Sports category, Page 265
Despite goal from Rutger McGroarty, Penguins fall in OT to streaking Blues
Of their limited accomplishments this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins can boast of being the last team to have defeated the St. Louis Blues. That achievement remained in place Thursday as the Penguins fell to the Blues, 5-4, in overtime at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Forward Robert Thomas’ 20th...
Bears and veteran QB Case Keenum agree to 1-year, $3 million deal, AP source saysVideo
The Chicago Bears added a veteran quarterback to help Caleb Williams, agreeing to a one-year, $3 million contract with journeyman Case Keenum, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press on Thursday night. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the deal had...
Sam Ryder takes only 21 putts for a 63, leads Texas Open
SAN ANTONIO — Sam Ryder wasn’t sure his neck would feel good enough for him to play Thursday in the Valero Texas Open. He found a swing and hardly missed a putt on his way to a 9-under-par 63 and a one-shot lead over Keith Mitchell in the final tournament...
Bruce Pearl of Auburn, Kelvin Sampson of Houston a reflection of changing gameVideo
SAN ANTONIO — A decade ago, Bruce Pearl of Auburn and Kelvin Sampson of Houston were emerging from exile — two coaches who had been handed the harshest sanction imaginable by the NCAA and were looking to resurrect their once-successful careers. This week, they’re both coaching at the Final Four,...
Auburn’s Johni Broome ready to face Florida, says there’s no pain in elbowVideo
SAN ANTONIO — Auburn forward Johni Broome returned to practice for the Tigers on Thursday and said he has no pain in his right elbow and “no limitations” ahead of the Tigers’ Final Four matchup with Florida. Broome, a unanimous first-team AP All-American, is the Tigers’ leading scorer and emotional...
Some diehard baseball fans in sports-crazed Sacramento welcome Athletics and hope they stay awhileVideo
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Van Thompson walked through the busy concourse shortly before first pitch and sang along to the national anthem, a white Athletics ball cap in hand covering his heart. Earlier Wednesday morning, Susan Falcon took her dog out on the other side of town near a bustling...
Braves are desperate for recovery as they enter their home opener as the majors’ only winless teamVideo
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves’ longest winless start since 2016 has left manager Brian Snitker desperate for a recovery he hopes begins with the team’s home opener against Miami on Friday night. Atlanta blew a 5-0 lead and lost 6-5 on Shohei Ohtani’s ninth-inning homer Wednesday night. The loss left...
UCLA coach Cori Close uses lessons learned from time with UConn’s Geno Auriemma over a decade agoVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — When Cori Close was starting out at UCLA 14 years ago, she called Geno Auriemma and asked if she could fly across the country to watch his UConn team practice during the NCAA Tournament because her team wasn’t playing in March Madness. It was Close’s first head...
Texas and South Carolina are familiar foes and bring stingy defenses into Final Four meetingVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — Among the many things Texas coach Vic Schaefer admires about South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, her consistency stands out the most. UConn’s Geno Auriemma has set the standard in women’s basketball with 24 Final Four appearances and 11 national titles, both records. For Schaefer, Staley — who’s in...
Hodge finally takes over at West Virginia after leading North Texas into NIT semifinalsVideo
For a week after he was hired at West Virginia, new men’s basketball coach Ross Hodge wore two hats. Hodge stayed on as the coach at North Texas to get the Mean Green prepared to play in the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament, where they lost Tuesday night to...
Pirates add OF Alexander Canario, option IF/OF Ji Hwan Bae, trade C Jason Delay to Braves
The Pittsburgh Pirates made multiple roster moves ahead of their home opener against the New York Yankees, adding outfielder Alexander Canario to their 26-man active roster Thursday. To make room for Canario, who was acquired Monday from the New York Mets, the Pirates optioned infielder/outfielder Ji Hwan Bae to Triple-A...
Geno Smith agrees to 2-year, $75 million extension with Raiders
HENDERSON, Nev. — Quarterback Geno Smith, who was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders nearly a month ago, agreed to two-year, $75 million extension, ESPN reported Thursday. Smith’s new deal takes him through the 2027 season and includes $66.5 million guaranteed, according to ESPN. The Raiders acquired Smith for a...
Pitt notebook: Young linebackers, including Aliquippa’s Cam Lindsey, hope to provide depth
The names Kyle Louis, Rasheem Biles and Braylan Lovelace are familiar to Pitt fans as linebackers who made an impact last season as sophomores. But spring football practice is intended to lay a foundation of depth, and that’s where younger linebackers such as sophomore Jeremiah Marcelin and redshirt freshman Cam...
Ex-Penguins goaltender Johan Hedberg hired as coach of Sweden’s Leksands IFVideo
Former Pittsburgh Penguins coach Johan Hedberg has been hired as a coach of Leksands IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Per a release from that team, Hedberg signed a three-year contract Thursday. A native of Sweden, the 51-year-old Hedberg began his professional career as a player with Leksands IF...
Demand for viral ‘torpedo’ baseball bats has sent a Pennsylvania factory into overdrive
KING OF PRUSSIA — A 70-year-old man who plays in an area senior hardball league popped into Victus Sports this week because he needed bats for the new season. Plus he just had to take some cuts with baseball’s latest fad and see for himself if there really was some...
3 fewer days of work for Steelers, who announce lightened spring practice schedule
The announcement of the offseason workout schedule was a little bit lighter this year for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Via an NFL release, the Steelers’ spring schedule for organized team activities and minicamp came out Thursday. The program — negotiated as part of the collective bargaining agreement between the league and...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Can Pirates torpedo Yankees’ record-setting blasts with new bats?
Torpedo bats are the talk of baseball, thanks to the number of New York Yankees using them while smashing records in the opening weekend. The Yankees hit nine home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers in the second game of the season, 18 through the first four games and became the...
Penguins have no deficit of goaltending prospects
Joel Blomqvist is probably the most accomplished goaltender the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have on their roster. At least at the American Hockey League level. An All-Star during the 2023-24 season, Blomqvist nearly tied Marc-Andre Fleury’s team mark for wins (26 in 2004-05) by a rookie goaltender with a 25-12-6 mark. As...
Why Penn State legend Trace McSorley is destined for coaching success
Trace McSorley did a little bit of everything on Tuesday night. The Penn State legend gave footwork advice to the backup quarterbacks. He acted as a defender during walkthroughs. He even wore a padded fist, swatting at running backs during ball security drills. McSorley, a Big Ten champion and program...
Steelers announce partnership with German soccer club Borussia Dortmund
Black and gold are uniting from across the pond. The Pittsburgh Steelers and German soccer club Borussia Dortmund announced a partnership Thursday that binds two prominent, black-and-gold wearing “football” teams thousands of miles apart. Billed as the first partnership of its kind for either professional sports organization, according to a...
USC star JuJu Watkins is the AP Player of the Year and just the 4th sophomore to earn that honor
TAMPA, Fla. — JuJu Watkins, the sensational sophomore who led Southern California to its best season in nearly 40 years, was honored Thursday as The Associated Press women’s college basketball Player of the Year. Watkins, whose Trojans won the Big Ten regular-season title for their first conference crown in 31...
UCLA’s Cori Close is the AP Coach of the Year after a historic season for the top-seeded Bruins
TAMPA, Fla. — Cori Close, who led UCLA to its first women’s Final Four during one of the best seasons in school history, was named The Associated Press Coach of the Year on Thursday. The Bruins earned the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll...
Patriots trade QB Joe Milton to Cowboys, giving Dallas a new backup behind Dak Prescott
DALLAS — The New England Patriots have agreed to trade quarterback Joe Milton III to the Dallas Cowboys. Milton confirmed the trade via a social media post on Wednesday. ESPN, which first reported the deal, said that the Cowboys will receive Milton, along with a seventh-round pick in exchange for...
1st-round WR prospect Matthew Golden, Pitt TE Gavin Bartholomew among Steelers draft visitorsVideo
A former multi-year starter at Pitt joined a trio of early-round draft prospects as official visitors hosted by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday. Highly regarded wide receiver Matthew Golden, projected Day 2 picks Azareye’h Thomas and Kaleb Johnson and Pitt tight end Gavin Bartholomew were guests at UPMC Rooney Sports...
Mark Madden: Management failures, Paul Skenes’ future and more Pirates notes ahead of home opener
If the Siege of Leningrad were re-enacted on a baseball diamond, PNC Park would be the logical location. Let’s bunker in with refreshing Pittsburgh Pirates notes! • The New Yankees are killing it with those newfangled torpedo bats. The Pirates might as well be using Wiffle ball bats. Not much...
