After a heartbreaking Game 1 loss Thursday night against the Washington Capitals, the Pittsburgh Penguins rebounded and pulled off the 2-1 win in Game 2. Matt Murray dominated in-between the pipes for Pittsburgh, giving his team the advantage on the defensive side of things. Washington didn’t play lightly, slamming the Penguins into the boards, but Pittsburgh was ready and countered with the speed and elusiveness needed to escape the Capitals’ physical nature. Murray's Fury Murray played ... Read More
Archives for April 2016
Pirates pregame 4/30: Jared Hughes returns
Following a 4-1 victory Friday night against the Cincinnati Reds, the Pittsburgh Pirates will look for a series victory as Francisco Liriano (1-1 4.64 ERA) takes on Alfredo Simon (0-2 16.39 ERA). Liriano has a 1-5 record with a 3.96 ERA in 13 regular season starts against the Reds. One of those starts came this season, and he allowed three runs on five hits in five innings. Liriano threw 90 pitches in that appearance and struggled with control all night, having to consistently battle through ... Read More
Pitt wideout Tyler Boyd taken by Cincinnati in 2nd round of NFL Draft
With the 55th pick in the NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals selected University of Pittsburgh receiver Tyler Boyd. The pick makes sense, especially because the Bengals' No. 2 and 3 receivers (Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu) bolted via free agency. Last season, the two combined for 98 receptions, 1,210 yards and four touchdowns. Boyd immediately projects as the Bengals' No. 2 receiver, behind bonafide stud A.J. Green. Last season, Cincinnati's offense averaged 27.8 points per game in the 12 ... Read More
Pirates beat Reds 4-1 Friday night after long road trip
It was a long 12 days away from PNC Park for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but a 4-1 victory Friday against the Cincinnati Reds has extended the Pirates' current win-streak to a season-high five games. The Pirates now improve to 14-9 on the season, while the Reds drop to 9-14. The win had four big takeaways: Nicasio has best start of season Seven games isn't a large sample size, but it was telling enough that, coming into this game, Juan Nicasio was 0-2 with a 5.12 ERA in 19.1 innings pitched ... Read More
Steelers draft grades for rounds 2 and 3
Round One: Sean Davis, S, Maryland The Pittsburgh Steelers sure aren’t leaving their draft plan up for any interpretation, making it very clear they’re targeting the holes in their secondary. After taking a cornerback in the first round, with the second pick the Steelers selected Sean Davis, safety out of Maryland. Davis played corner last year at Maryland, but the physical specimen (6 foot 1, 201 pounds) should make a devastating safety for the Steelers. He struggled in man-coverage, so ... Read More
From walk-on to drafted: Carl Nassib taken by Browns in 3rd round
Former Penn State walk-on Carl Nassib, a defensive end, continued his rise when he was drafted in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. At 65th overall, Nassib became the third Nittany Lion taken Saturday evening. "His amazing story of going from walk-on to Lombardi Award winner to Penn State graduate to NFL Draft pick is unprecedented,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said in a statement. “His productivity and tremendous measurables will serve him well at the ... Read More
Johnson, Hackenberg hear names called in the second round of Draft
Defensive lineman Austin Johnson was the first of the draft-eligible Penn State Nittany Lions to be selected in the 2016 NFL Draft. Johnson, taken with the 43rd pick, will be suiting up for the Tennessee Titans with former Nittany Lion DaQuan Jones. Eight picks later, the New York Jets took former Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg to add to their depth at the quarterback position. Austin Johnson A Galloway, NJ native, Johnson started all 13 games for Penn State this fall and ... Read More
Game 2 Preview: Penguins must respond like they have all season
Pittsburgh Penguins (4-2) The Penguins are coming off of a heartbreaking loss. While it looked like they were going to come back from an early deficit, Pittsburgh failed to convert on some prime opportunities and got roughed around a bit. Still, the Penguins’ offense looked as good as it has all season. The defense, however, didn’t look good, and it could prove to be Pittsburgh's biggest disadvantage for the remainder of this series. The Penguins will need to work on escaping hits and on ... Read More
Three up, three down: Positive and negative takeaways from Game 1
Both experts and fans are split on how the second-round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs will unfold between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals. Game 1 didn’t help much in determining the eventual winner — the game went into overtime where the Capitals were able to just squeak by. Let’s take a look at what went right and what went wrong for the Penguins in Game 1. Three Up: Competitiveness Going into the game, there was a lot of uncertainty regarding whether the ... Read More
Potential landing spots for Pitt WR Tyler Boyd in Day 2 of the Draft
It took a while before the first wide receiver was taken last night in the first round of NFL draft, but once the seal was broken, the position saw a flurry of activity. Now that the top four receivers are off the board, Pitt receiver Tyler Boyd is squarely in play to be among the next wideouts taken. The likelihood of Boyd coming off the board tonight during Rounds 2 or 3 is extremely high, but it's still unclear which team will grab him. In advance of Friday night’s festivities, here are a ... Read More