Kevin Gorman: A Pitt, Penn State or WVU national football title unlikely, not impossible
LSU’s decisive 42-25 victory over Clemson in the national championship game Monday night had analysts gushing about how it might be the best team in college football history. Not only did the Tigers beat seven top-10 teams, including the top four in the AP preseason poll, but they also ended...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel warns players, parents about too much basketball
Jeff Capel encourages young people, including and especially his 7-year-old son Elijah, to enjoy playing basketball. But the Pitt coach issued a warning Monday to parents and players that too much of a good thing isn’t necessarily for the best. The subject surfaced on the ACC coaches conference call Monday...
Pitt hopes to find its legs after exhausting loss to MiamiVideo
Jeff Capel made a thought-provoking observation after Pitt’s loss at Miami. “I thought we were exhausted,” he said Sunday night moments after Miami’s 66-58 victory. That’s a disturbing comment, especially with Pitt (11-5, 2-3 ACC) facing two more games in the next five days, starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday against...
Pitt prepares to announce plans for Victory Heights training facility
Pitt will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Petersen Events Center to reveal plans for Victory Heights, a training facility proposed by athletic director Heather Lyke in 2018 for the university’s upper campus. Lyke will be joined by Chancellor Patrick Gallagher. Also expected to attend are coaches...
Pitt rallies fall short in 7th straight loss to Miami
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Miami Hurricanes squandered a lead of 16-0, so they built a bigger one — and nearly blew that. Kameron McGusty scored 19 points, and freshman Harlond Beverly came to the rescue off the bench as Miami withstood a late rally by streaky Pitt and won...
Pitt hopes to reverse trend against Miami
The record for Pitt is not good when it comes to playing Jim Larranaga’s Miami Hurricanes. Never mind the Panthers trail in the overall series, they are 1-6 when facing Miami under Larranaga, the veteran coach in his ninth season with the Hurricanes after long, successful runs at Bowling Green...
Pitt basketball looks to carry momentum to Miami
For all the cranky comments about the progress of the Pitt basketball team, or the perceived lack of it, the fledgling Panthers find themselves with a golden opportunity Sunday to win over some of those “Doubting Thomases.” Or “Debbie Downers,” as coach Jeff Capel referred to his team’s detractors Friday...
Strength coach Dave Andrews leaving Pitt for Iowa State
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi has described strength and conditioning coach Dave Andrews as “a highly disciplined coach who instills toughness in our entire program.” Now, Andrews will attempt to do the same for the Iowa State football program. Iowa State coach Matt Campbell announced Friday that Andrews will join the...
After signing with Chicago Bears, Pitt product J.P. Holtz looks ahead to NFL future
When the call came, J.P. Holtz didn’t hesitate to get his things packed. The Shaler Area and Pitt graduate was released by the Washington Redskins in early September and was scrambling to try to catch on with the Chicago Bears a few days later. “It was pretty crazy,” Holtz said....
Central Catholic’s Gusty Sunseri commits to Pitt
Central Catholic linebacker/safety Gusty Sunseri will attend Pitt and join the football team as a preferred walk-on, he announced Thursday morning on his Twitter account. Sunseri, 6-foot, 200 pounds, was a first-team selection last season on the Pennsylvania Football News 6A all-state team. COMMITTED #H2P @coachcsanders @Pitt_FB @CoachDuzzPittFB pic.twitter.com/nk7Fo45Md6— Gusty...
Pitt rallies past North Carolina, snaps 22-game ACC road-game losing streak
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Pitt’s road skid is over. North Carolina’s problems at home are far from it. Trey McGowens scored 24 points and Pitt ended a 22-game losing streak in conference road games with a 73-65 victory against North Carolina on Wednesday night. Justin Champagnie added 22 points for...
First Call: Golden Knights’ Marc-Andre Fleury blames himself for loss; Penguins trade targets heat upVideo
Wednesday’s “First Call” features an unhappy Marc-Andre Fleury after losing to his old Penguins teammates. Two Penguins’ trade targets net goals. Bob Huggins gets fined. And the Pitt hoops team may be catching North Carolina at the right time. At least Roy Williams seems to think so. No Flower power...
Pitt rewards Jeff Capel with contract extension through 2026-27
Pitt on Wednesday made an impressive commitment to basketball coach Jeff Capel, announcing a two-year contract extension that carries him through the 2026-27 season. Capel, who was hired to replace Kevin Stallings after the 2017-18 season, took a Pitt team that was 8-24 and winless in the ACC and led...
Could victory against North Carolina launch Pitt to greater heights?
Six years ago in Pitt’s first ACC Tournament game, the Panthers ventured deep onto the conference footprint and defeated North Carolina, 80-75, in Greensboro Coliseum. Jamie Dixon’s team repeated the victory a year later, 89-76, at Petersen Events Center. Enjoy the memory, Pitt fans. North Carolina has won the past...
Steelers sign former Pitt running back Darrin HallVideo
For the third time in the past 10 weeks, former Pitt star Darrin Hall signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. A 1,000-yard rusher for the Panthers in 2018, Hall signed a reserve/future deal Tuesday. Hall twice over the second half of this past season had short stints on the...
Pitt volleyball setter Maddie Soboleski transfers to South AlabamaVideo
Pitt redshirt freshman setter Maddie Soboleski, who last season ranked second in assists for the ACC women’s volleyball champion Panthers, has transferred to South Alabama. Soboleski, an Edinboro native, announced the move Tuesday on her Instagram account, and the transfer was confirmed by the Pitt athletic department. She recorded 140...
Pitt wide receiver Cameron O’Neil will transfer
Wide receiver Cameron O’Neil, who was an all-state player in Alabama in 2017 before coming to Pitt, has decided to transfer. O’Neil redshirted in 2018 and did not appear in any games this season. He was not part of the rotation at wide receiver that included seniors Maurice Ffrench and...
When Pitt comes to North Carolina, coach Roy Williams seeks more than historic winVideo
Roy Williams has presided over 1,119 college basketball games — not counting 11 seasons when he was a Dean Smith assistant at North Carolina. He needs one victory to pass Smith and stand fourth among Division I men’s coaches, behind Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim and Bob Knight. Historic...
Pitt acted swiftly to get transfer quarterback Joey Yellen on board
Quarterback Joey Yellen wasn’t in the transfer portal long last month before Pitt offensive coordinator Mark Whipple reached out to him. And, now, Yellen, a transfer from Arizona State, finds himself in Whipple’s meeting room, hoping to one day take snaps from center in Pitt’s offense. The Tribune-Review and other...
Kevin Gorman: Pitt needs dynamic duo to trust in each other, teammatesVideo
Xavier Johnson was trying to make a play in the final seconds, with Pitt trailing by a point. What transpired left Jeff Capel fuming and frustrated, trying to make a point about how to play. It wasn’t just because Johnson picked up his dribble at the right elbow or because...
Pitt wastes big lead in loss to Wake ForestVideo
The question facing Pitt on Saturday after its 69-65 loss to Wake Forest was this: What was more distressing? • Losing to what looks to be a second-tier ACC team. Wake Forest (8-5, 1-2) came into the game ranked 106th in the NCAA Net rankings, 12th in the 15-team conference....
Pitt forward Au’Diese Toney will miss Wake Forest game with elbow injury
Sophomore forward Au’Diese Toney, who has missed only nine starts in 45 career games, injured his elbow in practice this week and will not play Saturday when Pitt resumes ACC play against Wake Forest at Petersen Events Center. Toney’s absence will be a blow to coach Jeff Capel, who has...
3 thoughts to ponder while Pitt returns to ACC action vs. Wake Forest
Two games into the ACC season with a third upcoming Saturday against Wake Forest at Petersen Events Center, there is talk around town of Pitt playing beyond the conference tournament. That hasn’t happened since Jamie Dixon left town nearly four years ago. Pitt vs. Duquesne in the NIT, anyone? OK,...
Arizona State QB Joey Yellen transfers to Pitt
Joey Yellen, who was a freshman quarterback at Arizona State last season, has transferred to Pitt and will start classes Monday, a source close to the situation told the Tribune-Review. In his only season at Arizona State, Yellen started one game – a 31-26 loss to USC – and completed...
Pitt plunging back into ACC, preparing for ‘dogfight’Video
The script has flipped in the ACC this season. After six teams finished among the top 23 in the final KenPom rankings last season, only four — No. 1 Duke, No. 4 Louisville, No. 20 Florida State and No. 30 and defending national champion Virginia — are in the top...
