Sports category, Page 963
NCAA rules panel approves keeping clock running on 1st downsVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved rules changes that are expected to reduce the number of plays in football games, notably one that will keep the clock running when a team makes a first down except in the last two minutes of a half. The panel on...
A-K Valley campus clippings: Plum’s Nick Hubner earns PAC lacrosse honors
Plum graduate Nick Hubner, a senior attacker on the Westminster men’s lacrosse team, earned his second straight Presidents’ Athletic Conference men’s lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. He scored nine goals and added two assists in a pair of games for the Titans. Hubner tallied a pair of...
Cubs’ Smyly loses bid for perfect game on Peralta’s dribbler
CHICAGO — Drew Smyly’s bid for a perfect game for the Chicago Cubs was stopped by David Peralta’s infield single for the Los Angeles Dodgers leading off the eighth inning on Friday. Peralta’s hit dribbled up the third base line. Smyly and Yan Gomes each went for the ball, and...
Casey Jo MacPherson ‘the perfect fit’ as Pitt’s next gymnastics coach
Casey Jo MacPherson, who has served since 2011 as an assistant coach at Missouri, Western Michigan and Arkansas, has been named the fourth head coach in Pitt gymnastics history. She replaces Samantha Snider, who was relieved of her duties April 3. Athletic director Heather Lyke said in a statement that...
How many big uglies in the first round? Odds say offensive line will be a popular choice
BY ZACH EWING | Home Field Sports Quarterbacks make up the headliners of the NFL draft, followed by the guys who go after them — the EDGE rushers who have gotten huge contracts. But some of the most valuable prospects in the 2023 draft are those who will protect the...
Forward Zack Austin signs with Pitt, makes transfer official
Zack Austin became the second of two transfers to sign with Pitt this offseason, leaving coach Jeff Capel with two scholarships available for the 2023-24 season. Capel announced the signing Friday after Austin had revealed his decision to transfer to Pitt on April 11. Austin, a 6-foot-7 wing forward with...
Despite late-season injury, Marcus Pettersson was among the Penguins’ most dependable players
A few games into the first round of the NHL playoffs, fans in Pittsburgh are still grappling with the Penguins’ disappointing year-long performance, which kept the team out of the postseason for the first time since 2006. In media circles and across the spectrum of armchair hockey strategist diagnoses, the...
Mark Madden: Don’t rule out Steelers making insane decision during NFL Draft
The NFL wants to be everywhere 24/7/365. To be a constant in the news cycle. The NFL Draft is proof of the league achieving that. The draft used to take place in hotel ballrooms with GMs clutching legal pads. But in 1980, fledgling all-sports network ESPN wanted to televise the...
Hawks-Celtics in NBA Playoffs Game 3 and a Friday night MLB parlay: Best Bets for April 21
BY ZACH EWING | Home Field Sports Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer. Here are...
NASCAR Cup Series Talladega ‘Fast Five’ preview: See best picks, drivers odds
BY SPENCER URQUHART | Home Field Sports The NASCAR Cup Series is heading to Talladega, which is always one of the most unpredictable races on the schedule as evidenced by the number of first-time winners. There are certain drivers that tend to thrive at this 2.67-mile superspeedway, but trying to...
NFL suspends 5 players for violating gambling policy
NEW YORK — The NFL suspended five players for violating the league’s gambling policy on Friday. Detroit Lions wide receiver Quintez Cephus and safety C.J. Moore and Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney were suspended indefinitely, while Lions wide receivers Stanley Berryhill and Jameson Williams were suspended six games. Cephus,...
NFL Draft primer: Could Steelers make move for embattled but talented Jalen Carter?
The Jalen Carter saga is the biggest subplot weighing on the first day of the NFL Draft, and its reach has extended all the way to the middle of the opening round and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers were brought into the conversation this week by noted NBC columnist Peter...
Pitt’s Blake Hinson will test his NBA Draft option while retaining collegiate eligibility
Pitt is faced with the possibility of losing junior forward Blake Hinson, who has decided to test the 2023 NBA Draft process while retaining his collegiate eligibility. Pitt officials made the announcement Friday morning. Hinson could remove his name from draft consideration and return to Pitt. The deadline to decide...
NFL Network analyst gives scouting forecast for Pitt players in advance of draft
We’ve speculated for months on who the Steelers should select in the NFL Draft. But what’s the evaluation of some of the draft eligible Pitt Panthers? During a conference call Thursday, NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah was asked specifically about Pitt as a program and about some Panthers products...
First Call: T.J. and Derek Watt receive honor in Wisconsin; Tom Brady won’t let the Dolphins rumors die
Friday’s “First Call” has an honor for Steelers star T.J. Watt and his brother Derek. It looks like Tom Brady is still flirting with the Miami Dolphins. Saquon Barkley is stuck in a contract stalemate. And ex-Pirate Jameson Taillon is dealing with an injury issue again. Numbers up T.J. and...
Tim Benz: Pirates’ efficiency key to hot start, wins over struggling opponents
After four consecutive last-place finishes and two consecutive 100-loss seasons, the Pirates really don’t care who they are beating. They just care that they are winning. “We are hot. And we know it. There is no denying that,” said Pirates outfielder/first baseman Connor Joe. They are. And we can’t. Usually...
Jack Suwinski finding his swing and feeding off the Pirates’ hot startVideo
As he headed back to the dugout after striking out for the fourth time in the game, frustration seemed stuck on the face of Jack Suwinski. The second-year outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who will be 25 at the end of July, had good reason to be upset. It was...
Pirates farm report for April 20, 2023: Endy Rodriguez homers, leaves with injury
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 7-11) lost 6-1 to Memphis (Cardinals). C Endy Rodriguez (.263) hit his third home run in the fourth inning, then left in the eighth with an apparent injury. LHP Caleb Smith (0-2, 7.53) started and worked five innings, allowing two runs on one hit, a home run. RHP...
Roansy Contreras makes quality start as Pirates jump out to early lead, hold on to beat Reds
The Pittsburgh Pirates spotted Roansy Contreras a four-run, first-inning lead with back-to-back home runs by Connor Joe and Jack Suwinski, then let the right-hander shut down the Cincinnati Reds. Contreras walked off to an ovation in the seventh inning after delivering the 10th consecutive quality start by a Pirates pitcher,...
Bigger purses to propel drivers as Lernerville Speedway opens 56th year of racing
When the gates open at Lernerville Speedway to begin the 56th year of racing Friday night, the drivers entering them will have a little more incentive. Track officials announced Tuesday there will be a purse increase for 2023 Fab 4 weekly racing. The 410 sprint car and Super Late Model...
Depth at first base allows Pirates to better absorb injury of Ji-Man Choi; JT Brubaker discusses Tommy John surgery
As the calendar flipped months over the course of the 2022 offseason, a series of moves by Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington made one thing clear: upgrading the team’s options at first base, with a particular emphasis on dependable defense, was a major priority. November and December saw Cherington...
Pirates to induct ElRoy Face, Bob Friend, Dick Groat, Kent Tekulve into 2nd Hall of Fame class
When the Pittsburgh Pirates announced their inaugural Hall of Fame, Kent Tekulve started to wonder where he stacked up against the franchise’s all-time greats. Teke came to a humbling conclusion. “You almost think about it that, if I get really lucky and they work down the list far enough that...
Penn State men’s basketball adds Temple transfer Zach Hicks as roster rebuild continues
Penn State basketball is reforming its roster piece by piece after Micah Shrewsberry’s departure. Zach Hicks, a 6-foot-7 forward from Temple, will transfer to the Nittany Lions, he announced on social media on Thursday. Hicks is the third portal addition by new head coach Mike Rhoades. VCU guards Ace Baldwin...
NBA Playoffs DFS: Main slate breakdown with value plays for optimal lineup
By SPENCER URQUHART | Home Field Sports The first round of the NBA Playoffs is ramping up, and Game 3 action continues tonight with a trio of intriguing contests that should make for an exciting DFS slate. The night begins on the east coast with the 76ers at Nets followed...
Pitt, West Virginia set date for renewal of the basketball Backyard Brawl
Pitt will try to end West Virginia’s six-game winning streak in the basketball version of the Backyard Brawl when the Panthers travel to Morgantown, W.Va., on Dec. 6 for the 190th meeting between the two rival schools. The game will mark the first time since 2012 that Pitt and West...
