NCAA rules panel proposes letting player ejected for targeting in 2nd half to play entire next game
INDIANAPOLIS — Division I football rules makers have proposed a one-year trial rule allowing a player disqualified for targeting for the first time to play in his team’s next game regardless of which half the penalty was assessed, the NCAA announced Thursday. Currently, players disqualified for targeting must miss the...
‘I wish we could have done better’: Now with Twins, Derek Shelton reflects on Pirates tenureVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — Derek Shelton returned to LECOM Park as a manager, this time in the visiting dugout. The former Pittsburgh Pirates skipper was wearing new colors that were old colors to him. The former Minnesota Twins bench coach is now their manager, only months after being fired by the...
Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs scheduled to start against Devils
Pittsburgh Penguins rookie goaltender Arturs Silovs is scheduled to start Thursday’s game against the New Jersey Devils at PPG Paints Arena. Coach Dan Muse announced Silovs’ status following an optional morning skate in Cranberry. In 26 games this season, Silovs has an 11-7-8 record, a 2.93 goals-against average, an .894...
Penn State’s Rocco Becht ready to resume throwing after recovery from shoulder surgery
STATE COLLEGE — Drew Allar isn’t the only Penn State quarterback who is expected to throw on Saturday. Veteran Rocco Becht, the Iowa State transfer who will lead Matt Campbell’s Penn State offense in the fall, said Wednesday his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery is progressing nicely. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound...
Joel Quenneville wins his 1,000th game, joining Scotty Bowman in an elite club for NHL coaches
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Joel Quenneville became the second coach in NHL history to win 1,000 games when his Anaheim Ducks rallied to beat the Edmonton Oilers, 6-5, on Wednesday night. Quenneville joined Scotty Bowman in this exclusive hockey club with a milestone win in the Ducks’ first game back from...
Joe Starkey’s Cup of Joe: What is an ‘AFC North’ quarterback?
Cup of Joe: Starkey on sports in 350 words or less Steelers GM Omar Khan made sure to talk up last season’s third-string quarterback — the sixth-round pick who has never appeared in a live NFL game — in addressing reporters at the NFL Combine. Of course he did. Khan...
Pirates announce coaching staff assignments for minor league affiliates
BRADENTON, Fla. — The Pittsburgh Pirates announced the staff assignments for their minor league affiliates, including multiple managerial changes. At Triple-A Indianapolis, Eric Patterson has been promoted from bench coach to manager. He replaces Chris Truby, who was elevated to infield coach on the major league staff. The Indians also...
Mark Madden: A blueprint for how the Penguins survive during Sidney Crosby’s absence
Sidney Crosby won’t play for at least four weeks because of a lower-body injury, widely presumed to be a strained knee. The most frightening two words contained in that prognosis are “at least.” The Pittsburgh Penguins were five points safe in a playoff berth when NHL play resumed Wednesday night....
A Boston Celtics game-inspired friction test finally pinned down the sneaker squeak
NEW YORK — As he watched the Boston Celtics play from the stands of TD Garden, one noise kept catching Adel Djellouli’s ear. “This squeaking sound when players are sliding on the floor is omnipresent,” he said. “It’s always there, right?” Squeaky shoes are part of the symphony of a...
U mad, bro?: Aaron Rodgers, the unearthed Steelers-Ravens officiating debate, 3-on-3 Olympic hockey all take shots from fansVideo
This week’s “U mad, bro?” goes from Milan to the North Side Notch. Hockey in the Summer Olympics to the reconstruction of PNC Park. Three-month-old football games to WWE wrestling. In other words, just a typical week. Here’s the latest edition. I took a jab at Team Canada coach Jon...
On Sports: Penguins prepare to run gauntlet; where will Pitt’s Kyle Louis fit on an NFL roster?Video
Thursday’s “On Sports” takes a look at the challenge currently in front of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who begin a difficult final month-and-a-half of the regular season minus captain Sidney Crosby. At the NFL Combine, former Pitt standout linebacker Kyle Louis looks to further showcase his next-level potential, while Paul Skenes...
Joe Starkey: The Steelers are Omar Khan’s show now. Is that a good thing?
Evaluating the Steelers’ personnel decisions in recent years was always tricky, because it was often unclear whether coach Mike Tomlin or general manager Omar Khan dictated a given decision. Who was pulling the trigger on many of the main acquisitions, via the draft, trades and free agency — and where...
Report: Steelers rank last among NFL’s 32 franchises in player union’s report cards
The Pittsburgh Steelers ranked last among the league’s 32 franchises in the NFL Players Association’s annual report cards, according to ESPN, with players citing an unwillingness by ownership to invest in facilities. The Steelers received low grades in several categories, according to unreleased survey results published Thursday by ESPN. The...
Minor league report: Logan Pietila scores twice for Nailers in loss
Forward Logan Pietila scored two goals for the Wheeling Nailers in a 6-3 loss to the Fort Wayne Komets at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va., on Wednesday. Linemate Connor Lockhart also scored a goal for Wheeling (30-14-2-3) while forward Ryan McAllister contributed two assists. Goaltender Taylor Gauthier made 24 saves...
Ebuka Okorie’s 2nd-half eruption powers Stanford over Pitt
Dynamic Stanford freshman point guard Ebuka Okorie likely was the focal point of Pitt’s preparation for Wednesday’s matchup on the West Coast. Okorie entered the evening ranking second in the ACC in scoring (22.3 points per game) and has demonstrated an ability to take over games in his young career....
Duquesne held to season low in points, suffers damaging loss to Davidson
February in Pittsburgh. Blah! That seemingly was Duquesne’s sentiment Wednesday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, where the Dukes appeared disinterested in what’s at stake and played uninspired basketball during their disastrous 67-56 loss to Davidson. “Sometimes, these games — especially in conference play — just keep coming one after another,...
Robert Morris men extend winning streak to 6, take over 2nd place in Horizon League
Heading into the final two games of the regular season, the Robert Morris men’s basketball team was in a three-way tie for second place with the Detroit Mercy and Oakland. As luck would have it, one of the Colonials’ final two games would be against Detroit Mercy, giving them a...
Stats, streaks and factoids as the WPIAL prepares for the 10th year of 6-class basketball championships
Through the decades, there has always been growth in high school sports. Many sports began with just one classification, then more schools meant more classes. This year marks the 50th anniversary of multiple classes in girls high school basketball. The PIAA expanded girls hoops from one to two classifications and...
NFL combine notebook: Penn State’s Dani Dennis-Sutton analyzes pass-rush moves
INDIANAPOLIS — While his 6-foot-5 frame and high-level athleticism certainly did not hurt, that wasn’t all Dani Dennis-Sutton had going for him in posting 17 sacks over the past two seasons for Penn State. A two-time team captain and part of the Nittany Lions’ run to the College Football Playoffs...
1st-round DT prospect Kayden McDonald, family friend of Heywards, meets with Steelers
INDIANAPOLIS — In 2011, Cam Heyward was a defensive tackle taken in the first round of the NFL Draft who went to high school in Suwanee, Ga., and to college at Ohio State. Fifteen years later, Kayden McDonald is a defensive tackle projected to go in the first round of...
Pirates’ Paul Skenes slogs through 1st spring start, ready to ‘go win gold’ for Team USA
NORTH PORT, Fla. — Paul Skenes found his first start of spring training — and only one for the Pittsburgh Pirates before joining Team USA in the World Baseball Classic — to be rather challenging. The National League Cy Young Award winner allowed one earned run on one hit and...
NFL QB market, impacted by a thin draft class, features Cousins and maybe Tagovailoa and Murray, too
Kirk Cousins will be available to sign with any team in two weeks once he is released by the Atlanta Falcons. Tua Tagovailoa could be on the move from the Miami Dolphins. Kyler Murray might not be in the Arizona Cardinals’ plans. Reliable quarterbacks have been of utmost importance for...
Having already shown he’s a playmaker, Pitt’s Kyle Louis eager to show off speed at combineVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Perhaps the only thing Kyle Louis does faster than run as compered to other draft-eligible linebackers is answer a question about what drill he’s most excited about during his workouts Thursday at the NFL combine. “Obviously,” Louis said Wednesday from the combine site, “that 40. I’m trying to...
Penguins defenseman Sam Girard acclimates to new surroundings
A slow news cycle did not accompany Sam Girard’s first day with the Pittsburgh Penguins. After trading for the 27-year-old defenseman Tuesday, the Penguins announced Wednesday that captain Sidney Crosby would be sidelined for at least four weeks as a result of an injury suffered during the Olympics. Nonetheless, Girard,...
Sidney Crosby remains confident in the Penguins’ playoff hopes as he lands on injured reserve
It was an important day for Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby on Wednesday. His celebrated Little Penguins Learn to Play program for area youth was staged at UPMC Lemieux Complex. Crosby has helmed this initiative since 2008 and routinely has spread the gospel of hockey to children who have been...
