Sports category, Page 544
Justin Fields ‘comfortable’ in preseason ‘growth’ of Steelers’ offense, his role in it
Justin Fields joined the Pittsburgh Steelers via trade in March. About six weeks prior, Arthur Smith was hired as offensive coordinator. In the approximately six months since, Fields believes the players have adjusted well to their new play caller. “I think we’ve all got more comfortable with the offense,” Fields...
NFL owners newly endorse private equity stakes of up to 10% in teams by league-approved firmsVideo
EAGAN, Minn. — NFL owners voted their carefully crafted approval Tuesday to private equity investors in their teams, putting in place a new rule that lets certain league-sanctioned firms buy a stake of up to 10% in the 32 franchises that are steadily soaring in value. At a special meeting...
‘New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce’ podcast lands deal with Amazon’s Wondery
LOS ANGELES — Amazon’s podcast studio, Wondery, on Tuesday announced it has landed a multiyear deal with “New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce,” as it continues to add more audio programs to its ad sales and distribution portfolio. The deal includes global distribution rights to audio and video episodes...
Pirates’ Oneil Cruz stunned by position switch, will ‘do my best’ at playing center field
Oneil Cruz was blindsided by the Pittsburgh Pirates’ decision to move him from shortstop to center field, saying he was disappointed that it took him by surprise. Speaking publicly Tuesday afternoon for the first time since the Pirates revealed the position switch, Cruz admitted he “wasn’t expecting it” despite committing...
Steelers’ Broderick Jones assumes he’ll be at RT when season opens – ‘but you never know’
After being drafted as a projected left tackle but spending his rookie season a right tackle, Broderick Jones remains less than 100% certain which side he will be on when his second NFL season begins in 12 days. “Gotta wait until Sept. 8 comes,” Jones said Tuesday, “and see what...
Pitt’s Randy Bates eager to see what his young, hungry defense can accomplish
Randy Bates was joking when he wondered about his career path and those he has allowed to impact it. “Why I took a job where my life is dependent on 17- and 18-year-old guys being consistent is silly,” he said. Yet he has been coaching for 43 years, seven as...
Steelers deep along offensive, defensive lines after setting initial 53-man roster
After the Pittsburgh Steelers reduced their roster to the mandatory 53-player limit Tuesday, they were left thin at some positions and overloaded at others. A course correction, however, could take place in the upcoming days as the Steelers try to balance their roster before they face the Atlanta Falcons on...
Browns rookie Mike Hall goes on list as NFL investigates domestic violence incident
CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List on Tuesday while the NFL continues its investigation into a domestic violence charge filed against him. Hall was arrested Aug. 13 after his fiancee told police he threatened her with a gun during...
QB starters Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix lead list of NFL rookies to watch in 2024
Three rookie quarterbacks drafted in the first round are set to start on opening day with Chicago’s Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels of Washington and Bo Nix for Denver. If that sounds familiar, it is. Happened last year with three of the first four picks — Carolina’s Bryce Young, Houston’s C.J....
West Virginia brings confidence into opener, rematch with No. 8 Penn State
If West Virginia coach Neal Brown could make a wish looking back on last season, it would be to have closed the campaign against Penn State as opposed to facing the Nittany Lions in Week 1. The Mountaineers began 2023 in one of the most hostile environments in sports, falling...
Xander Schauffele has the points for PGA player of the year. But the award no longer exists
ATLANTA — Winning two majors in a year used to be a shoo-in for earning the points-based award for player of the year presented annually by the PGA of America since 1948. Xander Schauffele was in line to get at least one award this year. A major is worth 30...
Lexi Thompson is among 3 players added to the U.S. Solheim Cup team
GAINESVILLE, Va. — Lexi Thompson is playing in the Solheim Cup for the seventh straight year, one of three captain’s picks announced Tuesday as the Americans try to win back the cup from Europe. Thompson first played the Solheim Cup in 2013 at age 18, making her the youngest American...
Here’s what to expect as 4,400 athletes compete in Paris at the Paralympic Games
PARIS — Let the games begin again. The Paralympic Games are set to open Wednesday as some 4,400 athletes with disabilities, permanent injuries or impairments prepare to compete for 549 medals across 22 sports over 11 days in Paris. The French capital, which just hosted the Olympics, again provides the...
Mark Madden: No one was ‘bamboozled’ by Steelers’ quarterback decision
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky said the media was “bamboozled a little bit” because “this was never a quarterback competition” between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. No duh, Einstein. Except you weren’t bamboozled. Nobody ever said it was a quarterback competition, least of all Mike Tomlin. Wilson had “pole position” and was...
Does American tennis have a pickleball problem? Upstart’s boom looms out of view at the U.S. Open
NEW YORK — Does American tennis have a pickleball problem? Even as the U.S. Open opened this week with more than a million fans expected for the sport’s biggest showcase, the game’s leaders are being forced to confront a devastating fact — the nation’s fastest-growing racket sport (or sport of...
First Call: Steelers may have interest in a pair of WRs; Mason Rudolph in line for Titans’ No. 2 job after Malik Willis trade
The Steelers are reportedly in contact with teams about two wide receivers who are not named Brandon Aiyuk. Mason Rudolph has won the backup job with the Tennessee Titans. Mike Tomlin’s impact on quarterbacks is being overrated again. A West Virginia quarterback has been cut in Philadelphia while a former...
Making his MLB debut was ‘rewarding’ for Pirates 33-year-old lefty reliever Brady Feigl
Brady Feigl wore an MLB Debut patch on the left shoulder of his Pittsburgh Pirates game jersey, a smile on his face and one word in his brain Monday night: Rewarding. Feigl’s debut didn’t go as he’d dreamed, as the Chicago Cubs tagged the left-handed reliever for six earned runs...
Tim Benz: Moving Oneil Cruz to CF makes the Pirates look bad. How they announced the move makes them look even worse
The only things more inconsistent than Oneil Cruz’s throwing arm are the darts the Pittsburgh Pirates are blindly tossing at his future position. Regarding Cruz and his 23 fielding errors at shortstop, on Sunday, Aug. 18, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said on 93.7 The Fan, “All I can tell...
Source: Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke under consideration to be next AD at Northwestern
Heather Lyke, whose seven-year tenure as Pitt athletic director has included firing, hiring and extending contracts of several coaches, is under consideration for the same position at Northwestern, a source told TribLive. Lyke, whose Pitt contract is due to expire this year, is expected to meet with Northwestern officials this...
Cubs crank out 21 hits to pound Pirates for 18 runs in series opener
When the Chicago Cubs weren’t hitting for extra bases off Mitch Keller, they were stealing them off Yasmani Grandal. The Cubs had five doubles off the Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed starter and just as many stolen bases against the 35-year-old catcher through the first four innings while clinging to a one-run...
Ravens coach John Harbaugh remembers Aliquippa native Joe D’Alessandris: ‘An inspiration’Video
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — When John Harbaugh reflects on the life of Aliquippa native Joe D’Alessandris, the stories that stand out are about a period of time long before he became an NFL offensive line coach. “He was working in the steel mill when he was 17 and 18 years...
Coco Gauff begins her US Open title defense with an easy win after 2-match losing streakVideo
NEW YORK — The chant rang out in cavernous Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday at the U.S. Open before Coco Gauff’s first service game of her first match of her first Grand Slam tournament as a defending champion: “Here we go, Coco! Here we go!” Coming to Flushing Meadows off...
Bills’ Josh Allen enters 7th season focused on increasing leadership roleVideo
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — There remain many signs of Josh Allen being his familiar playful self. Whether it was opening training camp boasting of his latest Catan board game conquest; celebrating touchdowns with leaping hip-checks with teammates; and name-dropping Tiger Woods in detailing his offseason golf course encounters: The Buffalo...
Former Pitt QB Chad Voytik says sharing the position can be stressful but still have a happy ending
Pat Narduzzi will start the 2024 Pitt season with a question mark at the game’s most important position. Quarterbacks Nate Yarnell and Eli Holstein will play in the opener Saturday against Kent State, the coach said. He has yet to name a starter. It isn’t ideal. Narduzzi didn’t have this...
Pirates activate 2B Nick Gonzales, recall C Henry Davis, place Joey Bart on 10-day IL
Three of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ most promising young players were in the clubhouse Monday, when the club made a flurry of roster moves that were overshadowed by Oneil Cruz’s position switch to center field. Second baseman Nick Gonzales was activated from the 10-day injured list and in the starting lineup...
