Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 16

Home games are supposed to generate comfort and confidence. Players sleep in their own beds. There’s no need for 7-foot centers to fold themselves into airplane seats. Students looking to get on TV don’t hurl insults at foul shooters. None of that has been enough to deter the Panthers, who...

Pitt and West Virginia can’t get enough of each other. Officials at both schools Thursday announced a four-game extension of the basketball version of the Backyard Brawl that will run through the 2027-28 season. The teams will meet at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center during the 2024-25 and 2026-27 seasons and...

Pitt will play seven of its 12 regular-season games at Acrisure Stadium in 2024, including an Oct. 12 date with California, one of three new ACC member schools. Pitt and Cal haven’t met on the football field since a 30-15 Golden Bears victory in 1966. Two other highlights of Pitt’s...

Smoked wings on Carson Street, french fries and cole slaw on sandwiches and, of course, Charlie Partridge are among the benefits in and around town that made Pitt an attractive option for transfer football players this offseason. Pat Narduzzi’s makeover of his 3-9 team began hours after the last game...

During his team’s journey from Pittsburgh to Durham, N.C., to Atlanta, Pitt coach Jeff Capel used only seven players to craft two important victories. William Jeffress came off the bench for a total of six minutes. Jorge Diaz Graham didn’t play at all. This is not meant as a criticism...

The box score from Pitt’s 72-64 victory against Georgia Tech on Tuesday night shows Bub Carrington scored 19 points, his largest point total in five games. But assistant coach Tim O’Toole was more interested in talking about Carrington’s defensive efforts after Pitt’s second consecutive road victory and third overall in...

The Pittsburgh Pirates made a serious move to shore up their bullpen Monday when they agreed to terms on a one-year, $10.5 million contract with seven-time All-Star reliever Aroldis Chapman, a source confirmed to TribLive. The deal is pending a physical examination. Chapman, 35, would give the Pirates a left-handed...

If Jeff Capel had anything to say about it (and he did), Blake Hinson has moved on from his record-setting seven 3-pointers and Pitt’s victory against Duke. Social media might never end its fun with Hinson’s table-hopping interaction with the Cameron Crazies. But at least the last of those angry...

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced several minor-league staff changes Monday, including new managers for three of the four full-season affiliates. Only manager Miguel Perez at Triple-A Indianapolis remains in his 2023 role. Robby Hammock, who spent last season managing at High-A Greensboro, is the new manager at Double-A Altoona. Hammock will...

Pitt coach Jeff Capel gave his team a few hours before lights-out in Durham, N.C., to enjoy the upset victory of Duke. Actually, there wasn’t even time to go home. After the game Saturday, Pitt’s traveling party went directly to Atlanta on Sunday to get settled and prepared for the...

Pitt continued to add potential playmakers to new coordinator Kade Bell’s offense Sunday when coach Pat Narduzzi secured a verbal commitment from wide receiver Tyreek Robinson of Evangel Christian in Shreveport, La. Robinson announced his decision on his X (formerly Twitter) account. Robinson (5-foot-9, 170 pounds) is unranked among prospects...

Blake Hinson crosses paths with Sam Clancy on occasion while both men go about their daily business on Pitt’s campus. Two stout men, with a gift for basketball and big-time plays, separated by 41 years in age, now linked forever in Pitt, Duke and college basketball lore. It’s a good...

If anyone in the crowd of 9,314 at Cameron Indoor Stadium did not see Blake Hinson’s passion overflowing Saturday night, he offered an encore performance moments after Pitt’s stunning 80-76 upset of the No. 7 Blue Devils. Hinson jumped up on a table — inches from the Duke student section...

The story of how Dwight Clay ended up making the long journey — geographically and culturally — from Pittsburgh’s Hill District to Notre Dame’s South Bend campus where he impacted college basketball like no one before him starts with Mary Clay, his mom. “Everyone knew Mary Clay,” Dwight Clay said....

No one should be surprised North Carolina and Duke are the only two ACC teams that appear to have Final Four potential. At least, to this point of the season, with seven weeks left before the conference tournament. Yeah, it’s early, but ESPN’s Joe Lunardi posts his bracketology in June....

Born in Boston, but a Pitt man until the day he died, Carroll H. “Beano” Cook has been posthumously elected to the College Sports Communicators Hall of Fame Class of 2024, the organization announced Wednesday. Known as the Pope of College Football because of his love for and knowledge of...

Say goodbye to the Pitt men’s basketball team for the next two weeks. Players will be around campus, of course, practicing on their appointed days, going to class and meeting with coach Jeff Capel and his staff. But the next home game is Jan. 31 against Wake Forest after three...

With nearly 14 minutes left in Pitt’s 69-58 loss to Syracuse on Tuesday night, there was plenty of time for the Panthers to recover from what had been a listless performance. Suddenly, several opposing players went to the floor, falling onto the Pitt logo at midcourt, pushing each other and...

Former Pitt standout guard Curtis Aiken has been appointed by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to the Board of Trustees of the University of Pittsburgh of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education. He is set to serve a four-year term ending Oct. 5, 2027. Aiken, who is a radio analyst for...

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi filled the final vacancies on his offensive staff and altered its structure Tuesday when he hired three assistants: Jacob Bronowski, Jeremy Darveau and Lindsey Lamar. Bronowski will coach tight ends and special teams, a shift from the first nine years of Narduzzi’s Pitt tenure when Andre...

When Pitt confronts Syracuse on Tuesday night at Petersen Events Center, the game will be a test of how well Jeff Capel has schooled his team in the wake of an 81-73 loss to the Orange last month. There is time for Pitt to reverse its fortunes, but a 1-4...

Sidney Crosby has done it before, and he will do it again — perhaps many times — before the end of his career. Still, he said, “It’s always a little weird when you play with guys for a long time and you’re playing against them.” Crosby must do it again...

With a sellout crowd of 3,724 filling UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Friday night and Duquesne welcoming one of the Atlantic 10’s best teams to town, the decibel level was high and there was energy in the building. Duquesne officials were hoping for a memorable night of basketball. What they got,...

In 29 seasons coaching college and high school basketball, Duquesne’s Keith Dambrot has tried many ways to assure his players they matter. • Like most coaches, Dambrot, 65, likes to keep a line of communication open between his office and the locker room. • Or, he might plan something similar...