Sports category, Page 2099
No. 24 Air Force meets Washington State in Cheez-It BowlVideo
PHOENIX — Washington State plays an offense known as the Air Raid, designed to spread teams out, get players into space, rack up huge amounts of passing yards. Air Force tends to work in tighter spaces, relying on a triple option that’s difficult to defend and annually is among the...
Simone Biles named 2019 AP Female Athlete of the YearVideo
They’re called “Simone Things,” a catch-all phrase for the casual ease with which Simone Biles seems to soar through her sport and her life. The irony, of course, is there’s nothing casual or easy about it. Any of it. The greatest gymnast of all time and 2019 Associated Press Female...
Joe Haden misses Steelers practice; Steve Nelson returns, James Conner remains out
James Conner missed another Pittsburgh Steelers practice Thursday, and he was joined on the sidelines by another former Pro Bowl player in Joe Haden. But Steve Nelson returned to practice, a signal he will in the regular-season finale at Baltimore. Nelson practiced fully a day after he missed a session...
Pitt’s Mike Ditka, Bill Fralic, Larry Fitzgerald, Hugh Green named to ESPN’s all-time All-America team
Four Pitt greats, all of whom have had their jerseys retired by the university, are first-team selections on ESPN’s All-Time All-America college football team announced Wednesday. Named to the team were tight end Mike Ditka, offensive tackle Bill Fralic, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and defensive end Hugh Green. Ditka, who...
Linebacker T.J. Watt named Steelers MVPVideo
As much as the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive players relished T.J. Watt earning the team’s most valuable player award Thursday, they are more interested in whether he can claim a bigger accolade in about six weeks. At the NFL Honors ceremony Feb. 1, the eve of the Super Bowl, the NFL...
Steelers’ Ryan Switzer, Roosevelt Nix designated to return from injured reserve
If the Pittsburgh Steelers make the AFC playoffs and advance to the divisional round, they could get fullback Roosevelt Nix and wide receiver Ryan Switzer back on the active roster. The Steelers announced Thursday that Nix and Switzer have been designated to return from injured reserve, which paves the way...
Lindsey Vonn proposes to P.K. Subban, saying men should get engagement rings, too
P.K. Subban got some new hardware over Christmas. The New Jersey Devils defenseman got a huge engagement ring from finance, former Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn, according to posts on her social media pages. The couple, who have been together for two years, already announced their engagement in August, but Vonn...
Penn State names Kirk Ciarrocca its new offensive coordinator
As the Penn State football team prepares to face Memphis in Saturday’s Cotton Bowl, they also will be welcoming a new member to the coaching staff. Kirk Ciarrocca, a native of Lewisberry, Pa., has been hired as the Nittany Lions offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Ciarrocca spent the past three...
NFL playoffs: Six teams still battling for first-round bye
Six teams are still fighting for three important spots to ease their path to the Super Bowl. While 10 teams have clinched playoff spots entering Week 17, only the Baltimore Ravens (13-2) have earned a first-round bye. The Ravens secured the AFC’s No. 1 seed for the first time in...
Miami, Louisiana Tech to face off in Independence BowlVideo
Miami coach Manny Diaz’s message leading up to the Independence Bowl has been simple: Winning streaks and winning traditions start somewhere. He should know. He was at Louisiana Tech in 2014 when the Bulldogs beat Illinois in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. No one knew at the time, of course,...
Pitt bowl game matters, especially to those coming back for more
There can be reasonable debate about the importance of bowl games that don’t involve ranked teams. So let’s review the arguments: • If Pitt defeats Eastern Michiganon Thursday night in the Quick Lane Bowl, will anyone remember? Coach Pat Narduzzi surely will. It would be his first bowl victory in...
The most important Penguins of the 2010s: Nos. 5 through 1
By any measure, the 2010s were a successful decade for the Pittsburgh Penguins — maybe the most successful in franchise history. Forget the two Stanley Cup titles. Having zero bankruptcies qualifies as a triumph in the “good decade” column for this organization. But who were the most important players on...
Commentary: Why Chiefs would create serious challenges for Ravens in postseasonVideo
Now that the Ravens have secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC and home-field advantage in the playoffs, there should be another wish on coach John Harbaugh’s Christmas list: Please don’t play the Kansas City Chiefs. Of all the other AFC teams that already have earned playoff spots, Kansas...
CB Steve Nelson doesn’t practice for Steelers with groin injury
While the Pittsburgh Steelers’ opponent on Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens, enjoyed a day off on Christmas – a byproduct of earning home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs – coach Mike Tomlin put his players through a 90-minute practice Wednesday at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Cornerback Steve Nelson was new to...
Sooners count on experience, speed to put brakes on LSU’s top-rated offenseVideo
ATLANTA — Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray knows the Sooners defense is preparing for its toughest challenge of the season and believes experience on the national stage will be a big factor. No. 1 LSU (13-0) enters the College Football Playoff semifinal in Saturday’s Peach Bowl leading the nation in yards...
Tiger Woods’ Masters comeback named AP Sports Story of the Year
A green jacket. A heart-melting embrace. A stirring return to the top of golf by one of the sport’s all-time greats. In choosing Tiger Woods’ victory at the Masters as The Associated Press sports story of the year, voters went with the uplifting escape of a great comeback over options...
Pitt basketball’s Kyla Nelson returns to the court after cancer surgeryVideo
The game of basketball can mirror life. In between those lines, there is a competitor. Athletes go out every day to challenge themselves and persevere against roadblocks to victory. For Pitt women’s basketball player Kyla Nelson, the competitor was cancer, the challenge surgery and the roadblock the will to live....
Devlin Hodges looking to bounce back for Steelers after brief benchingVideo
What transpired in the second quarter Sunday at MetLife Stadium was foreign to Devlin Hodges. As a four-year starter, three-time conference player of the year, FCS career passing yardage leader and Walter Payton Award winner in 2018, Hodges never was pulled from a game because of poor performance. It finally...
Ben Roethlisberger vows to ‘come back stronger’ for Steelers in 2020
Ben Roethlisberger gave Pittsburgh Steelers fans a Christmas gift on Wednesday when he vowed to resume his football career in 2020, shooting down a report that cast doubt about his football future. Underneath a family photo posted on his website, bigben7.com, Roethlisberger wrote that he is “working hard and more...
In potentially final game with Steelers, B.J. Finney knows drill in spot starts
Four of the five Pittsburgh Steelers offensive linemen have been starting alongside each other for almost five seasons. The bond between three of them goes back to 2012. So, it perhaps was the ultimate compliment to B.J. Finney that one of those venerable veteran lineman said earlier this week that...
ESPN college football reporter Edward Aschoff dies at 34
BRISTOL, Conn. — ESPN college football reporter Edward Aschoff, known for his outgoing and friendly personality, dapper dress and great love of sports, has died. He was 34. The sports network announced Aschoff died Tuesday after a brief illness. “We are very sorry to have to share the devastating news...
Beating Steelers is enough motivation for Ravens in meaningless game
It would seem that the Baltimore Ravens have nothing to play for in Sunday’s regular-season finale. Except for the fact of who it’s against. “It’s a big deal, as always, to play the Steelers,” Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said during a conference call with Pittsburgh reporters. “It’s a rivalry. We...
Mark Madden: No reason to complain about Penguins at Christmas break
The Penguins started their Christmas break last Saturday. Unfortunately, they also played that night at Vancouver. What a dastardly performance in a 4-1 loss. But, as we await the Penguins’ re-emergence Friday at Nashville, fans of the team have little complaint. Despite being beset by a hailstorm of injuries, including...
Mike Tomlin indifferent on Steelers scoreboard-watching during season finale
Mike Tomlin probably knows a lost cause when he sees one. So he has taken an indifferent approach to his players following other games going on around the league Sunday. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ playoff fate is at least in part dependent on the results of the Tennessee Titans-Houston Texans game...
Marshawn Lynch’s return provides spark for Seahawks locker roomVideo
RENTON, Wash. — When Marshawn Lynch played his last game for Seattle in January 2016, a playoff loss to the Carolina Panthers, the idea of him ever wearing a Seahawks uniform again seemed preposterous. Yet here was Lynch on Tuesday going through his first practice with Seattle in nearly four...
