Sports category, Page 1648
Amid glow of Opening Day, cloud looms over MLB All-Star Game
ATLANTA — Amid the glow of baseball’s opening day, there is a cloud looming over the All-Star Game still more than three months away. Georgia’s new voting law — which critics say unfairly limits access to the ballot box, especially for people of color — has prompted calls from as...
MLB foreign-born players drop slightly for 4th straight year
NEW YORK — More than 28% of Major League Baseball players were born outside the 50 states. That represents a drop for the fourth straight season, although this decrease was particularly small. MLB said Friday there were 256 such players of the 906 on opening day rosters, injured lists, the...
Stick man: Black Keys drummer to fill in for Indians regular
CLEVELAND — The Indians will use a pinch-drummer for their home opener. With long-time drummer and ballpark fixture John Adams recovering from heart surgery and unable to attend his first opener in Cleveland in 48 years, Black Keys drummer and life-long Indians fan Patrick Carney will fill in and pound...
WPIAL legends come together for Stop the Violence Shootout
It’s not often WPIAL legends have the opportunity to get together and give back to their respective communities, but since 2018, Wilkinsburg alum Taz Williams and co-organizer Drew Schifino have brought some of the best basketball players in WPIAL history together. In 2018, an alumni game between Wilkinsburg and Penn...
A different Augusta National awaits newcomers from November
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Paul Casey needed only 11 holes to realize a Masters in November was an experience unlike any other at Augusta National. He had a 6-iron to a left pin on the par-5 second hole at Augusta National. Any other year — any April, really — he would...
NFL’s move to 17 games could alter record books
The NFL could finally see its first 2,000-yard receiver. The 5,000-yard passing club might be ready to induct a few more members with Peyton Manning’s single-season record of 5,477 yards possibly in jeopardy. The accomplishment of 1,000-yard seasons rushing or receiving will become more common and a little more devalued....
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Duane Underwood Jr. tone setter as Pirates bullpen shines in opener
It wasn’t lost on Duane Underwood when he was acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates that they opened the season against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, or that he could pitch against his former team. So there was no shortage of motivation for Underwood going from the Cubs to the...
Mark Madden: Jason Zucker is valuable asset, but the Penguins could get solid return in trade
The NHL trade deadline is a little over a week away (it’s April 12), and it looks like it will be difficult for Penguins GM Ron Hextall to make an impactful deal. Hextall just doesn’t have much trade capital that might bring meaningful return. That’s unless Hextall shops left winger...
First Call: Steelers interested in ‘brawler’ of a tackle; A.B. pricing himself out of Tampa? Ex-Pirates shine in Rays’ opener
The Pittsburgh Steelers have their eyes on an interesting tackle prospect. Antonio Brown may be bargaining himself out of Tampa. Money is starting to come in on the red-hot Penguins. Ex-Pirates shine in Tampa Bay’s season opener. Gerrit Cole has a choppy 2021 debut for the Yankees. And we share...
Tim Benz: The harder you look to disqualify Gonzaga as an all-time great, the more you see it belongs
For as many upsets as there were through the first two rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, a lot of chalk made its way into the Final Four. Two top seeds (Gonzaga and Baylor) and a No. 2 seed (Houston) make up three of the Final Four teams, with...
Opening Day Feats of Strength: Pirates did a lot right against Cubs, and managed to avoid what could’ve gone wrong
After that Opening Day victory in Chicago, I suppose I’ll have to adjust my predicted win total for the 2021 Pittsburgh Pirates. All the way up to 58 or 59. My minimal expectations for this club aside, Opening Day is always looked upon as its own entity anyway. Almost as...
Empty Thoughts: Penguins 4, Bruins 1Video
Observations from the Penguins’ 4-1 win against the Bruins: During his first season with the Penguins (2019-20), Brandon Tanev quickly established what he was all about with his tenacious forechecking, quick skating and a generally abrasive style. Perhaps above all else, he proved he was dependable. Appearing in 68 of...
Minor league report: Nailers beat IcemenVideo
Forward Cody Sylvester had two goals and an assist for the Wheeling Nailers in a 5-3 home win against the Jacksonville Icemen at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling on Thursday. Wheeling (11-23-5-0) also got a goal and an assist from forward Austin Fyten as well as three assists from forward Joshua...
Camilo Villegas has 1st-round lead at Texas Open
SAN ANTONIO — Camilo Villegas chipped in twice to highlight a nine-birdie round that earned him an 8-under-par 64 and the first-round lead at the Valero Texas Open on Thursday. Sung Kang, a 33-year-old South Korean, is two shots back with Cameron Tringale after each had a 66 at TPC...
NHL postpones 3 more Canucks games because of covid-19
The Vancouver Canucks have had their games postponed through April 6. The Thursday announcement by the NHL comes a day after Vancouver’s game against the Calgary Flames was postponed because two Canucks players and a member of the coaching staff were entered into the league’s covid-19 protocol. Pending test results...
Latrobe grad Austin Butler chooses Charlotte as transfer destination
Austin Butler had to rediscover the recruiting process when his four years of college basketball ended at Holy Cross because he could not continue his academic career in Worcester, Mass. The former Latrobe star entered the NCAA transfer portal and got more than a few nibbles on the line. About...
How Penn State WR Jahan Dotson plans to ‘be legendary’ in the 2021 football season
Jahan Dotson had his signature moment in 2020. The Penn State wide receiver reached his right hand back to snag a one-handed pass on a ball thrown behind him with Ohio State cornerback Shaun Wade all over him. The ball stuck to his hand and the junior sprinted into the...
Penguins beat Bruins, snap 10-game losing skid in Boston
Mike Sullivan isn’t quite certain why the Pittsburgh Penguins went more than half a decade between wins in Boston. When pressed, he is short on answers on their futility at TD Garden. Then again, he doesn’t even bother to offer any. As with most of his concerns, the Penguins coach...
Houston’s run to Final Four special for CBS’ Jim NantzVideo
Jim Nantz has called last-second shots for an NCAA championship, undefeated teams falling short in the semifinals and unlikely underdogs making the Final Four. But as Nantz prepares to call his 30th Final Four for CBS, he will do something this weekend that seemed improbable for a long time: watch...
MLB Opening Day: Snow, stars, fans and a covid postponementVideo
Miguel Cabrera took a trot, eventually, in the snow at Comerica Park. Mookie Betts started the champion Los Angeles Dodgers with a hit at Coors Field. And the Bleacher Creatures did their thing at Yankee Stadium. All-Stars on the diamond for Opening Day, fans in the socially distanced stands eager...
Pitt’s Jordan Addison, Wendell Davis eager to write new chapters in 2021
Pitt’s Jordan Addison and Wendell Davis will enter the 2021 football season thinking they can do better after significantly different outcomes a year ago. Addison was Pitt’s most impactful first-year wide receiver since Tyler Boyd in 2013. Davis won the starting middle linebacker job in training camp and played in...
Ke’Bryan Hayes’ home run highlights Pirates’ Opening Day win over Cubs
Ke’Bryan Hayes relished the idea of playing his first Opening Day at historic Wrigley Field, as well as a chance to show his sensational September debut was a foreshadowing of future stardom. With one swing, the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie third baseman joined some rare company in club history. Hayes hit...
Quick turnaround for Masters no concern for reigning champ Dustin JohnsonVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The record score at Augusta National wasn’t all that set Dustin Johnson apart from other Masters champions. No one else ever won the Masters and then didn’t play in another tournament the rest of the year. No other Masters champion was allowed to keep his green jacket...
MLB returns with real, live fans in ballparks across the countryVideo
CHICAGO — Wearing a Chicago Cubs jacket and hat, Marc Passoni took in the moment. His buddy, Greg Cooper, on his 59th birthday, stood nearby holding an orange sign that read “First Masked Game 4-1-21.” It was windy and cold at Wrigley Field, and neither of them cared all that...
Penguins activate forward Brandon Tanev from injured reserve
The Penguins activated forward Brandon Tanev from injured reserve in advance of Thursday’s game against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. He has missed the past six games because of an undisclosed ailment In 30 games this season, Tanev has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists). Notes: Goaltender Maxime Lagace...
