Sports category, Page 2474
Jason Martin makes MLB debut, singles as Pirates leadoff hitter Saturday
The Pittsburgh Pirates wasted little time giving Jason Martin his first taste of Major League Baseball. “First hitter of the game for us,” manager Clint Hurdle said with a smile Saturday morning, about three hours prior to Martin’s MLB debut began as the Pirates’ left fielder and leadoff hitter against...
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan has no plans to rest players for regular-season finale
Even though the Pittsburgh Penguins clinched a playoff spot with a win over Detroit on Thursday, expect an all-hands-on-deck approach to continue for their regular-season finale against the New York Rangers on Saturday night. Matt Murray is expected to start in goal, and coach Mike Sullivan said after morning skate...
Air Narduzzi at Pitt? Maybe not, but passing game undergoes transformation
When Pitt’s coach was questioned about the perceived notion of “Air Narduzzi” that is flying around spring ball, he smiled and quickly cleared up any confusion. “Don’t believe Air Narduzzi,” Pat Narduzzi said. “We’re going to run the ball. Don’t forget that.” Yet, it was a fair question because two...
Riverhounds go for first win of 2019 at Louisville City
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds will try to break into the win column Saturday evening as they will visit Louisville City for a United Soccer League Championship matchup. The Riverhounds own two draws in three matches this season. Included in the start was last Saturday’s 2-2 tie against Bethlehem. Saturday’s game, set...
Newest Penguins savor opportunity to make playoff run
Jared McCann is finding it hard to sleep at night. Erik Gudbranson gave his mother a late-night phone call Thursday to let out a celebratory yell. For many players on the Pittsburgh Penguins roster, clinching a playoff spot – like the team did with for the 13th straight season with...
Pirates minor league report: April 5, 2019
Minor League Report Pirates INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 0-2) fell 5-4 to Columbus (Indians) in 11 innings on a walk-off single. RHP Mitch Keller (0-0, 0.00) did not record a decision after allowing two earned runs on three hits with six strikeouts and five walks in 4.2 innings. RHP Montana DuRapau (0-1,...
Pirates shut out Reds for the third time, 2-0
His fastball deserted him for a time. His teammates struggled to offer the run support every pitcher needs. But Joe Musgrove had two good friends on his side: Catcher Francisco Cervelli and his slider. They were more than enough to help the Pittsburgh Pirates (3-3) defeat the Cincinnati Reds (1-6)...
Dominant Junior state title run spurs on Highlands wrestler White
Brayden White felt motivated to win a Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling championship after losing in the finals last year. But he especially wanted to do it in the same weight class, cutting down to compete in the 95-pound bracket at the tournament last month. The Highlands seventh-grader made sure his efforts...
Michigan State’s Tom Izzo may have done best job of career
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Tom Izzo struggled with tears of joy as Michigan State knocked off top-seeded Duke to reach the Final Four. He was emotional again only a few hours later when fans packed the Breslin Center to welcome the gritty Spartans back to campus. This season might be...
Mark Madden: Kurt Angle’s WrestleMania curtain call a significant event
WWE’s WrestleMania 35 takes place Sunday at MetLife Stadium just outside New York City. Sixteen matches are scheduled. It will last over seven hours. That’s too much, especially when most of the matches are haphazardly built and mean little. Seven hours is even longer than the Pirates’ home opener. The...
Pirates notebook: Starting pitchers keeping games close
Keeping in mind the early-season sample size, Pittsburgh Pirates starters were just short of dominant through the first five games. After Jameson Taillon allowed four runs in the opener in Cincinnati, Taillon, Trevor Williams and Jordan Lyles surrendered only one run in 23 innings. Overall, the four starters have a...
Area AAU basketball program looks to maintain upward trend
There doesn’t appear to be a sophomore slump coming over the area’s top AAU basketball program. With a year on the high-end national circuit under its belt, the newly branded Wildcats Select group is past rookie mode and ready for Round 2. The Wildcats, who field top players from Western...
Freeport grad Matt Swartz carves out niche as catcher, shortstop at IUP
Catcher and shortstop aren’t typically positions where the same player is listed at the top of the depth chart, but Matt Swartz is not a typical player. When Swartz, a Freeport graduate, isn’t wearing the “tools of ignorance” and crouching behind home plate for IUP, he finds himself standing between...
Quaker Valley 6th-grader Reiner invited to elite hockey tournament
Emily Reiner wears a No. 13 jersey for her Pens Elite and Arctic Foxes 12U girls hockey teams. But the number selection is not bad luck for the sixth grader at Quaker Valley Middle School. Reiner, 11, a Glenfield resident, is one of 100 female 2007 birth-year players from around...
CCAC Boyce baseball ready to defend conference title
The Community College of Allegheny County’s Boyce campus baseball team ended a long drought last year as it won its first Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference title since 1985. St. Bernards also advanced to the Region XX tournament with a chance to go to nationals. The team saw its season end...
Steelers sign 2 players from defunct Alliance of American Football
Dipping into the ranks of players released by the Alliance of American Football, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed center J.C. Hassenauer and defensive back Jack Tocho to one-year contracts Friday. Both players were members of the Birmingham Iron before the league folded earlier this week. Hassenauer played guard and center at...
Expect stars to come out for Penguins in regular-season finale
With some beat-up bodies, star players just ramping back after long injury absences and a frenzied six-week pressure-cooker just to make the playoffs behind them, the Pittsburgh Penguins could treat Saturday’s regular-season finale as a glorified preseason game to avoid injury and get some much-needed rest. The individual who makes...
RMU’s Abrielle McCartney juggles softball, academics and military aspirations
At 4 a.m., while the Robert Morris campus slumbers in silence, it isn’t unusual for senior Abrielle McCartney to be out for a run. A 6-mile run. It’s part of her ROTC training as the Canon-McMillan grad prepares for active military duty next year. On most days, she is lucky...
Jason Martin arrives from Triple-A as Kyle Crick goes on Pirates’ injury list
Many thoughts went through Jason Martin’s head when he was called up to the Pittsburgh Pirates before he even played one game for Triple-A Indianapolis this season. He made several phone calls, and his parents reacted quickly, flying from California with his sister and fiancée to be in the PNC...
Casey DeSmith aims to keep sharp for Penguins despite limited workload
Casey DeSmith is proud that he’s established himself as a dependable No. 2 goalie for the Pittsburgh Penguins. “It’s something I definitely do take pride in,” DeSmith said after practice Friday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. “Not because I want to consider myself a ‘backup specialist’ — because I...
Sidney Crosby enters Penguins’ regular-season finale 2 points shy of 100
What once was automatic when he made it through a full, healthy season has morphed into a rarity for Sidney Crosby: 100 points. Crosby surpassed the triple-digit barrier for points during each of his first five NHL seasons in which he appeared in at least 54 games. This season will...
Penguins’ Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin ‘feel strong’ after returning from injury
The Pittsburgh Penguins held an optional practice Friday afternoon in Cranberry, giving key players some time off after the team clinched its 13th straight playoff berth the night before. Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang were among the players who did not skate, but coach Mike Sullivan said both made it...
Penguins send Adam Johnson to Wilkes-Barre after successful first stint in NHL
The return of Evgeni Malkin from a rib injury bumped rookie winger Adam Johnson to 13th on the forward depth chart for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Given his youth and relative inexperience, the Penguins didn’t want Johnson sitting around as a healthy scratch, so they assigned the 24-year-old Minnesota native to...
Saint Vincent names Terrance Smith new men’s basketball coach
It didn’t take Saint Vincent long to find a new men’s basketball coach to replace D.P. Harris, who left March 7 to coach at NAIA St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Fla. After receiving more than 100 applicants, Saint Vincent officials trimmed the list to six finalists and then to...
With need at cornerback, Steelers bring in 2 draft prospects for visits
With Artie Burns no longer viewed as part of the Pittsburgh Steelers future as a starting cornerback, the team is expected to address the position early in the NFL Draft in three weeks. The Steelers hosted two highly rated draft candidates Friday at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Brought in for...
