Sports category, Page 566

RICHMOND, Va. — Legislation underpinning a plan to relocate the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals across the Potomac River to northern Virginia easily cleared an early hurdle in the state legislature Friday. Lawmakers on the Virginia House Appropriations Committee voted 17-3 to advance the measure, a top priority...

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia 76ers team president Daryl Morey expressed optimism on Friday that reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid would return from a knee injury in time for a possible postseason run. “We’re hopeful,” Morey said before the 76ers hosted the Atlanta Hawks and three days after Embiid underwent surgery on...

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Former New England Patriots linebacker and three-time Super Bowl champion Dont’a Hightower is joining new coach Jerod Mayo’s staff as an assistant. Hightower and his agency confirmed Friday he would be joining the Patriots to coach his old position. Hightower began a decade-long run in New England...

LAS VEGAS — The Kansas City Chiefs ruled out All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney for the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday because of a pectoral injury. Wide receiver Rashee Rice and running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, though, appear ready to go. Rice was a full participant in...

It is possible — likely, even — that regardless of what team drafted Cameron Heyward that he would have embraced charitable efforts in improving that community. But it also is quite fitting that Heyward has been able to deploy his energies to improving Pittsburgh. “It’s my hometown and my birthplace,”...

LAS VEGAS — The Kansas City Chiefs have been here before. They’ve won here before. In fact, they’ve beaten the San Francisco 49ers here before. Of all the reasons why the Chiefs will raise their third Lombardi Trophy in four trips to the Super Bowl over the past five years...

LAS VEGAS — The NFL is headed to Spain in 2025 for the first regular-season game in that country. The league announced Friday at the Super Bowl that its international slate of games for the 2025 season will feature a game at Real Madrid’s iconic Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. “We could...

UCLA coach Chip Kelly stepped down Friday after six seasons leading the Bruins, and a person involved in the decision confirmed to the Associated Press he was leaving to join Ohio State as offensive coordinator. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Ohio State still was finalizing the deal...

The Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday made official some continued re-working of their offensive staff, announcing the hirings of Tom Arth as quarterbacks coach and Zach Azzanni as wide receivers coach. Also, the Steelers added Mateo Kambui as an offensive assistant. Word of the additions of Arth and Azzanni leaked Thursday...

The Pittsburgh Penguins retire Jaromir Jagr’s No. 68 on Feb. 18 before their game against Los Angeles at PPG Paints Arena. Let’s prepare with refreshing Jagr notes. Big hair, big backside, big stats, larger than life. • Jagr’s biggest moment as a Penguin: Beating No. 1 seed New Jersey nearly...

As the Pittsburgh Penguins prepare to face the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul on Friday night, all eyes will be on the goalie in the other team’s net. The guy who so memorably wore a Penguins jersey for the first 13 years of his career. It is Marc-Andre Fleury Night...

LAS VEGAS — Damar Hamlin learned a lot about himself over the past year. That’s no surprise after his near-death experience on the field about 13 months ago. Hamlin spoke for a few minutes Thursday on a platform overlooking radio row at this year’s Super Bowl. It was easy to...

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Hannah Stuelke scored a career-high 47 points and Caitlin Clark added 27 points in her quest for the scoring record as No. 2 Iowa defeated Penn State, 111-93, on Thursday night. Clark now has 3,489 career points and needs just 39 more to break the NCAA...

Rick Bowness had a feeling Mike Sullivan could be a coach. Maybe even before Sullivan did. The last four seasons of Sullivan’s playing career as a bottom-six checking center came in the late 1990s and early 2000s with the Phoenix Coyotes. Bowness was an assistant coach for three of those...

Our annual Super Bowl betting edition of “Football Footnotes” has been hit or miss the past two years. When the Rams beat the Bengals two years ago, I went 4-3 and made money. When the Eagles lost to the Chiefs last year, I went 2-4 and lost money. So, essentially,...

Friday’s “First Call” has comments from Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II on the status of the quarterback position and Acrisure Stadium. Bill Cowher’s future with CBS is being brought into question. Marc-Andre Fleury is being honored in Minnesota as the Penguins stop in to play. And we look at...

Sunday’s Super Bowl will be the fourth time Javon Hargrave has faced Patrick Mahomes. By now, Hargrave joins the rest of the NFL world in recognizing Mahomes’ future Hall of Fame bona fides. Things were quite different the first time Hargrave played against Mahomes — and not just because at...

The Pittsburgh Pirates are poised to begin spring training with six outfielders on their 40-man roster — along with several other possibilities — and two names already penciled into the starting lineup. Pirates manager Derek Shelton shared in late September that Jack Suwinski had joined 2021 All-Star Bryan Reynolds in...

LAS VEGAS — Lamar Jackson was a near-unanimous choice for his second AP NFL MVP award announced at NFL Honors on Thursday night. Baltimore’s All-Pro quarterback received 49 of 50 first-place votes from a nationwide panel of voters that includes media members who regularly cover the NFL, former players and...

LAS VEGAS — First-time candidate Julius Peppers headlines a 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame class that has a distinctive defensive feel. The star defensive end was joined by another elite pass rusher in Dwight Freeney and do-everything linebacker Patrick Willis in the modern era category announced Thursday night. Prolific...

UNIVERSITY PARK — Ace Baldwin Jr. scored 13 of Penn State’s final 18 points and finished with 22 in an 89-79 victory over Iowa on Thursday night for the Nittany Lions’ third straight win. Baldwin hit a 3-pointer to give Penn State (12-11, 6-6 Big Ten) its final lead. Qudus...

How many times can Andy Toole say it? How many times can the longtime Robert Morris basketball coach explain the process of becoming a consistent winner? “We’ll say it as many times as we have to,” said Toole, whose Colonials are deep into their fourth season in the Horizon League...

Cameron Heyward’s hard work on the field and dedication to improving the Pittsburgh community off it was rewarded Thursday night when the Steelers defensive lineman was named the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year. Heyward was announced as the winner out of 32 finalists — one from each team...

The Pittsburgh Steelers are moving closer to completing their offensive coaching staff, agreeing to a deal with former New York Jets assistant Zach Azzanni as wide receivers coach, according to a source. The Steelers also are hiring former Los Angeles Chargers assistant Tom Arth as quarterbacks coach, a move that...