Sports category, Page 26

CLEVELAND — Brayan Rocchio belted a go-ahead solo homer, and Bo Naylor had a three-run shot as part of a five-run eighth inning, giving the Cleveland Guardians a 6-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of their American League wild-card series Wednesday afternoon. The Central Division champion Guardians...

Manny Machado belted a two-run homer in the fifth inning, helping the visiting San Diego Padres square their National League wild-card series against the Chicago Cubs at one win apiece following a 3-0 victory Wednesday. The decisive Game 3 of the best-of-three series is Thursday afternoon in Chicago. The winner...

No, the finger injury Will Howard suffered early during training camp didn’t compel the rookie quarterback to give up his playing career and try out coaching. And, no, the Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t running Howard through any sort of rookie initiation akin to an intern not quite entrusted with any of...

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy badly wanted to play Thursday night against the Los Angeles Rams but his turf toe injury didn’t cooperate. The 49ers star was ruled out of the contest on Wednesday and will be a spectator when San Francisco battles the Rams in a showdown at...

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has been medically cleared from his knee injury, practiced Wednesday and deemed himself ready to return for the Week 5 game Sunday at the Los Angeles Chargers. “I plan on being out there on Sunday,” Daniels said. “Obviously, as a competitor you want to go...

Ryan Day learned from soul-crushing losses to win big. Can James Franklin? The same lonely, desperate look. Saw it on the face of Day last season, saw it on Franklin last weekend. But there’s a road back for Penn State, no matter what Franklin feels gnawing at his insides. From...

Pitt center Dishon Jackson is out indefinitely as he deals with an unspecified medical condition, the Panthers announced Wednesday. Declining to offer any additional comment, Pitt released a statement on behalf of Jackson. “I’ve appreciated the concern and outreach recently,” Jackson said. “I’ve been dealing with a medical issue for...

Don Kelly repeatedly made the point that pitching was the foundation for the Pittsburgh Pirates, with Paul Skenes an overwhelming favorite to win the National League Cy Young and anchoring a staff that led MLB in shutouts and ranked in the top 10 in multiple categories. So, it came across...

What will they do for an encore? Following a year in which both Robert Morris basketball programs finally captured the attention of Horizon League fanatics, the Colonials are tasked with — shall we say? — keeping the ball bouncing. “Every group is different,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said Wednesday...

Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs is scheduled to start the team’s final road game of the preseason, a contest against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y., on Wednesday. He is expected to play the entire game. Coach Dan Muse announced Silovs’ status following an optional morning skate...

High school football used to be a big deal in Western Pennsylvania. Not just in selected communities, but everywhere. Now it’s come down to negotiated surrender. Baldwin and Fox Chapel high schools have teams so bad that they’ve contacted opponents about playing shorter games: eight-minute quarters instead of 12 minutes,...

A little after 7 p.m. I took a break from watching the Yankees-Red Sox playoff game between innings. I walked out on my back deck overlooking the North Side of Pittsburgh. The sunset was coloring the pastel skies over PNC Park, and I thought, “What a great night this would...

Wednesday’s “First Call” has news about a departing Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back. Lamar Jackson could be down for a while in Baltimore. The Atlantic 10’s commissioner wants a bigger NCAA Tournament. And we check in on some former Pirates in the MLB playoffs. Pillaging the practice squad The Tampa Bay...

The Blue Jackets’ preseason is winding down, but they’ve got some ramping up to do. Despite facing a team that dressed only a handful of NHL veterans, the Blue Jackets struggled defensively in a 4-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on Sept. 30 at Nationwide Arena and iced a lineup...

ESPN play-by-play announcer Jon “Boog” Sciambi shared a sad-but-true fact about the Cincinnati Reds’ postseason history during Game 1 of their National League wild-card series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Sciambi said during the broadcast that it was the 98th playoff game in Reds’ franchise history, and...

NEW YORK — Garrett Crochet struck out 11 in 7 2/3 outstanding innings as the Boston Red Sox went ahead after getting Max Fried out of the game and opened their American League wild-card series with a 3-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Tuesday. Boston grabbed the advantage...

They play hoops in college basketball’s mainstream. You know them. They’re the big boys. We’re talking mainly of the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC. Certainly in Pittsburgh, it’s no secret Duquesne plays second fiddle. The Dukes routinely operate in obscurity in the lightly regarded Atlantic 10....

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson will not play in Week 5 and could be facing a longer absence because of a hamstring injury, the Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday. Jackson left the Ravens’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth quarter Sunday. The Ravens (1-3) play the Houston Texans (1-3)...

Apparently not comfortable, for obvious reasons, letting their 41-year-old quarterback run the so-called “tush push,” the Pittsburgh Steelers turned to Connor Heyward. Though some other teams have deployed tight ends to run plays up the middle on third- or fourth-and-1 snaps over the past two seasons or so, Heyward is...

The Pittsburgh Pirates will not renew the contracts of pitching coach Oscar Marin and third base coach Mike Rabelo, according to a league source. In addition, assistant pitching coach Brent Strom is retiring. Additional support staff moves could be coming, according to a source. The coaching staff decisions come a...

After Calvin Austin III left Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers game because of a shoulder injury — one that is expected to cause him to miss game time — much of the conversation about replacing him is, naturally, related to his role as the No. 2 wide receiver. But Austin has another...

If Calvin Austin sits out games because of a shoulder injury, it will raise an all-too-familiar question for the Pittsburgh Steelers offense. Who will be the team’s No. 2 wide receiver? Austin had his shoulder in a sling and was taken by ambulance to a hospital after the Pittsburgh Steelers...