Take 5: Kiper, Cavs and Kardashians
By The Pitt News Staff
April 19, 2018
Filed under Sports Columns
With finals week quickly approaching, you may have been too busy studying to keep up with the world of sports. No worries — The Pitt News staff has you covered with the most savvy, significant and scandalous sports stories from this week. Keeping up with Khloe and Tristan The Cleveland Cavali...
Take 5: Pirates, playoffs, PGA tour
By The Pitt News Staff
April 5, 2018
Filed under Sports, Sports Columns
There are just two weeks left in the semester and classes are winding down at Pitt. The same can’t be said for news in the sports world. The Pitt News staff is back with a weekly roundup of this week’s best. More of the same Are the Houston Rockets leading the West? Yes. Have the Cleveland Caval...
Take me back to the ballgame: Fans reflect on Forbes Field
By David Leftwich | Senior Staff Writer
October 12, 2017
Filed under Sports Features, Top Stories
Where students now slouch in their seats, fans once sat on edge, moments away from witnessing a historic sports event on Oct. 13, 1960 — now dubbed Mazeroski Day. In game seven of the 1960 World Series, Pirate Bill Mazeroski came to the plate at the bottom of the ninth with the game tied at nine. On a 1-0 pitc...
Pittsburgh pushes Panthers from spotlight
By Dominic Campbell / Staff Writer
August 21, 2017
Filed under Sports, Sports Columns
Walking around Pittsburgh, it’s hard to go too long without seeing someone wearing Steelers, Penguins or Pirates gear. The teams are some of the most decorated and storied franchises in American sports — especially in recent years, with the city taking home five championships since 2005 — and...
Playoff Push: A look at the Bucs’ schedule
By Ryan Zimba | Sports Editor
July 18, 2017
Filed under Sports
Just five years ago, this season would have been considered a success for the Pirates. But now, after making the playoffs in three of the past four years, many see it as a disappointment. With just under 70 games left in the regular season, the team sits two games under .500 at 46-48 and five games bac...
Weak division gives battling Bucs opportunity
By David Leftwich | Staff Writer
June 20, 2017
Filed under Sports, Sports Columns
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...
Slow starts a troubling trend for Pirates
By Ryan Zimba | Sports Editor
May 16, 2017
Filed under Sports, Sports Columns
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’ fo...
Pirates 2017 season preview
By Steve Rotstein | Sports Editor
March 31, 2017
Filed under Sports
As spring training winds down and the calendar flips to April, sports fans across the country are coming to a welcome realization. Opening Day is almost upon us. The 2017 Major League Baseball season kicks off Sunday, April 2, with a three-game slate featuring the defending World Series champion Chica...
Good Times: Pirates fans celebrate historic home run on Mazeroski Day
By Steve Rotstein | Sports Editor
October 13, 2016
Filed under Sports
It was Oct. 13, 1985, and Saul Finkelstein was having a bad day. But it was also the 25th anniversary of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees. So Finkelstein, a lifelong Pirates fan, stopped by the 457-foot marker on the Forbes Field Wall across from Sc...
One more year: A case to keep Cutch
By Steve Rotstein | Sports Editor
October 11, 2016
Filed under Sports
Before the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2016 season even finished in a 10-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Oct. 2, the rumors had already started swirling. It was likely, according to an Oct. 1 article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, that 29-year-old center fielder Andrew McCutchen was playing his final game as a Pirate. The next day, as the Pi...
Despite uneven play Pirates remain playoff relevant
By David Leftwich / Staff Writer
August 30, 2016
Filed under Sports, Sports Columns
Even with injuries, poor play and questionable decision making from the organization, the Pirates have somehow maintained mediocrity in 2016. Despite their best efforts to end a three-year postseason streak, they may still be a playoff team. In the first half of the season, the Pirates did a gr...
Bell helps propel Bucs into position for run at a division crown
By Steve Rotstein / Sports Editor
July 12, 2016
Filed under Sports, Sports Columns
By surging into the All-Star break as one of the hottest teams in baseball, the Pittsburgh Pirates positioned themselves to make a run at an elusive National League Central Division title during the second half of the season. After a nightmarish slump saw the Pirates lose 13 of 15 games and fall a ...
Gallery: Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago Cubs
By Matt Hawley | Staff Photographer
July 12, 2016
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Pirates need help from McCutchen, pitching prospects to make second-half surge
By David Leftwich / Staff Writer
June 28, 2016
Filed under Sports, Sports Columns
The Pittsburgh Pirates have struck out with their pitching staff in 2016. Between injuries and underwhelming performances, the Pirates’ starting rotation is not working out, and it’s time for a change. The Pirates are in desperate need of a spark, and their top three pitching prospects can infuse t...
Pirates’ pitchers helping themselves at bat
By David Leftwich / Staff Writer
May 31, 2016
Filed under Sports, Sports Columns
The Pittsburgh Pirates play in the National League, where baseball is played the way it used to be — without a designated hitter. But unlike most NL teams, there are no automatic outs in this lineup. It’s no secret this season the Pirates have an explosive offense. The team leads the NL with an impre...
Stallings & Son: Two paths to Pittsburgh
By Dan Sostek / Senior Staff Writer
May 31, 2016
Filed under Specials / Newstudentguide2016, Sports, Sports Features
The Stallings family was sitting around one day in 2012, casually discussing plans for their eldest son Jacob’s upcoming wedding. Who would they invite? Who were the groomsmen? Then came the big one, a position that Jacob’s parents Kevin and Lisa had previously thought to be unassigned. “An...
Pirates need to focus on winning, not retaliating, against Cubs
By David Leftwich / Staff Writer
May 17, 2016
Filed under Sports, Sports Columns
To put it bluntly, the Pittsburgh Pirates tend to be sore losers when it comes to taking on the Chicago Cubs. In both series the Pirates have played against the Cubs this season, the Cubs have had the upper hand. And both times, the teams appeared to be on the verge of a bench-clearing brawl. After ...
Kang’s return forces Hurdle to make tough decisions with crowded infield
By David Leftwich / Staff Writer
May 10, 2016
Filed under Sports, Sports Columns
Some players in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ already deep infield might have trouble staying relevant with the triumphant return of multi-talened infielder Jung-ho Kang. Professional sports teams are always searching for ways to add depth to their rosters. This is especially true in baseball, where teams...
Summer Guide: Pirates navigate unexpected issues in season’s first half
By Nate Barnes / Senior Staff Writer
July 15, 2014
Filed under Specials / Summerguide2014, Sports
One of Clint Hurdle’s often-repeated mantras is to do “the best you can with what you’ve got at the time.” He’s had to follow it himself this year — he will likely need a hip replacement at the end of the season and he currently manages the Pittsburgh Pirates while enduring pain such that ...
