While the Pittsburgh Penguins have been mostly quiet so far in this offseason, their nearest neighbors to the west made a big splash on Tuesday and in the process, plucked from the Penguins own backyard. The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired the rights to forward Brandon Saad, a Pittsburgh-area native, and a pair of prospects for forwards Marko Dano, Artem Anisimov, Corey Tropp, Jeremy Morin and a fourth-round draft pick. The Penguins, who have sought out to acquire a top-six forward this ... Read More
Archives for June 2015
Pirates pregame 6/30: Cole compares to Verlander; Hurdle flashes back
The Pittsburgh Pirates make a return to Interleague play and will face the Detroit Tigers for three games on the road. The Tigers won two of three games that were played at PNC Park. Gerrit Cole will start for the Pirates against Justin Verlander. Cole is 6-1 with a 2.81 ERA in eight career starts against American League opponents including two victories this season. He pitched six-plus innings allowing a run against the Tigers this season. The outing was on the Pirates home opening day ... Read More
Bought-out players may provide value in free agency
Twice in recent history, the Pittsburgh Penguins have signed a player that had been bought out by their former club that offseason. Both times, the Penguins signed those players to cap-friendly one-year contracts to serve as a stopgap until younger players could step into their role. In 2009, the Penguins signed defenseman Jay McKee after he had been bought out by the Buffalo Sabres. McKee, then 32, played 62 games for the Penguins in what would be his final season in the league, holding the ... Read More
Dukes eye non-conference schedule
Duquesne released its 2015-16 men’s basketball non-conference schedule yesterday. Highlights of the Dukes’ matchups include New Orleans on Nov. 16, Penn State on Nov. 20, the annual City Game against Pitt on Dec. 4 and fellow Pittsburgh area rival Robert Morris on Dec. 19. Duquesne tips off its 100th season and fourth year under head coach Jim Ferry on Friday, Nov. 13 at home against Seton Hill as part of the Gulf Coast Showcase. The Dukes will travel to Estero, Florida for three games in ... Read More
Penguins send qualifying offers to five players
After a quiet 2015 NHL draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins have had a busy Monday. The Penguins signed defenseman Ian Cole to a three-year contract Monday morning, and Mon Monday afternoon, the Penguins qualified five of their restricted free agents for the 2015-16 season. According to a source close to the situation, the Penguins sent qualifying offers to forwards Beau Bennett, Bobby Farnham and Dominik Uher and defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Reid McNeill. Bennett, 23, had a disappointing ... Read More
Passion advance to IWFL Eastern Conference Championship
The Pittsburgh Passion extended their winning streak to 20 games and got one step closer to defending their IWFL Championship by clinching a berth in the IWFL Eastern Conference Championship with a 35-28 victory over the New York Sharks on Saturday. The Passion [9-0] had their toughest test of the season with the Sharks [6-3]. The Sharks also gave the Passion their only tough game in the regular season, when the Passion escaped New York with a 21-14 victory on May 30. The Passion built up ... Read More
What makes a sport, a sport?
With the success of the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds this year, we at Pittsburgh Sporting News had one question; what actually makes a sport? Two of our reporters are making their case as to why ultimate Frisbee, NASCAR and more are and are not sports. Which side are you on? In the midst of a seemingly fan-dominated sports culture, the sport itself becomes obfuscated. We enter into arguments with undertones of the questions “Is that really a sport?” and “What makes a sport, a sport?” ... Read More
Penguins re-sign Ian Cole
The Pittsburgh Penguins defensive corps in a state of flux, with veteran defensemen Paul Martin and Christian Ehrhoff likely testing free agent waters on July 1 and Olli Maatta and Kris Letang returning from seasoning-ending injuries. The Penguins made a big step to solidifying their blue line on Monday when they re-signed defenseman Ian Cole to a three-year contract. Cole, 26, was brought over from the St. Louis Blues in a trade deadline deal from Robert Bortuzzo. He immediately fit in on ... Read More
Pirates need to beat division foes to get over hump
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jared Hughes knows wins never come easy against fellow National League Central teams, and so far the Pirates have had a hard time getting those wins. The Pirates have been a woeful 14-20 against fellow National League Central teams this year. Breaking it down, the club is 2-4 against the Cardinals, 4-6 against the Cubs, 6-3 versus the Milwaukee Brewers and a dreadful 2-7 vs. the Cincinnati Reds. “There are a bunch of good teams in the NL Central,” Hughes said. ... Read More
Braves hold off Pirates’ rallies to prevent sweep.
After being shut down all day by Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Alex Wood [5-5], the Pirates finally got on board with a two-out ninth inning double by Jordy Mercer that scored Francisco Cervelli, but former Pirates closer Jason Grilli struck out Gregory Polanco to secure a 2-1 Atlanta victory. The Pirates were looking for their first sweep against the Atlanta Braves since 1994. The Braves scored single runs in the fifth and seventh innings. With two outs in the fifth, Cameron Maybin ... Read More