Sports category, Page 2408
Much at stake in a last NBA Finals trip to Oracle ArenaVideo
TORONTO — The NBA Finals are making one last trip to Oracle Arena. For the Toronto Raptors, it’s a second shot at a first championship. For the Golden State Warriors, it’ll be a night to play for a fallen teammate and the fans they’re leaving behind. Game 6 is Thursday,...
Brooks Koepka faces long odds as he pursues history at U.S. Open
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Brooks Koepka already should have enough motivation for this U.S. Open. At stake is a shot at a U.S. Open record not touched in 114 years: three straight victories by Willie Anderson. On his mind was a Fox Sports preview that Koepka interpreted as another example...
Raiders, Antonio Brown chosen for HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ this season
The NFL sideshow that is Antonio Brown will play out on subscription television this summer. The Oakland Raiders, who acquired the mercurial wide receiver in March after he forced a trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers, will be this year’s participant on HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” the NFL announced Tuesday night. The...
Alex Morgan scores 5 goals as U.S. routs Thailand, 13-0, at Women’s World Cup
REIMS, France — Alex Morgan tied a tournament record with five goals, and the defending champion U.S. national team opened the Women’s World Cup with a historic 13-0 rout of Thailand on Tuesday night. Samantha Mewis and Rose Lavelle each added a pair of goals for the United States, which...
Pirates Josh Bell leads NL All-Star voting for first basemen
Josh Bell’s eye-opening first half hasn’t gone unnoticed. Bell, who is among the National League leaders in batting average, runs, RBIs, doubles and homers, topped the list of NL first basemen when MLB released its initial All-Star Game voting totals Tuesday. Bell leads the NL in RBIs (58) and doubles...
List of top NFL rookie running backs includes Pitt’s Qadree Ollison
An NFL.com ranking of the top five projected rookie running backs this season includes someone who has spent time working out on the fields at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Hint: It is not Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie Benny Snell Jr. Rather, former Pitt running back Qadree Ollison made the list compiled...
Pirates promote Dovydas Neverauskas, demote Alex McRae in bullpen swap
The Pittsburgh Pirates continued their revolving door with relievers, making a pair of moves to bolster their bullpen. The Pirates recalled right-hander Dovydas Neverauskas from Triple-A Indianapolis. Neverauskas has an 18.90 ERA in five appearances with the Pirates this season. To make room on the 25-man roster, they optioned Alex...
Blues hoping for 1 last bit of road magic in Game 7 at Boston
BOSTON — If the St. Louis Blues beat the Boston Bruins in Game 7, perhaps Steve Hatze Petros should get his name on the Stanley Cup. He is the NHL schedule-maker, making him the most responsible for a January-March stretch when the Blues didn’t play more than one consecutive home...
David DeCastro can ‘feel’ changes in Steelers’ locker-room atmosphereVideo
After missing three weeks of voluntary organized team activities due to the birth of his second child, Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro guard David DeCastro arrived for minicamp and noticed an immediate difference in the locker-room atmosphere. “You can feel it,” DeCastro said. Gone was the drama that permeated over the franchise...
Legislation to split public, private school sports ‘poorly crafted,’ PIAA exec says
Legislation introduced Tuesday to split public and private high school athletics was “poorly crafted” and an “end-around of the (State Athletic) Oversight Committee,” said PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi. Lombardi said he watched state Rep. Aaron Bernstine’s press conference announcing the “Parity in Interscholastic Athletics Act,” legislation created in conjunction...
Steelers new running backs coach Eddie Faulkner settles into 1st NFL coaching job
After almost two decades as a college assistant coach, Eddie Faulkner is embarking on his first NFL gig this summer. In his Pittsburgh Steelers position room, at least the faces Faulkner encounters are just about as green as his. The seven running backs on the Steelers roster combine for four...
Penguins coaching staff pays visit to Steelers sidelines for minicamp
Not every coach on the practice field at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex for the start of Pittsburgh Steelers minicamp on Tuesday was blowing a whistle or barking orders. Mike Sullivan and the entire Penguins coaching staff, including assistants Jacques Martin and Mark Recchi, goalie coach Mike Buckley and video...
Kevin Gorman: With top pick Quinn Priester, Pirates love the man in the mirror
Upon being introduced as the newest member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Quinn Priester casually mentioned the mirror where he wrote his goals in dry-erase marker. There was nothing casual about his goals, which were outlined in an arc around his bathroom mirror so Priester could still see himself while brushing...
7 weeks into NFL career, Steelers’ Devin Bush adjusting to life as a pro
Devin Bush had an NFL player in his home as a youngster, and he spent plenty of time around a former longtime NFL player and coach while in college. That’s just part of the reason that, seven weeks into his own NFL career, Bush feels as if he’s been adjusting...
For Artie Burns, it’s ‘get right or get going’ as Steelers minicamp beginsVideo
In early May, when the Pittsburgh Steelers declined to exercise the fifth-year option on Artie Burns’ contract, the fourth-year cornerback figured he had two options. “Get right or get going,” Burns said Tuesday. “It’s that simple.” Not much has gone right in recent years for the former first-round draft pick,...
Archie Manning better than Terry Bradshaw? Broncos coach Vic Fangio says so
Vic Fangio was in all likelihood merely politely talking up a friend who was his guest that day. But when the Denver Broncos first-year head coach discussed Archie Manning he made a comparison that Pittsburgh Steelers fans might not appreciate. Fangio indicated that he believed that 1970s NFL star Archie...
Pirates GM: ‘You’re going to fall in love with’ 1st-round pick Quinn PriesterVideo
Quinn Priester had seen pictures of PNC Park and even saved one as the background on his phone after the Pittsburgh Pirates selected the pitcher in the first round of the MLB Draft. “But seeing it in person doesn’t even compare to any of the pictures I’ve seen,” Priester said....
High school sports proposal would separate public, private playoffs, ax PIAA transfer restrictions
Public and private high schools will compete for separate state championships, and strict transfer rules will vanish under the “Parity in Interscholastic Athletics Act” introduced Tuesday by a Western Pennsylvania state representative. “This impacts hundreds of thousands of students,” said state Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) while announcing his legislation at...
David Ortiz undergoes more surgery in Boston after shooting
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is recovering in Boston from a two-hour exploratory surgery after being shot at a bar in his native Dominican Republic. Ortiz spokesman Leo López told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Ortiz is expected to stay in intensive care...
First Call: Antonio Brown is a singer now; enough Drake in the NBA Finals, already!
In Tuesday’s “First Call,” Antonio Brown dabbles in Le’Veon Bell territory. Emotional reaction to Kevin Durant’s injury. Kyle Rudolph is staying with the Vikings. And, please, enough Drake! Move over Le’V Mr. Big Chest is Mr. Big Voice now. Yup. A.B. is trying his hand at singing now. View this...
Paul Steigerwald reflects on Penguins drafting Mario Lemieux
What did you do for “Happy Mario Day?” Did you go down the YouTube Mario Lemieux highlight rabbit hole? Wear a No. 66 jersey to Sunday dinner? Maybe place a bouquet at the statue in front of PPG Paints Arena? Those are all completely appropriate responses, by the way. However...
Tim Benz: Sick of ex-Pirates yet? Charlie Morton’s Cy Young-caliber year continues
Tired of hearing about how those ex-Pirates are blossoming in Tampa after the Chris Archer trade? Austin Meadows and that annoying .346 batting average to lead the American League. Tyler Glasnow and that 1.80 ERA before his injury. Tired of being reminded that Gerrit Cole is leading Major League Baseball...
Tim Benz: Josh Donaldson’s antics vs. Pirates prove MLB players don’t get it
If this is Major League Baseball’s idea of “letting the kids play,” then it shouldn’t. Because the kids can’t handle themselves. Whether it’s Derek Dietrich posing for every home run he hits, Max Muncy acting like a first-inning homer in June is a walk-off homer in October, Madison Bumgarner channeling...
Podcast part 2: Kevin Rabbitt grows into a Division I prospect in Kansas
Kevin Rabbitt’s company, Harmar-based NEP Group, is behind the scenes of many sporting events you watch. Rabbitt, an Overland Park, Kan., native, is chairman and CEO of NEP Group, a worldwide outsourced technical production partner that supports producers for live sports and entertainment. In part two of this week’s “Huddle...
Warriors stay alive with Game 5 victory in NBA Finals
TORONTO — The Golden State Warriors aren’t letting go of the NBA title just yet. Stephen Curry scored 31 points, Klay Thompson added 26 and they led a season-saving surge that gave the Warriors a 106-105 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night in Game 5 of the NBA...
