Sports category, Page 1389
Penguins sign defenseman Mark Friedman to contract extensionVideo
Less than 24 hours before the NHL’s trade deadline, the Penguins secured a bit of their future. On Sunday, the team signed reserve defenseman Mark Friedman to a two-year, one-way contract extension that carries a salary cap hit of $775,000. This season, Friedman has appeared in 20 NHL games and...
Browns defend decision to add QB Deshaun Watson
Deshaun Watson’s complicated past didn’t dissuade the Cleveland Browns from betting on the quarterback’s future. He is on Cleveland’s roster, and at this point that is the only certainty with the talented yet controversial QB. Watson’s stunning trade to the Browns became official Sunday, capping a whirlwind few days during...
No. 5 Houston ousts No. 4 Illinois to reach NCAA Sweet 16
Houston just kept on dancing Sunday, long after the Cougars saw an opening and pounced. And just like that, they’re headed to their third consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. Taze Moore scored 21 points, and fifth-seeded Houston capitalized on a controversial technical foul call against No. 4 Illinois in the second...
Pirates top prospect Oneil Cruz wants to get back to majors and stay there
Oneil Cruz attempted to explain how he turned an ankles-high pitch into a 413-foot home run Saturday, crediting everything from his work in the batting cage to keeping an eye on the ball to barreling it. Then the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop prospect flashed a smile and offered the only explanation...
Cal Adomitis ready to perform for NFL scouts at Pitt’s Pro Day
The long hair is long gone, replaced by a full beard that Cal Adomitis said might one day be prime for shearing. For a good cause, of course. Adomitis was one of the stars of Pitt’s run to an ACC championship last year, on and off the field. He concluded...
Penguins’ options limited as trade deadline approaches
The Penguins roster is bound to look different after Monday’s trade deadline. After all, injured forward Jason Zucker is in the process of rehabilitating a core muscle injury that has hobbled him since December. But the possibility of any kind of transaction that would involve adding an external piece appears...
Pirates’ Mitch Keller feels ‘fine’ after taking comebacker to thigh
BRADENTON, Fla. — A day after being hit in the left thigh by a comebacker in his first spring training start, Mitch Keller was walking around the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse without any worries that it would disrupt his daily routine. “No, I don’t think so,” Keller said Sunday morning at...
Longtime NFL journalist John Clayton dies at age 67
SEATTLE — Longtime NFL journalist John Clayton died Friday following a short illness. He was 67. The Seattle Seahawks announced the death for Clayton’s family in a statement. Clayton worked for the team in recent years as a sideline reporter on radio broadcasts. Nicknamed “The Professor,” Clayton spent more than...
Minor league report: Louis Domingue, Penguins hold off CometsVideo
Goaltender Louis Domingue made 26 saves on 28 shots and led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 3-2 home win against the Utica Comets at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. Forwards Jordy Bellerive, Filip Hallander and Sam Poulin all scored for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (26-24-4-4). Highlights: The Penguins’ next game is...
Former Arizona coach, Pitt guard Sean Miller returning to XavierVideo
CINCINNATI — Former Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller returned to Xavier on Saturday, less than a year after the Wildcats fired him amid an ongoing NCAA investigation that’s stretched nearly five years. Miller replaces Travis Steele, his former assistant who was fired Wednesday after four seasons. “Xavier is thrilled to...
Saint Peter’s is 3rd 15 seed in Sweet 16, beats Murray StateVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Saint Peter’s broke the hearts of Kentuckians yet again, getting 17 points from KC Ndefo to beat Murray State, 70-60, on Saturday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and complete its rise from obscurity into the Sweet 16. Two days after tossing eight-time national champion...
Penn State wins 9th NCAA wrestling team title in 11 yearsVideo
DETROIT — Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson successfully defended his heavyweight title in his final college match, Cornell’s Yianni Diakomihalis became a three-time champion and Penn State completed a dominating run through the NCAA tournament Saturday night. Penn State wrapped up its ninth team title in 11 years hours before...
Riverhounds win home debut with Forbes’ goal in 51st minute
Dane Kelly is the all-time leading scorer in USL Championship history, and Kenardo Forbes is the all-time assist leader, but the two switched roles Saturday night. It was Kelly who dropped a pass to Forbes from well outside the 18-yard box, and he launched a rocket shot under the crossbar...
AP: Browns to trade QB Case Keenum, sign Jacoby Brissett as backupVideo
The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback carousel spun again Saturday. Twice. While Cleveland waits to officially welcome Deshaun Watson, the team agreed to trade backup quarterback Case Keenum to Buffalo and sign free agent QB Jacoby Brissett, a person familiar with the deals told the Associated Press. The Browns are sending Keenum...
Flyers trade longtime captain Claude Giroux to PanthersVideo
PHILADELPHIA — After 1,000 games and a reign as the longest-serving team captain in Flyers history, Claude Giroux is off to Florida to try to win his first Stanley Cup. Philadelphia traded Giroux on Saturday in a deal that sent this season’s All-Star game MVP to Florida in a move...
Well-traveled Sampson leads Houston into 2nd-round matchup against Illinois
When the fourth and final game of a long day of first-round NCAA Tournament action ended Friday at PPG Paints Arena, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson went through all the mandated postgame rigmarole, gathered his belongings and headed back to the team hotel with his players. It already was Saturday morning...
Duke’s Coach K, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo set for final meeting in NCAA TournamentVideo
GREENVILLE, S.C. — In a sport where the only lasting stars are the coaches, few are more recognizable than Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo. Both have spent decades at the top of their profession, with national titles, Final Fours and enshrinement in the Hall of Fame. They’ve...
Evgeni Malkin, Kasperi Kapanen snap scoring slumps as Penguins beat Coyotes
With the NHL’s trade deadline looming (Monday, 3 p.m.), the Penguins’ roster could look different in a matter of days. Or it might not. There has been little to suggest general manager Ron Hextall is in position with regards to the franchise’s salary cap flexibility to make a significant transaction....
North Carolina survives, knocks off defending champion BaylorVideo
FORT WORTH, Texas — So much for the idea North Carolina is soft against top-tier competition. These Tar Heels are going to the Sweet 16 after knocking off the defending champions. No, it wasn’t easy. The Tar Heels blew a 25-point second-half lead after Brady Manek was ejected for a...
Big East ‘statesman’ Jay Wright says transfer portal, NIL, covid lead to better basketball
Jay Wright has been Villanova’s basketball coach for 21 years, winning two national championships and averaging more than 29 victories per season since 2014. Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann called Wright the “statesman” of the Big East. His voice carries more weight than most coaches. When Wright was asked about...
Ohio State meets Villanova in Pittsburgh with Sweet 16 berth on the line
After two victories at the outset of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, Chris Holtmann and his Butler players were on their way to the school’s first Sweet 16 berth in six years. His phone was buzzing, as victors’ phones often do after a big win. A text message caught his eye...
‘Full-blown chaos:’ NASCAR preps for wild racing at AtlantaVideo
HAMPTON, Ga. — Atlanta Motor Speedway billed its striking changes as a “reimagining” of the venerable track. During a 40-minute practice session, the drivers dealt with the reality of what they’ll be facing Sunday in the NASCAR Cup race. “Full-blown chaos,” Christopher Bell said, sounding like he was finally able...
Free agent additions James Daniels, Mason Cole beef up interior of Steelers offensive line
For the second year in a row, the Pittsburgh Steelers will begin offseason workouts next month not certain about the identity of their starting center. Unlike 2021, it won’t be because of a shortage of veteran options. Thanks to the organization’s efforts in free agency, there will be candidates aplenty...
Chattanooga’s tourney appearance turns out to be Klimchock family affair
As Laura Klimchock left the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh Friday afternoon with her father, Rick, she told him she felt sick. The No. 13-seeded University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, coached by Laura’s longtime boyfriend, Lamont Paris, was about to take on heavily favored No. 4 seed Illinois in a first-round...
Mitch Keller leaves 1st spring start with left thigh bruise; Pirates hit 4 homers to top Tigers
BRADENTON, Fla. — After an offseason when Mitch Keller’s four-seam fastball touched triple digits in a bullpen session, there was anticipation he could top 100 mph in his first start of spring training. Instead, Keller was on the receiving end of one. The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander was removed with two...
