Sports category, Page 1882
Penn State football planning to have no fans in stands at Beaver Stadium this season
Unless Gov. Tom Wolf dramatically extends his guidelines for capacity at outdoor gatherings, Penn State’s football season will be conducted in front of rows and rows of empty seats at Beaver Stadium. In addition, even if games are played, Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour said revenue losses will be...
‘Gritty’ Canadiens ‘showing some character going toe-to-toe’ with heavily favored Penguins
Wednesday’s 4-3 victory was just the 20th in regulation for the Montreal Canadiens over 74 games they have played during the 2019-20 season. They were “sellers” at the trade deadline, seemingly content that this season was a wash and with building for the future. Participation among the Canadiens for the...
Ben Roethlisberger impresses Steelers’ Mike Tomlin with his ‘velocity’ in early throwing sessions
For the first time since his franchise quarterback shredded his elbow nearly 11 months ago, coach Mike Tomlin watched Ben Roethlisberger throw passes at Heinz Field. Roethlisberger tossed to teammates Monday, Tuesday and Thursday in the strength and conditioning portion of training camp that is taking place at the Pittsburgh...
Gov. Wolf recommends high school sports be delayed until Jan. 1Video
With fall sports in the balance, will the PIAA treat Gov. Tom Wolf’s recommendation as a suggestion or a mandate? Wolf’s administration wants all youth sports — interscholastic and recreational — postponed until January, a request that jeopardizes football, soccer and other high school sports days before they’re scheduled to...
Mark Madden: Penguins’ run of success looks to be overVideo
The Pittsburgh Penguins were 3-8 before the pandemic caused the NHL to pause, 1-2 since. The Penguins are 1-8 in their last nine playoff games. The run is over. It’s just not a very good hockey team anymore. The Penguins might well salvage their preliminary-round series against Montreal, though there’s...
Steelers 1 of 3 NFL teams with no covid-19 opt-outsVideo
As the deadline for NFL players to opt out of the 2020 season because of coronavirus concerns approached Thursday, Mike Tomlin was confident he would have a complete Pittsburgh Steelers roster heading into on-field workouts at training camp. Tomlin had reason for optimism. No Steelers player elected to opt out...
Pitt opens season with 4 consecutive home games; Clemson road trip set for finale
The ACC released dates for its 11-game, reconfigured football schedule Thursday, giving Pitt four home games to start the season, including the opener against nonconference opponent Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 12 at Heinz Field. There are two open dates, but they don’t appear on Pitt’s schedule until the eighth week...
Fantasy Sports: Which Pirates player may heat up? Early NHL, NBA trends. Warnings about Rob Gronkowski?
Fantasy sports aren’t all about regular-season baseball and football. Jeff Erickson and I start this week’s fantasy sports podcast talking about results in the two “bubble sports,” as the NBA and NHL are underway in Orlando, Toronto, and Edmonton. In the hockey playoffs, Evgeni Malkin is off to a slow...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pirates’ JT Brubaker ready for entrance in 1st major-league start
What made an impression on JT Brubaker about his electric major-league debut was more the entrance than his performance for the Pittsburgh Pirates. That’s saying something, considering Brubaker struck out four St. Louis Cardinals in two innings of a 5-1 victory. That it came in relief was something of a...
U mad, bro?: Penguins are down 2-1 to Canadiens. So, yeah. We’re furious.
Our weekly reader-reaction question for Pittsburgh sports fans is “U mad, bro?” Well, the Penguins just blew a 3-1 lead to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 3 of their best-of-five preliminary round series. The franchise is now on the verge of losing its third straight playoff series. This time, it’s...
Tim Benz: Beyond Ben Roethlisberger, who will be most helped by new quarterback coach Matt Canada?
Just because former Pitt Panthers offensive coordinator Matt Canada has returned to Pittsburgh doesn’t mean his offense has. Not entirely anyway. Now in his first year as quarterbacks coach with the Steelers, Canada spoke with members of the Pittsburgh media this week. He took great measures to reiterate his specific...
Empty Thoughts: More lineup changes can’t be ruled out for the Penguins
Observations from the Penguins’ 4-3 loss to the Canadiens: Penguins coach Mike Sullivan has a pretty standard answer when he’s asked about playing or not playing certain players. That answer was established in the early portions of 2016 when he regularly scratched forward Sergei Plotnikov. When asked why Plotnikov was...
MLB tightening virus protocols, including masks in dugouts
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball is cracking down on coronavirus safety protocols, mandating that players and staff wear face coverings at all times, including in the dugouts and bullpens, except for players on the field of play. The league sent a memo to teams Wednesday outlining changes to its...
Pirates option Jose Osuna, Guillermo Heredia to Altoona to reduce major-league roster to 28
With the Pittsburgh Pirates on a seven-game losing streak and major-league rosters being reduced from 30 players to 28 by noon Thursday, manager Derek Shelton announced two moves that should send a message. The Pirates optioned veterans Jose Osuna and Guillermo Heredia to their satellite camp at Altoona, choosing to...
Penguins lose Game 3 to Montreal, on brink of eliminationVideo
In the decade and a half he has played in the NHL, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has faced elimination from the postseason many times. He’s won and lost in plenty of those situations. They’ve come in all kinds of scenarios. In the first round or the Stanley Cup Final. Home...
Rookie Cale Makar, Avs cruise to round-robin win over StarsVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — High-scoring 21-year-old rookie defenseman Cale Makar connected on an early power-play goal, 30-year-old Pavel Francouz recorded a shutout in his postseason debut and the Colorado Avalanche cruised to a 4-0 round-robin win over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night. Joonas Donskoi, Vladislav Namestnikov and Andre Burakovsky also...
South Park’s Randy Dobnak, Twins hand Pirates seventh consecutive loss
With their beleaguered bullpen suffering another blow, the Pittsburgh Pirates needed relief pitching from a starter. Trevor Williams delivered. But their bats and bullpen didn’t. Williams allowed one run in seven innings — the most pitched by any Pirates starter this season — but the relievers didn’t return the favor...
Ford, Spiegel win postseason awards in Johnstown summer baseball league
Local battery mates became postseason award winners in the Johnstown Collegiate Baseball League. Pitcher Hayden Ford and catcher Josh Spiegel, key players for Paul Carpenter Capital Advisors, the regular season champion of the league, will bring home hardware from their summer league. Both players graduated from Penn-Trafford. Ford, a crafty...
West Penn Amateur champion Katie James doubles down with state am title
Katie James pulled off the amateur double. A junior-to-be at Southern Methodist and Shady Side Academy graduate, James held back a talented field of some of the state’s better players to capture the 84th Pennsylvania Golf Association Amateur Championship on Wednesday at Lebanon Country Club. James, who recently defended her...
Column: Big and booming, Bryson DeChambeau is PGA Tour must-see TVVideo
It’s hard to find a reason to like Bryson DeChambeau. It’s even harder to take your eyes off him. He smashes jaw-dropping drives that seem to defy the physics on which he bases his game. Bulked up on protein shakes and M&M’s, DeChambeau has so far this year been making...
Lightning beat Bruins, improve to 2-0 in seeding roundVideo
TORONTO — Tyler Johnson scored the winning goal with 87 seconds left to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-2 victory over Boston on Wednesday and send the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins to their second straight loss in the NHL’s playoff seeding round. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25 shots for the...
Leafs’ Jake Muzzin out of the hospital, will not return in seriesVideo
TORONTO — Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin has been discharged from the hospital and is back at the team’s hotel, and he will not return to the lineup during Toronto’s playoff qualification series with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Maple Leafs said in a statement Muzzin will remain in...
Bills CB Tre’Davious White considers opting outVideo
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White is unsure if he will opt in or opt out of the upcoming NFL season. White has until 4 p.m. Thursday to decide on his status for the year. The 25-year-old has established himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the league...
River States Conference to play fall sports as scheduled
While most small-college conferences have taken a cautionary approach to fall sports by postponing the season until the spring, one area conference is staying the course. The NAIA River States Conference will buck the trend and have a fall season, leaning on a crutch of guidelines and protocol to play...
Pirates bullpen suffers another big blow as reliever Nick Burdi is shut down for season
The bullpen blows keep coming for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who shut down another high-leverage reliever by placing right-hander Nick Burdi on the 45-day injured list Wednesday with a right elbow injury. The Pirates added utility player JT Riddle, who was on the IL with an abdomen injury, to their major...
