Sports category, Page 1520
Offense struggles in first half before Steelers pull out 16-3 victory in Hall of Fame Game
CANTON, Ohio – Good thing for the Pittsburgh Steelers that most of their offensive starters didn’t suit up Thursday night in the Hall of Fame Game. With backup quarterback Mason Rudolph playing deep into the second quarter and only three anticipated regulars in the lineup, the Steelers were shut out...
Reds hit 3 home runs off Wil Crowe, top Pirates despite 4-run rally
Wil Crowe threw a career-high 100 pitches against the Cincinnati Reds. What spelled trouble for the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander is that 47 of them came in a six-run second inning that doomed his start. After giving up a solo shot to Jonathan India in the first inning, Crowe served up...
With most of regulars sitting, Steelers offense shut out in 1st half of HOF Game
CANTON, Ohio — Good thing for the Pittsburgh Steelers that most of their offensive starters didn’t suit up Thursday night in the Hall of Fame Game. With backup quarterback Mason Rudolph playing deep into the second quarter and only three anticipated regulars in the lineup, the Steelers were shut out...
Another rocky day for U.S. track and fieldVideo
TOKYO — A five-minute burst of action near the backstretch of the Olympic track served up the perfect snapshot of what is going right, and all that is going wrong, for the U.S. track and field team in Tokyo. At one moment in the pole vault pit Thursday night, Katie...
NFL official who infamously overturned 2017 Jesse James Steelers TD retiresVideo
He probably shouldn’t expect the traditional gold watch as a warm retirement gift from any Pittsburghers. Al Riveron on Thursday retired from the position of the NFL’s senior vice president of officiating, ending a career in football officiating that lasted more than four decades and included a 17-year tenure in...
Penguins re-sign restricted free agent forward Zach Aston-Reese
The Penguins avoided arbitration and re-signed restricted free agent forward forward Zach Aston-Reese to a one-year contract with a salary cap hit of $1.725 million. Aston-Reese, 26, recently completed a two-year contract that carried a salary cap hit of $1 million. Last season, Aston-Reese, one of the team’s better defensive...
Fox Chapel teen a rising star in climbing world
Gavin Youkers just keeps climbing off the charts. Youkers began rock climbing four years ago at the age of 9 while at Climb North in Wildwood. It was there that his love of climbing was launched by his coach, Justin Mech, and his teammates. “It was fun,” Youkers said. “We...
Power surge puts Norwin grad JJ Matijevic on doorstep of major leagues
Left, right, center. Doesn’t matter. JJ Matijevic can spray the baseball all over the park — and deep into the bleachers — with some of the best middle-order hitters in the minor leagues. But the Norwin graduate wants to prove he can hit home runs in the majors, too. He...
Century West girls soccer celebrates national championship
The Century West U15 girls soccer team put it all together throughout the spring and into summer and brought home the championship trophy from the U.S. Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup tournament last month in Des Moines, Iowa. “It just came down to a total commitment from the group,” coach...
End of an era: Barcelona says Lionel Messi won’t stay with the club
MADRID — Lionel Messi’s time at Barcelona appears to be over. Barcelona announced Thursday that Messi will not stay with the club, saying that the Spanish league’s financial regulations made it impossible to sign the Argentina star to a new contract. He is leaving after 17 successful seasons in which...
Penguins already searching for new goaltending development coach
With the Penguins promoting Andy Chiodo to goaltending coach at the NHL level on Wednesday, a search for a new goaltending development coach has already begun. Chiodo as well as his predecessors, Mike Bales and Mike Buckley, ascended to the NHL goaltending coaching role after starting in the development position....
Analysis: NFL kicks off amid nation’s rising covid-19 rates
CANTON, Ohio — As covid-19 and Delta variant positives increase across America, the NFL kicks off its first preseason since 2019 expecting the usual crowds. The numbers in the nation are of concern to some, staggeringly disappointing to others, and ignored by many. Within the NFL, though, it must be...
Officiating head Al Riveron, NFL’s 1st Hispanic ref, retires
CANTON, Ohio — NFL officiating chief Al Riveron, a Cuban who became the league’s first Hispanic referee, retired Friday. Riveron worked as an on-field official for nine years and became a member of the NFL’s officiating staff in 2013 as a senior director. He will be replaced by two of...
Pitt lands 4-star offensive tackle Ryan Baer
While Pat Narduzzi was welcoming his team into Pitt’s football facility Thursday for the first official day of training camp, he stepped away to accept an important phone call. HAIL TO PITT BABY?? @rledits24 pic.twitter.com/HsPVGs3ElF— Ryan Baer (@RyanBaer2003) August 5, 2021 It came from four-star offensive tackle Ryan Baer of...
Penguins ‘needed a change’ with goaltending coaches
Mike Buckley’s name isn’t engraved on the Stanley Cup. But he had a significant role in the Penguins’ two most recent championships of 2016 and ‘17. As the Penguins goaltending development coach half a decade ago, he refined a mid-level prospect named Matt Murray, who eventually became the first rookie...
Indians get 15-year lease agreement, ending relocation talk
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians have agreed to a 15-year lease extension at Progressive Field, keeping them at their downtown ballpark through 2036 and ending speculation the franchise would relocate. The agreement, which was announced Thursday and still needs legislative approval, includes two additional five-year options that could make it...
Former Penn State wrestler David Taylor captures Olympic gold
CHIBA, Japan — David Taylor seized the most important moment of his wrestling life. The American scored a double-leg takedown with 17 seconds remaining to beat Iran’s Hassan Yazdani, 4-3, on Thursday night and win the gold medal in the freestyle 86-kilogram class. “There was no way I wasn’t going...
Pitt’s defensive players can learn from those who came before them
A thorough assessment of Pitt’s defense needs to start at the locker of defensive end Deslin Alexandre and includes the safe assumption that he was paying attention over the previous four seasons. Alexandre graduated early from Deerfield Beach (Fla.) High School to join the Panthers in the winter of 2017....
Eddy Alvarez a summer-winter medalist, U.S. reaches baseball final
YOKOHAMA, Japan — Eddy Alvarez became only the third American to earn medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympics when the United States beat defending-champion South Korea, 7-2, Thursday night to gain a berth into this weekend’s gold medal baseball game against host Japan. The former U.S. speedskater-turned-infielder wept...
Pitt men’s soccer ranked No. 3 in preseason poll
The defending ACC Coastal Division champion Pitt men’s soccer team will enter the 2021 season ranked No. 3 in the nation, according to the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll. Pitt received one first-place vote from the coaches association. Defending national champion Marshall (22 first-place votes) and Indiana are ranked Nos....
How Jimbo Covert ended up at Pitt on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
When Jimbo Covert was a senior at Freedom High School in 1977, he attracted interest from some of the finest college football programs in the land, Pitt and Penn State among them. The truth: The future Pro Football Hall of Famer never seriously considered going anywhere but Pitt. Penn State?...
U.S. women’s soccer team earns bronze medal
KASHIMA, Japan — Although the color of their medal wasn’t what they wanted, the mettle of the team came through in the end. The United States salvaged a rocky tournament by winning bronze in women’s soccer at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday. Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd scored two goals...
From WPIAL to S.I. swimsuits, Apollo’s Dessie Mitcheson launching boutique with body-positive messageVideo
Former WPIAL athlete Dessie Mitcheson left Pittsburgh area fairways for international runways a long time ago. Now she’s going from a big-time model to a small business owner. And she’s doing so back home in Western Pennsylvania. Mitcheson — who was a golfer and regionally top-15 ranked diver at Kiski...
U mad Bro: Pirates fans grumble about trades, ‘media bias’; Pens fans carp about goaltending
This week’s “U mad, bro?” has Pittsburgh Pirates fans split between ripping me about the MLB draft and ripping Ben Cherington about his recent trades. Penguins fans are split among themselves over how worried they should — or shouldn’t — be about the goaltending. And Steelers fans are … oddly...
Pirates looking for lefty Steven Brault to add veteran presence to 6-man starting rotation
Following his first major league start in more than 10 months, Steven Brault swore he felt great. And the Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander was intent on showing just how great he felt. After throwing 75 pitches in four innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, Brault didn’t just say he could...
