Aug 5, 2022 4 min read

Backyard Brawl sold out

The Sept. 1 renewal of the Backyard Brawl between Pitt and West Virginia will be played before an overflowing crowd at Acrisure Stadium as all sold have been sold.

In response to continued demand, Pitt Athletics will sell a limited number of Standing-Room-Only tickets. SRO tickets are $125 each and sales are limited to two per customer. All sales will be conducted online at the Pitt Ticket link.

While the West Virginia game is sold out, tickets are still available for the Panthers’ six other home games.

Wife of GM dies at 45

Nicole Hazen, the wife of Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen, has died from complications due to glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. She was 45.

She was diagnosed with cancer more than two years ago. The family has four sons, Charlie, John, Teddy and Sam. The team sent a statement confirming that Hazen died on Thursday.

“Nicole lived her life and loved her family with fierceness and devotion,” the Hazen family said in a statement. “She spent every day in the service of others as a mother, wife and educator advocating for goodness. From our family, we remain forever grateful for the love, support and random acts of kindness bestowed upon us for the last two years and four months. We would not have been able to walk down this road, with her, without the help and generosity of our community.”

Mike Hazen announced he was taking a partial leave of absence last year to help take care of his wife and family.

UConn star out for year

UConn women’s basketball star Paige Bueckers tore the ACL in her left knee during a pickup game and will miss the entire 2022-23 season, the school announced Wednesday.

UConn said in a statement that Bueckers suffered the injury Monday and underwent an MRI that evening. It did not say where the junior guard from Hopkins, Minnesota, was playing when the injury occurred. It was the same knee she injured last year, causing her to miss significant time.

In a statement posted on her Instagram account, Bueckers said she is leaning on her faith to move forward.

“It’s so so crazy because you work so hard to get back healthy, you feel stronger than ever, and you are playing your best basketball and with one sudden movement it all shifts,” she wrote. “It’s hard trying to make sense of it all now but I can’t help but think that God is using me as a testimony as to how much you can overcome with Him by your side.”

Bueckers was named the 2020-21 AP national player of the year, becoming the first freshman to earn that honor. She averaged 20.1 points, 5.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game that season.

Huberdeau, Flames agree

The Calgary Flames and recently acquired forward Jonathan Huberdeau have agreed to an $84 million, eight-year contract extension.

The 29-year-old Huberdeau came to Calgary from the Florida Panthers with defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, forward Cole Schwindt and a conditional 2025 first-round pick last month for star forward Matthew Tkachuk.

Calgary announced Huberdeau’s new deal Thursday night.

“I’m thrilled to be part of the Calgary Flames organization long-term,” Huberdeau said in a statement. “I’m excited for this new chapter and I am committed to this team. I’ll give everything I have, on and off the ice and I can’t wait to play in front of the passionate Flames fans.”

Huberdeau finished last season with 30 goals and 85 assists for 115 points. His point total had him tied for second in the NHL, while his 85 assists were a league best.