Tree of Life

16 May

PITT’S DONALD NAMED TO LOTT IMPACT TROPHY WATCH LIST

published in category: College Sports on Thursday, May 16th, 2013 – 1:29 pm

PITTSBURGH—University of Pittsburgh senior defensive tackle Aaron Donald has been named to the watch list for the 2013 Lott IMPACT Trophy. Donald is one of 42 players named a preseason candidate for the award, which honors the nation’s top defensive player and takes into consideration an individual’s IMPACT on and off the field.

Named after San Francisco 49ers’ great Ronnie Lott, the award is annually presented by the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, located in Newport Beach, Calif. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.

Voting for the Lott IMPACT Trophy is held throughout the season by a national panel of former college coaches and players, media members, past winners of the award and the Board of Directors of the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation. The 2013 winner will be honored at the 10th annual Lott IMPACT Trophy Black-Tie Awards Banquet on Dec. 8 at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach.

Last season, Donald (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) was a first-team All-Big East selection, compiling 64 total tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and a forced fumble. He led the Big East and ranked 12th nationally with 1.54 TFLs per game.

Donald spearheaded a Pitt defense that ranked 17th nationally in fewest yards allowed (330.54 yards/game). The Panthers’ also owned lofty NCAA rankings in pass defense (20th, 194.15 yards/game), pass efficiency defense (21st, 113.12 rating) and interceptions (26th, 15 total).

Donald is one of 15 returning starters for Pitt this season, the Panthers’ first as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Pitt will open the year with a highly anticipated showdown against defending ACC and Orange Bowl champ Florida State on Labor Day (Sept. 2) at Heinz Field.

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Posted in College Sports

 

16 May

Bills Hire Former Pitt Player and Steelers Scout Whaley as GM

published in category: College Sports, Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday, May 16th, 2013 – 12:19 pm

Orchard Park, NY – The Buffalo Bills today announced that the organization has promoted Doug Whaley to General Manager. He becomes the 12th General Manager in franchise history.
Bills President and CEO Russ Brandon said, “It is with great pleasure to name Doug Whaley to the position of General Manager today. Doug has been involved in every level of player personnel throughout his career and he will lead our efforts in reestablishing a winning tradition for this organization and our great fans.
“Doug is a passionate and committed leader who will work tirelessly with his department to build a team our fans and all of Western New York will be proud of heading into the future,” continued Brandon.
Whaley is entering his fourth season with the franchise and 17th in the NFL. He joined the Bills in 2010 as Assistant General Manager/Director of Pro Personnel before being elevated to Assistant General Manager/Director of Player Personnel in May of 2011.

For the past three years, Whaley oversaw the club’s personnel departments and assisted then General Manager and current Special Assistant Buddy Nix in all football-related administrative duties.

Prior to coming to Buffalo, Whaley spent a combined 12 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was the team’s Pro Scouting Coordinator from 1999-2009 where he was responsible for advance scouting of the team’s upcoming opponents and making campus visits and scouting college players throughout the season. He also evaluated unrestricted and restricted free agents throughout the year and into the free agency offseason period.

Before his time in Pittsburgh, Whaley was an East coast area scout for the Seattle Seahawks from 1996-98. Whaley began his NFL career in 1995 as an assistant in the Steelers’ pro personnel department.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Whaley was a four-year letterwinner as a safety and linebacker for the University of Pittsburgh from 1990-93.

WHALEY’S CAREER
NFL
YEARS TEAM TITLE
2013 Buffalo Bills General Manager
2011-12 Buffalo Bills Assistant GM/Director of Player Personnel
2010 Buffalo Bills Assistant GM/Director of Pro Personnel
1999-2009 Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Scouting Coordinator
1996-1998 Seattle Seahawks Area College Scout (East Coast)
1995 Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Personnel Assistant

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Posted in College Sports, Pittsburgh Steelers

 

16 May

Steelers Sign Fourth-Round Pick Shamarko Thomas

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday, May 16th, 2013 – 10:47 am

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers have signed their first of two fourth-round draft picks from the 2013 NFL Draft, safety Shamarko Thomas. Financial terms of the four-year deal were not disclosed.

Thomas (5-9, 217), who was the 111th overall pick, played collegiately at Syracuse University. He started 39-of-48 games played at Syracuse, recording 263 tackles, 16.5 TFLs and four sacks. Last season, Thomas was named a consensus All-Big East first-team selection and a third-team All-American by the NFL Draft Report as he started all 13 games and collected a career-high 88 tackles. He was a second-team All-Big East selection in 2011 and earned All-Big East freshman team honors in 2009.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 

16 May

Clint Hurdle Interview

published in category: Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday, May 16th, 2013 – 10:20 am


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Posted in Pittsburgh Pirates

 

15 May

Bucs and Pucks a Smashing Success So Far by Mike Gaffney

published in category: Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 – 5:43 pm

Since April 3rd, Pittsburgh sports fans have had plenty to be happy about. That night Root Sports, in conjunction with the MLB Network and the NBC Sports Network, have been broadcasting Penguins and Pirates games simultaneously, calling the Pittsburgh sports watching extravaganza “Bucs and Pucks.” Since the start of the Pirates’ season, the Bucs and Pens have played 16 games that have fallen on the same date, and the results have been excellent.
In these 16 games, the Penguins have compiled an extremely impressive record of 11 wins and just five loses, most recently adding a tally to the win column Tuesday night with a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators in the opening round of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. The Penguins’ record would likely not surprise many Pittsburgh fans as the team rolled through the Conference, locking up the top spot in the East with a week remaining in the regular season, and with only 48 games on the schedule.
What probably would surprise most Pittsburgh fans is that the Pirates have a better record than the Penguins when both the Bucs and Pens play on the same date. In those 16 games the Pirates have accumulated a record of 12 wins and only four loses, with their most recent win coming from an Andrew McCutchen walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 12th inning Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers, at PNC Park.
The Bucs and Pens have a combined .72 winning percentage this year when playing on the same date. In the 32 games they’ve played, the two teams’ aggregate score is Pittsburgh: 125-Opponents: 83, and both teams have won on the same day seven times.
Here are the results from Bucs and Pucks so far:
Date Pirates Penguins
April, 3 W 3-0 Chicago Cubs L 1-6 New York Rangers
April, 5 L 0-3 Los Angeles Dodgers W 2-1 New York Rangers
April, 9 W 6-5 Arizona Diamondbacks W 5-3 Carolina Hurricanes
April, 13 W 3-1 Cincinnati Reds W 3-1 Florida Panthers
April, 17 W 5-0 St. Louis Cardinals W 6-4 Montreal Canadiens
April, 22 L 2-3 Philadelphia Phillies W 3-1 Ottawa Senators
April, 23 W 2-0 Philadelphia Phillies L 2-4 Buffalo Sabres
April, 25 W 6-4 Philadelphia Phillies L 2-3 New Jersey Devils
April, 27 W 5-3 St. Louis Cardinals W 8-3 Carolina Hurricanes
May, 1 W 6-4 Milwaukee Brewers W 5-0 New York Islanders
May, 3 W 3-1 Washington Nationals L 3-4 New York Islanders
May, 5 L 2-6 Washington Nationals W 5-4 New York Islanders
May, 7 W 4-1 Seattle Mariners L 2-4 New York Islanders
May, 9 L 2-3 New York Mets W 4-0 New York Islanders
May, 11 W 11-2 New York Mets W 4-3 New York Islanders
May, 14 W 4-3 Milwaukee Brewers W 4-1 Ottawa Senators

With these statistics in mind, it stands to reason that the longer the Penguins are in the playoffs, the better it is for the Pirates who have clearly gotten a boost while playing on the same night as their cross-river colleagues. Next up for Bucs and Pucks is Friday, May 17th, when the Pirates open a three-game series against the Houston Astros and the Penguins face the Ottawa Senators in the second game of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
The Astros are the worst team in the Majors so far this year and the Penguins are undefeated against the Senators in 2013, so continued success should be expected.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates

 

15 May

Pitt Baseball ranked 16th in nation

published in category: College Sports on Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 – 5:41 pm

The 16th-ranked University of Pittsburgh baseball team (40-12, 18-3 Big East) will compete for the Big East regular season championship when they travel to Jim Patterson Stadium for its regular season finale, a three-game set at No. 10 Louisville (43-10, 17-4 Big East) beginning on Thursday, May 16 at 6 p.m.
The first two games of the series will be steamed live through Louisville’s website for a fee while Saturday’s series finale will be broadcast live to a national audience on ESPNU with Mike Morgan and Chris Burke on the call. Saturday’s game will also be streamed live on the Watch ESPN App. Links to the webcasts can be found below.
The series between Pitt and Louisville will decide who will win the Big East regular season championship as the Panthers currently sit in first place with an 18-3 mark while the Cardinals sit a game back at 17-4. Pitt must take two of three to claim the title outright and one of three to secure a share. The Panthers’ last Big East regular season title came in 1994.
A complete schedule of the weekend’s contests can be found below.
GAME 1: THURSDAY, MAY 16, 6 P.M.
Watch ($)
PROBABLE PITCHING
PITT: RHP Ethan Mildren (9-2, 2.17 ERA)
UL: RHP Chad Green (8-2, 1.73)
GAME 2: FRIDAY, MAY 17, 6 P.M.
Watch ($)
PROBABLE PITCHING
PITT: RHP Matt Wotherspoon (9-1, 3.05 ERA)
UL: RHP Jeff Thompson (9-1, 1.94)
GAME 3: SATURDAY, MAY 18, 12 p.m.
TV: ESPNU
Watch
PROBABLE PITCHING
PITT: RHP Rhys Aldenhoven (8-0, 2.12 ERA)
UL:RHP Dace Kime (5-1, 3.06)

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Posted in College Sports

 

15 May

RIVERHOUNDS DEFEAT RWB ADRIA IN PENALTY SHOOTOUT

published in category: Sports Talk Radio on Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 – 9:23 am

Pittsburgh – In a physical first-round matchup in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds defeat RWB Adria Tuesday night at Highmark Stadium by a score of 2-1 (penalty kicks). The Riverhounds will advance into the second round to face Ocean City Nor’easters next Tuesday at Carey Stadium in New Jersey.

RWB Adria took advantage of a defensive miscue by the Riverhounds in the 17th minute of play to take the lead. Tracking back for a deep ball into the corner, a Riverhounds defender attempted to play goalkeeper Greg Blum, but his pass was intercepted by Carlos Munoz just inside the penalty area. Taking a touch to prepare his body, Munoz passed the ball into the empty net to open the scoring.

The Riverhounds would begin to apply steady pressure on Adria’s defense following their goal, but stellar net-minding by Igor Dimov would deny the Riverhounds the equalizer in the first stanza.

Following the intermission, the Riverhounds would jump in to the attack with pace and numbers, leading to a stretched Adria defense. The Riverhounds received a corner in the 53rd minute, which resulted in the equalizing tally from Seth C’deBaca. Ryan Kinne delivered a left-to-right corner kick towards the back post. The ball deflected off of a few players and landed at the feet of Mike Green near the edge of the penalty area. Green set the ball back for an on-rushing C’deBaca. Striking the ball clean and with pace, C’deBaca’s shot snuck just inside the near upright to bring the score level at one.

Neither side would let their guard down throughout the next hour of play, forcing the match to end on penalty kicks. The first three kickers for both sides converted their shots from the spot with ease. The Riverhounds would receive some help from the woodwork in the fourth frame, when Adria’s shot struck the bottom of the crossbar and ricocheted out from the goalmouth to deny the visitors. The Riverhounds converted all five penalty kicks to Adria’s four kicks, resulting in a Riverhounds win.

The Riverhounds return to USL PRO action this Saturday, May 18, at Highmark Stadium to compete against the Dayton Dutch Lions. Kick off is set for 7:00 p.m.

To purchase tickets, go to Riverhounds.com/tickets or call the Highmark Stadium Box Office at (412) 224-4900.

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Posted in Sports Talk Radio

 

15 May

Vokoun on 4-1 Pens win

published in category: Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 – 8:58 am


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Posted in Pittsburgh Penguins

 



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