Sports category, Page 965
NFL Draft 2023: Which cornerback will be the 1st off the board? It’s 1 of 2 players
By JIM DERRY | Home Field Sports Unless the books have it totally wrong, the first defensive back to be taken in the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft is a fairly easy choice, as it seems to be down to two players. So will it be Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon or Oregon’s...
2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans preview: Odds, best bets, weather, TV and course info
BY JIM DERRY | Home Field Sports It’s far from a major event on the PGA Tour, but the Zurich Classic of New Orleans is certainly unique. It is the only team event throughout the year-long schedule, and it happens at TPC Louisiana in Avondale from Thursday through Sunday. The...
NFL draft primer: Homework could pay off for Steelers with interior offensive line prospects
Considering the actions taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency, they believed one of the positions that needed upgraded from last season was on the interior of the offensive line. Although the Steelers return the same five offensive linemen who started all 17 regular-season games last season, that didn’t...
Tim Benz: Penguins need more than just a wake-up call after missing the playoffs
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was cleaning out his locker last Saturday in the wake of missing the playoffs for the first time since his rookie year. Just a day after seeing general manager Ron Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke fired. The three-time Stanley Cup champion was...
Winnipeg’s Morgan Barron receives 75-plus stitches after skate to face
LAS VEGAS — Winnipeg Jets forward Morgan Barron took a skate to his face Tuesday night, requiring more than 75 stitches, but he returned to the ice less than a period later. Barron was injured in the first period during a big scramble in front of the Vegas Golden Knights’...
Where Drew Allar and Penn State’s offense stand after spring camp
Spring ball is over for the Nittany Lions. Penn State wrapped up camp over the weekend with the Blue-White game, the team’s 15th and final practice. Over the last month or so, there’s been plenty of chatter about position battles and player development in Holuba Hall and at the Lasch...
Rickard Rakell still sees a chance to win with the Penguins
Rickard Rakell was something of an afterthought last offseason. And it’s not often an All-Star winger with a handful of 20- or 30-goal seasons on his resume is pushed to the margins. But given the other players the Pittsburgh Penguins were trying to re-sign last summer — such as forward...
Mark Madden: Trading up is right move for Steelers, who need to draft a great player
The Pittsburgh Steelers are stuck in the mushy middle. Finish middle, draft middle, stay middle. That happens when you set the bar at your coach never having a losing season. The biggest worry is “draft middle.” Drafting high is how you escape the cycle. But finishing middle doesn’t allow that....
First Call: Jalen Carter may be gone before Steelers could trade up to draft him; WPIAL pitching star to make debut
Wednesday’s “First Call” takes another look at that Jalen Carter-to-the-Steelers conversation. A familiar name in the AFC North may get moved out. We examine the NHL television ratings for the regular season. And a WPIAL standout pitcher is getting called up to the Major Leagues. No crack at Carter? If...
Pirates’ Jack Suwinski displays power to left, right fields in victory against Rockies
Before Tuesday night, Pittsburgh Pirates left-hand hitting Jack Suwinski never had hit a home run to the opposite field in the majors. But he homered into the left-field and right-field seats at Coors Field to lead the Pirates to a 5-3 victory against the Colorado Rockies. It marked his second...
Cornerback or tackle?: Former NFL GM has specific opinions on Steelers draft options
While a lot of names are being thrown around as candidates for the Pittsburgh Steelers to draft at pick No. 17, a popular plan of attack seems to have emerged within the fan base. Get the best remaining offensive tackle at 17, then the best remaining cornerback with the pick...
Pirates farm report for April 18, 2023: Matt Gorski belts grand slam in Curve win
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 7-9) gave up two in the ninth to lose to Memphis (Cardinals), 5-4. RHP Yerry De Los Santos (0-2, 8.44) gave up back-to-back homers to Luken Baker and Oscar Mercado with one out. RHP Luis Ortiz (2.08) started and went five innings, allowing four hits and one walk...
Solid pitching, big hits, David Bednar’s ‘Yinzer butt’ help Pirates defeat RockiesVideo
The victory featured seven extra-base hits, an eighth consecutive quality start and three scoreless innings from the bullpen, but it also took what Derek Shelton described as a “Yinzer butt” for the Pittsburgh Pirates to defeat the Colorado Rockies, 5-3, Tuesday night at Coors Field. With 250-pound closer David Bednar...
Belle Vernon’s Bailey Parshall becomes Penn State’s all-time leader in Ks
With an extra year of eligibility, it was just a matter of time before Bailey Parshall took over the Penn State softball record book. That time came Tuesday in University Park. They call her “Queen B” but Parshall is more like “Queen K.” The fifth-year pitcher broke two program records,...
Former Pitt players Penny Semaia, Shawn Robinson help prepare athletes for their life’s work
When they wore shoulder pads and helmets, Penny Semaia and Shawn Robinson helped former Pitt coach Walt Harris resurrect the program. Semaia toiled in the trenches as an offensive and defensive lineman; Robinson was a cornerback who intercepted six passes as a sophomore in 2000. Nearly a quarter-century later, they...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi designates potential golf tournament winnings for UPMC Children’s Hospital
With spring football concluded and nearly four months until training camp, Pat Narduzzi can catch his breath and relax — at least as much as any college football coach can relax these days. Narduzzi’s first bit of offseason relaxation will occur April 30-May 2 at the 16th annual Southern Company...
NFL Draft primer: Despite being set at tight end, Steelers could be swayed by deep class
It took until the final day of pre-draft visits for the Pittsburgh Steelers to bring a tight end prospect – Georgia’s Darnell Washington — to UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. The delay wasn’t surprising considering the Steelers return all three tight ends from the 2021 season and have no player at...
MLB uses Atlantic League to test more rule changes
PHOENIX — Major League Baseball isn’t done tinkering with potential rule changes for the sport. The league announced a series of experimental rules Tuesday that will be used in the Atlantic League this season, including a designated pinch runner, “double-hook” designated hitter rule and further limitations on a pitcher’s ability...
Per usual, many of the Penguins’ highest-quality chances involved Jake Guentzel
Generally speaking, 36-goal scorers are largely above reproach when it comes to examining a hockey club’s shortcomings. But given how the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season transpired, with the team missing the playoffs for the first time since 2006, everything and everyone is under the microscope in the aftermath. Without a doubt,...
Clippers-Suns, Knicks-Cavaliers NBA Playoffs spread plays: Best bets for April 18
BY SPENCER URQUHART | 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...
Brock Purdy’s success could open door for other QBs late in NFL draft
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Jake Haener bristles when asked about the obvious comparison to fellow experienced but undersized quarterback Brock Purdy. “I just feel like Brock is different. I’m different. There’s different things that we do in our games,” said Haener, the former Fresno State star. “Brock did a lot...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Hempfield’s Uncapher, Derry’s Perry shine in heptathlon
Clarion senior Jenna Uncapher (Hempfield) and sophomore Leah Perry (Derry) competed in the heptathlon at the Messiah Multi. Uncapher opened the Messiah Multi with a fifth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.89 seconds. She tied for fourth in the high jump (1.50 meters) and won the...
Reports: Steelers working on trade for Rams WR Allen Robinson, pending physicalVideo
After not signing a wide receiver in free agency, the Pittsburgh Steelers instead are on the verge of trading for one. According to national reports, the Steelers are in negotiations with the Los Angeles Rams on a trade for veteran receiver Allen Robinson. A trade is contingent on Robinson passing...
Behind scenes, Schwartz-Morini guiding force for Coach Prime
BOULDER, Colo. — Everyone knows Deion Sanders. Behind the scenes and not as well known is the guiding force behind his evolution from “Prime Time” to “Coach Prime.” The orchestrator, too, of the deal that brought Sanders to Boulder to revive a University of Colorado football program that’s fallen on...
Former NFL defensive end Chris Smith dead at 31
CLEVELAND — Former NFL defensive end Chris Smith, who was touched by tragedy while he played for the Cleveland Browns, has died. He was 31. Smith’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, and the Browns confirmed his passing on Tuesday. The cause of death was not immediately known. “Rest in Peace Chris,” Rosenhaus...
