Sports category, Page 368
Westmoreland County campus clippings: GCC grad Matt Metrosky draws interest in transfer portal
Looking for a new college football team, Matt Metrosky could still end up playing close to home. The junior lineman, who was a member of the Pitt football team the last four years as a walk-on, recently entered the NCAA transfer portal and immediately got a nibble on the line....
Auburn rises to No. 1 in AP Top 25 after Tennessee loses, Georgia is ranked for 1st time since 2011
Auburn has climbed to No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s basketball poll for its second stint at the top in program history, while fellow Southeastern Conference program Georgia is in the rankings for the first time in 14 years. Bruce Pearl’s Tigers (15-1) claimed 60 of 62 first-place votes...
Mike McCarthy is not returning as coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones saysVideo
DALLAS — Mike McCarthy is not returning as coach of the Dallas Cowboys, who are going on three decades since their last Super Bowl title, owner Jerry Jones said in a statement Monday. Jones said the organization and McCarthy mutually agreed to part ways. The team’s search for its next...
New crop of players, new style of play have Saint Vincent women’s basketball team trending in right direction
Even a coach who has been on the bench for 15 seasons doesn’t know everything. So no one could blame Saint Vincent women’s basketball coach Jimmy Petruska if he wasn’t sure what to expect from his 2024-25 group. The previous team, which had gone 11-9 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference...
Burrell grad Brandon Coury finally getting his chance to contribute for Seton Hill men’s basketball team
Stardom in high school doesn’t always translate instantly to college. Sometimes, players who were standouts in high school have to grind just to get playing time in college. Such was the case for Burrell’s Brandon Coury. Coury was a Valley News Dispatch first-team all-star selection after his senior season, when...
Notre Dame, Ohio State in uncharted territory: They’re playing 16-game seasons for the 1st time
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The year was 1894. Yale put together a football schedule that was daunting: games on Wednesdays and Saturdays, basically every week from late September to late November, 16 contests in all. No major college football team — what we now call the FBS level — had...
Mark Madden: With no reason for optimism, Steelers need to start all over — beginning with Mike Tomlin
The Steelers lost their sixth straight playoff game. For the fifth consecutive time, it was a blowout. The Steelers should blow it up and start over. The coach has been exposed for the fraud he’s always been. This version of the team is aging, full of holes and clearly a...
Reliever Hunter Stratton among 13 players with non-roster invites to Pirates spring training
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Monday that 13 players have received non-roster invitations to their major league camp for spring training, including several relievers who have pitched out of their bullpen. Right-handers Isaac Mattson, Yohan Ramirez and Hunter Stratton will be among the familiar faces when pitchers and catchers report Feb....
Jayden Daniels leads Commanders to 1st playoff win in 19 years, beating Buccaneers
TAMPA, Fla. — New owners. New general manager. New coach. New franchise quarterback. That’s the formula — with an emphasis on the QB — that Washington rode to playoff success after nearly two decades of futility. Jayden Daniels ran for a critical first down to set up Zane Gonzalez’s 37-yard...
Penguins acknowledge penalty kill requires improvement
In a change of pace, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ penalty kill was not a liability Sunday evening against the Tampa Bay Lightning. That was partly because it didn’t get any opportunities to struggle, as Tampa Bay did not embark on a single 5-on-4 power play in its eventual 5-2 victory. While...
First Call: Steelers not expected to move on from Mike Tomlin; loss to Ravens panned by Terry Bradshaw, Bill Cowher
In Monday’s “First Call,” don’t expect the Pittsburgh Steelers to make any move at the head coaching position. A pair of Steelers legends are disappointed in their former team’s effort during Saturday night’s playoff loss in Baltimore. A familiar face will be coaching the Patriots when the Steelers visit New...
Madden Monday: Steelers shouldn’t bring Russell Wilson back ‘at any price’
The 2024-25 Pittsburgh Steelers season is over. Now they have to start figuring out what to do for 2025-26. Good luck. Whatever they try to do won’t be dictated until they figure out an action plan at quarterback. They currently do not have a QB under contract for 2025. It’s...
T.J. Watt signals willingness for extension with Steelers, altering his position on defenseVideo
T.J. Watt is quick to say he “hasn’t thought about” any of the specifics of a potential contract extension or when it might get agreed to over the now-started offseason. But the star outside linebacker — one of the best defensive players in the history of one of the NFL’s...
Eagles’ A.J. Brown reads inspirational book on sideline
PHILADELPHIA — A.J. Brown had a novel ideal to pass time on the bench during the Philadelphia Eagles’ wild-card playoff game. The Eagles wide receiver passed on the playbook and checked out an inspirational title — Brown casually flipped through the pages of “Inner Excellence” by Jim Murphy. Brown had...
Coco Gauff starts her Australian Open with a straight-sets win over Sofia KeninVideo
MELBOURNE, Australia — Coco Gauff had a little difficulty adjusting to the sun at one end of Rod Laver Arena and dropped an early service game but quickly settled into a rhythm to start her Australian Open a 6-3, 6-3 win Monday over 2020 champion Sofia Kenin. Third-seeded Gauff won...
Minor league report: Penguins stymied by SenatorsVideo
Despite a pair of goals by forward Emil Bemstrom, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were defeated by the Belleville Senators, 4-3, at CAA Arena in Belleville, Ont. on Sunday. Forward Avery Hayes had a goal and an assist for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (20-9-3-0) which had a three-game winning streak halted while forward Boris Katchouk...
Nick Taylor wins another playoff with clutch play on the 18th in the Sony OpenVideo
HONOLULU — Canada’s Nick Taylor delivered another theatrical finish Sunday, this time chipping in for eagle on the 18th hole to get into a playoff at the Sony Open and winning with a superb pitch that set up birdie to defeat Nico Echavarria. Taylor never looked like a winner at...
Starting Penn State defender Dvon J-Thomas officially enters NFL DraftVideo
Though he was out of college eligibility anyway, starting Penn State defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas made his declaration for the NFL Draft official Sunday night. In a message posted to social media, J-Thomas expressed his love for the university he spent six years at and thanked many along his journey....
Hurts tosses 2 TD passes and Goedert throws 3 stiff-arms to lead Eagles past Packers 22-10Video
PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Hurts tossed two touchdown passes in his first game since a late-season concussion, Dallas Goedert threw three stiff-arms on a rugged TD catch and the Philadelphia Eagles rode their NFL-best defense to a 22-10 wild-card playoff win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night. Hurts threw...
No style points for Penguins, who lose to Lightning despite mostly solid effort
There was plenty to like about the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday. They hemmed in the offensive attack of an opponent blessed with some luminary All-Star talent. Also, there were signs of improvement. For the first time in 24 hours, they didn’t give up a goal on the first shot they...
Penn State falls to Oregon for 3rd loss in row
STATE COLLEGE — Jackson Shelstad scored 17 points, Keeshawn Barthelemy added 15, Jadrian Tracey had 13 and No. 15 Oregon held on to beat Penn State, 82-81, on Sunday. Nate Bittle had 11 points, TJ Bamba and Kwame Evans Jr. added 10 apiece for the Ducks (15-2, 4-2 Big Ten),...
Javon Small scores 26 points, West Virginia holds off Colorado
BOULDER, Colo. — Javon Small scored 26 points, and Joseph Yesufu added 18 as No. 21 West Virginia held off Colorado, 78-70, on Sunday in the teams’ first meeting as members of the Big 12. The Mountaineers (12-3, 3-1 Big 12) overcame foul trouble and used a late 13-4 run...
Pitt women defeat SMU in record-setting 32-point comeback
Almost on pace to score 100 points against the Pitt women’s basketball team, SMU appeared headed to an easy victory Sunday at Petersen Events Center. Then, the second half happened. Pitt held SMU scoreless in the third quarter and allowed only 10 points in the second half on its way...
Robert Morris survives buzzer-beater scare vs. Wright State
Five years into its Horizon League journey, Robert Morris has shown signs of stabilizing its men’s basketball program following a rocky transition from the lesser-renowned Northeast Conference, where the Colonials traditionally were among the top teams. On Sunday against Wright State at UPMC Events Center, where four days earlier a...
Josh Allen leads balanced offense as Bills dominate Broncos for 31-7 wild-card winVideo
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes, James Cook scored on a 5-yard run and finished with 120 yards rushing and the Buffalo Bills leaned on a balanced offensive attack in a 31-7 win over the Denver Broncos in a wild-card playoff game Sunday. The Bills methodically...
