pitt Page 9 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
What to watch in college football's Week One
Anyone else so excited that we’ll have college football in less than two weeks that they could throw up? No? Just me? Well, maybe you’ll be excited enough to read our Week One previews for the 2022 season (that starts in 10 days! AAHHHH!). Labor Day weekend is going to be one of those Saturdays wher...
Malik Willis has all the tools — he just needs to pull them out of the box much quicker
There was a lot of attention on Kenny Pickett during his first preseason performance for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They selected him with the 20th overall pick, meaning they hope that he will be the successor to Ben Roethlisberger. That succession plan may have to start soon considering Mitchell Trub...
College football’s non-conference schedule never fails to out a few frauds
Whether you’re in school or graduated, we’re conditioned from a young age to circle June through August with a big red sharpie and write “HAVE FUN” in big, bold letters, so when September hits, the dopamine from just seeing July before a date subsides. There is a consolation prize for summer ending ...
The George Pickens show continued Saturday, this time he was in game uniform
Surely the Pittsburgh Steelers would’ve hoped that the star of their 2022 training camp would be Kenny Pickett or maybe even an improved Mitchell Trubisky. Going into their first season with a new starting quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger became the unquestioned starter in 2005, the Steelers sig...
Diontae Johnson deserves way better
The last of the star wideouts holding out (or in) during contract negotiations, Diontae Johnson finally came to an agreeable contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. For Johnson to hold out longer than the likes of Deebo Samuel and DK Metcalf, it must have been a solid deal, one that rivaled the $25 m...
DK Metcalf has his flaws, but he’s worth every penny of his new contract
Fourth-year wide receiver DK Metcalf is a pretty polarizing player. Depending on who you ask, Metcalf is either a top-tier talent with elite physical attributes or a deep threat who wouldn’t be able to carry a passing attack without Tyler Lockett on the opposite side of him. You can’t deny his stati...
Get your torches and pitchforks ready, it’s time for Bengals slander
The Cincinnati Bengals were every analyst’s nightmare last season. Nobody expected them to win the AFC North. They did. Nobody expected them to reach the Super Bowl. They did. Now, in 2022, everyone is expecting similar results, maybe not another Super Bowl appearance, but at least 10 wins and a pla...
Pittsburgh seems intent on running its halfbacks into the ground
During a podcast appearance earlier this week, Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin told listeners that he expected second-year halfback Najee Harris to be a “bell cow” for the team this season....
The Steelers’ lack of spending on offense is...worrisome
Heading into 2022, there are 14 teams whose biggest cap hit on offense is their quarterback. There are seven teams whose biggest cap hit on offense is an offensive lineman. Six teams are spending the most on a wide receiver. Three on a tight end (JAX, MIA, NE) and one on a running back (CIN). That m...
It’s time for the yearly symposium on whether this is finally it for the Penguins
This is yet another distasteful side effect of the NHL’s salary cap. Fans and observers of a certain team, especially a successful one, have to start judging just how much sand is left in the hourglass. They have to weigh the age of the best players, salaries of those players, when contracts run out...
Why the Baltimore Ravens should be the team to look out for in 2022
The Baltimore Ravens were ravaged with injuries in 2021. So much so that PFF’s WAR-Adjusted Injuries Lost (WAIL) statistic indicates that the Ravens lost about 2.86 wins last season. That would’ve put the team in the playoffs with either a 10-7 or 11-6 record. They possibly would’ve been ahead of th...
Hot tamper?
There’s a misconception that USC has spent the first few months of the Lincoln Riley era dragging a golden bus across the country and purchasing college football stars at every stop. As of May 2, the Trojans rank second in 247 Sports’ Transfer Team Rankings, but most of those student-athletes are ea...
2022 NFL Draft Day 2: Who are the best players available?
Round 1 is done, and it came with drama, surprise picks (you don’t see a Chattanooga guy in the first round to the Patriots every day), and some big names left on the board for Day 2. Before the second and third rounds kick off tonight at 7 p.m. EST, we’re looking at some of the best players left on...
2022 NFL Draft: A few thoughts on each pick in the first round
The first 10 picks of the NFL Draft are the Oscars in reverse. The biggest honorees are rewarded first. Fans show up and shout insults at the host and bone-rattling contact with Roger Goodell is encouraged....
Reboot USFL will be remembered for its chicken salad, not the football
The contemporary USFL is the chicken salad of spring professional football leagues. In theory, it may feature the name of two ingredients people love, but it’s a stomach-churning and second-rate mixture in practice. For example, USFL running back De’Veon Smith was cut by his Pittsburgh Maulers team ...
The Colts were a trendy Super Bowl pick last season, this season they want to be a favorite
The Indianapolis Colts were certainly not thrilled with the way that their 2021 season ended. It started in disappointing fashion by losing their first three games. They improved, but still lost twice to division rival Tennessee Titans, including a heartbreaker at home — 34-31 in overtime. Then the ...
Dabo Swinney: My locker room is my transfer portal
Spring game season is upon us, and the college football programs that didn’t hold their annual glorified practices last weekend are scheduled to put them on this Saturday. It’s a nice way to catch a nap, check in on a quarterback battle, or get a sneak peek at any coaching changes....
Joe Exotic asked Ben Roethlisberger for an autograph from prison… yes, you read that right
I forgot Joe Exotic existed. The Tiger King was the king of Netflix for a few months in 2020, and his fame vanished almost immediately afterward. Even Tiger King Season 2 wasn’t enough to bring Joseph “Exotic” Maldonado-Passage back into the forefront of American pop culture. Now, the man is impriso...
Dwayne Haskins, 24, dies after getting hit by car
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins died Saturday morning in South Florida after being hit by a car, weeks shy of turning 25. The former Ohio State star was drafted No. 15 overall by the Washington Commanders in the 2019 NFL Draft before his current role in Pittsburgh....
Chasing the Bengals' path to glory
The avalanche started with the fifth pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The Cincinnati Bengals selected Ja’Marr Chase from LSU, reuniting Chase with national-championship teammate and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow, Cincy’s selection with the No. 1 overall pick in 2020. Those were far from t...