Sports category, Page 1594
Tim Benz: If Steelers fans are giving Dwayne Haskins a chance to improve, they should give Mason Rudolph the same shot
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin often says that his team “has no time for hypothetical conversations.” Former head coach Bill Cowher famously stated his disdain for the “what if” game. Well, I have a disdain for the annual fourth preseason game of the NFL season. Yet the Steelers are...
First Call: Joe Schobert recaps 1st game with Steelers; former Steeler injured in Baltimore; former Pirate shines in Tampa
Monday’s “First Call” looks at linebacker Joe Schobert’s first game as a Pittsburgh Steeler. Also, there is a twist that may have had him playing in Baltimore instead. One ex-Pirate shines, and another gets hurt during a battle of American League powerhouses. And Pittsburgh braces itself for the long-awaited, uh,...
Pirates enter final 38 games looking for a right fielder
In the five seasons before the arrival of Gregory Polanco, the Pittsburgh Pirates conducted what amounted to one-year tryouts in right field. From 2009-13, management always wanted to find a keeper to insert in front of the Clemente Wall at PNC Park. But Brandon Moss, Lastings Milledge, Garrett Jones, Jose...
Madden Monday: MLB’s biggest problem isn’t that there are so many really bad teams. It’s that so few people seem to care
This might be a difficult concept for many Pittsburgh Pirates fans to embrace after yet another season of unmitigated failure. Well, failure at the Major League level, anyway. I know that a large chunk of the fan base is chalking up what may become a 100-loss campaign as a raging...
Pirates farm report for Aug. 22, 2021: Michael Chavis hits 3-run homer in Indy loss
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 45-50) lost to Toledo (Tigers), 9-8, on a walk-off. RF Michael Chavis (.256) hit a three-run home run. SS Erik Gonzalez (.167) was 1 for 2 with an RBI and run scored. CF Jared Oliva (.243) was 2 for 4 with a double and RBI. LHP Cam Vieaux...
Russell Cicerone scores 1st hat trick in Riverhounds rout
After having his penalty attempt stopped two minutes into the game, Russell Cicerone was left shaking his head with a look of disappointment on his face. Little did he know at the time he would be in store for a big night on the scoresheet. Two minutes after the missed...
Rod Gilbert, Hall of Famer for New York Rangers, dies at 80
NEW YORK — Rod Gilbert, the Hall of Fame right wing who starred for the New York Rangers and helped Canada win the 1972 Summit Series, died. He was 80. Gilbert’s family confirmed the death to Rangers on Sunday. The team didn’t provide details. “I am deeply saddened by the...
Reports: Pirates place Gregory Polanco on waiversVideo
Gregory Polanco, heralded as a future star when he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2014 but whose career slid downhill after shoulder surgery four years later, was placed on waivers Sunday night, according to multiple reports. The Athletic was first to report the news. The Pirates had no comment. If...
Ryan Blaney takes lead on final restart, holds on to win Michigan
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Ryan Blaney needed a push to pass William Byron on Sunday. Kyle Busch provided the boost. With Busch’s help, Blaney took the lead on the final restart, then bobbed and weaved his way around Michigan International Speedway to beat Byron by 0.077 seconds. It was the narrowest...
Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright maintains mastery of Pirates
Adam Wainwright has two nice streaks going against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Only one really matters. Wainwright, who turns 40 on Aug. 30, doubled Sunday for the second time in his past two pitching appearances against the Pirates. Meanwhile, he ran his winning streak against Pittsburgh to nine in a row...
Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera hits 500th career home runVideo
TORONTO — Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera became the 28th major-league player to hit 500 home runs, reaching the milestone in the sixth inning Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays. The 38-year-old Cabrera connected on a 1-1 pitch from left-hander Steven Matz, sending the ball over the scoreboard in right-center...
Titans coach Mike Vrabel tests positive for covid-19
NASHVILLE — Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel said Sunday he tested positive for covid-19 and has quarantined pending further testing. Vrabel told reporters he woke up with a sore throat and an earache. He went to the team headquarters Sunday morning to be tested, and the result came back positive....
Stock up, stock down for Steelers after 3rd preseason game
The Pittsburgh Steelers won their first 11 games in 2020. They’ve won their first three games of the 2021 season. Unfortunately, these ones don’t count. But being 3-0 is better than being 0-3 — and having the first (and only) game in which the starters start result in a 20-0...
Norwin alum Shasko Bonnett wins halftime kicking contest at Steelers game
The second kicker up in a three-person contest at Heinz Field on Saturday night — with 40,000-plus looking on — Ariel Shasko Bonnett lined up her field-goal try from the 5-yard line. A chip shot? Not for someone who had only began kicking a week ago. She is much more...
Red zone is comfort zone for Steelers’ rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth
Pat Freiermuth missed by a year the chance to make money off his name, image and likeness rights in college at Penn State. The 6-foot-5 tight end is learning quickly, however, about the best way to profit in the NFL. It’s by making big and, at times, difficult catches in...
Baldwin graduates look ahead to promising college volleyball seasons
Three key senior members of the 2019 Baldwin girls volleyball team — outside hitter Allison Murray, middle hitter Ally Schenk and right-side hitter Riley Lenard-Haley — have continued their careers at the next level. After finishing as a back-to-back section champion and WPIAL runner-up in 2016 and 2018, Baldwin was...
Yordenis Ugás defeats Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision
LAS VEGAS — Although Manny Pacquiao hasn’t decided what his future holds, the eight-division world champion realizes his 26-year professional boxing career might have ended Saturday night with a disheartening loss. Yordenis Ugás is only seven years younger than the Filipino senator, yet he’s just getting started after seizing this...
Pirates prefer a mix-and-match mindset with new relief roles in back end of bullpen
Derek Shelton knew he would have to mix and match to reconstruct a Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen decimated by ineffectiveness, injuries and trades, especially over the final two months of the season. The Pirates have turned a starter into a reliever, transformed a veteran from a multi-innings eater into a high-leverage...
Tim Benz: Steelers answering questions about thin roster spots as preseason wins mount
It’s always wise to caution putting any stock in the results of Steelers preseason games. Especially with this 3-0 start in 2021. After all, the Steelers are playing nothing but NFC teams that finished out of the playoffs — and with sub-.500 records — in 2020. Over the first two...
Yoshi Tsutsugo lifts Pirates past Cardinals, as Mars alum David Bednar earns 1st MLB save
The Pittsburgh Pirates arrived in St. Louis trying to snap a five-game losing streak. Now, they are on the brink of sweeping the Cardinals and spoiling their Hall of Fame weekend at Busch Stadium. Where the Cardinals presented red jackets to some of their all-time greats in a pregame ceremony,...
Ben Roethlisberger shines in debut with new offense; Steelers win
Ben Roethlisberger’s first try at running offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s offense couldn’t have gone better for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nothing beats perfection, right? When Roethlisberger departed after three series in the Steelers’ 26-20 preseason victory Saturday night against the Detroit Lions, he had a perfect 158.3 passer rating. With a...
Pirates farm report for Aug. 21, 2021: Cole Tucker homers in Indianapolis win
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 45-49) held on to beat Toledo (Tigers), 5-4. SS Cole Tucker (.232) went 1 for 3 and hit his sixth home run, a solo shot in the seventh. 3B Hunter Owen (.234) went 1 for 4 with a homer, his 14th. CF Jared Oliva (.234) went 2 for...
Steelers notebook: James Pierre appears ahead in battle for No. 3 CB
Through the first four weeks of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp, the hottest position battle for a starting spot was at nickel cornerback between Arthur Maulet and Antoine Brooks. The answer — if Saturday’s preseason game against the Detroit Lions is any indication — neither. For the first snap in which...
Packers’ surplus of receivers creates plenty of competition
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Green Bay Packers wideout Davante Adams says the addition of veteran Randall Cobb has made it easier to provide leadership to the team’s younger receivers. But it’s also made it tougher for those receivers to crack the 53-man roster. Adams said much of what he has...
Briscoe, Hamlin will get chance to settle debate at MichiganVideo
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin spent the week trading barbs about their chaotic finish at Indianapolis. They will have a chance to settle the score Sunday at Michigan. During a week many teams scrambled to repair damaged cars while plotting strategy for NASCAR’s return to oval racing,...
