Sports category, Page 690
Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick a full participant at Steelers practice
For the first time since suffering a knee injury 3½ weeks ago, Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick made it through a full day’s worth of practice for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Fitzpatrick was a full participant at Wednesday’s session at Acrisure Stadium, according to the injury report. Coach Mike Tomlin on...
Former Penn State QB a coach on the rise, joins Chip Kelly’s UCLA staff
Some Penn State fans might not recognize the name Billy Fessler. But the former Nittany Lion quarterback is a coach on the rise — and he’s re-joining the Big Ten. Fessler, a reserve quarterback at Penn State from 2014-18, is now the new quarterbacks coach at UCLA, according to multiple...
Damontae Kazee back on Steelers’ active roster; fellow safety Trenton Thompson to IR
Damontae Kazee is officially back on the Pittsburgh Steelers active roster, but the team officially lost another member of its ailing safeties corps. Kazee was restored to the 53-man roster, it was announced Wednesday upon the expiration of the three-game suspension he served resulting from a hard hit on Indianapolis...
Bears to keep Matt Eberflus as coach, fire offensive coordinator Luke Getsy
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Chicago Bears are sticking with coach Matt Eberflus in 2024 after the team showed improvement over the second half of the season. There will, however, be some big changes to his staff. The Bears fired most of their offensive assistants, including coordinator Luke Getsy after...
Change in practice venue chance for Steelers’ Mike Tomlin to get week off on right foot
Mike Tomlin put his Pittsburgh Steelers players on buses and sent them across town to practice Wednesday at Acrisure Stadium. Weather conditions made the grass practice fields at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex unusable, and Tomlin wanted to the players to experience a playing surface similar to what the Buffalo Bills...
Kentucky Derby purse raised to $5 million for 150th race in May
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky Derby purse has been raised to $5 million for the 150th edition in May. The increase of $2 million was announced Wednesday by Churchill Downs. The 1 1/4-mile race will be May 4. This year’s winner will receive $3.1 million. The runner-up will earn $1...
Steelers’ T.J. Watt named AFC defensive player of the week
For the final week of the regular season — and, perhaps, the final game of any kind for his season as an individual — T.J. Watt went out on top among the corps of AFC players on defense. Watt was named the AFC defensive player of the week for the...
Pete Carroll out as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks after 14 seasonsVideo
RENTON, Wash. — Pete Carroll’s mantra was “always compete,” — it was the title of his book, after all. And he did right up to the point where the ownership of the Seattle Seahawks decided it was time for a new voice to be in charge following 14 seasons. After...
Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel’s goals are rare but provide a different boostVideo
Chad Ruhwedel didn’t have much to say about the first time he put a puck in the net this season. Especially because it was wiped out on a coach’s challenge. During the first period of a 4-3 home loss to the Washington Capitals at PPG Paints Arena on Jan. 2,...
Monthlong hot streak provides Penguins with momentum as 1st half of season concludes
By the end of this week, the Pittsburgh Penguins will have played 41 games, exactly half of the season. Upcoming contests with the Vancouver Canucks and Carolina Hurricanes await before the halfway point, and heading into Thursday’s home game against the Canucks, the Penguins (20-15-4) are on the outside of...
Pat McAfee announces Aaron Rodgers’ appearances are over for the rest of this NFL seasonVideo
Aaron Rodgers’ Tuesday appearances on “The Pat McAfee Show” are over for the rest of this NFL season. Or possibly longer. McAfee announced at the beginning of his Wednesday show on ESPN that his fourth season of doing a weekly segment with the New York Jets quarterback had concluded. As...
Cameron Heyward not thinking about ‘nonsense’ of Steelers being 10-point underdogs to Bills
Cameron Heyward doesn’t care that the Pittsburgh Steelers are prohibitive underdogs in their wild-card playoff matchup at Buffalo on Sunday. The Bills, winners of five games in a row, are 10-point favorites according to many betting sites. “That is for Vegas and all the other naysayers,” Heyward said Wednesday. “We’re...
ACC’s best rebounders next up for slumping Pitt
There is some good news for Pitt and coach Jeff Capel, but it’s difficult to find much of it after the 78-53 loss to Duke on Tuesday night. The Panthers can cross off North Carolina’s Armando Bacot, the ACC’s leading rebounder, from their list of big men they must confront...
Bills fan killed outside of Dolphins’ stadium after last weekend’s game, police say
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Police in South Florida say a man fatally shot a 30-year-old Buffalo Bills fan during an altercation outside Hard Rock Stadium after the Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins in the final regular season game. As Dylan Brody Isaacs and his friends were returning to their vehicle...
Without T.J. Watt, Markus Golden going to ‘keep hunting’ at outside linebacker for Steelers
As a veteran pass rusher, Markus Golden has made a modest impact on the Pittsburgh Steelers this season. He finished third on the team with four sacks despite playing just 22% of the defensive snaps. As a locker-room presence, his impact has been incalculable. At least that is the opinion...
Robert Morris hockey takes on one of the nation’s ‘blue bloods’ with trip to Minnesota
Last weekend’s series against Stonehill was a measuring stick of sorts for the Robert Morris hockey team. The Skyhawks came in at 0-18-0 in their first year as a D-1 program. Meanwhile, the Colonials are in the first season of a program reboot after a two-year shutdown. It went well...
Mark Madden: Without T.J. Watt, Steelers’ coaching strategy will be key to containing Josh Allen
Wings aren’t what’s best about Buffalo. Beef on weck is better. Refreshing Pittsburgh Steelers notes are even juicier. Have you ever seen the Buffalo Bills win the Super Bowl? • T.J. Watt’s absence will hurt when the Steelers visit Buffalo. But sacks that don’t occur on third or fourth down...
First Call: Troy Polamalu defends Mike Tomlin; J.J. Watt’s idea to replace his brother
Wednesday’s “First Call” gives us a Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Famer rushing to the defense of Mike Tomlin. J.J. Watt thinks he has an idea for the Steelers to offset the loss of his brother at outside linebacker. We tell you how Broderick Jones graded out among rookie tackles. And...
Tim Benz: If Mike Tomlin wants to avoid seeing a ‘stupid human trick,’ stop Josh Allen without T.J. Watt
During his weekly press conference Tuesday, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin needled the media for making too much of Goodwin Igwebuike’s heads-up play in Baltimore to touch a kickoff while reaching into the field of play from out of bounds. “You guys act like he did a stupid human trick,”...
After sudden position switch, Pirates CF Jack Suwinski spending offseason in preparation
When the Pittsburgh Pirates made major position changes to the outfield last spring, it was with the intention to accommodate two of the most important players on the team. With Andrew McCutchen expected to start in right field and Bryan Reynolds expressing a desire to return to left, Jack Suwinski...
Pitt steps up in class, gets trampled by No. 11 Duke
Pitt was deficient in many areas Tuesday night in its 75-53 loss to No. 11 Duke in what started out as an energized Petersen Events Center. The most dominant factor in the Panthers’ third loss in four games was the fact they had no answer for Duke 7-foot center Kyle...
Cam Carter scores 23 points, helps Kansas State pull away in 2nd half to beat West Virginia 81-67Video
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Cam Carter scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half to help Kansas State pull away and beat West Virginia, 81-67, on Tuesday night. Kansas State (12-3, 2-0 Big 12), which snapped a four-game losing streak against West Virginia in Morgantown, has won nine of...
Broncos brass indicates divorce with QB Russell Wilson not a sure thing
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Maybe Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos aren’t headed for a costly divorce, after all. The possibility of working things out with their benched $242.6 million quarterback was the main message that emerged from the Broncos’ season-ending news conference Tuesday. Coach Sean Payton said no decision has...
Mike McCarthy less chatty about Green Bay reunion with Cowboys in playoffs
Dallas coach Mike McCarthy thought he talked too much about his return to Green Bay last season when the Cowboys lost to the Packers. With the stakes much higher for another reunion in a wild-card game at the home of the Cowboys on Sunday, McCarthy can use the benefit of...
QB Joe Flacco’s road success in playoffs gives Browns boost as they visit Texans in AFC wild cardVideo
BEREA, Ohio — Joe Flacco knows the ins and outs, the perils and pitfalls of the road in the NFL playoffs as well as anyone. He’s sharing his top travel tips with the Browns. As Cleveland’s quarterback and his new-ish teammates prepare for Saturday’s AFC wild-card game in Houston, Flacco’s...
