Sports category, Page 498
Steelers’ Justin Fields embraces opportunity to take 1st-team reps with Russell Wilson out
So, there was some uncertainty about who would take first-team reps at quarterback when the Pittsburgh Steelers opened training camp, after all. Just not for the reason some predicted. Justin Fields ran with the starting offense on Day 1 of camp at Saint Vincent on Thursday. It wasn’t because coach...
At Paris Olympics, anti-doping leaders accept that some cheating is inevitableVideo
PARIS — The days are over when Olympic organizers and anti-doping officials would typically predict “the cleanest Games ever.” Not at the Paris Olympics. “It’s not our role to do it,” World Anti-Doping Agency President Witold Banka said Thursday. “It’s not that now we want to assure that every single...
Penguins sign 2023 1st-round pick Brayden Yager to entry-level contractVideo
The Pittsburgh Penguins signed forward prospect Brayden Yager to a three-year entry-level contract Thursday. According to Puckpedia, the contract will carry a salary cap hit of $950,000. A first-round round pick (No. 14 overall) in 2023, the 19-year-old Yager spent the 2023-24 season at the junior level with the Moose...
Australian team soaks up baseball, American culture while in town for Freeport International
Kye Hodges loves baseball and loves to be on the field with his teammates. It’s that simple formula that has the 15-year-old Central Coast, Australia, resident — nicknamed Big Sexy by his hometown friends — excited to be in Freeport this week with a group of baseball players from Down...
Subtle changes by 1st day make clear this Steelers training camp is… different
Mike Tomlin’s booming voice still carried well over Chuck Noll Stadium. His command of practice was the same, and the dark sunglasses and full, cropped beard appeared as familiar as ever. Still, there was something that longtime observers of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp found jarringly different about Tomlin during the...
Pirates place OF Bryan Reynolds on bereavement list, add Ji Hwan Bae to taxi squad
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced they have placed Bryan Reynolds on the major-league bereavement list Thursday, which requires a minimum stay of three games. That means the All-Star outfielder will miss at least two games against the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend. Reynolds was a late scratch from Wednesday’s 5-0 win over...
Steelers GM Omar Khan on prospective trade for WR: ‘There’s nothing ongoing’
General manager Omar Khan left open the possibility the Pittsburgh Steelers would yet acquire a veteran wide receiver before the regular season begins. At some points during a news conference Thursday, Khan made it sound not all that unlikely that, over the next six weeks, they might trade for or...
Steelers inside the ropes: Rookie offensive linemen carry 2nd-team status for 1st camp practice
With three picks among the first half of April’s draft devoted to offensive linemen, the Pittsburgh Steelers signaled a proverbial changing of the guard along that unit in the not-too-distant future. The operative word — if one practice means anything — remains future. First-round tackle Troy Fautanu, second-round center Zach...
Cameron Heyward practices, Russell Wilson does not on 1st day of Steelers’ training camp
Of the two oldest players on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster, one did not participate in the first training camp workout Thursday. And it wasn’t the old-timer most people would have expected to skip the opening session. Cameron Heyward, the 35-year-old defensive end seeking a new contract, was an active participant...
Scherzer passes Verlander for 10th on career strikeout list at 3,394, most among active pitchersVideo
ARLINGTON, Texas — Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer moved into 10th place on the career strikeout list — and the most among active pitchers — when the Texas Rangers right-hander recorded his 3,394th on Thursday against the Chicago White Sox. Scherzer passed fellow three-time Cy Young winner Justin...
Flyers sign All-Star Travis Konecny to an 8-year extension worth $70 millionVideo
The Philadelphia Flyers signed All-Star Travis Konecny to an eight-year extension worth $70 million, committing to him being a long-term part of their core as they seek to shift from rebuilding mode to contending. The deal announced Thursday keeps Konecny under contract through 2033. He will count $8.75 million against...
Dylan Cease throws 2nd no-hitter in San Diego Padres historyVideo
WASHINGTON — Dylan Cease pitched the second no-hitter in San Diego Padres history, a 3-0 win over the Washington Nationals on Thursday that completed a three-game sweep. After falling one out short of a no-hitter two years ago when he gave up a single to current teammate Luis Arráez, Cease...
Liverpool coach Arne Slot goes for 1st win as club enters new era in PittsburghVideo
Liverpool Football Club’s Friday evening exhibition at Acrisure Stadium vs. Real Betis will serve as an early measuring stick for the club, which kicks off a three-game North American preseason tour. The eyes of soccer fans around the globe will be on Pittsburgh as new Liverpool coach Arne Slot, who...
Russell Wilson misses 1st Steelers practice with calf injury
Quarterback Russell Wilson, the highest profile player that the Pittsburgh Steelers acquired in the offseason, did not practice on the first day of training camp Thursday. Coach Mike Tomlin said Wilson, 35, woke up with tightness in his calf. He attended practice but wore a baseball cap and T-shirt while...
Several Penn State defenders set to play bigger roles this fall
INDIANAPOLIS — Jaylen Reed and Dvon J-Thomas are representing the Penn State defense at Big Ten Media Days inside Lucas Oil Stadium this week. The veteran Lions will also play significant roles in new coordinator Tom Allen’s defense. It’s a unit that should be led by an edge group featuring...
Big Ten media days provide formal welcome to USC, UCLA and other former Pac-12 schools
INDIANAPOLIS — Southern California coach Lincoln Riley strolled across the Lucas Oil Stadium stage for the first time Wednesday, greeted by a familiar tune — “Fight On.” He was nowhere near the only newcomer to this week’s Big Ten Media Days. Riley’s remarks were preceded by those of first-year UCLA...
Boston College’s Bill O’Brien, Duke’s Manny Diaz make quick push to connect with players after taking new jobs
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bill O’Brien arrived at Boston College with a high-profile resume that included a stint as an NFL head coach, as well as work with some of college football’s biggest brand names in Penn State and Alabama. Manny Diaz was in similar position as the former Miami head...
Kirk Ferentz still committed to Iowa after watching friends Bill Belichick, Nick Saban move on
INDIANAPOLIS — Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz watched two of his best coaching friends, Bill Belichick and Nick Saban, leave football after last season. So, naturally, college football’s longest-tenured coach smiles and nods as he reflects on his own potential exit. “All of us have to do that,” the 68-year-old Ferentz...
With big goals and gambles, Paris aims to reset the Olympics with audacious Games and a wow opening
PARIS — Paris long has been a city of dreamers: Just look at the Eiffel Tower, for decades the world’s loftiest structure. Audacity also underpins the French capital’s plans for its first Olympic Games in a century, which open Friday with an opening ceremony for the ages. The most sprawling...
‘Lots of shades of gray’: Pirates will weigh value of dealing top prospects at trade deadline
After years of stocking their system with prospects through the MLB Draft, international signings and trade-deadline deals, the Pittsburgh Pirates are finally in position to use minor leaguers to acquire players to improve their major-league roster for a potential playoff run. With the Pirates (52-50) sitting seven games back in...
Former Penguins forward Josh Currie signs in Germany
Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Josh Currie has signed with Kölner Haie of Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). That team, based in Cologne, announced the transaction via a release on Thursday. A native of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Currie’s Penguins career was limited to one game (and no points) with the...
U mad, bro?: Pirates fans are still inflamed about the lineup ruining Paul Skenes’ start on Tuesday
How good is Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher Paul Skenes? He’s so good that, on the eve of the Steelers reporting to training camp, he had all of Pittsburgh buzzing about baseball for a change. How bad is the Pirates lineup, though? It’s so bad that it couldn’t muster more than...
Tim Benz: Something about what Najee Harris said Wednesday doesn’t compute
Something just doesn’t add up with Najee Harris’ explanation as to why he didn’t get a fifth-year option from the Pittsburgh Steelers. I’m not suggesting that Harris is the one blurring the lines. If I’m him, I’d be confused too. The 2021 first-round draft choice spoke with media members Wednesday...
First Call: Just 1 Steeler on ESPN list of Top 25 NFL players since 2000; WR news on Brandon Aiyuk, Courtland Sutton
Thursday’s “First Call” struggles to find any Steelers on that ESPN.com list of top NFL players of this century. We have lots of wide receiver news for Steelers fans to track. Lamar Jackson had an abbreviated debut at Ravens training camp. And a former Pirate is well aware that his...
Exhibition between Liverpool FC and Real Betis shines light on Pittsburgh’s burgeoning soccer scene
There’s no debating Pittsburgh’s identity as a great sports town. The Steelers, Penguins and Pirates all have rich histories with multiple championships and great players. Soccer, despite growing in popularity around the United States, Pittsburgh included, does not possess the same pedigree as football, hockey and baseball in town. But...
