Penn State head coach James Franklin’s promise to “get it fixed” is on the line as the Nittany Lions (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) take on the University of Michigan Wolverines (2-4, 0-2 Big Ten) on Saturday night in Ann Arbor. Penn State is in limbo right now – a shocking 29-6 loss to Northwestern two weeks ago led into a bye week that focused on corrections, strength-training and rest. Michigan wants to go into its bye week with a win against Penn State, and perhaps the memory of a stinging overtime ... Read More
Big Ten Conference is no longer a powerhouse
The Big Ten Conference can no longer be called a powerhouse, at least not when it comes to football. It started in 2012 when Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany told the critics to fire away. A lack of top-10 teams, bowl bans and blowout losses led to a lot of criticism from all angles. “We’ve underperformed, and I can’t argue with that,” he admitted in a 2012 press conference. Things seem to have not gotten better. Despite a good start to the season for traditionally strong teams like Ohio ... Read More
W&J defense looks to keep making the big play
When you are a successful team that can throw points on the board in bunches like the Washington and Jefferson Presidents, sometimes you still need a defense that can force big plays. That’s been the staple for the Presidents during Mike Sirianni’s tenure. That’s also something that showed up in a big way last Saturday during W&J’s big win against Thomas More. While the Presidents’ offense lit up the scoreboard for over 50 points once again, they may not be sitting at 4-0 and ranked ... Read More
Hockey season opens with high-scoring Pens victory
The Mike Johnston era is off to a good start as the Pittsburgh Penguins (1-0-0) used a dominating first period to take the season opener over the Anaheim Ducks (0-1-0) by a final score of 6-4 at Consol Energy Center on Thursday night. Johnston got his first win as the head coach of the Penguins in a game punctuated by excellent performances across the ice. He is the first coach to be hired in the offseason to win the season opener since "Badger" Bob Johnson (1990). New Penguin Patric ... Read More
‘Same old Browns’ no longer a doormat
This is not an article about just the Pittsburgh Steelers. It is about a "rival" that has been a barnacle on the underbelly of the National Football League for 16 sad, grueling seasons. A few years after Art Modell moved his Cleveland Browns to Baltimore, effectively destroying what was left of the fans and the city's football landscape, the franchise was reborn due to league expansion. When the schedule came out for the 1999 season and, alas, it was Pittsburgh visiting the sparkling new ... Read More
Nailers to stay in Wheeling; extend head coach
With the Pittsburgh Penguins ready to kick off their 2014-15 season, Wednesday turned out to be a good day for one of its affiliates. Wheeling Nailers Governor Don Rigby announced that the team has agreed to a three-year extension with WesBanco Arena and the City of Wheeling. The deal guarantees that the Nailers will stay in Wheeling through the 2017-18 season. Rigby also announced at the Nailers 2014 State of the Team Event, that head coach Clark Donatelli has received a three-year ... Read More
Should Pitt consider a quarterback change?
Pitt Panthers fans had high hopes coming into the season with a very young and talented team. They got off to a 3-0 start to the season and finally had the extremely hyped quarterback under center that everyone has wanted to see play for a long time now. However during the Panthers recent three-game slide there is much blame to go around, but all three losses have one thing in common- Chad Voytik has not played well. Voytik went 16-for-30 for 195 yards with two touchdowns and one ... Read More
Pitt adds home-and-home series vs. Marshall; finalizes 2015-16 non-conference schedule
While things haven't exactly gone according to plan for Paul Chryst's Pitt Panthers the past three weeks and some have already begun looking towards the future, at least Pitt fans will know who will be on the schedule the next two years. The Panthers announced on Tuesday that they will play the Marshall Thundering Herd in a home-and-home series, beginning in 2016. Pitt will play Marshall of Conference USA on Oct. 1, 2016, at Heinz Field. The Panthers will travel to Marshall in 2020. The ... Read More
W&J wide receivers carrying on Presidents’ tradition
When the President’s Athletic Conference schedule was released this summer, everyone quickly circled the date October 4. That’s when W&J and Thomas More hooked up in their annual heavyweight bout. The Saints came in committed to taking away W&J running back Ryan Ruffing, playing eight men in the box almost the entire evening. That was just fine for the Presidents and quarterback Pete Coughlin. Coughlin set career highs with 383 yards and six touchdowns in No. 20 W&J's ... Read More
Steelers do just enough to defeat Jaguars
A Brice McCain interception return for a touchdown was enough for the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars (0-5) on Sunday at EverBank Field. It was the only scoring play of the fourth quarter and the only touchdown in the second half, increasing what was just a 10-9 lead early in the final quarter. The Steelers defense was strong throughout the day despite solid play at times from rookie QB Blake Bortles, holding the home team to just three field goals. Ben ... Read More