Sports category, Page 683
Steelers captains go to bat for Mike Tomlin, who reportedly says he plans to return
Since he first walked into the Pittsburgh Steelers facility as a raw defensive lineman from Ohio State in 2011, Cameron Heyward has played for only one head coach. As he heads into an offseason of uncertainty a few months short of age 35, Heyward can’t envision starting over with a...
Change is inevitable, but Steelers players hope to be back, some recognize it might not happen
The final full-squad team meeting for the 2023 edition of the Pittsburgh Steelers lasted all of about 20 minutes Tuesday. “Nothing groundbreaking,” star outside linebacker T.J. Watt said at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex less than 20 hours after the Steelers’ season ended with a playoff loss at the Buffalo...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Former Norwin QB Jack Salopek picks new school
Quarterback Jack Salopek found a new home for his final two years of college football. The Norwin graduate who entered the NCAA transfer portal in November announced he will sign with Elon (N.C.), an FCS program that plays in the Colonial Athletic Association. Salopek (6-foot-3, 186 pounds) said he felt...
Pirates’ Connor Joe looks to build on offensive numbers while remaining versatile defensively
When the Pittsburgh Pirates re-signed Connor Joe to a one-year deal Thursday, it was in recognition of both his offensive and defensive contributions over the course of 133 games played in 2023. The Pirates are now hopeful Joe can build upon both elements of his game. Joe, who will make...
Mike Tomlin’s quick press conference exit creates internet gold
Mike Tomlin’s abrupt departure from his postgame press conference Monday generated all kinds of speculation of his future with the Pittsburgh Steelers. If you didn’t already know, the Steelers lost the wild-card round game 31-17 to the Buffalo Bills. The coach’s quick exit opened the door for online creativity. The...
Marc-Andre Fleury’s milestone gives Wild another reason to celebrate the NHL’s 2nd-winningest goalie
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The crowd chants for Marc-Andre Fleury started in the second period and filled the arena again in the waning minutes, as the Minnesota Wild goalie closed in on a long-sought milestone. Once the horn sounded on Fleury’s 552nd win in the NHL on Monday night, putting...
Eagles center Jason Kelce intends to retire after 13 NFL seasons, AP sources say
PHILADELPHIA — Jason Kelce stood on the sideline in tears as the final seconds ticked off in his likely final NFL game. Kelce embraced his long-time offensive line coach. He removed his helmet once the game ended — a Philadelphia Eagles loss that completed a harrowing season-ending collapse — and...
3rd Chiefs-Bills playoff meeting in 4 seasons highlights NFL’s divisional round
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills will have a third shot at Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. This time, Buffalo gets to play at home. And there won’t be a Super Bowl rematch between Mahomes and Jalen Hurts. At least not this season. Mahomes will...
Steelers’ George Pickens: 2023 showed ‘I can do it all,’ only ‘politics’ kept him out of Pro Bowl
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — George Pickens wasn’t happy with the circumstances under which his second NFL season ended. But on whole, he was pleased with his own individual performance during the 2023 season. “Yeah, for sure,” Pickens said from the visitor’s locker room after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ wild-card playoff loss...
First Call: Najee Harris says Steelers need more discipline; Gene Steratore has mixed reviews of officiating in loss to Bills
Tuesday’s “First Call” has some interesting comments from Najee Harris in the wake of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss in Buffalo. CBS officiating expert Gene Steratore weighs in on some controversial calls during the game. Bills fans are already gearing up for a potential Taylor Swift visit next week. And the...
What they’re saying in Buffalo after Bills knock Steelers from playoffs
Fans were left to dig out their seats at snowy Highmark Stadium in Buffalo, but the Pittsburgh Steelers couldn’t dig out of an early point deficit in losing their fifth consecutive playoff game. The Buffalo Bills and the sportswriters who cover them had a lot of praise for two specific...
Penguins goalies Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic pals between pipes
When commenting on Tristan Jarry’s play over two periods and overtime of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Jan. 11 loss to Vancouver, fellow goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic offered big praise for his teammate. That night, Nedeljkovic started in net but was replaced at the start of the second period by Jarry after allowing...
Tim Benz: Mike Tomlin’s abrupt press conference exit felt calculated. So what’s he calculating?
By now, you’ve probably seen Mike Tomlin walking off the podium mid-question to end his press conference following the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 31-17 playoff loss in Buffalo on Monday. Tomlin was about to be asked about his contract status as he heads into his final year of his deal when he...
Baker Mayfield throws for 337 yards and 3 TDs to lead Buccaneers to NFC wild-card rout of Eagles
TAMPA, Fla. — Baker Mayfield threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns to lead the resurgent Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 32-9 wild-card playoff victory over Jalen Hurts and the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night. The Bucs (10-8) won for the sixth time in seven games to...
Mark Madden: Steelers going nowhere with Mike Tomlin, overpaid defense
It’s another season of no progress for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They were never in danger of beating Buffalo on Monday and now have officially gone seven seasons without a playoff win. They have no clear answer at quarterback and will go with the inferiority of Kenny Pickett next season no...
Steelers QB Mason Rudolph faced with questions about next season
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Mason Rudolph seemed almost as pained by finding the appropriate words to answer the question as he did by the result of Monday’s season-ending playoff loss. Still smarting after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 31-17 defeat to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card game that ended less than...
Airing of Grievances: Predictable problems end Steelers’ season without a playoff win yet again
During his call of the Steelers’ playoff loss Monday, CBS play-by-play man Jim Nantz said he had been locked in his snowbound hotel for so long, it was starting to feel like “The Shining.” Well, however frightening Nantz’s stay was in Buffalo’s version of the Overlook Hotel, it couldn’t have...
Steelers’ George Pickens: ‘Not gonna win a game when you have to play the refs and the Buffalo Bills’
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — In the postgame locker room after his second NFL season had just come to an end, George Pickens couldn’t bring himself to concentrate on much aside from the officiating during Monday’s playoff loss. “I am still stuck on this game right now, with the refs,” Pickens...
Mike Tomlin’s future among many pressing questions as Steelers enter offseasonVideo
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — As Mike Tomlin’s postgame news conference was concluding after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 31-17 playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, a reporter attempted to ask the 17-year head coach about his contract status. Tomlin, who has one year left on his deal amid speculation...
Steelers notes: Joey Porter Jr., Allen Robinson in concussion protocol; 13 set for unrestricted free agencyVideo
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and wide receiver Allen Robinson were in NFL concussion protocol when Monday’s playoff game ended. Each absorbed a hit during a play late in the third quarter of the 31-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills and did not return. Tight...
Steelers go cold in Buffalo, lose 5th consecutive playoff game
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The snowstorm that paralyzed western New York and led to the postponement of an AFC wild-card game until Monday merely delayed the inevitable playoff letdown for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Fans shoveled the 3 feet of snow that was dumped on Highmark Stadium over the weekend, but...
Overachieving Rams head into brighter future after playoff loss
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams improved more quickly and won more games than almost anybody expected this season. That didn’t make their one-point road playoff loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday any less painful in the moment. But once the sting wears off, Matthew Stafford and his...
Minor league report: Jesse Puljujarvi scores 1st goal as Penguins beat ThunderbirdsVideo
Forward Jesse Puljujarvi scored his first goal of the season for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 3-2 road win against the Springfield Thunderbirds at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass., on Monday. Puljujarvi, the fourth overall selection in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers, is signed to a...
Osaka’s Grand Slam comeback ends in 1st-round loss to Garcia, Gauff advances at Australian OpenVideo
MELBOURNE, Australia — Moments after her Grand Slam comeback ended in a first-round loss, Naomi Osaka walked back through the players’ tunnel where her name has a prominent place among recent Australian Open champions. Three matches into her return from 15 months off the tour and six months after the...
Pirates sign a pair of top-32 prospects as international signing period opens
The Pittsburgh Pirates signed a pair of Dominican teenagers who are ranked in the top 32 international prospects by Baseball America and top 50 by MLB Pipeline when the MLB’s international signing period opened Monday. Brailyn Brazodan, an outfielder who turned 18 on Jan. 9, is the highest regarded prospect...
