Sports category, Page 327
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce plans to play next season rather than retire
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce plans to play next season rather than retire. The 35-year-old Kelce had been mulling whether to return for a 13th season. But the four-time All-Pro made his feelings clear in a text to Pat McAfee that the host read...
Pitt TE Gavin Bartholomew looking to use NFL Combine as hair-raising chance to impress scouts
INDIANAPOLIS — Gavin Bartholomew doesn’t have the best stats among tight ends at the NFL Combine. He doesn’t have the top pedigree, either, among the 21 prospects at his position invited to attend the annual event. But the four-year starter from Pitt excels in one easy-to-detect area. Bartholomew arguably has...
Top prospect Bubba Chandler shows signs of maturity on mound as Pirates pound Twins
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Bubba Chandler wanted to make quick work of the Minnesota Twins, so the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander wasn’t happy when his called third strike on the inside corner against Willi Castro was overturned by a challenge in spring training’s experimental automated ball-strike system. “I never had a...
North Allegheny leads WPIAL Class 3A swimming after Day 1; Mt. Lebanon’s Sylvia Roy sets record in 4-peat
The North Allegheny girls, winners of 16 straight WPIAL swimming titles, and the two-time defending champion NA boys are the leading the pack in the Class 3A championships after the first day of competition at Pitt’s Trees Pool. The girls have 250 points, while the boys are at 233.5 points....
Matt Gorski hopes home runs, playing 1st base help to make a lasting impression on Pirates
BRADENTON, Fla. — All of Matt Gorski’s hits in spring training games had been home runs, so Derek Shelton was surprised when the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder had to settle for a sacrifice fly. When a 400-foot shot fell short of clearing the center-field fence, the Pirates manager made the case...
Penguins forward Michael Bunting sidelined following appendix removal
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Michael Bunting will be sidelined indefinitely after undergoing surgery to remove his appendix. Coach Mike Sullivan announced Bunting’s status Thursday morning in advance of a home contest against the rival Philadelphia Flyers. No further details were provided on Bunting’s status. In 58 games this season, Bunting has...
Mark Madden: Remembering Gene Hackman — Norman Dale vs. Jimmy McGinty
The death of heralded actor Gene Hackman begs the question: Who was the superior coach, Norman Dale in “Hoosiers” or Jimmy McGinty in “The Replacements”? Neither had much with which to work. Dale’s talent was thin beyond Jimmy Chitwood, who provided Hickory High School with a deadly scoring touch and...
Penn State star DE Abdul Carter dealing with foot injury that may impact his ranking as No. 1 overall pick
INDIANAPOLIS — Penn State star defensive end Abdul Carter already wasn’t planning to work out at the NFL Combine because of a shoulder injury he suffered in the College Football Playoffs. A foot injury revealed Wednesday night apparently won’t derail his plans to attend his school’s pro day. Nor, according...
Tim Benz: Playing the WR ‘butterfly effect’ game with Omar Khan isn’t getting the answers Steelers fans want
If we are going to play the “butterfly effect” game with the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers, let’s at least talk about the right butterfly. While addressing Steelers media members Tuesday, general manager Omar Khan was asked how he evaluated the midseason trades for Mike Williams and Preston Smith and if he...
First Call: 49ers pledge Deebo Samuel trade; Max Talbot talks up ‘Shhh!’ legacy ahead of Penguins’ bobblehead nightVideo
“First Call” for Thursday looks at increased prospects of a Deebo Samuel trade. We introduce you to another running back to remember on NFL Draft weekend for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Max Talbot expands the legend of the “Shhh!” The Duquesne basketball teams pull off a mid-week sweep. And Robert Morris’...
U mad, bro?: Fans gripe over NFL player grades for Mike Tomlin; Omar Khan’s quotes; Penguins losing
In this week’s “U mad, bro,” we’ve got some people rolling their eyes at Omar Khan’s quotes about the Steelers roster. We have lots of people fed up with the Penguins. And there are a surprising amount of people agitated about the Eagles’ Tush Push. Ah! Enjoy spring training, Pirates....
Indiana pulls away late to beat Penn State
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Oumar Ballo had 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, Myles Rice scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half and Indiana beat Penn State, 83-78, on Wednesday night. Trey Galloway made a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions and Anthony Leal capped the 8-0 run with...
IndyCar starts season with big stars, big hopes, new TV partnerVideo
Fox Sports marked its new oversight of the IndyCar Series with glossy new commercials that have been showcased everywhere from the Super Bowl to the Daytona 500. The network partnership begins in earnest this weekend with the season-opening race on the streets of downtown St. Petersburg, Fla. There is hope...
Minor league report: Penguins’ losing streak reaches 3
Goaltender Tristan Jarry made 31 saves on 35 shots for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 5-2 loss to the Rochester Americans at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y. on Wednesday. The result dropped Jarry’s record to 6-5-0. Forwards Boris Katchouk and Rutger McGroarty each scored goals for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (28-14-6-1), which...
49ers GM John Lynch says team has started contract talks with QB Brock PurdyVideo
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said the team has begun negotiations with quarterback Brock Purdy about a long-term contract and believes both sides want to get a deal done. Purdy’s contract extension is one of the main items on the offseason to-do list for San Francisco. He is...
Duquesne men never trail, defeat La Salle in Philly
Duquesne reverted to a familiar playing style from last season’s Atlantic 10 championship team and won a men’s basketball game Wednesday night for just the second time on the road this season. That’s right, it wasn’t pretty. Taking a page from former coach Keith Dambrot’s guide to winning ugly, Tre...
Saints GM, coach indicate they plan to stick with QB Derek CarrVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis sees 11-year veteran quarterback Derek Carr as “a guy we can win with, and we’re excited about it.” Loomis made those comments Wednesday to a small group of New Orleans-based reporters who traveled to Indianapolis for the NFL scouting combine. Carr...
NFL reviewing possible changes to overtime rules; 1st downs to be measured electronicallyVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL is considering changing overtime rules in the regular season to decrease the advantage for teams that win the coin toss. “It’s time to rethink the overtime rule,” league executive Troy Vincent said Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. Vincent said the competition committee agrees overtime rules...
Steelers looking to improve run defense, and former Michigan DT Kenneth Grant thinks he can help
INDIANAPOLIS — Bigger is better as far as Kenneth Grant is concerned. One of the largest specimens at the NFL Combine, the junior defensive tackle from Michigan stands 6-foot-3 and tips the scales at 342 pounds. He has the size to fit squarely in the middle of an NFL team’s...
New Orleans Privateers suspensions related to possible NCAA violations
NEW ORLEANS — Four New Orleans players who’ve been suspended since late January are under investigation for possible NCAA violations related to sports gambling, a person familiar with the situation said. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the university’s only public statement about...
Vagabond A’s enter Sacramento era with playoff expectations
MESA, Ariz. — The Athletics have moved about an hour east from Oakland to the Sacramento area, where they will be based in a minor-league ballpark for the next three seasons while hoping a more permanent home in Las Vegas will be ready in 2028. If this doesn’t sound like...
Heisman winner Travis Hunter already has NFL convinced he can be 2-way playerVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Travis Hunter arrived at the NFL Scouting Combine with a Heisman Trophy resume, an invitation to work out at two positions and ready to answer all doubters. The former Colorado star already appears to have completed one task this week in Indianapolis — convincing coaches and general managers...
Famous Ludvig Aberg, unknown Brian Campbell are both important to PGA Tour
One week the PGA Tour winner was Ludvig Aberg, a Swede so supremely talented that he played in a Ryder Cup before his first major, entered the top 10 in the world ranking just nine months after he left college and has been there ever since. The next week it...
Breaking news: Pirates lefty Bailey Falter hopes sharpened slider, curveball will set up fastballs
BRADENTON, Fla. — Before the question was even asked, Bailey Falter blurted out the answer: breaking stuff. The Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander has a reputation for taking advantage of his elite extension and throwing hitters a heavy dose of fastballs — a combined 62% between his four-seamer and sinker — so...
‘Get back to the basics’: Penguins’ goaltending struggles continue
It was time for Andy Chiodo to drop his gloves. To be clear, the time was 11:43 a.m., approximately 17 minutes before the Pittsburgh Penguins formally opened their practice Wednesday in Cranberry. And the goaltending coach’s gloves were on the ice. Specifically, they were placed just above the hashmarks in...
