Sports category, Page 672
NFL draft has potential to set a record for most players on offense selected in the 1st round
The NFL Draft will be offensive. We’re not talking about hurt feelings. This draft has the potential to set a record for most offensive players selected in the first round. No draft has had more than 19 players on offense chosen in the first round. That happened three times, most...
What’s next for the Penguins after missing the playoffs again?
ELMONT, N.Y. — The Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2023-24 season came to an end Wednesday with a 5-4 loss to the New York Islanders at UBS Arena. For the better part of three weeks, they flirted with the postseason, staging an 8-2-3 charge to complete the campaign and falling a few points...
These 10 losses cost the Penguins critical points en route to missing the playoffs again
For the second consecutive season, the Pittsburgh Penguins will be spectators of the Stanley Cup playoffs, having fallen short of the postseason by three points. Last year, the Penguins missed out by one point, ending their streak of 16 consecutive trips to the playoffs. The Penguins’ underwhelming power play, inability...
Tim Benz: Penguins leave management with one last reality check to end 2023-24
I’ll give the Pittsburgh Penguins this. At least they’ve been consistent. Even in how they ended the 2023-24 season during a 5-4 loss on the road against the New York Islanders. One more blown lead. One more goal allowed just before the buzzer of a period. One more goal was...
Breakfast With Benz Steelers draft preview: Matt Williamson on defensive backs
As the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare for the NFL Draft (April 25-27), we are doing the same here at Breakfast With Benz. That means it’s time for our annual draft preview series with pro and college scout Matt Williamson. I’ve worked with Williamson for many years on Fox Sports Radio 970...
First Call: 49ers reportedly dismiss Steelers’ Brandon Aiyuk trade call; Marc-Andre Fleury discusses plan to play next yearVideo
Thursday’s “First Call” gives us San Francisco’s reaction to a Steelers trade inquiry for Brandon Aiyuk. We also have an interesting note about a Steelers draft option. Pirates prospect Paul Skenes gets ready to pitch again in Indianapolis. And Marc-Andre Fleury explains his decision to come back for one more...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: After strong start, Pirates spiral as strengths turn to weaknesses
A seven-game road trip that ended with being swept by the New York Mets turned the Pittsburgh Pirates upside down as their strengths became weaknesses, and they spiraled after a strong start. It’s bad enough the Pirates (11-8) have lost six of their past eight games, but the fashion of...
Pirates farm report for April 17, 2024: 5 Indianapolis pitchers blank St. Paul
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 8-9) won a 1-0 pitchers’ duel with St. Paul (Twins). C Carter Bins (.286) went 2 for 4 and hit a walk-off single to score CF Gilberto Celestino. 2B Nick Gonzales (.388) went 1 for 4 with a double and two strikeouts. LF Canaan Smith-Njigba (.300) went 1...
Coyotes end tenure in desert with raucous atmosphere before move
TEMPE, Ariz. — Mullett Arena buzzed like few times in the three years since the Arizona Coyotes moved in, the fans amped for one last desert hurrah. For 60 minutes, they got one last chance to watch the team they came to love before the franchise as they know it...
Penguins’ Jeff Carter hangs up skates after 19-year NHL careerVideo
ELMONT, N.Y. — The Pittsburgh Penguins’ regular-season finale — a 5-4 loss to the New York Islanders at UBS Arena — did not mean anything as it pertained to the playoff picture. After all, the Penguins were formally eliminated from postseason contention Tuesday. But Wednesday’s game still commanded significant gravity...
Disappointing Penguins season comes to fitting end with loss at playoff-bound Islanders
ELMONT, N.Y. - There isn’t a one-size-fits-all reason for why the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2023-24 season ended without a playoff berth. They lost way too much for a lot of reasons. That trend continued on through to the literal ending of the regular season as the Penguins were defeated, 5-4, by...
Rangers’ Artemi Panarin has career year with MVP-caliber numbers
Artemi Panarin was an established offensive player before he signed with the New York Rangers in 2019. He has only boosted his numbers since then and is coming off a career year going into the playoffs. The Russian forward averaged 29 goals and 51 assists in his first four seasons...
Montreal Canadiens exercise option on Martin St. Louis’ contract
BROSSARD, Quebec — The Montreal Canadiens exercised the two-year option of the contract of coach Martin St. Louis, committing him to the team for the next three seasons. Montreal hired St. Louis on an interim basis following Dominique Ducharme’s dismissal in February 2022. The 48-year-old Canadian was named coach at...
Man charged in transport of Masters memorabilia taken from Augusta National
A man has been charged in federal court in Illinois in the transport of millions of dollars worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and memorabilia stolen from Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. A document filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois accuses Richard Globensky...
Penguins notes: 6 players appear in all 82 games
ELMONT, N.Y. — Six members of the Pittsburgh Penguins finished the season with perfect attendance. Forwards Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Lars Eller as well as defensemen Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang and Marcus Pettersson appeared in all 82 games, the final of which was Wednesday’s game against the New York...
Korda chases 5th straight victory to tie LPGA record in Chevron ChampionshipVideo
THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Nelly Korda hasn’t really considered her place in history as she prepares to chase her fifth consecutive victory, which would tie the LPGA record, this weekend at the Chevron Championship. “I’m so in the present that I don’t let myself think about that too much,” she...
Scottie Scheffler had a quick Masters celebration. Now, it’s time to get back to workVideo
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Masters champion Scottie Scheffler would be the first to lament he doesn’t spend enough time celebrating his achievements, which are piling up at an alarming pace. He made an exception after winning his second green jacket in three years. He flew home to Dallas with...
NCAA allows transfers to be immediately eligible, no matter how many times they’ve switched schools
NCAA athletes will be immediately eligible to play no matter how many times they transfer — as long as they meet academic requirements — after the association fast-tracked legislation Wednesday to fall in line with a recent court order. The NCAA posted on social media that the Division I Council’s...
WPIAL notebook: Girls flag football tops 100-team threshold, on road to being PIAA sport
Girls flag football is on track to become the next sanctioned high school sport in Pennsylvania. A month after the PIAA crowned its first girls wrestling champions, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said girls flag football has reached the 100-team threshold needed to move forward as an emerging sport. Lombardi...
Duquesne assistant coach Terry Weigand no longer with men’s basketball team
Terry Weigand, who was an assistant with former Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot through 22 seasons at three schools, is no longer a member of the Dukes’ coaching staff, a university spokesman said Wednesday. Also gone from the basketball staff is Andy Allison, who was chief of staff for the past...
‘You can’t rely on Philly’: Pittsburgh Penguins fans down after season falters
Brandon Kocent, a diehard Pittsburgh Penguins fan, was deflated like many others in Western Pennsylvania after the team’s push for a playoff spot fell apart before the final game. One of the scenarios for the Penguins to sneak into the postseason called for the Washington Capitals to lose against the...
Led by 2-run homers by Starling Marte, Harrison Bader, Mets sweep Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are dealing with their share of problems, but none is more glaring than their sudden offensive ineffectiveness. The New York Mets held the Pirates to five hits — none over the final four innings — and got two-run homers by Starling Marte and Harrison Bader for a...
NFL Draft preview: Steelers have 3 viable options if they elect to take center in early rounds
Perhaps the worst-kept secret in the NFL is the Pittsburgh Steelers are targeting a center early in the draft, most likely using the No. 20 overall pick to address a position of need. Center, of course, is the one position on the roster where the Steelers don’t have a definitive...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Derry grads John Kerr, Mark Pavlik earn postseason awards
Derry has a strong presence on the Penn State men’s volleyball team. It also loomed large at postseason award time. A pair of Derry alums — a high-energy hitter and his veteran coach — are taking home some top-notch hardware. Grad student John Kerr was named the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball...
WPIAL to hold hearings for 2 Aliquippa football transfers, approves 3 others
A WPIAL hearing will decide the eligibility of two Aliquippa football players who transferred from rival Central Valley. The WPIAL board granted eligibility to three players who transferred to Aliquippa from others schools, but voted Wednesday to hold hearings for sophomore Joseph Work and freshman Khalil Ellerbee, said WPIAL executive...
