Kevin Gorman Columns category, Page 10

B.J. Finney doesn’t describe himself as a starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers, even if his offensive linemates include him when talking about their top six instead of front five. Then again, Finney doesn’t even describe himself as a center or a guard. Why bother when there is a chance that...

Anthony Chickillo pulls the phone out of his pocket and scrolls through photos until he finds the one that shows the four bone spurs removed from his right ankle in the offseason. They are lined up against a tape measure by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Robert Anderson, an ankle specialist in...

As a kid from Aliquippa, Dravon Askew-Henry put Ty Law and Darrelle Revis on a pedestal. As an aspiring NFL player, he put them on speed dial, picking their brains before his first training camp. The words of wisdom they offered — bring that Aliquippa attitude — ring in the...

When the clock struck 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon and the Pittsburgh Pirates still possessed one of their only All-Stars, did they win or lose the trade deadline? That the Pirates didn’t deal closer Felipe Vazquez was met with disappointment in baseball circles, especially by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The left-hander...

If Bud Dupree looks noticeably leaner for the Pittsburgh Steelers, it’s not because he lost weight. “I’m still 260,” Dupree said. “I just trimmed up.” Maybe he wised up, too. A soup-and-salad diet since April allowed Dupree to lose some body fat — the Georgia native told me giving up...

This was the moment we’ve been waiting for, the annual rite of passage in the first practice in pads for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s known as “backs-on-’backers” but Sunday’s edition might as well have been called Benny Snell Football. That’s how the rookie running back refers to his rugged running...

Devin Bush drew cheers from the crowd at Chuck Noll Field in his first practice at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp for diving to break up a short pass over the middle. What the Steelers’ first-round draft pick can’t wait to do is put on the pads for the first time...

If you were looking for leadership on the first day of training camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers, it showed up in a black SUV and parked in front of Rooney Hall at Saint Vincent College. Maurkice Pouncey arrived early Thursday with little fanfare and few words. There wasn’t much to...

If the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t send a strong enough message this offseason that Mike Tomlin is still the man in charge, they made it official by announcing his contract extension Thursday as players were reporting to Saint Vincent. Upon missing the playoffs for the first time in five years with...

When the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrated their 1979 World Series champions on Saturday at PNC Park, there was only one other place in the world Dave Parker would have rather been. That’s Cooperstown, N.Y. Parker was regarded as the best player in baseball from the mid-1970s until the early ‘80s, a...

From an outside perspective, this will be remembered as the offseason the Pittsburgh Steelers parted ways with a pair of All-Pro players in Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. The Steelers prefer another narrative: This is the year they banked on Ben Roethlisberger, not only by giving their franchise quarterback a...

For a 6-year-old Pittsburgh kid who needed nothing more than a ball and a glove to spend a summer day happily, the 1979 Pirates were my glorious introduction to baseball. With the Pirates winning the World Series and the Steelers on their way to a fourth Super Bowl, Pittsburgh branded...

Felipe Vazquez was still down and out about giving up the game-winning run to the Milwaukee Brewers in the 10th inning Friday night when Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle called the closer into his office the next day. When Hurdle informed Vazquez that he was chosen to play in the...

The Pittsburgh Pirates enter the All-Star break below .500 but in contention for the NL Central title and a wild-card berth, attempting to avoid no-man’s land before the trade deadline. No wonder Neal Huntington took the middle ground. The Pirates general manager walks a tightrope when talking about his team,...

Jameson Taillon had to get a grasp of his injury then get a grip. If the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander is going to pitch again this season, he first has to pick up a baseball. That’s how far along Taillon is two months into his road to recovery from a right...

When Josh Bell bashed three home runs against the Chicago Cubs on Monday, it never occurred on the Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman that it happened on Bobby Bonilla Day. In what has become the longest running joke in Major League Baseball, the New York Mets pay the retired slugger a...

On the opening day of NHL free agency, Jim Rutherford’s biggest revelation was about what the Pittsburgh Penguins will do with Mike Sullivan moving forward. Sullivan won the power struggle with Phil Kessel, as the Penguins chose their two-time Stanley Cup champion coach over the two-time Stanley Cup champion sniper....

The Pittsburgh Penguins raised eyebrows around the NHL on Monday when they signed winger Brandon Tanev to a free-agent contract that was long in term and steep in price. General manager Jim Rutherford was blunt in his assessment of the price to pay to sign a bottom-six forward who had...

In one breath, Clint Hurdle called it one of the best wins he’s watched in nine years as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In another, he downplayed the importance of one game. They overcame four deficits, including three-run margins in the ninth and 11th innings, before Kevin Newman’s full-count, bases-loaded...

Ray Searage was the subject of my column this week for wearing a bull`s-eye for the Bucs. The Pittsburgh Pirates pitching coach has endured a rash of injuries to his starting rotation and bullpen and the criticism that comes with the club losing 20 of 29 games in one span....

Mike Rodriguez received the phone call from Pitt director of basketball operations Brian Regan on Easter Sunday in April 2014, with a favor to ask and only a 30-minute warning. Jamie Dixon was headed to Pittsburgh International Airport, and the former Panthers coach wanted to stop on his way to...