Sports category, Page 692
Analysis: Bills show ability to overcome flaws; playoff meeting vs. Steelers next
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Let’s dispense with predictions, because enough people — Buffalo Bills fans included — already have been proven wrong by a team that has defied the odds and the eye test by earning a playoff berth, never mind the AFC’s No. 2 seed. All it takes for...
Pitt learning to withstand physicality while preparing for No. 11 Duke
Pitt and Duke players won’t wear helmets Tuesday night when their teams meet at Petersen Events Center. But there’s a word and style of play that has been creeping into college basketball in recent seasons — physicality — and it’s something that needs to be addressed by players and coaches...
Former Penn State LB, Hopewell star Paul Posluszny elected to College Football Hall of Fame
Penn State visited the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta ahead of its Peach Bowl matchup with Ole Miss. While there, the Nittany Lions recognized names of the program’s past. Now, there will be another Nittany Lion added to the College Football Hall of Fame. Paul Posluszny, a Hopewell...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel, Blake Hinson make opposing predictions on national title game outcome
Pitt coach Jeff Capel might not give all his attention to the TV screen Monday night during the college football national championship game between Michigan and Washington. After all, Capel has a game of his own to think about, with No. 11 Duke visiting Petersen Events Center on Tuesday. But...
Steelers’ Nick Herbig, Markus Golden, Alex Highsmith vow to step up with T.J. Watt out
During this wild, unpredictable season, the Pittsburgh Steelers at one point were down to their fourth and fifth inside linebackers and fifth and sixth safeties as starters. No fewer than four players who spent time out of football earlier this fall have played prominent roles on the defense, two of...
Larry Fitzgerald becomes 25th Pitt player named to College Football Hall of Fame
Pitt legend Larry Fitzgerald, who needed only 26 games to become one of the most productive and awe-inspiring wide receivers in history, was selected Monday to the College Football Hall of Fame. He was selected in his first year of eligibility and is the 25th man with Pitt ties to...
Steelers ‘energetic’ about getting chance to face Bills in AFC wild-card matchup
In his previous five NFL seasons, Mason Cole never had played for a team that reached the playoffs. Once that drought ended late Sunday afternoon, it didn’t matter to the Pittsburgh Steelers center whether the destination in the wild-card round was Buffalo or Kansas City. “I knew the weather would...
Greensburg C.C. grad Geoffrey Helm gets new life in basketball with PAC champion Chatham
Geoffrey Helm’s path in college basketball veered from what he originally had mapped out. He envisioned a standout career at Shippensburg, one of the top Division II men’s programs in the region. Instead, the Greensburg Central Catholic grad came home to the Pittsburgh area and won a championship with the...
St. Joseph grad Jimmy Giannetta helps give Carlow men’s basketball more depth as it faces AMCC slate
When Carlow men’s basketball coach Tim Keefer began to speak with St. Joseph’s Jimmy Giannetta, one of the first questions he asked was a curious one. Are you left-handed or right-handed? In watching St. Joseph’s games, Keefer had observed Giannetta shooting with his left hand on jumpers and free throws....
Godwin Igwebuike makes impact on Steelers via savvy ‘heads-up’ play on a kickoffVideo
When Godwin Igwebuike intentionally ran out of bounds before making himself fall back into the field of play onto the ball after a kickoff during Saturday’s game, he knew what some were saying. “I stepped out of bounds, and I hear ‘Oh my god!’ ” Igwebuike said, his voice shrieking....
Damontae Kazee returns to Steelers following suspension, but will he get his job back?
Perhaps nobody was happier to walk through the doors at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Monday morning than Damontae Kazee. With the Pittsburgh Steelers getting the help they needed to make the playoffs, it represented a second chance for Kazee, the veteran safety who became eligible to return following a...
Maple Leafs sign William Nylander to $92 million, 8-year extension
TORONTO — William Nylander will wear a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater for years to come. Nylander has agreed to a $92 million, eight-year contract extension with the Maple Leafs, the team said Monday. It is the largest contract in franchise history by total value and includes a no-movement clause. The...
On cusp of 1st NFL playoff game, Steelers’ George Pickens refines image as unselfish player
BALTIMORE — Individually, it had to be one of the most frustrating days of George Pickens’ football career. But it was also one of his most rewarding as a pro. Pickens’ Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens, 17-10, on Saturday, positioning themselves to earn a playoff spot that became official...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Adam Bilinsky to join brother Ty at UPJ
It wasn’t exactly a brotherly shove, but Adam Bilinsky admits having a chance to play basketball with his older sibling again played a key role in his decision on where to transfer. Bilinsky, who decided to exit Mercyhurst after playing in just nine games as a freshman, will join his...
NFL Playoff Guide: How to watch the games, bracket format and betting favorites
Six teams — the Steelers, Browns, Lions, Packers, Texans and Rams — are in the playoffs after missing out last season. At least four teams who failed to qualify one season have reached the playoffs the next every year since 1990. Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys are riding high after...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel, Duke’s Jon Scheyer tag-team tale involves Jayson Tatum, an expletive and a beer for Coach K
Jeff Capel holds many memories of serving with Jon Scheyer on Duke’s coaching staff. A story that stands out for both men was the day Capel uttered an expletive in a five-star recruit’s living room while witnessing the “one and only time” he saw Mike Krzyzewski drink a beer. The...
Mary Lou Retton says she’s a ‘fighter’ as she recuperates at home following pneumonia scare
Olympic gymnastics great Mary Lou Retton said she faces a long battle recuperating at home from a rare form of pneumonia in which doctors weren’t sure whether she would survive. In an interview that aired Monday on NBC’s “Today” show, Retton said while wearing a breathing tube pumping oxygen through...
Tiger Woods, Nike end partnership after more than 27 years
Tiger Woods is no longer a Nike athlete after 27 years, ending a partnership between the swoosh and golf’s biggest star and raising questions about the future of both in the sport. Woods in a social media post thanked Nike co-founder Phil Knight for his “passion and vision” that brought...
Virginia lawmakers set to take up proposal to help fund new arena for Capitals, Wizards
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Advocates of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s plan to build a new professional sports arena and entertainment district in northern Virginia say the project would be a generational job-creator so lucrative it will pay for itself. Critics, meanwhile, argue the proposal to lure the NBA’s Washington Wizards and...
Houston, the lone unbeaten team in college hoops, jumps Kansas to No. 2 in AP Top 25 behind Purdue
Purdue held its place atop the AP Top 25 on Monday following its win over Illinois in a top-10 showdown, while Houston jumped Kansas into second place as the last unbeaten team in Division I men’s college basketball. The Boilermakers, who beat the No. 9 Illini 83-78 last week, picked...
Mark Madden: Mason Rudolph saved the Steelers’ season
Even if the Pittsburgh Steelers’ wild-card game at Buffalo ends their season, at least we get to witness two great quarterbacks go toe-to-toe. In the blue and red corner, Josh Allen. He’s not afraid to throw an interception. He takes chances and reaps reward. Big man. Big arm. Twenty-nine touchdown...
What you need to know about the Steelers’ Wild-Card opponent, the Buffalo Bills
The No. 7-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers will visit Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., for a 1 p.m. kickoff Sunday, facing the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild-Card round. The Bills beat the Miami Dolphins, 21-14, on Sunday night to clinch their fourth straight AFC East title and earn the No....
Panthers fire GM Scott Fitterer after finishing with NFL-worst 2-15 record
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers now need a head coach and a general manager. The Panthers announced Monday they have fired GM Scott Fitterer one day after the team finished with an NFL-worst 2-15 record. “As we move forward with the new direction for our franchise, I have made...
Bill Belichick under contract, would take lesser role in personnel matters as Kraft meeting looms
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Bill Belichick is open to letting someone else handle personnel duties if he remains with the New England Patriots. The Patriots coach also confirmed Monday during his season-ending news conference that he remains under contract, though he didn’t specify the length of its current terms. New England’s...
Commanders fire coach Ron Rivera as new ownership begins making changes
ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Commanders fired coach Ron Rivera on Monday, the first move of many expected by new owners as they put their stamp on the NFL franchise they bought last year. The decision came a day after the Commanders’ season-ending 38-10 home loss to division-rival Dallas. “As...
