Sports category, Page 675
Why Penn State LB Tony Rojas is ‘ready to take over’ next season
Last September, Penn State opened Big Ten play with a road win at Illinois. Players jogged over to the traveling fans, posed for photos and expressed their appreciation for their support at Memorial Stadium. But one Nittany Lion hung back and delayed his postgame celebrations. Tony Rojas, the highly touted...
The NFL’s final 4 QBs are often 1st-round picks — but not this time around
Joe Theismann won one Super Bowl and played in a second with Washington after entering the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick with another franchise. He starred for a coach Joe Gibbs, whose path to the Hall of Fame featured three championships with three starting QBs — including one selected...
Bill Cowher on AFC Championship Game losses: ‘It hurts more than losing the Super Bowl’
As Conference Championship Weekend approaches in the National Football League, now feels like a good time to point out that the Pittsburgh Steelers have been in the AFC Championship game more times (16) than any other team. I feel the need to do that because when they last qualified for...
First Call: Steelers interview 1st OC candidate; Mike Sullivan talks to Raiders; Teryl Austin likely staying
Thursday’s “First Call” has tons of news about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ coordinators. Their defensive coordinator appears to be staying. One of the former offensive coordinators might be leaving, and a candidate to replace him has been interviewed. Meanwhile, the franchise will get an extra round against a Harbaugh brother in...
U mad, bro?: Steelers fans argue about Mike Tomlin, rip media coverage of QBs, quote ‘Macbeth’
In this week’s “U mad, bro?” readers lash out at media coverage of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback situation. They blast the Steelers’ secondary. They defend Mike Tomlin. They rip Mike Tomlin. And they quote Shakespeare. Of course they do. My readership is like, you know, totally well-read n’at. Sean wasn’t...
Michigan could have Jim Harbaugh’s replacement in Sherrone Moore
When Nick Saban retired at Alabama two weeks ago, the chain reaction it set off caused five more head coaching changes across major college football in a little more than a week. Now Michigan, the winningest program in college football history and the defending national champion, is in the market...
Minor league report: Jesse Puljujarvi, Jack St. Ivany lead Penguins past Wolf PackVideo
Forward Jesse Puljujarvi and defenseman Jack St. Ivany each had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-1 home win against the Hartford Wolf Pack at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday. Defenseman Ty Smith recorded two assists for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (22-14-5-0) while forwards Alex Nylander...
Doc Rivers finalizing a deal to take over as Bucks coach, AP source says
MILWAUKEE — Doc Rivers is finalizing a deal to take over as the Milwaukee Bucks coach a day after the firing of Adrian Griffin, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told the Associated Press on Wednesday. Rivers and the Bucks were still negotiating Wednesday, according to the person who...
Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey practices; Mark Andrews full participant
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey was back at practice Wednesday after missing last weekend’s divisional playoff game with a calf injury. The Ravens listed Humphrey as a limited participant. It was a pretty encouraging injury report, with Sunday’s AFC championship game against Kansas City coming up....
Lions QB Jared Goff going home to face 49ers in NFC title game
ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Jared Goff is California cool, staying easy breezy in good times and bad. The veteran quarterback, who is from the San Francisco Bay Area, has led the Detroit Lions to the most success they’ve had in generations with two playoff victories in one postseason for the...
Major questions loom for Raiders’ Antonio Pierce, Tom Telesco
HENDERSON, Nev. — Major decisions are coming in the next several weeks and months that will shape the Las Vegas Raiders’ future. But this was a day for Antonio Pierce to enjoy. He and new general manager Tom Telesco were officially introduced Wednesday after owner Mark Davis removed the interim...
Yu shoots 8-under 64 for a 1-shot lead over Cantlay, Hisatsune at the Farmers Insurance OpenVideo
SAN DIEGO — Kevin Yu of Taiwan shot a bogey-free, 8-under-par 64 on the North Course at Torrey Pines to take a one-shot lead over Patrick Cantlay and Ryo Hisatsune in the opening round of the Farmers Insurance Open on Wednesday. The eight lowest scores came on the North Course,...
Jim Harbaugh returning to NFL to coach Chargers after leading Michigan to national title
COSTA MESA, Calif. — Jim Harbaugh will be the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, leaving Michigan after capping his ninth season as coach of college football’s winningest program with the school’s first national championship since 1997, according to multiple reports. ESPN reported it’s a five-year contract. Harbaugh made...
Aliquippa forced to move to Class 5A football after PIAA rejects appeal
MECHANICSBURG — If the PIAA believes five transfers gave the Aliquippa football team a competitive advantage, Quips coach Mike Warfield wants to know how. The school blitzed the PIAA with statistics about the five players’ limited contributions, the transient nature of the Aliquippa community and even the mismatch in roster...
Browns hiring former NFL back Duce Staley to coach team’s running backs, AP source saysVideo
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns filled one of the vacancies on their coaching staff while bracing for a possible major departure. Coach Kevin Stefanski hired Duce Staley, a 10-year NFL veteran, as his new running backs coach, a person familiar with the addition told the Associated Press on Wednesday. Staley...
Pitt’s 2024 football schedule features another Backyard Brawl, matchup with Clemson
Pitt will play seven of its 12 regular-season games at Acrisure Stadium in 2024, including an Oct. 12 date with California, one of three new ACC member schools. Pitt and Cal haven’t met on the football field since a 30-15 Golden Bears victory in 1966. Two other highlights of Pitt’s...
AFC title game means reunion for Ravens’ John Harbaugh, Chiefs’ Andy Reid
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — John Harbaugh once defeated his own brother in a Super Bowl, so going up against someone he used to work with might not be all that emotional. Still, there’s plenty of respect between the Baltimore coach and his counterpart this weekend: Kansas City’s Andy Reid. “Obviously,...
Bills fans donate to charity benefiting stray cats after Tyler Bass misses FG in playoff loss
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Stray cats are benefiting from Tyler Bass’ field-goal attempt going astray. Down as the Buffalo Bills kicker felt after missing a potential game-tying 44-yard attempt wide right in the final minutes of a 27-24 divisional playoff round loss to Kansas City on Sunday, Bass can be...
After whirlwind season, Steelers’ Trenton Thompson knows nothing is guaranteed
A week after most NFL training camps opened last summer, safety Trenton Thompson was little more than an unemployed ballplayer. “In my mind, I was prepping to get ready to play for the now-UFL, the United Football League,” Thompson said last week, referencing his mindset on the first day of...
Pitt transfer defensive linemen credit assistant Charlie Partridge for tilting scale toward Pitt
Smoked wings on Carson Street, french fries and cole slaw on sandwiches and, of course, Charlie Partridge are among the benefits in and around town that made Pitt an attractive option for transfer football players this offseason. Pat Narduzzi’s makeover of his 3-9 team began hours after the last game...
Utah Jazz owners say they have the immediate ability to bring an NHL team to Salt Lake City
The owners of the NBA’s Utah Jazz said Wednesday they have the immediate ability to bring an NHL team to Salt Lake City and requested the initiation of an expansion process. The Smith Entertainment Group said in a news release it would use the Jazz’s arena as an interim home...
5 players from 2018 Canada world junior team take leave of absence from their clubs
Five players from Canada’s 2018 world junior team have taken a leave of absence from their current clubs in recent days amid a report that five members of that team have been asked to surrender to police to face sexual assault charges. NHL players Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of...
Penguins try to regulate themselves after back-to-back road lossesVideo
Taking to the ice for practice Wednesday in Cranberry, the Pittsburgh Penguins were serenaded by the iconic 1990s hip-hop anthem “Regulate,” which was blaring over the public address system. As the song’s composer, Warren G, said, “rhythm is life, and life is rhythm.” The Penguins dismiss any notion there is...
Myles Garrett beats out Steelers’ T.J. Watt for Defensive Player of the Year
T.J. Watt won’t find out if he will win a second AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award for another two weeks. But Wednesday, it was announced he lost out to Myles Garrett for a similar honor. Garrett, the Cleveland Browns’ star edge defender, was named the Professional Football...
West Virginia’s RaeQuan Battle thrives after judge lets athletes with multiple transfers play immediately
RaeQuan Battle and his West Virginia teammates celebrated on the court amidst a swarm of students as John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” blared over the WVU Coliseum sound system. Battle’s 23 points and nine rebounds led West Virginia to a stunning 91-85 upset win over No. 3 Kansas...
