Sports category, Page 1695
Johnny Manziel says he’s done with football — mostly
ATLANTA — No more football for Johnny Football unless it’s just for kicks. After a self-destructing pro career that never came close to fulfilling his enormous potential, Johnny Manziel says he’s done with the game that gave him his catchy moniker — even as he’s dabbling in a fledgling, fan-controlled...
Robert Morris falls to Oakland in final home game of season
Robert Morris’ first men’s basketball season in the Horizon League has been a challenge. After winning the Northeast Conference Tournament championship a year ago, the Colonials find themselves in the cellar of the Horizon’s standings with just two regular-season games remaining. They just lost their leading scorer and rebounder, too,...
English soccer at breaking point over abuse on social media
Death threats. Racist abuse. Sexist slurs. And social media accounts allowed to stay active even after spreading bile. English football has reached breaking point with players, coaches, referees and officials aghast at the ongoing proliferation of hate aimed at them on Instagram and Twitter. A week that began with the...
Facing a Grand Slam great: Dream come true? Big loss? Both?
Ahead of his match against Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open, Cameron Norrie hit what sounded like all of the right notes, the sorts of sentiments that express a healthy blend of respect and confidence. A bit intimidated but not too intimidated. A bit in awe but not too in...
Penguins adapt to the NHL’s latest round of covid-19 protocols
Jason Zucker doesn’t mind social distancing. At least in one specific instance. “It’s helped me a lot personally just because I’m further away from ‘Rusty,’ ” the Penguins forward joked in reference to his occasional linemate, Bryan Rust. “So I don’t have to deal with him as much on a...
No. 12 Oklahoma wins wild, wonderful one at No. 14 West VirginiaVideo
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Austin Reaves helped No. 12 Oklahoma pull off an impressive win on the road. Reaves scored four of his 28 points in the final minute of the second overtime and the Sooners held off No. 14 West Virginia, 91-90, on Saturday. Oklahoma (13-5, 8-4 Big 12) squeaked...
Duquesne set to play George Mason on Wednesday in A-10 makeup game
Cleared of its covid-19 complications, Duquesne will travel to Fairfax, Va., on Wednesday to play George Mason. The game will begin at 7 p.m. at EagleBank Arena. It’s a makeup of a game that would have been played Saturday. The game Wednesday replaces the Dukes’ trip to Davidson. After a...
Penguins request opening PPG Paints Arena at 25% capacity
The Pittsburgh Penguins have made requests to Gov. Tom Wolf as well as the Pa. Department of Health seeking permission since the start of the NHL’s season in mid-January to open PPG Paints Arena to spectators at 25% capacity. The team presented a plan to the state for when it...
Gannon, West Chester top PSAC softball coaches polls
Gannon and West Chester will meet for the next Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference softball title. At least that’s the sentiment of conference coaches, who voted those teams as the division favorites on the eve of a new season. The PSAC will be broken into East and West divisions this year....
Burrell takes down Burgettstown to capture 15th straight WPIAL Class AA wrestling titleVideo
It didn’t take long for the Burrell wrestling team to let Burgettstown know what was in store for it during the WPIAL Class AA team championship Saturday at Canon-McMillan. No. 1 Burrell (13-1) used a quick start, winning its first six matches, and rolled to a 38-18 victory for its...
Denny Hamlin seeks historic 3rd straight Daytona 500 victory
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Denny Hamlin, considered perhaps the best NASCAR driver without a Cup Series championship, can look past that hole on his record. He instead points to a pair of Southern 500 trophies, a Bristol night race victory, three road course wins, six at Pocono and the big...
Rain washes out NASCAR’s final practices for Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Rain washed out the final two practices Saturday before NASCAR’s season-opening Daytona 500, a potential setback for the nine drivers switching cars before “The Great American Race.” Former Cup Series champions Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. as well as front-row qualifier William Byron are among...
Previewing the Pirates: Team has bull’s-eye on the bullpen, searching for a closer
When asked in December if the Pittsburgh Pirates have a closer, Derek Shelton gave a point-blank answer that put a bull’s-eye on the bullpen. “As of right now,” Shelton said, “no, I really don’t think we do.” The Pirates didn’t have a closer last season, either, as two-time All-Star Felipe...
Rested and (hopefully) refreshed, Pitt visits Georgia Tech as grind begins
College basketball enters the final month of the regular season, staggered by covid-19, but somehow still standing. Most scheduled games were played Saturday, but 22 were postponed or canceled, with six more called off Sunday. Pitt-Georgia Tech isn’t one of them. The game will tip at 4 p.m. Sunday at...
Working with Jack Wilson helps Pirates 1st-round pick Nick Gonzales find his own flash
The first day, the infield instructor kept close watch on the top-100 prospect with a vested interest, observing and analyzing every movement of the No. 7 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft. Finally, Jack Wilson asked Nick Gonzales this question: Do you want to know what I see? The...
Mark Madden Hot Take: Why would Ben Roethlisberger want to return to the Steelers?
Ben Roethlisberger has made $253.2 million in football earnings. So, take the $19 million he’s due if he plays in 2021 out of the equation. Roethlisberger doesn’t need the money. Maurkice Pouncey retired. He and Roethlisberger are tight. Vance McDonald retired. He and Roethlisberger are tight. Alejandro Villanueva will leave...
This date in sports history: Feb. 13Video
1923 — The New York Renaissance, the first all-black pro basketball team, is organized. The Rens become one of the dominant basketball team of the 1920s and 1930s. 1937 — Maribel Vinson wins her ninth and final U.S. figure skating singles championship. Robin Lee wins his third straight men’s title....
Minor league report: Nailers beat Komets in shootoutVideo
A shootout goal by forward Austin Fyten gave the Wheeling Nailers a 3-2 home win against the Fort Wayne Komets at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va. on Friday. Goaltender Francois Brassard made 40 saves on 42 shots in the victory while Fyten and defenseman Patrick McNally scored regulation goals for...
Robert Morris loses A.J. Bramah to transfer portal, beats Oakland in double OT
A dizzying series of events unfolded Friday night at Robert Morris’ UPMC Events Center, leading the Colonials to their first victory since New Year’s Day, an 88-82 double-overtime thriller against Oakland. In the end, it was difficult to determine what mattered most. Was it Kahliel Spear’s double-double that included 16...
NASCAR could be biggest leap yet for Michael JordanVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Michael Jordan might take his biggest leap yet — and he’s trying to change the game again. Jordan enters NASCAR not just as the first Black principal owner of a full-time Cup Series team in nearly 50 years. The Hall of Famer is trying to reach...
Newberry: FCS, Fan Controlled Football will get us through to the NFL DraftVideo
Are you ready for some (more) football? You see, there’s no reason to take a break from the gridiron just because the NFL season is over. A host of second-division college teams are practicing for their winter/spring season — snow-covered fields and all — after sitting out the fall because...
3 Brooklyn-born players set to tangle when Pitt visits Georgia Tech
At last look, the floor inside Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion isn’t made of concrete. Yet, it might feel that way for three intense competitors from Brooklyn, N.Y., who will play pivotal roles Sunday in the Pitt/Georgia Tech game in Atlanta. Pitt’s Justin Champagnie and Femi Odukale and Georgia Tech’s Jose...
Former Penguins power-play savant Todd Reirden looks to jumpstart struggling unit
The raw numbers, to be sure, are not pretty in regards to the Pittsburgh Penguins power play. But believe it or not, the deeper you dig, the worse it looks. The Penguins 13.5% conversion rate ranks 24th in the league and would have finished dead last compared to the 31...
Steelers teammates past, present, NFL world react to Maurkice Pouncey’s retirement
Twenty-four members of the Pittsburgh Steelers organization have already been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Five more have been voted into the exclusive Canton, Ohio, club and are due for formal induction later this year. Aside from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, there arguably wasn’t an active Steelers player...
In revised spring training schedule, Pirates play 29 games in 31 days, 15 at LECOM Park
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced their revised spring training schedule, with 29 Grapefruit League games in 31 days starting with the opener on Sun., Feb. 28, at the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota and the home opener on Tues., March 2, against the Detroit Tigers at LECOM Park. The Pirates will play...
