Sports category, Page 290

Brayden Long sat inside a cramped, makeshift interview room high atop Cal (Pa.)’s Adamson Stadium quietly surveying his surroundings. As Slippery Rock’s record-setting quarterback swigged water from a bottle, his eyes darted back and forth as if to replay the day’s events. Thanks in large part to Long’s masterful approach,...

Before Pitt found its shooting touch, before the Panthers started to play with the necessary physicality and focus, before Jaland Lowe decided the floor was his, Pitt looked like a team headed for defeat. Suddenly, the momentum shifted and Lowe scored 15 points in the second half Saturday to lead...

Minkah Fitzpatrick is aware of the narrative that he doesn’t make many splash plays anymore, let alone create turnovers, so the Pittsburgh Steelers’ three-time All-Pro free safety must be having a down season. On a defense that loves to talk about its turnover culture and awards T-shirts for takeaways, Fitzpatrick...

T.J. Watt skipped the NFL Honors ceremony at Las Vegas in February when he learned he wouldn’t be winning the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. Cleveland’s Myles Garrett got that award. Garrett took Watt’s no-show as a slight, and said so. When the Steelers visited Cleveland on Nov. 21,...

1. Moon man Russell Wilson has quickly become known to Pittsburgh Steelers fans for his “moon ball.” If it seems every week Wilson is dropping his trademark high-arcing pass into the arms of a receiver deep down the field, it’s because he is. In each of Wilson’s six starts, he...

SCOUTING THE BROWNS Last meeting Browns beat Steelers, 24-19, on Nov. 21 in Cleveland. Key matchup Steelers WR George Pickens vs. Browns CB Denzel Ward The eyes of everyone are always on Pickens, from opposing defensive coordinators to fans to officials. Pickens is coming off a game in which he...

The Pittsburgh Penguins look much better in early December than they did when the 2024-25 campaign began in early October. But they wound up with a result on Friday that was similar to what they opened the season with. A loss to the New York Rangers. At New York’s Madison...

Senior libero Emmy Klika and her teammates huddled together in front of the net after the Pitt women’s volleyball team swept Morehead State on Friday night at Petersen Events Center. The Panthers’ tradition of taking a photo after every match is the program’s simple way of documenting the steps along...

A week-and-a-half ago, he secured his first college coaching victory at the Cayman Islands Classic. On Friday, Duquesne’s Dru Joyce III won his first game in the United States. Tre Dinkins III scored 18 points to lead five Duquesne players in double figures, and the Dukes, playing for the second...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Josh Reynolds was ready for another change of scenery after getting shot in Denver in mid-October. The Jaguars (2-10) claimed Reynolds off waivers from the Broncos on Wednesday, adding the journeyman to help offset season-ending injuries to Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis. The 29-year-old...

DETROIT — For most of a century, the Detroit Lions making the playoffs was a banner day. Suddenly, it has become old hat. After winning their last NFL championship in 1957, the Lions only played 13 playoff games in the next 75 seasons. They only won one of them —...

CLEVELAND — The NFL closed an investigation into sexual assault allegations against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is ending the season on injured reserve for the second year in a row. The league has been reviewing the case for months, trying to determine whether Watson should be punished. “The...

LOS ANGELES — Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss is taking an extended leave from his role as an analyst on “NFL Sunday Countdown” as he deals with “a personal health challenge,” ESPN said in a statement Friday. In a video recorded and posted on Instagram before he appeared on...

Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Calvin Austin III was a full practice participant Friday and has been given the official green light to play Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. Austin entered concussion protocol after absorbing two hard hits during this past Sunday’s Steelers win at the Cincinnati Bengals. Austin did not play...

During his brief weekly media availability last week, Pittsburgh Steelers receiver George Pickens answered questions related to the previous week’s game against the Cleveland Browns by invoking that infamous Marshawn Lynch line, “I’m just here so I don’t get fined.” With the Browns again on the schedule this week, Pickens...

In four seasons at Pitt, Nate Yarnell has served four distinct roles at the game’s most important position. He has been a quarterback-in-waiting, hope for the future, an afterthought and, finally, an insurance policy. But all of that will end for Pitt’s bowl game and in 2025 after he revealed...

One Pittsburgh Steeler is ready for the return of Alex Highsmith after he missed three games with an ankle injury. It should come as no surprise it’s the guy who plays outside linebacker on the opposite side. Steelers All-Pro T.J. Watt called Highsmith being healthy a “huge” development for the...