Sports category, Page 843
New Penguins forward Jansen Harkins makes strong 1st impressionVideo
Jansen Harkins didn’t waste much time getting acclimated to his new team. On Wednesday, a little more than 48 hours after the Pittsburgh Penguins claimed him off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets, Harkins appeared in his first game with the Penguins, a 2-1 preseason loss to the Detroit Red Wings...
Steelers’ Alex Highsmith officially questionable, vows to go vs. Ravens
The injury report classifies Alex Highsmith’s status for Sunday’s game as “questionable.” The veteran outside linebacker, though, presented a more optimistic view when asked if he would be able to play in the AFC North showdown against the Baltimore Ravens. “Absolutely, yeah,” Highsmith said Friday. “Feel good.” Highsmith, part of...
Penguins assign 3 to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
The Pittsburgh Penguins assigned forwards Andreas Johnsson, Joona Koppanen and Alex Nylander to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Friday. All three went unclaimed after being placed on waivers Thursday. Last season, Nylander appeared in nine NHL games and scored two points (one goal, one assist) for the...
Tim Benz: Robert Morris hockey players embrace emotions surrounding Saturday’s return to the ice
Butler’s Paul Maust remembers exactly where he was in May 2021 when he found out that the Robert Morris hockey teams were getting cut from the school’s athletic department. The Mercyhurst player was working out at the Baierl Ice Complex in Warrendale with two members of the Colonials team —...
Expanding Big Ten weighs competition, rivalries, TV ratings and road trips to make football schedule
Weighing competitive balance, traditional rivalries, television ratings and some very long road trips, the Big Ten produced 262 versions of a football schedule to find the one that best fit its soon-to-be 18-team, bicoastal conference. The Big Ten released five seasons’ worth of football opponents for each of its schools...
Former Penguins coach Kevin Constantine fired by WHL’s Wenatchee Wild
WENATCHEE, Wash. — Former NHL coach Kevin Constantine was fired as coach of the Wenatchee Wild on Thursday, a day after he was suspended indefinitely by the Western Hockey League for making “derogatory comments of a discriminatory nature.” In its first season in Washington after moving from Winnipeg, Manitoba, the...
‘Outside of the box’ defense has Peters Township ranked No. 1 in WPIAL 5A
Peters Township’s T.J. Plack is an offensive-minded head coach of a high-scoring team that averages five touchdowns a week, yet he raves about a defense he calls special. “They do something a little bit different than what other teams do in Western Pennsylvania,” Plack said. “They think a little outside...
11-time Pro Bowl receiver Larry Fitzgerald now helping young players maximize earning potential
Larry Fitzgerald is attacking the board room the same way he took on cornerbacks during a sensational NFL career. The 11-time Pro Bowl wide receiver who caught more passes for more yards than every player in league history other than Jerry Rice has transitioned smoothly to the corporate world since...
Report: Pitt moves Phil Jurkovec to tight end, promotes Christian Veilleux to No. 1 quarterback
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi wasn’t kidding when he said there were “a lot of things that need changing” with his team. Quarterback Phil Jurkovec was benched and moved to tight end in practice this week, leaving Christian Veilleux in line to start the next game Oct. 14 against Louisville, ESPN...
First Call: An ex-Steeler just bought a hockey team; Aaron Donald’s plan to stop Eagles QB sneak
For Friday’s “First Call,” we’ve got a surprising career choice for a former Steeler. An ex-Raven is stirring the pot when it comes to the Steelers rivalry. Aaron Donald thinks he may be able to combat the Philadelphia Eagles’ allegedly unstoppable play. And the internet is having a field day...
Pitt Take 5: He’s done it before, but can Pat Narduzzi guide Panthers out of their malaise?
There are a few historical trends that may foretell how the remainder of Pitt’s season evolves. Critics and doomsday fans might prefer the word “unravels,” but let’s allow the remaining seven games to play out before slapping on labels. In coach Pat Narduzzi’s eight previous seasons, he has compiled an...
Friday Football Footnotes: An all Steelers-Ravens rivalry edition
Neither the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2) nor the Baltimore Ravens (3-1) are playing like they were in 2010 when they were both 12-4. But the rivalry between the clubs is still strong. And with the entire AFC North already beating itself up and a bye looming in Pittsburgh, refusing to let...
5 things to watch in Week 6: As NFL mourns, WPIAL remembers ‘coach’ Dick Butkus
Dick Butkus became legendary as one of the fiercest linebackers in NFL history, but folks around the WPIAL might remember him as “Coach” Butkus. Long after his playing days with the Chicago Bears were over, Butkus spent one season as a made-for-TV coach at Montour in 2005. It was the...
Fields, Moore lead the Bears to their 1st win of the seasonVideo
LANDOVER, Md. — Music blared from the Chicago Bears locker room after a victory for the first time in almost a year, and players danced and jumped around with joy. All thanks to Justin Fields and DJ Moore being perfectly in tune. Fields and Moore connected eight times for 230...
Browns running game spinning its wheels since losing Nick Chubb
CLEVELAND — Moments before the season kicked off, Nick Chubb trotted on to the field inside a roaring Cleveland Browns Stadium while toting a No. 32 flag to honor Jim Brown, the legendary running back who died in May. Chubb ran to the opposite end zone and handed it to...
Joe Lunardi visits Duquesne, crows that bracketology now accepted in Merriam-Webster
Joe Lunardi proudly puffed out his chest and, suddenly, he felt like the tallest man inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, which was populated at the time by several tall Duquesne basketball players. What was the trigger? Bracketology has been accepted into the Merriam-Webster dictionary. JOEY BRACKETS is IN THE DICTIONARY! @ESPNLunardi...
Dartmouth tells NLRB basketball players are students — for real — not employees
BOSTON — Dartmouth College lawyers argued Thursday that the Ivy League school’s basketball players should not be considered employees because they are unpaid members of a money-losing program whose need-based scholarships don’t depend on their participation or talent. In a National Labor Relations Board hearing to determine whether the team...
Dick Butkus, fearsome Hall of Fame Chicago Bears linebacker, dies at 80Video
CHICAGO — A photo of Dick Butkus sneering behind his facemask filled the cover of Sports Illustrated’s 1970 NFL preview, topped by the headline, “The Most Feared Man in the Game.” Opponents who wound up on the business end of his bone-rattling hits could testify that wasn’t an exaggeration. Butkus,...
A forgotten man during camp, Montravius Adams filling significant role on Steelers D-line
Throughout Pittsburgh Steelers training camp, much was made about the depth on the defensive line. Eight NFL-caliber players were on the roster for what were only six or seven available spots. Among that group were well-compensated proven starters (Cameron Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi). There were the recently drafted young guns (Keeanu...
Highlands grad Gabe Norris adds scoring touch to resume at Robert Morris
With a new coaching staff this year, Gabe Norris knew he would have to prove himself all over again. He wound up playing the same defensive midfield position he had the previous two years at Robert Morris, but a tactical change has helped unlock the goal-scoring ability he had when...
Steelers’ Desmond King gets increased role in practice to match his move up depth chart
The NFL requires the release of one. Fans and media sometimes hyperfixate on it. But when the official published depth chart was broached to him Thursday, Desmond King gave a quizzical look. “I don’t know what that even is,” King said at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Told that the pdf...
Penguins announce lineup for preseason finale against Sabres
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced their lineup for their preseason finale, a road contest against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. Forwards — Noel Acciari, Jeff Carter, Sidney Crosby, Lars Eller, Jansen Harkins, Evgeni Malkin, Matt Nieto, Drew O’Connor, Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, Reilly Smith, Colin White, Radim Zohorna Defensemen — Ryan...
Mets GM Billy Eppler quits 3 days after David Stearns hired above him
NEW YORK — Billy Eppler quit as New York Mets general manager Thursday, three days after David Stearns was hired above him as the team’s first president of baseball operations. “I wanted David to have a clean slate, and that meant me stepping down,” Eppler said in a statement released...
Steelers’ Kenny Pickett practices fully, but Alex Highsmith does not as addition to injury report
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett on Wednesday firmly declared that he would be “good to go” for Sunday’s game. On Thursday, he backed that up during practice. Pickett was a full participant, according to the league-mandated injury report. Pickett had suffered a bone bruise during this past Sunday’s loss at...
NCAA trashes UNC, deems WR Tez Walker eligible to play
The NCAA accepted Tez Walker’s transfer waiver Thursday, making the wide receiver eligible to play for the 14th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels after the university fought for months to get him on the field. The NCAA released a terse statement saying its staff received new information that had not been...
