Sports category, Page 358
Las Vegas Raiders negotiating deal to hire Pete Carroll as head coach, AP source says
The Las Vegas Raiders are negotiating a deal to hire Pete Carroll to be their new head coach, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Friday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract hasn’t been finalized. The 73-year-old Carroll returns to the...
Mark Madden: Justin Fields has better options than staying with Steelers
This space recently floated the largely accepted notion that starting Justin Fields at quarterback next season makes sense for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Fields is 25 and has pedigree, having been selected 11th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s mobile and athletic: Lamar Jackson Lite. If Fields blossoms, perhaps he’s...
Duquesne’s coach, players see no need for Dayton loss to start any trends
After Duquesne’s 82-62 loss to Dayton on Tuesday night, coach Dru Joyce III was asked if he was going to have his players study the tape or if he was going to just “burn” it. “You can burn it. You can take a look at it. We’ll see,” Joyce said....
Australian Open: Madison Keys can win her first Slam title and stop Aryna Sabalenka’s 3-peat
MELBOURNE, Australia — The Madison Keys who will play two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka for the title at the Australian Open on Saturday night is not the same Madison Keys who was the runner-up at the U.S. Open back in 2017, the one other time the American participated in a...
Novak Djokovic quits mid-match and walks off to boos, putting Alexander Zverev in Australian Open final vs. Jannik Sinner
MELBOURNE, Australia — Spectators booed an injured Novak Djokovic as he left the court in Rod Laver Arena after quitting one set into his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev on Friday. Dealing with what he said was a torn muscle, Djokovic lost the opening set 7-6 (5) when he...
First Call: James Harrison doubts Mike Tomlin’s ‘standard’ message; ex-Steeler up for Lions’ defensive job
James Harrison has a pointed critique of Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. Another former Steelers linebacker is in the hunt for a significant coaching promotion. The Penguins try to get right in Seattle on Saturday. On the college hoops scene, Pitt, Duquesne and Robert Morris all play conference games this...
Football Footnotes: Round 4 of Mahomes vs. Allen conjures memories of Bradshaw vs. Stabler
The Steelers and Raiders haven’t faced each other in the playoffs since 1983-84. But with the Buffalo Bills preparing to lock horns with the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, the glory days of Black and Gold versus Silver and Black are coming back to mind....
Ex-Penguins forward Jared McCann thrives as the Kraken’s 1st starVideo
Just around the corner, in 2071, the Seattle Kraken franchise will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Presumably, an opulent ceremony will be staged to celebrate everything of note in the first half-century of the Kraken. Dignitaries of all types will be on hand including, presumably, a 75-year-old Jared McCann. After all,...
Penguins forward Bryan Rust injured in loss to Ducks
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust suffered an undisclosed injury and prematurely exited a 5-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. on Thursday. Aside from a posting on one of the team’s social media accounts acknowledging the ailment, there was no substantive word on Rust’s...
Bills might be better, but Chiefs are favored for a reason
LAS VEGAS — The Kansas City Chiefs are slight favorites to beat the Buffalo Bills on Sunday and get a shot at winning an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl. But that doesn’t mean Kansas City is the better team. “I agree with that,” CBS SportsLine handicapper Bruce Marshall said. “I...
Ravens’ Mark Andrews ‘absolutely gutted’ by his performance in playoff loss to Bills
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Mark Andrews is “absolutely gutted by what happened” in last weekend’s divisional playoff loss at the Buffalo Bills, the veteran Baltimore Ravens tight end said in a social media post Thursday. A wide-open Andrews dropped a potential tying 2-point conversion in the final two minutes of...
Ludvig Aberg, Lanto Griffin share lead after fierce coastal wind interrupts Farmers Insurance OpenVideo
SAN DIEGO — Ludvig Aberg and Lanto Griffin shared the lead Thursday at Torrey Pines in the Farmers Insurance Open after ferocious wind forced an 86-minute delay and prevented dozens of players from finishing the second round. First-round leader Aberg fought to a 3-over-par 75, while Griffin had a 72...
LeBron James picked for 21st straight All-Star Game, extending NBA recordVideo
LeBron James is extending his All-Star records. The NBA revealed the starters — some of them, anyway — for the revamped All-Star Game on Thursday night, and there wasn’t much in the way of surprises. James is now officially an All-Star for the 21st year. The other starters: — New...
NBA still talking about expanding its footprint in Europe, Adam Silver saysVideo
PARIS — The NBA is still exploring ways to expand its role in European basketball, and those talks with FIBA and other stakeholders will continue, commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday. That means there’s no deal yet. But Silver, speaking before the start of the NBA Paris Games between San Antonio...
Ichiro Suzuki wants to have a drink with writer who left him off Hall of Fame ballotVideo
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Ichiro Suzuki wants to raise a glass with the voter who chose not to check off his name on the Hall of Fame ballot. “There’s one writer that I wasn’t able to get a vote from,” he said through a translator Thursday, two days after receiving 393...
Jurickson Profar agrees to $42M, 3-year contract with Braves, a year after getting $1M deal with PadresVideo
ATLANTA — Jurickson Profar agreed to a $42 million, three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, less than a year after the outfielder got a $1 million deal from the San Diego Padres with spring training already underway. Profar revived his career with the Padres last year when he...
Pitt hopes week between games allows for reset ahead of matchup with Syracuse
A full week between games has offered ample time for Pitt to reflect on where things stand as the calendar prepares to flip to February. Inside the Panthers’ locker room, there are no illusions to the reality that the team’s ongoing four-game losing streak is threatening to derail the season....
Pittsburgh Riveters sign Franklin Regional grad Sydney Lindeman
The Pittsburgh Riveters SC has not played a game yet, but the new pre-professional women’s soccer team just strengthened its defense. The team, set to begin play in May in the USL W League, signed Towson redshirt sophomore and Franklin Regional alum Sydney Lindeman. The 21-year-old defender played club soccer...
Steelers positional analysis: Was Pat Freiermuth underutilized in Arthur Smith’s offense?
This is the fourth in a series examining the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster, position by position, heading into the offseason. Today: Tight ends When the Pittsburgh Steelers signed tight end Pat Freiermuth to a five-year contract worth nearly $50 million in September, it was done with the expectation he would become...
Sean McVay wants to know QB Matthew Stafford’s status for next year with Rams ‘sooner than later’
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay says he would like to know “sooner than later” about Matthew Stafford’s status for next season. McVay provided no updates on his veteran quarterback’s plans for the coming year when the coach held his end-of-season news conference Thursday, but McVay sounded...
Australian Open: Madison Keys upsets Iga Swiatek, will face Aryna Sabalenka in the final
MELBOURNE, Australia — When Madison Keys finally finished off her 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10-8) upset of No. 2 Iga Swiatek in a high-intensity, high-quality Australian Open semifinal on Thursday night, saving a match point along the way, the 29-year-old American crouched on the court and placed a hand on her...
The Associated Press announces 5 NFL MVP finalists
Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley, Joe Burrow, Jared Goff and Lamar Jackson are finalists for the Associated Press 2024 NFL Most Valuable Player award. Barkley, Burrow and Jackson also are finalists for Offensive Player of the Year, and Burrow is also in the running for Comeback Player of the Year. The...
NFL finalizes dates for 2026 draft in Pittsburgh
Dates have been finalized for the NFL Draft that will be held in Pittsburgh next year. The league announced Thursday that the draft will take place April 23-25, 2026. Last May, Pittsburgh outbid other cities for the chance to host the draft, one of the league’s tentpole events of the...
Steelers OLB T.J. Watt among 5 finalists for AP defensive player of year award
On the day he withdrew from participating in the Pro Bowl games because of injury, Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt again was named a finalist for the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year award. Watt is not considered to be a front-runner to win the award. Watt, who...
Tim Benz: Jim Rooney’s explanation for playoff slump a sobering reality check of Steelers’ lowered standards
Jim Rooney is the brother of Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II. He recently wrote a book about their father, the late Dan Rooney, who also served as the Steelers president and owner of the franchise. As part of a media tour for the book, “A Different Way to Win,”...
