Sports briefs
Pirates to
recall Meadows
The Pittsburgh Pirates plan to recall top outfield prospect Austin Meadows from Triple-A Indianapolis in time for Friday night’s game against the San Diego Padres.
The Pirates said they would make a corresponding roster move Friday. Center fielder Starling Marte missed his second straight game Thursday night with a strained right oblique as the Pirates and Padres opened a four-game series.
Meadows, 23, is hitting .281 with one home run, 15 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 31 games. The Pirates selected him in the first round of the 2013 amateur draft with the ninth overall pick from Grayson High School in Loganville, Ga.
Meadows has yet to play in the major leagues.
Browns chosen for HBO’s “Hard Knocks”
Ready or not, the Cleveland Browns are getting their close-up.
Coming off a historic, dismal 0-16 season, the Browns have been chosen to appear on HBO’s popular “Hard Knocks” series that gives NFL fans a behind-the-scenes look at training camp.
The Browns have turned down previous opportunities to be on the award-winning series. But with renewed optimism around Cleveland following the recent draft, and the selection of quarterback Baker Mayfield, the team is granting HBO unlimited access to its upcoming camp.
Cleveland is the 13th franchise to participate in “Hard Knocks,” which began in 2001 with the Baltimore Ravens. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were featured last summer.
Although they’ve won only one game the past two seasons under coach Hue Jackson, the Browns see the show as a possibility to highlight some of their younger players and put a positive spin on their rebuild.
And for HBO, Mayfield’s quest to win the starting job is just one of several juicy story lines.
“NFL Films has always been exceptional at bringing fans closer to the game and they do an outstanding job with every show they produce, including HBO’s Hard Knocks,” Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said. “We have been asked multiple times about being featured on Hard Knocks, and we really felt like it was our turn this year and the timing was right.”
Steelers to debut throwback jersey
The Pittsburgh Steelers announced Thursday they will reveal their next throwback jersey May 30 at 2:30 p.m. Fans can watch the announcement live on the team’s Twitter and Facebook pages and on the team website.
The Steelers will wear their Color Rush jerseys for a Thursday Night Football matchup against the Carolina Panthers, despite rumors Fox Sports, who purchased the rights for TNF, wanted to do away with Color Rush games.
ACC seeks to expand NCAA tournament
The Atlantic Coast Conference wants to expand the NCAA tournament and change several college basketball rules.
Commissioner John Swofford said Thursday the league will propose legislation to expand the NCAA Tournament from 68 to 72 teams. That would create a second set of First Four games in the western half of the country to go with the tournament-opening ones in Dayton, Ohio.
The league also supports moving back the 3-point line, widening the lane and having the shot clock reset to 20 seconds after offensive rebounds.
Swofford spoke to reporters at the conclusion of the league’s spring meetings. He also said the league’s TV channel is on track for its August 2019 launch, though the league didn’t settle on future ACC Tournament sites beyond locations already determined through 2020.