Sports category, Page 981
Rory McIlroy returns to Masters in search of green jacket
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rory McIlroy has had plenty of memorable moments on the back nine on Sunday, but two of the best have had nothing to do with the four-time major champion holding up a trophy at the end. One came in 2018, when McIlroy was paired with Tiger Woods...
Thunder-Warriors spread play, MLB first five innings parlay: Best bets for April 4
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...
Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks among 3 prospects to visit with Steelers
On a day when the Pittsburgh Steelers brought in three more college prospects for pre-draft visits, they interviewed another top cornerback in addition to two players from N.C. State. Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks, who could be taken in the first round, visited UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Tuesday, along with...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Franklin Regional grad Jake Williams belts walk-off for Yale
Jake Williams took a gap year after he left Franklin Regional and enrolled at Yale. Now, he is hitting gap shots for the baseball team. Williams, a junior, was a hero last week for the Bulldogs when he capped a four-hit game with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom...
Penguins prospect Joel Blomqvist signs tryout with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Penguins goaltending prospect Joel Blomqvist signed an amateur tryout contract (ATO) Tuesday with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) for the remainder of the season. A second-round pick (No. 52 overall) of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2020, Blomqvist is considered one of the organization’s top prospects. Up until this...
On Sports: Recalling when UConn’s championship coach picked Huskies over Pitt; Penguins start critical 5-game stretch
Dan Hurley proved himself a national championship-caliber coach. Could it have happened in … Pittsburgh? Speaking of Monday’s men’s national title game, it was a tough act to follow in regards to viewership after the women’s game Sunday. Unlike college basketball, the NHL isn’t a single-elimination sport. But the Penguins...
Celebrations, destruction on campus follow UConn victory
STORRS, Conn. — Some UConn fans pulled down signs and light poles, smashed windows and caused other damage after thousands of people, most of them students, spilled onto campus after watching the Huskies’ NCAA Tournament win over San Diego State. Fifteen people had been arrested by early Tuesday and 16...
Adama Sanogo snags ball, Most Outstanding Player honors for UConn in NCAA title win
HOUSTON — Adama Sanogo stood on the sideline watching his UConn teammates dribble out the final seconds to secure the program’s fifth NCAA championship. He looked eager, ready to sprint in at the first chance. When the horn sounded, reserve Andrew Hurley used both hands to spike the basketball near...
NHL’s Pride nights collide with LGBTQ+ political climate
Sports leagues and teams often use Pride nights to raise the visibility and acceptance of LGBTQ+ people — as well as sell them tickets — and the NHL has been a leader. They can include special jerseys designed by LGBTQ+ artists, performances, information tables, even drag performances. And they’re largely...
UConn March Madness steamroller could be start of a new era
HOUSTON — There was a short list of believers in the potential of a rebuilt UConn roster before the season started. It was made up mostly of the UConn players and coaches themselves. The team that was among “others receiving votes” in the first AP poll of the season ended...
Draft prep 101: Potential draft picks speak to evolving look of Steelers defensive frontVideo
Each day this week, “Breakfast With Benz” will get you ready for this month’s NFL Draft by posting daily “Draft 101” podcasts. Former NFL and college scout and current Steelers Nation Radio host Matt Williamson joins Tim Benz for daily podcasts breaking down draft-eligible players in different position groups. Tuesday...
‘Air’ follows Trafford native’s pursuit of Michael Jordan for NikeVideo
Most people won’t get a chance to see a movie made about their lives — much less see themselves portrayed by A-list Hollywood leading man Matt Damon. Trafford native John “Sonny” Vaccaro is about to get both. “Air: Courting a Legend” premieres Wednesday in theaters nationwide. Directed by Ben Affleck,...
UConn caps dominant tournament run with rout of San Diego State
HOUSTON — After six games and 240 minutes of pure dominance that ran through March, then part of April, it finally became clear there was only one thing that could stop the UConn Huskies. The final buzzer. The team from Storrs, Conn., topped off one of the most impressive March...
Carson Briere dismissed from Mercyhurst hockey team
ERIE — The son of Philadelphia Flyers interim general manager Danny Briere has been dismissed from the Mercyhurst University men’s hockey team after a video showed him and another athlete at the school pushing an unoccupied wheelchair down a staircase. Mercyhurst posted Monday night on Twitter that Carson Briere “has...
Bryan Reynolds overcomes muffed fly ball, homers twice to help Pirates defeat Red Sox
Teammates at Vanderbilt and best friends off the field, Bryan Reynolds and Jason Delay were drafted in 2016 by the San Francisco Giants. Nearly seven years later on Monday night, circumstances placed them in Boston’s Fenway Park, teammates again. This time, members of the Pittsburgh Pirates. And as the first...
‘You can be (ticked) off’: Henry Davis, Pirates prospects motivated by assignment to Altoona
ALTOONA — Henry Davis was blunt as could be about his minor-league assignment, starting this season with the Altoona Curve again after finishing last year with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Double-A affiliate. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, the 23-year-old catcher doesn’t dance around any notions that...
Stephen F. Austin’s Mark Kellogg named WVU women’s coachVideo
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Stephen F. Austin women’s basketball coach Mark Kellogg was named to the same position at West Virginia on Monday. Kellogg compiled a 195-55 record in eight seasons at Stephen F. Austin, leading the Ladyjacks to two conference tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2021 and 2022....
LIV’s Cam Smith happy to get hugs and handshakes at AugustaVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Cameron Smith returned to the Masters on Monday with a small measure of trepidation, an unusual feeling for someone who has contended two of the last three years and who refers to Augusta National as his “happy place.” Smith is with LIV Golf, the last big name...
Rendon suspension reduced to 4 games by MLB, appeal droppedVideo
NEW YORK — Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon says he is dropping his appeal after his suspension was reduced to four games by Major League Baseball for his altercation with a fan last week. Rendon spoke before the Angels opened a series in Seattle on Monday night and...
2023 Masters odds: Scheffler, McIlroy, Rahm big favorites
BY ZACH EWING The first golf major tournament of the 2023 season is upon us: It’s time for The Masters. The week in Augusta, Georgia, is a magical time in the golf world, and this year will be no different, with plenty of storylines and betting options, especially considering the...
MLB owners ratify minor league collective bargaining deal
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball owners unanimously approved an initial five-year labor contract with minor league players on Monday that will more than double player salaries. The agreement was reached last Wednesday and ratified by players on Friday. Minor league players formed a bargaining unit during a rapid 17-day...
NCAA men’s national championship pick, plus an MLB run total: Best bets for April 3
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...
MLB game times cut 30 minutes, steals double under new rules
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball’s new rules are working as hoped through the first four days of the season. The average game time has dropped by 30 minutes, stolen bases have doubled and batting average has increased by 16 percentage points compared to last year’s opening weekend. Games averaged...
Penn-Trafford grad Mario Disso minimizes mistakes in field, at plate for Pitt-Johnstown baseballVideo
When Carmen Disso would take his son, Dominic, to the baseball field to practice snagging grounders, his other son, Mario, tagged along. Mario Disso might have been six years younger than his brother, but he didn’t get any special treatment when it came to the grounders that were sent his...
With eye toward MMA career, Greensburg native Mataeo Garner makes pro boxing debut
When Mataeo “Top Ape” Garner, 26, of Greensburg, competed in his first jiu-jitsu tournament at 21, he knew his future would be in combat sports. “My favorite part of the process was just learning, I guess I would say, like learning about my game,” Garner said. “Knowing that I have...
