‘We’re going to get it back on track’: Penn State interim coach Terry Smith ‘absolutely’ a candidate for full-time job
STATE COLLEGE — Pat Kraft has a clear list of things he wants in Penn State’s next coach. After firing James Franklin on Sunday in the middle of his 12th year, Kraft made as much clear Monday afternoon, addressing the media for the first time since the major decision. He...
5 things we learned: Steelers’ ownership of AFC North lead no sure thing despite 4-1 start
5 things we learned from Steelers 23, Browns 9: 1. Divisional divide A third of the way through the season and arguably the NFL’s most competitive division is in a state of disarray. Since Week 3, no AFC North team has won a game other than the Steelers. Every team...
Titans fire coach Brian Callahan after 4-19 record and 1-5 start to his 2nd season
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans fired coach Brian Callahan on Monday after a 1-5 start to his second season. Chad Brinker, the Titans’ president of football operations, said team officials had extended conversations with controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk and general manager Mike Borgonzi before meeting with Callahan on...
Matt Rhule says he loves his job at Nebraska but doesn’t tamp down buzz about Penn State opening
Matt Rhule professed his love for living and working in Nebraska and trying to return the Cornhuskers to the upper echelon of college football. That said, he did nothing Monday to shut down speculation that he could be up for the Penn State job, which opened with Sunday’s firing of...
Rookie Ke’Shawn Williams impresses as Steelers fill-in return man in NFL debut
Less than 7 minutes into his NFL debut and on his second snap as a pro, Ke’Shawn Williams had a punt return longer than all but one of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ the past five seasons. A questionable illegal block call overturned Williams’ 47-yard return during the first quarter of Sunday’s...
Penn State AD Pat Kraft explains James Franklin firing, what’s next
Penn State football addressed its decision to fire James Franklin when athletic director Pat Kraft spoke to reporters Monday. Kraft, who will lead the Nittany Lions’ search for a new coach, defended the school’s decision of buying out Franklin’s contract, which was the second-most expensive buyout ever at just under...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi offers thoughts on Acrisure Stadium’s grass, James Franklin’s firing
Pat Narduzzi had a lot to get through Monday on the South Side in recapping Pitt’s weekend upset over Florida State while looking ahead to the Panthers’ next game on the road at Syracuse. But in between a recap of Saturday’s action vs. the Seminoles, injury updates and thoughts on...
Boiler up! Purdue tops preseason AP Top 25 for first time, ahead of Houston, reigning champ Florida
Purdue is No. 1 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll for the first time. The Boilermakers earned 35 of 61 first-place votes to top Monday’s poll to begin the 2025-26 season. That put Matt Painter’s squad ahead of the two teams that played in last year’s...
Pitt loses DE Zach Crothers, DB Nigel Maynard to season-ending injuries
Pitt’s defensive ends room has been a position group disproportionately hit by injuries so far this season. Jaeden Moore went down during fall camp and has yet to see a snap, while Blaine Spires who sported an arm cast early in the year and played through an ailment, was sidelined...
Mike Tomlin: Browns’ Andrew Berry ‘must be a lot smarter than me’ trading Joe FlaccoVideo
Mike Tomlin is mystified that one of his division rivals traded a starting quarterback to another AFC North team. As the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare to face the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday, they’ll do so knowing they’ll be matching wits with veteran quarterback Joe Flacco. The 40-year-old Flacco was the Cleveland...
Mark Madden: Why couldn’t Penn State tolerate 1 bad year?
Last season, Penn State football was 13-3 and made the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. This year, Penn State was ranked No. 2 in the country to start the season. But franchise quarterback Drew Allar fell apart and is now out for the season. Penn State is 3-3 after...
Mike Tomlin calls Acrisure Stadium field conditions ‘poor’ for game against BrownsVideo
Mike Tomlin joined his quarterback in expressing disappointment in the playing surface at Acrisure Stadium for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ game Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. A day after Aaron Rodgers said the grass surface was “borderline unplayable,” Tomlin said the conditions were “poor.” Kicker Chris Boswell slipped on a 54-yard...
Kickoff time, TV details announced for Pitt’s game vs. NC State
Pitt and NC State will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 25 from Acrisure Stadium, the ACC announced Monday, with the game broadcast by the ACC Network. The Panthers (4-2, 2-1 ACC) travel to Syracuse this weekend, while NC State (4-3, 1-2) has a bye. The two teams last met Oct....
Canadiens’ Lane Hutson lands lucrative 8-year deal after rookie of the year season
Montreal’s Lane Hutson is the latest young NHL defenseman to cash in with a major contract extension. The Canadiens announced that Hutson, 21, will average $8.85 million in the eight-year deal that he agreed to on Monday. The $70.8 million contract will start next season and run through 2033-34. Hutson...
32 things we learned in NFL Week 6: Best teams, top 2nd-year QB might stir healthy debates
The 32 things we learned from Week 6 of the 2025 NFL season: 0. Still the number of wins the New York Jets have since Jan. 5, former QB Aaron Rodgers’ final game with the organization. Rookie coach Aaron Glenn, now 0-6, was already the first head man in team...
Brian Branch, JuJu Smith-Schuster give inside story on how Lions, Chiefs sparked skirmishVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It was over… and then it wasn’t. Brian Branch threw a strike at JuJu Smith-Schuster that sparked a melee at the end of the Sunday night game at Arrowhead Stadium – and it was no way to score retribution. Branch, the Detroit Lions safety, wanted payback...
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs improve to .500 by downing Lions
Patrick Mahomes passed for 257 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score as host Kansas City snapped Detroit’s four-game winning streak with a 30-17 win on Sunday night. Hollywood Brown caught four passes for 45 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Travis Kelce had six receptions for 78...
Justin Brazeau, Evgeni Malkin and Anthony Mantha form another big 3 for the PenguinsVideo
The Pittsburgh Penguins have had big lines before. Perhaps their most famous trio with robust dimensions was formed during the 1991-92 season. While Kevin Stevens (6-foot-3, 231 pounds) and Mario Lemieux (6-foot-4, 230 pounds) were the biggest bodies on that line, it’s almost absurd to point out that Rick Tocchet,...
Steelers vs. Browns: What they’re saying in Cleveland after the loss
What does Cleveland Brown head coach Kevin Stefanski think his team needs to improve upon after a 23-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers? Pretty much everything. “Name something, we gotta do it better,” he said. It was a laundry list he cut short during his post-game press conference Sunday after...
First Call: Myles Garrett vents after loss to Steelers; Trey Hendrickson hurt in Cincy; JuJu Smith-Schuster’s postgame fightVideo
Monday’s “First Call” has a pouty reaction from Myles Garrett after his Cleveland Browns lost in Pittsburgh on Sunday. The Steelers are going to face a Cincinnati Bengals team Thursday night that will be depleted by injuries on both sides of the ball. Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh was asked...
Madden Monday: As for Steelers, ‘I don’t see any way to lose to Cincinnati,’ but ‘I’m not that impressed’
After seeing the Pittsburgh Steelers improve to 4-1 with a 23-9 victory over the 1-5 Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Mark Madden of TribLive and 105.9 The X has drawn two conclusions. The first one is that, by Friday morning, they’ll be 5-1. “I don’t see any way to lose to...
Cal Raleigh homers, Jorge Polanco drives in 2 runs as Mariners beat Blue Jays in ALCS opener
TORONTO — Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning single and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-1, on Sunday night as they returned to the AL Championship Series for the first time in 24 years. George Springer homered on the first...
Minor league report: Tristan Broz scores twice as Penguins beat PhantomsVideo
A pair of goals and an assist by forward Tristan Broz led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 4-1 win against the rival Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the PPL Center in Allentown on Sunday. Linemate Ville Koivunen, a day after being assigned by the Pittsburgh Penguins, recorded two assists for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton...
Denny Hamlin charges to emotional 60th Cup win at Las Vegas, secures spot in NASCAR finale
LAS VEGAS — Denny Hamlin became the first driver to lock up a spot in NASCAR’s championship-deciding finale, winning Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for his career-goal 60th Cup Series triumph. Hamlin, considered the best driver in NASCAR history to never win a Cup title, is back in the...
Pat Murphy embracing Brewers’ underdog status before NLCS matchup with Dodgers
MILWAUKEE — Pat Murphy and his Milwaukee Brewers adopted an underdog mentality even as they produced the best regular-season record in the major leagues this year. Their NL Championship Series matchup with the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers enables them to embrace that approach even more. The series...
