Kevin Gorman stories, Page 140
Kevin Gorman: When Steelers’ ‘backs-on-‘backers’ became all about Benny Snell Football
This was the moment we’ve been waiting for, the annual rite of passage in the first practice in pads for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s known as “backs-on-’backers” but Sunday’s edition might as well have been called Benny Snell Football. That’s how the rookie running back refers to his rugged running...
Kevin Gorman: All eyes on Devin Bush’s 1st practice in pads with Steelers
Devin Bush drew cheers from the crowd at Chuck Noll Field in his first practice at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp for diving to break up a short pass over the middle. What the Steelers’ first-round draft pick can’t wait to do is put on the pads for the first time...
Kevin Gorman: When Maurkice Pouncey speaks, the Steelers are listening
If you were looking for leadership on the first day of training camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers, it showed up in a black SUV and parked in front of Rooney Hall at Saint Vincent College. Maurkice Pouncey arrived early Thursday with little fanfare and few words. There wasn’t much to...
Swifter Ryan Switzer wants to take advantage of targets for Steelers
Ryan Switzer was enamored with the view at Saint Vincent and excited about the opportunity that awaited his first training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not only was the third-year slot receiver/return specialist ramped up about a potentially bigger role as a playmaker, but he rounded up his opportunity. “There’s...
Kevin Gorman: Reading fine print on Mike Tomlin’s deal with Steelers
If the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t send a strong enough message this offseason that Mike Tomlin is still the man in charge, they made it official by announcing his contract extension Thursday as players were reporting to Saint Vincent. Upon missing the playoffs for the first time in five years with...
Kevin Gorman: Once baseball’s best, Dave Parker belongs in Hall of Fame
When the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrated their 1979 World Series champions on Saturday at PNC Park, there was only one other place in the world Dave Parker would have rather been. That’s Cooperstown, N.Y. Parker was regarded as the best player in baseball from the mid-1970s until the early ‘80s, a...
Fam-a-lee forever for Pirates as they celebrate 1979 World Series championsVideo
Dressed in black jerseys with gold trim and gold pillbox baseball caps with black stripes, the 1979 “We Are Family” Pirates stood triumphantly one more time to cheers in Pittsburgh. The Pirates celebrated the 40th anniversary of their World Series championship by honoring the players in what manager Clint Hurdle...
Kevin Gorman: Steelers have done everything to make this Ben Roethlisberger’s team
From an outside perspective, this will be remembered as the offseason the Pittsburgh Steelers parted ways with a pair of All-Pro players in Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. The Steelers prefer another narrative: This is the year they banked on Ben Roethlisberger, not only by giving their franchise quarterback a...
Kevin Gorman: Celebrating the 1979 Pirates, not the generational gap
For a 6-year-old Pittsburgh kid who needed nothing more than a ball and a glove to spend a summer day happily, the 1979 Pirates were my glorious introduction to baseball. With the Pirates winning the World Series and the Steelers on their way to a fourth Super Bowl, Pittsburgh branded...
Paul Spadafora recalls training with world champion boxer Pernell Whitaker
Paul Spadafora couldn’t stop crying when he heard the news that Pernell Whitaker had died, a loss of not only one of his boxing idols but his former trainer. The Hall of Fame fighter known as Sweet Pea won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games and who was...
Kevin Gorman: Felipe Vazquez goes from Pirates’ Nightmare to All-Star dream reliever
Felipe Vazquez was still down and out about giving up the game-winning run to the Milwaukee Brewers in the 10th inning Friday night when Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle called the closer into his office the next day. When Hurdle informed Vazquez that he was chosen to play in the...
Kevin Gorman: Best way for Pirates to honor team is to keep it intact
The Pittsburgh Pirates enter the All-Star break below .500 but in contention for the NL Central title and a wild-card berth, attempting to avoid no-man’s land before the trade deadline. No wonder Neal Huntington took the middle ground. The Pirates general manager walks a tightrope when talking about his team,...
Jon Schwind, Josh Bell’s Home Run Derby pitcher, hopes to find sweet spot
Jon Schwind is hoping to be the perfect pitcher for Josh Bell, which is to say he hopes to repeatedly find the sweet spot on Bell’s bat Monday in the Home Run Derby. As a former roommate and teammate of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ All-Star first baseman who has 27 home...
Kevin Gorman: Pirates can only hope Jameson Taillon finds gold at end of rainbow
Jameson Taillon had to get a grasp of his injury then get a grip. If the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander is going to pitch again this season, he first has to pick up a baseball. That’s how far along Taillon is two months into his road to recovery from a right...
Amid recovery, Jameson Taillon says he plans to pitch again this season for Pirates
Jameson Taillon said he plans to pitch again this season, but the Pittsburgh Pirates ace first has to throw. Taillon’s road to recovery will take a big step this weekend, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said, when the 27-year-old right-hander plays catch for the first time since going on the injured...
Kevin Gorman: Pirates’ performance at PNC Park critical on and off the field
The Pittsburgh Pirates reached an important milestone Tuesday night with a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs, one that tends to be symbolic of (and necessary for) a successful season. They reached the .500 mark at PNC Park. Lost amid the hoopla over Adam Frazier’s four-double game Monday and seven...
Kevin Gorman: Pirates’ Josh Bell banking on potential payday in Home Run Derby
When Josh Bell bashed three home runs against the Chicago Cubs on Monday, it never occurred on the Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman that it happened on Bobby Bonilla Day. In what has become the longest running joke in Major League Baseball, the New York Mets pay the retired slugger a...
Kevin Gorman: Weighing the pros, cons of Penguins extending Mike Sullivan
On the opening day of NHL free agency, Jim Rutherford’s biggest revelation was about what the Pittsburgh Penguins will do with Mike Sullivan moving forward. Sullivan won the power struggle with Phil Kessel, as the Penguins chose their two-time Stanley Cup champion coach over the two-time Stanley Cup champion sniper....
Kevin Gorman: Penguins banking big on Jim Rutherford’s makeover moves
The Pittsburgh Penguins raised eyebrows around the NHL on Monday when they signed winger Brandon Tanev to a free-agent contract that was long in term and steep in price. General manager Jim Rutherford was blunt in his assessment of the price to pay to sign a bottom-six forward who had...
Kevin Gorman: Upcoming stretch a litmus test for Pirates
In one breath, Clint Hurdle called it one of the best wins he’s watched in nine years as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In another, he downplayed the importance of one game. They overcame four deficits, including three-run margins in the ninth and 11th innings, before Kevin Newman’s full-count, bases-loaded...
Once cleared from concussion, Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli could do rehab assignment
As Francisco Cervelli awaits clearances to return from his sixth documented concussion, he made it clear playing catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates remains his preference. Cervelli has been out since May 26 after Joc Pederson’s broken bat hit him in the mask against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It marked the...
Kevin Gorman: On way to NBA, Cameron Johnson plans to give back to grassroots basketballVideo
The night before Cameron Johnson realized his wildest dreams, he reminisced about his roots. That a product of Western Pennsylvania is an NBA first-round draft pick is almost as much of an anomaly in the basketball world as a lottery pick with a master’s degree. Johnson is proud to be...
Kevin Gorman: The night Cameron Johnson cashed in his NBA lottery ticketVideo
On the night he was selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, Cameron Johnson reflected on a parked-car conversation and the reminder that followed. After Cameron had a rough high school game in his junior season at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Gil Johnson pulled into the...
WPIAL product Cameron Johnson picked 11th overall in NBA DraftVideo
When the phone call came from the Phoenix Suns, Cameron Johnson lowered his head and rubbed his eyes to wipe away the tears as family and friends celebrated around him. It was a celebratory scene at the Johnson family’s Moon Township home Thursday night when the 23-year-old sharpshooter was selected...
Q&A with Ray Searage: Pirates pitching coach discusses challenges, criticism
Ray Searage was the subject of my column this week for wearing a bull`s-eye for the Bucs. The Pittsburgh Pirates pitching coach has endured a rash of injuries to his starting rotation and bullpen and the criticism that comes with the club losing 20 of 29 games in one span....
