Sports category, Page 417
Tim Benz: Pens play ‘points game’ poorly to open crucial 5-game homestand
Pittsburgh Penguins winger Bryan Rust doesn’t care that 40 of 82 games remain on the schedule. The extra point they gave away to a division rival Tuesday night is worthy of some angst. “It’s never too early to play the points game,” Rust said with some agitation. “There’s (nine) points...
First Call: Justin Fields on his chances for snaps vs. Baltimore; Broderick Jones wanted Ravens rematch
Wednesday’s “First Call” has Justin Fields’ assessment of his chances of getting on the field in some form this week against the Baltimore Ravens. A Steelers offensive lineman says this is the playoff rematch that he wanted going into Week 18. A former Steeler is under consideration for the New...
‘It’s a mindset’: On Sidney Crosby becoming the NHL’s all-time leader in faceoff winsVideo
Everyone is in place but Sidney Crosby. It’s a game night at PPG Paints Arena and all defensemen are in position, as are the wingers at the top and bottom of the neutral zone faceoff circle. As the referee and opposing center await his arrival for the opening faceoff, Crosby...
Penguins’ Cody Glass deputizes as 2nd-line center on short notice with Evgeni Malkin out
Cody Glass doesn’t stress out when, abruptly, the Pittsburgh Penguins task him with switching positions. Changes to deployment and skating with different wingers is part of everyday life in the NHL, which Glass accepts and has already navigated through during his first campaign in a Penguins sweater. That said, Tuesday’s...
Penn State grad Al Golden back in Miami, trying to bring Notre Dame a CFP title shotVideo
DANIA BEACH, Fla. — Choose your Al Golden storyline for Thursday’s Orange Bowl. He’ll be coaching against Penn State, his alma mater and the school where he was a captain. He’ll be coaching again at Hard Rock Stadium, where Miami fans booed him off the field in his final game...
Evgeni Malkin sits with injury as Penguins squander lead, lose to Blue Jackets in shootout
Entering 2024-25, Pittsburgh Penguins superstar forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin had been in the lineup for each of the team’s 164 games over the previous two seasons. And both campaigns ended with the Penguins failing to qualify for the postseason. That led Malkin to offer a solution during training...
No more unbeatens: No. 8 Florida topples top-ranked Tennessee
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Alijah Martin scored 18 points, Denzel Aberdeen added 16 and No. 8 Florida thumped top-ranked Tennessee, 73-43, on Tuesday night to knock off the last unbeaten team in Division I basketball. Alex Condon chipped in 12 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double this season as...
No. 21 West Virginia men lose big to Arizona
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — KJ Lewis scored a career-high 21 points, and Arizona beat No. 21 West Virginia, 75-56, on Tuesday night for its fifth straight win. Jaden Bradley added 15 points, and Anthony Dell’Orso scored 10 for the Wildcats (9-5, 3-0 Big 12). Javon Small led West Virginia (11-3, 2-1)...
Cooper Flagg fills highlight reel, No. 4 Duke ends Pitt’s 5-game winning streakVideo
Early in the second half of Pitt’s 76-47 loss to Duke on Tuesday night, Blue Devils freshman Cooper Flagg — burdened by three fouls — intercepted a pass from Jaland Lowe. Going coast to coast and approaching the basket from the left side of the lane, Flagg was met at...
Justin Verlander agrees to $15 million, 1-year deal with Giants
SAN FRANCISCO — Justin Verlander and the San Francisco Giants agreed to a $15 million, one-year contract, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the deal was pending a physical. It’s the latest big...
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin scratched due to injury
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin has been scratched for Tuesday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at PPG Paints Arena due to an undisclosed injury. Per one of the team’s social media accounts, Malkin is considered day to day. During a morning skate in Cranberry, Malkin was a full participant,...
Former Pirates All-Star pitcher Bob Veale, part of 1971 World Series champions, dies at 89
The famous story about Bob Veale, one Steve Blass loves to share when talking about his halcyon days with the Pittsburgh Pirates, involves the two-time All-Star left-handed pitcher’s glasses. At 6-foot-6, 212 pounds and armed with a ferocious fastball — the great Pirates announcer Bob Prince once said he could...
Adam Scott has full plate in Saudi negotiations over LIV Golf
HONOLULU — Adam Scott made it back to Kapalua and returned to the top 20 in the world ranking, and it’s a wonder how he managed with so much on his plate. This coincided with his first full year on the PGA Tour board, and it was a lot. The...
Peters Township native Christian Humphreys leaves Michigan to play in OHL
Forward Christian Humphreys, a native of Peters Township, has joined the Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers. That team announced it signed Humphreys to an OHL scholarship and development agreement Tuesday. Humphreys, 18, began the season at the NCAA level with Michigan. Appearing in 10 of a possible 19 games with...
Jets interview Rex Ryan, who led franchise to its last playoff appearance, for head coaching job
Rex Ryan has returned to the New York Jets — for an interview, at least. The former Jets coach and current ESPN analyst, who led the franchise to its last playoff appearance to cap the 2010 season, met with the team Tuesday about its head coaching vacancy. Ryan went 50-52,...
James Franklin, Marcus Freeman look to become 1st Black coaches to win national titleVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — In college basketball, the scene of a Black coach cutting down the nets on their way to a national title is not new, even if it is still a relative rarity. John Thompson led Georgetown to the championship in 1984, the first of four Black coaches...
Steelers must ‘pick your poison’ as they brace for Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry
It wasn’t a birthday present offered up by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson to Lamar Jackson, who on Tuesday turned 28 years old. When Wilson referenced Jackson as “the best player I’ve ever played against,” that is a difficult point to argue. Before he turned 28 or completed his seventh...
TE MyCole Pruitt added to Steelers’ injury report, CB Donte Jackson returns to practice
MyCole Pruitt was an addition to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ status report with a knee injury, as the 10th-year veteran tight end was a limited participant in Tuesday’s practice at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. The 6-foot-2, 258-pound Pruitt has six receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown in 12 games (five...
Raiders fire coach Antonio Pierce after he goes 4-13 in lone full season
HENDERSON, Nev. — The Las Vegas Raiders fired Antonio Pierce on Tuesday after just one season as their full-time coach, the latest in a line of coaching changes over the past several years. “We appreciate Antonio’s leadership, first as an interim head coach and this past season as the head...
‘Protect me from me’: Steelers CB Donte Jackson trying not to aggravate ‘nagging’ back
The hardest part for Donte Jackson in dealing with his “nagging” back issues is trying not to be too twitchy and aggravate a pinched nerve in the days leading up to the game. After missing the season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Pittsburgh Steelers starting cornerback is preparing to...
Steelers RG Mason McCormick hopes to play, says broken hand ‘feeling a lot better already’
To Mason McCormick, there was never any question about whether the Pittsburgh Steelers rookie right guard’s left hand was broken in the fourth quarter of the season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals. “Yeah, I felt it pop,” McCormick said Tuesday afternoon at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “I knew right away.”...
Penn State players staying vigilant about managing bodies as long season continues
Penn State has enough experience on its extended coaching staff and roster to feel confident regarding preparation. Yet there’s no denying that, as they prepare to face Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals, the Nittany Lions are swimming in uncharted waters. Players are staying vigilant as an already-long...
Penguins forward Jesse Puljujarvi rejoins lineup
This time a year ago, Jesse Puljujarvi was taking the first steps toward recovering his once-promising career. These days, he is just happy to be in the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup. Such was the case in Tuesday’s home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. A healthy scratch for 17 of the...
NFL playoffs feature veteran running backs producing successful second acts with new teams
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Those veteran running backs who changed addresses in the offseason have given themselves a chance to showcase the difference they can make in the postseason. Plenty of contenders capitalized on a crowded market by adding proven ball carriers. The moves paid major dividends. Now players such...
Titans fire GM Ran Carthon after 2 seasons despite big spending spree
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — General manager Ran Carthon paid the price for the Tennessee Titans going 9-25 in his two seasons. The Titans introduced Carthon as the franchise’s first Black general manager in January 2023, and he helped the franchise hire a new coach in Brian Callahan a year later. A...
