FILE – Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward is introduced before an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Freed, File)

LATROBE, Pa. (AP) — Cam Heyward said Thursday he wants to retire with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 35-year-old defensive tackle also understands it’s likely not his call.

“It’s my goal, yeah. Not everybody thinks like that,” Heyward said after the Steelers first training camp practice at Saint Vincent College. “I want to be here. But a lot of football to be played, this season and (for) a couple seasons. But I can only focus on what’s in front of me.”

Heyward, selected to the Pro Bowl in six of his past seven seasons, is entering the final season of a four-year, $64 million extension signed in September 2020. He had two sacks and 33 tackles last season, missing six games after tearing his groin muscle in a season-opening loss to San Francisco.

About an hour after practice Thursday, general manager Omar Khan said he isn’t concerned with Heyward’s health entering season No. 14. Heyward was drafted in the first round (No. 31) by Pittsburgh out of Ohio State in 2011.

As for Heyward’s future with the Steelers, Khan said he believes it will last past this season.

“I’m not going to talk about a specific negotiation, but I think Cam’s got a lot of football ahead of him still. I’ll leave it at this, I expect him to be here for years to come,” Khan said.

“Last year, he had a rough stretch there. But I’m confident in the way he works and in Cam, the person and the player, obviously. I have no doubt that Cam has a lot of football left.”

Heyward said he was able to move past the injury in the offseason.

“I feel good. My groin is great, if you really want to ask,” Heyward said. “I don’t feel any lingering effects with that. I feel excited just to be out there and dealing with what I dealt with last year, I was nursing it during training camp last year, so to be full strength and not really have to worry about it is really a good sign.”

Moving on from contract speculation hasn’t been as easy since the Bills eliminated the Steelers in the wild-card round last postseason. Back on the field, Heyward said he has less time to dwell on possible negotiations.

“For me, I can’t control that,” he said. “I’m not going to get my hopes up either way. I’m not going to put stock into that. It’s just about trying to get better every day. The offseason, you can dwell on it. You can’t do anything about it.

“But the thing I can control is I can be productive. I can be healthy. If they believe in me, they think I can play more, so be it. If they don’t, do somewhere else. … Am I confident? I don’t like to go either way with that because you get your hopes up and something doesn’t happen. I’m just going to focus on being the best player I can be, controlling what I can control and being locked in for this team.”

Heyward is a Steelers defensive captain, along with linebacker T.J. Watt, and was the 2023 Walter Payton Man of the Year. He was a full participant on Thursday, choosing not to go through a camp “hold-in” after sitting out the first two weeks of OTAs in May.

“I’ll keep saying it,” Heyward said. “This team needs my leadership, my production. I look forward to doing it.”

Attempting to take it in stride, Heyward is trying to focus on the upcoming season, where Pittsburgh will try to win a playoff game for the first time since the 2016 season.

Not that it’s been easy.

“It’s a motivator, I’ll say the least,” Heyward said. “When everybody’s against you, you kind of just want to shut everybody up.”

NOTES: QB Russell Wilson was held out of practice Thursday because of calf tightness and is considered day to day, coach Mike Tomlin said. Justin Fields took first-team reps in Wilson’s place. … RB Najee Harris, who had his fifth-year option declined this offseason, was a full participant after reporting Wednesday. There remains a chance for Harris to be signed to a new contract, Khan said.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris addresses the media after arriving for his first Steelers training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (Sebastian Foltz/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

LATROBE, Pa. (AP) — Najee Harris has heard the modern orthodoxy that running backs are as unimportant as they have ever been in the NFL. He has the associated lack of contract security beyond this season to prove it.

But for everyone who tells him running backs are no longer as valuable as they used to be or that the Pittsburgh Steelers don’t value him, he points to the 978 times he’s touched the ball and 4,135 yards from scrimmage he’s gained for them over the past three seasons.

To Harris, and speaking on behalf of his fellow NFL running backs, that equates to plenty of value.

“I wouldn’t say devalued,” Harris said Wednesday of the state of the position across the league. “They’re only devalued when it comes time to pay.”

Speaking to reporters for the first time since the Steelers in May declined their fifth-year contract option for Harris for 2025, Harris acknowledged he was disappointed.

“Me sitting here and saying I’m a devalued position where there are games where I literally carry the offense, giving me the ball (repeatedly)?” Harris said, rhetorically, as he reported to Saint Vincent College for the start of training camp. “It’s not really devalued, it is just when it comes time to pay you, that’s when they want to devalue the position. Which, it is what it is.”

In their reasoning for declining Harris’ option, the Steelers have cited uncertainty with the future direction and focus of their offense — and where Harris’ role falls in it. The unit’s highest-profile pieces were overhauled in the offseason with former Atlanta Falcons coach Arthur Smith taking over as offensive coordinator and former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson signed to a one-year contract.

Wilson reported to an off-site camp for the first time since entering the NFL a dozen years ago. These next three weeks will represent his first set of regular practices on a college campus since he led Wisconsin to the Big Ten title in 2011 after four years at N.C. State.

“Latrobe, I’ve heard about it for years,” Wilson said, “but to actually be here? An old-school style training camp, I love it. It’s all about ball.”

Though the Steelers also acquired former Chicago Bears starter Justin Fields over the offseason as they overhauled the quarterback position, Wilson has been characterized by coach Mike Tomlin as being in the “pole position” to open the season as the starter. Wilson ran the first-team offense throughout OTAs and minicamp this spring, and that’s not expected to change over these next three weeks while an hour’s drive east from Pittsburgh at bucolic Saint Vincent College.

Several players took note Wednesday of the gravitas the 35-year-old Wilson brings to the offense.

“He’s done a great job so far,” defensive player of the year finalist T.J. Watt said. “He’s a challenging guy to go against, very calm and collected at the line of scrimmage.

“He’s just a guy that seems very calm and steady, never too high or too low, and loves to compete. I am happy he’s with us.”

Like Fields, Wilson is on a one-year deal. Harris likewise is entering the final year of his contract. So is Jaylen Warren, the former undrafted Harris backup who over the past two years has eaten away at Harris’ playing time.

Harris will be 27 when free agency begins next March, and his touches and yards from scrimmage have declined each season since he was named to the Pro Bowl as a rookie first-round pick in 2021.

Harris seems resigned to the fact that as a running back in the latter half of his 20s, he likely won’t be cashing in on the open market the way players at some other positions do when their rookie contracts expire. Like he did last year at this time, Harris implied that running backs are working together to find ways to be more valued.

“There is something that is going on but I don’t want to say it,” Harris said. “I have an idea of what is going on.

“Right now, we’re not in the best position because if they tell us, this (particular) game you have got to carry the ball this number of times, you can’t say no. It won’t look good on you. You don’t really have any leverage right now as a running back. So, I don’t know. There’s nothing really you can do. You have no leverage.”

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes throws during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Thursday, July 11, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

Paul Skenes is set to start the All-Star game, the first time since 1995 that a rookie pitcher has that honor.

It’s been even longer since a Pittsburgh player has been in that spotlight.

The last pitcher from the Pirates to start the All-Star game was Jerry Reuss in 1975, in the middle of a decade when Pittsburgh won two World Series. That’s the second-longest active drought without a pitcher starting the All-Star game. The Chicago Cubs have not had one since Claude Passeau in 1946. (The Miami Marlins have never had the starting pitcher for the National League, but they’ve only been playing since 1993.)

The longest drought in the American League belongs to the Baltimore Orioles, who have not had the All-Star starter since Steve Stone in 1980. Corbin Burnes could potentially be chosen to start this year’s edition, which takes place Tuesday night.

This stellar beginning to Skenes’ career — in 11 starts, he’s 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA — has made his outings must-see TV and brought a bit of buzz to Pittsburgh. The Pirates are 48-48, which puts them in the mix for a wild card. Skenes and outfielder Bryan Reynolds are both All-Stars. The team hasn’t had more than two in a season since 2015, when Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole were both in Pittsburgh.

Now McCutchen is back with the Pirates as his career winds down, and with Skenes, Reynolds and 6-foot-7 shortstop Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh has a chance to turn some heads the rest of the way.

TRIVIA TIME

Name the record 13 different pitchers from the Brooklyn or Los Angeles Dodgers who have started the All-Star game.

A-PLUS OFFENSE, OCCASIONALLY

The Oakland Athletics pummeled Philadelphia 18-3 on Sunday. Although the A’s are 24 games under .500, they’re also responsible for the three highest-scoring games in baseball this year. Oakland also beat Miami 20-4 on May 4 and routed Baltimore 19-8 on July 6.

The A’s have 390 runs so far. Nearly 15% of them were in those three games.

Oakland is also one of just five teams in the majors to be shut out at least 10 times already. The Chicago White Sox are atop that list with 12.

LINE OF THE WEEK

It belongs to Skenes, who pitched seven no-hit innings at Milwaukee on Thursday before being removed after 99 pitches. The Pirates won 1-0. Opponents are batting just .202 against Skenes.

Skenes also had a six-inning start with no hits allowed in May against the Cubs. The Pirates are 8-3 in games he’s started.

COMEBACK OF THE WEEK

The Los Angeles Dodgers could use a break right now. After being swept in a three-game showdown at Philadelphia, the NL West leaders went to Detroit and dropped two of three, giving away ninth-inning leads in both losses. Saturday’s 11-9 defeat was particularly troubling. Los Angeles was up 9-4 in the ninth — its win probability maxed out at 99.5% according to Baseball Savant — before a dramatic rally by the Tigers.

It was still 9-6 with Detroit down to its last out, but then Carson Kelly hit an RBI single and rookie Colt Keith tied it with a two-run homer. Gio Urshela than hit a two-run shot in the 10th to end the game.

TRIVIA ANSWER

Whit Wyatt, Ralph Branca, Don Drysdale, Johnny Podres, Sandy Koufax, Andy Messersmith, Don Sutton, Fernando Valenzuela, Hideo Nomo, Brad Penny, Zack Greinke, Hyun Jin Ryu and Clayton Kershaw.

FILE – Detroit Lions cornerback Cam Sutton looks on after an NFL football practice in Allen Park, Mich., Thursday, June 8, 2023. The NFL on Monday, July 8, 2024, suspended Pittsburgh Steelers safety Cam Sutton for the first eight games of the 2024 season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. The Steelers signed Sutton to a one-year deal in June. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL has suspended Pittsburgh Steelers safety Cam Sutton for the first eight games of the 2024 season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

The league announced the decision Monday, stipulating Sutton — who will not be paid during the suspension — would be eligible to apply for reinstatement on Oct. 29.

The discipline stems from Sutton’s involvement in an alleged domestic violence dispute in Florida in March.

Sutton eventually surrendered to authorities and entered a pretrial diversion program in April after the charges were reduced from a felony to misdemeanor battery. His agreement with prosecutors required Sutton to take a mental health evaluation.

The NFL did its own investigation into the incident, leading to the suspension.

The Detroit Lions cut Sutton immediately after an arrest warrant was issued. He found a lifeline in Pittsburgh, where he played for the first six seasons in the league from 2017-22.

The Steelers signed Sutton to a one-year deal in June. Sutton participated in organized team activities and minicamp but declined to get into specifics about what led to his arrest or any potential punishment that the NFL could levy if it finds he violated the league’s personal conduct policy.

“Adversity strikes everyone in life,” Sutton said the day he signed with the Steelers. “So it’s all about how you handle it, how you necessarily go through those phases and just knowing who you are individually, not letting someone else dim your light.”

FILE – The NFL logo is seen during the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. Opening arguments are expected to begin Thursday, June 6, 2024, in federal court in a class-action lawsuit filed by “Sunday Ticket” subscribers claiming the NFL broke antitrust laws. The lawsuit was filed in 2015 and has withstood numerous challenges, including a dismissal that was overturned. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The NFL has been found guilty of breaking antitrust laws in its distribution of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on the “Sunday Ticket” premium subscription service.

Even though the jury of five men and three women in a U.S. District Court awarded nearly $4.8 billion in damages Thursday to residential and commercial subscribers of “Sunday Ticket,” don’t expect any settlement checks or the shuttering of the service anytime soon.

What did the jury determine?

The league broke antitrust laws by selling “Sunday Ticket” only on DirecTV and at an inflated price. By offering the service on only one distributor and with a high price, that limited the subscriber base and satisfied concerns by CBS and Fox about preserving local ratings while the NFL got a lot of money for its broadcast rights.

How long was the trial?

Three weeks. It began with opening statements on June 6 and featured 10 days of testimony before closing arguments on Wednesday. The jury deliberated for nearly five hours Wednesday and Thursday before coming to a decision.

The NFL brought in Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to testify, but it didn’t help. The plaintiffs’ mostly used economists and video from pre-trial depositions.

Who were the plaintiffs?

The class action applied to more than 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses, mostly bars and restaurants, that purchased “NFL Sunday Ticket” from June 17, 2011, to Feb. 7, 2023.

What is the breakdown of the damages?

The jury awarded $4.7 billion to residential subscribers and $96 million to businesses. Because damages are trebled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14.39 billion unless it reaches a settlement or it is reduced

The residential damages were slightly less than the $5.6 billion offered under the plaintiffs’ College Football Model but more than a model where “Sunday Ticket” would have multiple carriers and a 49.7% reduction in the subscription cost ($2.81 billion).

The business damages were much lower than the plaintiffs presented in any of their three models. The lowest was $332 million under what was called the “NFL Tax” model.

How would the NFL pay damages?

It would be spread equally among the 32 teams. That means each one could be paying as much as $449.6 million.

Will there be any immediate changes?

Changes to the “Sunday Ticket” package and/or the ways the NFL carries its Sunday afternoon games would be stayed until all appeals have been concluded. It could consider offering team-by-team or week-by-week packages along with reducing the price.

ESPN proposed offering “Sunday Ticket” for $70 per season with team-by-team packages in 2022, but it was turned down by the NFL before it went with YouTube TV.

If the NFL offered team-by-team packages all along, one of the key class members likely would not have been part of the lawsuit.

Rob Lippincott — a New Orleans native who moved to California — bought “Sunday Ticket” only for Saints games.

“He just wanted the Saints. If he had a choice to buy a single-team package and watch the Saints games, he absolutely would have,” plaintiffs attorney Amanda Bonn said during her opening remarks on June 6.

But college football had to change, why not the NFL?

The landmark college football TV case in 1984 was determined by the U.S. Supreme Court. This was at the U.S. District Court level.

The NFL said it would appeal the verdict. That appeal would go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then possibly the Supreme Court.

It wouldn’t be the first time the 9th Circuit has seen this case.

The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 by the Mucky Duck sports bar in San Francisco. On June 30, 2017, U.S. District Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell dismissed the lawsuit and ruled for the NFL. Two years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the case.

What were the keys to the plaintiffs’ case?

During his closing remarks, lead attorney Bill Carmody showed an April 2017 NFL memo that showed the league was exploring a world without “Sunday Ticket” in 2017, where cable channels would air Sunday afternoon out-of-market games not shown on Fox or CBS.

Judge Philip S. Gutierrez voiced his frustration with the plaintiffs’ attorneys midway through the trial, but the closing argument by Carmody was clear and easy to understand.

Was the NFL an underdog in this trial?

The NFL might be the king of American sports and one of the most powerful leagues in the world but it often loses in court, especially in Los Angeles. It was in an LA federal court in 1982 that a jury ruled the league violated antitrust rules by not allowing Al Davis to move the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles.

What’s next?

All eyes turn to July 31 when Gutierrez is scheduled to hear post-trial motions. That will include the NFL’s request to have him rule in favor of the league because the judge determined the plaintiffs did not prove their case.

Could this impact other sports?

All the major U.S. leagues offer out-of-market packages. They are keeping an eye on this case because individual teams selling their out-of-market streaming rights, especially in baseball, would further separate the haves from the have nots.

A major difference though is that MLB, the NBA and the NHL sell their out-of-market packages on multiple distributors and share in the revenue per subscriber instead of receiving an outright rights fee.

FILE – Pittsburgh Pirates’ Tucupita Marcano jogs off the field against the Seattle Mariners in a baseball game, Friday, May 26, 2023, in Seattle. Major League Baseball has permanently banned Marcano Tuesday, June 4, 2024, for betting on baseball and suspended the four other players for one year after finding the players placed unrelated bets with a legal sportsbook. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano was banned from baseball for life for betting on the sport and four others were suspended for one year by Major League Baseball on Tuesday in the game’s biggest gambling scandal in decades.

MLB said Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 in October 2022 and from last July through November with a legal sportsbook. He became the first active player in a century banned for life because of gambling.

Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly was suspended for one year for betting on baseball while in the minor leagues and a three minor leaguers also were banned for one year for betting on big league games: pitchers Jay Groome of San Diego and Andrew Saalfrank of Arizona, and infielder José Rodríguez of Philadelphia. Each of those four players wagered under $1,000.

“The strict enforcement of Major League Baseball’s rules and policies governing gambling conduct is a critical component of upholding our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our games for the fans,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “The longstanding prohibition against betting on Major League Baseball games by those in the sport has been a bedrock principle for over a century. We have been clear that the privilege of playing in baseball comes with a responsibility to refrain from engaging in certain types of behavior that are legal for other people.”

Marcano was the first active major leaguer banned for life under the sport’s gambling provision since New York Giants outfielder Jimmy O’Connell in 1924. Pete Rose, baseball’s career hits leader, agreed to a lifetime ban in 1989 after an investigation concluded he bet on Cincinnati Reds games while managing the team.

Major League Rule 21, posted in every clubhouse, states betting on any baseball game in which a player, umpire, league official or team employee has no duty to perform results in a one-year suspension. Betting on a game in which the person has a duty to perform results in a lifetime ban.

Marcano became the second North American athlete banned for gambling in recent months. The NBA gave Toronto’s Jontay Porter a lifetime ban in April after concluding he disclosed confidential information to bettors and wagered on games, including on the Raptors to lose.

MLB said it was tipped off about the betting activity by a legal sports betting operator. None of the players punished played in any games on which they wagered, and all players denied to MLB they had inside information relevant to their bets or the games they gambled on – testimonies that MLB says align with the data received from the sportsbook.

In its announcement, MLB detailed the bets alleged for each player,

Marcano’s 387 baseball bets included 231 MLB-related wagers for $87,319 between Oct. 16, 2022, and last Nov. 1. Twenty-five of those bets included wagers on Pirates games while he was on the team’s major league roster. Now 24, Marcano, has not played since tearing his right ACL last July 24 and was receiving medical treatment at PNC Park last year.

Marcano bet almost exclusively on the outcomes of games and lost all of his parlay bets involving the Pirates, winning just 4.3% of all of his MLB-related bets.

Marcano made his major league debut on April 1, 2021, and has a .217 average with five homers, 34 RBIs and seven stolen bases in 149 games. He has played in both the infield and outfield.

The other four players did not bet on games involving their assigned teams.

Kelly placed 10 bets on nine major league games from Oct. 5-17, 2021, while a minor league player assigned to Houston’s Triple-A Sugar Land farm team. The bets included wagers on outcomes, over/under on runs and an individual pitcher’s strikeout total. Three of the nine games involved the major league Astros. His wagers totaled $99.22 and resulted in $28.30 of winnings.

Kelly, 31, was 3-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 28 games this season, last pitching on Saturday at Atlanta. The former first-round draft pick appeared in 46 games over the past three seasons.

Groome, a 25-year-old who had been on a minor league injured list since mid-April, placed 32 MLB-related bets from July 22, 2020, through July 24, 2021, including 24 on the Boston Red Sox major league team while he was assigned to Boston’s High-A team in Greenville, South Carolina. The sport detailed he wagered $453.74 on 30 MLB games and had a net loss of $433.54, receiving payouts on only two wagers. His betting included parlays.

Rodríguez, 23, has been at Double-A Reading this season. He placed 31 bets on baseball on Sept. 30, 2021, and from June 5 through July 30 in 2022, including 28 on MLB and three on college baseball. The total included seven involving the Chicago White Sox at the time he was assigned to their Double-A team in Birmingham, Alabama. Two of the White Sox bets involved outcomes and the others were on runs scored. He bet $749.09 on baseball, of which $724.09 was on MLB-related bets that included parlays.

Saalfrank, 26, pitched in 21 games for Arizona last year between the regular season and postseason, including three World Series games, and two this year before he was optioned to Triple-A Reno on May 1. He placed 29 baseball bets from Sept. 9 through Oct. 29 in 2021 and on March 9, 2022, including 28 on MLB and one parlay on college baseball. He placed four bets on the big league Diamondbacks while on the injured list of their Low A farm team. His baseball bets totaled $445.87 on baseball, including $444.07 on MLB, and lost $272.64 on MLB bets and $1.80 on the college wager. He won just five of 28 MLB bets, which included outcomes, runs and pitcher strikeouts.

Pittsburgh Steelers owner Arthur Rooney II speaks during a news conference at the NFL football owners’ spring meetings Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The NFL has awarded the 2026 draft to Pittsburgh with the Steelers ready to tap Pennsylvania’s deep football tradition trying to meet the new standard for host cities.

League officials announced the decision Wednesday as part of the NFL spring meetings. Owners chose Pittsburgh after reviewing the bid along with the advisory committee. The three-day draft will be held at Point State Park and the Steelers’ home at Acrisure Stadium.

The NFL set a record with more than 775,000 fans attending the 2024 draft in April in Detroit, and Green Bay will be hosting the 2025 draft at Lambeau Field on April 24-26.

Pittsburgh owner Art Rooney II said Detroit and Kansas City helped set a very high bar for hosting one of the NFL’s premier events. He said the Steelers look forward to following that tradition tapping into the roots of pro football in a state that sent the likes of Mike Ditka, Dan Marino and Joe Montana to the NFL.

“We think it’ll be the largest visitor event in the history of Pittsburgh hosting hundreds of thousands of people and really football fans from all over the country,” Rooney said. “Certainly, the Steelers nation from all over the country we think will come for a visit. So we just look forward to hosting that.”

The NFL began rotating its annual draft around the country in 2015 starting in Chicago after holding the event in New York between 1965 and 2014. Philadelphia hosted in 2018 followed by Nashville, Cleveland in 2021, Las Vegas in 2022 and Kansas City in 2023.

FILE – Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan stands behind his bench during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Pittsburgh. Sullivan has been named U.S. coach for the 2026 Milan Olympics. USA Hockey announced the long-expected decision Saturday, May 18 while also saying the Pittsburgh Penguins coach will be behind the bench for the NHL’s Four Nations Face-Off tournament next year. (AP Photo/Matt Freed, File)

Mike Sullivan was selected U.S. coach for the 2026 Milan Olympics on Saturday, an expected move that puts the two-time Stanley Cup champion in charge of the country’s bid for its first gold medal since the “Miracle On Ice” in 1980.

USA Hockey also announced the Pittsburgh Penguins coach will be behind the bench for the Four Nations Face-Off next year, a tournament the NHL will showcase in February 2025 for a taste of international competition leading up to the Olympics. Milan marks the return of NHL players to the Olympics after missing the past two.

“We’re excited to have Mike guiding our teams,” U.S. general manager Bill Guerin said. “He is one of the very best coaches in the game and his background, including with international hockey, is well-suited to help put our team in the best position to win.”

Sullivan, a native of Marshfield, Massachusetts, was an assistant at the 2006 Olympics, also in Italy in Turin. Most recently he was on John Tortorella’s staff for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Each of those events went disastrously for the U.S., which also lost to eventual champion Canada in the semifinals of the 2014 Sochi Olympics and then to Finland in the bronze-medal game.

NHL are set to be back in Milan and then France in 2030 after an agreement was reached between the league, Players’ Association, International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation. It’s an opportunity for a generation of American stars, including Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Adam Fox, Charlie McAvoy and strong players in goal to finally compete together on the world stage.

Sullivan, who coached Pittsburgh to the Cup, will run the show. He was supposed to coach the U.S. in Beijing in 2022 before the NHL withdrew late because of pandemic scheduling issues.

“I am beyond grateful to have the opportunity to coach Team USA in these two significant international events,” Sullivan said in a release. “It’s been amazing to see the progress we’ve made in hockey in our country over the course of my career. I am honored to lead our best players and I look forward to the challenge that lies ahead.”

Sullivan, 56, also previously coached the Boston Bruins during his lengthy career that began in the early 2000s. He has been with Pittsburgh since being promoted as a midseason replacement in 2015-16. As a player, he represented the U.S. at the world juniors in 1988 and the world championship in ’97.

“Mike Sullivan is not only a great coach but someone who has a strong passion for American hockey,” USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher said. “He’s a world-class leader and been an important part of hockey in our country for a very long time.”