Sports / Columns

It’s hard to believe Marc-Andre Fleury — the Penguins’ backup goalie — could mean so much to a team and its city. But when veteran goaltender Fleury was taken by the newly formed Vegas Golden Knights in last week’s NHL Expansion Draft, there was an outpouring of support and gratitude from the people of Pittsburgh. […]

Don’t look now, but two months into the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates are still hanging around in the National League Central. Heading into May, the team was in last place in the division and looked like a longshot for the playoffs. Now, thanks to a modest turnaround and a lackluster division, the team’s playoff picture […]

Early in the 2015-16 season, the Crosby-Malkin era was considered a disappointment. Now, it’s the best in Penguins history. When Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin came to Pittsburgh in 2005 and 2006, respectively, it marked a turnaround for an organization which had missed the playoffs every season since 2000-01, finishing last in the Atlantic Division […]

Coming off the program’s worst season since 2000, this offseason has signaled next year could be worse. The past few months have been some of the most tumultuous in the team’s history, with four seniors graduating and five others transferring elsewhere. As of now, the team only has two returning scholarship players outside of former […]

In the four years since Pitt moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference, the decision to leave the Big East has both haunted and helped the school’s biggest sports — football and men’s basketball. For the majority of the 2000s, the University of Pittsburgh was a basketball school. Coaches Ben Howland and Jamie Dixon turned the […]

The Pitt men’s soccer team has been one of the school’s least competitive programs in recent years, but their fortunes could soon change as the group seems poised to move forward this fall. In its history, the squad — which started up in 1954 — has compiled a record of 398-449-100. It hasn’t had a […]

As the Pitt men’s basketball team tries to recover from a mass exodus of graduating players, transfers and dismissals, the Pitt football team will be dealing with its own loss of talent next season. Just don’t confuse the two. While the Panthers’ hoops roster for next season looks like a barren wasteland right now, the […]

After losing two of the first three games of the Eastern Conference Final, the Pittsburgh Penguins are back in the series thanks to a controversial decision by head coach Mike Sullivan. Through the first two rounds of the NHL playoffs, 32-year-old goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury seemingly solidified his starting role with outstanding play and a .924 […]

Over the last few years, the NBA has developed a clear hierarchy — and it’s badly hurting the league’s appeal. Heading into the 2016-17 regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors were the two teams everybody expected in the NBA Finals. The Cavaliers were the reigning champions and still had LeBron James while […]

The Pittsburgh Pirates — one of the most unsuccessful teams in sports until recent years — are officially stuck in mediocrity. From 1993-2012, the Pirates suffered an unprecedented 20 consecutive losing seasons. The streak marked the longest of any professional team in the United States’ four major sports — football, basketball, baseball and hockey. For […]