Sports category, Page 691
First Call: Steelers in on workout for WVU center Zach Frazier; Marc-Andre Fleury updates retirement stance
In Monday’s “First Call,” the Pittsburgh Steelers eye up a potential NFL Draft choice at center. Some former Steelers shine in their UFL debuts. Marc-Andre Fleury is singing a different tune about retirement. The Penguins open April with a stiff challenge. And the Pirates look to keep the bats hot...
Tim Benz: Another Pirates April Fools’ joke? Or is there reason to buy Bucs’ hot start?
If the Duquesne basketball team can win its first NCAA Tournament game since 1969, can the Pirates perhaps win their first full playoff series since 1979? Or their first division crown since 1992? OK, maybe we are getting ahead of ourselves. But the Bucs just opened 2024 with a four-game...
Pirates farm report: Quinn Priester allows 1 hit, fans 9 as Indy edges Louisville
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 1-2) beat Louisville (Reds), 6-4. RHP Quinn Priester (1-0, 1.59 ERA) allowed one hit and struck out nine batters over 5 2/3 innings to earn the win. RHP Kyle Nicolas struck out one in 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief to earn the save. 1B Malcom Nunez (.231)...
Nelly Korda rallies to win 3rd straight LPGA Tour start at Ford ChampionshipVideo
GILBERT, Ariz. — Nelly Korda won her hometown event in a playoff after closing eagle-birdie. She withstood brutal wind in Southern California to win in another playoff last week. The world No. 1 made it three straight by staying steady through a soggy Sunday in the desert. Korda became the...
Jaeger wins Houston Open for 1st PGA Tour title
HOUSTON — Stephan Jaeger won his first PGA Tour title in his 135th attempt, closing with nine straight pars for a 3-under 67 and avoiding a playoff when Scottie Scheffler missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday in the Houston Open. Scheffler was trying to become the...
NCAA women’s roundup: Undefeated South Carolina tops Oregon State, advances to Final 4
ALBANY, N.Y. — Tessa Johnson scored 15 points, Kamilla Cardoso added 12 and undefeated South Carolina advanced to the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament with a 70-58 win over Oregon State on Sunday. South Carolina made it to the national semifinals unbeaten for the second straight season. The...
N.C. State headed to 1st Final Four since 1983 after upsetting Duke
DALLAS — Bruising big man DJ Burns Jr. scored a season-high 29 points, DJ Horne had 20 and 11th-seeded N.C. State reached its first Final Four in four decades, beating ACC rival Duke, 76-64, in the South Region final Sunday. N.C. State (26-14) is back in the national semifinals for...
Kansas City Chiefs’ Rashee Rice suspected in connection with 6-vehicle crash in DallasVideo
Police are looking for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice in connection with a major multi-vehicle accident Saturday evening in northeast Dallas, law enforcement officials confirmed to The Dallas Morning News. A vehicle believed to be registered or leased to Rice was involved in a crash in the 6600...
Zach Edey goes big, sends Purdue past Tennessee and into Final Four
DETROIT — By the time all the scrapping and scratching and diving on the floor was over, it felt like a shame that both those teams, and both those players, weren’t moving onto the Final Four. Just don’t expect Purdue to feel bad about it. Boilermakers big man Zach Edey...
Iowa, LSU women ready to meet again in rematch of 2023 national championship game
ALBANY, N.Y. — Iowa and LSU would rather not be playing each other Monday night. It’s not that they don’t relish the challenge of a rematch of last year’s national championship game, but both teams wish the stage was just a little bit bigger. “We talk about growing the game,”...
Pirates top Marlins in 10 innings to earn 4-game sweep in season-opening series
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ season-opening four-game series in Miami against the Marlins already was full of firsts entering Easter Sunday’s finale. Jared Jones dazzled in his MLB debut Saturday, picking up his first win in his first MLB start. Before that, reliever Ryder Ryan earned his first big-league win Friday. And,...
Newspaper edits its column about LSU-UCLA game after Tigers coach Kim Mulkey blasted it as sexist
ALBANY, N.Y. — The Los Angeles Times has edited a column it published last week about the LSU women’s basketball team ahead of its game against UCLA following criticism from Tigers coach Kim Mulkey, who blasted it as sexist and hurtful. Mulkey defended her players after they were referred to...
Pirates activate righty Roansy Contreras, option lefty Jose Hernandez to Triple-A
Ahead of their series finale Sunday at the Miami Marlins, the Pittsburgh Pirates made a handful of roster moves, activating right-handed pitcher Roansy Contreras from the MLB paternity leave list and optioning lefty Jose Hernandez to Triple-A Indianapolis. Contreras, 24, went 0-2 with a 5.65 ERA over seven Spring Training...
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are a major part of the rise of women’s college basketball
ALBANY, N.Y. — Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have been catalysts for the rapid rise of women’s college basketball because of their play on the court that has drawn millions of new fans to the sport and their success off of it. The pair has brought comparisons to what Magic...
Pestering play of Penguins’ Michael Bunting easing transition from CarolinaVideo
It has not taken long for new Pittsburgh Penguins winger Michael Bunting to endear himself to his teammates. Several factors have aided in a successful transition from the Carolina Hurricanes. For starters, he’s producing at an acceptable rate. Bunting has three goals with four assists in 12 games since being...
‘We should be excited’: Sizzling debuts by Paul Skenes, Jared Jones look promising for Pirates
Before Jared Jones made his major-league debut Saturday, he drew inspiration by watching a minor-league game. Jones saw Paul Skenes top triple digits on a dozen fastballs and strike out five of the nine batters he faced in three perfect innings against Louisville in his debut for Triple-A Indianapolis. “I...
Alabama rides wave of 3-pointers to beat Clemson, reach 1st Final Four
LOS ANGELES — Mark Sears made seven 3-pointers and Alabama recovered from its early long-distance shooting woes with 16 treys to beat Clemson, 89-82, on Saturday night, sending the Crimson Tide to the Final Four for the first time. The Tide (25-11) will face defending national champion UConn in Glendale,...
Minor league report: Corey Andonovski leads Penguins to overtime winVideo
A goal at 1:17 of overtime by forward Corey Andonovski gave the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins a 4-3 home win against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. Forwards Austin Rueschhoff and Radim Zohorna each had a goal and an assist for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (33-22-8-1) while forward Avery...
Penguins fall late in shootout loss to Blue Jackets
With little more than a handful of covalent bonds keeping them connected to playoff contention, the Pittsburgh Penguins have turned to backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to keep the remainder of their 2023-24 regular season consequential. On Saturday, he started his fourth consecutive game but wasn’t able to buoy the Penguins...
Donovan Clingan, UConn power back into Final Four in rout of Illinois
BOSTON — Defending national champion UConn powered its way back into the Final Four behind a 30-0 run led by Donovan Clingan, who finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Huskies crushed Illinois, 77-52, on Saturday night. It was a March Madness record 10th straight double-digit victory for...
Scottie Scheffler overcomes late double bogey for 66 in Houston
HOUSTON — Scottie Scheffler made double bogey from what he thought was a good shot, responded with back-to-back birdies and finished with a 4-under-par 66 on Saturday to be part of a five-way tie for the lead in the Houston Open. Scheffler is trying to become the first player since...
Jared Jones strikes out 10 in MLB debut as Pirates beat Marlins, improve to 3-0
Jared Jones promised to shove in his major-league debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the 22-year-old right-hander exceeded expectations against the Miami Marlins. Jones recorded 10 strikeouts — one shy of the franchise record for a debut — while allowing three runs on three hits and two walks in 51⁄3...
Pirates farm report: Despite perfect start from Paul Skenes, Indianapolis falls to 0-2
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 0-2) lost 4-3 to Louisville (Reds). RHP Paul Skenes made his first Triple-A start and pitched three perfect innings with five strikeouts. He hit 100 mph on the radar gun on 12 of the 46 pitches he threw. Veteran LHP Eric Lauer came on in relief and allowed...
William Byron, Kyle Larson: Richmond Raceway challenges confidence
RICHMOND, Va. — William Byron already has a pair of victories just six races into the NASCAR Cup Series season, and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson has one, too. Neither comes to Richmond Raceway brimming with confidence. “It’s just one of those places we go to that we just don’t...
Pirates top prospect Paul Skenes perfect in 3 innings in Triple-A debut for Indianapolis
Paul Skenes’ Triple-A debut was short but perfect. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound right-hander, selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, struck out five of the nine batters he faced and didn’t allow a baserunner in three innings Saturday afternoon for the Indianapolis...
