Sports category, Page 574

Thursday’s “First Call” has some background on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ hiring of Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator. The Steelers are meeting with a topflight center at the Senior Bowl. Ravens coaches are leaving Baltimore in a hurry. A former Penguins front office executive just got a contract extension in Vancouver....

Rowdy Tellez already was familiar with most of the Pittsburgh Pirates roster, but the burly slugger is looking forward to meeting several of his new teammates, especially those who stand his size or taller. A 6-foot-4, 270-pound first baseman who signed a one-year contract with the Pirates last month, Tellez...

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Ace Baldwin Jr. scored 15 points, D’Marco Dunn added 14 and Penn State defeated Rutgers 61-46 on Wednesday night. Baldwin added seven assists and five steals for the Nittany Lions (10-11, 4-6 Big Ten). Dunn had seven rebounds and three steals. Qudus Wahab had nine points and...

Beware of the trap. Duquesne’s coaches warned their players of that classic situation as they were preparing for the unusual challenge of facing a nonconference opponent at home with the regular season headed into the February stretch run. Luckily for the Dukes, they survived Chicago State’s upset bid Wednesday night...

The raw numbers in the box score will show that Pitt defeated Wake Forest, 77-72, on Wednesday night by scoring 50 points and seizing nine offensive rebounds after halftime and rallying from a 12-point deficit. It also will give Pitt’s defense credit for harassing the Demon Deacons with 11 steals...

LAS VEGAS — Minutes after beating Baltimore 17-10 on Sunday to clinch a spot in the Super Bowl, Travis Kelce had a message to send. “The Chiefs are still the Chiefs,” Kelce said. Bettors agree. The early money is heavily on Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City to repeat as Super...

Eli Holstein was the scout quarterback last season at Alabama, a freshman thrown into practice situations with the intent of emulating that week’s opponent. Sometimes, he got hit with friendly fire from what he called “the best defense in the country.” “I got popped a couple times by some big...

Repeat championships in the NFL used to be more common. Over the first 39 Super Bowls, it happened eight times. But no team has done it since Tom Brady and the New England Patriots won two in a row following the 2003-04 seasons. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs...

Aroldis Chapman was willing to put the past behind him to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates, even if it means that the seven-time All-Star reliever won’t be serving as their closer. Chapman signed a one-year contract worth $10.5 million with the Pirates on Wednesday that made the free agent their...

Formula One rejected Andretti Global’s application to join the global racing series in 2025 or 2026 but said Wednesday it is willing to revisit the issue in 2028 when General Motors has an engine ready for competition. F1, in its decision, said it did not believe Andretti would be a...

RENTON, Wash. — It was a defensive-centric head coach that brought the Seattle Seahawks their only Super Bowl title. The Seahawks are hoping a newer — albeit much younger — version can return them to the elite of the NFL. The Seahawks are hiring Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald...

A go-to hockey trope when discussing a young, playmaking, high-risk defenseman is: “When that guy is on the ice, a puck is going in one of the nets. We just don’t know which one.” You may have heard Kris Letang described that way once or twice early in his career....

Matt Cooke wears a lot of hats these days. He’s something of a navigator, a nutritionist and even dabbles in human resources. Such is life as a coach in the ECHL. “As the head coach, I’m doing travel, I’m doing meals, I’m doing trades and lineup and roster and all...

Arthur Smith is the new offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. That’s an indictment of Kenny Pickett and potential opportunity for Ryan Tannehill. Smith relies on the run and plays it safe with quarterbacks. He wasn’t hired to develop Pickett. Smith will minimize Pickett and try to mask his deficiencies. That...

Not everyone is thrilled with the hire of Arthur Smith as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator. We get word on what happened with the other Steelers candidates. An NFL coordinator target with local ties is starting to get some interest. And the Duquesne Dukes are welcoming one of college basketball’s...

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ reported decision to hire Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator makes total sense. That’s not entirely a compliment, mind you. But it does make total sense. Credit the Steelers for being extremely pragmatic. Somehow, in one hire, the organization has managed to be thoroughly logical in its thought...

The San Francisco 49ers finally climbed back up the playoff mountain to return to the Super Bowl only to find a familiar foe waiting for them. When the Niners get a second shot at a Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs, it will be a rare title game rematch...

In the first weeks of this offseason, Charlie Morton did not talk with Atlanta Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos about his future. Morton had no idea whether the Braves would exercise their club option on him. Morton and his wife, Cindy, did not even really talk about it...

BALTIMORE — The Angelos family has reached an agreement to sell the Orioles to private equity billionaire David Rubenstein, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal told The Baltimore Sun. Rubenstein is set to take over as the team’s control person as part of the deal, which values the...