Sports category, Page 842
ACC progressing toward westward expansion with Stanford, Cal, SMU potential targetsVideo
The Atlantic Coast Conference is making progress toward an expansion that could grab Stanford and California from the sinking Pac-12, a person with direct knowledge of the ACC’s potential move told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the conference was not making its...
Sam Darnold wins backup QB job for 49ers, putting Trey Lance’s status in doubtVideo
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Sam Darnold has won the backup quarterback job in San Francisco, putting Trey Lance’s status with the 49ers in doubt less than three years after the team traded three first-round picks to draft him. Coach Kyle Shanahan told flagship radio station KNBR on Wednesday that Darnold...
New coaches add spark to Hempfield-Greensburg Salem rivalry
Ty George was a sophomore at Hempfield the last time Greensburg Salem was victorious in this historic series. Now the 2014 Hempfield graduate, the new Greensburg Salem coach, is trying to devise a plan to end the Spartans’ current six-game winning streak in the series between the neighboring school districts...
Plum, Kiski Area to work out the kinks in Week Zero rivalry matchup
Plum and Kiski Area passed each other last year when the WPIAL realigned its football conferences and classifications. The Mustangs moved up to Class 5A and into the Big East Conference with the likes of Penn-Trafford, Franklin Regional and Gateway, while the Cavaliers moved down to the Class 4A Greater...
Maple Leafs sign star center Auston Matthews to 4-year, $53 million extensionVideo
TORONTO — Auston Matthews has put pen to paper on a deal that is set to make him the NHL’s highest-paid player. And the Toronto Maple Leafs — and their fans — can finally exhale. The star center signed a four-year, $53 million extension on Wednesday that ties him to...
Andrew McCutchen hits 3 doubles but no homers as Cardinals top Pirates, avoid sweep
The Pittsburgh Pirates fans who attended the finale of the three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon wanted to see Andrew McCutchen have a milestone moment. And McCutchen did, just not the way they expected. One home run shy of his career 300th, McCutchen didn’t put one...
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa fires back at ESPN analyst Ryan Clark’s criticism of bodyVideo
MIAMI — Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on Wednesday gave a sharp response to ESPN analyst and former NFL player Ryan Clark’s criticism of his body during an appearance on “NFL Live.” On Monday, Clark said of the fourth-year player: “Let me tell you what he wasn’t doing; he wasn’t in...
Jets WR Corey Davis announces he’s stepping away from football
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — New York Jets wide receiver Corey Davis announced Wednesday he is stepping away from football. The 28-year-old was entering his third season with the Jets after beginning his career with the Tennessee Titans as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2017 draft. “I’ve been searching...
Ligonier Valley grad Maddy Grimm helps Texas Smoke win 1st championship
After two years away from high-level softball, Maddy Grimm returned to the game she loves and won a championship. The Ligonier Valley alum helped lead the Texas Smoke to the first championship in the Women’s Professional Fastpitch league. The power-hitting shortstop out of Kent State stretched out her career a...
Phil Jurkovec eager to incorporate tight ends into Pitt’s offensive attackVideo
As Pitt’s Sept. 2 season opener against Wofford grows closer, plenty of questions have been asked about what the Panthers are capable of offensively. Will former Pine-Richland standout and high-profile transfer Phil Jurkovec take the reins seamlessly at quarterback? Are the Panthers prepared to run the football effectively in the...
Pirates SS Oneil Cruz stops running due to soreness, return this season in jeopardy
Oneil Cruz’s recovery from a fractured left ankle was off and running but hit a speed bump that could prevent the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop from returning to play in the majors this season. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Cruz’s rehabilitation has “plateaued,” and he stopped his running...
5 things to watch for in Steelers preseason finale at FalconsVideo
When the Pittsburgh Steelers opened their preseason Aug. 11, the high temperature in Tampa was 96 degrees. When the Steelers conclude their preseason 13 days later in Atlanta, the forecasted high is — again — 96 degrees. Mike Tomlin embraces finding ways for the elements to challenge his team during...
U.S. Open 2023: With Serena and Federer retired, Alcaraz-Djokovic symbolizes a transition in tennis
Based on the reactions on social media, it seems everyone in the world of tennis was riveted by Novak Djokovic’s victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the last tournament for both ahead of the U.S. Open. It was a titanic, 3½-hour-plus showdown between the two titans of the...
Mark Madden: ‘Heels’ is more compelling than WWE and AEW
After a lifetime of watching wrestling that includes eight years of working in it, I’m not interested anymore. Outside of a few instances, like the Bloodline plot and Cody Rhodes’ ascension (both in WWE), the storytelling is hackneyed and often non-existent. There’s too much wrestling on television: Six nights every...
Pumped-up Steelers optimism not yet impacting gambling lines
Two strong preseason results and a training camp free of injuries to star players has yielded wild optimism about the Steelers within the team’s fanbase. On Monday, I was listening to our colleague Mark Madden on his talk show on 105.9 The X. He was taking numerous calls from fans...
First Call: 49ers sign ex-Steeler in advance of opener; Antonio Brown in trouble yet again
The San Francisco 49ers don’t have Nick Bosa in the fold yet, but they do have a pretty good resource for information on the Steelers. Antonio Brown is in hot water again, and the Steelers may be on their way to tackling the NFL’s next marketing genius. All that in...
Tim Benz: This position group will result in the hardest cuts for Steelers coaches
Heading into Thursday night’s preseason finale in Atlanta, one good thing about the 2023 Steelers is that it doesn’t appear there will be many players kept on cutdown day (Aug. 29) just to round out the depth chart. That hasn’t necessarily been the case at the bottom of the roster...
Pirates farm report for Aug. 22, 2023: Bubba Chandler throws 7 scoreless for Greensboro
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 55-64) was knocked around by Iowa (Cubs), 10-4. RHP Jared Jones (2-3, 5.91) started and was tagged for six runs on eight hits and three walks in five innings. LF Miguel Andujar (.352) went 3 for 3 with his 16th homer, a double, two runs scored and a...
Luis Ortiz returns for spot start with Pirates, hoping to stay in starting rotation
Luis Ortiz was back with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, just not officially. Ortiz was in the home clubhouse as a member of the taxi squad, waiting to be activated to the major league roster on Wednesday. Pirates manager Derek Shelton said the 24-year-old right-hander will start the series finale...
Seahawks rookie WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba to miss 3-4 weeks with wrist injury
SEATTLE — Seattle Seahawks rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba will undergo surgery for a wrist fracture and miss approximately three to four weeks, coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday. Smith-Njigba was injured in the second quarter of Seattle’s preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, when he was tackled at...
Countdown to kickoff: More than 2 dozen new coaches prowling WPIAL sidelines
They are new faces in new places supplying new hopes and golden dreams. Some are rookie head coaches replacing experienced coaches while other veteran coaches are starting over at new venues. Some schools have a new football coach for the first time in decades while others continue to play roulette...
Andrew McCutchen hits 299th career homer as Pirates beat Adam Wainwright, Cardinals
Adam Wainwright has made a career of having his way against the Pittsburgh Pirates, so it was no surprise that the St. Louis Cardinals 41-year-old right-hander pitched three perfect innings to start. That the Pirates batted around the order in a five-run fourth inning was another story, a twist of...
Pitt football notebook: Phil Jurkovec on another preseason award watch list
Pitt quarterback Phil Jurkovec, a Pine-Richland grad, is among the preseason candidates for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. It marks the second award to recognize Jurkovec as a preseason candidate. The Unitas Award is presented annually to the top senior or upperclassman quarterback set to graduate with his class....
Knicks sue, accuse Raptors of using ex-Knicks employee as ‘mole’
NEW YORK — The New York Knicks sued the Toronto Raptors, their new coach and a former Knicks scouting employee Monday, saying the defendants conspired to steal thousands of videos and other scouting secrets over the past few weeks. The lawsuit in Manhattan federal court seeks unspecified damages and a...
White Sox fire executive VP Ken Williams, GM Rick Hahn
CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox fired executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn on Tuesday, cutting ties with their leadership on the baseball side amid another disappointing season. Williams was in his 11th season in his position after serving as the club’s general manager for 12...
