Sports category, Page 2395
Tim Benz: Even Olli Maatta defenders should endorse this Penguins trade
My first reactions to Saturday’s trade of Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta to Chicago for forward Dominik Kahun were: • What am I missing? • Are the Penguins absorbing a lot of the salary? • Is this part one of a two-part deal? So far, the answers to those questions appear...
Tim Benz: Pirates bullpen shows encouraging signs vs. Marlins
I don’t want to get too crazy. Simply file this one under “credit when it’s due.” But let’s give a mild golf clap to the Pirates bullpen for helping to win the series in Miami over the weekend. Boy, it’s amazing how much facing the Marlins’ bats can help, right?...
‘Huddle Up’: Pine-Richland coach Eric Kasperowicz recalls getting his football start, 1987 North Hills champs
Eric Kasperowicz remembers being a sixth-grader in the North Hills School District in 1987 and watching the high school football team win the mythical national championship. “Looking up to those guys, they were like my idols. (I thought to myself) ‘I’m going to do that one day,’” Kasperowicz said in...
‘A’ game not enough for Brooks Koepka at U.S. Open
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Brooks Koepka brought his ‘A’ game to Pebble Beach on Sunday, hoping it would be good enough to make history. He did. But even his ‘A’ game wasn’t enough to slow down the magic show Gary Woodland was putting on behind him. Koepka’s round of 3-under-par...
Justin Rose fizzles in final round at U.S. Open
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Justin Rose’s final round at the U.S. Open got off a perfect start with a birdie on the first hole that moved him into a tie for the lead. Little else went right for Rose on Sunday as he posted four bogeys in an eight-hole stretch...
U.S. Open notebook: Viktor Hovland bests Jack Nicklaus’ amateur record
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Viktor Hovland ended his amateur career in style. Hovland shot a 4-under-par 67 in the final round of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach on Sunday to finish the weekend at 4-under 280, breaking Jack Nicklaus’ record by two strokes for the lowest score ever for...
Gary Woodland captures U.S. Open title, denies Koepka history-making 3rd straight
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Gary Woodland denied Brooks Koepka’s bold bid at history and made U.S. Open memories of his own Sunday with two clutch shots, a birdie putt on the final hole and that silver trophy in his hands at Pebble Beach. Yeah, he’s got this. Koepka, trying to...
John Steigerwald: Home runs can no longer save baseballVideo
“Chicks dig the long ball.” That was the message delivered in a 1998 Nike commercial. It was the answer given by two skinny pitchers, who were asked why they were training so hard. Mark McGwire, who was on his way to 70 home runs that year and looked like an...
District 31 Legion teams hope to make their move at midpoint of regular season
Hempfield East and Latrobe didn’t play a league game this past week, but the teams remain atop the District 31 American Legion standings heading into Monday’s action. Hempfield East is undefeated at 5-0, and Latrobe is 5-1. Kiski Valley split a pair of games and joined Hempfield East and Latrobe...
Tiger Woods’ big finish can’t salvage lost week at U.S. Open
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — The crowd was roaring. The birdies were dropping, and Tiger Woods looked like his vintage self for the final 12 holes of the U.S. Open. The problem for Woods was what happened on the first 60 holes. Woods salvaged an otherwise disappointing weekend at Pebble Beach...
Escrow looms as biggest issue in upcoming NHL CBA talks
Jonathan Toews said he just wants his contract to be worth what it says on paper. Right now, it’s not that simple. Under terms of the collective bargaining agreement, NHL owners and players divide hockey-related revenue 50/50, and if player salaries exceed that split a certain percentage is withheld in...
Slugger Edwin Encarnacion to join Yankees on Monday
CHICAGO — Edwin Encarnacion will find himself in a familiar spot after he joins the New York Yankees on Monday. Manager Aaron Boone plans to use the AL home run leader as his team’s primary designated hitter once the 36-year-old slugger arrives. The AL East leaders acquired Encarnacion and cash...
What Maatta trade means — and doesn’t mean — for Penguins future
After the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins bludgeoned their way to the Stanley Cup Final, there was speculation heavy hockey was back in the NHL. General managers all over the league soon would be reconstructing their rosters to copycat the way the big, bad Blues claimed the franchise’s first...
Pirates rally past Marlins, win seriesVideo
MIAMI — Josh Bell padded his NL-leading RBI total and helped the Pittsburgh Pirates to a series-clinching victory. Bell’s go-ahead double in the seventh inning lifted the Pirates over the Miami Marlins, 5-4, on Sunday. The Pirates rallied from a 4-2 deficit on Corey Dickerson’s pinch-hit RBI double off Miami...
Steady veteran Tyson Alualu perfect fit for Steelers’ 4th defensive lineman
From the beginning of their professional marriage 2½ years ago, Tyson Alualu and the Pittsburgh Steelers seemed like a perfect fit. So when it came time to extend the partnership this past winter, it was the proverbial a no-brainer from Alualu’s end. Apparently, it was for the Steelers, too. “I...
Lloyd scores 2 and the U.S. downs Chile 3-0 at the World Cup
PARIS — Carli Lloyd wasn’t thrilled to open the Women’s World Cup on the bench for the United States. She accepted the role, but made no secret she wanted to start. When the call came Sunday, Lloyd made it count with a pair of goals to lead the defending champions...
Pitt lands outside linebacker Kamara of Akron, N.J. athlete DeShields, Florida DE Belgrave
Pitt landed a versatile safety/outside linebacker for its Class of 2020 on Sunday when Bangally Kamara of Akron East High School tweeted his intentions to enroll next year. He is one of five prospects to verbally commit to Pat Narduzzi this weekend, according to the coach’s Pat Signal tweets. Only...
Pirates’ Neal Huntington said pitching staff ‘getting healthy’
Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said his team, which has lost eight of its past nine games, is in the middle of a “tough stretch, but we’re getting healthy.” Speaking Sunday on his radio show on KDKA-FM, he said pitchers Trevor Williams, Chris Stratton and Jordan Lyles, who are...
Steelers 2-a-days: Aliquippa’s Dravon Askew-Henry, big Zach Banner look to seize opportunities
Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College, the Trib will be running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, assessing each player’s outlook for the 2019 season. The breakdown will go through the roster in alphabetical order, (at least) two per day, between...
Pirates minor league report: June 15, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 35-30): Postponed by rain vs. Pawtucket (Red Sox). Next: Sunday doubleheader vs. Pawtucket ALTOONA (Double-A, 34-31): defeated Binghamton (Mets), 5-1. 1B Jerrick Suiter (.242) had a pair of RBIs, as did RF Bligh Madris. Madris (.249) hit his third homer of the season, and 3B Hunter Owen (.300)...
Pitt gets 6 on list of top 100 football players in the ACC
Inching closer to the start of the college football season, I came across some interesting reading that sheds what appears to be a clear light on the best players on Pitt’s team. Jim Johnson (not that one, but the editor of southernpigskin.com) ranked the top 100 players in the ACC,...
Gary Woodland takes 1-shot U.S. Open lead over Justin Rose
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Gary Woodland hit a shank and a chunk and both times made par, and he made a birdie from a deep divot in the fairway. Such moments, even on a Saturday, can go a long way toward winning a U.S. Open. Even better for Woodland was...
Rookie Weiss looks for 1st World of Outlaws win at Lernerville
When Ricky Weiss takes the track with his super late model Thursday for the opening night of the Firecracker 100 weekend, it will be his first lap at Lernerville Speedway. That has been the case at most places this year in his rookie season on the World of Outlaws circuit,...
Pirates stumble after building lead in loss to lowly Marlins
MIAMI — For the second straight game, the Pittsburgh Pirates jumped on the Miami Marlins. This time, the Marlins answered, and Pablo Lopez and his teammates were able to lock down the Pirates the rest of the way. Lopez pitched seven strong innings and allowed three runs to help the...
Duke’s Alex Smalley wins Sunnehanna Amateur
Duke golfer Alex Smalley became the fifth golfer and first since Rickie Fowler in 2007 and ‘08 to win consecutive Sunnehanna Amateur titles. Smalley shot his second-consecutive 4-under-par 66 to grab the 66th annual tournament Saturday at Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown. He finished at 10-under 270. He was five...
