Sports category, Page 430
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...
Steelers notes: Keeanu Benton takes the spotlight on ‘Hard Knocks,’ RB Jonathan Ward waived
Pittsburgh Steelers second-year defensive tackle Keeanu Benton knew the NFL Films cameras would be present when he spoke to his teammates the night before the game, adding pressure for someone who doesn’t enjoy public speaking. “When I’m talking to people, I get nervous,” Benton said. “The words that I’m thinking...
‘A true Steeler’: At 35, Cameron Heyward earns top grade among NFL defensive tackles
Cameron Heyward accepted that he had lost the Ohio State-Michigan bet — one he initiated with rookie wide receiver Roman Wilson — but the price to pay came in the form of a baseball cap that didn’t fit. So Heyward hung the hat on the microphone stand as he addressed...
Steelers injury report: Alex Highsmith, Calvin Austin III limited at practice
Outside linebacker Alex Highsmith and wide receiver Calvin Austin III were limited participants at Pittsburgh Steelers practice Wednesday, according to the injury report. Austin was in NFL concussion protocol after he absorbed two hits during the first half of this past Sunday’s win at the Cincinnati Bengals. Highsmith did not...
After rolling through regular season, Pitt volleyball team prepares for upstart Morehead State
Cat Flood entered the transfer portal. Valeria Vazquez Gomez could have hung up her Pitt volleyball gear after last season. Instead, both decided to spend their final year of eligibility in blue-and-gold because they wanted one more shot at a national championship, and, on paper at least, the Panthers appear...
West Virginia to play Memphis in Frisco Bowl
West Virginia has been selected to play in Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl to cap off a tumultuous 2024 season. Just days after parting ways with coach Neal Brown, the Mountaineers accepted a bid to play No. 25 Memphis at 9 p.m. Dec. 17 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The...
Ravens suspend WR Diontae Johnson, saying he refused to enter game against the Eagles
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens have suspended receiver Diontae Johnson for their next game, saying he refused to enter their recent matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. Johnson did not play in Sunday’s loss to the Eagles even though receiver Rashod Bateman was dealing with knee soreness. Coach John...
Penguins task defenseman Jack St. Ivany with refining game in AHL
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ estimation of young blue liner Jack St. Ivany rose considerably at the end of last season, when he joined the club for their final 14 games, helping a valorous but ultimately futile push for the playoffs. St. Ivany, 25, cracked the Penguins’ NHL roster out of training...
Mark Madden: MLB’s proposed Golden At-Bat rule goes too far … or does it?
The pitch clock is OK. It speeded up the game. Ghost runners in extra innings were tough to get used to. But regular-season games shouldn’t last forever. Restricting the infield shift increased offense. The three-batter minimum for pitchers (or to the end of a half-inning) minimized the endless merry-go-round between...
1st episode of AFC North ‘Hard Knocks’ was heavy on good football, light on conflict and intrigueVideo
The first episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks: In Season With the AFC North” gave me exactly what I expected. It was a typical NFL Films all-access, behind-the-curtain look at the Pittsburgh Steelers and their three AFC North foes in Cleveland, Baltimore and Cincinnati. It’s shot brilliantly. It’s well-directed and well-produced....
Pitt secures 4-star cornerback Mason Alexander of Indiana among 21 recruits on signing day
After the last game of the regular season, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi made a bold statement: “In 36 years of coaching, I’ve never seen so many injuries.” As it turned out, Pitt didn’t have enough depth to compensate for those injuries, and a five-game losing streak ensued. That’s where signing...
