Sports category, Page 1159
With future up in the air, Mason Rudolph not looking beyond Steelers’ preseason finale
When the Pittsburgh Steelers face the Detroit Lions on Sunday, they will conclude not just their preseason but the exhibition schedule for the entire NFL. The 4:30 p.m. nationally televised kickoff makes the Steelers-Lions matchup the final one of the weekend and one of only two that will be held...
Pitt notebook: With help from John Denver, Pat Narduzzi hopes to set a brawling mood
Pitt players who will line up next Thursday against West Virginia were of middle-school age — or younger — in 2011 when the Panthers most recently played the Mountaineers. Pat Narduzzi, a Youngstown, Ohio, native, who was still at Michigan State at the time, promised to “educate” his players on...
Novak Djokovic out of US Open; can’t travel to U.S. because of covid vaccine status
NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic will not play in the U.S. Open, as expected, because he is not vaccinated against covid-19 and thus is not allowed to travel to the United States. Djokovic announced his withdrawal from the year’s last Grand Slam tournament on Twitter on Thursday, hours before the...
U mad, bro?: Steelers’ preseason anxiety meets Pirates’ late-season despair
It’s late August in Pittsburgh. For local sports fans, that marks the annual nexus of Steelers preseason obsession, meeting yearly late-season Pirates fan dejection. Preemptive quarterback concerns. Acute offensive line panic. Defensive back denial. All stirred with long-simmering Pirates angst and frustration. We mix it, shake it, chill it and...
First Call: ESPN projects Steelers to regress; Pirates’ brutal upcoming stretch; remembering Len Dawson as a Steeler
In Thursday’s “First Call,” ESPN.com is setting the bar low for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022. Tough times for the Pirates are about to continue. A trio of ex-Buccos pitchers are on the mound Thursday night. And we remember Len Dawson as a Steeler as the NFL mourns his passing....
Former Steelers linebacker Vince Williams: ‘Mark Robinson is better than I was as a rookie’
It appears that ex-Steeler Vince Williams is a big fan of a new Steeler at his former position. It’s rookie inside linebacker Mark Robinson. “Mark Robinson is better than I was as a rookie,” Williams said Tuesday on social media. “I hope he keeps #93.” Mark Robinson is better than...
Phil Kessel signs 1-year deal with Vegas Golden Knights (because of course he does)
LAS VEGAS — In perhaps the most appropriate marriage of player and team in the history of free agency, the Vegas Golden Knights bolstered their forward depth by signing veteran Phil Kessel to a one-year, $1.5 million deal Wednesday. The 34-year-old Kessel spent the past three seasons with the Arizona...
Trib HSSN don’t-miss high school football matchups for 2022 Week Zero
Welcome to the 2022 WPIAL football season. Zero usually means nothing, but in this case, Week Zero equates into a lot of excitement and optimism as a new campaign kicks off. All but nine of the 117 WPIAL football teams will be in game action this weekend while eight others...
Penn State working on plan to sell alcohol in Beaver Stadium for 2022 season, sources say
Penn State may have found a new revenue stream. The university is exploring selling alcohol on the concourse in Beaver Stadium this season, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told the Centre Daily Times. The current plan is to have sales for the team’s second home game of the...
Pirates farm report for Aug. 24, 2022: Jared Triolo triples, homers for Altoona
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 59-58) lost to Rochester (Nationals), 3-1. RF Cal Mitchell (.330) went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. 1B Mason Martin (.210) was 2 for 3. SS Diego Castillo (.278) was 1 for 4 with a double. RHP Jerad Eickhoff (4.30) started and went five innings,...
Arnie Cutrell wins 3rd Westmoreland Senior Amateur
You couldn’t have asked for a better finish to the Westmoreland County Golf Association’s Senior Amateur on Wednesday. It came down to the final hole for the second consecutive year. After rallying from a two-shot deficit after 18 holes, Arnie Cutrell used consecutive birdies on Nos. 13, 14 and 15...
‘The it factor’: Why Penn State freshmen Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen will play right away
Ja’Juan Seider has a good idea who will take Penn State’s first carry of the season next Thursday at Purdue. He’s not going to say who, of course. It could be Keyvone Lee, last year’s top rusher. It could be veteran Devyn Ford. It could be freshmen Nick Singleton or...
Steelers claim former Jets safety Elijah Riley off waivers
The Pittsburgh Steelers claimed safety Elijah Riley off waivers Wednesday, a day after he was cut by the New York Jets. Riley (6-foot, 205 pounds) started seven of the Jets’ final eight games last season soon after being signed off the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad. Riley made brief appearances (most...
Kevin Dotson again takes 1st-team reps at left guard at Steelers practice
Has the training-camp rotation at left guard come to an end for the Pittsburgh Steelers? Has a starter been chosen? That’s not known definitively. But Kevin Dotson confirmed that for the second consecutive practice, he ran with the first-team offense Wednesday. That’s notable because over the first four weeks of...
Matt Olson’s grand slam punctuates 7-run 8th inning as Braves pound Pirates
At first glance, the Atlanta Braves handed the Pittsburgh Pirates their worst loss of the season. Kyle Wright tossed seven scoreless innings, the Braves batted around the order twice and Matt Olson delivered a dagger by smacking a grand slam that bounced into the Allegheny River. The worst part? The...
Ben Roethlisberger makes appearance, tosses football at Steelers practice
One day after waiving a rookie quarterback, the Pittsburgh Steelers had an 18-year veteran attend practice Wednesday. Ben Roethlisberger was at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex as a visitor, however, and not someone looking to make a Tom Brady-like comeback after retiring in the offseason. Instead of sporting a No. 7...
Latrobe grad Austin Butler to play pro basketball in Finland
Austin Butler was going to continue his basketball career beyond college. It was just a matter of where and in what country. On Wednesday, his dreams of playing professionally came true. Butler, a 6-foot-5 guard out of Latrobe, signed a one-season contract with the Kouvot club in Kouvola, Finland. Butler...
Highlands’ Jimmy Kunst commits to play baseball at Eastern Michigan
Jimmy Kunst took an unofficial visit to the campus of Eastern Michigan a couple of months ago, and several aspects of the trip, including a tour of the Eagles baseball facilities, drew him closer to making his recent verbal commitment. The Highlands senior and multi-sport standout announced his decision to...
Pirates rookie Oneil Cruz sets Statcast record for hardest hit with 122.4-mph single
When Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz blistered a baseball at an exit velocity of 122.4 mph against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, it smashed a major-league record for the hardest hit in the Statcast era. Believe it or not, Cruz didn’t clear the fence. Cruz crushed Kyle Wright’s first-pitch slider...
Pirates announce 2023 schedule, to play Chicago White Sox in home opener
The Pittsburgh Pirates will open the 2023 season with a three-game series at Cincinnati starting March 30 and, for the first time, host the Chicago White Sox in the home opener April 7. The Pirates announced their 2023 regular-season schedule, which will feature visits from 22 teams as part of...
Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky feel they’ve shown Steelers their worth
Kenny Pickett undoubtedly would prefer to be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback when the regular season begins. But he’s not going to hyperfixate on that goal, nor is he going to concern himself if coach Mike Tomlin tells him he’s decided otherwise. “I think the best advice I ever got...
Kedon Slovis gets the nod as Pitt’s starting quarterback
There was no white puff of smoke wafting through a window of UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. No fireworks over the Mon or horns honking on South Water Street. Just two one-on-one meetings, quiet and private, between Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi and his top quarterbacks Kedon Slovis and Nick Patti. When...
Mark Madden: Offensive line is a monument to Steelers mismanagement
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a host of good players, not least their three defensive standouts: Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt. They also have a lot of promising young talent on offense, including Najee Harris, George Pickens and Kenny Pickett. But the Steelers have a lousy team. It’s poorly...
Hall of Fame Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson dies at 87
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson, whose unmistakable swagger in helping the Kansas City Chiefs to their first Super Bowl title earned him the nickname “Lenny the Cool,” died Wednesday. He was 87. Dawson’s family announced his death in a statement through KMBC, the Kansas City-based...
Tim Benz: Steelers embrace ‘moving target’ versatility for defensive backfield
On the first day of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp, head coach Mike Tomlin gave an in-depth breakdown of how the slot position has changed for wide receivers over the years. “Years ago, there was a designated slot guy,” Tomlin said at Saint Vincent College. “And that was the only guy...
