Sports category, Page 847
‘Explosive’ freshman King Mack impressing in camp, pushing for immediate impact at Penn State
Penn State relied heavily on its 2022 recruiting class last season. From Nick Singleton to Abdul Carter, 10 freshmen burned their redshirts. That’s unlikely to be the case this fall. Tony Rojas, the name on everyone’s lips during the spring, will have a role in the linebacker rotation. Elliot Washington...
Pitt preparing for 2nd scrimmage before the final week of camp
A week from Friday will be Pitt football’s annual kickoff luncheon, signaling the end of fall camp, the start of classes and the anticipation of football that actually matters. Before that, coach Pat Narduzzi will run his team through its second scrimmage this month Saturday on the Beano Cook Fields...
Mark Madden: NFL pays lip service to player safety
Football’s preseason has certainly changed. When I was a kid, NFL teams played 14 regular-season games and six exhibitions. Starters played a ton in those exhibitions. Starting jobs and roster spots were legitimately up for grabs. Practices were like the Roman Colosseum: Hard-fought and ugly. The Oklahoma drill tested your...
Steeler-Bills preview: Bills provide test for Steelers starters; Damar Hamlin returns to Pittsburgh
If there was a “yeah, but …” to be had from the Steelers’ 27-17 preseason-opening win in Tampa Bay last week, it was that their solid all-around performance came against primarily the Buccaneers’ reserves (particularly on defense). That won’t be the case this week against the Buffalo Bills. Head coach...
Pirates’ Alika Williams searching for more production at the plate
Since making his major-league debut July 25, Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Alika Williams hasn’t produced eye-popping offensive numbers. Through 21 games and 50 at-bats, Williams is slashing .200/.273/.240 with two doubles, no home runs and four RBIs. By comparison, fellow rookie Nick Gonzales, the Pirates’ first-round draft pick in 2020, slashed...
First Call: Bills will play their 1st-teamers vs. Steelers; Browns-Eagles slopfest
The Pittsburgh Steelers will see some of the Buffalo Bills’ starters on Saturday. It would have been nice to watch some starters at quarterback in the Browns-Eagles game Thursday. The Pirates play the streaky Twins this weekend. And we remember a hockey play-by-play favorite. All that in Friday’s “First Call.”...
Tim Benz: Steelers offensive line better suited to endure injuries it managed to avoid a year ago
Throughout the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2022 preseason, the offensive line was such a concern that it almost equaled the scuttlebutt surrounding who would replace Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback. That continued into the regular season where, slowly but surely, the Steelers offensive front managed to gain a little traction. Familiarity eventually led...
Pitt 5 things: ACC Network analyst, ex-Miami coach Mark Richt misses game, just not ‘wildly dramatic’ changes
Mark Richt stopped coaching five years ago after 171 victories in 18 seasons, 15 at Georgia, three at Miami. Yet the sights and sounds — even smells — of the game he loves linger. Now an analyst for the ACC Network, Richt visited Pitt practice this week. The stage set...
Legendary voice of Buffalo Sabres Rick Jeanneret dies at age 81
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Rick Jeanneret, who will always be regarded as the voice of the Buffalo Sabres after a 51-year broadcasting career and the Hockey Hall of Fame’s 2012 Foster Hewitt Award recipient, died Thursday. He was 81. The Sabres released a statement from Jeanneret’s family saying he died with...
Pirates farm report for Aug. 17, 2023: Andres Alvarez homers in Altoona win
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 54-61) managed five hits in a 4-1 loss to St. Paul (Twins). RF Canaan Smith-Njigba (.251) went 1 for 4 with a double and an RBI. C Grant Koch (.236) went 1 for 2 with a walk and a run scored. LHP Cam Allred (7-6, 5.30) started and...
Cook says his role in Jets’ talented backfield is simple: ‘Just be Dalvin’Video
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Dalvin Cook joined the Jets knowing they already were stacked at running back. The former Minnesota Vikings star intends to make New York’s backfield even better — no matter what his role might be. “Just be Dalvin,” Cook said Thursday, a day after signing a one-year...
Aaron Donald avoids fights, stays focused on preparation during Rams’ joint practice
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The most recent time Aaron Donald participated in a joint NFL preseason practice before Thursday, he ripped the helmet off a Cincinnati player and swung it at a few Bengals during a big brawl last year. A few years before that, the Penn Hills and Pitt...
Rory McIlroy, Brian Harman share BMW Championship lead on a soft Olympia FieldsVideo
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. — Rory McIlroy didn’t mind being in the rough at rain-soaked Olympia Fields, except for having trees and a bunker between him and the 17th green. And even that didn’t matter Thursday in the BMW Championship. McIlroy found the short grass only six times with 18 tee...
Bengals RB Joe Mixon found not guilty of aggravated menacing during traffic disputeVideo
CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon was found not guilty Thursday of aggravated menacing in a January traffic dispute. Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Gwen Bender acquitted Mixon of the misdemeanor charge after a four-day bench trial. A woman had accused the 27-year-old of pointing a gun at...
Steelers inside the ropes: Cody White a playmaker in lackluster final practice of campVideo
After serving as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ No. 6 receiver during the 2021 season, Cody White spent all of 2022 on the practice squad. But the 24-year-old has put himself firmly in contention to make the 2023 active roster during a training camp at Saint Vincent College in which he has...
Steelers WR Calvin Austin ready to see what he can do for encore in 2nd preseason game
Calvin Austin checked off one box last weekend in his return from a lost rookie season when he made his NFL preseason debut for the Pittsburgh Steelers and caught a 67-yard touchdown pass in a 27-17 victory at Tampa Bay. The next order of business for Austin will take place...
Plum youth football community mourns, honors Keegan ClontzVideo
Keegan Clontz’s No. 40 football jersey hung from one of the goalposts during the Plum Little Mustangs 12U scrimmage Wednesday evening against Franklin Regional at the Plum Midget Football Association fields along Ross Hollow Road. His initials also were painted on the field at the 40-yard line. They were two...
Bills QB Josh Allen tries to balance football, celebrity statusVideo
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — In the five years since arriving in Buffalo, where his celebrity status shows no sign of cresting, Josh Allen has become accustomed to having most every step of his public life picked over and documented. It’s not as if the Bills quarterback has much to hide...
In high-stakes season for Greek soccer Panathinaikos sees path to Champions League with AEK AthensVideo
GENEVA — Success in Greek soccer is often weighed down by off-the-field controversy. This time, it’s the killing of a fan in Athens. Panathinaikos owner Giannis Alafouzos missed being in France to see his team eliminate former European champion Marseille from the Champions League on Tuesday, its biggest game in...
NBA releases its schedule for the coming season, with an eye on player rest and travelVideo
Maximizing player rest and limiting travel demands were again part of the NBA’s formula for the upcoming regular season, the league indicated Thursday when announcing the schedule for 2023-24. Teams have an average of 14 instances of back-to-back games this season, up slightly from last year’s rate of 13.3 per...
U.S. Open switching tennis balls for women’s matches so they’re the same ones the men useVideo
NEW YORK — Men and women will use the same tennis ball this year at the U.S. Open, satisfying some women who complained last year they were hitting an inferior product. Top-ranked Iga Swiatek — who eventually won the tournament — was among the women who felt their lighter ball...
Mike Tomlin: Kenny Pickett, first-teamers will ‘play more’ in Steelers’ 2nd preseason game
After playing one series and getting 10 snaps in the preseason opener, quarterback Kenny Pickett will get more work Saturday night when the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Buffalo Bills at Acrisure Stadium. How much more work? Stay tuned, coach Mike Tomlin said, referring not just to Pickett but the team’s...
Twila Kilgore tapped as interim coach for U.S. women’s national soccer team
Twila Kilgore will serve as interim coach of the U.S women’s national soccer team following the resignation of coach Vlatko Andonovski. U.S. Soccer formally announced Andonovski’s resignation on Thursday. Kilgore, the first American-born woman to earn U.S. Soccer’s top-level Pro License, was an assistant under Andonovski and will lead the...
Pitt notebook: Some starting spots solid on offensive line, but keep an eye on 330-pound redshirt freshman Ryan Baer
There’s plenty of vocalized optimism surrounding Pitt’s offensive line that returns four players with significant experience. Yet there has been no definitive word on the makeup of certain positions along the line. All-ACC preseason tackle Matt Goncalves can play on the left or right side. If he is left —...
Deion Sanders builds and rebuilds roster in 1st season at Colorado
BOULDER, Colo. — Deion Sanders cleaned house when he first arrived at Colorado. Not satisfied, the coach of the Buffaloes carried on with the extreme makeover after the spring game. His lavish use of the transfer portal to build, scrape and rebuild his roster has drawn the wrath of some...
