Sports category, Page 2556
Stop whining, the Rams and Patriots earned their way to Super Bowl LIII
The level of our NFL discourse has deteriorated to such mind-numbing depths that three days after an historic Championship Weekend, all anyone wants to talk about are the referees, overtime rules, competition committee meetings and some hurt feelings. Well, I’ve had about enough. Message for everyone: Stop whining. And maybe...
Pro Bowl becomes family affair for Pouncey twins
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Mike and Maurkice Pouncey were among the first players off the AFC Pro Bowl practice field Thursday. They were trying to hustle to the locker room to shower, change and get on the road. They had people waiting. More than 50 of them, actually. “This...
Asdrubal Cabrera finalizes $3.5M deal to be Rangers 3B after Adrian Beltre
ARLINGTON, Texas — Two-time All-Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera will get a chance to replace a likely Hall of Fame player in Texas by shifting to the corner on the left side of the infield. Cabrera finalized a $3.5 million, one-year contract with the Rangers on Thursday to take over at...
Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov earns midseason MVP from hockey writers
Being the best player on the best team isn’t a bad way to win a Hart Trophy as the NHL’s regular-season MVP. That’s where Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov finds himself at the All-Star break. Kucherov, who leads the league with 78 points in 49 games, was the leading...
Heinz History Center exhibit celebrates Penguins, Pittsburgh hockey, local Olympians
When U.S. Paralympic gold medalist Dan McCoy stopped by the Heinz History Center on Thursday morning, it was like he was visiting an old friend. McCoy, a Cheswick native, was in attendance for a preview of the museum’s new exhibit, “A Great Day for Hockey,” which will open to the...
Pitt’s Darrin Hall prepares for Senior Bowl appearance
Darrin Hall’s all-star tour will continue Saturday when the Pitt running back suits up for the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., where he’ll attempt to improve his NFL Draft stock. He will become the first Pitt running back since Kevan Barlow in 2000 to appear in the Senior Bowl. Hall...
Courtney Force ends successful Funny Car career
YORBA LINDA, Calif. — Courtney Force, the winningest female Funny Car driver in NHRA history, is stepping away from driving. Force is a 12-time Funny Car winner, was the No. 1 qualifer 28 times and ranked in the top 10 of the NHRA standings in six of her seven seasons....
Fans troll Steelers over tweet about arriving at Pro Bowl
Well, they made it … to the Pro Bowl. The Pittsburgh Steelers tweeted on Tuesday “We have arrived. #ProBowl #HereWeGo” with a video showing the flight path from Pittsburgh to Orlando, Fla. ending with an image of the six Steelers at the Pro Bowl. Six Steelers will represent the team:...
Keith Dambrot calls it: ‘LeBron’s better than Zion’
After he had answered all the mundane questions about Duquesne’s 77-73 victory against Saint Louis on Wednesday night, coach Keith Dambrot fielded one on his second-favorite subject — LeBron James. “What would be a bigger deal?” a reporter wanted to know. “Jay-Z going to a Pitt game or LeBron going...
Rams’ Super Bowl-bound bandwagon growingVideo
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams’ bandwagon might be gaining momentum headed toward Super Bowl LIII. With the Rams’ 26-23 win over the Saints on Sunday, the folks are hopping on for the franchise’s fourth trip to the Super Bowl and first since 2002 and more important, its first...
No. 1 IUP women fall to Cal U
Down goes No. 1. IUP, the top-ranked WBCA Division II women’s basketball team in the nation, was handed its first loss of the season, 61-56, against No. 13 Cal U. Cal also knocked off the then-No. 2 Crimson Hawks last January, 62-53. With Wednesday night’s home loss, IUP (15-1) is...
Broncos RB Lindsay enjoying spoils of I-told-you-so season
Denver Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay is enjoying the spoils of his phenomenal rookie season even though the cast on his right wrist will keep him out of the Pro Bowl this weekend. Lindsay is serving as a social media correspondent for the NFL at the league’s annual all-star game...
Duquesne beats 1st-place Saint Louis, extends A-10 winning streak to 5
The coaches and media of the Atlantic 10 conducted their preseason poll back in September, when few people were giving Duquesne a second thought. Four months later, the vote that projected Duquesne as an 11th-place team and Saint Louis as the conference champion mattered to Duquesne sophomore Marcus Weathers. Especially...
Patriots defense back on track heading into Super Bowl
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It took an entire regular season and some tough losses, but the Patriots defense finally likes where it is at heading into its Super Bowl matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. It hasn’t been perfect, but after a slow start to 2018 and fighting to find an...
In wake of loss to Duke, 3 questions hanging over Pitt basketball
Petersen Events Center is energized again, with two Pitt basketball crowds already topping 12,000. How different is that? Average attendance at the Pete has fallen every season since 2014-15, finally hitting an all-time low of 4,117 last year. Students seated in the Oakland Zoo sections take great glee in cheering...
Fifty years after last Grand Slam, Laver says it’ll happen again
MELBOURNE, Australia — Fifty years after Rod Laver won the last true Grand Slam in men’s tennis, he is fairly confident the feat will be replicated one day, unlikely as it may seem. “It’s got to happen again,” the Australian left-hander said Wednesday at the Australian Open. While Steffi Graf...
Burgh Defenders arena team ‘childhood dream’ for hip-hop artist owner
Indoor football has failed twice in Pittsburgh, but that isn’t stopping hip-hop artist Antjuan Washington from trying to revive it. “I’m living out part of a childhood dream,” said Washington, head coach and part owner of the Burgh Defenders, an expansion team that plans to play this year in the...
‘Greatest Show on Turf’ ushered in today’s era of high-flying offenses
The head-spinning offenses NFL fans are enamored of and will watch in the Super Bowl in Atlanta share their explosiveness with the previous team to win the big game in Atlanta. The Greatest Show On Turf. Yes, at the turn of the century, there was a group that shared so...
A-K Valley campus clippings: PSNK women’s basketball officially returns
Penn State New Kensington’s revived women’s basketball program is officially off the ground. The Local Lions played their first game since being reintroduced Monday, losing 87-22 to Penn State Greater Allegheny. PSNK, which brought back the program in February 2018, hired coach Rich Marshall, a 25-year coaching veteran, earlier this...
Is Art Rooney II softening his stance on Antonio Brown’s return to Steelers?
Art Rooney II isn’t closing the door on Antonio Brown returning to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 10th season. In fact, the door may be open a little wider than in previous weeks. On a conference call with fans Wednesday, the Steelers president indicated the team can mend its fractured...
Art Rooney II wants more consistency in protecting quarterbacks
On the heels of a controversial call in the AFC championship game, Art Rooney II said it’s time for the NFL to re-examine the standards of roughing-the-passer penalties. The Pittsburgh Steelers president said Wednesday that NFL officials need to be “very consistent” in calling penalties on hits against quarterbacks. Rooney...
Rooney: Steelers have started negotiations on extension with Roethlisberger
The Pittsburgh Steelers have started conversations about extending quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s contract, team president Art Rooney II said Wednesday afternoon. In a 20-minute conference call with Steelers Nation Unite members, Rooney said negotiations have started with Roethlisberger and his agent, Ryan Tollner. Roethlisberger has one year left on his contract,...
Steelers punter Jordan Berry faces free agency for 1st time
A proud Australian who grew up a 20-minute drive from the Melbourne, Jordan Berry can hardly believe he’s been in the United States now for a decade. “Started college (at Eastern Kentucky) 10 years go!” Berry said while an unbelieving smile earlier this month. “That’s pretty nuts, yeah.” Berry’s offseason...
Kevin Gorman: Pitt needs to recruit top talent, and Jeff Capel is ready to run point
Jeff Capel wasted no words when asked about being associate coach to Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski or accepting the Pitt head coach job, even when those worlds were about to collide when the Panthers played the Blue Devils. “It’s not about me,” Capel said, repeatedly. That was his answer for the...
Thiel’s Jess Vormelker driven to earn more respect from PAC peers
Most athletes will say team accomplishments are more important than individual accolades. Thiel women’s basketball player Jess Vormelker is no different. But the senior guard would by lying if she said she wasn’t striving to earn first-team all-Presidents’ Athletic Conference honors this winter. Last season, Vormelker (5-foot-9) led the PAC...
