Sports category, Page 624
Breaking down No. 6 South Carolina vs. No. 11 Oregon
No. 6 South Carolina vs. No. 11 Oregon 4 p.m. Thursday, PPG Paints Arena TV: TNT Winner plays: Winner of 3-Creighton (23-9)/14-Akron (24-10) on Saturday in second round Series history: 1st all-time meeting South Carolina (26-7) Coach: Lamont Paris (2nd season) How they got here: South Carolina earned an at-large...
Breaking down No. 6 Texas Tech vs. No. 11 N.C. State
No. 6 Texas Tech vs. No. 11 N.C. State 9:40 p.m. Thursday, PPG Paints Arena TV: CBS Winner plays: Winner of 3-Kentucky (23-9)/14-Oakland (23-11) Saturday in second round Series history: N.C. State leads 2-1 Texas Tech (23-10) Coach: Grant McCasland (1st season) How they got here: Texas Tech earned an...
Breaking down No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Oakland
No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Oakland 7:10 p.m. Thursday, PPG Paints Arena TV: CBS Winner plays: Winner of 6-Texas Tech (23-10)/11-N.C. State (22-14) on Saturday in second round Series history: First meeting Kentucky (23-9) Coach: John Calipari (15th season) How they got here: Kentucky earned an at-large bid from...
Big-time shot-makers return to big stage in NCAA Tournament
Nearly a year has passed since Lamont Butler hit a buzzer-beater that sent San Diego State to the NCAA championship game. He’s seen it so often on social media and TV that he never had search it out himself. “It’s kind of hard to miss it,” he said. Especially in...
NFL competition committee proposes ban on hip-drop tackles, radical change to kickoffs
The NFL competition committee is proposing a rule to penalize so-called “hip-drop” tackles and a radical change to kickoffs to add more returns without compromising safety. The proposals will be presented to owners at the league meetings later this month, with 24 out of 32 votes needed for approval. The...
NCAA Tournament Midwest Region preview: Purdue looks to bounce back after early exit
Purdue coach Matt Painter, reigning AP Player of the Year Zach Edey and the rest of the Boilermakers have had to carry with them all season the stink of becoming the second No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They can truly put...
Duquesne in the NCAAs: Dukes vs. BYU scouting report
OMAHA, Neb. — One thing that always tends to get me in trouble when I fill out my NCAA brackets is that I fall in love with a team early in the season and I proclaim them as my March Madness dark horse in November. Then they inevitably flame out...
NCAA Tournament South Region preview: Blue bloods to challenge top-seeded Houston
Houston has a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year but will have to navigate the likes of Duke, Kentucky and Marquette in the South Region if the Cougars are able to reach the Final Four. The Cougars (30-4) were rewarded after winning the Big...
Detroit Lions defensive back Cameron Sutton sought in Florida domestic violence warrant
TAMPA, Fla. — Detroit Lions defensive back Cameron Sutton is wanted on a domestic violence warrant in Florida, where authorities on Wednesday asked for tips to help find him. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, which includes Tampa, said on the X social media platform that the warrant is for domestic...
Top seed South Carolina hopes its young talent will fuel March Madness run
COLUMBIA, S.C. — It has been a different run of perfection for South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, fueled by a lot of precocious, talented young players who make it difficult at times to know exactly what comes next. “It feels a little bit different because they’re so young,” said Staley,...
Breaking down No. 3 Creighton vs. No. 14 Akron
No. 3 Creighton vs. No. 14 Akron 1:30 p.m. Thursday, PPG Paints Arena TV: TNT Winner plays: Winner of No. 6 South Carolina (26-7)/No. 11 Oregon (23-11) on Saturday in second round Series history: Creighton leads 3-1 Creighton (23-9) Coach: Greg McDermott (14th season) How they got here: Creighton earned...
NCAA Tournament West Region preview: North Carolina back in spotlight as No. 1 seedVideo
North Carolina is the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament West Region a year after being left out of the bracket. The fifth-ranked Tar Heels will open March Madness on Thursday just down the road in Charlotte against the First Four winner between Howard and Wagner. “To be given...
Purdue faces the ghost of a shocking March Madness loss. Virginia has some advice on how to move on
Purdue had just fallen unexpectedly in the Big Ten Tournament last week and Braden Smith sat down alongside star Zach Edey and coach Matt Painter to meet reporters. It took three questions to conjure a March Madness specter: the Boilermakers’ improbable loss as a No. 1 seed to 16th-seeded Fairleigh...
Micah Handlogten will rejoin Florida for NCAA tourney after breaking his leg in the SEC title game
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida center Micah Handlogten, who gruesomely broke his left leg two minutes into the Southeastern Conference championship game on Sunday, will be on hand to watch the Gators in the NCAA Tournament. Already using crutches while recovering from surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Handlogten will make...
NCAA Tournament East Region preview: UConn possesses ingredients for repeat
Connecticut opened the season with uncertainty about how well the Huskies would replace major pieces from last year’s run to the national championship. Any questions had been answered well before Selection Sunday. The top-ranked Huskies (31-3) will enter the NCAA Tournament as the overall No. 1 seed, headlining the East...
New Penguins forward prospect Vasily Ponomarev is sharp on and off the iceVideo
CLEVELAND — Vasily Ponomarev was insistent. On Monday, in the hallway outside the visiting dressing room of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, a reporter thanked him for an interview, and Ponomarev responded with a suggestion. “I hope next time you ask me about my number 11!” Ponomarev boomed, referring to the new...
March Madness as we know it could be on way out amid seismic changes in college sports
Tracking the changes upending college sports can be as frenetic as flipping between all the games going down over the first week of March Madness. Ultimately, those changes could impact what America’s favorite basketball tournament looks like in the future — or whether it exists at all. News about “pay...
Mark Madden: Pitt should have made the NCAA Tournament, but what would that have really meant?
Pitt basketball fans enjoyed wallowing in despair Tuesday night when Virginia got beat by 25 points in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament. Virginia scored just 14 points in the first half of a 67-42 loss to Colorado State. This was evidence that Pitt should have gotten into March...
Ohtani, Dodgers rally to beat Padres in season opener and 1st MLB game in South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea — Shohei Ohtani’s RBI single capped a four-run eighth-inning rally in his Dodgers debut, and Los Angeles beat the San Diego Padres 5-2 in Wednesday night’s major league opener, the sport’s first game in South Korea. The game turned when a routine grounder went through the webbing...
The 4 Grand Slams, the 2 tours and Saudi Arabia are all hoping to revamp tennis
The tennis leaders can agree that there is more money to be made. They also agree that the sport’s current structure could stand to change. The how’s and why’s and when’s of it all? Well, that’s open to discussion — and there is plenty of that happening now behind closed...
Brent Honeywell Jr. aims to prove to Pirates he’s more than a screwball
Brent Honeywell Jr. doesn’t want to be known for one pitch, especially considering his signature is a screwball. Pardon the 28-year-old right-handed reliever for being downright defensive about his pitch repertoire. Statcast shows that he throws six pitches — Honeywell claims he has eight in his arsenal — and he...
Tim Benz: If there is any fire to the smoke about Brandon Aiyuk, the Steelers should fan the flames
Trade rumors are kicking up about San Francisco star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk — and the Steelers are one of the rumored targets. Aiyuk is coming to the end of his rookie contract, and he wants an extension. However, the 49ers don’t usually hammer out contract extensions until July or...
First Call: Steelers miss out on Mike Williams; Cole Holcomb posts workout video
Wednesday’s “First Call” gives us an update on the Steelers’ quest to land a big-play wide receiver. Cole Holcomb is trying to make a comeback. Jake Guentzel stays hot in Carolina. And Pitt fans probably cracked a smile when they saw the result of one of the “First Four” games...
Penguins suffer ugly road defeat, extend losing streak vs. Devils
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ formula for saving their withering postseason hopes isn’t complex. They just have to win. But easier said than done. That was evident Tuesday as they lost to the New Jersey Devils, 5-2, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The result was their seventh consecutive loss to...
Melvin Council Jr. scores 21, Wagner beats Howard in First Four
DAYTON, Ohio — Wagner kicked off March Madness with the first NCAA Tournament win in program history, getting 21 points from Melvin Council Jr. and holding off a late rally by Howard to win 71-68 in the First Four on Tuesday night. The Northeast Conference champion Seahawks (17-15) advanced as...
