Sports category, Page 2557
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...
1 point away, Serena stunned by Pliskova at Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia — Four times, Serena Williams was only one point — a single point — from closing out a victory in the Australian Open quarterfinals. On the first such chance, at 5-1, 40-30 in the third set, she turned her left ankle awkwardly. The owner of the best serve...
Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski says he’s optimistic about Jeff Capel at Pitt
It was quite a night at the Petersen Events Center on Tuesday. I was there for Duke`s beatdown of the Panthers. Zion Williamson lived up to the hype with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Jay-Z was in the house. Duke looks like the real deal, ranked second in...
First call: Would NFL be better off going with college overtime rules?
"First Call" for Wednesday features Washington Capitals misery, an NFL overtime debate and a big night on The Bluff. Who has a quarter? A lot of football fans think that the NFL overtime rules are too reliant on who wins the coin toss. In other words, too many games —...
U mad, bro? Readers angry at Steelers brass, support Mike Tomlin (but not Greta Van Fleet)
"U mad, bro?" this week features emailers who are just as mad at the Steelers players and front office as I am, supporters of Mike Tomlin, haters of me and those who despise Greta Van Fleet. I think Steve is being even more critical of Steelers president Art Rooney II...
Tim Benz: The confounding cases of Steelers’ Morgan Burnett, Penguins’ Derick Brassard
Let`s focus on a pair of Pittsburgh athletes. The first player came to Pittsburgh in 2018. His acquisition was widely applauded as a solid move by management. The player`s arrival filled what had been deemed to be a significant hole for quite some time. He was going to get a...
Jay-Z appearance at Pitt game wows Panthers, Duke
Like he insists has been his routine for every game, Zion Williamson had a go-to pregame hype-up song. “‘(It Was All A) Dream’ by Jay-Z, Faith Evans and Notorious B.I.G.,” the Duke freshman said proudly. “I can never go wrong with that song.” So, imagine Williamson’s joy when he saw...
Pitt/Duke lovefest ends when the game starts
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski professed great love for Pitt coach Jeff Capel after his team’s 79-64 victory Tuesday night at Petersen Events Center. Not surprising since Capel started for Krzyzewski for four years at Duke and was his trusted assistant coach for the past seven. But there are limits to...
Metallica say congrats to Mario Rivera on HOF selection
When the driving drums, guitar riffs and opening lines of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” rang out in Yankee Stadium as closer Mario Rivera walked towards the mound, the stadium shook while opposing teams felt the game shift in favor of the closer. Tuesday night, Rivera became baseball’s first unanimous Hall of...
Larry Fitzgerald returning to Cardinals for 16th season
TEMPE, Ariz. — Star receiver Larry Fitzgerald is returning to the Arizona Cardinals for a 16th NFL season. The Cardinals announced Wednesday that they signed the 35-year-old Fitzgerald to a one-year contract. Team president Michael Bidwell says, “No player has meant more to this franchise or this community than Larry...
Success on penalty kill, not power play, could lead Penguins to postseason success
Editor’s note: As the Pittsburgh Penguins hit their bye week, beat writer Jonathan Bombulie looks at four characteristics usually shared by Stanley Cup champions and where this year’s team stacks up in those areas. What were the most memorable moments from the 2016 Stanley Cup Final? Plenty of fans probably...
The Pete regains magical atmosphere during Pitt’s revival
Forty-minutes before scheduled tip-off, there were arguably more people in the seating bowl of the Petersen Events Center than there were for 10 of Pitt’s 12 previous home games this season. Intangibly, probably more energy and delirium at that point than there was for any of the 18 home games...
Hobbled Serena Williams knocked out of Australian Open in quarters
MELBOURNE, Australia — Serena Williams was one point from quite a comeback victory in the Australian Open quarterfinals when she turned her left ankle. Everything unraveled from there. In a startling reversal and result, Williams wasted four match points along the way to dropping the last six games of a...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Blue Devils put on a show, roll past Panthers
With the Oakland Zoo bouncing and hip-hop legend Jay-Z bobbing his head to the beats of his own songs courtside, the Pitt-Duke game brought back memories of Petersen Events Center as an intimidating home court. That first-year Pitt coach Jeff Capel was coaching for the first time against his alma...
Schedule remains daunting for Pitt basketball
After the Oakland Zoo’s confetti was swept off the floor of Petersen Events Center and Pitt’s game against Duke on Tuesday night became a memory, another pressing matter remained for the Panthers. The rest of the season. Pitt will play only one game at Petersen Events Center through Feb. 5,...
Pitt puts up little resistance in home loss to No. 2 Duke
Duke’s 79-64 victory against Pitt in front of a noisy, sellout crowd at Petersen Events Center made coach Jeff Capel think. About his past and, of course, the present as his Panthers try to keep up with more talented teams in the ACC. Duke freshman forward Zion Williamson, projected to...
Chiefs fire defensive coordinator Bob Sutton after loss to Pats
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs fired defensive coordinator Bob Sutton on Tuesday, just two days after Kansas City failed to stop Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on what turned out to be the only possession of overtime in a crushing 37-31 playoff defeat. Chiefs coach Andy Reid...
Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski coming alive at right timeVideo
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Even as Rob Gronkowski turned in a vintage performance with his big grabs down the stretch in the AFC championship game, the veteran Patriots tight end also did plenty of dirty work. Gronk the blocker? The label didn’t fit in the past. But this season, one of...
Well-traveled QB Gardner Minshew hoping to find NFL home
MOBILE, Ala. — Gardner Minshew carved his own meandering path from walk-on to NFL prospect. He began as a walk-on at Troy, took a sharp left to junior college, bounced over to East Carolina, made a beeline toward Alabama and finally ended with one terrific season at Washington State. “I...
Goaltending resurgence keeps Penguins in championship hunt
Editor’s note: As the Pittsburgh Penguins hit their bye week, beat writer Jonathan Bombulie looks at four characteristics usually shared by Stanley Cup champions and where this year’s Penguins stack up in those areas. There is quite a bit of hockey mythology surrounding the hot goaltender, the otherwise mortal netminder...
Mariano Rivera 1st unanimous selection to Baseball Hall of Fame
NEW YORK — Mariano Rivera became baseball’s first unanimous Hall of Fame selection, elected Tuesday with Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez and Mike Mussina. Rivera received all 425 votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America announced. The quartet will be enshrined in Cooperstown along with Today’s Game Era...
NFL mock draft pegs WR Kelvin Harmon to Steelers in 1st round
Even though the 2019 draft class is loaded on defense, quarterbacks remain the most interesting story. This year’s QB class isn’t anywhere close to the 2018 group that produced five first-rounders, including four in the top 10. Still, teams and owners are looking for two commodities to lead their teams:...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Pitt’s Phillippi earns ACC wrestling honor
Redshirt freshman Micky Phillippi was a bright spot for the 14th-ranked Pitt wrestling team over the weekend in a 36-9 loss to No. 3 Oklahoma State. Phillippi, a Derry graduate, knocked off No. 2-ranked Daton Fix, 3-1, at 133 pounds. The fourth-ranked Phillippi (13-1) handed Fix (21-1) his first collegiate...
Former Pitt pitcher T.J. Zeuch earns invitation to Blue Jays’ major-league camp
Former Pitt pitcher T.J. Zeuch is making strides after only three seasons in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. Zeuch, the highest MLB draft choice in Pitt baseball history and the 21st overall selection in the first round of the 2016 draft, has been invited to the Blue Jays’ major-league spring...
