Sports briefs 2/5
Steelers hire offensive coordinator
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike McCarthy hired former Minnesota Vikings assistant Brian Angelichio on Wednesday to serve as Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator.
Angelichio spent the past four seasons as the tight ends coach/passing game coordinator in Minnesota.
The hiring is a reunion for McCarthy and Angelichio. Angelichio spent three seasons as the tight ends coach on McCarthy’s staff in Green Bay from 2016-18. Angelchio has also worked for Carolina, Cleveland, Washington and Tampa Bay.
Danny Crossman is joining the Steelers as special teams coordinator. Crossman previously worked in the same position for Carolina, Detroit, Buffalo and Miami.
Joe Whitt Jr., who worked under McCarthy in Dallas from 2021-23, was hired as assistant head coach/secondary. Whitt spent the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator in Washington.
Domata Peko will be the defensive line coach.
Penguins lose 2nd straight
Bo Horvat scored his second goal of the game 52 seconds into overtime and the New York Islanders beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 on Tuesday night.
Mathew Barzal had a goal and two assists and Ilya Sorokin made 31 saves. Matthew Schaefer added a goal and an assist, and Ryan Pulock also scored for the Islanders.
Justin Brazeau had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who dropped their second consecutive game. Anthony Mantha, Egor Chinakhov and Bryan Rust also scored. Stuart Skinner stopped 18 shots.
Horvat buried a breakaway in overtime to give the Islanders a critical victory in their second-to-last game before the Olympic break.
Pens’ Jones suspended 20 games
The NHL suspended injured Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Caleb Jones for 20 games on Wednesday for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.
Jones is in his first season with the Penguins. The club placed him on injured reserve in late October.
Jones said through a statement released by the NHL Players Association that he believes he was exposed to a contaminated substance while undergoing exosome therapy from an outside provider.
No. 18 Virginia too much for Pitt
Sam Lewis scored 15 points, Thijs De Ridder had 10 points and 12 rebounds and No. 18 Virginia beat Pitt 67-47 on Tuesday night while scoring its fewest points this season.
Chance Mallory scored 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting for the Cavaliers (19-3, 8-2 ACC), and Malik Thomas had 10 points.
The Cavaliers’ previous scoring low was 70 points in a win over Stanford. Virginia came in averaging 84 points per game.
Cameron Corhen and Nojus Indrusaitis scored 11 points apiece for the Panthers (9-14, 2-8), who have lost eight of 10.
Pro Bowl Games
Jalen Hurts said the flag football played in the Pro Bowl Games doesn’t have the negative connotation that it may have once had.
If anything, Hurts believes the NFL’s all-star exhibition is as competitive as ever.
“It is like being a kid again but it also turns competitive with everything’s that’s at stake,” the Eagles quarterback said after throwing three touchdown passes in the NFC’s 66-52 win over the AFC on Tuesday night.
There was plenty of representation from both sides in the high-scoring event, which was played indoors at the Moscone Center before a crowd of 3,100.
Dak Prescott of the Cowboys wore a bucket hat and passed for four touchdowns, while the Lions’ Jared Goff threw two TD passes.
For the AFC, the Bengals’ Joe Burrow threw for a touchdown and was credited with a passing and receiving score on the same play.