Sports category, Page 373
Former star Pa. running back turns down Bill Belichick, transfers to SEC school
Former Pottsgrove running back Rahsul Faison had options to where he would play his senior season, including for Bill Belichick at North Carolina. Ultimately, Faison announced this week he would be suiting up for South Carolina. Faison spent his first three years at Pottsgrove before becoming a two-star recruit by...
Ravens injury report for playoff vs. Steelers: Zay Flowers remains out, Justice Hill practices fully
It is becoming increasingly unlikely the Baltimore Ravens will have their No. 1 wide receiver available for Saturday’s playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Zay Flowers again sat out practice Wednesday, according to the injury report. Flowers, who had a team-most 1,059 receiving yards this season, suffered a knee injury...
Steelers injury report: status quo on Mason McCormick, Donte Jackson; MyCole Pruitt out
No news seemingly was good news Wednesday in regards to the statuses of two Pittsburgh Steelers starters for Saturday’s playoff opener. Veteran starting outside cornerback Donte Jackson again was listed as fully practicing and rookie starting right guard as a partial participant for Wednesday’s session, which was held at Acrisure...
NHL will have outdoor games in Miami and Tampa next season
MIAMI — Hockey. Outdoors. In Florida. Next season, the NHL is making it happen — twice. The NHL announced Wednesday that the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers will play host to the New York Rangers at loanDepot Park in Miami — home of baseball’s Marlins — on Jan. 2, 2026,...
NHL postpones L.A. Kings’ home game against Calgary due to wildfires, while NFL monitors situation
LOS ANGELES — The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings’ home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday with several massive wildfires still burning across the greater Los Angeles area. The Kings and Flames were scheduled to play Wednesday night at the Kings’ downtown arena. The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers...
Trip to CFP title game on the line when Notre Dame, Penn State meet in Orange Bowl
DANIA BEACH, Fla. — It’s been a long time since Notre Dame or Penn State reached college football’s mountaintop as national champion. It was 1988 for the Fighting Irish, 1986 for the Nittany Lions. There’s been good seasons and bad seasons in the three-plus decades that have followed, coaching changes...
With playoffs approaching, Arthur Smith focused on beating Ravens, not another head coaching job
Arthur Smith’s chance to interview for another NFL head coaching opportunity can wait until next week when he’s permitted to discuss job openings. The New York Jets and Chicago Bears requested permission to interview the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator. Per NFL rules, any interview cannot happen until following the wild-card...
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin resumes practicing, albeit in a limited capacity
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin participated in his team’s practice session Wednesday in Cranberry. One day earlier, he was scratched because of an undisclosed injury for a 4-3 home shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Typically deployed as the team’s second-line center and with the second power-play unit, Malkin...
Pitt extends volleyball coach Dan Fisher’s contract through 2030
In his first high-profile transactional move since he was hired in October, Pitt athletic director Allen Greene on Wednesday extended women’s volleyball coach Dan Fisher’s contract through the 2030 season. Fisher, who was named American Volleyball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year after leading Pitt to its fourth consecutive...
Penn State coach James Franklin calls for college football to have uniformity
DANIA BEACH, Fla. — The Big Ten plays nine conference games in football. So does the Big 12. The SEC and the ACC are among those playing eight-game league schedules. The Mountain West played a seven-game league slate. Notre Dame doesn’t have a league. Enough, Penn State coach James Franklin...
Like the Steelers, Ravens own similar recent history of playoff underachievement
The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t the only team with a recent history of underwhelming postseason success. In fact, they might not even be the team enduring the most pressure and scrutiny that takes to field Saturday night at M&T Bank Stadium. Whereas the Steelers will be out to end an eight-year...
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi adds 11 transfers, 14 freshmen to spring roster
The spring semester started Monday at Pitt, and coach Pat Narduzzi welcomed 11 transfers and 14 early-enrolling freshmen to the football program. The transfers include four from power conferences, with Narduzzi hopeful to get immediate help on both sides of the ball. Sophomore defensive end Jaeden Moore (6-foot-4, 245 pounds)...
A plot twist from what college football has become: A player who stayedVideo
DANIA BEACH, Fla. — When Penn State moved a different linebacker into what had been Tyler Elsdon’s starting spot, Elsdon made a choice that doesn’t really fit into the storyline college football has been selling these days. He stayed right where he was. In an era in which NIL money,...
After big loss to Duke, Pitt prepares for another high hurdle with Louisville
If you’re a Pitt fan looking for encouragement after the Panthers’ second loss of a painful proportion this season, know this: No. 4 Duke (13-2, 5-0 ACC) has won nine in a row, its past six by an average of more than 26 points. Almost in line with what happened...
Big kicks, big misses and big returns: special teams creating game-changing moments in the CFP
AUSTIN, Texas — Missed kicks and makes. Big returns. Shaky nerves. Special teams have produced some nerve-wracking, game-changing and game-clinching moments so far in the College Football Playoff. The potential for more blink-of-an-eye touchdowns and knee-knocking pressure on late game field goals gets even bigger heading into the semifinals with...
West Virginia’s Javon Small leads the Big 12 in scoring to fuel West Virginia’s return to the Top 25
Javon Small was the best player on mediocre teams during his first three college seasons. Now he’s the Big 12’s leading scorer and a major reason why short-handed West Virginia is relevant again. No. 21 West Virginia was picked to finish 13th in the 16-team Big 12 under first-year coach...
Former Baltimore Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz dies at 37
BALTIMORE — Brian Matusz, the left-handed pitcher who spent eight seasons in the major leagues, mostly with the Baltimore Orioles as they returned to prominence a decade ago, has died. He was 37. The Orioles and the University of San Diego announced Matusz’s death Tuesday night, with USD saying it...
Mark Madden: Minkah Fitzpatrick not giving Steelers enough bang for the buck
The Pittsburgh Steelers are in their current mess for a number of reasons. But two stand out. Selecting Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 draft was badly damaging. Pickett very quickly revealed himself to not be of starting caliber. The Steelers have patchworked at quarterback since Pickett...
Tim Benz: Try as he might, Mike Tomlin can’t ‘tote those bags’ of playoff frustration for all of his players
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t want his players carrying the burden of the franchise’s seven-year playoff-win drought. “What you mentioned is my story, it’s not this collective’s story,” Tomlin said Monday. “Many of these guys involved do not tote those bags. I happily tote those bags. It’s not something...
Tim Benz: Pens play ‘points game’ poorly to open crucial 5-game homestand
Pittsburgh Penguins winger Bryan Rust doesn’t care that 40 of 82 games remain on the schedule. The extra point they gave away to a division rival Tuesday night is worthy of some angst. “It’s never too early to play the points game,” Rust said with some agitation. “There’s (nine) points...
First Call: Justin Fields on his chances for snaps vs. Baltimore; Broderick Jones wanted Ravens rematch
Wednesday’s “First Call” has Justin Fields’ assessment of his chances of getting on the field in some form this week against the Baltimore Ravens. A Steelers offensive lineman says this is the playoff rematch that he wanted going into Week 18. A former Steeler is under consideration for the New...
‘It’s a mindset’: On Sidney Crosby becoming the NHL’s all-time leader in faceoff winsVideo
Everyone is in place but Sidney Crosby. It’s a game night at PPG Paints Arena and all defensemen are in position, as are the wingers at the top and bottom of the neutral zone faceoff circle. As the referee and opposing center await his arrival for the opening faceoff, Crosby...
Penguins’ Cody Glass deputizes as 2nd-line center on short notice with Evgeni Malkin out
Cody Glass doesn’t stress out when, abruptly, the Pittsburgh Penguins task him with switching positions. Changes to deployment and skating with different wingers is part of everyday life in the NHL, which Glass accepts and has already navigated through during his first campaign in a Penguins sweater. That said, Tuesday’s...
Penn State grad Al Golden back in Miami, trying to bring Notre Dame a CFP title shotVideo
DANIA BEACH, Fla. — Choose your Al Golden storyline for Thursday’s Orange Bowl. He’ll be coaching against Penn State, his alma mater and the school where he was a captain. He’ll be coaching again at Hard Rock Stadium, where Miami fans booed him off the field in his final game...
Evgeni Malkin sits with injury as Penguins squander lead, lose to Blue Jackets in shootout
Entering 2024-25, Pittsburgh Penguins superstar forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin had been in the lineup for each of the team’s 164 games over the previous two seasons. And both campaigns ended with the Penguins failing to qualify for the postseason. That led Malkin to offer a solution during training...
