3
Goaltender Alex D’Orio made 30 saves for the Wheeling Nailers in a 6-3 home loss to the Reading Royals at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling on Wednesday. Defenseman Matt Abt scored two goals for the Nailers (23-21-5-0). Highlights: The Nailers’ next game is on the road against the Cincinnati Cyclones at...
Determining backpack weight and more outdoor newsVideo
Take a quick look around the outdoors world with a tip, a new piece of gear and more: Tip of the week Pack light. That’s the mantra of the backpacker. But what does that mean? Do you really have to cut off the last three inches off your toothbrush’s handle,...
Duquesne rally falls short in loss to George WashingtonVideo
Keith Dambrot walked into the interview room, sat down and issued himself a warning. “I have to watch what I say because I’m really frustrated right now,” Duquesne’s coach said. Frustration was the theme of Duquesne’s 70-67 loss to a sub-.500 George Washington team Wednesday night before a sparse crowd...
No. 1 La Roche defeats No. 2 Pitt-Greensburg in finale
No. 1 La Roche and No. 2 Pitt-Greensburg, the top-seeded men’s basketball teams in the NCAA Division III Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament, put on a dazzling dress rehearsal for the postseason in front of an overflow crowd Wednesday night at UPG’s Chambers Hall. The league’s top two teams came...
Duquesne women rally to defeat Rhode Island; Dan Burt gets 150th winVideo
When Dan Burt told his players they would play the entire season away from Duquesne’s campus during renovations to Cooper Fieldhouse, he instituted a rule. “There would be no complaints, only solutions,” the Dukes’ women’s coach said. He found a couple through a difficult season. So, he was pleased while...
Kevin Gorman: Joe Musgrove suffers in silence amid talk of Houston Astros’ tainted title
BRADENTON, Fla. Jameson Taillon held court with reporters Wednesday inside the clubhouse at Pirate City about MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s handling of the Houston Astros’ cheating scheme that led to a World Series championship. Joe Musgrove stood in silence at the next locker. It was indicative of how tricky the...
Kris Bryant to hit leadoff for CubsVideo
MESA, Ariz. — A few days ago, the big question was whether Kris Bryant would make it through spring training in a Chicago Cubs uniform. After Bryant met with manager David Ross on Wednesday morning, the question was whether Bryant would be the Cubs’ next leadoff man. The answer, Ross...
Penguins power play has turned into weapon through structure, flexibilityVideo
Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan often has remarked about the need to establish a structure for the team while allowing its talented players to freelance and use their world-class skill. It’s a balancing act, and it is tested most by the power play. Recent results suggest the Penguins are navigating...
Padres beef up bullpen with Drew Pomeranz, Emilio PaganVideo
PEORIA, Ariz. — The San Diego Padres are not taking their long tradition of bullpen excellence for granted this season. Newcomers Drew Pomeranz and Emilio Pagan were added to join defending major league saves leader Kirby Yates and reigning NL holds leader Craig Stammen after Padres’ relievers had an uncharacteristic...
‘March Mayhem’ boxing card in Cheswick will feature local, regional fightersVideo
Local promoter Derek Gionta of Plum is excited to see more boxing events happening in the Steel City. “A friend of mine is doing cards three or four times a year, plus you have the Meadows and the Rivers casinos,” said Gionta, who is promoting a March 7 card, “March...
After heartbreaking injury and complicated surgery, Nick Burdi fighting for job with PiratesVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — Nick Burdi was nonchalant about being back on the mound Wednesday to throw live batting practice at Pirate City, considering what it took for him to get there. It wasn’t so much a monumental milestone to the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander as it was a stride toward normality...
Pirates’ Pablo Reyes suspended 80 games by MLB for using performance-enhancing drugs
BRADENTON, Fla. — Pittsburgh Pirates infielder-outfielder Pablo Reyes has been suspended 80 games without pay for using performance-enhancing drugs, Major League Baseball announced. Reyes tested positive for the anabolic steroid Boldenone, according to MLB.com reporter Adam Berry. MLB announced that Pirates INF/OF Pablo Reyes has received an 80-game suspension without...
Wilder-Fury II a fight so big it takes 2 TV networks to showVideo
LAS VEGAS — To hear the fighters talk, the heavyweight title fight Saturday night between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury is so big it took two TV networks to make it happen. That’s only partially true, though it might be forgiven. This is boxing, after all, and a bit of...
Penguins’ Mike Sullivan: Sidney Crosby has ‘been terrific’ since return from surgeryVideo
That Sidney Crosby has 23 points and has been part of just three regulation losses in the 13 games he’s played since a two-month injury layoff is not surprising to Mike Sullivan. Neither is that Crosby has 15 points while leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 6-1-1 record over the...
Evgeni Malkin did not practice Wednesday, but will travel with Penguins to TorontoVideo
Evgeni Malkin was not on the ice when the Pittsburgh Penguins practiced Wednesday. He was with teammates as they departed for Toronto soon thereafter, though, according to coach Mike Sullivan. “He is going to make the trip,” Sullivan said soon after the practice session ended in Cranberry Township. “We are...
Pro Football Focus projects Steelers losing Javon Hargrave to Baltimore Ravens
Javon Hargrave is expected to test free agency and get a contract that will end his tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers after four seasons. Not only would the Steelers be without the 27-year-old nose tackle, they could lose him to their biggest rival in the AFC North — at least...
Penguins’ Brian Dumoulin has resumed skating, ‘making progress’ from surgeryVideo
Top-pairing defenseman Brian Dumoulin has resumed skating in recent days and is progressing in his return from December ankle surgery, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Wednesday. “Dumo is making progress,” Sullivan said after practice Wednesday in Cranberry Township. “He skated the last couple of days. He’s, I think, tracking...
Pitt-Greensburg to face first-place La Roche without leading scorer Johnson
Pitt-Greensburg will play its most meaningful game of the men’s college basketball season so far without its top scorer. The Bobcats (20-4, 16-3) will host La Roche (17-6, 17-1) at 6 tonight in a showdown of the top two teams in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference standings. But they’ll do...
Ryan Newman released from hospital after Daytona 500 crashVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ryan Newman was released from a Florida hospital on Wednesday, two days after his frightening crash on the final lap of the Daytona 500. Roush Fenway Racing released a photo of Newman leaving a Daytona Beach hospital holding the hands of his two young daughters. The announcement...
Penn-Trafford alum Lydia DeFazio named AMCC softball preseason player of year
Lydia DeFazio took the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference by storm last softball season. After her breakthrough year, Mt. Aloysius can’t hide its secret weapon any more. DeFazio, a junior who has played first base and catcher at the college level, was tabbed the AMCC Preseason Player of the Year, and...
