December 3, 2020 5:37 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers will have to pursue perfection without outside linebacker Bud Dupree. Dupree is lost for the season after injuring his right knee in a victory over Baltimore that pushed the Steelers to 11-0. Rookie Alex Highsmith will get the first shot at replacing Dupree, whose eight sacks rank second on the team. This isn’t the first time this year the Steelers have lost a starting linebacker. Devin Bush went down in October with a knee injury. Coach Mike Tomlin says Highsmith is capable of taking over Dupree’s workload. Pittsburgh hosts Washington next week.
December 3, 2020 3:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Ben Roethlisberger threw for 266 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown to JuJu Smith-Schuster and the Steelers improved to 11-0 with a disjointed 19-14 win over the undermanned Baltimore Ravens. The game was postponed three times while the Ravens dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak that forced Baltimore to take the field minus star quarterback Lamar Jackson among others. The extended layoff led to some ugly football in a game filled with turnovers and inconsistent play. Still, the Steelers survived behind just enough offense and a defense that forced a pair of turnovers and had three sacks.
December 3, 2020 3:55 am
Joel Ayayi matched his career high with 21 points and Andrew Nembhard and Corey Kispert each had, and No. 1 Gonzaga rallied to beat No. 11 West Virginia 87-82 on Wednesday night in the Jimmy V Classic. The Bulldogs struggled to get in sync early and again after freshman Jalen Suggs injured an ankle in the first half. But Gonzaga used a late 13-4 run to take control and scored six straight points late to seal it. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for West Virginia and dropped the Mountaineers to 0-5 in the series.
December 3, 2020 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates have agreed to one-year deals with pitchers Jameson Taillon and Michael Feliz as well as shortstop Erik Gonzalez. The contracts mean the Pirates will avoid arbitration with all three players. Taillion gets $2.25 million, Feliz $1 million and Gonzalez $1,225,000. Taillon, a former first-round draft pick, is expected to return in 2021 after missing most of the last two years following Tommy John surgery. Feliz pitched in just three games during the abbreviated 2020 season due to a forearm injury. Gonzalez faded after a hot start but drove in a career-high 20 runs last season.
December 2, 2020 1:13 pm
(WPXI) – The Steelers placed starting center Maurkice Pouncey on the COVID-19/Reserve list ahead of Wednesday’s game against Baltimore, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. No Baltimore players tested positive TODAY for the first time in 10 days.
December 2, 2020 3:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens are hoping they can pull off their thrice-delayed showdown at Heinz Field. The teams were originally supposed to meet on Thanksgiving night. A COVID-19 outbreak in Baltimore forced NFL officials to move the game to Sunday afternoon and then Tuesday night before landing on Wednesday. The Ravens will be without reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, one of several Ravens on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Pittsburgh will be without starting running back James Conner and standout defensive end Stephon Tuitt among others because of COVID-19. Pittsburgh can move to 11-0 with a win and eliminate Baltimore from the AFC North race in the process.
December 2, 2020 3:51 am
The San Francisco 49ers are set to embark on an unusual three-week road trip after being kicked out of their stadium and practice facility because of strict new COVID-19 protocols in their home county in Northern California. The Niners will fly to Arizona, where they will practice, live and play their next two games after Santa Clara County imposed a three-week ban on games and practices for contact sports. Coach Kyle Shanahan says he expects some “bumps in the road” but that his team is prepared for the journey.
December 2, 2020 3:52 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Ohio State football team is resuming full practices in preparation for Saturday’s game at Michigan State. Ohio State said in a one-sentence statement that the team would “resume organized team activities” Tuesday afternoon. The Buckeyes will do so while managing COVID-19 issues, and will be without coach Ryan Day, who tested positive last week. No. 3 Ohio State chose to cancel its game at Illinois last week because of an unacceptable number of COVID cases among players and staff in the program.
December 2, 2020 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – No. 2 Notre Dame wrapped up a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game by virtue of the league shuffling its schedule Tuesday to create an open date for the Fighting Irish and No. 4 Clemson before their likely rematch on Dec. 19. The ACC announced Notre Dame’s game against Wake Forest, which was rescheduled for Dec. 12 after being postponed in late September, will not be played. The first-place Irish host Syracuse on Saturday to complete their regular season. Clemson’s postponed game at Florida State will also not be made up. The Tigers can clinch a spot in the championship game with a victory at Virginia Tech on Saturday.
December 1, 2020 2:17 am
New York (NFL Network) – Due to continued COVID-19 concerns, the Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers football game has been moved to 3:40 p.m. Wednesday. WJPA-AM (1450) will have live coverage, beginning with the Steelers Network pregame show at 1:40 pm.
With this latest rescheduling, two other games have been moved as well. The Steelers will host the Washington Football Team on Monday at 5 p.m. in the teams’ Week 13 contest, originally slated for Sunday. Meanwhile, the Ravens will host the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 8:05 p.m. in a game that was first planned for Thursday. TV broadcast plans will be announced later. This is the third time the Ravens-Steelers game has been moved. Originally slated to be played on Thanksgiving night, it was postponed until Sunday and then moved a second time to Tuesday.
Ravens players recently conducted a players-only meeting in which they expressed concerns regarding playing on Tuesday as they’ve been adamant about wanting a day to practice, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported. Rapoport added that other notes to come from the meeting were that the Ravens want to play, but health and safety must come first. One source said: “Can’t we have at least two days of negative tests after this outbreak before we are expected to get back on the field?” The Ravens’ facility is set to reopen Monday night with a walkthrough scheduled and there is a plan to practice on Tuesday before flying to Pittsburgh, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported.
