Sports category, Page 434
Football Footnotes: AFC playoff picture could shift dramatically before Sunday’s games even start
The AFC playoff picture is going to come into sharp focus after Week 16 is done. For the most part, that’ll happen before Sunday’s games even start. The AFC West wild card showdown between the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers already took place on Thursday night. The Steelers-Ravens and...
Tim Benz: For the College Football Playoff, let’s hope the games overcome the planning
The 12-team College Football Playoff begins Friday. I’d like to be more excited about it than I am. That’s probably because three of the first-round CFP contests are occurring on a Pittsburgh Steelers’ game day. The lone game I’ll definitely get to watch is the Friday night opener between No....
First Call: Ravens TE praises fans for keeping Terrible Towels in Pittsburgh; Baltimore injuries to watch
Friday’s “First Call” examines the Ravens injury report as the Steelers get ready to visit them Saturday in Baltimore. One of the Ravens is reminding the franchise’s fans how important it is to avoid selling their tickets to folks from Pittsburgh. The Penguins head into Christmas break against some divisional...
Pitt coach Jeff Capel has Guillermo Diaz Graham’s back during shooting slump
If Guillermo Diaz Graham is seeking help — or even sympathy — while trying to recover from his shooting slump, he doesn’t need to go far. Help is available a few decks above the Petersen Events Center floor, inside Pitt coach Jeff Capel’s office. “It happened to me my senior...
Penn State roars back after dropping 1st 2 sets, beats Nebraska in volleyball Final Four
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jess Mruzik had 26 kills, Caroline Jurevicius had 20 and Penn State rallied from an 0-2 semifinal hole for a five-set victory over Nebraska early Friday to reach the NCAA championship. Penn State will face host Louisville, which eliminated No. 1 overall seed Pitt 3-1 in the...
Scouting the Ravens: Steelers have had the upper hand recently in series
SCOUTING THE RAVENS Last meeting Steelers beat Ravens, 18-16, on Nov. 17, in Pittsburgh. Key matchup Any Steelers pass-catcher vs. Ravens defense When these teams met last month, skill players not named George Pickens combined for 116 receiving yards on 20 targets. In the Steelers’ most recent game — when...
Justin Herbert TD passes, rare free kick spark Chargers to comeback win over Broncos
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Justin Herbert passed for 284 yards and two touchdowns, including a go-ahead 19-yarder to Derius Davis early in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Chargers got closer to wrapping up a playoff spot by rallying past the Denver Broncos, 34-27, on Thursday night. The Chargers’ comeback...
Sidney Crosby breaks out of goal-scoring slump as Penguins beat Predators in overtime
Sidney Crosby’s inability to score a goal in 10 consecutive games before Thursday wasn’t necessarily a concern. More of a curiosity. At least to the person with hundreds of goals on his dazzling NHL resume. “You always want to score,” Crosby said Wednesday in Cranberry. “And, obviously, when there’s some...
Pitt ousted by Louisville in women’s volleyball Final 4, loses 4th consecutive national semifinal match
Pitt’s women’s volleyball team had lived the good life this season, experiencing joy, camaraderie and victory in 33 of its first 34 matches. But hopes for Pitt’s first team national championship since 1976 — in any sport — crashed to the floor Thursday night at Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center. Louisville...
Steelers notes: Compressed schedule forces team to adjust
Early Thursday afternoon, Alex Highsmith made an observation. “Today,” he said, “feels like a Friday.” He isn’t the only player or staff member of the Pittsburgh Steelers who has become a little confused. As it relates to the typical weekly cadence at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, this week’s Tuesday was...
Carmelo Anthony, Sue Bird, Doc Rivers, Mark Few among candidates for Basketball Hall of Fame classVideo
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Carmelo Anthony might go into the Basketball Hall of Fame twice next year. The Hall of Fame released its list of candidates for the Class of 2025 on Thursday, with the list of first-time nominees including Anthony and fellow retired NBA stars Dwight Howard and Marc Gasol....
Pro tennis player Jenson Brooksby talks about living with autismVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Jenson Brooksby tugged at the right shoulder of his red T-shirt and fiddled with some strands of his dirty blond hair as he spoke to the Associated Press about what he’d like the world — the tennis world, yes, but also everyone else — to know about...
Level Green’s Brandon Svoboda named to United States’ roster for IIHF World Junior Championship
San Jose Sharks forward prospect Brandon Svoboda, a native of Level Green, was named to the United States roster for the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Junior Championship tournament, which begins later this month. USA Hockey announced the roster via a release Thursday. A total of 25 players were...
Cubs ‘ready to move forward’ with Sammy Sosa after the slugger’s public apology for past ‘mistakes’
CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs are welcoming Sammy Sosa back to the organization following the slugger’s public apology for past “mistakes.” Sosa released a statement Thursday, paving the way for the former National League MVP, who has been estranged from the organization since he left the Cubs after the 2004...
Notre Dame-Indiana playoff game a twist for those with dual loyalties in the Hoosier StateVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Jim O’Donnell’s legacy will be felt inside Notre Dame Stadium on Friday night. His son, Jim, will attend the first playoff game in major college football to be played at a campus site, dressed in the cream-and-crimson color garb of his dad’s alma mater, Indiana. The younger O’Donnell’s...
Playoff QBs include a hometown recruit, a prep title rematch and some 1-year hired gunsVideo
Kevin Jennings wasn’t even the player Rhett Lashlee was going to watch when he went to his first Texas high school playoff game a week after becoming SMU’s coach. Three years later, Jennings is the only quarterback starting for his hometown team in the debut of the expanded 12-team College...
Ohio State wants redemption, Tennessee seeks respect in 1st-round CFP matchupVideo
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Coach Josh Heupel doesn’t much care for the narrative that No. 7 Tennessee, with its checkered history over the past 15 years, is content just to have reached the College Football Playoff. The fourth-year coach knows that mindset won’t work facing a team like No. 6 Ohio...
Heavyweights Texas, Clemson meet for 1st time in College Football PlayoffVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — No. 13 Clemson got into the College Football Playoff on a thunderous kick in the final seconds of the ACC championship. No. 4 Texas limped in after a great regular season was deflated by a frustrating overtime loss to Georgia in the SEC title game. Now these...
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, WR Marquise Brown expected to play SaturdayVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is expected to play against Houston on Saturday, less than a week after suffering a high-ankle sprain in a win over Cleveland, and he will likely have wide receiver Marquise Brown available for the first time in a regular-season game. Chiefs coach...
‘Super important’ to Steelers, All-Pro OLB T.J. Watt gets green light to play against Ravens
The Pittsburgh Steelers were bracing for the potential of playing the Baltimore Ravens without All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who has served as the most disruptive force in their AFC North rivalry. Now they can breathe a sigh of relief and leave the worrying to the Ravens. The absence of...
Pitt basketball’s challenging nonconference schedule could look better as season unfolds
Jeff Capel said Thursday he didn’t know he is coaching a team that sits 11th among 363 other Division I men’s basketball programs. “I appreciate you letting me know that,” Capel said when a reporter reminded him where Pitt stands in the crucial NCAA NET rankings. Of course, Capel is...
Steelers All-Pro OLB T.J. Watt expected to play against Ravens; WR George Pickens ruled out
The Pittsburgh Steelers got positive news on the injury front about All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt, but that was balanced by negative news regarding wide receiver George Pickens. Watt, who injured his left ankle in the fourth quarter Sunday in the 27-14 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles, was a full...
Penn State hotel prices soar ahead of home playoff game
The Penn State Nittany Lions take the field Saturday for the team’s first-ever playoff home game, and hotel prices are surging in the State College area. The Nittany Lions will play the Southern Methodist University Mustangs, a team that’s used to playing under sunny skies in Texas. Weather forecasts for...
SMU coach Rhett Lashlee downplays Penn State’s cold-weather competitive advantageVideo
Under normal circumstances, the current weather in University Park, Texas, seems quite favorable for conducting football practice or any sort of strenuous activity. But as the SMU Mustangs have been enjoying sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s this week, an awareness exists that conditions are about to change drastically...
Tim Benz: The Steelers’ ‘old pickup truck’ run game needs to find a higher gear
To an extent, I get where Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is coming from when he defends some of the issues surrounding his offense’s rushing attack. Sometimes, you grow attached to your car or truck to an illogical degree. I had an old Jeep I really liked, and I...
