Sports category, Page 684
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...
Heisman winner Caleb Williams formally leaves USC, enters NFL draft as potential No. 1 pick
LOS ANGELES — Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams has formally entered the NFL draft, leaving Southern California after two prolific seasons. Williams made his long-anticipated announcement on social media Monday, the final day for underclassmen to enter the draft. He is widely considered the favorite to be the No. 1...
Seton Hill assistant coach Connor Laverty dies at 25
Seton Hill is mourning the loss of men’s basketball coach Connor Laverty. The 25-year-old second-year assistant died Friday after a battle with lymphoma. Griffins head coach Ben Wilkins said Laverty combated the illness through five rounds of chemotherapy, but contracted hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, a systematic inflammatory syndrome. The rare immune deficiency,...
Future gets cloudy for Cowboys after another playoff flop
ARLINGTON, Texas — Jerry Jones has watched his Dallas Cowboys lose their playoff opener twice as the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The club’s owner and general manager endured the Dez Bryant catch that wasn’t in Green Bay when Dallas appeared good enough for a deep run but lost...
Fans for Steelers-Bills playoff game on apparent shovel-your-own-seats policyVideo
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Apparently, not enough people took up the $20-per-hour offer. The plan for removing multiple feet of snow from the 71,000-plus seats at Highmark Stadium in advance of Monday’s playoff game evidently was to accept those willing to shovel for as long as they pleased. But by...
Sidney Crosby scores twice, Tristan Jarry secures shutout as Penguins stop streaking KrakenVideo
Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry’s postgame plans involved hurrying home to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers, but first, his team put together a defensive effort that might have made members of the old Steel Curtain smile. Jarry turned away all 22 shots, and Sidney Crosby scored twice in a defensive-minded 3-0...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: GCC grad Melina Maietta surpasses milestone
With a reputation for scoring points in bunches, big things were expected of Melina Maietta at Pitt-Greensburg when the guard transferred from Coastal Carolina. The Greensburg Central Catholic alum has not disappointed. Maietta joined the UPG women’s basketball 1,000-point club in the team’s 98-53 loss to AMCC leader La Roche....
Bills without 4 starters, Steelers sans T.J. Watt for wild-card game
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Linebacker Tyrel Dodson and cornerback Rasul Douglas were designated as inactive by the Buffalo Bills for Monday’s playoff game, making for four starters who are out against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bills on Friday announced that receiver Gabe Davis (knee) and safety Taylor Rapp (calf) would...
After week without a game, Pitt’s Jeff Capel hopes he’s fixed Panthers’ issues
When Pitt confronts Syracuse on Tuesday night at Petersen Events Center, the game will be a test of how well Jeff Capel has schooled his team in the wake of an 81-73 loss to the Orange last month. There is time for Pitt to reverse its fortunes, but a 1-4...
Iowa up to No. 2, Colorado to No. 3 behind South Carolina in women’s AP Top 25 after chaotic week
Iowa moved up to No. 2 and Colorado to No. 3 behind top-ranked South Carolina in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll after a chaotic week that saw half of the top 10 teams lose. The Gamecocks (15-0), the last unbeaten team left, routed Missouri in their lone...
UConn hits No. 1 in AP Top 25 after upset-filled week; Gonzaga falls out for first time since 2016
Connecticut has followed last year’s run to the NCAA championship with its first No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll in nearly 15 years, while Gonzaga has fallen out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in eight years. The Huskies moved to the...
Penguins to start Tristan Jarry in hopes of snapping Kraken’s 9-game winning streak
The Penguins will start Tristan Jarry in net Monday against Seattle, hoping the goalie can snap the Kraken’s nine-game winning streak. To do so, Jarry will need to break his own streak of three straight losses. The Penguins host the Kraken at 1 p.m. Monday at PPG Paints Arena in...
Monessen fighter Michael Moorer to be inducted into International Boxing Hall of FameVideo
Anytime you’re part of a group of fighters that includes Muhammad Ali, you’re doing something right. Michael Moorer is one of only four boxers, including Ali, to win the heavyweight world title three times, and he was the first southpaw to become heavyweight champ. Born in Brooklyn, Moorer, 55, moved...
GCC grad Bailey Kuhns makes big jump in game to help Mercyhurst women’s basketball team contend
On the desk in her office at Mercyhurst, women’s basketball coach Brooklyn Kohlheim has a notebook belonging to sophomore post player Bailey Kuhns. Inside are the Greensburg Central Catholic grad’s jottings regarding her duties on the court. The notes are neatly written, underlined, highlighted and feature little arrows drawn here...
Knoch grad Mike Formica jumps to head of pack for IUP cross country, track and fieldVideo
As devastating as the covid-19 pandemic was for many, a lucky few found silver linings. Count Knoch grad Mike Formica as one of the lucky ones. With few other things to occupy his time during lockdowns, mask mandates and travel restrictions, Formica ran. And then ran some more. Practically overnight,...
Having earned the trust of Derek Shelton, Pirates’ Ryan Borucki ready to take on larger bullpen roleVideo
Ryan Borucki’s career with the Pittsburgh Pirates began inauspiciously. The left-handed reliever signed a minor-league contract in early May and made his debut with the club June 19. That first outing did not go particularly well, as Borucki was charged with a pair of runs against the Cubs. Several of...
What you need to know for Steelers vs. Bills AFC wild-card gameVideo
It’s cold. It’s snowing. It’s windy. Get ready for playoff football on a Monday afternoon in Buffalo. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills will kick off their AFC wild-card game at 4:30 p.m. Workers armed with shovels, plows and dump trucks continued to clear snow from inside and outside Highmark...
Analysis: After another playoff failure, only Bill Belichick can save Cowboys
Jimmy Johnson showed more passion for winning on television than any of the Dallas Cowboys did on the field. Now, Jerry Jones should turn to another coaching icon to save his franchise. Speculation about Bill Belichick has ramped up. He’s already the odds-on favorite to be the next coach in...
Stunned Cowboys owner Jerry Jones doesn’t address Mike McCarthy’s future after wild-card loss
ARLINGTON, Texas — Ashen-faced Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wasn’t ready to discuss the future of coach Mike McCarthy, quarterback Dak Prescott or anything else after a stunning playoff loss to Green Bay. “This is one of my (biggest) surprises since I’ve been involved in sport, period,” Jones said after...
First Call: Plan for potential Steelers-Ravens rematch announced; ex-Bills player mad at fans calling Buffalo ‘soft’
Monday’s “First Call” is laying out the playoff schedule for the Pittsburgh Steelers if they survive Monday’s rescheduled wild-card game in Buffalo. A former Bills player is mad at Steelers fans for criticizing the decision to delay the game. Some NFL defensive standouts with local ties had a weekend they’d...
Pitt and Duquesne are ‘hunting’ for quick conference turnarounds
The campuses of Pitt and Duquesne are separated by about two miles. For the schools’ basketball teams, the starts of their respective conference schedules haven’t been separated by very much either. The Panthers (10-6) are 1-4 in ACC play. The Dukes (9-6) are 0-3 to begin their Atlantic 10 slate....
Madden Monday: Regarding Penguins’ problems — ‘Geno is killing them’
When the Pittsburgh Penguins moved Monday’s start time against the Seattle Kraken to 1 p.m. — so as not to conflict with the Steelers’ adjusted kickoff time in Buffalo (4:30 p.m.) — Mark Madden of TribLive and 105.9 The X had a very succinct response. “I would have kept the...
