Sports category, Page 2551
As they prepare for Penguins, a look at what makes Lightning so dominant
The Tampa Bay Lightning come to Pittsburgh on Wednesday night with the best record in the Eastern Conference. By far. They are the easy choice as Stanley Cup front-runners at this point. The Bolts have 76 points. That`s 13 better than anyone else in the conference. The have the best...
U mad, bro? Readers rail on Steelers chaos, Antonio Brown, Pirates payroll
This week`s "U mad, bro?" is all about emotional transference. Y`all are angry about the Pirates payroll, Antonio Brown`s behavior and the Steelers` chaotic failures. And instead of dealing with it yourselves, you are taking it out on me. Poor, sweet, innocent me. We open with Nick and his ad...
Tim Benz: Penguins have to fix current players before acquiring new ones
In recent years, the path to Penguins improvement during the season has been clear. In 2016, it was to fire the coach and improve speed throughout the lineup. So the team swapped out Mike Johnston for Mike Sullivan and traded for the likes of Carl Hagelin, Justin Schultz and Trevor...
Penguins call-up Teddy Blueger ‘deserving of an opportunity,’ coach Mike Sullivan says
As he’s developed into one of the top two-way forwards in the AHL over the past year or so, the thought of making his NHL debut frequently has crossed Teddy Blueger’s mind. Just when he made a concerted effort to stop thinking about it, the call to Pittsburgh came. Blueger...
Pirates add RHP Brandon Maurer, OF J.B. Shuck on minor league deals
The Pittsburgh Pirates added depth to their pool of players competing for opening-day roster spots Wednesday, signing pitcher Brandon Maurer and outfielder J.B. Shuck to minor league deals. Maurer, a 28-year-old right-hander, has a 5.36 ERA over 289 career appearances with three teams over the past six seasons. Shuck, 31,...
Penguins rebound from ugly loss, stop 1st-place Lightning
No team in the NHL goes from zero to 60 faster than the Pittsburgh Penguins. Two days after being manhandled by the worst team in their division, the Penguins responded with a convincing victory over the best team in the league Wednesday night. Phil Kessel and Kris Letang had a...
Pitt loses another road game, this time to ACC foe Clemson
CLEMSON, S.C. — Senior guard Marcquise Reed scored 26 points, and Clemson rediscovered its touch from long range Tuesday night in an 82-69 victory against Pitt in an ACC game at Littlejohn Coliseum. Reed, the Tigers’ leading scorer at 19.3 points per game, enjoyed another big night, making 8 of...
Why Penn State basketball coach Pat Chambers isn’t worried about his job security
Mired in a seven-game losing streak and still seeking a Big Ten win this season, Pat Chambers isn’t worried about his job security. Even if the growing social media mob suggests he ought to be. “No one’s patting me on the shoulder saying, ‘You’re walking the plank.’ I don’t feel...
Rams’ Todd Gurley says he taught Patriots’ Sony Michel the basics at Georgia
ATLANTA — Todd Gurley says he often communicated with two other former Georgia running backs, Sony Michel and Nick Chubb, during the 2018 season. Now that Gurley and Michel are having a Super Bowl reunion as the leading rushers for the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots, respectively, that...
Steel Valley product Luke Getsy named Packers’ QB coach
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers are bringing back Luke Getsy, this time as their quarterbacks coach to work with Aaron Rodgers. Getsy, a former Pitt quarterback and a Steel Valley product, spent four seasons on former coach Mike McCarthy’s staff before leaving to become Mississippi State’s offensive...
Ex-Pirate Neil Walker agrees to 1-year, $2M deal with Marlins
MIAMI — Pine-Richland graduate and longtime Pirates infielder Neil Walker agreed Tuesday to a one-year contract with the Miami Marlins and is expected to compete for a starting job. The Athletic reported the deal is worth $2 million. Walker has a .268 career average and has reached double figures in...
Duquesne aiming for quick turnaround vs. Rhode IslandVideo
There are too many games left in Duquesne’s season to say the Dukes will reach a crossroads Wednesday night against Rhode Island at Palumbo Center. But the Dukes (14-6, 5-2) have the same record (overall and in the Atlantic 10) as they did a year ago before they lost 10...
Old-school Rams DC Wade Phillips knows how to stop Tom Brady
ATLANTA — As Bum Phillips once said, “There’s two kinds of coaches: them that’s fired and them that’s gonna be fired.” His son, Wade Phillips, has been fired enough times to know how true that is: He has walked a broken line through the NFL with nine teams in 41...
IUP women’s basketball drops to No. 5 in latest WBCA poll
The IUP women’s basketball team, which suffered its first loss of the season last week, fell four spots to No. 5 in the latest Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll released Tuesday. The Crimson Hawks (16-1) are the only Division II program to be ranked...
Patriots’ Matthew Slater carries proud family football traditionVideo
ATLANTA — Matthew Slater is more than halfway to his father’s longevity as an NFL player. He doesn’t plan to equal it. The star special teamer of the New England Patriots just completed his 11th pro season, and he’s at his fifth Super Bowl, with two wins. In his dad...
Rams’ Brandin Cooks gets 2nd shot at Super Bowl after Patriots tradeVideo
ATLANTA — In the past three NFL seasons, Brandin Cooks has caught passes from Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Jared Goff while playing for Sean Payton, Bill Belichick and Sean McVay. “I guess I know how to pick ‘em, right?” Cooks asked Tuesday with a laugh. Cooks has racked up...
Penguins recall forward Teddy Blueger, AHL’s 4th-leading goal scorer
The Pittsburgh Penguins recalled Teddy Blueger from their AHL affiliate on Tuesday, filling their void on their active roster after the Monday trade of defenseman Jamie Oleksiak with some forward depth. The 24-year-old Blueger is fourth in the AHL with 21 goals in 45 games. Blueger has a five-game point...
Penguins’ strategy for breaking power-play slump? Not practicing it
A day after hinting he has reached a breaking point with a leaky power play that has allowed a league-high 11 short-handed goals, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan used practice to address the problem in a unique and peculiar way. By not practicing the power play at all. It’s highly...
Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin ‘frustrated’ with his playVideo
A day after a brutal turnover of his led to a short-handed goal and he plummeted to minus-20 for the season, Evgeni Malkin acknowledged he is not happy with his play. “No, no,” the Pittsburgh Penguins star center said. “For sure not. I’m frustrated with myself.” Malkin remains a point-per-game...
Robert Morris President Chris Howard named to NCAA sports betting and honors committees
There may not be a busier university president in the U.S. than Robert Morris’ Chris Howard. Howard, who is a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, was named to the NCAA Board of Governors Ad Hoc Committee on Sports Wagering and...
Jamie Oleksiak missed by Penguins; Garrett Wilson accepts fighter role
A Monday trade left a 6-foot-7, 255-pound hole in the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex locker room. Not because the Pittsburgh Penguins don’t have the personnel to replace Jamie Oleksiak but because the “Big Rig” will be missed. “He’s a good friend. I loved having him here,” said defenseman Brian Dumoulin,...
Pitt’s Olivia Gray gets spot on preseason All-ACC softball team; Panthers 4th
Pitt senior infielder Olivia Gray was named to the preseason All-ACC softball team while the defending Coastal Division champion Panthers were projected to finish fourth by the coaches poll. Gray was an All-ACC first-team selection last year after hitting .311, with four home runs and 25 RBIs. She also finished...
Penguins’ Jack Johnson practices fully, will be ‘fine’ vs. Lightning
The Pittsburgh Penguins lost two defensemen in a six-hour span Monday. Luckily for them, the loss of one was temporary. Jack Johnson practiced fully at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex on Tuesday after he left Monday night’s game during third period because of an unspecified injury. “I feel OK,” Johnson said...
Maria Palarino nets 1,000th career point for St. Francis (N.Y.)
Maria Palarino became the 17th player in St. Francis Brooklyn women’s basketball history to score 1,000 career points. The 5-foot-10 senior guard out of Penn-Trafford took a cross-lane pass and made a scooping, left-handed layup off the glass with 3:02 left in the second quarter Monday night to reach the...
Star receiver Ardell Brown leaving Seton Hill for UConn
Ardell Brown is proof the new NCAA transfer portal works. The big-play wide receiver from Seton Hill asked to have his name thrown into the hat so he could test the waters. Brown, a redshirt junior, knew he had a monster season for the Griffins and could draw a peek...
