Sports category, Page 659
Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter charged with stealing $16M from baseball star in sports betting case
LOS ANGELES — The former longtime interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is being charged with federal bank fraud for crimes involving gambling debts and theft of more than $16 million from the Japanese sensation, federal authorities said Thursday. U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada announced the charges Thursday. Ippei...
Penn State edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton ready to shine in starting role
Three Penn State defensive ends have dominated the headlines early in 2024. Former Nittany Lions Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac, Big Ten standouts in 2023, will go early in the NFL Draft later this month. And third-year junior Abdul Carter has been the talk of Penn State’s spring for his...
Browns restructure RB Nick Chubb’s contract as he rehabs from season-ending injury, AP source says
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns have restructured star running back Nick Chubb’s contract as he continues to rehab after a season-ending knee injury in 2023, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday. Chubb was entering his final year under contract after signing a three-year, $36.6...
Tim Benz: Penguins get 1st big chance to advance renewed optimism for Pittsburgh’s sports teams
As recently as March 7, the Pittsburgh sports landscape was looking pretty bleak. The Penguins became sellers at the trade deadline, shipping former All-Star Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes. Steelers coaches and management were giving skeptical fans and media members a hard sell about why they were still optimistic...
First-round offensive tackle prospect Tyler Guyton makes pre-draft visit with Steelers
Reinforcing their interest in players on the offensive and defensive lines, the Pittsburgh Steelers hosted one player from each side of the ball Thursday. Visiting UPMC Rooney Sports Complex for official top-30 visits were Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton and Northern Iowa defensive tackle Khristian Boyd. Guyton is a projected...
Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic scheduled to face Red Wings
The Pittsburgh Penguins are scheduled to start goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic for Thursday’s home game against the Detroit Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena. Coach Mike Sullivan announced Nedeljkovic’s status following an optional morning skate. This will mark Nedeljkovic’s 10th consecutive start. The Penguins have gone 6-0-3 since he became the...
O.J. Simpson, legendary football player and actor brought down by his murder trial, dies at 76
LAS VEGAS — O.J. Simpson, the football star and Hollywood actor acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend in a trial that mesmerized the public and exposed divisions on race and policing in America, has died. He was 76. The family announced on Simpson’s official X...
Next on the Tee: The Masters veteran John Cook shares memories of Augusta National
Happy Masters Week everyone. For Next on the Tee host Chris Mascaro, this is the most magical week of the year. As they say, The Masters is a tradition unlike any other. This week, both parts of the show go inside the tournament to discuss what it’s like to be...
Sumo legend Akebono, first U.S.-born yokozuna, dies at 54 in Japan
TOKYO — Hawaii-born Akebono Taro, one of the greats of sumo wrestling and a former grand champion, has died. He was 54. He was the first foreign-born wrestler to reach the level of “yokozuna” — or grand champion — in Japan. “It is with sadness that we announce Akebono Taro...
U mad, bro?: Pirates fans push back on booing of David Bednar, idea of Barry Bonds in team Hall of Fame
This week, I didn’t defend a hometown hero after he got booed at PNC Park. I suggested that a Pittsburgh sports pariah get inducted into the Pirates Hall of Fame. And I refused to advance a bogus politically correct women’s sports media narrative. So, as you could imagine, my social...
First Call: Potential Steelers international date goes elsewhere; examining Eastern Conference playoff chances for Pens
Thursday’s “First Call” has some Steelers international news to pass along. We study the team’s wide receiver position. We also look at the Penguins’ state of affairs heading into a huge game Thursday night. And the Pirates get set for a cross-state rivalry renewal. Staying stateside The Pittsburgh Steelers are...
Analysis: Countdown on for Paul Skenes to check boxes, receive promotion to Pirates
As soon as the Baltimore Orioles promoted Jackson Holliday, the 2022 No. 1 overall pick and baseball’s consensus top prospect, it prompted speculation about when the Pittsburgh Pirates would do the same with top pitching prospect Paul Skenes. The answer is simple: Not yet. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound right-hander, the No....
Minor league report: Nailers top KometsVideo
A goal and two assists by forward Jordan Martel led the Wheeling Nailers to a 4-1 home win against the Fort Wayne Komets at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va. on Wednesday. Forward Justin Addamo recorded two assists for Wheeling (37-28-4-1) while forwards Jordan Frasca, David Jankowski and Tanner Laderoute all...
Pirates farm report for April 10, 2024: Nick Gonzales belts 2 more doubles, scores winning run for Indy
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 6-5) beat Toledo (Tigers), 4-3. LF Billy McKinney (.258) singled home 2B Nick Gonzales in the top of the ninth for the game-winning score. Gonzales (.391) finished 2 for 5 with a pair of doubles. 1B Jake Lamb (.371) was 2 for 4 with two singles and an...
Purdue’s Zach Edey joins Ralph Sampson as 2-time winners of John R. Wooden AwardVideo
LOS ANGELES — Zach Edey of Purdue became the second two-time John R. Wooden Award winner as the nation’s top men’s college basketball player Wednesday. The 7-foot-4 center joins Virginia’s Ralph Sampson, who won in 1982 and ‘83. Edey led the nation in scoring and set school records for career...
Penguins focused as they face another ‘must win’ against Red Wings
With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ playoff hopes seemingly changing by the day for the past few weeks, Sidney Crosby surely has been monitoring the league scoreboard like someone who has binge-watched Netflix after borrowing their cousin’s password, right? “No.” OK, but he has to be keeping tabs on the standings every...
After starter Nate Yarnell, Alabama transfer Eli Holstein 1st quarterback chosen by Pitt teammates in spring game draft
ACC Network cameras will be stationed inside Acrisure Stadium on Saturday to record every move Pitt players make in the Blue-Gold spring game. Offensive coordinator Kade Bell will react accordingly. No sense tipping off conference foes and giving them all summer to figure out how to defend Pitt’s new offense....
Masters a reunion of world’s best players, but numbers are shrinking
AUGUSTA, Ga. — More than golf’s first major championship of the year, the Masters represents unification. This is the first time since July at the British Open the best players regardless of their tours compete against each other — same course, same tournament, same television network. “I believe everyone agrees...
Neither injury nor illness keep golf’s greats from playing in Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Min Woo Lee stared at the 20-pound dumbbell sitting in the corner of the gym with unbridled contempt. Just days earlier, while performing the last rep in a series of side glute bridges, the Australian had thrown it down and somehow clipped his finger. Bad luck made...
Steelers bring back journeyman kicker Matthew Wright
Matthew Wright is back for a fourth tour with the Pittsburgh Steelers. A journeyman veteran kicker, Wright signed with the Steelers on Tuesday. He initially joined the team as an undrafted free agent out of UCF in 2019, returned to the practice squad in 2020 to appear in three games...
Preparations are being made for a potential NHL team in Salt Lake City
Preparations are being made behind the scenes and in the public eye in case an NHL team is in Salt Lake City sooner than later. Prospective owner Ryan Smith on social media earlier this week solicited suggestions for a team name. Smith, who owns the NBA’s Utah Jazz, in January...
Penguins hoping Radim Zohorna can bolster bottom 6 with added offensive punch
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Radim Zohorna couldn’t help but have a little fun Wednesday after reuniting with Valtteri Puustinen, with whom he forged a friendship as teammates in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League a few seasons ago. Zohorna and Puustinen played together in Pittsburgh earlier this season, but Zohorna was...
Pittsburgh lauds Steelers’ Cameron Heyward, NFL Man of the Year, for serving city ‘with distinction’
Pittsburgh Steelers star Cameron Heyward was recognized Wednesday by city leaders after he won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award, considered the league’s highest honor. Appearing during a City Council meeting Downtown, Mayor Ed Gainey said he wanted to recognize the towering defensive lineman for “serving Pittsburgh...
Steelers host consensus top center, Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson, for pre-draft visitVideo
Taking a closer look at the consensus best player at the position that is their most glaring need, the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday hosted Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson for an official pre-draft visit. The 6-foot-3, 328-pound Powers-Johnson last season won the Rimington Trophy recognizing the top center in college football,...
Orioles call up Jackson Holliday, baseball’s top-ranked prospect
BALTIMORE — Make way for baseball’s top-ranked prospect — yet another big addition from Baltimore’s stellar farm system. The Orioles called up 20-year-old infielder Jackson Holliday on Wednesday, hours before their game at Boston. Holliday was the No. 1 pick in the 2022 amateur draft out of high school in...
