Steelers safety Ryan Clark continues to practice as if he will play in Denver Monday--no decision yet. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says they'll sprinkle in some no-huddle against the top ranked Broncos defense Monday night. "They're the number one defense in the world," said Roethlisberger. "As we've heard Mike Tomlin say a thousand times this week already. They're a great defense and it's a great challenge for us. Big Ben said Denver corner Champ Bailey is one of the best to ever play the position.
"As a young guy just trying to get things right, hopefully if Kirschke can't go, I can step in," 6th round pick Sunny Harris talking about his chance to play this week due to Kirschke's calf injury.
Former Pens defenseman Rob Scuderi says what makes the Pens dangerous is "everyone knows what they are going to do, but they still do it and they're still successful at it. I think that's the ultimate compliment you can throw them. I know how they are going to play, but it's not going to matter. They're still going to bring it and if we don't do the correct things to combat it, they are going to have success."
Terrelle Pryor mocking t-shirt pulled
The shirts you first heard about on KDKA Tuesday showed Pryor having his head in his hands and a cartoon Nittany Lion consoling him with a tissue box with the words "Nutcracker: a Terrelle Cryer Story". Those shirts have now been pulled from the Penn State student union as officials thought it hurt their tradition of sportsmanship. Pryor joked on Wednesday that he wanted to buy one and wear it under his jersey Saturday.
Ryan Clark still not sure
Steelers safety Ryan Clark says he still doesn't know whether or not he will play Monday in Denver. Clark nearly died there 2 years ago as the high altitude reacted with a rare sickle cell trait and Clark had his spleen and gall bladder removed. "I've been cleared to play," Clark said. "Everyone had a little bit of ego, I want to go back and play there and God gets that glory that I've come full circle and able to go up there and play." Clark says his wife would support him if he decides to play in Denver.
Kirschke likely out
A starter since the Aaron Smith injury, defensive end Travis Kirschke told us he has a "torn calf" that "normally takes at least 2 weeks to heal." Kirschke has not been ruled out, however Nick Eason and Ziggy Hood expect to get a lot more time this week.
Willie Parker says the toe "is the best it's every felt" and says he may not need his special shoes for Monday's game, although he will likely wear them.
Reaction from students at Paternoville (a student tent city outside of Beaver Stadium where they wait in line for the best seats until kickoff Saturday) is podcasted to the right.
7-0 on the road to start the season, the Pens are in Los Angeles Thursday. "We're not a team that dwells on successes, said head coach Dan Bylsma, "and you got to remind me that we're 7-0 on the road because we're just focused on the task at hand."
Pens with another comeback win
Pens beat the Ducks 4-3 on goals from Mike Rupp, Kris Letang-his first, Alex Goligoski and Pascal Dupuis. Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal each made saves as the Pens move to 12-3. Tyler Kennedy and Brooks Orpik each had 2 assists.
Two Steelers defensive starters questionable for Denver game
Defensive end Travis Kirschke (calf) and linebacker Lawrence Timmons (ankle) are questionable for Monday night's game in Denver. Head coach Mike Tomlin said they're healthy other that those players, expect to see a lot more of defensive end Ziggy Hood given Krischke's injury and the high altitude. Tomlin also said he wasn't surprised by Baltimore's beatdown of the Broncos, saying it was a big game for Baltimore and even an All-Madden team would have lost to the Ravens Sunday.
Pirates trade for 2nd baseman
The Pirates acquired 30-year-old Akinori Iwamura from Tampa for 26-year-old righty reliever Jesse Chavez-who led the Bucs in appearances last year. The lefty-hitting Iwamura will start next year and is a career .281 hitter in 3 major league seasons. Iwamura had knee surgery in the middle of last year, but did return to hit .290 for the season. Bucs G-M Neal Huntington, "Akinori Iwamura brings to the Pittsburgh Pirates solid attributed offensively, defensively, on the base paths and in the clubhouse. We are very pleased to add a player of his caliber to our lineup and to our organization."
Other notes...
Penn State linebacker Sean Lee says he's back to 100 percent following a knee injury earlier in the season.
Reaction from Lee and head coach Joe Paterno from our trip to State College is podcasted to the right
Tomorrow we'll post Paternoville reaction to Terrelle Pryor coming to Happy Valley
Ohio State's kicker is out for the year with a knee injury
Syracuse suspended 3 football players including their 2nd leading rusher and 3rd leading receiver Antwon Bailey. The Orange are at Pitt Saturday already without leading receiver Mike Williams who quit the team Monday.
Syracuse basketball lost to division 2 LeMoyne 82-79.
Maryland beat IUP 75-54, although IUP led 18-15 in the first half
No decision on Clark's status
Steelers safety Ryan Clark practiced today, but head coach Mike Tomlin said they will wait until later in the week to decide whether or not he'll play Monday night in Denver. Clark lost his spleen and gall bladder after the high altitude in Denver caused him problems as he has the sickle-cell trait. "Ryan and myself met with a team of physicians on Thursday, he's received medical clearance to play in this football game," head coach Mike Tomlin said. "So now the decision lies with he and myself. We understand the elements of what he is dealing with and at some point this week, he and I are going to decide the action we will take. His physical health and well-being are paramount." Captain Hines Ward says the team has Clark's back no matter what decision he makes.
Santonio Holmes also has the sickle-cell trait. Holmes says he doesn't believe it's as bad as Clark's and said he will play against Denver and really doesn't even think about it.
Willie Parker missed practice with a fever and was sent to the doctor's. Tomlin expects Parker to be fine for next week.
Pitt's game with Notre Dame at Heinz Field on November 14th has been moved to an 8 o'clock start on ABC. Head coach Dave Wannstedt said everyone practiced Sunday as the team returned from a bye-week to face 3-5 Syracuse this Saturday at noon.
Pirates pitcher Donnie Veal was named the Arizona Fall League Pitcher of the Week. The lefty starter pitched 7.2 innings striking out 7, walking two and surrendering five hits.
Minus stars, Pens come back in Columbus
Without Max Talbot, Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar and Tyler Kennedy, the Pens came back from 2 goals down late in the 3rd to beat Columbus 4-3 in a shootout. The Pens trailed two-zip on a pair of Rick Nash goals, before Chris Kunitz scoredhis second goal in as many games, a short-handed goal, assisted by Sidney Crosby. Blue Jackets went up 3-1 late in the second and kept that lead until Ruslan Fedotenko (3) scored with less than 3 minutes left in the game. Thirty-nine seconds later Alex Goligoski (5)scored to tie it. Crosby scored the only shootout goal as the Pens managed a point in a game they looked like they had no chance of winning. Crosby finished with two assists. Kunitz, Brooks Orpik and Martin Skoula also had helpers. Brent Johnson gets the win stopping all 3 shots in the shootout and 29 combined in regulation and overtime.
Steelers D scored twice in beating Favre/Vikings
Subbing for injured linebacker Lawrence Timmons, Keyaron Fox caught a tipped screen pass and went 82 yards for his first NFL touchdown and finished Minnesota, 27-17. Fox said he was still out of breath nearly a half-hour after the play, "they tried to run a screen play, it got a little jammed up in there, the back ended up bobbling, I took it yard. It really bounced out of nowhere. It was a matter of having my knees bent and being in the right place, at the right time." Earlier in the 4th, LaMarr Woodley returned a Brett Keisel strip of Brett Favre 77 yards for a score, "It was a game-changer, going out there, we allowed them to get close to the end zone. Our thing was stop them from getting into the end zone and get a turnover." On the actual run, Woodley said, "I gave a stiff arm to one guy, the team did the rest blocking. I couldn't hear nothing, in my mind I was telling people to block this guy and that guy." Brett Keisel on the defense: "we never give up. This was big for us to come out and score 14 points today and also come up with a big goalline stand. I'm proud of our guys today." Keisel on watching Woodley run after his strip: "we've been in this situation before if you remember down in Florida where a certain guy made a pick. Our guys got out in front and blocked and made plays. It wasn't just LaMarr returning it."
-James Farrior had 15 tackles including a sack
-James Harrison had 7 tackles and 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss and 3 quarterback hurries
-Corners Ike Taylor and Willie Gay combined for 18 tackles
-Rashard Mendenhall had 10 carries for 69 yards, but fumbled for a second straight week
-Mike Wallace scored the lone offensive touchdown, a 40-yard reception from Ben Roethlisberger (Big Ben 14 of 26 for 175 yards)
-Santonio Holmes had 2 catches for 59 yards, including a key 45 yard catch and run
-Willie Parker carried it only once and played sporadically with his turf toe injury
-Steelers were 33 percent on 3rd downs, 0 for 3 in the red zone
-It was the largest crowd ever at Heinz Field and they helped the Vikings commit 5 false start penalties (11 in all for 78 yards)
Panthers Too Much For South Florida...
Bill Stull started the game 11-11 including a perfect 40 yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Baldwin in the second quarter as the Pitt Panthers (#20/19; 7-1; 4-0) dominate South Florida (5-2; 1-2) 41-14. Pitt was so dominate in the 1st half, they never punted…committed ZERO penalties…had no turnovers…and were six of seven on 3rd down. Not to be overshadowed in the game was Freshman running sensation Dion Lewis who collected 116 yards on the ground including two touchdowns. Pitt now receives a well deserved week off before hosting Big East basement dweller Syracuse in two weeks.
Notes…
-TE Mike Cruz Caught his first career TD late in the 1st quarter
-RB Dion Lewis now has 1,029 rushing yards for the season…the fourth Pitt freshman to break 1,000 yards rushing in his rookie season
-Lewis’ 2 TD’s give him 72 points for the season…tied for 3rd all time with Larry Fitzgerald
-WR Jonathan Baldwin had a career high 144 yards receiving.
Crosby scores 3 different ways in Pens win
After a listless first period, Sidney Crosby led the Pens back to a 3-2 shootout win over Florida. Down 2-zip in the 3rd, Crosby scored a power play goal and then tied it with a short-handed goal with 3:19 left. Crosby scored the only goal in the shootout as the Pens improve to 9-1. Evgeni Malkin with two assists. Back-up goalie Brent Johnson was at times spectacular stopping 27 shots and three more in the shootout for his first Penguins win. Pens outshot Florida 21-7 combined in the third period and overtime. New Jersey is at Mellon Arena Saturday.
Pittsburgh number 1 sports city
Pittsburgh, with the Super Bowl-winning Steelers and Stanley Cup-winning Penguins leading the way in 2009, is No. 1 in Sporting News’ 16th annual Best Sports Cities rankings.
The SteelCity dethroned 2008’s No. 1 Boston, which had finished atop the list three of the past five years but dropped to third, behind No. 2 Philadelphia, on the 2009 list. Rounding out the top 10 are No. 4 Chicago and No. 5 Los Angeles, No. 6 New York, No. 7 Phoenix, No. 8 Miami, No. 9 Dallas-Fort Worth and No. 10 Detroit.
Hear comments from the Sporting News editor and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl from the news conference podcasted to the right.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Jarrett Stoll scored the go-ahead goal with 7:51 to play, and the Los Angeles Kings roared from behind with a four-goal third period in a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night....
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Pascal Dupuis scored the go-ahead goal with 10:47 to play, and the Pittsburgh Penguins tied an NHL record with their seventh straight road victory to open the season, 4-3 over the last-place Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night....
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Niklas Backstrom made 34 saves and the Minnesota Wild won on the road for the first time this season, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Saturday night....
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Pittsburgh scored twice in the final 3 minutes of regulation to tie it and Sidney Crosby had the only goal in the shootout to lead the Penguins to a 4-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night....
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- NHL scoring champion Evgeni Malkin will be lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins for two to three weeks because of a strained right shoulder....
PITT NEWS
Is there an anti-Pitt media consiracy?
Bob Smizik wrote in his blog that he was sitting in the press box for the Pitt-USF game -- was that the first time in a long time? And will Ron Cook ever go to a game so that he can stop bashing Pitt for just a day? Both are in love with the Big Ten, why is that?
Pitt Football: Game has surprising importance
Coaches often say that every game is important, and while that is generally true, it is also true that some games are a little more important than others.
Life Is Sweet wins Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic
ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) -- Life Is Sweet led a parade of longshots to the winner's circle at the Breeders' Cup on Friday, with the stablemate of Zenyatta scoring a 2 1/2-length victory in the $2 million Ladies' Classic....
Kobe reaches 24,000 points, leads Lakers past Griz
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Kobe Bryant scored 41 points while becoming the youngest player to reach 24,000, leading the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers to a 114-98 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night....
