Sports category, Page 5

In the current era of college football, when the transfer portal has run rampant, it’s common to see players respond to a coach’s firing by sitting out the season, preserving a redshirt and transferring at year’s end. Now that Penn State has parted with James Franklin, is that something Nittany...

One headline that roared Friday morning in the Cincinnati Enquirer summarized most of what those in Ohio’s third-largest city were saying after the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers the night before at Paycor Stadium: How Joe Flacco saved the Bengals’ season in win over Steelers. “See, Cincinnati Bengals can...

In Friday’s “First Call,” Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase explains the predictability of the Steelers’ defense. An ex-Pirate shines on the mound during the NLCS. The Penguins prepare to close out their early West Coast road trip. And Robert Morris opened its men’s hockey season with a tough challenge against a...

Jon LeDonne can still recall the day a big-name college football coach visited his high school. “I remember in my playing days, Paterno coming to Aliquippa for Josh Lay,” said LeDonne, now Pine-Richland’s coach. “You look down the hallway and say, ‘That’s Joe Paterno. That’s awesome.’” Now is around the...

After the Cincinnati Bengals upset the Pittsburgh Steelers 33-31 on “Thursday Night Football,” Joe Flacco was conducting an interview on the field with the Prime Video network team. While Flacco was speaking, a large group of remaining fans started chanting “Thank-you, Cleve-land!” over and over again. As Steelers coach Mike...

SEATTLE — Mad Max had nearly a month to fume, seethe and boil as he waited for his October opportunity. Finally given the ball in the playoffs, he shut down the Seattle Mariners — and his own manager, too. A fiery Scherzer turned back the clock with a vintage pitching...

CINCINNATI — It was dubbed the Icy Hot Bowl by Cameron Heyward, who as a result earned an endorsement deal. But in this matchup of 40-something quarterbacks, Joe Flacco’s arm stayed as hot as his demeanor remained cool. The only entity that needed an over-the-counter pain relief product after Thursday’s...

The Pittsburgh Penguins found a way to transform their penalty kill from a detriment to an asset. Score a short-handed goal. Penguins’ rookie forward Filip Hallander scored the winning goal during a penalty kill in a 4-2 comeback road win against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena in Los...

UNIVERSITY PARK — The most recent time Penn State traveled to Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium, in 2021, a Nittany Lions backup quarterback took center stage. Ta’Quan Roberson relieved an injured Sean Clifford midway through the game and couldn’t hold onto an early lead, falling 23-20 in a battle of top-four opponents....

CINCINNATI – Now, the rest of the country knows why Mike Tomlin was so upset about the Cleveland Browns trading Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals. Starting for the second time in five days for his new team — and less than 10 days after he was acquired in a...

LOS ANGELES — Tyler Glasnow struck out eight batters, Tommy Edman hit a go-ahead RBI single in the sixth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers took a commanding lead in the National League Championship Series with a 3-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday. Mookie Betts had an RBI...

CINCINNATI — Early during the first quarter of Thursday’s game at the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers surpassed 64,000 career passing yards. Late in the second quarter, Rodgers surpassed 64,088 passing yards. It was that latter figure that was more significant. Hitting 64,089 stands out because it represents...

No. 12 Georgia Tech and No. 19 Virginia have climbed to the top of the ACC at the expense of Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina, which head into the heart of the regular season a combined 2-6 in conference play. The ACC doesn’t have a monopoly on disappointment. Flops,...

Tampa Bay finally won a game without making its fans hold their breath until the last snap. The Buccaneers haven’t blown anyone out, but they enter their Week 7 matchup Monday night at Detroit with the NFC’s best record. “If the season was seven games, I’d be extremely happy. But...

Philadelphia coach Nick Sirianni has been king of the north since taking over in 2021, leading the Eagles to an 8-0 record against the NFC North. He will try to make it nine straight wins, including playoffs, when the Eagles (4-2) visit the Minnesota Vikings (3-2) on Sunday in Minneapolis....

An offensive explosion and late heroics could be on the menu when the Washington Commanders visit the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. The NFC East matchup features strong offenses, struggling defenses and two teams that lost their previous game on a last-second field goal. Oh, and each team might be getting...

The Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark will play in the LPGA’s pro-am event, The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, in Florida next month. This will be Clark’s second consecutive year participating in the event, where she played last year alongside LPGA stars Nelly Korda and Annika Sorenstam. Clark, who attracted...

CINCINNATI – Already without their star quarterback, the Cincinnati Bengals had to enter Thursday’s game against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers without their best defensive player. Edge rusher Trey Hendrickson did not dress Thursday night when the Bengals prepared to face the Steelers. The reigning NFL sacks leader, Hendrickson suffered a...

BEREA, Ohio — “Frustrated” has been the word of the week for the Cleveland Browns. What hasn’t been in their vocabulary is “fractured.” “Yeah, I mean, frustrated is a big point,” left guard Joel Bitonio said. “Obviously, everybody’s frustrated because no one wants to be 1-5, but I think our...

CINCINNATI – Pittsburgh Steelers safety DeShon Elliott joined his teammates in Cincinnati by early afternoon Thursday and was in unform for that evening’s game against the Bengals. Elliott was not part of the traveling party to Ohio when the Steelers left en masse Wednesday afternoon. The team cited a “personal”...

Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti signed a new eight-year contract that runs through the end of the 2033 regular season and will pay him an average annual salary of $11.6 million, the school announced Thursday. “At Indiana University, we are committed to performing at the highest levels in everything we...

BEREA, Ohio — Frustrated has been the word of the week for the Browns. What hasn’t been in their vocabulary is fractured. “Yeah, I mean, frustrated is a big point,” left guard Joel Bitonio said Oct. 16. “Obviously everybody’s frustrated because no one wants to be 1-5, but I think...

Voters selected West Virginia’s men’s basketball team 11th in the Big 12 preseason poll, which was released Thursday. The Mountaineers finished 19-13 overall last season and 10-10 in the Big 12. They lost to Colorado in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. They are set to open the...

UNIVERSITY PARK — Ethan Grunkemeyer was immediately swarmed by reporters as he emerged from the locker room after Penn State practice. As bodies and cameras enveloped him Wednesday night, the quarterback’s eyes glanced back toward his teammates. One shouted, “Yeah Grunk! Man of the hour!” Grunkemeyer, who will make his...