Sports category, Page 1641
At Wimbledon, Pliskova seeks 1st Grand Slam title, Barty 2nd
WIMBLEDON, England — Ash Barty will be trying to win a second trophy in her past seven Grand Slam tournaments when she faces Karolina Pliskova at Wimbledon on Saturday. Pliskova seeks her first major championship, five years after losing in her only previous Slam final. In matching up against No....
UConn reinstates rowing team after Title IX challenge to cut
STORRS, Conn. — The University of Connecticut has reversed course on a controversial budget cut, announcing it will keep its women’s rowing program for at least the next two years. The move, announced Thursday night, comes after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order in May that prevented the...
Diverse England team wins fans in nation eager for good news
LONDON — Hannah Kumari has been an English soccer fan since childhood, but she never wanted to fly an England flag. Until now. Kumari is one of millions of fans ecstatic that England’s men’s team has reached the final of a major tournament for the first time since it won...
First Call: ESPN analyst sees Ben Roethlisberger benched by midseason; Eagles CB recruiting Steven Nelson
Friday’s “First Call” brings us a Doomsday scenario prediction for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Also, the Eagles may still be in play for Steven Nelson. We’ve got some Steelers birthdays, a bold prediction from a Steelers rival and Home Run Derby gambling odds. Big Ben ‘is going to be bad’ Former...
Tim Benz: NCAA needs to be fixed, not eliminated. Focus on solutions, not fake outrage
This happens from time to time at “Breakfast With Benz.” I get an email, tweet or a post in the comments section that I want to use for “U mad, bro?” However, sometimes that comment itself gets me mad enough that I find myself writing a response so long, it...
Marcelo Mayer’s coach compares Pirates’ potential top draft pick to another former No. 1 from the same high school
As Sunday’s Major League Baseball draft approaches, all signs continue to indicate that the Pittsburgh Pirates will choose Eastlake High School (Chula Vista, Cali.) shortstop Marcelo Mayer with the No.1 overall pick. For some people (yours truly included) who believe that drafting Vanderbilt pitcher Jack Leiter is a better route...
Mark Madden: Sizing up Penguins, Lightning back-to-back Stanley Cup teams
Tampa Bay has won the Stanley Cup a second straight time, like the Penguins did in 2016 and ’17. You can compare the teams, but the accomplishment is exactly the same. Penguins fans grouse that Tampa Bay cheated the salary cap because winger Nikita Kucherov didn’t play during the regular...
For Pirates, owning the No. 1 pick in MLB Draft has been a boom-or-bust proposition
Picking first overall in the MLB Draft can be a boom-or-bust proposition, one the Pittsburgh Pirates know all too well as they prepare to make the top selection in Sunday’s first round. The four times the Pirates have owned the No. 1 pick, they have chosen college prospects — one...
This date in sports history: July 9Video
1922 — Johnny Weissmuller is the first to swim the 100-meter freestyle under 1 minute as he breaks Duke Kahanamoku’s world record with a time of 58.6 seconds. 1932 — The NFL awards a franchise to Boston under the ownership of George Preston Marshall, Vincent Bendix, Jay O’Brien, and Dorland...
Suns beat Bucks to take 2-0 lead in NBA Finals
PHOENIX — The ball went from Chris Paul to Devin Booker and didn’t stop moving until Deandre Ayton scored after every Suns player had touched it. The 10-pass sequence was the prettiest play of the NBA Finals and the kind the one-man show Bucks couldn’t dream of. “We actually talked...
Former Pirates outfielder Jose Tabata leaves West Virginia for Mexican League
Former Pirates outfielder Jose Tabata has earned a promotion, but not to the major leagues. The 32-year-old Tabata, who has been playing with the West Virginia Power of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, was signed by the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League. Tabata, best known for being...
Pirates farm report for July 8, 2021: Dee Strange-Gordon goes 0 for 4 in Indy debut
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 28-28) throttled Columbus (Indians) 10-3 after being shut out the previous two games. 2B T.J. Rivera went 2 for 5 with his fourth home run and three RBIs. C Joe Hudson went 1 for 3 with a two-run shot, his third, and three RBIs. 1B Will Craig, LF...
Conor McGregor talks trash, throws kick at Dustin Poirier before UFC 264Video
LAS VEGAS — Conor McGregor wore a plaid purple suit and sunglasses when he performed some of his greatest Vegas hits at his UFC 264 news conference Thursday ahead of his latest attempt to roll back the mixed martial arts clock. The biggest star in combat sports preened, strutted and...
Paul Ajak III, Sean Knapp tired but triumphant at Tri-State Amateur
Paul Ajak III and Sean Knapp played in the 36-hole U.S. Amateur qualifier Wednesday at Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown, so they were dragging a bit when they teed it up Thursday at the Tri-State Amateur. Their bodies had to catch up with their mental acceleration. “It was really hot...
With Pirates in need of starter for Saturday doubleheader, Max Kranick joins team in NYC
The Pittsburgh Pirates need a starter and Max Kranick is in New York City with the team. Could those two facts come together and equal a second-major league start for Kranick? The Pirates are determined to maintain their six-man rotation through their current stretch of 20 games in 20 days....
Munoz, Hadley share 1st-round lead at John Deere ClassicVideo
SILVIS, Ill. — Sebastian Munoz never knows when the switch will come on and the putts start to fall, but he recognized it happening Thursday in the John Deere Classic. Munoz was motoring along when he closed with five straight birdies at TPC Deere Run for an 8-under-par 63, turning...
Nasa Hataoka shoots 10-under 61 in Marathon LPGA Classic
SYLVANIA, Ohio — Nasa Hataoka parred the final two holes to miss a chance for the second 59 in LPGA Tour history, finishing with a 10-under-par 61 and a four-stroke lead Thursday in the Marathon LPGA Classic. Annika Sorenstam is the only player to shoot 59 on the LPGA Tour,...
MLB extends paid leave for Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer as abuse investigation continuesVideo
NEW YORK — Trevor Bauer’s administrative leave was extended by seven days through July 15 by Major League Baseball and the players’ association on Thursday while the sport’s investigators check into allegations of sexual misconduct against the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher. Bauer was placed on seven days’ paid leave on...
British Open returns after covid-19 cancellation, but golfers back in a bubbleVideo
As tradition goes at the British Open, it might feel as though nothing has changed. Shane Lowry, a popular champion on Irish soil at Royal Portrush, returns the silver claret upon his arrival Monday at Royal St. George’s in England for a ceremonial start to the 149th edition of golf’s...
Former Steelers DB Dicky Maegle dies
HOUSTON — Dicky Maegle, the Rice running back tackled in the 1954 Cotton Bowl by an Alabama player who came off the bench in one of the most legendary plays in college football history, has died. Rice University and the National Football Foundation said Tuesday that Maegle passed away Sunday....
No. 1 Barty to face Pliskova in 1st Wimbledon final for bothVideo
WIMBLEDON, England — It was difficult for Ash Barty to imagine a trip to her first Wimbledon final was just around the corner when she stopped playing at last month’s French Open with a hip injury. Or even when she was two points from being pushed to a third set...
Pirates game against Mets in New York postponed by rain; doubleheader Saturday
The Pittsburgh Pirates had played 16 games in 16 days before rain postponed the start of their four-game series Thursday night against the New York Mets at Citi field. The game will be made up Saturday as a part of a single-admission doubleheader, starting at 4:10 p.m. The Pirates were...
At least 12 Steelers training camp practices at Heinz Field to be open to public
Turns out, Steelers Nation will be able to take in training camp after all. Just about 50 miles farther west than usual. At least a dozen Pittsburgh Steelers preseason practices between July 28 and Aug. 18 will be open to the public at Heinz Field. Tickets are free but must...
Pirates can use Astros as model for building winner, not drafting No. 1 overall pick
If the Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to go from finishing in last place to winning the World Series in a short span, they need look no further than the Houston Astros for a blueprint on how to build a worst-to-first team. But not necessarily how to draft one. After losing...
Stanley Cup champion Lightning ace final exam on ‘last day of school’Video
TAMPA, Fla — With the clock ticking on their time together, the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning talked about what they already knew was their last Stanley Cup run as a group. They talked about it midway through the playoffs. They talked about it on the verge of reaching the...
