Sports category, Page 687
Seton Hall scores final 9 points to win NIT championship by 2
INDIANAPOLIS — Dre Davis scored on a layup with 16 seconds left Thursday night to cap Seton Hall’s decisive late run, giving the Pirates a 79-77 victory over Indiana State and their first NIT championship since 1953. Seton Hall (25-12) scored the final nine points in a battle between two...
ACC wants March Madness success to translate into more NCAA Tournament bids
GLENDALE, Ariz. — No one expected N.C. State to be in the Final Four after needing a miracle run through the ACC Tournament to even make the NCAA Tournament. It’s no surprise, however, to see the ACC here based on recent history. The league has been in transition with the...
Alex Nedeljkovic, Penguins improve playoff hopes by beating Capitals
Meetings between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals typically carry significant ramifications. Thursday’s entanglement between the longtime rivals – the 247th regular season game all-time between the two outfits – was no different. Fortified by goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, the Penguins claimed a 4-1 victory at Capital One Arena in Washington...
Jim Leyland on home opener 1st pitch, Hall of Fame election and Pirates’ hot start
For any MLB manager, Opening Days are always memorable. For Jim Leyland, the first of his MLB career with the Pittsburgh Pirates was impossible to forget. As was the opponent, the fabled 1986 Mets. “You realized real quick these were the big boys,” Leyland told me Thursday on 105.9 FM....
Akshay Bhatia opens with a 63 to lead Texas Open by 3. Rory McIlroy is 6 backVideo
SAN ANTONIO — Akshay Bhatia rode the rare experience of knowing a PGA Tour course with a sublime day with his irons for a 9-under-par 63 on Thursday, giving him a three-shot lead in the Valero Texas Open and taking a small step toward a potential trip to the Masters....
Steelers sign tight end/H-back MyCole PruittVideo
The Pittsburgh Steelers continued to add pieces to their offensive skill group in free agency, signing tight end/H-back MyCole Pruitt. Pruitt is a 10-year NFL veteran who has been acquired by a team whose plays have been called by Arthur Smith for a third time. Smith was the Tennessee Titans’...
Masters ’24: Competing tours converge on Augusta National chasing the same prizeVideo
Jon Rahm went from wearing a Masters green jacket in April to an LIV Golf black letterman’s jacket in December. Those two images — one in Butler Cabin with Scottie Scheffler, the other in a New York studio with Greg Norman — illustrate the great divide in golf that has...
Martin Perez celebrates birthday with quality start as Pirates beat Nationals to win series
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Martin Perez celebrated his birthday by giving the Pittsburgh Pirates the perfect present following their first loss of the season: a quality start. The 33-year-old left-hander kept the Washington Nationals in check for 62⁄3 innings, striking out six and holding them to two runs as the Pirates...
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, UConn’s Paige Bueckers cross paths in Final Four
CLEVELAND — Their memories are blurry. Of AAU tournaments and Team USA practices. Of gold medals and deep 3s. Of the girl with the brown ponytail with the unlimited range who always seemed to know what was coming next and the blonde who never got rattled with the ball in...
Final Four serves up usual menu of fun stories — and UConn looks to snuff out all of them
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Final Four this week delivers the last entry in college basketball’s heartwarming yearbook, an annual assortment of legendary longshots, coaches looking for hugs and magic oozing from every corner of the bracket. Only problem with the 2024 version: UConn doesn’t believe in magic. The only thing...
‘It’s important for us’: Home opener battery of Jared Jones, Henry Davis paints Pirates’ future
WASHINGTON, D.C. — With 22-year-old right-hander Jared Jones on the mound and 24-year-old Henry Davis expected to be behind the plate for the home opener Friday at PNC Park, the Pittsburgh Pirates are giving a glimpse of their future to fans. Where Jones is almost half the age of Rich...
Pitt Take 5: Pat Narduzzi hopes Saturday scrimmage upstages next week’s Blue-Gold Game
The Big Blitz dance, jazz and rock band won’t be performing at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday. Bad AZZ BBQ won’t be cooking smoked ribs on the street. ESPN’s Louis Riddick won’t be helping to launch a new Pitt apparel line for his alma mater. ACC Network cameras will be shut...
Derry, Lower Burrell, Trafford, Yough join District 31 Legion
District 31 American Legion baseball doesn’t start until May 20, but the league has made offseason noise by expanding to 14 teams. Jason Bush, who serves as the District 31 president and Region 7 director, believes the league is the largest in the state. “We were actually in talks with...
Highly touted CB Nate Wiggins, Christian McCaffrey’s brother among Steelers draft visits
One of the top cornerbacks available plus the brother of one of the NFL’s most recognizable players were among those hosted by the Pittsburgh Steelers for official pre-draft visits Thursday. Clemson’s Nate Wiggins is the type of rangy (6-foot-1, 173 pounds) cornerback the Steelers have traditionally coveted, and he’s projected...
Derek Shelton ‘excited’ to catch Jim Leyland’s ceremonial 1st pitch at Pirates’ home opener
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Derek Shelton broke into a big smile and laughed when asked what it means to the Pittsburgh Pirates manager that Jim Leyland will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the home opener against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday at PNC Park. Then Shelton quickly added...
Masters ’24: Capsules of 10 key players at Augusta NationalVideo
A capsule look at 10 key players for the Masters, to be played April 11-14 (listed in predicted order of finish): SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER Age: 27. Country: United States. World ranking: 1. Worldwide victories: 9. Majors: Masters (2022). Masters appearances: 4. Masters memory: Having such a large lead that he could...
South Carolina’s Dawn Staley is the AP Coach of the Year for the 2nd time
Dawn Staley did a masterful job guiding a young South Carolina team back to the Final Four with an undefeated record for the second straight season. Staley was honored Thursday as The Associated Press women’s college basketball Coach of the Year for the second time. She received 27 votes from...
Penn State QB Drew Allar comfortable in new offensive scheme
Drew Allar is in the midst of a crucial offseason ahead of a potentially career-defining season. Penn State’s quarterback hopes to lead the Nittany Lions to a College Football Playoff berth and Big Ten title charge in 2024. The groundwork for that push is being laid now, in spring camp....
Athletics announce plans to play the next 3 seasons in minor league park near Sacramento
OAKLAND, Calif. — The Athletics will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park near Sacramento until their planned new stadium in Las Vegas is built. The A’s announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an...
Caitlin Clark of Iowa is the AP Player of the Year in women’s hoops for the 2nd straight season
Caitlin Clark is capping her illustrious college career with another record-breaking season and another set of prestigious awards. The star guard from Iowa was honored Thursday as The Associated Press Player of the Year in women’s basketball for the second consecutive year. Clark received 35 votes from the 36-member national...
Mercyhurst athletics moves up to Division I, will compete in Northeast Conference
Mercyhurst is bumping up its athletics program. The private Catholic-affiliated institution in Erie announced Thursday that it accepted an invitation into the Division I Northeast Conference, effective this fall for the 2024-25 academic year. With the exception of the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams, Lakers athletics currently competes at...
Penguins recall forward Sam Poulin from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
The Pittsburgh Penguins recalled rookie forward Sam Poulin from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Friday morning in advance of a crucial road game against the rival Washington Capitals. This marks the second time this season Poulin has been recalled to the NHL roster. He was previously summoned on...
U mad, bro?: Readers bristle at criticism of Russell Wilson from Seattle, idea of Dak Prescott in Pittsburgh next year
As always, this week’s “U mad, bro?” relies on meat and potatoes: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback debates and Penguins trades. But we also branch out to some uncharted territory: concert bookings, World War II history, and, even more foreign of a concept, the NBA. Never accuse my readers and listeners of...
First Call: Steelers may have eyes on Joey Porter Jr.’s cousin; new Steelers jersey numbers known
In Thursday’s “First Call,” the Pittsburgh Steelers could be expanding the family tree in the defensive backfield. Justin Fields’ jersey number is now known. Penguins fans are keeping an eye on the Eastern Conference standings. Pirates fans watched another unbeaten team go down as their own team was losing for...
Here’s a new one for WPIAL athletic directors: Game called on account of solar eclipse
Athletic directors are not surprised when rain or snow wreaks havoc on spring sports schedules. But there’s another act of nature — one far more infrequent — that has WPIAL schools rescheduling games slated for Monday. It’s the solar eclipse. The much-anticipated astronomical event will arrive in Western Pennsylvania between...
