Sports category, Page 684
Madden Monday: Steelers ‘did themselves a favor’ by trading Kenny Pickett to Philadelphia
The Steelers have been criticized at times for simply releasing or trading players who were pouty and didn’t want to be in Pittsburgh anymore. Specifically, guys like Melvin Ingram, James Harrison and LeGarrette Blount weren’t happy with their roles and just wanted out of town. The same could potentially be...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Latrobe grad Landon Butler enters transfer portal
Landon Butler’s two brothers have experienced the NCAA transfer portal. Now, he will, too. Butler, a 6-foot-4 freshman, is leaving Montevallo, a Division II school in Alabama, after one season on the basketball team. A Latrobe graduate, Butler played in 28 games, starting seven, and averaged 3.8 points and 2.3...
Duquesne women’s basketball headed to WNIT
The Duquesne women’s basketball team has accepted an at-large selection to the WNIT. The 48-team field includes 11 automatic qualifiers and 37 at-large bids. Matchups, sites and times will be released Monday. Duquesne is in the WNIT for the 10th time. The Dukes lost to Richmond in the Atlantic 10...
Penn State, James Madison, Villanova and Washington State top seeds in new WBI Tournament
Penn State, James Madison, Villanova and Washington State will play in the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament as the No. 1 seeds after just missing the NCAAs. The NCAA is sponsoring this tournament, an equivalent to the men’s NIT. In the past, the secondary women’s tournament was the WNIT and...
Mark Madden: Steelers have had a perfect offseason, choosing progress over saving face
This much should be made clear about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ reconstructed quarterback room: There’s a pecking order. Russell Wilson is the starter. He’s not on a short leash or any leash. Justin Fields didn’t come to Pittsburgh to compete with Wilson. He’s clearly the backup and in a position to...
Duquesne stars from yesteryear celebrate Dukes’ return to NCAA Tournament
The voice on the other end of the line was faint, and there was a dinging sound in the background. “Oh, wait, I need to buckle up my seat belt.” It was Penn Hills resident Moe Barr, the Duquesne basketball star from yesteryear, multi-tasking while talking on his cell phone....
Pirates GM Ben Cherington addresses decisions to reassign Paul Skenes, sign Domingo German
The Pittsburgh Pirates were preemptive with Paul Skenes, informing the 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick that he wasn’t going to make the Opening Day roster and would start the season in the minor leagues. So their roster move to reassign the right-hander to minor league camp Sunday came as...
First Call: Steelers have interest in veteran receiver; Kenny Pickett posts farewell to Pittsburgh
Monday’s “First Call” features Kenny Pickett’s farewell to Pittsburgh. Jerome Bettis’ son has made his college football destination known. It looks like the Steelers want to add another veteran wide receiver. Jake Guentzel has scored his first goal for the Carolina Hurricanes. And Duquesne had a rough trip back to...
NCAA Tournament presents Pittsburgh homecoming for Kentucky’s John Calipari, 2 playersVideo
Results for the past three years have been substandard for John Calipari and the Kentucky basketball team. The NCAA’s winningest men’s basketball program of all-time, Kentucky has been in a funk since going 9-16 during the covid-impacted 2020-21 campaign. But the Wildcats will look to get back to the elite...
West Virginia women will meet Princeton in 8/9 NCAA Tournament game
The West Virginia women’s basketball team will make its 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament when it meets Princeton (25-4) of the Ivy League at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the Albany 2 region in Iowa City, Iowa. The winner could meet Iowa and college basketball’s all-time leading scorer, Caitlin Clark,...
Tim Benz: Selection Sunday results are an ultimate contrast for Duquesne and Pitt
Duquesne freshman Jakub Necas slipped behind his school’s Atlantic 10 championship backdrop away from the rest of his celebrating team and sat down in a bed of confetti on the Barclays Center floor. The 20-year-old hung up the FaceTime call with his parents back home in the Czech Republic, bowed...
South Carolina, Iowa, USC, Texas top seeds for women’s NCAA Tournament
Undefeated South Carolina is the top overall seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks are looking to become the 10th women’s basketball team to go undefeated for an entire season. They had a chance last season before falling just short against Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Final Four....
Penguins remain in playoff contention by beating Red Wings
If the Penguins are going to salvage anything out of a 2023-24 regular season that supplied more aggravation than assurance, virtually all of their remaining games are “must-wins” with regard to their postseason aspirations. It’s been that way for more than a month (and probably a lot longer). And Sunday’s...
Denny Hamlin wins tire-management NASCAR race at Bristol, his 4th victory at the famed bullringVideo
Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, passing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the final laps for his fourth victory at the famed short track. Hamlin also won at NASCAR’s bullring last September. This one was much different. Tire issues...
NCAA Tournament in Pittsburgh: Here are the 8 teams coming to PPG Paints Arena
For the seventh time overall and fifth time at PPG Paints Arena, the NCAA Tournament returns to Pittsburgh. After the Selection Sunday program on CBS, the eight teams that will battle in Pittsburgh in the tournament’s first round have been revealed. All four games are scheduled for Thursday. The bracket...
UConn, Purdue, Houston, North Carolina receive top seeds for NCAA Tournament
Defending champion Connecticut, along with Houston, Purdue and North Carolina, are the top seeds in a March Madness bracket that started going haywire even before the pairings came out Sunday. Of the four top seeds, only UConn heads into the tournament coming off a win. That played into the Huskies...
Minor league report: Penguins fall to Monsters in overtimeVideo
Forward Vinnie Hinostroza had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Cleveland Monsters at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Sunday. Goaltender Joel Blomqvist made 14 saves on 17 shots as his record slipped to 19-9-6. Forward Sam Poulin also scored...
Scheffler goes back-to-back in Players Championship in Sunday thriller at SawgrassVideo
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Already the best in the world, Scottie Scheffler added another layer to his legend Sunday. He became the first player to win back-to-back in 50 years of The Players Championship by matching the biggest comeback and the lowest closing round by a winner. Scheffler holed...
Despite 22 victories, Pitt snubbed by NCAA Tournament, declines NIT invitation
Weeks of speculation, guessing games and bubble talk ended in frustration for Pitt on Sunday night when the Panthers did not receive one of 68 invitations to the NCAA Tournament. So irritated were Pitt officials after receiving the NCAA snub, they immediately declined an invitation to the NIT for “what...
Terrence Shannon scores 34 points as No. 13 Illinois beats Wisconsin for Big Ten title
MINNEAPOLIS — Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 34 points on 15-for-17 shooting from the free-throw line, helping 13th-ranked Illinois past Wisconsin, 93-87, in Big Ten Tournament championship game on Sunday. Marcus Domask added 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Dain Dainja had nine points and seven rebounds for the...
LeBron James congratulates Duquesne, Dambrot on historic victory
The king paid respect to the Dukes on Sunday. NBA All Star LeBron James congratulated the Duquesne University men’s basketball team Sunday on their entrance into the NCAA tournament, the first time the Dukes have made the dance in 47 years. James, a four-time NBA MVP and Akron, Ohio native,...
Florida center Micah Handlogten stretchered off court early at the SEC final with broken left leg
NASHVILLE — Florida center Micah Handlogten broke his lower left leg in the opening minutes of the Southeastern Conference Tournament final Sunday and was taken off the court on a stretcher to a hospital. Coach Todd Golden said he feels for Handlogten after the Gators lost 86-67 to No. 12...
Nick Gonzales’ HR helps back Josh Fleming’s strong start as Pirates top Rays
The Pirates got a solid start from left-handed pitcher Josh Fleming, but it was their bats that rallied them to victory. Nick Gonzales, Matt Gorski and Shawn Ross hit home runs to boost the Pirates to an 8-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday afternoon in a Grapefruit...
Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic scheduled to face Red Wings
The Pittsburgh Penguins are scheduled to start goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic in Sunday’s home game against the Detroit Red Wings. Coach Mike Sullivan announced Nedeljkovic’s status approximately two hours before the opening faceoff. In 23 games this season, Nedeljkovic has a 9-6-4 record, a 2.79 goals against average, a .906 save...
No. 12 Auburn goes wire-to-wire to beat Florida for SEC Tournament title
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Johni Broome scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as No. 12 Auburn won the Tigers’ third SEC Tournament championship by beating Florida, 86-67, on Sunday in a game marred by a gruesome injury to Gators center Micah Handlogten. The Tigers (27-7) avoided the upset bug that...
