Sports category, Page 1987
Logistics share NFL Draft spotlight with Joe Burrow, Chase YoungVideo
From his home in suburban New York, Roger Goodell will handle perhaps his most visible annual chore — announcing draft picks. Visible, but this time virtual. Not since the NFL Draft became a televised event in 1980 has it been stripped to the basics like this year’s proceedings will be....
Penn State receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield seeks to maintain the K.J. Hamler standard
Penn State’s spring depth chart was released last Saturday, but wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield warned his players not to pay special attention to it. In fact, he suggested it was written in water colors that easily could disappear. After all, it is April, and the first game isn’t scheduled...
Pirates ‘very encouraged’ by progress of right fielder Gregory Polanco’s shoulderVideo
The Pittsburgh Pirates are monitoring the recovery of right fielder Gregory Polanco through social media and are “very encouraged” with the progress of his left shoulder. Todd Tomczyk, the Pirates’ director of sports medicine, was optimistic about Polanco’s progress in a conference call with Pittsburgh reporters Wednesday afternoon. Polanco’s 2018...
Red Sox stripped of draft pick, Alex Cora suspended for 2020Video
NEW YORK — The Boston Red Sox were stripped of their second-round pick in this year’s amateur draft by MLB for sign stealing in 2018 and former manager Alex Cora was suspended through the 2020 postseason for his previous conduct as bench coach with the Houston Astros. Baseball commissioner Rob...
Notre Dame’s Muffet McGraw retires; won 2 national titlesVideo
Muffet McGraw abruptly retired Wednesday, stepping down from Notre Dame after a Hall of Fame coaching career that includes two national championships in 33 seasons. The 64-year-old McGraw became the 13th woman inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017. She won 936 games, ranking sixth among...
Virus shutdowns will likely make NFL draft most bet on ever
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — For those who haven’t mastered the odds of Belarussian soccer or Russian table tennis, this week’s NFL draft gives U.S. gamblers their first opportunity in weeks to bet on an event about which they actually know something. With major sports shut down for more than a...
Mark Madden: Lamar Jackson should be careful what he’s wishing for with Antonio BrownVideo
I didn’t think the Pittsburgh Steelers had a chance to win the AFC North until Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (the reigning NFL MVP) said, “I’d be happy if we signed him.” “Him” is wayward wide receiver Antonio Brown, ex of this parish. That puts the Steelers right back in...
Joe Rutter’s mock NFL Draft: Steelers to target playmakers early
Mock drafts are like noses in that everyone has one. And many folks treat such endeavors like that certain popular brand of potato chip — you can’t have just one. Not here. This mock for the Pittsburgh Steelers is the first and only one I have produced this year. It...
Senior Spotlight: Freeport pitcher picks up an old hobby to pass time during quarantine
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Freeport pitcher and reigning Valley News Dispatch Baseball Player of the Year Jarrett Heilman is making the most out of quarantine. He’s taking long walks around Freeport with his...
Percy Harvin planning NFL comeback after 4-year hiatus
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Percy Harvin is planning an NFL comeback nearly four years after his last game. The former Florida star and first-round draft pick by Minnesota in 2009 expects to get invited to a training camp this season and show his 32-year-old body still has what it takes to...
Unlike last year, Steelers could go in several directions with top draft pick
When the Pittsburgh Steelers traded up 10 spots and selected linebacker Devin Bush with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, it hardly constituted as a surprise. Team president Art Rooney II admitted as much, calling the Bush selection “maybe the worst-kept secret of the draft.” The...
First Call: Unflattering review of Leonard Fournette, former WPIAL star getting NFL trade interest, Gronk trade impacts gambling
In Wednesday’s “First Call,” a less than stellar review of Leonard Fournette. A former Western Pa. football star may be on the move. And the Rob Gronkowski trade is shifting gambling lines. No fan of Fournette Former Pittsburgh sportswriter Vito Stellino is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He...
Ravens’ Lamar Jackson wants Antonio Brown. Is he crazy? Or onto something?
I’ve been quite happy with how the NFL has managed to socially distance itself from former Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. The league has been much farther than six feet away from A.B. since September. Now NFL MVP Lamar Jackson wants Brown to return. And he’d like to see Mr....
Derek Shelton needs no reminder that Pirates aren’t playing, only a look at his phone
Derek Shelton doesn’t need a reminder that he’s missing his first season as a major-league manager. He gets one every day. The Pittsburgh Pirates first-year manager still has the regular-season schedule set up on his phone, so he receives daily notifications of what he’s missing because of the coronavirus. “How...
NFL Draft analyst: Draft ‘sets up really nicely’ for Steelers’ offensive needs
The Steelers haven’t been without a first-round draft pick since 1967. But with the way things are lining up for this week’s NFL Draft, 2020 may not be a bad year for that to be the case. That seems to be the assessment of at least one draft analyst I...
Tim Dahlberg: Direct from Roger Goodell’s basement, the NFL Draft!Video
It was supposed to be an extravaganza only Las Vegas can bring, complete with showgirls, A-list celebs, and a stage in the middle of the Bellagio fountains. Instead, the NFL Draft will come to you Thursday night from the friendly confines of Roger Goodell’s basement. No one, of course, expected...
Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes eye record-setting deal following NFL DraftVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Leigh Steinberg’s focus this week is rightfully on the three-day NFL Draft, where new clients such as Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and teammate Jerry Jeudy will learn where they will begin their professional careers. It won’t be long before Steinberg’s attention is back on his most...
Agent: Gronkowski traded to Tampa Bay, reunited with BradyVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — Four-time All Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski agreed to a reunion with Tom Brady. The agent for the retired New England star confirmed Tuesday that pending completion of a physical Gronkowski has agreed to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are acquiring his rights from the...
IUP’s Fedor sweeps PSAC golf awards
Shaun Fedor strives for double eagles on the golf course. Who doesn’t? But now the IUP golf standout can call himself a double award-winner in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Fedor was tabbed the athlete and freshman of the year in the PSAC, which announced its fall postseason awards and...
Penguins defenseman John Marino tan, rested, ready for NHL to returnVideo
John Marino’s face looked different Tuesday. It was tan. Typically, people in Western Pennsylvania (or Marino’s native Massachusetts, for that matter) don’t get to enjoy much in the way of Vitamin D in the early portion of spring. But with the NHL on pause because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic,...
Pitt lands 152-pounder for 2020 wrestling class
Pitt coach Keith Gavin finalized his 2020 recruiting class Tuesday when he announced Tyler Badgett, one of the country’s top wrestlers at 152 pounds, signed his letter of intent. Badgett is ranked No. 8 by FloWrestling and No. 7 by InterMat. “I chose Pitt because I know the coaches will...
Pirates in predicament of paying employees but possibly reducing salaries
With no set return for baseball in sight amid the coronavirus crisis and despite MLB commissioner Rob Manfred giving teams the green light to furlough or lay off employees, the Pittsburgh Pirates committed Tuesday to pay their baseball operations staff through May. Pirates president Travis Williams announced the club is...
Kiski Area’s Kenny Blake announces first Division I offer from Albany
Kenny Blake was a Swiss Army knife for the Kiski Area Cavaliers last season. On offense, he played running back, wide receiver and even took snaps in Kiski Area’s wildcat formation. In total, he produced 1,129 yards and 11 touchdowns on the offensive side. On defense, he tallied 26 tackles...
NFL Draft CB breakdown: Ohio State’s Jeff Okudah has top spot locked downVideo
1. Jeff Okudah Ohio State, 6-1, 205 Okudah will be the first cornerback taken, and that could happen within the top five picks. His NFL comparable is Patrick Peterson. As a junior, Okudah was a first-team All-American and a Jim Thorpe finalist as the nation’s top defensive back. Okudah led...
Chargers look to past in mixing old looks into new uniformsVideo
COSTA MESA, Calif. — The Los Angeles Chargers are going back to their past as they prepare to move into their new home at SoFi Stadium. The Chargers unveiled their new uniforms Tuesday, which include numbers on the helmet and gold pants. The Chargers had numbers on their white helmets...
