Sports category, Page 269
Highlands grad Trent Bielak puts his mind at ease, pitchers on notice as he hopes to lead Pitt-Bradford to baseball postseason
Trent Bielak went nearly 120 at-bats before his first collegiate home run. Bielak, a Highlands grad and junior at Pitt-Bradford, finally hit one March 6 in the Panthers’ win at Elmira. In the top of the third, with one out and Max Rogers on base after a single, Bielak launched...
Final Four teams have been locked in on defense all season
Tennessee has one of the nation’s best defenses, a bruising crew that leaves opponents black and blue. Houston gave the Vols a lesson in defensive dominance in the Elite Eight. Swarming and switching, the Cougars had the Vols feeling like they were stuck in an escape room with no exit...
Flagg, Broome, Clayton are among the Final Four players to watch in a showdown between No. 1 seeds
Looking for an inspiring underdog or a glass slipper lying around in San Antonio? This year’s version of the Final Four is not for you. Fittingly for an NCAA Tournament in which big schools from big conferences took record numbers of spots in the first week, then hogged them all...
Torpedo-shaped bats draw attention after Yankees hit team-record 9 homers in rout of BrewersVideo
NEW YORK — New torpedo bats drew attention when the New York Yankees hit a team-record nine homers that traveled a combined 3,695 feet on Saturday. Using a strikingly different model in which wood is moved lower down the barrel after the label and shapes the end a little like...
Mike Tomlin ‘comfortable’ if Steelers open season with Mason Rudolph as starting quarterback
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Mason Rudolph’s experience as a backup during six seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers weighed heavily in his favor when the organization re-signed him after a one-year absence. Rudolph doesn’t have nearly the resume in a starting role, but coach Mike Tomlin said Monday he is fine...
Penguins rookie forwards Ville Koivunen, Rutger McGroarty offer new story
Like a lot of people who reach a certain age, Rutger McGroarty had a story to tell about his 21st birthday. He wore different skates. As in, one skate was older and broken in while the other was brand new and probably still a little stiff. That misadventure happened to...
Mark Madden: Alex Ovechkin will break Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record, but how he does it matters for NHL
Alex Ovechkin has 890 career goals. He’s going to break Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record of 894. But how should he do it? What would be best for business? The Washington Capitals have to consider what’s best for their team. They unexpectedly have the top seed in the Eastern Conference...
Penguins Elite alum nets winner to send Penn State to 1st Frozen FourVideo
Penn State is headed to the Frozen Four for the first time in program history after the Nittany Lions defeated UConn, 3-2 in overtime, in the Allentown Regional Final at the PPL Center on Sunday night. Sophomore Matt DiMarsico scored the game-winner with just over two minutes left in overtime...
Trump tariff tumult has ripples for sporting goods, puts costly hockey gear in price-hike crosshair
MINNEAPOLIS — Calls from the U.S. to Roustan Hockey headquarters in Canada in recent weeks have been anything but routine, as bulk orders of name-brand sticks have suddenly become complicated conversations. “These customers want to know: When their orders ship, will they have to pay an additional 25% tariff? And...
Tim Benz: Mike Tomlin’s latest comments illustrate Steelers’ QB planning problem
Of all the responses Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin gave about his team’s current quarterback situation during a Q&A with reporters in Florida on Sunday, one resonated with me well beyond the others. “I don’t know if we’re identifying anything as ‘Plan A, Plan B or Plan C.’ We’re just...
First Call: Mike Tomlin addresses state of Steelers’ RBs; Steelers players sound off on NFL schedule expansion talkVideo
In Monday’s “First Call,” Mike Tomlin addresses the Pittsburgh Steelers’ running back room without Najee Harris. We have some banter between former Steelers teammates regarding potential NFL schedule expansion. An ex-Steeler provides a sparkling highlight in the UFL’s first week. And the NCAA’s Frozen Four will have a substantial Western...
Madden Monday: Past Steelers heads ‘would have made the decision by now’ on Aaron Rodgers
On Sunday, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said that he has yet to give Aaron Rodgers any sort of deadline as to when he would need an answer about playing quarterback for the franchise. During this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of TribLive and 105.9 The X said that’s...
Auburn completes sweep of No. 1 seeds into Final Four, beating Michigan State
ATLANTA — Johni Broome held his injured right arm through most of Auburn’s Elite Eight postgame celebration. That didn’t keep the star forward from climbing a ladder to cut down the net he then wore around his neck. Broome had 25 points and 14 rebounds, and Auburn took command with...
Denny Hamlin ends 10-year win drought at Martinsville Speedway
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Denny Hamlin ended an agonizing 10-year winless streak at Martinsville Speedway, holding off teammate Christopher Bell in his home state to secure a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. The Joe Gibbs Racing star, who was raised a few hours away in the Richmond suburb of...
Sidney Crosby scores winner, Tristan Jarry posts shutout as Penguins beat Senators in overtimeVideo
Sidney Crosby realizes he won’t likely be playing meaningful contests later this month when the NHL’s postseason begins. But the Pittsburgh Penguins’ captain professes another pursuit worthy of his team’s attention in the final games of the regular season. “Just having the right mindset,” Crosby said in Cranberry on Saturday....
Mike Tomlin: Steelers not ‘hindered’ in free agency by playing quarterback waiting game
PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Pittsburgh Steelers filled holes in free agency by adding an outside cornerback, a slot corner candidate, an inside linebacker and a complementary running back. What they didn’t get was a high-profile defensive lineman, but coach Mike Tomlin insists that omission was not because of the...
Minor league report: Penguins’ Sergei Murashov loses 1st AHL game, Nailers clinch playoffs
Goaltender Sergei Murashov made 32 saves on 35 shots for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 5-2 loss to the Charlotte Checkers at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C. on Sunday. The result was Murashov’s first loss at the American Hockey League level this season as his record dropped to 11-1-0....
Houston’s defense carries Cougars into 7th Final Four over Tennessee
INDIANAPOLIS — Houston’s relentless defense confused and harassed Tennessee and carried the Cougars into their seventh Final Four and first since 2021, with L.J. Cryer scoring 17 points in a 69-50 victory on Sunday. Emanuel Sharp scored 14 of his 16 points after halftime for top-seeded Houston (34-4) and was...
Lauren Betts, UCLA reach first Final Four of women’s NCAA Tournament, beating LSU
SPOKANE, Wash. — Lauren Betts had 17 points and seven rebounds despite spending the entire second quarter on the bench, and top overall seed UCLA reached its first Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament with a 72-65 victory over LSU on Sunday. The 6-foot-7 Betts added six blocks for...
Steelers’ Mike Tomlin acknowledges ‘really good’ meeting with Aaron Rodgers, puts no time frame on QB decision
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Mike Tomlin doesn’t like to discuss players not already under contract to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He made an exception Sunday because of the public nature of his team’s pursuit of quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Steelers head coach admitted to meeting with Rodgers on March 21 at...
Can Villanova rise into a championship contender again? Wildcats bank on Kevin Willard
PHILADELPHIA — Kevin Willard publicly campaigned — pleaded, really — during Maryland’s run to the Sweet 16 for more from the university and athletic department for his Big Ten program. More of everything — “fundamental changes,” he called them — that really came down to more money, so much more,...
David Bednar’s wild pitch, lack of clutch hitting lead to Pirates’ 3-2 loss to Marlins
The inability to perform one of baseball’s most basic and important tasks — hitting safely with runners in scoring position — haunted the Pittsburgh Pirates throughout all four games of their season-opening series in Miami. The Pirates lost three of the four in one-run, walk-off fashion, including 3-2 to the...
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin remains sidelined
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin will miss his third consecutive game due to an undisclosed injury as his team hosts the Ottawa Senators at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday. Coach Mike Sullivan announced Malkin’s status approximately two hours before the opening faceoff. Typically deployed as the second-line center, Malkin has...
Defending champ South Carolina returns to Final Four, beating Duke
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Chloe Kitts scored 14 points and defending national champion South Carolina reached the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament for a fifth straight year, beating Duke 54-50 on Sunday. The top-seeded Gamecocks are two wins away from becoming the first team to repeat as champions since...
Pirates’ Nick Gonzales will have CT scan Monday on ankle fracture
Nick Gonzales, who has a non-displaced ankle fracture, will have a CT scan Monday in Pittsburgh, general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday on his radio show on 93.7 The Fan. “We’ll know a little bit more there, don’t expect that we’re going to learn a lot more,” Cherington said. Gonzales...
