Sports category, Page 971
Pirates’ Vince Velasquez, 3 relievers blank Cardinals, Ji Hwan Bae shines in center field
The Pittsburgh Pirates launched a seven-game road trip through St. Louis and Denver with a 5-0 victory Thursday night against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. It was only one good game in a current seven-day stretch in which the team has alternated victories and defeats (4-3), but it was pleasing...
Penguins enter offseason after overtime loss to Blue Jackets
Sidney Crosby did something he hasn’t accomplished with much frequency throughout his nonpareil career. Play every game of a regular season. With Thursday’s 3-2 overtime loss to Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in nearby Columbus, Ohio, Crosby suited up for this 82nd contest of the 2022-23 campaign. It marked...
Scotty Bowman embracing hockey retirement role
TAMPA, Fla. — When Scotty Bowman left the Chicago Blackhawks a year ago, he was open to taking another job. During the course of this season, the 89-year old Hall of Famer discovered not working for a team can be a good thing. Now, the record-holding, nine-time Stanley Cup winning...
Ravens’ Odell Beckham says he has no assurances on Lamar Jackson’s statusVideo
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Odell Beckham Jr. can’t make any promises about Lamar Jackson’s future, although his preference is obvious. “The goal was to come here and have that possibility to play with him,” Beckham said. “I didn’t get any assurances for anything. Life’s uncertain. I think we don’t know...
Rangers, Islanders, Devils give Big Apple flavor to NHL playoffsVideo
Keith Yandle walked into coffee shops when he played hockey in New York and would hear people talking about the next Rangers game against the Islanders or the New Jersey Devils. “When you play those teams, even during the regular season, it adds a little bit more,” Yandle said. “Those...
Pitt’s Dayon Hayes living up to high standards set by defensive line coach Charlie Partridge
Charlie Partridge has been a guiding light for football players at Pitt, Wisconsin and five other schools since four years before the turn of the century. In that time, he has coached All-American defensive linemen who became pros such as J.J. Watt, Patrick Jones, Rashad Weaver, Jalen Twyman and (soon...
The losing is done, NBA teams now await 7-foot-3 WembanyamaVideo
Gregg Popovich placed his left thumb on the inside of his right wrist, paused for a couple of moments and then confirmed that, yes, he has a pulse. It was also an indication when asked that, yes, he is thinking about Victor Wembanyama. There are very specific rules that teams...
MLB parlay of favorites and a total in The Bronx: Best Bets for April 13
BY JIM DERRY | 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...
Chase Elliott vows to continue snowboarding after accidentVideo
Chase Elliott won’t stop snowboarding or any of the other off-track activities he enjoys, even after an accident in Colorado sidelined NASCAR’s most popular driver with a broken leg. Elliott will return this weekend at Martinsville Speedway after missing six Cup races with a broken left tibia that he suffered...
Rays tie record with 13-0 start, rally to beat Red Sox 9-3Video
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays tied MLB’s post-1900 record for 13 consecutive wins to start a season, rallying to beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-3, on Thursday behind a seven-run fifth inning that Harold Ramirez began and capped with doubles. Tampa Bay matched the 13-0 start of...
Penguins assign defenseman Mark Friedman to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Mark Friedman was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) after clearing waivers Thursday afternoon. Having bounced between the NHL and AHL rosters much of the season, Friedman, a right-handed shot, has appeared in 23 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins and scored three points (one...
Once-fired NHL coaches thrive with new playoff-bound teams
LAS VEGAS — Bruce Cassidy didn’t think his job was in jeopardy, having taken Boston to the NHL playoffs all six seasons as coach and serving in the Bruins’ system for 14 years. When he was fired on June 6, Cassidy was shocked and upset … for a few hours....
AP source: Harris/Rales group has deal to buy Commanders
A group led by Josh Harris and Mitchell Rales that includes Magic Johnson has an agreement in principle to buy the NFL’s Washington Commanders from longtime owner Dan Snyder for a North American professional sports team record $6 billion, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person...
Which wide receiver will be drafted first in the 2023 NFL Draft? See latest odds
BY GABE HENDERSON | Home Field Sports It’s no secret that the wide receiver class in the 2023 NFL Draft is special. There are a handful of NFL-ready receivers prepared to go on night one. Teams are circling as they’re eager to get these future stars to put pen to...
Browns drop agreement with FirstEnergy, change stadium name
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns ended their stadium naming rights partnership with FirstEnergy Corp. after 10 years, and will return to their lakefront stadium being called Cleveland Browns Stadium. The sides announced the agreement Thursday. Terms and conditions were not disclosed. FirstEnergy’s partnership with the NFL franchise came under scrutiny...
WVU receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton among 2 prospects to meet with Steelers
Among the two players to visit the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday was a wide receiver who had to make the short commute up Interstate 79 from Morgantown, W.Va. Bryce Ford-Wheaton, a 6-foot-4, 221-pound receiving threat, and Bowling Green defensive end Karl Brooks conducted top-30 visits at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex....
First QB helmet designed to help reduce concussions approved
The first quarterback-specific helmet designed to help reduce concussions has been approved for use by the NFL and NFLPA, the AP has learned. The helmet, manufactured by Vicis, reduces severity of helmet-to-ground impacts, which league data says account for approximately half of quarterback concussions, including the one suffered by Miami’s...
Blackhawks announce Toews will not be back next season
CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews will not return to the team next year, ending a wildly successful run that included three Stanley Cup championships in 15 seasons. General manager Kyle Davidson said Thursday that the team will not re-sign its longtime center, who turns 35 on April 29....
Penn State wideout Harrison Wallace III has taken a step forward this spring, but how big of a step?
When Penn State needed a wideout to break out and replace KJ Hamler after the 2019 season, Jahan Dotson stepped up and produced two elite years. After Dotson left the Nittany Lions to enter the 2022 NFL Draft, PSU leaned on the 1-2 punch of Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley....
Peter Skoronski stands apart in NFL draft class of legacy players
INDIANAPOLIS — Peter Skoronski looks like a custom-built NFL offensive lineman. He stands 6-foot-4, weighs 313 pounds and has 10-inch hands. He earned all-Big Ten honors three straight years at Northwestern, was named the league’s top lineman last season and honed his skills by working against defensive lineman Adetomiwa Adebawore,...
Women’s tennis tour ends Peng Shuai-inspired China boycott
The women’s professional tennis tour will bring its events back to China later this year, announcing on Thursday the end of a boycott instituted in late 2021 over concerns about the safety of former player Peng Shuai after she accused a high-ranking government official there of sexual assault. WTA Chairman...
First Call: A new Steeler has draft advice for the franchise; local MLB star signs big contract
A new Pittsburgh Steeler is giving out draft advice to the franchise. A Penn State alum is unhappy with his franchise tag. A local baseball star just hit it rich. And college hockey is catching on with ESPN viewers. All that in Thursday’s “First Call.” Pat Pete playing GM? Appearing...
Tim Benz: Plenty of worthy goats, sacrificial lambs after Penguins’ elimination — but no room for sacred cows
When we first heard the “Fi-re Hex-tall” chants from Pittsburgh Penguins fans at PPG Paints Arena during a 7-2 beatdown from the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 24, they really resonated. As general manager of the Penguins, Ron Hextall assumed a job that can’t escape criticism. His predecessors — Craig Patrick,...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: With JT Brubaker out, Pirates starting to sweat starting pitching depth
When Ben Cherington dabbed a black towel on the beads of perspiration on his forehead while talking to reporters Wednesday morning near the home dugout at PNC Park, it appeared the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager was battling the sunshine on his face. Then again, he could have been sweating about...
Pirates farm report for April 12, 2023: Mason Martin homers twice in Altoona win
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 5-6) struggled to get the bats going in a 5-1 loss to St. Paul (Twins). C Grant Koch (.200) was 1 for 3 and drove in the only Indians run with an RBI single. SS Tucupita Marcano (.405) was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. RF Travis Swaggerty...
