Football Footnotes: Our annual season-ending Super Bowl betting edition
Last year’s Super Bowl was 24-0 Philadelphia before halftime. How did I stay interested in the game? Gambling, my friends. Gambling. I had bets all over the board. Big ones, little ones. Hefty ones. Mini ones. From conventional to exotic. From basic to bananas. I did all that … to...
Pirates by position: Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds look to bounce back; expect battle in left field
Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds are considered unquestioned starters who compose two-thirds of the outfield for the Pittsburgh Pirates, yet both provided plenty of question marks last season. With Cruz in center field and Reynolds in right, the Pirates are more concerned with who will cover the cavernous ground in...
Former Steeler Robert Spillane goes from undrafted free agent to Super Bowl captain with PatriotsVideo
Born in the mid-1990s in Chicago, Robert Spillane shares something with many of his contemporaries who happen to have been raised in the Pittsburgh area. Super Bowl XLIII made quite the impression on him. Now a linebacker with the New England Patriots, Spillane while in the Bay Area this past...
Hempfield alum Jasmine Jones sprints past challenges to reach Olympic dream
She crashed once, then seven more times, whipping around sharp turns in a twisting bobsled going more than 90 mph. Key people were watching. People who held the keys to unlocking her Olympic dream. People who now had doubts. Jeannette native Jasmine Jones also was a wreck emotionally. The sprinter-turned-Olympic...
Penguins assign forwards Avery Hayes, Rutger McGroarty to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
With the NHL entering its Olympic break, the Pittsburgh Penguins assigned rookie forwards Avery Hayes and Rutger McGroarty to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Friday. The team did not announce the transactions but they were reflected on the AHL’s website in the early hours of Friday morning....
Larry Fitzgerald to become 11th Pitt player enshrined in Pro Football Hall of Fame
Larry Fitzgerald once wore a gold helmet, but now he’s getting a gold jacket. The former record-setting receiver at Pitt will be enshrined this summer in the Pro Football Hall of Fame following a legendary 17-year NFL career that left no doubt he’d someday reach Canton. Ultimately, he got there...
Rams’ Matthew Stafford edges Patriots’ Drake Maye for the AP NFL MVP award
SAN FRANCISCO — Matthew Stafford edged Drake Maye for the AP NFL MVP award Thursday night in the closest race since Peyton Manning and Steve McNair were co-winners in 2003. Stafford received 24 of 50 first-place votes while Maye got 23. But Maye has a chance to go home this...
4-time Super Bowl champion L.C. Greenwood denied spot in Hall of Fame
Four-time Super Bowl champion L.C. Greenwood was again denied a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The late Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman was among three senior finalists, but only running back Roger Craig received enough votes from the 50-person hall of fame committee for induction, the NFL revealed...
Rookie Avery Hayes sparks Penguins’ win against Sabres
Despite dressing a lineup that had more pockmarks than one might find in February during the 221-mile drive between the Steel City and the Nickel City, the Pittsburgh Penguins claimed a 5-2 victory against the Buffalo Sabres at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. on Thursday as they entered the...
Honor Huff leads West Virginia’s rally in Big 12 victory over Cincinnati
CINCINNATI — Honor Huff scored 16 points, all in the second half, and dished six assists as West Virginia rallied from a double-digit deficit to defeat Cincinnati, 59-54, on Thursday night. Huff scored 11 points in a row amid a 16-2 rally midway through the second half that gave the...
7 Pirates, including Paul Skenes, named to World Baseball Classic rosters
Rosters for the 20 teams in the 2026 World Baseball Classic were revealed Thursday evening, including seven Pittsburgh Pirates players. Paul Skenes (United States), Oneil Cruz, Dennis Santana and Gregory Soto (Dominican Republic), Spencer Horwitz (Israel), Nick Gonzales (Mexico) and Kyle Nicolas (Italy) will play in the international tournament held...
WR Cooper Kupp leading way on, off field for Seahawks ahead of Super BowlVideo
SAN JOSE, Calif. — While Cooper Kupp donned a T-shirt Thursday in vehement support of quarterback Sam Darnold, the veteran wide receiver simultaneously received heaps of praise from his teammates. Four years removed from the most productive season of his career, Kupp will become the sixth player in NFL history...
Burnett scores career-high 31, No. 2 Michigan routs Penn State to reach school-record 21-1 mark
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Nimari Burnett scored a career-high 31 points, leading No. 2 Michigan to a 110-69 win over Penn State on Thursday night. The Wolverines have won seven straight to set a school record with a 21-1 overall record. They are 11-1 in the Big Ten, tied atop...
Gotterup shoots 63, Scheffler struggles in 1st round of Phoenix Open
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Chris Gotterup seems to have figured out TPC Scottsdale, giving him a chance to finally see the Saturday spectacle of the Phoenix Open. Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler will need to go low in his next round if he’s going to get to the weekend. Gotterup shot a bogey-free...
There is Olympic gold in the air up there, but many of these daredevils aren’t huge fans
LIVIGNO, Italy — Ask freestyle skier Colby Stevenson if he likes big air, the most high-flying event in a sport full of them, and his answer is short and to the point. “No,’ he said. “I have no real use for it.” Which makes him pretty much like a lot...
1980 U.S. ‘Miracle on Ice’ hockey team looks back on run as Olympics arrive
From the coffee shops and bars to the local grocery stores, the neighbors know all about Mike Eruzione, Buzz Schneider and John Harrington for their roles in one of the greatest upsets in the history of sports. They are long since retired, now more focused on their golf games than...
U.S. opens women’s Olympic hockey tournament with rout of Czechia
MILAN — Of all the elite players making up the U.S. women’s national team’s roster, coach John Wroblewski insisted the one he couldn’t do without at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games was Hayley Scamurra. It’s a decision Wroblewski made upon taking over the team four years ago. and one immediately...
Patriots OC Josh McDaniels takes winding path, returns to Super Bowl for 10th time
SAN JOSE, Calif. — When it comes to being an offensive coordinator in the NFL, few coaches have fared better than New England’s Josh McDaniels. As a head coach, it’s been a completely different story. The six-time Super Bowl champion is back in the title game after taking a one-year...
Make-A-Wish grants Super Bowl dream for Pittsburgh teen
Connor Hennick, a 14-year-old, has dreamed of going to the Super Bowl for as long as he can remember. Now, the self-declared lifelong Steelers fan is headed to the San Francisco Bay Area for the Super Bowl LX through Make-A-Wish. The Hennick family, of McCandless, arrived at their hotel around...
Teen sensation Connor Zilisch is the most hyped NASCAR rookie since possibly Jeff Gordon
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As sleet pelted Bowman Gray Stadium during NASCAR’s preseason warm-up race, multiple drivers complained about poor visibility and the wet track conditions. One of them — the youngest driver in the field — hit the button on his radio and grumbled it was time to get back...
U.S. figure skating squad chasing more Olympic gold as competition set to start
MILAN — The powerful U.S. figure skating squad will have its first opportunity to shine at the Winter Olympics on Friday when the team competition begins at the Milano Ice Skating Arena just hours before the opening ceremony. The Americans are the defending champions in the event. After they were...
Tarik Skubal wins salary arbitration case, will be paid record $32 million
Tarik Skubal won his salary arbitration hearing with the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, and the two-time Cy Young Award winner will be paid a record $32 million this year instead of the team’s $19 million offer. Jeanne Charles, Walt De Treux and Allen Ponak made the decision one day after...
Antetokounmpo remains with Bucks as NBA trade deadline passes
Giannis Antetokounmpo remained with the Milwaukee Bucks while plenty of other players changed addresses as the NBA trade deadline passed Thursday. Antetokounmpo had been the center of attention heading into the trade deadline amid reports that the Milwaukee Bucks started listening to offers for the two-time MVP and nine-time all-NBA...
Pirates add pitching depth by signing righty Jose Urquidy
The Pittsburgh Pirates struck out on another top free agent target when left-handed pitcher Framber Valdez signed with the Detroit Tigers but added one of his former teammates Thursday. The Pirates agreed to sign right-hander Jose Urquidy to a one-year, $1.5 million contract, a source confirmed to TribLive. The 30-year-old...
Penguins recall forward Avery Hayes from AHL ahead of game in Buffalo
The Pittsburgh Penguins recalled forward Avery Hayes from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Thursday, setting up a possible NHL debut for the former undrafted winger. Hayes, 23, has scored 13 goals with 10 assists in 31 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season. He was one of the AHL club’s...
