Sports category, Page 1430
First Call: ESPN’s QB projection for all of NFL; Steelers assistant Teryl Austin injected into Brian Flores conversation
ESPN.com’s NFL quarterback predictions won’t get Steelers nation very excited. One former Pittsburgh Steeler is in the mix for a coaching promotion, while another is pulling out of one contest. And Steelers assistant coach Teryl Austin has been thrown into the Brian Flores conversation regarding the topic of valid coaching...
Tim Benz: Tom Brady’s retirement offers more than just memories of bitter defeat for Steelers fans
With Tom Brady’s retirement from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week, that assures one thing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Well, two things. First of all, there’s another team that is now thrust into the offseason quarterback carousel (unless head coach Bruce Arians really believes his own Blaine Gabbert hype). Secondly,...
With both coaches in place, Robert Morris men’s and women’s hockey can focus on rebuilding rosters
For the recently reinstated Robert Morris University ice hockey programs, maybe these were the last of the first steps toward a return to the ice. With two head coaches now entrenched, the big strides toward rebuilding can truly begin. Both programs were cut by the university in May 2021. But...
Was Trai Turner’s first season with the Steelers also his last?
Trai Turner joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in June. Was he done with them by January? Turner during the 2021 season dutifully filled his designated role as starting right guard and steadying veteran presence for a young offensive line. But he played under a one-year contract which, by its nature, suggests...
Rams’ Matthew Stafford hopes to follow in Clayton Kershaw’s footsteps
LOS ANGELES — Matthew Stafford got a call this week from a childhood friend who knows a little something about waiting a long time to win his first championship. Clayton Kershaw is hoping to be at SoFi Stadium next Sunday when Stafford leads the Los Angeles Rams (15-5) in search...
Jaguars name Doug Pederson as next coach
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars hired Doug Pederson as their head coach Thursday night, ending a wild and winding search that ended up where it started more than a month ago. Pederson, who led the Philadelphia Eagles to their lone Super Bowl title, was Jacksonville’s first candidate interviewed when...
Browns owner: Hue Jackson ‘never accepted’ blame for losing
CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam denied paying former coach Hue Jackson for losing games and said his one-time employee is only good at “pointing fingers” and needs to accept some blame for his dreadful NFL record. Earlier this week, Jackson intimated in a series of posts on Twitter...
Robert Morris struggles on road again in loss to Illinois-Chicago
If there’s one thing that irks Robert Morris men’s basketball coach Andy Toole as much as anything, it’s when his teams fall asleep on defense. As much as he tried Thursday night in Chicago, Toole wasn’t able to wake up the Colonials long enough to see them get their first...
Gorgeous day at Pebble and Tom Hoge has a scorecard to matchVideo
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Tom Hoge enjoys being at Pebble Beach even in a frigid wind and relentless rain. He loved it even more Thursday in brilliant sunshine, especially with nine birdies on his card. Hoge began his day along the Pacific Ocean with a 30-foot birdie putt on No....
Apparent beating of 49ers fan outside SoFi Stadium was kept secret for days, raising questions as Super Bowl nearsVideo
LOS ANGELES — Officials faced mounting questions Thursday about why they didn’t inform the public about the apparent beating of a San Francisco 49ers fan outside SoFi Stadium on Sunday and whether more security measures are needed before the Super Bowl. It took three days and an inquiry from The...
Team event up 1st as Olympic figure skating beginsVideo
BEIJING — The team competition in Olympic figure skating always has been a three-team scramble for the podium. There’s the Russians, who won gold at the event’s 2014 debut in Sochi and silver in Pyeongchang. There’s the Canadians, who took silver before winning gold four years later. And there’s the...
Pat Narduzzi likes his 2022 Pitt roster, but 3 transfers fill some holes
Pat Narduzzi’s feelings shifted from pleased to proud when he walked inside Pitt’s indoor practice facility. There, he found the defending ACC champions in the midst of workouts, preparing for the start of spring — actually, late winter — drills Feb. 28. “When you look around,” he thought to himself,...
Olympic spotlight back on China for a covid-tinged GamesVideo
BEIJING — Long before the global pandemic upended sports and the world in general, the 2022 Winter Olympics faced unsettling problems. It started with the fact that hardly anybody wanted to host them. Beijing ended up solving that problem, but only after four European cities thought about it and dropped...
Former Robert Morris hockey player, assistant Logan Bittle named head coach of the women’s team
When the Robert Morris women’s hockey program returns to the ice in time for the 2023-24 season, a familiar face will be behind the bench. Athletic director Chris King announced Thursday that Logan Bittle, who spent 10 years at Robert Morris as an assistant and associate head coach after playing...
Ryan Larsen named football coach at Carnegie Mellon
While he has big shoes to fill, Ryan Larsen is excited to begin his quest as the next head football coach at Carnegie Mellon. “I cannot wait to get to work,” said Larsen, who was announced Thursday as the replacement for longtime coach Rich Lackner, who stepped down after 36...
Elway defends himself, says Flores interview was no shamVideo
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — John Elway is refuting Brian Flores’ claim in a lawsuit that his interview with the Denver Broncos in 2019 was a sham and conducted only to satisfy the NFL’s Rooney Rule. “While I was not planning to respond publicly to the false and defamatory claims by Brian...
Report: Mickelson accuses PGA Tour of ‘obnoxious greed’Video
KING ABDULLAH ECONOMIC CITY, Saudi Arabia — Phil Mickelson claims the “obnoxious greed” of the PGA Tour and its ownership of media rights are why players are tempted by the prospects of rival tours, such as one backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Golf Digest reported. Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau...
Hall of Fame coach Bill Fitch dies, led Celtics to ’81 titleVideo
CLEVELAND — Bill Fitch, who guided the Boston Celtics to one of their championships during a Hall of Fame coaching career spanning three decades, has died. He was 89. A two-time NBA Coach of the Year, Fitch died Wednesday in Lake Conroe, Texas. Fitch’s daughter, Marcy Ann Coville, told Indiana...
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin: ‘I know I can play better. And I will’Video
It was a play that displayed the brilliance that will ensure him a plaque in the Hockey Hall of Fame. And he didn’t even get an assist on it. During Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime home loss to the rival Washington Capitals, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin helped set up his team’s second...
Southmoreland’s Ron Frederick dies day after learning he would be named head football coach
When Dave Keefer resigned as Southmoreland’s football coach last month, he recommended assistant coach Ron Frederick for the job. Keefer talked to Frederick before Frederick’s interview Tuesday with school officials. Frederick, a 1999 Southmoreland graduate, left the meeting knowing the job — his dream job — was his. Frederick, 40,...
Steelers president Art Rooney II addresses progress, shortcomings with Rooney Rule
For all of the philanthropic efforts Dan Rooney was involved in over a lifetime of roles with the Pittsburgh Steelers, perhaps no part of the late Steelers patriarch’s legacy will endure more than the NFL rule that bears his name. But nowadays, despite being regarded as having the best of...
Tim Benz: 1 aspect of the Penguins’ game that must be rediscovered coming out of the All-Star Break
After a torrid stretch winning 17 of 19 games between Dec. 4 and Jan. 25, the Pittsburgh Penguins limped into the All-Star break by losing four in a row. All of the games were at home. All of the defeats were against clubs with fewer points than them in the...
U mad, bro?: Fans spit fire about Steelers’ QB situation, Heinz Field attendance, Evgeni Malkin, Antonio Brown, NFL OT
Based on what I’ve seen the past few weeks, I was getting concerned that “U mad, bro?” would essentially just boil down to a weekly rant session about the Steelers quarterback situation. And I have no doubt that it will get mentioned every week between now and when a starter...
First Call: Steelers focus on QBs at Senior Bowl; Cameron Heyward’s brother on Steelers’ radar; JuJu’s parting shot?
The Pittsburgh Steelers are spending plenty of time and attention getting to know quarterbacks at the Senior Bowl. JuJu Smith-Schuster has a parting shot for the Steelers before free agency. Cameron Heyward’s brother may be on the Steelers’ draft radar. And Terry Bradshaw discusses a regret in his new HBO...
Western Pa.’s Top 10 football prospects for the Class of 2023
Some of the nation’s top college football recruiters will visit Western Pennsylvania often in the coming months, because the WPIAL and City League have an uncommitted four-star Rivals recruit in the 2023 class. They’re now on the clock. In all, there is a trio of four-star juniors in the area,...
