The Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight for a 7pm face-off. Pre-game on WISR begins at 6:30pm.
The Penguins enter the game 10-10-1 overall. Tampa Bay is 10-8-5 and lead the Penguins for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot by four points.
NFL Thursday Night Football:
–The Dallas Cowboys host the Seattle Seahawks. Kick-off is 8:15pm. The Cowboys have won their last 13 games at home, and have averaged 41 points in the their five home games this season. They enter the game 8-3. Seattle is 6-5 and have lost three of their last four, and averaged under 11 points in those losses.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and the city of Pittsburgh have officially submitted a request to the NFL of their desire to host the NFL Draft. According to Steelers beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Gerry Dulac, the NFL already has sites for its annual draft scheduled for 2024 in Detroit and 2025 in Green Bay, so the Steelers are interested in the next available date for what has become the league’s second-biggest event behind the Super Bowl. An event like the draft would have a significant economic impact on the city and businesses in the surrounding area. Staging the draft, which is usually the third or fourth week in April, would also require the cooperation of Major League Baseball and the Pirates, who would not be able to schedule home games during those dates. Fan attendance has ranged from 200,000 to 600,000 in previous years, with most attending the draft for the opening night and first round.
The Steelers host Arizona this Sunday at 1pm.
Receiver DeSean Jackson will officially retire as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday. Jackson made the Pro Bowl in three of his eight seasons with the team. He became the first player in NFL history to earn Pro Bowl honors at two positions — kick returner and wide receiver.
NASCAR has added two new partners and streaming elements to a seven-year media rights deal announced Wednesday that will run from 2025 through the 2031 season. The new media rights deal is worth $7.7 billion and will include broadcasts on current partners Fox Sports and NBC who will share 28 races. The new deal adds five stream-only races on Amazon Prime, and then five races for Warner Brothers-Discovery, that will also be simulcast on TNT and Max.
Milwaukee Brewer’s Devin Williams was named National League reliever of the year Wednesday over the Pirates David Bednar. Williams was 8-3 with a 1.53 ERA and 36 saves in 40 opportunities for the NL Central champion Brewers. Bednar saved 39 of 42 games with an even 2.00 ERA. Baltimore’s Felix Bautista was a unanimous winner of the American League award.
