February 7, 2021 7:27 am
CANTON, Ohio — Steelers Guard Alan Faneca was voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his 6th year as a finalist. Faneca played for the Steelers from 1998 through 2007, before ending his NFL career with stints with the New York Jets and the Arizona Cardinals. The Steelers drafted him in the first round in 1998. He became a starter six games into his rookie season, and helped pave teh way for Jerome Bettis to have a 1,000 yard rushing season. Faneca missed just one game in his entire career. He was a member of the Super Bowl XL Championship Team in 2006. Faneca was selected to nine consecutive Pro Bowls, and played in 14 career playoff games, including four AFC Championship games. Faneca was also named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s.
Faneca is the most recent of several Steelers who will be honored in Canton, Ohio this summer. The Class of 2020 never had its enshrinement ceremony. That class includes: Bill Cowher, Troy Polamalu and Donnie Shell.
Many Steelers fans may not know his name, but Bill Nunn, Sr was as much a part of the team’s 1970s Super Bowl success than any on the long list of Hall of Fame players that he’s joining in Canton after being selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. Nunn, an inductee in the “Contributor” category, was a “super scout” for the Steelers, a legendary figure who opened the door for players from historically black colleges and universities who previously hadn’t received attention in the draft. Nunn was a trailblazer, and his impact forever changed the NFL. Nunn’s path to the Steelers included a very successful career in the newspaper business. He was a sports writer, then sports editor, and eventually the managing editor of the Pittsburgh Courier. Nearly 20 years before joining the Steelers, he was responsible for selecting the Courier’s annual Black College All-American team. He joined the Steelers on a part-time basis in 1967, and took a full-time position two years later when Chuck Noll was hired as head coach. The draft picks and player signings of the Nunn era were legendary.
February 7, 2021 4:15 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Chiefs and Buccaneers will head into the Super Bowl on Sunday relatively healthy. The Chiefs have ruled out left tackle Eric Fisher because of a torn Achilles tendon and linebacker Willie Gay Jr. due to knee and ankle injuries. Neither of them was expected to play. Tampa Bay did not list anybody as out on the final injury report. Chiefs wide receiver Sammy Watkins was questionable along with Tampa Bay wide receiver Antonio Brown and tight end Cameron Brate. Tampa Bay linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh also did not practice Friday, though both are expected to play.
February 7, 2021 7:31 am
Sam Hauser scored 10 of his 23 points during a key second-half stretch, and No. 14 Virginia pulled away from Pittsburgh for a 73-65 victory on Saturday. Hauser, Jay Huff and Tomas Woldetensae all hit back-to-back three-pointers in a 23-9 surge that turned a 36-all tie into a 59-45 lead for the Cavaliers (13-3, 9-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Two free throws by Hauser launched Virginia’s big run. Huff followed with a pair of 3-pointers and, after Woldetensae hit a pair of free throws, Hauser added a pair of 3s and Woldetensae added two more. Woldetensae, a streaky left-handed shooter who hadn’t scored in limited action in four games for the ACC leaders, had 14 points. Huff finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Virginia has won nine of its last 10, all against ACC competition. Justin Champagnie led the Panthers (9-6, 5-5) with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Ithiel Horton had 15 points.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — — For once, No. 17 West Virginia found a way to finish strong. Miles McBride scored a career-high 31 points (following video review), Taz Sherman had a career-best 25 and West Virginia kept pushing all game long, beating No. 23 Kansas 91-79 on Saturday. The Mountaineers (13-5, 6-3 Big 12) never trailed and got off to a good start in a challenging stretch where they will play six straight opponents that are currently ranked. Nail-biting finishes have been the norm lately for the Mountaineers, who needed some late free throws to hold off Iowa State on the road on Tuesday. They faded in a close loss to Florida at home on Jan. 30 and they got a last-second shot from McBride to edge No. 13 Texas Tech on Jan. 25.
McBride’s career-best game got even better. A review of video from the win over Kansas found that a first-half field goal was incorrectly credited to the Mountaineers’ Jalen Bridges. It should have been awarded to McBride. The fix gave McBride one more basket and one less assist. He finished with 31 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. West Virginia plays at No. 13 Texas Tech on Tuesday.
February 6, 2021 4:12 am
UNDATED (AP) – The defending World Series champs just got better.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have won the bidding war for Trevor Bauer, the most coveted pitching in this winter’s free agent market. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner announced his decision on Friday in a two-minute video posted to his Twitter account. Multiple news reports have the deal worth $102 over three years. Bauer was 5-4 in his second season with Cincinnati and his 1.73 ERA was second in the major leagues among qualified pitchers. He is 75-64 with a 3.90 ERA in nine major league seasons that included a career-best 17-9 with a 4.19 ERA for Cleveland in 2017. Bauer joins a Dodgers rotation that had a major league-best 3.02 ERA during the abbreviated 60-game season last year, when the franchise won its first championship since 1988.
February 6, 2021 4:17 am
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Steve Stricker is threatening to become the oldest player to win a PGA Tour event. Less than three weeks from his 54th birthday, Stricker fired a 5-under 66 to get within a stroke of leader Xander Schauffele entering the weekend of the Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. The U.S. Ryder Cup captain bogeyed his final hole to prevent him from catching Schauffele. Sam Snead is the oldest winner of a PGA event, taking the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open at 52 years, 10 months and eight days. Davis Love is the last 50-something to win on the tour, doing it at 51 in the 2015 Wyndham Championship. The fourth-ranked Schauffele is coming off a second-place tie last weekend at Torrey Pines. He played the back nine Friday in 6-under 30 in the afternoon for a 64 that leaves him minus-12.
February 5, 2021 3:50 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Commissioner Roger Goodell says the NFL will carry forward the lessons learned from 2020. In his annual state of the league news conference Thursday, Goodell said topics for future discussion range from battling the pandemic to minority coaching hires to scheduling to the NFL’s working relationship with the players’ union. As for what changes from the pandemic season are worth keeping in a post-COVID-19 world, Goodell said virtual sessions “are going to be a part of our life for a long time” because coaches and players were able to remotely work through the playbooks in 2020. Goodell said he feels strongly about the value of training camp and preseason games. NFL Players Association President J.C. Tretter of the Cleveland Browns is advocating getting rid of the offseason and OTAs permanently. Goodell said the league will look into tweaking the rules for teams that hire new coaches as a way to ensure more diversity in the coaching ranks.
February 5, 2021 3:52 am
UNDATED (AP) – With COVID-19 problems cropping up and four teams currently idled, the NHL has revised its virus protocols in a bid to keep the shortened season on track. Glass panels have been removed from behind benches for better air flow. Players and coaches are not allowed at the arena until 1 hour and 45 minutes before the game unless they’re getting treatment for injuries and all meetings must be virtual. The 31 teams were also told to space out locker rooms more to provide 6 feet between people. The moves were made as the NHL sees some concerning trends, including 40 players on the COVID-19 unavailable list. In the first three weeks of the season, about 90 players have appeared on the list, which can include a positive test result unconfirmed or confirmed, symptomatic isolation, high risk close contact or quarantine for travel purposes.
February 4, 2021 3:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Xavier Johnson scored a career-high 32 points and Pittsburgh beat No. 16 Virginia Tech 83-72 to end a three-game skid. Johnson had been slumping and was held out of Pitt’s starting lineup for the first time this season and second time in his three-year career. He shot 11 of 17 from the floor, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range, as the Panthers had their way against a usually stingy Virginia Tech defense. Pittsburgh beat a ranked opponent for the first time since January 2019. Keve Aluma scored 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting for the Hokies, who were coming off a win over then-No. 8 Virginia.
February 4, 2021 3:56 am
Former NFL head coach and Fort Cherry High School grad Marty Schottenheimer was moved to a hospice facility near his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday because of complications from Alzheimer’s disease, his family said Wednesday in a statement given to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. He is listed in stable condition. “As a family we are surrounding him with love,” his wife, Pat, said in a statement, also speaking on behalf of the couple’s children, Kristin and Brian, “and are soaking up the prayers and support from all those he impacted through his incredible life. In the way he taught us all, we are putting one foot in front of the other … one play at a time.” Schottenheimer, 77, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014. Schottenheimer, who coached the Browns, Chiefs, Washington and Chargers, posted a 205-139-1 career record, including the playoffs. He was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year in 2004 with the Chargers. His NFL career ended in 2006 following a 14-2 season with the Chargers and a divisional-round exit from the playoffs.
February 4, 2021 3:52 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Minnesota Twins are bringing back 40-year-old designated hitter Nelson Cruz on a one-year, $13 million contract, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations.
Cruz last season batted .303 with 16 home runs, 33 RBIs and a .992 OPS in 53 games during the pandemic-shortened schedule. He has led the team in homers in each of his two years with the Twins while ranking second and fourth, respectively, in the AL in OPS. The six-time All-Star won Silver Slugger awards in 2019 and 2020, when the Twins won the AL Central both seasons.
No player in the major leagues has more home runs over the last seven seasons than Cruz’s 260.
