Sports category, Page 406
Penguins make lead stand, win 2nd game in row
With daylight savings time in its final full day of 2024, the Pittsburgh Penguins are determined to not fall back into the sloppy brand of defense that led to the six-game losing streak they endured in late October. “We’re trying to build on things and trying to clean our game...
5 things we learned from 1st round of WPIAL football playoffs: South Allegheny returns to the party
The last time South Allegheny won a WPIAL playoff game, fans might have skipped a Friday night episode of the “A-Team” or “Dallas” to instead watch the Gladiators. That was 1986. The football program endured some tough times since, but second-year coach Brian Hanson said some die-hard fans in Glassport,...
Ryan Blaney needs big Martinsville showing to defend NASCAR title
Ryan Blaney had the checkered flag in sight and a spot in NASCAR’s title-deciding race within his grasp last week on the last lap of a contentious battle. Then out of nowhere, Tyler Reddick slid past Blaney in the final turn and snatched the victory away. Reddick now will race...
Anthony Chiccitt and Shawn Charles connect for an 82-yard TD, and Robert Morris beats Merrimack 6-0Video
MOON TOWNSHIP — Anthony Chiccitt threw for 236 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown, to help Robert Morris beat Merrimack, 6-0, on Saturday in the first meeting between the programs. Chiccitt threw a deep pass down the left sideline, and Shawn Charles outran the defense for an 82-yard touchdown to cap...
Duquesne turns back Mercyhurst 31-24 to reach first place in Northeast ConferenceVideo
PITTSBURGH — Damarius Perrantes threw for two touchdowns, JaMario Clements ran for two in the fourth quarter, and Duquesne climbed into a tie for first place in the Northeast Conference with a 31-24 victory over Mercyhurst on Saturday. The Dukes trailed 10-7 at halftime before a 64-yard pass play from...
WPIAL announces sites for Friday’s football playoff games
The WPIAL on Saturday announced sites for the next round of football playoff games. Teams that earned a bye in the previous round will host a game this week. All other matchups are played on a neutral field. The WPIAL chose Chartiers Valley to host a Class 4A semifinal between...
In top-5 showdown, Penn State falls to Ohio State for 8th straight season
UNIVERSITY PARK — James Franklin and No. 3 Penn State had to be feeling good early against Ohio State, as a first-quarter field goal and pick-6 of the Buckeyes’ Will Howard produced a quick 10-point lead. However, that was the lone touchdown of the day for Penn State, with its...
Penguins promote defenseman Matt Grzelcyk to top power-play unit
The Pittsburgh Penguins raised some eyebrows when they opened the season with two defensemen — Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang — on their top power-play unit. For the better part of a decade, if not more, they primarily utilized only one defenseman along with four forwards. But not even a...
Pirates GM Ben Cherington looks to ‘add wins,’ warns that free agency won’t drive decisions
Ben Cherington declared there was no part of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ roster he won’t examine and aim to improve upon a last-place team that has won 76 games in successive seasons. Following his team’s last-place finish in the NL Central, the Pirates general manager knows the days of asking for...
Penguins scheduled to start goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic against Canadiens
The Pittsburgh Penguins are scheduled to start goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic in Saturday’s home game against the Montreal Canadiens at PPG Paints Arena. Coach Mike Sullivan announced Nedeljkovic’s status following an optional morning skate at the team’s practice facility in Cranberry. In four games this season, Nedeljkovic has a 1-2-1 record,...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Slow down Super Bowl talk until Steelers add WR, win AFC North
After a 6-2 start, the Pittsburgh Steelers are being branded Super Bowl contenders by those obliged to fast-forward from the bye week directly to New Orleans. I’ll play along. Russell Wilson at quarterback has made the offense crisp and versatile. George Pickens has been snatched off the milk carton and...
Game commission releases 500 antlerless tags for new chronic wasting management area in Armstrong
In response to the detection of new deer populations hosting chronic wasting disease, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has issued 500 additional antlerless tags for a newly established hunting area in Armstrong County. Hunters can purchase additional tags for Deer Management Assistance Program unit 7305, roughly 25,000 acres including part or...
Pitt assistant Jacob Bronowski builds ‘special’ relationship with his players
Jacob Bronowski began his college football journey as a freshman quarterback at New Mexico in 2013. He was not part of the Lobos’ 49-27 loss to Pitt that year, but it didn’t matter. Coaching was in his future. No later than 2016, he was a 22-year-old graduate assistant for his...
Pitt basketball ready to open season with a dose of physicality
At the outset of this century, Pitt basketball players patrolled the Petersen Events Center and Fitzgerald Field House floors with intensity and physicality. If a bit of blood appeared on someone’s jersey at practice, play on. Worry about it later in the locker room. No wonder Pitt earned 10 consecutive...
Steelers’ midseason position-by position report card
With the Pittsburgh Steelers at 6-2 and sitting idle this weekend, here’s a midterm report card for the team: Quarterbacks: A- Mason Rudolph’s 2023 late-season cameo noted, Justin Fields and Russell Wilson have given the Steelers arguably their best eight-game stretch of quarterback play since pre-elbow surgery Ben Roethlisberger in...
District college football roundup: Washington & Jefferson drops Case Western
Jacob Pugh threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 19 Washington & Jefferson to a 34-21 victory over Case Western in PAC football Saturday afternoon. Zach Cernuto caught 14 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown for the Presidents (8-1, 8-1) while teammate Kobe Derosa ran for...
Tyler Eber runs for 238 yards, 2 TDs as No. 1 Thomas Jefferson rolls past West Allegheny
Thomas Jefferson’s Tyler Eber wasn’t counting his carries, and neither was his coach, so they were a little surprised to hear he’d run the ball nearly 50 times. Forty-eight to be exact. “Forty-eight?” said TJ coach Bill Chepak. “Holy … .” “I had no idea,” said Eber, who rushed for...
Samir Crosby, GCC outlast Monessen in wild Class A playoff opener
It was quite a show by two of the top juniors in Westmoreland County on Friday during the opening round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs. They were as advertised. Greensburg Central Catholic quarterback Samir Crosby threw four touchdown passes, rushed for a touchdown and returned a 70-yard kickoff return...
Minor league report: Sergei Murashov, Nailers sunk by WalleyeVideo
Goaltender Sergei Murashov made 32 saves on 35 shots for the Wheeling Nailers in a 3-2 road loss to the Toledo Walleye at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio on Friday. The result dropped Murashov’s ECHL record to 1-2-0 while forward Sam Houde recorded two assists for Wheeling (2-3-0-0). Highlights:...
Drew Ross accounts for 5 TDs as Freeport returns to playoffs by beating Mt. Pleasant
Freeport made an impactful return to the WPIAL playoffs Friday. After a one-year postseason hiatus, the Yellowjackets returned to the WPIAL quarterfinals by rolling past Mt. Pleasant, 44-20, in a Class 3A first-round matchup at Freeport Area Athletic Stadium. “I am really proud of the kids, especially from where we...
Ravens’ Lamar Jackson returns to practice, says there was no doubt he’d play this weekendVideo
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Lamar Jackson returned to practice for the Baltimore Ravens on Friday and said he’s “100%” able to play this weekend against Denver. Jackson had missed practice Wednesday and Thursday with back and knee issues, but he was back Friday as a full participant. Baltimore did rule...
Brandon Aubrey thought being Cowboys kicker would mean no jury duty; judge said otherwise
FRISCO, Texas — Brandon Aubrey was pretty sure being the kicker for the Dallas Cowboys was going to get him out of jury duty. It’s safe to say he was surprised to end up serving on a domestic violence case that lasted a week and ended with his jury sentencing...
Mixing and matching of Steelers tight ends leaves opposing defenses guessing
It was posited as a joke to Pittsburgh Steelers tight ends coach Alfredo Roberts that his team — for maybe even just one snap, at least — achieves the proverbial Holy Grail for tight ends across the world. The “0-5” personnel. “Oh-five?!” an eavesdropping quarterbacks coach Tom Arth said. “Don’t...
Can Penguins forward Valtteri Puustinen help fill the void of Bryan Rust’s absence?Video
Valtteri Puustinen didn’t quite know how to explain the moment. But his body language spoke volumes. On his first shot of the season, the shifty winger scored. And on the ensuing celebration, he lifted his left leg, pumped his right arm and looked more relieved than jubilant. Power play goal...
Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin takes maintenance day, Bryan Rust continues off-ice rehab
A notable absence for the Pittsburgh Penguins during their Friday afternoon practice was revealed to be of a routine nature, as coach Mike Sullivan relayed that forward Evgeni Malkin missed the session because of a maintenance day. Through 12 games, Malkin leads the Penguins in points (14) and assists (11)...
