Sports category, Page 1122
After surge in first-half firings, can seasons be salvaged?
The move was shocking for its timing and memorable for its location. Lane Kiffin was fired by Southern California on Sept. 29, 2013, just five games into the season, on the airport tarmac after the team plane returned home from Arizona State. While not unprecedented, such an early coaching change...
‘It’s not right’: Players want more from NHL against racism
For too long, Matt Dumba felt he was on his own dealing with racial taunts directed at him as a youngster growing up in Saskatchewan. It was no different for Dumba as an adult, one of just a handful of minority players in the National Hockey League. Even in a...
First Call: Chase Claypool floated as a trade target in Buffalo; Steelers set to face NFL’s toughest remaining schedule
Is it possible that Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool is auditioning for another team this weekend? Some stats are working against the Steelers this Sunday in Buffalo and for the rest of the season. The Baltimore Ravens made a move, and one of the Bills just got an NFL Award....
U mad, bro?: Steelers, Penguins fans take swings at Mitch Trubisky, Mike Tomlin, Mike Sullivan, Prime Video
As the Steelers changed quarterbacks this week, a funny thing happened on my way to the “U mad, bro?” inbox. Apparently, I’ve gone from a writer who is too negative, sarcastic, antagonistic and pessimistic to a guy who is too soft and forgiving. According to some of you folks this...
Quality of hockey, business booming as NHL begins new seasonVideo
Cale Makar won the Stanley Cup and earned playoff MVP honors after a season in which he was voted the NHL’s best defenseman. He may be the best hockey player in the world, and still he looks around at Connor McDavid, Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews and Colorado teammate Nathan MacKinnon...
Broncos’ Russell Wilson, Colts’ Matt Ryan enduring rough transitions to new teamsVideo
DENVER — Russell Wilson and Matt Ryan can feel each other’s pain. None of the nine NFL teams that changed quarterbacks this season has a winning record heading into October. Two of them square off Thursday night when Ryan’s beleaguered Indianapolis Colts (1-2-1) visit Wilson’s banged-up Denver Broncos (2-2). Both...
Jordan Poyer plays key role in Bills’ injury-filled secondaryVideo
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — With multiple injuries to their secondary, the Buffalo Bills have relied on safety Jordan Poyer more than ever. He’s relishing the opportunity. In the three games Poyer has played for Buffalo this season, the Bills have not allowed a single point in the second half. “That’s...
Protester subdued by Rams’ Bobby Wagner files police reportVideo
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — A protester who ran onto the field during the San Francisco 49ers’ Monday night home game against the Rams has filed a police report after being subdued by Los Angeles linebacker Bobby Wagner. Santa Clara Police Department Lt. Cuong Phan confirmed to the Associated Press on...
Fan who caught Aaron Judge’s 62nd HR offered $2M for ballVideo
The owner of a sports memorabilia auction house says he has offered $2 million to the fan who caught Aaron Judge’s American League-record 62nd home run. JP Cohen, president of Memory Lane Inc. in Tustin, Calif., told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he has texted and emailed Cory Youmans,...
Final regular season for future HOFer and ‘Pirate killer’ Albert Pujols comes to an end at PNC Park
Two straight months of batting beneath the Mendoza Line is enough to put the majority of MLB players in danger of being sent down to the minors or designated for assignment. How about when it’s a future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer who’s struggling as such? That’s exactly the territory Albert Pujols found...
Young Pirates rally for comeback, beat Cardinals in season finale to finish 62-100
Where Derek Shelton has prided his positivity in the face of the absurdity and adversity the Pittsburgh Pirates have produced in his three years as manager, he finally voiced his frustration. Before the season finale, Shelton vented that the 100th loss of the season stuck with him. Shelton called it...
Penguins assign defenseman Taylor Fedun to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
The Pittsburgh Penguins assigned veteran defenseman Taylor Fedun to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Wednesday evening. Earlier in the day, he cleared waivers. The 34-year-old right-hander served as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s captain last season, appearing in 44 AHL games and scoring 16 points (five goals, 11 assists). Fedun missed the...
Pitt’s Gavin Bartholomew doesn’t allow pregame ‘jitters’ to keep from being grounded
The moments before a game are when Gavin Bartholomew wants to be alone. “I try to keep to myself a little bit, tune in to what I have to do to get the job done,” Pitt’s sophomore tight end said. But he should know — actually, he likely is well...
Confident Kenny Pickett ready for challenge of facing first-place Bills in first NFL start
Kenny Pickett’s first NFL start coincides with the Pittsburgh Steelers being the biggest underdogs in franchise history dating to the 1970 merger. The Buffalo Bills are listed as 14-point favorites when they host the Steelers and their rookie quarterback Sunday afternoon at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. Pickett, thrust...
Safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick, Terrell Edmunds miss practice as Steelers start to prep for Bills
The Pittsburgh Steelers were minus three-fourths of their secondary Wednesday when they began on-field preparations for their game Sunday at the Buffalo Bills. Sitting out practice were Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring), strong safety Terrell Edmunds (concussion) and free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (knee). In addition, cornerbacks Levi Wallace (foot) and Cameron Sutton...
Steelers make change at return man, with Steven Sims handling duties this week
Two fumbles was too many for Mike Tomlin. So, the Pittsburgh Steelers coach elected to make a change with his No. 1 return man. Steven Sims said Wednesday he will handle return duties during Sunday’s game at the Buffalo Bills. Sims replaces Gunner Olszewski in that role after Olszewski had...
Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin finds right harmony in being healthy
Brian Dumoulin’s role with the Pittsburgh Penguins is pretty easy to define. DJ. “He’s got a good taste for music, and he’s been doing a good job,” teammate Kasperi Kapanen said. “He was doing it long before I was ever here. I love what he’s playing right now.” Per Dumoulin’s...
Fan who caught Aaron Judge’s 62nd HR offered $2M for ball
The owner of a sports memorabilia auction house says he has offered $2 million to the fan who caught Aaron Judge’s American League-record 62nd home run. JP Cohen, president of Memory Lane Inc. in Tustin, California, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he has texted and emailed Cory Youmans,...
Steelers prep for another meeting with ‘alien’ Von Miller
If Mike Tomlin is overly complimentary to Von Miller, it’s in part because Tomlin feels indebted to him. How much so? About $32,000 worth. “The guy (Miller) was the reason that we won that Pro Bowl game,” Tomlin said this week, referencing the 2018 NFL All-star game where Tomlin coached...
No-No Joe Musgrove wants a championship for hometown Padres
SAN DIEGO — Joe Musgrove took a moment away from the mayhem of the clubhouse celebration after the San Diego Padres clinched a playoff spot to reflect on where his career has been and where he wants it to go. The big right-hander will forever be remembered as the hometown...
MLB playoff picture all set, best-of-3 matchups start Friday
Albert Pujols taking his final swings in October, Julio Rodríguez stepping in for the first time. Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom facing Manny Machado and Juan Soto. Bryce Harper, back at last. José Ramírez and his Cleveland teammates trying to break a long drought — with a new name. And...
Steelers rookie WR Calvin Austin returns to practice, opening 21-day window to return to games
Calvin Austin III returned to practice Wednesday, opening up a 21-day window during which the rookie wide receiver can be activated off of injured reserve and make his debut for the Pittsburgh Steelers. “It feels great,” Austin said. “It was definitely good to be back out there. I was a...
‘Screw the Vegas lines’ — Steelers unfazed by being biggest underdog in half a century
The Pittsburgh Steelers are not expected to win their next game. At least, they’re seen as unlikely to win Sunday as they have for a game going back to the 1960s. Fourteen-point underdogs for the upcoming meeting at the Buffalo Bills, ESPN reported that’s the first time since the AFL/NFL...
Mark Madden: Plenty must go right for Penguins to find success in ’22
The Penguins have made the Stanley Cup playoffs for an incredible 16 straight years. They haven’t won a playoff series since 2018. This season’s team should maintain the former streak. Can it end the latter streak? Can it win a first-round series after losing four in a row? Can it...
Tim Benz: Kenny Pickett’s ‘spark’ better last a ‘definitive’ time for Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky seemed to lock in on the phrase. I can’t blame him. So did I. While conducting post-game interviews Sunday after he was benched for Pitt product Kenny Pickett during a 24-20 loss to the New York Jets, Trubisky was asked if he thought his benching...
