It is not out of the realm of believability to say that James Franklin’s 2014 was pretty good. Great, even. In January, he was hired to be the head football coach of a fairly prestigious university (a team in his home state that he grew up watching, nonetheless), he scraped out a winning season despite having a severely depleted team, and he led Penn State to its first bowl game since 2012 and it’s first bowl win since 2010. So the question becomes this: will 2015 bring greatness for ... Read More
Archives for June 2015
Pirates GM discusses roster moves; team health
Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington always meets with the media on Sunday home games to delve into a series of topics. Not surprisingly, the two roster moves fresh in the mind were the central topics of today's session. Huntington broke each move down to better explain the reasoning, starting with the Steve Lombardozzi call-up, which resulted in pitcher Chris Volstad being designated for assignment. “The first move was to re-balance the 12 pitchers and 13 position players," ... Read More
Pirates pregame 6/28: Tabata, Volstad designated for assignment
The Pittsburgh Pirates will go for another sweep this afternoon as it concludes a three game series with the Atlanta Braves. Friday the Pirates won 3-2 in 10 innings and Saturday it was an 8-4 victory. It would be the ninth sweep of the season for the Pirates. Jeff Locke will pitch for the Pirates against Alex Wood. Locke is 1-1 with a 6.07 ERA in five career starts against the Braves and received a no-decision in his start against them this season. Locke had a no-decision in his last ... Read More
Hounds lose on controversial PK in rain-soaked contest
The Rochester Rhinos [8-0-5] hosted the Pittsburgh Riverhounds [5-4-4] in a game that featured more water than goals on Saturday night. The evening's offensive struggle marked the fifth straight game where the Hounds scored one goal or fewer and they lost, 1-0. The first half featured no goals, as teams were struggling more with the layer of water on the field more so than their opponents. With players sliding and splashing along the way, fans could see the difficulty in both goalies trying ... Read More
Pirates first inning too much for Braves
After losing centerfielder Andrew McCutchen with one out in the first inning, the Pittsburgh Pirates responded with a five-run first offensive outburst in the bottom of the first en route to an 8-4 victory. “I think it was a real nice push for our guys to answer in that fashion," manager Clint Hurdle said. McCutchen left the game after he was hit by a pitch in the left elbow. In the first inning, Neil Walker started a string of seven consecutive Pirates that reached base. McCutchen was ... Read More
McCutchen hit by pitch, removed from game
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen was removed from Saturday's game against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning after being hit by a pitch from Atlanta Braves right-hander Julio Teheran. pic.twitter.com/qSsQZgoH6p — Forbes to Federal (@ForbesToFederal) June 27, 2015 The Pirates had Neil Walker on base with McCutchen at the plate. With the count 1-1 and one out in the inning, McCutchen was hit by a 91 mile-per-hour two-seam fastball. The pitch hit his left elbow and ... Read More
Pirates pregame 6/27: Mercer making progress; Polanco experiencing cold streak
The Pittsburgh Pirates moved to 10-0 at home against National League East opponents after a 3-2 victory Friday night against the Atlanta Braves in 10 innings. This afternoon the Pirates may battle the weather just as much -- if not more than -- the Braves as mother nature looks to add another layer to a lengthy stretch of recent home games. Both of the past two nights have featured games that have gone into extra innings, making it four home contests in the past nine games that have gone to ... Read More
Pens take three more European forwards in NHL Draft
After grabbing Dutch forward Daniel Sprong in the second round, the Pittsburgh Penguins wrapped up the 2015 NHL draft on Saturday afternoon with three more selections in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. It’s a draft class with a lot of similarities. For the first time in team history, they selected all Europeans. All four draft players hail from different European countries, and they are all forwards. In the fifth round, the Penguins selected 20-year old Czech center Dominik Simon. Simon ... Read More
Pens select Daniel Sprong in 2nd round of NHL draft
The Pittsburgh Penguins have made their first selection in the 2015 NHL Draft, taking right-winger Daniel Sprong with the 46th overall selection in the second round. Sprong, 18, was born in Amersterdam and his father, Hannie, played professional hockey in The Netherlands. Sprong would be only the second Dutch player to play in the NHL, if he makes it. “Its more of a soccer country, no one really knows their hockey there,” Sprong said of his homeland in a draft video produced by the NHL. ... Read More
Plenty of talent remains for Penguins in second day of NHL Draft
The first round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft has wrapped up with no new movements for the Pittsburgh Penguins who still await their first pick at #46 in the second round. While most of the players that were expected to go in the first round were indeed selected on the opening night of the draft there are still a few that will still be available in the next round. If they continue to slide some of these players may even still be around by the time the Penguins take their first pick. Jeremy ... Read More