Sports category, Page 1029
NFL Draft primer: Texas running back trying to bring first-round value back to position
The latest barometer for how much — or how little — teams covet top running back prospects will be presented in the first round of the NFL Draft. Texas junior Bijan Robinson tallied the highest production score and the second-best athleticism rating at the NFL Combine. Draft analysts have Robinson...
With experienced hands, Phil Jurkovec holds the keys to Pitt’s offense
Phil Jurkovec turns 24 on Nov. 3, the day before Pitt plays Florida State, which (if all goes as well as some of the spring forecasts are insisting) could be a monumental game between two of the ACC’s best teams. You are reminded of Jurkovec’s birthday not to flood him...
Pirates place LHP Rob Zastryzny on 15-day IL with left elbow discomfort, recall Yohan Ramirez
A day after Rob Zastryzny allowed one run on one hit and two walks at St. Louis, the Pittsburgh Pirates placed the left-handed reliever on the 15-day injured list with left elbow discomfort. Pirates senior vice president of baseball operations Bryan Stroh, filling in for the general manager on the...
Brian Dumoulin among several Penguins players whose future is uncertain
In the annals of rock and roll, a select few individuals have been presented with the honorary title of “fifth Beatle,” recognizing their contributions to the highest-selling musical act of all-time. For the Pittsburgh Penguins, their hockey equivalent of the “Fab Four” undoubtedly is the trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni...
A spread and triple-double play in the NBA on Sunday: Best bets for April 16
BY GABE HENDERSON | 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...
Penn State Blue-White takeaways: Nittany Lions’ offense far from the finished product
STATE COLLEGE — The next time Penn State fans will be back in Beaver Stadium will be the Sept. 2 season opener against West Virginia. By then, the Nittany Lions will have gone through an offseason filled with internal hope and external expectations. We’ll find out in due time if...
Minor league report: Penguins, Nailers each lose season finalesVideo
Defenseman Ty Smith and forward Valtteri Puustinen each had a goal and two assists for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins who lost their season finale, 5-4, in overtime to the Charlotte Checkers at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. Forward Drake Caggiula recorded two assists for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (26-32-8-6) while forwards Ty...
Pirates farm report for April 15, 2023: Endy Rodriguez homers as Indy finally wins at home
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 6-8) ended a seven-game home losing streak with a 9-2 victory over St. Paul (Twins). C Endy Rodriguez (.267) went 3 for 5 with a home run, his second. SS Nick Gonzales (.275) went 4 for 5 with two doubles and a triple. 1B Miguel Andujar (.250) went...
Riverhounds get something off their chest in win over Rio Grande Valley
Albert Dikwa has scored plenty of goals with his right foot in his two-plus years with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, but Saturday he used a different area of his body. In the 49th minute, Dikwa finished off a nice cross from Luke Biasi by using his chest to direct the ball...
Pitt notebook: Pat Narduzzi likes the ‘juice’ safety P.J. O’Brien brings to the defense
Pitt free safety P.J. O’Brien stood behind the podium, talking in staccato bursts, repeatedly clapping his hands for emphasis. If he plays football with the same enthusiasm, Pitt’s tradition of strong safety play — from Jordan Whitehead to Damar Hamlin to Erick Hallett to Brandon Hill — will continue. Pitt’s...
Defense dominates Blue-White, but QB Allar shows his potential for Penn StateVideo
STATE COLLEGE — Drew Allar’s path to the starting quarterback job at Penn State seems clear, even though Saturday afternoon’s Blue-White game was largely a defensive struggle. The Blue team edged the White, 10-0, at Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions’ top two quarterbacks, Allar and Beau Pribula, handled most of...
Everybody wins when brother competes against brother in Pitt’s spring game
Maybe Pat Narduzzi was kidding when he said the spring game winners eat steak and lobster whereas the losers will be served tofu for dinner. Actually, there were only winners Saturday during Pitt’s Blue-Gold game at Acrisure Stadium where the defense defeated the offense, 33-32, according to Narduzzi’s three-layered scoring...
Andrew McCutchen’s homer in 10th lifts Pirates past Cardinals
On Jackie Robinson Day, Andrew McCutchen paid tribute to the man who broke baseball’s color barrier with a home run and a hat tip. McCutchen, one of four Black American players on the Pittsburgh Pirates, hit a towering two-run leadoff homer in the top of the 10th inning to boost...
Lower Burrell author Girardi takes up cause of girls sports in her works
Tamara Girardi writes fictional sports stories that are based on her observations of the sometimes polarizing, always changing landscape of female sports. Things she has seen, heard about and even experienced are woven into the fabric of seven books the Lower Burrell author has published in the last year. The...
Elliott makes return at Martinsville after breaking legVideo
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Chase Elliott makes his return to racing this weekend at Martinsville Speedway with one thing on his mind: winning. And that approach won’t change the rest of the season. Elliott has missed the last six Cup Series races after breaking his leg during a freak snowboarding accident...
Tristan Jarry headlines Penguins’ most prominent free agents
The vagueness of how injuries are released by NHL clubs, with designations rarely offering any specification beyond “upper-body” or “lower-body,” often creates more questions than answers when players get banged up. Naturally, speculation then ensues, as media and fans try to discern more precise details. No Pittsburgh Penguins player personified...
The Pirates remain longshots to win the NL Central
BY COREY LONG | Home Field Sports Contributor The Pittsburgh Pirates experienced somewhat of a roller coaster in its first week without shortstop Oneil Cruz, alternating wins and losses. Cruz, who fractured his ankle last Sunday against the White Sox, is expected to miss at least four months. The Pirates...
An NBA under play and a Premier League same game parlay: Best Bets for April 15
BY GABE HENDERSON | 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...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Penguins have to extend or trade Jake Guentzel this offseason
The Penguins’ offseason will be one of difficult decisions. One of the primary ones involves winger Jake Guentzel. Guentzel, 28, is heading into the last year of a contract that pays $6 million annually. He had a quietly effective season, collecting 36 goals and 37 assists in 78 games. Listed...
Pirates place 1B/DH Ji-Man Choi on IL with Achilles strain, recall INF-OF Tucupita Marcano
The Pittsburgh Pirates took a big bat out of the middle of their batting order when first baseman/designated hitter Ji-Man Choi was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a strain of his left Achilles tendon. To replace Choi on the active roster, the Pirates recalled infielder/outfielder Tucupita Marcano...
The Penguins limp into an early offseason with an uncertain future
Sidney Crosby detests free time. He abhors it almost as much as a clingy opposing third-line center hassling him for a puck or yapping personal insults. So, given the Pittsburgh Penguins’ failure to qualify for the NHL’s postseason that begins Monday, this won’t be an enjoyable summer for the team’s...
Johnsons win the spring, Karter and Nahki named most improved players at Pitt drills
In advance of the Blue-Gold Game on Saturday afternoon, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi named two Johnsons — tight end Karter and defensive end Nahki — winners of the Ed Conway Award, emblematic of the most improved players during spring drills. Johnson, who transferred last year from Butler (Kan.) Community College,...
NFL Draft primer: Flawed, yet talented QB group can be found at head of class
After a one-year hiatus, quarterbacks will be back in demand early in the NFL Draft. Passers could be taken in four of the first five selections, a contrast to the 2022 class when no quarterbacks were taken until the Pittsburgh Steelers grabbed Pitt’s Kenny Pickett with the No. 20 overall...
Plum JO wrestlers place at state tournaments
A trio of Plum youth wrestlers — Nicholas Pifer, AJ Pifer and Ethan Schwartz — qualified for and took part in the Keystone State Tournament March 17-19, at IUP’s Kovalchick Center. AJ Pifer and Schwartz also qualified for the Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling State Tournament March 25-26, at Pitt’s Petersen Events...
NHL playoffs: Devils-Rangers, Bolts-Leafs highlight openers
After six weeks of hopeful excitement that his New Jersey Devils would face the New York Rangers in the opening round of the playoffs, Erik Haula had a simple, sarcastic take: “Here we are.” And the playoffs are finally here, too. Devils vs. Rangers in another chapter of their bitter...
