Sports category, Page 767
Steelers prepare for perhaps unprecedented cold, snowy, windy conditions against Bills
Born and raised in Arizona and after a college career at Alabama, Levi Wallace wasn’t so much thrown into the fire in the NFL as he was thrown into an icebox. Wallace spent his first four seasons with the Buffalo Bills. Now in his second season with the Pittsburgh Steelers,...
RB Aaron Jones rebounds from injuries to help Packers into postseason
GREEN BAY, Wis. — This hasn’t been a typical season for Green Bay’s Aaron Jones, but the veteran running back has regained his peak form just in time to help the Packers reach the playoffs. Jones, 29, bounced back from hamstring and knee injuries to rush for at least 112...
Joe Flacco’s remarkable comeback has Cleveland buzzing, Browns believing
CLEVELAND — Joe Flacco still struggles to process this re-found fame, an unexpected rebirth in a city where he was once despised and now adored. It’s all happened so fast for the quarterback who fell from his couch, landed in Cleveland and then the playoffs. “Crazy,” the soon-to-be 39-year-old Flacco...
Mark Andrews back at practice for Ravens after missing 6 games
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Mark Andrews was back at practice for the Baltimore Ravens on Friday after missing the final six games of the regular season because of an ankle injury. The three-time Pro Bowl tight end went on injured reserve after he was hurt early in a Nov. 16...
When ‘silent killer’ Isaac Seumalo speaks, Steelers locker room listens
The jubilant postgame locker room after the Pittsburgh Steelers beat their rivals on the road to complete their regular season last week featured plenty of hooting and hollering. But in the celebratory mood after defeating the Baltimore Ravens put the Steelers in position to earn a playoff berth, one player...
Lights, cameras, Clark: Iowa’s superstar guard gets prime-time spotlight Saturday on Fox
Caitlin Clark has set records on and off the court. The University of Iowa’s superstar guard is on track to do something never accomplished by a women’s basketball player. Appear on all four broadcast networks in the same season. Clark and the third-ranked Hawkeyes host No. 14 Indiana on Saturday...
Black leadership at head coach, QB to be more visible than ever during NFL playoffs
This year’s NFL playoffs will feature a record number of Black men who have thrived in leadership positions they rarely had the opportunity to hold in previous generations. Three Black head coaches have reached the playoffs — Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, Tampa Bay’s Todd Bowles and Houston’s DeMeco Ryans. Miami coach...
Reports: Washington’s Kalen DeBoer signs deal to replace Nick Saban at Alabama
Alabama wasted little time in finding Nick Saban’s successor, hiring Kalen DeBoer away from national runner-up Washington. DeBoer signed a deal with Alabama on Friday to replace Saban, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither...
Steelers Pro Bowl S Minkah Fitzpatrick officially to face Bills, but how will secondary line up?
It was only a couple weeks ago it felt as if the cupboard was bare in regards to Pittsburgh Steelers safeties. Now, all of a sudden, it seems they have too many? Minkah Fitzpatrick was given the official green light to play in Sunday’s playoff opener at the Buffalo Bills,...
Penn State special teams coordinator Stacy Collins leaving for Boise State as staff turnover continues
Penn State will enter the 2024 season with three new coordinators. Stacy Collins, the Nittany Lions’ special teams coordinator the last two years, is leaving. Collins is expected to be hired as Boise State’s special teams coordinator, linebackers coach and assistant head coach, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam...
Christian McCaffrey, Tyreek Hill, Fred Warner unanimous selections for 2023 NFL All-Pro team
Christian McCaffrey, Tyreek Hill and Fred Warner are unanimous choices for The Associated Press 2023 NFL All-Pro Team. The 49ers’ McCaffrey and Warner and the Dolphins’ Hill received first-team votes from all 50 members of a nationwide panel of media members who regularly cover the league. “No freakin’ way,” Warner...
Casey Thompson, former Texas, Nebraska and FAU QB, says he’ll transfer to Oklahoma
Casey Thompson, who has played quarterback at Texas, Nebraska and Florida Atlantic, has announced he will transfer to Oklahoma for the seventh season of an injury-riddled career. Thompson, 25, made the announcement on social media on Thursday night. Thompson’s father is former Oklahoma wishbone Sooners quarterback Charles Thompson. Oklahoma recruited...
Penguins forward Reilly Smith to be out long term with upper-body injury
As Reilly Smith retook the ice late in the first period Thursday against Vancouver, it looked like the Pittsburgh Penguins had dodged a bullet and avoided a serious ailment to their 32-year-old forward. In that opening period vs. the Canucks, Smith absorbed a big hit on the boards and left...
Bills WR Gabe Davis, S Taylor Rapp out, 2 other starters questionable for playoff vs. SteelersVideo
Two Buffalo Bills starters were declared out and two others deemed questionable to play in Sunday’s wild-card round playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Wide receiver Gabe Davis (knee) and safety Taylor Rapp (calf) will not play Sunday, Buffalo coach Sean McDermott told reporters Friday. He also said that cornerback...
Florida State, coach Mike Norvell agree to 8-year deal at more than $10M per year, AP source says
Florida State and coach Mike Norvell have agreed to a new eight-year deal that will pay him more than $10 million per year, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Friday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract was not yet...
Penguins taking stock of where they are approaching halfway point of the season
It’s fitting that at roughly the halfway point of the season, the 2023-24 Pittsburgh Penguins put forth the kind of performance that they did in Game 40 of 82. • Just enough bad in the first period to beat themselves. • Almost enough good over the last two periods to...
Steelers’ T.J. Watt, Miles Killebrew named 1st-team AP NFL All ProVideo
Outside linebacker T.J. Watt and special-teams captain Miles Killebrew were part of the first-team AP NFL All-Pro team announced Friday. Watt’s honor as a first-team edge rusher is the fourth of his career, also being so designated in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Watt finished among the top three in balloting...
Youth St. Vincent growing, defeats Waynesburg
Thursday was Youth Wrestling Night at Saint Vincent, and that is not a reference to the young Bearcats. Saint Vincent coach Dom Nania invited numerous youth wrestling clubs from Westmoreland County to Robert A. Carey Center for the Bearcats’ Presidents’ Athletic Conference match against Waynesburg. Wrestling returned to Saint Vincent...
Cornelia Huetter wins super-G to give Austrian women first victory of World Cup season
ALTENMARKT-ZAUCHENSEE, Austria — Cornelia Huetter gave Austria its first win of the season on the women’s World Cup circuit with a narrow super-G victory on home snow Friday. The normally powerful Austrian women have struggled this campaign but Huetter finally delivered a victory in the 17th race after previously getting...
Football Footnotes: A 6-pack of matchups to watch in the Steelers-Bills playoff game
There are plenty of intriguing man-vs-man matchups in Sunday’s Steelers-Bills playoff game. But the most difficult showdown might be Man vs. Mother Nature. Here’s a six-pack of X-and-O battles for this week’s “Football Footnotes.” Man vs. weather The biggest storyline coming out of this game may be which team handles...
Patriots name Jerod Mayo as next head coach, Bill Belichick’s successor
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Jerod Mayo spent his entire professional football career learning from Bill Belichick, first as a player and then as an assistant. He’ll now have the weighty task of succeeding the future Hall of Famer and leading a New England Patriots team as its first new voice in...
Tim Benz: Words matter when discussing the ‘Mason-Andre Rudolph’ story
When it comes to discussing the revival story of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph, the words matter. Or at least they should. For instance, I keep hearing people say that Rudolph is performing so well because “he’s playing like he’s got nothing to lose.” Is that really true? I don’t...
First Call: Jake Guentzel’s agent talks future with Penguins; Steelers avoid 1st wave of international games
In Friday’s “First Call,” the Pittsburgh Steelers are off the hook for an international game. At least for now. The Jake Guentzel trade conversation is about to get thick. The Penguins have an important game on the horizon. And both Duquesne basketball and Robert Morris hockey are about to battle...
Paul Spadafora’s rise to world champion, fall from grace chronicled in ‘Fighting Till The End’
Paul Spadafora was back where he believes he belongs, wearing gloves and working in and around the ring with aspiring fighters last month at Tom Yankello’s World Class Boxing Gym in Ambridge. The former IBF lightweight champion from McKees Rocks, who now resides in Las Vegas, returned to his hometown...
Pirates have 4 candidates preparing for position battle to earn starting job at second base
As the Pittsburgh Pirates approach spring training, one of the most interesting battles for a starting job could involve a major international signing, a former first-round pick, the centerpiece of a trade for an All-Star and their top hitter among rookies last season. Ji Hwan Bae, Nick Gonzales, Liover Peguero...
