Sports category, Page 2444
Bob Baffert eyes history, another wet Kentucky Derby on tap
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bob Baffert times three. In a Kentucky Derby lacking a dominant favorite, the two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer saddles the top three choices. On what could be a wet day at Churchill Downs, Game Winner is the pre-race favorite, albeit a tepid one at 9-2. Improbable and Roadster...
Kentucky Derby notebook: Hall of Famer Mike Smith gets mount
Triple Crown-winning jockey Mike Smith will ride in the Kentucky Derby after all. He picked up the mount on 30-1 shot Cutting Humor, trained by Todd Pletcher, race officials said Friday. The 53-year-old rider had been on the early 4-1 favorite, Omaha Beach, until the colt was scratched because of...
Chase Elliott wins Dover pole, but all talk centers on qualifying speeds
DOVER, Del. — Chase Elliott took a solo run on the track for qualifying and was alone atop the Dover speed chart. Elliott followed his first win of the season with a pole at Dover International Speedway, topping the speed chart on a blistering day at the track with a...
Handicapping the Kentucky Derby: A closer look at all 19 horses
The Arkansas Derby winner was the 4-1 morning-line favorite and the pick of many horse racing experts after beating the Bob Baffert-trained Game Winner and Improbable in back-to-back races at Oaklawn Park. Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, who teamed up with Baffert to win the Triple Crown last year...
Emily Cochran battles through back issues to help Mount Aloysius softball to postseason
Back pain plagued Emily Cochran during her high school softball career — badly enough that she considered giving up the sport. She kept plugging away through multiple procedures, through various treatments and along the way rediscovered her love for the game. And now the former Highlands standout is finding happiness...
Allegheny Valley, Leechburg Little League programs benefit from donation
Through Play Ball Pittsburgh!, a partnership between the Tull Family Foundation, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pitch In For Baseball & Softball, 16 organizations in a four-county area in the Pittsburgh Region recently received a donation of new baseball and softball equipment. Included in that group were the Allegheny Valley Little...
Pirates notebook: Interleague play has been kind to Bucs
The Pittsburgh Pirates have called the National League home for more than a century, but recent interleague results might make them want switch leagues. “We’ve been really good the last couple years (against the American League),” said manager Clint Hurdle, whose team entered Friday with a 16-4 record at home...
GCC’s Liberatore brothers continue family run of athletic success at Division I level
Collin and Jack Liberatore come from a long line of athletic know-how. Their family tree could be a tournament bracket. The Greensburg Central Catholic graduates took their pedigree to the college level as baseball pitchers in the hopes of following family tradition. So far, they’ve living up to expectations as...
Mark Madden: Penguins face tough marketing decisions
The Carolina Hurricanes are playing to 101.7 percent capacity during home playoff games. But they attracted a meager 76.7 percent capacity during the regular season, third-worst in the NHL. Even with the “Storm Surge” sideshow act. That’s not remotely meant to ridicule. Winning draws money, and sports teams badly need...
Pirates rookie Bryan Reynolds takes fanfare around his hitting streak in strideVideo
On a leather chair, a baseball and batting gloves sat atop the Pittsburgh Pirates lineup card for a game against the Texas Rangers, personal keepsakes for rookie outfielder Bryan Reynolds. Reynolds pointed to his prized possessions — all from his first career major-league home run — as nonchalantly as he...
Pine-Richland alum Professori becomes La Roche all-time hits leader
In Game 2 of a La Roche doubleheader against Penn State Behrend on April 25, Redhawks second baseman Joe Professori dug in to the batter’s box in the top of the first inning and saw a pitch he liked. The Pine-Richland launched ithat pitch over the fence for a two-run...
Fishing report: Trout stocking paying off at Harbar Acres Lake
• While walleye season kicks off Saturday, anglers who are still in search of trout should visit Harbar Acres Lake, the recipient of a recent trout stocking. Anglers are reporting a large population of hungry trout in the lake, as they appear to chomp at most baits cast in their...
Bucky Brooks: Steelers are trying to get back to their identityVideo
Apparently not everyone was enamored with the Steelers’ draft. In a segment titled NFL Draft Grades, the NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks gave the Steelers a C+ for their effort. Yet, they still had plenty of superlatives for the franchise. “Mike Tomlin was intent on make sure he...
Robert Morris unveils UPMC Events Center, featuring 4,000-seat arena
Robert Morris unveiled UPMC Events Center on Friday, and the Colonials called it a “game changer” for their athletic programs, campus and community. The centerpiece of the 161,000 square-foot center is Peoples Court, the 4,000-seat arena for RMU men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball programs. Touring UPMC Events Center...
Kentucky Derby lasts 2 minutes, but NBC’s coverage has to fill 5 hours
The 145th running of the Kentucky Derby will take place Saturday at the hallowed grounds of Churchill Downs in Louisville, where a field of 20 horses will race a mile and a quarter for eternal glory. The Derby is quite obviously the biggest day on horse racing’s calendar - the...
Former Pitt punters Andy Lee, Ryan Winslow become friendly rivals in Arizona
The Arizona Cardinals now have two former Pitt punters on their roster – separated by 13 years. Ryan Winslow, who was Pitt’s punter from 2014-2017, signed with the Cardinals to compete with Lee, 36, who’s been in the NFL since the San Francisco 49ers made him a sixth-round draft choice...
First Call: A safety for the Steelers?, Torts’ Tumble, a humiliating first pitch
In Friday’s “First Call,” we consider a familiar name as a fit for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Plus, the “Torts Tumble,” a humiliating first pitch, and people are already turning on Jameson Taillon. A safety for the Steelers? Keep this name in mind for free agency next season, Steelers fans. It’s...
Tim Benz: Penguins fans must prepare for real change … eventually
This is always a frustrating time of year to write about the Pittsburgh Penguins. Well, at least in non-Stanley Cup winning seasons anyway. The cycle is drudgery, and it is familiar. The Penguins lose a series. The fans, media, locker room, and management call for change. Rumors emerge about potential...
Friday Football Footnotes: Backing Big Ben continues
For “Friday Football Footnotes” this week, two members of the Pittsburgh Steelers organization made sure that the recent wave of support for Ben Roethlisberger continued. There has been a unified response from the organization of late, after a few months when the Steelers quarterback was slapped around in the media...
Mike Rupp on Evgeni Malkin trade talk: Penguins should at least consider it
Former Penguin Mike Rupp is chiming in on the Evgeni Malkin trade talk. Now an analyst for AT&T SportsNet and the NHL Network, Rupp was on 105.9 the X with me Wednesday, and I asked him what he thought about the idea of trading Evgeni Malkin. “I don’t see it...
Pirates minor league report: May 3, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 14-12) defeated Louisville (Reds), 5-3. All five Indians runs came in the fifth inning on a RHP Mitch Keller (.333) RBI double, LF Jose Osuna (.250) run-scoring single and a three-run homer from 1B Will Craig (.275) to put Indianapolis ahead, 5-2. Keller (3-0, 3.48) also got the...
Tiger Woods plans to visit Trump next week in White House
As he prepares for the second major tournament of the golf season, Tiger Woods is planning to squeeze in a visit to one of his golfing partners next week, heading to see President Trump in the White House. Woods, who is tentatively scheduled for a Monday visit, is not likely...
Rory McIlroy shares lead at Wells Fargo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rory McIlroy looked every bit like a player who has won twice at the Wells Fargo Championship. He just didn’t feel like one. Twice when he was out of position off the tee, he managed to make birdies. He missed a 4-foot birdie putt after his most...
Carolina looks to finish off Islanders in Eastern Conference semifinal
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes haven’t made the playoffs often. When they do, they stick around for a while. This is just their fourth postseason appearance since 2002, but they reached the Eastern Conference final — at least — in each of their last three appearances and are one...
Many top female hockey players to boycott season in hopes for viable league
Hilary Knight would rather risk missing a year of playing meaningful hockey than settle for the status quo. The star American forward is among more than 200 of the world’s top female players who announced Thursday they will not play professional hockey in North America this year in a bold...
