Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 125

Thursday was supposed to be Opening Day for Major League Baseball. The Pittsburgh Pirates had a game – the first of 2020 — scheduled in Tampa, Fla., against the Rays. It was to be Derek Shelton’s first Opening Day as a manager, the first Pirates’ game without Clint Hurdle in...

Penn State landed an important verbal commitment Thursday when four-star offensive tackle Landon Tengwall announced on a Twitter video his plans to enroll next year. Tengwall, a member of the Class of 2021 at Good Counsel High School in Olney, Md., is rated one of the best offensive linemen in...

Junior guard Frankie Hughes, who missed the entire Duquesne season after undergoing knee surgery, posted on his Twitter account his intention to transfer to the University of San Diego. He was not expected to return to Duquesne for the 2020-21 season. pic.twitter.com/iAQ8hgaPvo— f r a n k i e (@_4l0w)...

The problems presented by the shutdown of the football program at Penn State stretch all the way from James Franklin’s condo, back to campus and onto the front lawns of every player who is home at a time when he expected to be at practice. Still, they pale in comparison...

Jeff Gleason anticipated the first question — “How stupid are you guys?” — before it could be asked. Perhaps that’s a bit harsh, until you’re made aware that Gleason and his buddies, Wayne Kurtz and Bill Thompson, are planning to run a self-styled Pittsburgh Marathon, starting out at 1 a.m....

One man helped the Pittsburgh Steelers win four Super Bowls before leading Michigan State to two Big Ten titles. Another was the only coach hired twice by Chuck Noll. And the third coached Pro Football Hall of Fame linebackers Jack Ham and Jack Lambert during his four championship seasons in...

Aliquippa’s Dravon Askew-Henry made history Tuesday when he became the first player to move from the XFL to the New York Giants, agreeing to terms on a two-year contract, according to the New York Post and other outlets. During his time with the New York Guardians of the upstart league,...

McKeesport’s Swin Cash must wait another year for her induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors and Management team announced Tuesday that the 2020 induction ceremony scheduled for June 13 has been postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak and will be rescheduled...

In an attempt to help student-athletes remain in touch with their university community and, eventually, find and get jobs, Robert Morris’ Department of Athletics announced Tuesday the formation of the Robert Morris Athlete Network. In partnership with Athlete Network, a means of engagement for student-athletes past and present, the university...

Dave Harper remains optimistic UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse will open in time for Duquesne’s winter sports season, but he also knows grim reality in the form of the covid-19 pandemic might intervene. Duquesne’s athletic director said Monday that construction stopped Friday on the $45 million makeover of the former A.J. Palumbo...

Four players — one each from Penn State, West Virginia, Duquesne and Robert Morris — were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I all-district teams. Penn State’s Lamar Stevens and West Virginia’s Oscar Tshiebwe were named first team District 7 and 8, respectively. Duquesne’s Marcus Weathers and...

Pitt and West Virginia basketball teams will play the last of a four-game series Nov. 13 at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. The series, negotiated in 2016 by former Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes and West Virginia’s Shane Lyons, ended a five-year period in which the two long-standing rivals did...

With Jameson Taillon throwing the first pitch, Pittsburgh Pirates players bought lunch Monday for health care providers at Allegheny General Hospital. Taillon reached out last week to Pirates officials, who coordinated with Slice on Broadway, located in PNC Park, and Pizzeria Davide on Penn Avenue. Us players found it important...

Job layoffs, dark movie theaters and quarantined residents fearing the coronavirus and reluctant to venture beyond the front door could lead to one of the worst economic downturns in recent U.S. history, according to one area expert. “We’re headed for a recession, if we’re not in a recession already,” said...

The Pirates optioned seven players to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, including former first-round draft choices Cole Tucker and Ke’Bryan Hayes. Tucker, who was drafted from high school in 2014, spent part of last season with the Pirates, but he hit only .211 in 56 games and was mainly the backup...

Patrick Chambers passes his days without basketball like most working Americans. He has been on several conference calls with his Penn State coaching staff, university colleagues and administrators. In his free time, he reads and plays cards and board games with his children. An especially favored activity, he said, is...

Duquesne guard Frankie Hughes, who sat out this season after undergoing knee surgery in October and was not expected to return, has entered his name in the transfer portal. Hughes led the Dukes in successful 3-points shots (67) during the 2018-19 season after transferring from Missouri. He averaged 8.9 points...

If you think the spring training shutdown might have Derek Shelton wondering what to do while he remains in Florida with his family, think again. The Pittsburgh Pirates manager has found time to perform a variety of important tasks. He cleaned out some closets and caught up on his reading....

After three days of football practice in March, it is impossible to build momentum or make definitive declarations, especially when players donned pads only one day. Doesn’t matter. Mark Whipple is giving it his best shot. Before the coronavirus outbreak halted spring drills at Pitt and everywhere else and the...

Sophomore guard Trey McGowens, one of the building blocks coach Jeff Capel put in place at the outset of his Pitt tenure, entered the NCAA transfer portal. Pittsburgh sophomore Trey McGowens just informed @Stockrisers that he will enter his name in the transfer portal. He averaged 11.5 points last season...

One of three officials who worked the Northeast Conference men’s basketball championship game March 10 at Robert Morris University has tested positive for the covid-19 virus, the school announced Tuesday night in a statement. Donnie Eppley, Earl Walton and Mike Palau officiated the game that was played between teams from...

The Pittsburgh Pirates have joined 29 other Major League Baseball teams in pledging $1 million each for ballpark workers who will lose income because of the delay to the start of the season. The season is not expected to start until at least mid-May due to the coronavirus, and many...

Pitt men’s basketball received good news Tuesday for its depth at guard when three-star Femi Odukale announced on his Instagram account his plans to enroll next academic year. Odukale’s commitment came two days after guard Ryan Murphy entered his name in the transfer portal. View this post on Instagram What...

Not long after Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred pushed back the start of the season to as late as mid-May, Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said “there is a level of confidence” there will be games in 2020 on the major and minor league levels. But the coronavirus...