Sports category, Page 347
Rams will be home team in 2026 for 1st NFL game in AustraliaVideo
NEW ORLEANS — The NFL is expanding its international footprint to Australia. The league announced Wednesday it will be playing a game in 2026 in Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a venue that holds about 100,000 spectators. The Los Angeles Rams will be the home team for that game,...
Western Pa.’s top football prospects for the Class of 2026
The Class of 2026 is on the clock. With the arrival Wednesday of signing day, most of the top high school seniors in the WPIAL and City League have finalized their college football plans. That leaves college recruiters free to focus on a talented junior class that’s largely uncommitted. Here...
Blitzing with ‘Spags’: Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo is mad scientist of pass rush
NEW ORLEANS — Every once in awhile, when an unsuspecting offense is least expecting it, Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid will inch his way toward the line of scrimmage, then take off like a thunderbolt toward the quarterback the moment the ball is snapped. It looks so simple, the...
Mark Madden: A decades-old tradition, Steelers would rather be right than win
In Week 13 at Cincinnati, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Bengals, 44-38. Quarterback Russell Wilson scored six more points than Joe Burrow. Wilson threw for 105 more yards than Burrow. Wilson threw for three touchdowns, same as Burrow. That’s rarefied air, a callback to Wilson’s glory days with Seattle. Wilson...
Penn State adds Greg Gattuso to Jim Knowles’ defensive staffVideo
The Nittany Lions are adding a Penn State letterman and former national champion to Jim Knowles’ staff. Greg Gattuso, Albany’s longtime head coach and a defensive lineman on Penn State’s 1982 national championship team, is joining the Nittany Lions as a defensive consultant, according to a source. WYNT’s Rodger Wyland...
NFL players’ union boss Lloyd Howell: ‘No one wants to play an 18th game’ in regular season
NEW ORLEANS — An 18-game NFL regular season isn’t a slam dunk. NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell pushed back on it Wednesday even though NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has openly talked about it as if it’s inevitable. The two sides haven’t had formal discussions about expanding the season, which would...
Vic Fangio remade the Eagles defense and now looks for his elusive Super Bowl title
NEW ORLEANS — Vic Fangio’s coaching career started in the 1970s as a high school assistant in Pennsylvania and has taken him across the country in various stops as he grew into one of the most innovative defensive coaches in the game. Now at age 66, Fangio is at the...
Penguins reassign forward Jesse Puljujarvi to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of AHL
The Pittsburgh Penguins reassigned forward Jesse Puljujarvi to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Wednesday afternoon. Puljujarvi, 26, has been relegated to healthy scratch status of late and last dressed for the Penguins on Jan. 29 against Utah Hockey Club. That lone appearance followed a recall from the AHL,...
Penguins forward Sidney Crosby being evaluated for injuryVideo
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby is being evaluated for an undisclosed injury, according to coach Mike Sullivan. Crosby did not participate in practice Wednesday in Cranberry. Sullivan announced Crosby’s status after the session. The precise nature of the injury was not specified, but Sullivan labeled it as “upper body.” Crosby...
Women step into head coaching positions for area men’s volleyball teams, part of what could be a growing trend nationwide
When Kate McCauley was hired as the Saint Vincent men’s volleyball coach in October 2021, she couldn’t help but feel like she was on an island. A woman coaching a man’s sport, after all, was rare. McCauley hardly thought of herself as a trail blazer, but she did harbor hope...
LIV Golf players now have their own path to U.S. Open exemption
The U.S. Open became the first major to publish a direct pathway for LIV Golf players, on Wednesday announcing a new exemption category that awards one spot to the leading player from among the top three at LIV’s halfway point this year. The next exemption category will include one spot...
Pirates announce hirings, promotions of directors in baseball operations reorganization
Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington formally announced Wednesday the hiring of several baseball operations directors and staff promotions as part of a promised reorganization of the front office. Mike Voltmer joins the Pirates as the new vice president of pro evaluation and strategy after eight years with the reigning...
First Call: Ben Roethlisberger agrees with criticism of Steelers’ defense; Alex Ovechkin scores a buzzer-beater
Wednesday’s “First Call” has some quotes from Ben Roethlisberger that the current Pittsburgh Steelers defense won’t like. The NFL has a deal in place to officially use the phrase “three-peat” if the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl. Alexander Ovechkin scores a buzzer-beater goal. Marc-Andre Fleury hits another milestone....
More than 1/3 of Black NFL players surveyed by AP discouraged by lack of Black coaches
ASHBURN, Va. — Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin paused for a moment to think while speaking to a reporter after a practice this season. “Now that you mention it,” McLaurin said, “I’ve never had a Black head coach in high school, college or the NFL. Coordinators and position coaches...
Could backlash over alleged referee-favoritism toward the Chiefs benefit the Eagles in the Super Bowl?
The Kansas City Chiefs and superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes get the benefit of so many officiating calls that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had to answer a question about the trend being intentional during his pre-Super Bowl press conference. “That’s a ridiculous theory for anyone who might take it seriously,” Goodell...
Tim Benz: Kenny Pickett’s Super Bowl quotes create interesting Steelers QB hypothetical
Former Pittsburgh Steeler Kenny Pickett is at the Super Bowl as the Philadelphia Eagles’ backup quarterback. During an interview with SteelersNow.com in New Orleans, Pickett had this to say about his experience with the Eagles so far. “Every place does it differently, but the ultimate goal is to be (at...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi hopes transfer defensive ends can make up for losses in the portal
Pat Narduzzi isn’t one to worry about losses in the transfer portal, at least not publicly. But he does acknowledge roster ramifications of those losses, and he is trying to do something about it. After the portal claimed three Pitt defensive ends this offseason, including likely 2025 contributors Sincere Edwards...
Penguins’ Rickard Rakell relishes ‘huge honor’ of playing in 4 Nations Face-OffVideo
Rickard Rakell had but three words to describe recently getting the news that he’d be joining Sweden for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off. “Hornqvist called me,” Rakell said, referring to former Penguin Patric Hornqvist, who’s serving as Sweden’s assistant general manager. And what was that call like? “It was a...
Pirates by Position: Isiah Kiner-Falefa takes over at SS, Nick Gonzales settles in at 2B
When the Pittsburgh Pirates moved Oneil Cruz to center field late last August, it solved a problem at one position but appeared to create another: With Cruz in the outfield, who would play shortstop? The immediate answer was Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who started 17 of the next 20 games at shortstop...
Dawson Garcia’s double-double boosts Minnesota past Penn State
UNIVERSITY PARK — Dawson Garcia scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and reserve Brennan Rigsby scored 14 points and Minnesota pulled away from Penn State at the end for a 69-61 win on Tuesday night. Rigsby was perfect shooting going 5 for 5 including 2 for 2 from 3-point...
Penguins offer sturdy effort but lose to Devils in shootout
On the surface, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 3-2 shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils at PPG Paints Arena was an unappetizing result in a season that has largely been malnourished. But it offered a pretty reliable recipe for how this flawed team needs to operate for the remainder of the...
Former Eagles franchise QB Carson Wentz faces former team in Super Bowl
NEW ORLEANS — Carson Wentz once again will mostly be a spectator on the sidelines during a Super Bowl appearance by the Philadelphia Eagles. Seven years after he watched his backup Nick Foles win the MVP after delivering the Eagles their first Super Bowl title, Wentz is back on the...
NFL referees union calls allegations of bias toward the Chiefs ‘insulting’Video
NEW ORLEANS — The head of the union representing NFL officials called allegations that officiating crews are biased in favor of the Kansas City Chiefs or any other team “insulting and preposterous.” NFL Referees Association executive director Scott Green released a statement Tuesday thanking commissioner Roger Goodell for dismissing the...
Andy Reid reveals plans for coaching future with Chiefs
NEW ORLEANS — Coach Andy Reid doesn’t plan to leave the Kansas City sideline any time soon. As Reid prepares the Chiefs for their fifth Super Bowl appearance in six seasons, the 66-year-old put to rest any talk that he was ready to hang it up if Kansas City wins...
Blue Jackets overcome injuries, skids and Gaudreau’s death to climb into playoff contentionVideo
BUFFALO, N.Y. — No stranger to adversity this season, Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason began chuckling even before the question regarding potential lineup changes could be completed. “There’s a few, yeah, too many to talk about,” Evason said Tuesday as the Blue Jackets prepared to face Buffalo minus three more...
