Sports category, Page 593
Big goaltender decisions await several teams in Stanley Cup playoffs
DENVER — Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev went home after a recent shaky outing and immediately watched film — the car-racing thriller “The Fast and the Furious.” Anything to keep his own mind from racing. It’s playoff time, where teams march to the beat of their goaltenders. They want them laser-focused,...
Lakers’ LeBron James on NBA playoffs: ‘It’s a sprint now’
There’s a 64-win team in Boston that ran away with the league’s best record. The defending champions in Denver, a group that won 57 games. A fearless young bunch in Oklahoma City, whose No. 1 seed was no fluke. A trio of Villanova alums in New York, who turned the...
Red Sox trample Pirates in Quinn Priester’s season debut
Before the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 8-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Friday night, manager Derek Shelton said sending Quinn Priester to Triple-A Indianapolis to start the season was a difficult decision. “Overall, it’s our belief that he is a good starting pitcher,” Shelton said. In his first start since...
Collin Morikawa part of 4-way tie for the lead at Hilton Head. Scottie Scheffler lurks 3 shots backVideo
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Collin Morikawa had another solid round Friday in the RBC Heritage with a 5-under-par 66 and appears to be getting back to the reliable form that made him a two-time major champion. Masters champion Scottie Scheffler’s form never seems to change. Even after an emotionally...
Ke’Bryan Hayes returns to Pirates’ lineup while team keeps keen eye on his back tightness
Ke’Bryan Hayes returned to third base and the No. 3 spot in the Pittsburgh Pirates batting order Friday night after missing the previous two games against the New York Mets with tightness in his lower back. Manager Derek Shelton said he monitors Hayes’ back issue with daily conversastions. “The biggest...
NHL PLAYOFFS: West best Dallas vs. defending champion Vegas headlines 1st-round matchupsVideo
All eight first-round matchups in the NHL playoffs are set after the last day of the regular season flipped two of the biggest series in the West. The defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights will open against West top seed Dallas. Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers will face the Los...
Pirates’ Aroldis Chapman’s suspension reduced from 2 games to 1
After a meeting Friday morning among MLB officials and the Major League Players Association, Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman’s suspension was reduced from two games to one. He served the suspension Friday night when the Pirates played the Boston Red Sox at PNC Park. Chapman was ejected from the...
John Tortorella says he failed to get Flyers to ‘close the deal’ in wake of late-season collapseVideo
VOORHEES, N.J. — Put those playoff plans on hold, Flyers fans. And not just this season. Philadelphia is stuck on the outside of the postseason for the fourth straight year after its fate was decided in Game 82. The Flyers’ acceleration from expected painful rebuild to the cusp of the...
NFL Draft preview: High-end defensive tackles lacking in 2024 class
For a team that could use another infusion of youth on the defensive line, the Pittsburgh Steelers elected to stockpile veteran depth in the offseason. The Steelers re-signed nose tackle Montravius Adams to a two-year contract at the outset of free agency. They added ninth-year veteran Dean Lowry, who turns...
Duquesne, Robert Morris alter football schedules, add Mercyhurst for 2024
Duquesne and Robert Morris announced scheduling alterations to their 2024 football season Friday, with both teams now set to face the Mercyhurst in the Lakers’ inaugural campaign at the Division I level. Mercyhurst revealed earlier this month that 24 of its athletic programs would be making the jump from the...
Goalie prospect Joel Blomqvist among players Kyle Dubas expects to push for NHL next season
Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas has made no secret of his belief that the organization needs to get younger fast. In a perfect world, the Penguins will develop and acquire youthful talent that will crack the NHL, learn from the club’s current core of Sidney Crosby,...
Pirates prospect Paul Skenes focused on preparing for major leagues, not timeline for call-upVideo
During an appearance Friday on ESPN’s “Pat McAfee Show,” Pittsburgh Pirates 2023 No. 1 draft choice Paul Skenes said he has no idea when he will be called up to the big leagues. “I’ll be honest,” he told McAfee. “You know just as well as I do when I’m going...
Mark Madden: Penguins no longer an elite team, have to realize nothing is guaranteed
The Pittsburgh Penguins need to understand what they are. They are underdogs. They have been for quite some time. Yes, you can be an underdog with Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin. The evidence is plentiful, not least finishing 10th in a terrible conference with 38 wins and 44...
Penguins president Kyle Dubas disappointed, but optimistic after 1st season
On the first day of June, Kyle Dubas was introduced to the world — or at least Uptown — as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ new president of hockey operations during an elaborate and lavish news conference in the opulent Lexus Club of PPG Paints Arena. He professed optimism that the Penguins...
Penguins’ Kyle Dubas named associate GM of Team Canada for ’24 World Championship
Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas has been added to the front office staff of Team Canada ahead of the 2024 IIHF World Championship held in Prague and Ostrava, Czechia, from May 10-26. Dubas is set to serve as an associate general manager for the Canadian men’s...
Damian Dunn officially joins Pitt backcourt, joins 2 returning guards, freshman Brandin Cummings
Pitt coach Jeff Capel said Friday he likes how his backcourt is evolving after the departure of Bub Carrington, who intends to enter the 2024 NBA Draft. The fourth piece at guard was put in place after Pitt officially announced the addition of 6-foot-5 guard Damian Dunn, formerly of Houston...
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang considering surgery for undisclosed ailments
During his season-ending news conference with media Friday in Cranberry, Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas offered updates on several players who finished the 2023-24 campaign with various injuries. Most notably, defenseman Kris Letang might require surgery to correct an assortment of various unspecified injuries. “Kris was going...
Tim Benz: Penguins brass whistling a familiar tune when it comes to Tristan Jarry
Here’s a quick synopsis of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ goaltending situation. Stop me if this sounds vaguely familiar to any other recent sports storyline in Pittsburgh. The Penguins invested a lot of faith in Tristan Jarry and positioned him as their goaltender of the future and the present. As the season...
First Call: Steelers QB Russell Wilson to throw out Pirates’ 1st pitch; watch Paul Skenes sparkle again in IndyVideo
In Friday’s “First Call,” new Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson is getting back to his baseball roots. Paul Skenes makes another minor league start. A local pitcher is tearing up the American League in Oakland, and we preview this weekend’s Pirates-Red Sox series at PNC Park. Russ is with us...
Breakfast With Benz NFL Draft preview: Front 7 fits and misses for Steelers
When the Pittsburgh Steelers were truly elite at team-building, they could afford to spend high draft choices on front-seven defensive players who didn’t necessarily have to come in and start right away but could contribute and evolve into long-term defensive stalwarts. Particularly along the defensive line. Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt,...
Bethel Park’s Justin Meis aims to keep climbing Pirates farm system ladder
It’s been nearly three years since the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted pitcher Justin Meis in the 10th round (No. 283 overall) of the 2021 MLB Draft, but the euphoria has yet to wear off for the Bethel Park native, who played collegiately at Eastern Michigan. Adding to the still-surreal feeling of...
Pirates farm report for April 18, 2024: Paul Skenes dominant again for Indy
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 9-9) gave up four runs in the top of the ninth but held on for a 6-5 win over St. Paul (Twins). Paul Skenes (0.00) made his fourth Triple-A start and was dominant again, throwing 3⅓ scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. He allowed a double to 1B Yunior...
Bills’ Josh Allen credits Stefon Diggs for development in 1st comments since trade
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Impersonal as it might seem to have their dynamic on-field relationship end with an exchange of phone texts, Bills quarterback Josh Allen made it clear Thursday how much receiver Stefon Diggs meant to him during their four seasons together in Buffalo. Allen made no mention of...
Utah’s new NHL team needs new name, as well
The NHL team moving from Arizona to Salt Lake City will be known as Utah, at least initially, until a long-term name is determined. “We’ll start with Utah on the jersey, and we’ll figure out the logo and everything else and what it is that we are,” new owner Ryan...
‘It’s wide open’ is theme as race to Stanley Cup begins
General manager Don Waddell likes how his Carolina Hurricanes finished the season, winning 16 of their final 21 games. He knows it means nothing now. “Your points get erased, and you all start with zeroes,” Waddell said. “Playoffs are a different time. That’s what’s great about the NHL. Once you...
