Sports category, Page 382
Bahamas Bowl to feature pair of 8-win teams as Liberty, Buffalo square off Jan. 4
Liberty will face Buffalo in the Bahamas Bowl on Jan. 4, bowl officials announced Thursday. The Flames (8-3), of Conference USA, will be making their sixth consecutive bowl appearance. Buffalo (8-4), of the Mid-American Conference, will be playing in its fifth bowl game in the last seven years. The Bulls...
Messi, Inter Miami to open Club World Cup against Egyptian club Al Ahly
MIAMI — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami now know their path for next year’s Club World Cup. The host team — invited by FIFA to compete despite criticism from many in the soccer world — will play the tournament’s first match June 15 against Egyptian club Al Ahly as part...
Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson headlines Sweden’s roster for 4 Nations Face-OffVideo
The Pittsburgh Penguins found out how many of their players would be selected for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament a while ago. That’s because no one else from their roster was chosen beyond the preliminary selections that were announced in June. Six players from each squad — Canada, Finland, Sweden...
Browns RB Nick Chubb makes full circle comeback, returns to Pittsburgh for 1st time since knee injury
CLEVELAND — With every game, every carry, Nick Chubb puts a little distance between himself and a moment that changed him. On Sunday, he’ll return to where it happened. The full circle. More than a year since the Cleveland running back’s left knee was obliterated on a trap play near...
Steelers offer up rare December clean injury report
Aside from “W,” it might be the prettiest letters in the NFL to a coach of a team late in its season. FP. “FP,” as in “full participant” at practice on the injury report. And for the Pittsburgh Steelers, everybody on the 53-man active roster dealing with any degree of...
New Pirates assistant pitching coach Brent Strom: ‘I just want to help this ball club’
Brent Strom openly admits retirement is a thought that’s surfaced and resurfaced repeatedly over the last several years. At age 76, that’s hardly unnatural. But Strom, officially named Thursday as assistant pitching coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates, is finding more than enough motivation to begin a new chapter in a...
Blake Lizotte generates energy (and offense) as Penguins’ 3rd-line center
Blake Lizotte knew there was a chance he would not be able to line up at his listed position — center — when the season started. A move to the wing seemed like a probability. That’s because the Pittsburgh Penguins had a surplus of veterans in the middle. And sure...
Larry Ogunjobi named Steelers’ nominee for Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award
Larry Ogunjobi isn’t the biggest talker in the locker room or with media. But Ogunjobi’s voice carries in the community and with causes that matter. Ogunjobi, a veteran defensive lineman, was named the Pittsburgh Steelers’ nominee for the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award on Thursday. “He moves...
Steelers DB Cory Trice activated off injured reserve
Versatile defensive back Cory Trice was activated off of the injured reserve list Thursday, giving the Pittsburgh Steelers another piece for their secondary for the stretch run. A 6-foot-3, 206-pound cornerback in college, Trice had played as a dime, in-the-box safety, at outside corner, slot corner and even free safety...
Penn State looks to benefit from presence of healthy, effective Nick Singleton vs. Oregon
Nick Singleton’s individual performance vs. Minnesota in Penn State’s penultimate regular-season game Nov. 23 looked to be a good sign. The junior tailback, whose campaign was derailed by a midseason ailment that limited his participation and effectiveness, managed 63 rushing yards on 13 carries, adding a touchdown against the Gophers....
Pirates announce hiring of Brent Strom as assistant pitching coach
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced the hiring of Brent Strom as assistant pitching coach Thursday morning. Strom, 76, will assist Oscar Marin, who will enter his sixth season with the Pirates in 2025. Most recently, Strom served as pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2022-24. “Brent has a proven track...
First Call: T.J. Watt accused of dirty play and J.J. Watt responds; Pirates could ‘surprise us by landing a solid free-agent bat’Video
There are some on the internet calling Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt a dirty player. His Hall Of Fame-bound big brother isn’t standing for that. The Steelers worked out a former Cleveland Browns defensive lineman in advance of their matchup this weekend. The Pirates may be in the market to...
U mad, bro?: MLB Golden At-Bat idea and Mike Tomlin’s clock management top this week’s long list of complaints
The Pittsburgh Steelers are 9-3 and just put up 44 points en route to beating a hated division rival in their own building. But, along the way, Joey Porter Jr. was flagged for six penalties, Mike Tomlin barely avoided another clock management fiasco, and Major League Baseball is apparently considering...
Big 12 commissioner insists his league’s champion should have playoff bye over any G5 champVideo
FORT WORTH, Tex — Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark clearly expressed his displeasure about the College Football Playoff rankings while insisting Wednesday that his conference’s champion should get a first-round bye over any Group of Five champion. Arizona State and Iowa State, the 10-2 teams that will play in the...
Minor league report: Penguins blown out by BearsVideo
Forward Boris Katchouk scored the lone goal for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 6-1 loss to the rival Hershey Bears at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday. Goaltender Joel Blomqvist’s record dropped to 2-2-0 after he made 20 saves on 26 shots as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (11-5-1-0) had a three-game winning...
Pitt can’t keep up with Mississippi State, suffers blowout loss in SEC/ACC Challenge
In the wake of Pitt’s 90-57 loss to Mississippi State on Tuesday night in Starkville, Miss., Jeff Capel couldn’t help thinking what his father, Felton Capel II, a longtime coach himself, might say. “When I was younger when he was coaching, (he said), ‘Sometimes, you’re the bug. Sometimes, you’re the...
Former Penguins forwards Kevin Stevens, Matt Cullen inducted into United States Hockey Hall of Fame
It was an era rife with power forwards. And he might have been the power forward. Even if his prime was fleeting, Kevin Stevens was, quite possibly, the prototype for what most define as a power forward in hockey. At 6-foot-3 and 231 pounds, Stevens was a giant of a...
Robert Morris men lose Horizon League opener to Youngstown State
Robert Morris was looking to match its best 10-game start to a men’s basketball season Wednesday night in a Horizon League opener against Youngstown State. The Penguins, however, had other ideas. With Horizon League commissioner Julie Roe Lach on hand, Juwan Maxey scored 16 points, including five 3-point shots, and...
Mike Warfield returns as Aliquippa football coach after 1-year leave of absence
Former Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield said he found himself missing the players and coaches even more than he’d expected when he took this past football season off. So, he’s coming back. The three-time state champion was reinstated as Aliquippa’s head coach on Wednesday, ending a leave of absence he took...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi pleased with 2025 recruiting class, calls it ‘a doozy’
Pat Narduzzi uttered his best line of the season at the outset of Pitt’s signing day news conference when he told reporters, “I think we have a doozy for you.” Name puns aside, Narduzzi and his coaches believe they signed a strong 2025 class of 21 high school seniors, some...
Sidney Crosby, Erik Karlsson remain only Penguins players named to 4 Nations Face-Off rosters
As it pertains to the Pittsburgh Penguins, no surprises were in store following Wednesday’s formal reveal of the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off rosters. Sweden and Finland’s 23-man rosters (20 skaters, three goalies) were announced in the afternoon, while the United States and Canada revealed theirs later in the evening. Penguins...
QB recruit Bekkem Kritza, 5 WPIAL players sign with Penn State football
After a long and winding journey, three-star quarterback Bekkem Kritza finally signed with Penn State. Kritza, the No. 37 quarterback in the country, committed to Penn State on Nov. 11, 2023, as one of the longest-tenured commitments in this 2025 class. As the only quarterback in Penn State’s class as...
SEC, Big Ten powers lead way on signing day
The arrival of the early signing period Wednesday offered a stark reminder for college football fans. If recruiting rankings offer any accurate gauge in the era of the transfer portal, those teams competing for College Football Playoff berths now should keep contending for years to come. Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Oregon...
NCAA volleyball notebook: Morehead State coach can boast of beating Pitt at homeVideo
Kyrsten Becker-McBride has served on the volleyball staff at Morehead State in one capacity or another for 14 years. Friday, she will lead the Eagles (18-14) into Petersen Events Center to challenge top-ranked and No. 1 overall seed Pitt at 7 p.m. On paper, it would appear to be a...
Despite Neal Brown’s firing, West Virginia signs 21 to 2025 recruiting class
West Virginia’s football program made headlines this week after coach Neal Brown was dismissed Sunday after the Mountaineers finished 6-6, ending his six-year tenure with a 37-35 record. That coaching uncertainty didn’t seem to scare away recruits for the Class of 2025. West Virginia signed 21 players on the first...
