Sports category, Page 487
S DeShon Elliott sits out Steelers practice with back injury; CB Donte Jackson is full participant
Safety Deshon Elliott did not practice Thursday for the Pittsburgh Steelers because of a back ailment, making him one of a handful of starters to show up on the initial injury report of the week. Also not practicing were outside linebacker Nick Herbig (hamstring), center Zach Frazier (ankle), wide receiver...
Spate of blocks by Steelers special teams gives Danny Smith something aside from gum to chew on
Danny Smith is known for chewing gum with the intensity of a jackhammer. Smith chomping on a mouthful of Double Bubble has become his calling card in 12 seasons as Pittsburgh Steelers special teams coach. It also cost him several teeth during a game last season. “I had three teeth...
Tyler Matakevich returns to Steelers practice, opening window for return to game action
The Pittsburgh Steelers special teams are on a roll. A featured piece is poised to rejoin the unit. Special-teams standout and inside linebacker Tyler Matakevich returned to practice Thursday, the team announced. The 31-year-old, nine-year NFL veteran has not played since a Sept. 15 win at Denver because of a...
Former 1st-round pick C.J. Henderson excited to make Steelers debut as DB, special-teamer
His weekly pay just increased roughly three-fold. And his accrued seasons clock is back ticking in regards to future pensions and service time. But aside from such procedural minutia, a promotion from the practice squad to the active roster this week made little impact on veteran cornerback C.J. Henderson. “I...
Steelers among NFL’s best 2nd-half teams both offensively and defensively
To borrow parlance from coach Mike Tomlin, there is nothing mystical about the degree of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ typical halftime strategy sessions. “We just go over some stuff, notes-wise,” outside linebacker Alex Highsmith said, “and when there’s adjustments we are trying to make we try to look at what they...
Penn State football coach James Franklin refuses to comment on rape charges against former players
UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State coach James Franklin met with the media Wednesday evening but refused to answer questions related to the rape charges two of his former players are facing. Instead, he walked away from the microphone and stood beside a Penn State backdrop to allow Penn State assistant...
First Call: Idea of Cooper Kupp to Pittsburgh gets interesting endorsement; Giants rumblings before Steelers game
Thursday’s “First Call” advances an opinion of note regarding the idea of the Pittsburgh Steelers trading for wide receiver Cooper Kupp. We look at some turbulence for another New York football team coming to Pittsburgh. Syracuse’s visit to Acrisure Stadium on Thursday night should bring fireworks beyond just the quarterback...
Broadcaster Joe Brand brings plenty of experience to the Penguins’ radio booth
It was a vital moment of one of the early games of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season. And play-by-play radio broadcaster Joe Brand was nowhere to be heard. At least not in Western Pennsylvania or any outposts on the team’s radio network including Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland. Somewhere in between...
Tim Benz: Pitt, Syracuse personify trend of transfer QB success in ACC
Some fans grumble about the NCAA transfer portal and about how NIL is negatively changing the landscape of college sports. That’s a tough sell when it comes to ACC football this year. There are plenty of teams in the conference that have improved thanks to play from transfer quarterbacks. Two...
U mad, bro?: Pittsburgh fans emote about Pirates pierogi politics, scuffling Penguins, Steelers’ tackling
If Russell Wilson had been bad in his first start as a Pittsburgh Steeler on Sunday night, all we would be talking about this week in “U mad, bro” would’ve been Justin Fields getting benched. But Russ cooked, and the Steelers won. So instead of a big, juicy main course,...
Big 12 enters season with 5 teams in top 10 after expanding by 4 teamsVideo
The Big 12 has arguably been the best conference in college basketball recently, winning two of the past four national championships while getting at least seven teams into the NCAA Tournament seven times in the last 10 years. The addition of four schools, three of which have recent NCAA Tournament...
World Series analysis: Despite star power, Yankees-Dodgers could be decided by role playersVideo
NEW YORK — Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Gerrit Cole. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. No doubt, many of baseball’s biggest names will be center stage when the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers square off in a dream World Series matchup between two of the sport’s...
Los Angeles mourns former Dodgers star pitcher Fernando ValenzuelaVideo
LOS ANGELES — Julia Mendez carefully positioned three candles in a row under a sign welcoming fans to Dodger Stadium. Then she pulled out a foil-wrapped burrito and rested it against the post. “I know he ate a burrito all his life,” said the 70-year-old fan from North Hollywood, who...
Trib 10: New team occupies top spot in WPIAL football power rankings
It wasn’t like playing Yahtzee, where players shake the dice, dump them and see what comes up, but there was some major movement at the top of the Trib 10 this week. Two big-time showdowns shook up the power rankings and when the dust cleared, a third different team sits...
Panthers QB Bryce Young will start against Broncos after Andy Dalton sprains thumbVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bryce Young is back in as Carolina’s starting quarterback. Panthers coach Dave Canales said Young would start Sunday against the Denver Broncos after Andy Dalton was diagnosed with a sprained thumb on his right throwing hand suffered during a car crash Tuesday in Charlotte. Dalton did not...
At Aaron Judge’s urging, Yankees feature new vibe heading into World Series vs. DodgersVideo
NEW YORK — These Yankees have minted a new vibe going into their first World Series since 2009. Baseball’s most tradition-bound team, with a grandiose granite-and-limestone stadium and pinstriped home uniforms that have hardly changed since 1936, has added a flamboyant flash to its accessories: Statue of Liberty green. “Been...
Jameis Winston to take over as Browns starting QB; Kevin Stefanski hands off play-calling dutiesVideo
BEREA, Ohio — A new signal caller. A new play caller. The Browns are making changes they hope change their trajectory. Days after quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury, coach Kevin Stefanski announced Wednesday that Jameis Winston will start Sunday against Baltimore and that he is handing...
‘Hunting the ball’ helps Steelers defense rank among league leaders in turnovers
At each Pittsburgh Steelers practice, defensive players know the drill. Or drills, as the case may be. “We do turnover circuit’” cornerback Donte Jackson said, “every day.” The turnover circuit? “You’re gonna have a ‘punch-out’ (drill), you’re gonna have a ‘tip-pick’ drill, you gonna have a ‘rip’ (out the ball)...
WPIAL bracketology: Don Rebel, Chris Harlan forecast 2024 football playoff pairings
The 2024 WPIAL football playoff field is taking shape with 35 teams having already clinched a spot entering Week 9. But this year’s qualifying process is a little different. There are more wild card teams than ever: 16. And the WPIAL will no longer use tiebreaking formulas such as Gardner...
Rookie Beanie Bishop keeps smiling even with anticipated return of Cam Sutton to Steelers secondary
With an assist from Pat McAfee, rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop’s wish for Aaron Rodgers’ signature on a pair of game balls is coming true. After intercepting Rodgers twice Sunday night in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 37-15 victory against the New York Jets, Bishop kept the balls so he could commemorate his...
New Pitt athletic director Allen Greene understands reality of college athletics: Money matters
Pitt introduced Allen Greene as its next athletic director Wednesday morning, and the theme was as clear as a bank statement. Money. Blunt, honest and to the point, Jeff Capel said as much when asked what he might ask of Greene if the two men sat down to discuss what...
Hines Ward, James Harrison, Gary Anderson advance to latest round of Hall of Fame balloting
Three former Pittsburgh Steelers players have advanced to the next stage of voting for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s modern-era candidates. Surviving the reduction from 167 to 50 players is wide receiver Hines Ward, outside linebacker James Harrison and kicker Gary Anderson. Former Penn State guard Steve Wisniewski and...
Pirates fill front-office opening, hire Kevin Tenenbaum as VP of research and development
The Pittsburgh Pirates filled one of their two front-office openings by hiring Kevin Tenenbaum as vice president of research and development, a source confirmed to TribLive. Tenenbaum, 32, comes to the Pirates after seven years with the Cleveland Guardians, where he spent four years as assistant director of baseball research...
Mark Madden: Penguins remain stuck in the past, too stubborn to see what they are
After the Pittsburgh Penguins lost at home to Carolina last Friday, coach Mike Sullivan and center Lars Eller bemoaned what they considered a subpar effort. There was nothing exceptionally wrong with the effort. The Penguins are slow. The Penguins aren’t slumping. They’re bad. You would have to be delusional not...
Former Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz signs in Switzerland
Former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz has signed with HC Lugano of Switzerland’s National League. That team announced the transaction via a release on Wednesday. A native of Kelowna, British Columbia, Schultz spent the past 12 seasons in the NHL. Last season, the 34-year-old played in 70 games for the...
