Sports category, Page 2558
Surging Duquesne set for 1st-place Saint Louis
Keith Dambrot, Duquesne’s 60-year-old coach, has been in too many games (672 in 21 seasons) to be fooled by something as unimportant as January’s conference standings. So when reporters and TV cameras arrived for practice Wednesday to chronicle the good news on the Bluff — the third-place Dukes are 13-5...
Kromka recognized as Saint Vincent continues run
Saint Vincent continues to surge in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, and senior Tom Kromka is a key reason. A 6-foot-4 forward, Kromka is playing some of the best basketball of his career for the Bearcats, who are 16-2, 9-0 in the conference and riding a 10-game winning streak. Kromka was...
Doping agency forgives Russia, but says more work needed
The World Anti-Doping Agency straddled the wide gulf between vindication and capitulation Tuesday, agreeing to keep Russia’s anti-doping operation in business after receiving much-sought-after lab data that could be used to prosecute hundreds of cheaters. But the decision came with a warning: Fool us again, and we can bar you...
Allegheny Yinzers? Pirates’ Double-A affiliate to rebrand for 7 games
Entering its 21st season as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Double-A affiliate, the Altoona Curve has decided to pay homage to its parent Major League team and the city it resides in two hours west. For seven select weekend home games in 2019, the Curve will be known as the “Allegheny Yinzers.”...
NFL looking into report of laser beam on Patriots’ Brady during championship game
A video appears to show a green dot dancing across New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s face and helmet during the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. Video of the incident was shared on Twitter by William Joy, sports reporter for KMBC-TV in Kansas...
Duquesne football player Kellon Taylor stays on basketball team, but only for practices
Kellon Taylor reached a unique arrangement with Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot that keeps him on the men’s basketball team – but only at practice. “Kellon made a personal business decision,” Dambrot said. “He just wanted to practice, just to stay in shape for football and put all his eggs into...
Betting odds figure Pirates are destined for last place in NL Central
If the betting lines released Tuesday by BetOnline.ag are any indication, the Pittsburgh Pirates are poised to take a step back this season. Coming off their fourth winning season (82-79) since 1992, the Pirates are looking to improve. Don’t bet on it, BetOnline.ag says. The Pirates were listed with an...
Build it and the Super Bowl will come
Build it and the Super Bowl will come. While that’s not exactly how the sites of the NFL’s championship extravaganza are determined, it sure doesn’t hurt to have a brand new, billion-dollar facility in your city. Including the 2004 game in Houston, the league will have staged nine Super Bowls...
Tim Benz: Jeff Capel modeling Pitt’s rebuild off experience with Duke
Pitt coach Jeff Capel is extremely rare in one regard. He knows what it`s like to lose. At Duke. That doesn`t happen often in Durham, N.C. But during Capel`s sophomore season — when head coach Mike Krzyzewski was absent due to a medical leave — the Blue Devils went 13-18...
First call: Antonio Brown reportedly goes on $500K shopping spree; Pirates rumors abound
In "First Call" Tuesday, we look at Antonio Brown`s shopping spree, Starling Marte trade rumors, and Super Bowl MVP gambling odds. A.B.`s shopping spree Antonio Brown apparently isn`t worried about his earning power moving forward, even if he does get shipped out of Pittsburgh. TMZ reports he went on a...
Why were the Penguins so spotty on West Coast road trip?
It`s our weekly Sided.co "Breakfast With Benz" hockey podcast with Brian Metzer of the Penguins Radio network. Plenty of topics on the table this week. • The Penguins were very spotty on that 2-3 west coast trip before the break. How come? • How do the Pens currently compare to...
Tim Benz: L.J. Fort’s ‘kicker tweet’ shows Steelers don’t comprehend chaos around them
During NFL championship Sunday, Steelers linebacker L.J. Fort sent out this tweet. That`s true. In terms of points scored, Harrison Butker (Chiefs), Will Lutz (Saints) and Stephen Gostkowski (Patriots) were third, fourth and sixth in scoring this season. The Rams` Greg Zuerlein was 12th, and...
Narduzzi hires ex-Maryland assistant to coach wide receivers
Chris Beatty, who worked with Pitt assistant coaches Tim Salem and Dave Borbely in previous coaching stops and served under Penn State coach James Franklin at Vanderbilt, has been named wide receivers coach at Pitt. Beatty, 45, arrives at Pitt following three seasons at Maryland, where he coached receivers and...
Baylor cruises past West Virginia behind Makai Mason’s 29 points
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Makai Mason scored 29 points, and Baylor cruised to an 85-73 win over West Virginia on Monday night. The Bears (12-6, 4-2 Big 12) survived a second-half comeback attempt to grab their fourth win in five games. Baylor got out to as much as a 17-point lead...
Mark Madden: No easy fix for NFL’s officiating fiascos
Sometimes a bad officiating decision benefits your team. Sometimes it kills your team. New Orleans has lived both sides. In Week 16, a bad interference call on Steelers cornerback Joe Haden greatly helped the Saints beat the Steelers, exiling the Steelers from the playoffs and giving the Saints home field...
Tennis players can cause quite a racket by smashing rackets
MELBOURNE, Australia — Way behind in a match he soon would lose, Alexander Zverev leaned forward in his Australian Open sideline seat to repeatedly, and violently, crack his racket against the court with a reverberating thwack. — Eight times in all, before throwing down the offending, and now-mangled, piece of...
Patriots overcome obstacles, age to reach 3rd straight Super Bowl
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady smiled his way through the week leading up to Sunday’s AFC championship game, mostly brushing aside questions about being an underdog for one of the few times during the Patriots’ unprecedented run of titles. But when Rex Burkhead crossed the goal line for a 2-yard...
Pats-Chiefs second-most watched AFC title game in 42 years
The game Sunday night between the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs was the second-most watched and rated AFC championship game in 42 years. The overtime thriller on CBS averaged 53.919 million viewers, just shy of the 54.850 million that viewed Pittsburgh’s victory over the New York Jets in...
Campus clippings: Hempfield grad Burns posts career night in Point Park thriller
Point Park sophomore basketball guard Michelle Burns had the web buzzing Thursday night. The Hempfield graduate didn’t miss from 3-point range, put together a career game and delivered one of her most thrilling shots to date. A video clip of Burns connecting on a 3-pointer from the left wing with...
Penguins relying on familiar formula of strong offense, middling defense
Editor’s note: As the 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. Whether it’s in the form of a goaltender playing at the top of his game or the...
Rivera, Halladay likely to get voted into Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday
NEW YORK — Mariano Rivera figures to make quick work of his Hall of Fame ballot appearance, just as he did of opposing batters, and set yet another record when voting is announced Tuesday: for highest percentage of ballots. No one has ever been a unanimous Hall of Fame selection....
Robert Morris defeats Central Connecticut, stays atop NEC
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Josh Williams scored 15 points to lead four Colonials in double figures and Robert Morris defeated Central Connecticut, 70-59, on Monday to stay atop the Northeast Conference. The Colonials (10-9, 5-1) have won six of their last seven and concluded a four-game road trip against NEC...
Kevin Gorman: Pitt’s Jeff Capel learned the greatest lesson from Coach K at Duke
Jeff Capel understood when he accepted the Pitt coaching job that it would be an uphill climb, one for which he had been prepared for as a player and assistant coach at Duke under Mike Krzyzewski. Coach K isn’t just a mentor but one who did a masterful job building...
NFL will consider making pass interference calls reviewable after Rams-Saints debacle
The officiating debacle acknowledged by the NFL at the end of Sunday’s NFC title game in New Orleans, which prompted widespread criticism from fans, players and coaches over what many deemed an outcome-changing call, could lead to a significant rule change. The league and its rulemaking competition committee plan to...
Tennessee moves to No. 1 in AP Top 25, Duke drops to No. 2
Top-ranked Duke went down early in the week. No. 2 Michigan and No. 4 Virginia, the last of Division I’s unbeaten teams, both fell over the weekend. In all, six top-10 teams lost. Tennessee kept rolling amid chaos across the AP Top 25. The Vols are the new No. 1...
