Sports category, Page 1907
ACC QBs throwing interceptions at alarming rateVideo
The touchdown passes to interceptions ratio is raising eyebrows around the ACC, and some coaches point to the coronavirus as the culprit. Unlike last season, when not one ACC team threw as many interceptions as touchdowns, three — No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 8 North Carolina and Syracuse — are...
Former Pitt CB Avonte Maddox returns to Heinz Field to play Steelers
Only two of the other 66 players on the Philadelphia Eagles’ active roster or injured lists are shorter than Avonte Maddox. Just three weigh less. But that doesn’t mean the “little” former Pitt standout hasn’t made a big impression on the only NFL team he has known over the past...
JuJu Smith-Schuster OK shifting to more of possession receiver for Steelers
He broke the Pittsburgh Steelers’ record for longest touchdown reception. Then, he broke it again before his 22nd birthday. So, it might be odd to affix a label to JuJu Smith-Schuster as … possession receiver? Yet, to this point of the 2020 season, the Steelers appear to be using Smith-Schuster...
Penguins select Swedish goaltender Calle Clang in 3rd round
The Pittsburgh Penguins are going heavy on goaltenders with their early picks in the NHL Draft. After selecting Finnish-born Joel Blomqvist in the second round, the team chose Calle Clang, a native of Olofstrom, Sweden, in the third round with the No. 77 overall pick. Clang, 18, spent most of...
Daryn Freedman named basketball coach at Penn State Greater Allegheny
Daryn Freedman is a well-traveled man. In 25-plus years, basketball has given him a tour of the eastern part of the country and provided coaching opportunities at several levels. But with his family here, Western Pennsylvania has become his landing spot for jobs. His latest one will be in the...
Penguins select Finnish goaltender Joel Blomqvist in 2nd round
Using the pick they acquired from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for goaltender Matt Murray, the Pittsburgh Penguins selected another goaltender. With the 52nd overall selection in the second round, the Penguins chose Joel Blomqvist of Karpat in Finland’s Liiga. During 2019-20, while playing for Karpat’s junior team in the...
Penguins trade 2-time Cup champion Matt Murray to Senators
The Matt Murray era has come to an end in Pittsburgh. On Wednesday, the Penguins traded the goaltender who led them to two Stanley Cup titles to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a second-round pick (No. 52 overall) and forward prospect Jonathan Gruden. Murray, 26, is a pending restricted...
Ben Roethlisberger thinks Steelers got ‘short end of the stick’ in Titans postponement
Still smarting over the Pittsburgh Steelers having an unexpected bye thrust on them in the fourth week of the season, Ben Roethlisberger took a few shots Wednesday at the NFL’s decision to postpone their game against the Tennessee Titans until later in the season. “Of course, we got the short...
Patriots cancel practice amid reports of new positive coronavirus test
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots have canceled practice amid reports that a third player has tested positive for the coronavirus. Sports Illustrated reported that reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore tested positive for the virus on Wednesday and was added to the team’s reserve/covid-19 list....
Mark Madden: Let’s play the Jack Johnson blame game
Defenseman Jack Johnson will no longer play for the Penguins. His contract got bought out. That solves all their problems. The Penguins would have won the last two Stanley Cups if Johnson wasn’t on the team. That’s what social media thinks. That’s what analytics geeks think. Johnson was the root...
AP source: 2 more positives stop Titans’ return to facility
NASHVILLE — Tennessee will not be returning to the team’s facility Wednesday after two more players tested positive in the NFL’s first covid-19 outbreak, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press. The Titans had no positive tests Monday or Tuesday for the first time after six consecutive...
This Date in Sports History: Oct. 7
1916 — Georgia Tech, coached by John Heisman, beats Cumberland, 222-0, in the most lopsided college football game in history. 1945 — The Green Bay Packers score 41 points in the first quarter in a 57-21 win against the Detroit Lions. 1962 — Judy Kimball wins the LPGA championship with...
First Call: Steelers pass rush facing banged up Eagles O-line. Vegas struggling to trade Marc-Andre Fleury.
Wednesday’s “First Call” outlines some offensive line problems in Philadelphia as the Eagles get ready to face a fearsome Steelers pass rush. The Vegas Golden Knights are struggling to trade Marc-Andre Fleury. And Ex-Pirates aplenty put their stamp on last night’s Yankees-Rays playoff game. More problems up front In advance...
Tim Benz: Mike Tomlin noncommittal on NFL forfeit question. That’s smart. For many reasons.
This 2020 NFL season has to be a special kind of torture for Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. Almost all coaches from pee-wee football to the NFL pound a message of “controlling the controllables.” In other words, focus only on your team. Your own job within that team. On that given...
Pirates middle infield is full of options for 2021. It’s also full of questions
As the Pittsburgh Pirates prepare for 2021, a vast amount of uncertainty exists. When will games start? Will fans be allowed? What will the length of the schedule be? What about payroll? Who knows? One thing I can pretty much guarantee, though, is that the Pirates will not be allowed...
Tyler Glasnow fans 10 to lead Rays past Yankees
SAN DIEGO — With their pitching staff providing a record 18 strikeouts, the Tampa Bay Rays showed some pop of their own against the New York Yankees. Randy Arozarena, Mike Zunino, Manuel Margot and Austin Meadows homered, and Tyler Glasnow struck out 10 to set a postseason record for the...
Lakers top Heat, take 3-1 lead in NBA Finals
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Anthony Davis punched his chest in celebration. LeBron James let out a huge scream. The Los Angeles Lakers are on the cusp of what they want most — the franchise’s first championship in 10 years. Davis’ 3-pointer with 39.5 seconds left was the backbreaker, James...
George Springer hits 2 HRs, Astros beat A’s for 2-0 ALDS lead
LOS ANGELES — Back-to-back home runs off back-to-back pitches. The Houston Astros can’t miss these days. George Springer hit two homers, and Houston kept making more noise in the playoffs, beating the Oakland Athletics, 5-2, on Tuesday to take a 2-0 lead in their AL Division Series. Martin Maldonado also...
Breanna Stewart leads Seattle to 2nd WNBA title in 3 years
BRADENTON, Fla. — Breanna Stewart scored 26 points, and the Seattle Storm won their second WNBA championship in three seasons, sweeping the Las Vegas Aces with a 92-59 rout Tuesday night. It’s the fourth title in franchise history for the Storm, who also won in 2004, ’10 and ’18. Seattle...
NHL adjusts target date to open 2020-21 season to Jan. 1
The NHL and NHLPA announced on Tuesday a new target date of Jan. 1 to open the 2020-21 season. Previously, the NHL had identified Dec. 1. The NHL calendar has been impacted dramatically ever since the NHL halted play March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic. After the remainder of...
‘Dead’ money on the salary cap is a way of life for the Penguins and other NHL teams
In August, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford let it be known he didn’t want to utilize any buyouts while crafting his roster in advance of the NHL’s 2020-21 season. They were a last resort. “That’s the fallback position, buyouts, if we have to get to that,” Rutherford said. “I don’t...
NY Rangers select Lafreniere with No. 1 pick in NHL DraftVideo
Alexis Lafreniere wanted to take the stage at Montreal’s Bell Centre near his home and hear his name announced at the NHL Draft. The playmaking forward had to settle for being selected first overall by the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. “Obviously, it’s different, and we didn’t expect that...
NHL targeting Jan. 1 to begin next seasonVideo
Commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday night the NHL is targeting a Jan. 1 start for next season. That declaration came after recent talks between the league and NHL Players’ Association. The new date is a month after the tentative Dec. 1 start. “It was just over a week ago that...
New attendance limits remove some stress for WPIAL schools
High school administrators across the PIAA were verifying the number of seats in their stadiums and gymnasiums Tuesday after Gov. Tom Wolf eased limits on gathering sizes. The governor’s new formula is based on a percentage of a facility’s capacity rather than the 25-person indoor and 250-person outdoor restrictions previously...
After transferring late, D.J. Turner ends up lifting Pitt’s passing game
As late as midway through training camp, D.J. Turner was just a name on somebody else’s roster. If he had walked through the doors of Pitt’s practice facility almost any day in August, he might have been asked to leave. Yet, here he is, shouldering much of the responsibility to...
