Sports briefs
8 Steelers chosen for Pro Bowl
The Pittsburgh Steelers lead the NFL in one category this season: most Pro Bowl players.
Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell and Ben Roethlisberger are among eight Steelers selected for the all-star game. They will be joined on Jan. 28 in Orlando, Florida, by tackle Alejandro Villanueva, guard David DeCastro, center Maurkice Pouncey, kicker Chris Boswell, and linebacker Ryan Shazier, who is injured. Brown, also injured but expected back for the playoffs, was voted a starter, as were Bell and the three offensive linemen.
The Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints each placed six players in the game in balloting announced Tuesday.
Four rookies were chosen in voting by NFL players, coaches and fans: running backs Alvin Kamara of the Saints and Kareem Hunt of the Chiefs, cornerback Marshon Lattimore of the Saints, and safety Budda Baker of the Cardinals as a special teamer.
Two long snappers will be selected by each coach; the losing AFC and NFC team with the best record will have its coaching staff work the Pro Bowl.
Twenty-four of the 86 Pro Bowl selections are newcomers. That includes two of the three Rams specialists chosen: kicker Greg Zuerlein and return specialist Pharoh Cooper. Rams punter Johnny Hekker is a repeat Pro Bowler.
Five teams have no representatives: the Jets, Browns, Colts, Bears and Packers.
Robert Morris hires new football coach
Bernard Clark, associate head coach and defensive coordinator for the University at Albany, has been hired as head coach at Robert Morris.
Clark will be introduced as the Northeast Conference school’s third coach at a news conference Wednesday, Albany announced. He was with the Great Danes for four seasons.
Clark oversaw one of the top defenses in the Football Championship Subdivision this past season. Albany finished ranked No. 9 defensively, allowing just 282.1 yards per game.
As a player, Clark won two national championships at Miami and was the 1987 Orange Bowl MVP. He played three seasons in the NFL and two in the AFL before turning to coaching. He also has coached at James Madison, Liberty, Florida International, South Florida, Hampton, Pitt and Colorado State.
In high school wrestling
Burgettstown used five pins and four forfeits to take a 54-28 victory from Bentworth in a Section 1B match in Class AA Tuesday night.
Shane Kemper (126), Bill Brown (132), Austin Ryan (138), Garrett Stephens (145) and Turner Lehman (160) won by fallfor the Blue Devils (1-0, 1-0).
Bryce Hook (113) and Ashton Lopez (220) had pins for Bentworth (0-1, 1-1).
- Beth-Center ran its record to 2-0 with a 60-18 win over West Greene in a Section 1A match in Class AA.
Getting pins for the Bulldogs were Jimmy Gwyer (126), Todd Fisher (132), Chase Lacey (138) and Mikiah Bayus (145).
Isaac Courtwright (160) and Connor Main (220) had pins for West Greene (0-1, 0-2).
Packers put Rodgers on injured reserve
This will be a strange couple weeks in Titletown.
The Green Bay Packers’ streak of eight straight postseason appearances is over. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is done for the year after he was placed on injured reserve Tuesday.
Rodgers threw for three touchdowns and tossed three interceptions in Sunday’s 31-24 loss at Carolina in his return from a broken collarbone.
Coach Mike McCarthy said there were no setbacks with Rodgers’ injury, but it made sense to shut him down.
“He took a number of hits. With all the factors involved, we felt this was clearly in Aaron Rodgers’ best interest,” McCarthy said. “He’s not happy about it. It’s a hard day for him.”
It’s an unusual time for the team as a whole.
The Packers last missed the playoffs in 2008, which was Rodgers’ first season as the starter. They’re not used to playing games this late into December without postseason implications.
In the NHL
James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak enjoy playing on the same line as Mitch Marner.
Marner and Bozak each had a goal and three assists, and the Toronto Maple Leafs stopped a three-game slide by routing the Carolina Hurricanes 8-1 Tuesday.