Sports category, Page 2571
Steelers offseason positional outlook: Wide receivers
Editor’s note: This is Part 3 of a 12-part series breaking down the Pittsburgh Steelers at each position in the offseason. All salary cap information courtesy spotrac.com. The eyes of not only Pittsburgh Steelers fans but of those around the entire NFL community will be watching closely how the Antonio...
Matt Murray gets call in net for Penguins vs. Panthers
Mike Sullivan’s juggling act with his goaltenders will put Matt Murray back in goal Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena against the Florida Panthers. Murray, who is riding a career-long seven-game winning streak since returning Dec. 15 from a lower-body injury, got the night off Sunday in the Penguins’ 5-3...
Clemson is No. 1 for 3rd time in AP poll; ‘Bama 2, Ohio St 3
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Clemson finished No. 1 in The Associated Press poll for the third time after routing Alabama in the national championship game. The Tigers received all 61 first-place votes. The Crimson Tide, which was trying to become just the third team to go wire-to-wire as the No....
First call: Ex-Bears kicker Robbie Gould was at Chicago’s loss to Eagles
Troy Polamalu is one-for-one in Hall of Fame votes. Penn State`s Robbie Gould is the most popular man in Chicago ... and he doesn`t even kick there anymore. Robert Morris` goalie is standing out. And we may have seen the best shootout attempt ever. Rub it in, why don`t ya?...
Philly building trolls Bears’ kicker’s missed game-winning field goal
“Doink.” Chicago Bears kicker Cody Parkey missed a game-winning field goal in the final seconds against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon. And everyone in Philly is celebrating and piling on. Parkey’s kick struck the left goal post and then bounced off the bottom of the post failing to go...
Even in era of offense, NFL playoffs come down to defense
The NFL’s wild weekend of wild-card games demonstrated that even in this age of explosive offenses, defense still dominates in the playoffs and it often comes down to a toe, a few fingers or even a 40-year-old hamstring. Kicker Sebastian Janikowski’s season — and maybe career — ended when he...
Podcast: Penguins can’t shake Chicago demons; what’s wrong with Derick Brassard?
In today`s "Breakfast with Benz" podcast, I`m joined by Brian Metzer of the Penguins Radio Network for our weekly hockey talk. We discuss the Penguins` surprising loss to the Blackhawks. The state of Derick Brassard`s game. Casey DeSmith`s goaltending. Tuesday night`s game against the Panthers. Most importantly, we get into...
Analysis: Steelers’ 2019 schedule already looks daunting
While other teams are looking forward to the second round of the playoffs, Steelers fans are resigned to previewing next year`s schedule. I probably should`ve done that already. Amid a sea of coach firings, AWOL wide receivers, exaggerated injuries and locker room leaks, I`m late to the party. Come to...
Tim Benz: Penguins must avoid turning into what Steelers have become
What a bad Sunday. Blowing a lead. Playing down to the level of bad competition. Thirteen giveaways. I`m not talking about the Steelers. I`m talking about the Penguins. For one night, it felt like Mike Tomlin`s team had swapped its spikes for the skates of Mike Sullivan`s players. The Penguins...
Sarah Thomas to become first woman to officiate NFL playoff game
NFL official Sarah Thomas is set to be the first women to officiate a NFL playoff game on Sunday. Thomas will work the Los Angeles Chargers - New England Patriots matchup in Foxborough, Mass., joining Ron Torbert’s crew as a down judge, according to Football Zebras. Thomas became the first...
Kevin Gorman: With Steelers’ season over, spotlight shines on Penguins
The season started slowly for their captain. They endured an uncommon losing streak that saw them slip out of the playoff picture. A former player created a stir by suggesting the coach’s message wasn’t getting through to two of the team’s high-profile players. Sound like another season of Pittsburgh Steelers...
Alabama has plenty of work to do in offseason
Alabama coach Nick Saban is famously quick to start focusing on his postseason to-do list, whether the Crimson Tide just won a national championship or fell short. It’s how he’s wired, and there’s plenty of work to do this offseason. Saban needs to regroup from easily the worst beating of...
Chiefs’ struggling defense preps for Colts’ potent offense
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs defense had been hearing all season about how bad it has been and how it was the biggest threat to an offensive juggernaut falling short of the Super Bowl. Then, the Chiefs shut down the Oakland Raiders in Week 17. Now, the...
Clemson blows out top-ranked Alabama to win national title
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Dabo Swinney kissed the championship trophy and proclaimed this Clemson team the greatest of all time. He’s got a case. With stunning ease — and a freshman quarterback — Clemson toppled college football’s greatest dynasty again to become the first perfect playoff champion. Trevor Lawrence passed...
Reports: Matt LaFleur accepts offer to become Packers coach
NASHVILLE — The Green Bay Packers are turning to fast-rising offensive whiz Matt LaFleur to aid Aaron Rodgers and end a two-year absence from the postseason. LaFleur accepted an offer Monday to become the next head coach of the Packers, according to a person familiar with the decision. The person...
A-K Valley campus clippings: Simmons leads Saint Vincent men’s basketball over holiday break
Mike Simmons is heating up at Saint Vincent. The Bearcats’ senior guard, a Kiski Area graduate and former Valley News Dispatch Boys Basketball Player of the Year, was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week on Monday. Simmons averaged 17 points in helping Saint Vincent go...
Terrell Brown’s defense making difference for Pitt basketball
There might be times Terrell Brown appears to be looking in one direction while the basketball is headed somewhere else when Pitt is playing defense. Be assured, Pitt’s 6-foot-10 sophomore center is not day-dreaming, although he doesn’t mind if the other team thinks that’s the case. He knows exactly what...
Running back unlikely to be offseason priority for Steelers
Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of a 12-part series breaking down the Pittsburgh Steelers at each position in the offseason. All salary cap information courtesy spotrac.com. Maybe the Pittsburgh Steelers would have run the ball more frequently — and perhaps more effectively — if Le’Veon Bell had reported for...
NFL wild-card round ratings up 12 percent over last year
The NFL’s strong regular season of TV ratings continued into its opening weekend of the postseason. The league said on Monday that there was an average of 28.4 million viewers for the four wild-card round games, which is a 12 percent increase over last year. The Philadelphia Eagles game against...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Latrobe grads guiding Shippensburg men’s basketball
Latrobe was well-represented Saturday as the Shippensburg men’s basketball team took down visiting East Stroudsburg, 76-70. Raiders coach Chris Fite notched his 100th career victory, and sophomore point guard Jake Biss scored a career-high 30 points for No. 25 Shippensburg (12-3, 6-1 PSAC). Fite and Biss are Latrobe graduates. Since...
NFL officially rules Parkey’s missed FG as block; Penn Hills grad gets hand on it
PHILADELPHIA — Cody Parkey got an excuse he probably won’t use. Parkey’s missed 43-yard field goal in the final seconds that gave the Philadelphia Eagles a 16-15 upset win over the Chicago Bears in Sunday’s wild-card playoff game officially was ruled a block by the NFL. Video showed Philadelphia’s Treyvon...
Antonio Brown withdraws from Pro Bowl; JuJu Smith-Schuster to replace him
Citing an injury, wide receiver Antonio Brown will not play in the Pro Bowl, opening the door for teammate JuJu Smith-Schuster to replace him in the all-star contest, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced Monday. Brown missed the season finale against Cincinnati with what the Steelers said was a knee injury. But...
Mark Madden: No logical connection between Roethlisberger, Steelers’ circus
Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. When the Steelers’ latest round of turmoil went viral, Freeman tweeted, “Three people deserve blame for the Steelers’ predicament: Ben , and Tomlin. But my point has been that Tomlin and AB catch all the heat while Ben skates....
RBs coach James Saxon let go after 5 years with Steelers
Running backs coach James Saxon became the second Steelers assistant to lose his job when coach Mike Tomlin announced Monday that he wasn’t renewing his contract. Saxon had been with the Steelers for five years. Outside linebackers coach Joey Porter didn’t have his contract renewed by Tomlin last week. Saxon...
With winning streak over, Penguins take stock of where they stand
The Pittsburgh Penguins tore through a 2 ½-week stretch, winning eight consecutive games and outscoring their foes by a 32-9 margin. Now that the run is over, though, the Penguins are left with a simple question: What, exactly, did the winning streak accomplish? “We are happy we are back where...
