Pirates add 6 prospects to 40-man roster, including top slugger Esmerlyn Valdez
The Pittsburgh Pirates overhauled their 40-man roster Tuesday to protect six prospects from the Rule 5 Draft, including the top slugger and reliever in their minor league system this season. The Pirates added right-handed reliever Brandan Bidois, infielder Jack Brannigan, right-handed starting pitchers Wilber Dotel and Antwone Kelly, lefty reliever...
No. 11 BYU can take huge step toward Big 12 title game with Cincy win, or pave way for chaos in loss
BOULDER, Colo. — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham turns 66 on Friday and certainly wouldn’t mind a belated birthday present from Cincinnati. It would be a gift for several teams around the Big 12, actually. Because if the Bearcats knock off No. 11 BYU at home Saturday night, the door opens...
No. 15 Georgia Tech and Pitt to meet in prime-time game with College Football Playoff implications
ATLANTA — A shot at the College Football Playoff is on the line for No. 15 Georgia Tech and Pitt ahead of a prime-time matchup Saturday night. The Yellow Jackets (9-1, 6-1) will clinch a spot in the ACC title game on Dec. 6 if they beat Pitt (7-3, 5-1),...
Commissioner Jim Phillips says ACC freed to focus on future with legal fight resolved
CARY, N.C. — The ACC opened 2025 mired in a legal fight with two member schools while waiting on broadcast partner ESPN to extend a media deal with the league for the long term. Those issues long resolved, the league has been focused on the future, building its brand with...
Minor league report: Nailers, Maxim Pavlenko shut out RoyalsVideo
Goaltender Maxim Pavlenko made 29 saves for the Wheeling Nailers in a 2-0 win against the Reading Royals at Santander Arena in Reading on Tuesday. The result was Pavlenko’s first career shutout at the ECHL level and boosted his record on the season to 4-2-0. Forwards David Breazeale and Ryan...
2 Penn State seniors take home Big Ten Player of the Week honors
For the first time in 2025, Penn State is represented in the Big Ten’s weekly awards. Senior running back Kaytron Allen won the conference’s Offensive Player of the Week nomination, while senior defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton earned Defensive Player of the Week honors. The Nittany Lions defeated Michigan State, 28-10,...
ACC freed to focus on future with legal fight resolved, Commissioner Jim Phillips says
CARY, N.C. — The Atlantic Coast Conference opened 2025 mired in a legal fight with two member schools while waiting on broadcast partner ESPN to extend a media deal with the league for the long term. Those issues long resolved, the league has been focused on the future, building its...
Ohio State faces uncertainty with star receivers ahead of final home game vs. Rutgers
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State might head into its final home game of the regular season without a full deck on offense. Coach Ryan Day did not rule out star receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate for this weekend when the top-ranked Buckeyes play host to Rutgers, but he also...
QB C.J. Stroud to miss 3rd straight game with concussion when Texans host Bills
HOUSTON — Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud is still recovering from a concussion and will miss a third straight game when the Texans host the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night. Stroud returned to practice Tuesday for the first time since he was injured, but coach DeMeco Ryans said the short week...
Pitt football notebook: LT Jeff Persi returns to action vs. Notre Dame after 4-game absence
During Pitt’s eventual loss to No. 9 Notre Dame on Saturday, a player not seen in quite some time marched onto the field for his first game reps in six weeks. It was Jeff Persi, the Panthers’ offensive lineman added in the offseason via the transfer portal (Michigan), who earned...
Penguins place forward Philip Tomasino on waivers
Things weren’t much different for Philip Tomasino as practice started in Cranberry on Tuesday morning. He was one of the first players on the ice. And he was one of the last players off the ice. As he has trudged through an underwhelming season that has seen him scratched for...
Penguins’ forward Sam Poulin: ‘I don’t want to be anywhere else but here’
The Pittsburgh Penguins are in the midst of a youth movement this season. Part of that is by design, as they have integrated teenagers such as Harrison Brunicke and Ben Kindel into their lineup. But a lot of it has been a blunt necessity as they have seven players on...
A look back at the Steelers’ long and ugly history in ChicagoVideo
Since 1936, there have been as many Allied victories in Europe as there have been Steelers victories in Chicago against the Bears. One. In 1995, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Bears, 37-34, in overtime at Soldier Field, as Crafton’s Bill Cowher beat Baldwin’s Dave Wannstedt. Aside from that result, the...
James Pierre will play but won’t retain starting CB job once Darius Slay returns for Steelers
James Pierre had a fumble return for a touchdown that sealed the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 34-12 victory Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. He had six tackles and two pass breakups. He held the coveted receiving duo of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to one catch on five targets for 13 yards....
Mike Tomlin: Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers won’t need surgery on fractured wrist, could start vs. BearsVideo
Aaron Rodgers has a fractured left wrist that won’t require surgery, leaving open the possibility he could start Sunday for the Pittsburgh Steelers when they play the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Rodgers was injured late in the first half of the Steelers’ 34-12 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals when...
Penguins recall Sam Poulin, place Ville Koivunen on injured reserveVideo
The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled rookie forward Sam Poulin from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) and placed rookie forward Ville Koivunen on injured reserve due to an undisclosed ailment. Koivunen has been labeled as “week to week.” Those transactions were announced on Tuesday morning. Poulin, a left-handed shot,...
Hempfield grad finds fit at Saint Vincent, racks up eye-popping passing stats
When he came to Saint Vincent, Jake Phillips had academics at the top of his priority list. Sports were more of an activity, something he could do on the side as he worked toward a degree. “I had heard a lot of really great things about the place, and the...
‘Just so blessed’: Terry Smith shares deeply emotional reaction to 1st win as Penn State head coach
UNIVERSITY PARK — Terry Smith continually referenced a “storm” his Penn State team was in the middle of over the past two months. The Nittany Lions had lost six straight games, seen coach James Franklin fired and lost starting quarterback Drew Allar to injury. Five of those six losses came...
Tim Benz: For someone who is ‘not a pressure guy,’ Pat Narduzzi has ramped that up for Pitt’s next 2 games
For Pitt football coach Pat Narduzzi, it was one thing to lose a football game (37-15) to ninth-ranked Notre Dame on Saturday. It was quite another thing to lose face. But that happened to Narduzzi too. Calling a timeout with six seconds left in an effort to score a garbage-time...
First Call: Ja’Marr Chase’s odd appeal strategy after spitting suspension; George Pickens shines after benching
Tuesday’s “First Call” examines a unique defense strategy for Ja’Marr Chase in his appeal for spitting at Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey. Justin Fields is getting benched in New York. George Pickens was already benched for Dallas. A local college hockey team is ranked for the first time, and...
On emotional night, Cowboys honor late teammate, defeat Raiders
LAS VEGAS — The Cowboys spent 11 days mourning defensive end Marshawn Kneeland before taking the field Monday night. Dallas then paid tribute to Kneeland by dominating the spiraling Raiders for 60 minutes. Dak Prescott passed for 268 yards and four touchdowns in a 33-16 victory over Las Vegas, the...
Honor Huff, DJ Thomas guide unbeaten West Virginia to 81-59 victory over Lafayette
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Freshman DJ Thomas had 25 points off the bench, Honor Huff hit eight 3-pointers and scored 24 and West Virginia beat Lafayette 81-59 on Monday night. Huff missed both of his shots from inside the 3-point line for the Mountaineers (5-0), but he made his final seven...
Barry Dunning Jr. ignites Pitt to blowout win over Bucknell
A quadruply deflating long weekend for Pitt athletics began when Jeff Capel and Co. lost by 22 points to West Virginia on the road Thursday. Then, women’s volleyball lost in five sets to No. 5 Stanford on Friday, No. 9 Notre Dame dispatched the Panthers on the gridiron Saturday and...
Hamels, Braun, Kemp among 12 newcomers on Baseball Hall of Fame ballot as Beltrán heads 15 holdovers
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Cole Hamels, Ryan Braun and Matt Kemp are among 12 newcomers on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released Monday, and Carlos Beltrán heads 15 holdovers after falling 19 votes shy in 2025 balloting. Howie Kendrick, Daniel Murphy and Rick Porcello also are among the first-time eligibles,...
Bears coach Ben Johnson not ready to talk playoffs with team in sole possession of NFC North lead
CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears are in unfamiliar territory: in sole possession of the NFC North lead and staring down at the rest of the division. The Bears (7-3) have won seven of eight after squeezing past the Minnesota Vikings, 19-17, to pull out yet another down-to-the-wire game, and they’re...
