Sports category, Page 315
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...
GQ shows off baseball’s power couple: Paul Skenes and Livvy Dunne
The same day a GQ magazine profile is published, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes led his team to its second win of the season. Coincidence? If Skenes has any say in it, he will propel the team to the post-season, he told GQ. Then, he will get to once again...
First Call: Paul Skenes reacts to his GQ photo spread with Livvy Dunne; Steelers pulled back on Kirk Cousins inquiryVideo
Thursday’s “First Call” has pictures of Paul Skenes’ GQ photo shoot with Livvy Dunne. The Pittsburgh Penguins have a daunting task in St. Louis. The Steelers apparently pulled back from a quarterback inquiry. Plus, Alex Ovechkin scored again. But now his Washington Capitals are suddenly struggling. Smile pretty for the...
U mad, bro?: Perpetual position problems, Tony Award-level QB drama fatigues fans in PittsburghVideo
It’s Final Four week. But we’ve got many more entries than that for this week’s “U mad, bro?” None of them reference college basketball, though. With so much going on surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers’ QB hunt, Penguins goaltending uncertainty and early Pirates woes, our blind rage over Duke making another...
Shaking off frustration of ill-timed injury, Penguins’ Ryan Shea eyes strong finish
From late February through the first week of March, Ryan Shea felt as if he was playing some of the best hockey of his career. Pittsburgh Penguins management was certainly impressed, as on March 7, president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas extended Shea through 2025-26 at an average annual...
NHL and Rogers announce a 12-year Canadian media rights deal through the 2037-38 season
TORONTO — The NHL and Rogers Communications announced a new 12-year national media rights deal Wednesday to air games on multiple platforms in Canada. The agreement, which was first reported Monday, is valued at $11 billion Canadian dollars, or roughly $7.7 billion. The new deal runs through the 2037-38 season....
Paul Skenes serves as stopper as Pirates snap 4-game losing streak with win over Rays
Looking to snap a four-game losing streak, the Pittsburgh Pirates needed Paul Skenes to stand tall and serve as the stopper. The 6-foot-6 right-hander didn’t shrink. Skenes delivered a quality start that was more efficient than dominant, recording six strikeouts without a walk in seven innings and rallying from 3-0...
Robert Morris’ Andy Toole agrees to contract extension after leading Colonials to NCAA Tournament
Now that he, apparently, has decided to stay put, Andy Toole’s next order of business appears to be a reconstruction of the Robert Morris men’s basketball roster, decimated by the loss of seven players into the NCAA transfer portal, including the entire starting lineup. If anyone, particularly at the mid-major...
‘Unsung hero’ Noel Acciari remains valued by his Penguins teammates
Noel Acciari is usually one of the first players off the ice after most practices for the Pittsburgh Penguins. That habit doesn’t necessarily come from a place of entitlement or hubris. Acciari would need a centrifugal air compressor and several 24-ounce cans of Fix-a-Flat to have anything resembling an inflated...
Marc Fogel to throw out 1st pitch at Pirates home opener
To open its 25th season, PNC Park will welcome former Oakmont teacher Marc Fogel to throw out the ceremonial first pitch when the Pirates host the New York Yankees on Friday. Game time is 4:12 p.m. Fogel was arrested Aug. 14, 2021, in Moscow for bringing medical marijuana into Russia...
Jackson Merrill, Padres agree to $135 million, 9-year contract for 2026-34
SAN DIEGO — All-Star outfielder Jackson Merrill and the San Diego Padres agreed Wednesday to a $135 million, nine-year contract covering 2026-34. Merrill gets a $10 million signing bonus, $1 million payable within 30 days of the contract’s approval by Major League Baseball and $3 million on Jan. 15 in...
Injured Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin to travel for upcoming road trip
Injured Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin is expected to travel with his team for an upcoming three-game road trip according to coach Mike Sullivan. If that means Malkin will play in any of those games, that is a matter of speculation at this juncture. Malkin has missed the past three...
