Sports category, Page 744
A week of bizarre and shocking developments in auto racing
NASCAR successfully waved the checkered flag on its opening event of the year just before the heavy rains began to drench Los Angeles. That NASCAR crammed the two-day Clash at the Coliseum into a compelling one-day show capped a frenzied week in global motorsports. So many crazy things happened in...
49ers have concerns about the condition of their Super Bowl practice field
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said league and independent inspectors have found the practice field set aside for the San Francisco 49ers is safe to use during Super Bowl week despite complaints from the team. The Niners had expressed concern to the league that the field on UNLV’s campus is too...
No matter the score, Pitt’s Jeff Capel continually tries to teach players proper habits
The game was winding down Saturday night, and people inside Petersen Events Center were gathering their belongings and preparing to leave, secure in the knowledge that Pitt’s 62-46 lead with 3 minutes, 5 seconds to play would turn into a victory. But there was one more TV timeout on the...
Browns hire Ken Dorsey as OC, hope he can get most out of QB Watson
BEREA, Ohio — Ken Dorsey’s background playing quarterback and coaching QBs made him a natural pick for the Browns, who hope he can work his magic with Deshaun Watson. Fired during the season in Buffalo, Dorsey was introduced Monday as Cleveland’s new offensive coordinator by coach Kevin Stefanski, who made...
RB Christian McCaffrey’s play validates 49ers’ big deal to acquire him
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York tells the story, coach Kyle Shanahan took some convincing before deciding it was worth dealing a boatload of draft picks before last season’s trade deadline for Christian McCaffrey. With most teams around the NFL downgrading the value of running...
TEs Travis Kelce of Chiefs, George Kittle of 49ers ready to match up again in Super Bowl
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs’ Travis Kelce and the 49ers’ George Kittle are best of friends when they are off the field. They are fierce competitors when they step on it. They also happen to be two of the best tight ends ever to play the game, and they...
Analysis: Year 25 for Andy Reid might be best coaching job yet
Andy Reid celebrated his 25th season as a head coach with a masterful performance on the sideline and in the locker room. The Kansas City Chiefs are one victory away from becoming the first NFL team in 19 years to win back-to-back Super Bowls. They’re here to face the San...
Report: Former Penn State coach Bill O’Brien likely to leave Ohio State for Boston College
Bill O’Brien might not coach against Penn State after all. O’Brien, who was recently hired as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator, is in advanced talks to become Boston College’s new head coach, according to a report from the Boston Herald. The Boston Herald reported on Monday morning that O’Brien and Boston...
WR coach Frisman Jackson no longer part of Steelers offensive staff
Frisman Jackson, the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers coach the past two seasons, will not have his contract renewed, according to a source. The Steelers are searching for a replacement, which will be the fourth at the position since wide receiver coach Daryl Drake’s death during the 2019 training camp. Ray...
Penguins maintain faith they are still a playoff-caliber team
Even within the controlled context of practice, it looked spectacular. A pass by Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson. During a five-on-five drill Monday in Cranberry, Karlsson recovered a loose puck in his own zone that was deflected by opposing forward Noel Acciari. Claiming the puck, Karlsson strode through the neutral...
Royals agree with SS Bobby Witt Jr. on record deal that could keep him in KC for 14 seasons
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. agreed Monday to the longest contract in franchise history, an 11-year pact that includes three years of team options that could keep the rising star with the ballclub through the 2037 season. The financial terms were not...
NBA set to play on an LED glass court for some All-Star weekend events
For the first time, the NBA will play on glass. Part of All-Star weekend in Indianapolis — including the entire All-Star Saturday Night lineup — will be played on a state-of-the-art, full video LED court that will be installed at Lucas Oil Stadium, the league said Monday. That means the...
UConn, Purdue and North Carolina stay atop AP Top 25; South Carolina joins for first time since 2017
Reigning national champion Connecticut, Purdue and North Carolina remained atop The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for the third consecutive week, while South Carolina cracked the rankings for the first time in nearly seven years. The Huskies earned 45 of 61 first-place votes to remain at No....
Police apologize to alleged victim of 2018 Hockey Canada sexual assault case
LONDON, Ontario — The police chief of London, Ontario, issued a public apology on Monday to a woman who says she was sexually assaulted by five hockey players on Canada’s 2018 world junior team — including four currently in the NHL — for the length of time it took to...
Steve Belichick agrees to take defensive coordinator role at Washington, AP source says
SEATTLE — Steve Belichick has agreed to be the defensive coordinator for new coach Jedd Fisch at Washington, a person with knowledge of the move told The Associated Press on Monday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because no announcement has been made. The move was...
Pitt assistant coach Charlie Partridge leaving for the NFL
In an offseason of significant staff transition, Pitt football is losing another assistant, with the news Monday morning that defensive line and assistant head coach Charlie Partridge is heading to the NFL. FootballScoop.com reported Partridge will coach the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive line. Over the past seven seasons, Partridge made his...
Mark Madden: How the Steelers handle the quarterback position will show their true ‘urgency’
The Super Bowl hasn’t yet been played. But Pittsburgh Steelers offseason talk is constant and onerous. It’s aggravating to no end, not least when it involves the quarterback position. (Nonstop mock drafts will soon accelerate the stupidity. There’s no way to know in February who the Steelers will pick 20th...
Wyndham Clark felt like a Pebble Beach winner on Saturday. He got the trophy on Sunday
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Wyndham Clark noticed the cameras starting to show up on the 12th hole, the sure sign he was making a charge. He felt the buzz of being in contention and the affection from the gallery when he walked off the 18th green at the AT&T Pebble...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Southmoreland’s Brandon Stone turning pro
Former Southmoreland standout Brandon Stone has left the men’s basketball team at Delaware State and has set a course for the professional level. The 6-foot-11 forward hired an agent and will pursue potential opportunities overseas. He graduated in December. Stone played two seasons at Delaware State after transferring from Robert...
Penn State New Ken men’s basketball team seeking consistency for stretch run
This season has been a roller-coaster ride for the Penn State New Kensington men’s basketball team. Now, as the season heads into its final three weeks, the Lions hope to find the consistency that has eluded them for much of the past two months. “Yes, it’s definitely been up and...
Hempfield’s Will Kuhns, Derry’s John Kerr step into bigger roles for new-look Penn State men’s volleyball
The Penn State men’s volleyball program has enough cachet that it doesn’t rebuild. It reloads. But, sometimes, the caliber of the ammunition is difficult to replace. When the team walked into the gym this winter to prepare for the 2024 season, for the first time in five years, it did...
Super Bowl in Las Vegas further cements NFL’s relationship with city it once shunned
LAS VEGAS — A meeting scheduled in the 1980s between the NFL and sportsbook directors sparked hope in Las Vegas that their relationship would soon take a much more positive turn after decades during which the league kept the city at arm’s length. When all it turned out to be...
Pittsburgh ranks as best city for football fans for 6th year in a row
Pittsburgh was ranked the best city for football fans — again. It’s the sixth year in a row Steelers Nation has been at the top of WalletHub’s Best & Worst Cities for Football Fans list. “Football fans are intensely loyal to their favorite teams, especially when a team comes from...
Tim Benz: Sorry, Mason Rudolph. It appears it’s Kenny Pickett’s show, based on Arthur Smith’s 1st interview as OC
Arthur Smith’s first interview as Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator was conducted by Missi Matthews of Steelers.com. It was posted Saturday on the team’s website. It was a wide-ranging sitdown. Topics bounced around from Smith’s upbringing in a house with 10 kids, his climb up the coaching ladder, his offensive philosophy...
First Call: Luke Getsy beats out Mike Sullivan for reopened Raiders job; Le’Veon Bell wants a comeback with Steelers
Monday’s “First Call” sees a Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach passed over for another NFL job by a former WPIAL standout. Le’Veon Bell is talking about a comeback. T.J. Watt gets a nod of approval from his peers at the Pro Bowl, and it was a good weekend of hockey for...
