Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 157
Pitt’s Gerald Drumgoole backs up his commitment, signs letter of intent
After verbally committing to Pitt in February, wing player Gerald Drumgoole signed his letter of intent Wednesday and will join the Panthers for the upcoming season. Drumgoole, 6-foot-6, 200 pounds, played last season at national powerhouse La Lumiere (Ind.), helping the team to a 29-1 record and runner-up finish in...
Duquesne gets commitment from 6-11 graduate transfer Baylee Steele
Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot continued rebuilding a roster hit with transfers and injuries when 6-foot-11, 245-pound center Baylee Steele, a graduate transfer from Utah Valley, said he plans to enroll at the school. ????? pic.twitter.com/EyQFdewAHR— Baylee Steele (@Im_Baylee) January 9, 2019 Duquesne will be Steele’s fourth school after he spent...
Bruised by present, Penguins’ Matt Cullen not thinking about the future
The game had been over for no more than 15 minutes, and the Pittsburgh Penguins locker room was full of players with bruised feelings, unfulfilled expectations and heads hung in despair. But Matt Cullen still was asked to answer the toughest question of all: What’s next? Cullen, who will be...
Kyle Crick rejoins Pirates bullpen in Detroit
The Pittsburgh Pirates activated relief pitcher Kyle Crick to the roster Tuesday after he spent 11 days on the 10-day injured list with right triceps tightness. Crick, who allowed no runs, hits or walks in two innings before being placed in the injured list, could help relieve some issues in...
Islanders’ Robin Lehner shines after beating off-ice ‘demons’
Barry Trotz appreciates and respects what Robin Lehner has done for the New York Islanders in the first three games of their playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. But the Islanders coach isn’t kidding when he says, “Playing goal for us is the easy thing.” Lehner has stopped 98 shots...
Pitt football gets its second 2020 commitment
Pitt received its second commitment from the class of 2020 Saturday when offensive lineman Michael Statham announced on Twitter he will enroll next year. 110% COMMITTED pic.twitter.com/niMc3jL0pI— Michael Statham (@_bigmike57) April 14, 2019 Statham, who attends St. Frances High School in Baltimore, has nine scholarship offers from Power 5 schools,...
Shocky Jacques-Louis, Paris Ford see stock rise during Pitt’s spring game
These players stood out Saturday in Pitt’s Blue-Gold Game: Offense Quarterback Kenny Pickett After a tough ending to last season, Pickett used some new techniques taught to him by offensive coordinator Mark Whipple (footwork, etc.) and looked confident in the pocket. He completed 10 of 14 passes for 125 yards...
Deep passing game emerges in Pitt spring game
Placing too much significance on spring football is often folly, but three Pitt players were so sure in their declarations after the Blue-Gold Game on Saturday that they should not be ignored. • In his own words, wide receiver Tre Tipton is “lovin’ life,” a revelation that actually hit him...
Former Pitt great Aaron Donald wants to remain humbleVideo
When Aaron Donald wants to work out at Pitt’s South Side facility – and that’s almost every day – he calls ahead. “I just want to make sure I’m not in the way,” he said. The two-time defending NFL Defensive Player of the Year and one of the most decorated...
Pitt football announces most improved awards prior to Blue/Gold game
Two Pitt players switching positions, one who has battled a variety of injuries and a redshirt sophomore who moved onto the No. 1 offensive line two weeks ago were named winners of the Ed Conway Award as the most improved players in spring ball. Former safety Phil Campbell, who is...
Pitt players, coaches visit Children’s Hospital, 6 other sites around townVideo
When Pat Narduzzi, his players and coaches visited Children’s Hospital on Friday, he played catch with one patient, colored with another (and stayed inside the lines) and at the end of day was reminded of how lucky he is to coach Pitt’s football team. The visit was part of a...
5 things to watch in Pitt’s spring game
Pitt will celebrate its football program — past and present — Saturday with its spring game at Heinz Field. It’s an opportunity to get a look at what Pat Narduzzi, his coaches and players have worked on for the past month, and to maybe meet the game’s honorary coaches, former...
Pirates’ Gregory Polanco promoted to Triple-A for next stage in rehab
After playing four games for the Single-A Bradenton Marauders, Gregory Polanco will shift his rehab assignment to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he is scheduled to play Saturday night against the Charlotte Knights. Polanco, who had shoulder surgery in September after hitting a career-high 23 home runs for the Pittsburgh Pirates, played...
Aaron Donald makes historic 7-figure donation to Pitt football
Aaron Donald, the two-time defending NFL Defensive Player of the Year of the Los Angeles Rams, is doing more than lifting weights at the University of Pittsburgh Performance center. Pitt announced Friday morning that Donald, a Penn Hills graduate who was the nation’s most dominant defender in 2013, has made...
Pitt’s Jimmy Morrissey out for spring game; recovery from foot surgery going well
Pat Narduzzi said junior center Jimmy Morrissey won’t play in Pitt’s Blue-Gold Game on Saturday at Heinz Field, but his recovery from season-ending foot surgery is going well. Which is good news considering he is Pitt’s most experienced offensive lineman and perhaps its most valuable player on offense who doesn’t...
How strategy played a role in Pitt’s spring game draft
When Pitt senior defensive tackle Amir Watts made safety Jazzee Stocker the first pick in the spring game draft Thursday, he shouted, “You’re the first pick. We want to make you a very rich man.” But Watts’ co-captain on the gold squad, senior wide receiver Maurice Ffrench, had another reason...
Pitt secondary brings necessary experience, leadership to the team
Most mornings this spring around 7 a.m., Pitt safeties coach Cory Sanders expected a text message from sophomore Paris Ford. “Coach, you there?” “He wanted to get some extra work,” Sanders said, “which a lot of those guys do.” With only two of 15 practices remaining this spring, Pitt’s secondary...
Kevin Newman goes on Pirates’ injured list; Kevin Kramer recalled from Indy
The Pittsburgh Pirates recalled infielder Kevin Kramer from Triple-A Indianapolis to replace infielder Kevin Newman, who was put on the 10-day injured list with a laceration on his right middle finger. There are currently 10 players on the Pirates’ injury list. Newman’s placement is retroactive to Tuesday. He was injured...
Aaron Donald, LeSean McCoy named honorary coaches for Pitt spring game
Aaron Donald will get the chance to improve on his 0-1 record as a Pitt spring game coach when he opposes former Panthers running back LeSean McCoy at 1 p.m Saturday in the Blue-Gold Game at Heinz Field. Donald, a former Pitt All-American defensive tackle who has developed into the...
Duquesne’s 6-11 center Dylan Swingle plans to transfer
Duquesne’s roster lost another player Wednesday — the fourth in three days — when 6-foot-11 freshman center Dylan Swingle entered the NCAA transfer portal. Swingle did not play last season, accepting a redshirt in his first year on campus, but he’s the second 6-11 player to make plans to transfer...
Replacing Pitt’s 1,000-yard backs may be toughest task of the springVideo
Pat Narduzzi makes no promises about his team in April, but it’s safe to say he’s looking for improvement in Pitt’s running game and among those trying to stop it. Asked to gauge his backs’ progress through the 12 practices since March 6, he said, “It depends on who they...
5 Pirates thoughts on busy 9-game stretch to start season
The Pittsburgh Pirates are only nine games into the season, but it feels like mid-July with all the news that has swirled around the team since Opening Day. It started with unexpected bullpen failures, followed by a four-game sweep of Cincinnati Reds, who don’t look to be as improved as...
Pirates’ Chris Archer, Reds’ Yasiel Puig suspended for roles in brawl
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Chris Archer could miss his next scheduled start after he was suspended five games and fined an undisclosed amount of money by Major League Baseball for throwing behind Derek Dietrich of the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday. Pirates pitcher Chris Archer and Reds outfielder Yasiel Puig, as well...
Duquesne guard Eric Williams Jr. explores transferring
Duquesne sophomore Eric Williams Jr., the last scholarship player on the roster not recruited by coach Keith Dambrot, has put his name into the NCAA transfer portal and announced his intentions to leave the program. Williams made the announcement on Twitter. The loss of Williams, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound guard, is...
Offense breaks out after brawl as Pirates finish sweep of Reds
Felipe Vazquez was so certain trouble was brewing Sunday at PNC Park, he felt it through walls, down a hallway, up some stairs and into the clubhouse. It was the fourth inning of what would become the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 7-5 victory against the Cincinnati Reds, and the final blow in...
