Category: Saturday Sports Slam

Steelers begins post-Ben life by trading for DB Fitzpatrick

Steelers begins post-Ben life by trading for DB Fitzpatrick
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers have no plans to bail on the season with Ben Roethlisberger out until 2020 with an elbow injury.
“Our level of expectations in terms of our performance will not change,” coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday.
A day removed from announcing Roethlisberger’s aching right elbow will require surgery that will sideline him for the rest of the year, the Steelers (0-2) began the process of moving on by upgrading their uneven defense and bringing in some depth behind new starting quarterback Mason Rudolph.
Pittsburgh sent three draft picks — a first-rounder and a fifth-rounder in 2020 and a sixth-rounder in 2021 — to Miami for defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick and a 2020 fourth-round pick. The Steelers also signed former Denver backup Paxton Lynch to the practice squad behind Rudolph and second-stringer Delvin Hodges.
Fitzpatrick, the 11th overall selection in the 2018 draft, had grown frustrated with his role for the rebuilding Dolphins. Miami began shopping him after a Week 1 loss to Baltimore and found a willing partner in the Steelers, who will be without starting safety Sean Davis for at least the next two months after Davis sustained a shoulder injury against Seattle last Sunday. The team placed Davis on injured reserve, though Tomlin said there’s a chance Davis could return later in the season.
Tomlin admitted the coaching staff became enamored with Fitzpatrick in the lead-up to the 2018 draft, but knew any chance at getting Fitzpatrick was a “pipe dream” with the Steelers drafting 28th. Miami took Fitzpatrick 17 spots higher, with Pittsburgh taking safety Terrell Edmunds later in the opening round. Now Edmunds and Fitzpatrick will line up alongside each other on Sunday in San Francisco.
Though Fitzpatrick played a variety of positions in Miami, including cornerback, slot cornerback and linebacker in some substitution packages, he will begin his tenure in Pittsburgh at safety.
“He’s a multi-talented player, and at some point we’re going to utilize those talents as an asset to us,” Tomlin said “But we’re going to get him started on a stable ground this week in terms of his contribution. And that means playing one position.”
Fitzpatrick had two interceptions in his rookie year for Miami and collected six tackles and a forced fumble last weekend against New England. He goes from a team that might be the worst in the NFL to a club that began the season expecting to be in the playoff mix. That status is uncertain with Roethlisberger out and the offense now in the hands of the 24-year-old Rudolph.
A third-round pick in 2018 who beat out Josh Dobbs during training camp to be the primary backup behind Roethlisberger, Rudolph played well during a half of work against Seattle, completing 12 of 19 passes for 112 yards with two touchdowns and an interception that came off a tipped pass. Tomlin doesn’t expect the offense to change with Rudolph taking over.
“From a team perspective, we’ve got a great deal of confidence in Mason (Rudolph). It’s the natural process that is team sport,” Tomlin said. “One man goes down; the next man steps up.”
Hodges, who was with the Steelers during training camp before being cut and signed to the practice squad, will be the No. 2 behind Rudolph in San Francisco. Pittsburgh approached Lynch — who went 1-3 as a starter for Denver in 2016 and 2017 — in part because he’s practice squad eligible, giving them time to evaluate him and bring him up to speed.
Tomlin declined to get into specifics of the nature of Roethlisberger’s injury. Roethlisberger will have surgery in the “upcoming days” and there remains no timetable for how long the 16-year veteran will be out. Roethlisberger announced Monday night he plans to return for 2020.
“He fully intends to come back from this injury and everything we’ve heard, we’re comfortable that that is a strong possibility,” Tomlin said.
NOTES: FB Rosie Nix (knee) will miss his second straight game on Sunday. … CB Joe Haden (shoulder), RB James Conner (knee), LB Vince Williams (hamstring) and LB Anthony Chickillo (foot) will be monitored during the week and could play against the 49ers.
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Pirates’ Vázquez arrested on porn, solicitation charges

Pirates’ Vázquez arrested on porn, solicitation charges
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star closer Felipe Vázquez was arrested Tuesday on felony charges of pornography and soliciting a child and was placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball.
Vázquez was taken into custody by Pennsylvania State Police on one count of computer pornography/solicitation of a child and one count of providing obscene material to minors. His arraignment was scheduled for later Tuesday.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it began investigating the 28-year-old Vázquez in August after learning of an alleged sexual relationship between Vázquez and a teenage girl living in Lee County, Florida. Vázquez, who lives in Saint Cloud, Florida, and the victim began the relationship when the girl was 13, authorities said.
The girl, now 15, allegedly received a text message from Vázquez in July in which he was performing a sex act. Vázquez also texted the girl to ask if she wanted to meet for a sexual encounter following the end of the baseball season, according to police.
Authorities arrested Vázquez and took him to the Allegheny County jail after executing a search warrant Tuesday morning at his Pittsburgh apartment. Police said they seized electronic devices that will be used in the investigation. Vázquez will be extradited to Florida.
Vázquez, a two-time All-Star pitcher from Venezuela, is 5-1 with a 1.65 ERA and 28 saves for the Pirates this season. Pittsburgh is scheduled to play at home against Seattle on Tuesday night.
“We take this matter, and these charges in particular, extremely seriously,” Pirates president Frank Coonelly said in a statement.
The MLB commissioner’s office placed Vázquez on administrative leave as part of its policy regarding domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse.
Administrative leave is not considered discipline. Vázquez goes on the restricted list and continues to receive his salary but is ineligible to play.
The arrest is the latest setback in a turbulent season for the franchise. Vázquez and reliever Kyle Crick were both suspended a game last week after getting into a physical altercation in San Francisco. Crick injured the index finger of his right (pitching) hand during the altercation and underwent season-ending surgery. Crick maintained Vázquez threw the first punch, with general manager Neal Huntington condemning both players for their actions.
Vazquez signed a four-year, $22-million contract with Pittsburgh before the 2018 season, with the team holding club options for 2022 and 2023.
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AP Baseball Writer Ron Blum in New York contributed to this report.
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Roethlisberger done for season with right elbow injury

Roethlisberger done for season with right elbow injury
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ben Roethlisberger’s season is over.
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback will undergo surgery on his right elbow and be placed on injured reserve, ending the 37-year-old’s 16th season just two weeks in.
Roethlisberger injured the arm late in the second quarter of Sunday’s 28-26 loss to Seattle. He did not play in the second half, watching from the sideline as backup Mason Rudolph took over.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said Roethlisberger underwent an MRI exam on Sunday night and team doctors determined Roethlisberger requires surgery. Roethlisberger will have the procedure later this week.
Roethlisberger, who led the NFL in passing last season, signed an extension in March that runs through the 2021. There was no immediate timetable on his possible return.
Pittsburgh (0-2) will now move on with Rudolph, taken in the third round of the 2018 draft. Rudolph went 12 of 19 for 112 yards with two touchdowns and an interception against Seattle in the first regular-season snaps of his career.
The Steelers play at San Francisco (2-0) next Sunday.
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Pirates lose to Cubs 16-6.

Cubs’ Rizzo sprains right ankle during 16-6 win over Pirates
By JOHN JACKSON Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — Star first baseman Anthony Rizzo was pulled from a game Sunday with a sprained right ankle, putting a damper on the Chicago Cubs’ 16-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Rizzo was injured fielding a bunt at first base in the third inning. He had to be helped off the field and could not put pressure on the leg. X-rays taken at Wrigley Field showed no fractures, and an MRI has been scheduled for Monday.
Chicago’s postseason pursuit has already been hindered by an injury to shortstop Javier Báez, who is out for the rest of the regular season with a hairline fracture of his left thumb.
The Cubs maintained their one-game lead over Milwaukee for the second NL wild card. The Nationals are 1 1/2 games ahead of Chicago for the first wild card.
Kris Bryant homered twice, and Ian Happ, Kyle Schwarber and Jonathan Lucroy also connected as Chicago battered Pittsburgh for a third straight day. The Cubs scored a total of 47 runs on 49 hits in completing the three-game sweep.
Chicago starter Jose Quintana was pulled after allowing five runs in the third inning, when he fell apart following Rizzo’s injury.
After Erik Gonzalez’s leadoff double, Pirates starter Trevor Williams bunted toward third base. Rizzo charged aggressively from first and rolled his ankle a few steps before fielding the ball. He threw wide to first base and dropped to the ground in pain.
Brad Wieck (1-1) later replaced Quintana with two on and struck out both batters he faced to end the inning. The Cubs rallied for five runs in the bottom of the inning to lead 8-5, starting with Bryant’s second homer of the game and ending when reliever Michael Feliz threw wildly on an appeal play at third base.
Williams (7-7) allowed seven runs in 2 1/3 innings. Pablo Reyes drove in three runs for the Pirates.
Bryant gave the Cubs an early lead with a three-run blast in the first.
Happ, who replaced Rizzo, hit a two-run shot in the fifth to make it 12-6. Jason Heyward drove in a run in the sixth and Schwarber hit a two-run shot in the seventh. Lucroy capped the scoring with a solo homer in the eighth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: 1B Josh Bell (groin strain) missed his second straight game. He is listed as day-to-day after exiting in the fifth inning on Friday. … OF Starling Marte (left wrist sprain) didn’t start for the seventh straight game.
Cubs: Closer Craig Kimbrel (right elbow inflammation) threw 20 pitches in a bullpen session before the game. He reported no issues, but the team will see how he feels Monday before deciding on the next step. … INF Addison Russell was placed on the seven-day concussion list Sunday retroactive to Thursday. He was hit in the head by a pitch last Sunday at Milwaukee.
UP NEXT
Pirates: RHP Mitch Keller (1-4, 8.29 ERA) faces LHP Marco Gonzales (15-11, 4.30) Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game home series against Seattle.
Cubs: LHP Cole Hamels (7-7, 3.89 ERA) starts Monday night in the opener of a three-game series against the Reds. RHP Sonny Gray (10-7, 2.80) pitches for Cincinnati.
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Wilson, Seahawks edge Steelers 28-26 as Roethlisberger exits

Wilson, Seahawks edge Steelers 28-26 as Roethlisberger exits
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The faces around Russell Wilson have changed as the Seattle Seahawks rebuild themselves on the fly. One thing, however, has not. Seattle goes as its ever imaginative quarterback goes.
And in the second half in a place where the franchise hadn’t scored let alone won in two decades, Wilson’s resilience propelled the Seahawks to their best start in six years.
Wilson threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns to give the Seahawks the lead, then used his legs and smarts to protect it in a 28-26 victory that pushed Seattle to 2-0 for the first time since 2013, the year Wilson guided the franchise to its only Super Bowl victory.
Sure, it’s early. Yet the Seahawks proved both opportunistic and aggressive, hallmarks of their dominant run behind Wilson and the “Legion of Doom” defense earlier in the decade.
“Really fired up about this start,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said after picking up his 100th victory with the Seahawks, including playoffs. “We have so much improvement. We have so many areas and ways we can get better.”
Having Wilson certainly helps. His perfect 28-yard rainbow to rookie DK Metcalf midway through the fourth quarter put the Seahawks in front by nine, and three expertly timed scrambles on Seattle’s final drive helped drain the final 5:34 off the clock.
“We were battle tested today and we found a way to win a great game,” said Wilson, who completed 29 of 35 passes while becoming the fifth-fastest player in NFL history to reach 200 career touchdown tosses.
ROETHLISBERGER EXITS
The Steelers fell to 0-2 for just the second time in Mike Tomlin’s 13-year tenure and could be without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger indefinitely. The 37-year-old watched the second half from the sideline in a baseball cap following a right elbow issue that popped up late in the second quarter when he grimaced several times after releasing passes.
Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said he had no initial details on the nature of Roethlisberger’s injury and refused to blame Pittsburgh’s performance on Roethlisberger’s absence.
“We lost a number of guys in this game, but that wasn’t the reason we didn’t win the game,” Tomlin said.
Backup Mason Rudolph completed 12 of 19 passes for 112 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, but couldn’t quite keep pace with Wilson and the Seahawks.
“I am completely confident in myself, being a leader of a team, and playing games,” Rudolph said. “That’s what it all comes down to. If (Roethlisberger is out a while), I’m ready to roll.”
SHARPER SEATTLE
A week after escaping Cincinnati with a one-point win, a game in which Carroll said his team wasn’t particularly crisp, the Seahawks took advantage of a series of mental mistakes by the Steelers to win in Pittsburgh for the first time in 20 years.
Wilson’s first touchdown pass to Will Dissly — a 14-yarder in the second quarter — came after Steelers defensive tackle Dan McCullers was called for a personal foul on a field goal attempt by Seattle. The Seahawks took the first down instead of the points, and on the next snap Wilson hit a soaring Dissly for the score.
Seattle went in front early in the second half when a pass from Rudolph to Donte Moncrief went through the receiver’s hands, smacked off his facemask and landed in the arms of Seahawks safety Bradley McDougald. Wilson found Dissly again for a 12-yard score seven plays later.
“It shows our guys we can do it, we can go cross country in the morning and play good football,” Carroll said. “They did a fantastic job.”
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Pittsburgh trailed by two in the fourth quarter and appeared to have momentum with the Seahawks facing a third-and-20. Wilson threw a jump ball for Tyler Lockett and the pass fell incomplete. But Carroll challenged the play, claiming Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds interfered with Lockett. The 38-yard penalty was enforced after review. Three plays later, Wilson placed the ball perfectly into Metcalfe’s outstretched hands while Edmunds gave chase.
“Regardless of how I think about the play, they made the call,” Edmunds said. “So I’ve just got to live with that. Got to live with that they made the call. I’ve got to make the play down there in the end zone.”
READY TO RUN?
After managing just 32 yards on the ground in a Week 1 loss to New England, Pittsburgh managed 81 but 23 came on a burst by Benny Snell and 7 on a scramble by Rudolph. James Conner had just 33 yards on 11 carries, including 12 yards on seven carries in the first quarter.
“We can’t keep drives going,” guard David DeCastro said. “We’ve got to start faster in these games. You don’t start fast, you don’t have a chance to run the ball. Other teams get control.”
INJURIES
Seahawks: RG D.J. Fluker left in the second quarter with an ankle injury, but returned in the second half.
Steelers: Roethlisberger, Conner (knee), ILB Vince Williams (hamstring), Conner (knee) and LB Anthony Chickillo (plantar fasciitis) all exited.
UP NEXT
Seahawks: Host New Orleans next Sunday. Seattle has won the last three home meetings with Saints.
Steelers: Head west to face San Francisco next Sunday. Pittsburgh hasn’t beaten the 49ers on the road since 1999.
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Defense helps Youngstown State beat Duquesne 34-14

Defense helps Youngstown State beat Duquesne 34-14
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — Nathan Mays threw for 131 yards and ran for 63 yards and a score and the defense played a major role in Youngstown State’s 34-14 win over Duquesne on Saturday.
The Penguins (3-0) forced three Duquesne turnovers, converting two of them into scores.
A pair of quick touchdown runs by Mark Waid gave the Penguins an early 14-0 lead. After the second score, defensive back Bryce Gibson intercepted Duquesne’s Daniel Parr and on the next play Joe Craycraft threw a 31-yard strike to London Pearson for a 21-0 advantage with 14:14 left in the first half. A Parr touchdown throw to Jake Dixon made it 21-7 at halftime.
The Dukes (1-1) opened the second half by penetrating deep into Penguins territory, but Kyle Hegedus put an end to the drive by forcing a Mark Allen fumble, which was recovered by Zaire Jones for a 7-yard return. Mays capped the ensuing Penguins drive with a 4-yard scoring dash to make it 27-7. Christian Turner’s 16-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth sealed the win for Youngstown State.
Daniel Parr finished with 69 passing yards for the Dukes who were held to 206 total yards.

Flyers fend off winless Robert Morris in 34-31 win

Flyers fend off winless Robert Morris in 34-31 win
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — Jack Cook threw for 238 yards and two scores and Sean Prophit ran for 120 yards and Dayton held off Robert Morris 34-31 on Saturday.
The Flyers (2-0) built a 27-17 lead when Cook completed a 4-yard pass to Adam Trautman with 3:31 left in the third. Robert Morris (0-3) reduced its margin to three when Alijah Jackson ran it in from 20 yards with a minute left in the quarter. Early in the fourth, Cook threw a 20-yard score to Ryan Skibinski. The Colonials closed the scoring when George Martin threw a 5-yard TD to Eric Sherkel with 6:33 remaining.
Dayton fumbled the ball on its own 35-yard line on its next possession. Robert Morris got to Dayton’s 22-yard line when Martin completed a pass to Jackson, which resulted in a loss of 4 yards. On third-and-14, Nate Obringer sacked Martin for a 9-yard loss. Then, on fourth-and-23 at the Flyers 35, Tim Simon intercepted Martin and returned it 64 yards to Robert Morris’ 21 and the Flyers killed the clock to end it.
Martin threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns and Jackson ran for 135 yards.

AUDIO: WPIAL Executive DIrector O’Malley Talks Fall Sports On Sports Slam

A lot of changes have gone through WPIAL sports over the last few years, mostly in regards to the changing of classifications and transferring students. And with the 2019-20 school year now in full force, more changes have come their way.

Those issues, as well as the current state of fall sports in the WPIAL, was brought forth as Executive Director Tim O’Malley joined Matt Drzik & Greg Benedetti on the Saturday Sports Slam. O’Malley also addressed the possible future of dwindling football participation, and that co-op sports teams may increase in the future.

To hear this informative interview, click on the player below: