Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh defeated Mount St.Mary's in women's basketball, 67-49, Thursday night. Jessie Kaufman paced the visiting Mount (4-5) with 11points and six rebounds. Jacqueline Brewer had nine points and Selina Mann added eight points. Asia Logan fueled the Panthers (7-4) with 26 points, and Brianna Kiesel contributed 23. Pittsburgh started strong and pulled away in the second half for its sixth win against the Mountaineers. Early in the game, Logan scored 14 of the Panthers' first 26points for a 26-8 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game.

The Ravens won't get their season-opening home game, like reigning Super Bowl champions have for the last decade. But they will play four prime-time games, including a Thanksgiving night showdown at home against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, and a much-anticipated rematch with the Denver Broncos to kick off their Super Bowl XLVII title defense. The NFL released its regular-season schedule Thursday and it's highlighted by the Ravens' Sept. 5 matchup against the Broncos, a pairing that produced one of the league's most memorable games from the 2012-13 campaign.

Pittsburgh has already been highlighted this year and once should be enough. But we can't ignore that the Steel City will be the center of a global gathering for this week's meeting of the G-20; representatives of countries from Argentina to Turkey, along with the requisite protesters, will converge here for a two-day economic summit beginning Thursday. What should they do in their spare time? Here are five places that show Pittsburgh's worldly appeal. 1 David L. Lawrence Convention Center : Pittsburgh's commitment to conservation was one of the reasons it was named host of the G-20 summit.

Jamel Artis ' affinity for Pittsburgh was never a secret. Ever since the Baltimore native's recruitment began, the Panthers were “on top” of his list of potential college destinations. As Artis moved through four schools in five years, the Pittsburgh coaching staff stayed persistent in its recruitment of the 6-foot-6, 230-pound wing.   “They showed that they wanted me more than all the other schools,” Artis said Tuesday. “I was just waiting for the right time.” The right time came last weekend, when Artis - who recently achieved a qualifying SAT score - pledged to the Panthers during his official visit.

It wasn't long ago that Pittsburgh's largest bank, PNC Financial Services Group, was considered a takeover target during rampant industry consolidation. Now its name is replacing a Baltimore institution. PNC's proposed $6 billion purchase of Baltimore's Mercantile Bankshares Corp. would make it the nation's 11th largest in terms of deposits and 16th in terms of assets, with more than 1,000 branches from Ohio to Washington. Those rankings were widely touted by business leaders back home yesterday, who say the bank has played a key role in the Pittsburgh's revitalization, underwriting arts and educational programs and investing in downtown real estate.

Q. How does a chef know when a piece of meat is properly "Pittsburgh"? Can I do this at home? A. You do not have to be a chef to burn a piece of meat and set off the smoke alarm, which is what you will be doing if you are "Pittsburghing" a steak. It's interesting how terms for the same type of food are different in various parts of the country. If you were to travel down South, say to New Orleans, you would see "blackened steak" on the menu. On your return trip, you'd be offered "Pittsburgh" steak.

Those of us in the column-writing business are accustomed (well, almost) to the reactions our comments generate from readers, and we get to be pretty good at predicting which of our opinions will light up the board. But sometimes we are so wrong about the public's interests that we'd be better off selling newspapers than writing for them. For instance: On Super Bowl Sunday, I wrote what I thought was a sweet, sweet Valentine to my hometown, Pittsburgh, which happened to have a football team in the big game that day. I expected the same response from my readers that the column generated in me: I was weeping sentimental tears by the time I finished writing it. And, recently, I wrote a column about abortion in which I welcomed a revisiting of Roe v. Wade, not because I oppose abortion, but because I thought it might force this country to come to honest terms with alternatives.

Once in love with soccer, always in love with soccer, says Bernie Mullin, the former Pittsburgh Pirates vice president who resigned last summer to pursue a Major Soccer League franchise for the city."

If you ask Maribeth Rizzuto, the trash recycling coordinator for thecity of Pittsburgh, why the city's recycling program has such a highcompliance, she sums up the reason this way: "The program is very simple."And it's that thought that Harford County government administrators have tried to keep in mind in drafting a plan to get Harfordresidents to sort recyclables out of their trash for pickup. They'vemodeled their proposal, in part, on the highly successful Pittsburghprogram.But simplicity isn't all of the magic in the Pittsburgh program.

Pittsburgh has waited 26 years for a ring for its thumb. I was not born when they last won the Super Bowl. I grew up a Steelers fan, and while most people in Baltimore cringe when I admit that, I can't help but grin. Although I have lived in Maryland the majority of my life, I spent my summers and every major holiday in Pittsburgh with my grandparents. Many ask me why I never relinquished my devotion to the Steelers. The answer is simple. The Colts escaped in the middle of the night in 1984.

Jake Arrieta's bid to make the Orioles' rotation likely was strengthened Monday when he allowed two hits and struck out five through four innings in a 4-3 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Arrieta became the first Orioles pitcher to go more than three innings this spring, and he did it in fairly impressive fashion, allowing just a two-out double and a two-out single in separate innings. Otherwise, he was perfect. “Overall, yeah, I liked the outing. I started out very strong,” said Arrieta, who has not allowed an earned run in his last seven innings pitched.

I never thought I'd hear a Baltimorean say such a thing. Last week, while reporting on the Rawlings-Blake administration's 10-year financial plan, I spoke with the mayor's press secretary, Ian Brennan. We covered a lot of ground in our hourlong phone conversation, but one comment in particular rewound itself repeatedly in my mind like a game-deciding, goal-line drive. One day, said Mr. Brennan, "We would love to be spoken of like … Pittsburgh as a city not suffering post-industrial urban decay any longer.

It appears that Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs won't have to spend a second consecutive offseason recovering from surgery. After getting a second opinion on his torn right biceps, Suggs is planning on rehabbing the injury rather than having it surgically repaired, according to sources familiar with the situation. Suggs tore the biceps late in the Ravens' Dec. 2 home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He sat out the following week's game against the Washington Redskins and was also rested in the team's regular-season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals, a game that carried no meaning for the Ravens.

No one would confuse Andrew Luck with the Washington Redskins' Robert Griffin III, the Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton or the Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson - three quarterbacks who finished the regular season at the top of the NFL at their position in rushing. But that doesn't mean that the Indianapolis Colts rookie can't take off when he wants to or has to. Luck ranks second in the AFC and eighth in the league in rushing, compiling 255 yards. His five rushing touchdowns put him in a third-place tie with the San Francisco 49ers' Colin Kaepernick behind Newton (eight)

Pittsburgh defeated Mount St.Mary's in women's basketball, 67-49, Thursday night. Jessie Kaufman paced the visiting Mount (4-5) with 11points and six rebounds. Jacqueline Brewer had nine points and Selina Mann added eight points. Asia Logan fueled the Panthers (7-4) with 26 points, and Brianna Kiesel contributed 23. Pittsburgh started strong and pulled away in the second half for its sixth win against the Mountaineers. Early in the game, Logan scored 14 of the Panthers' first 26points for a 26-8 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game.

With the combined strength of Selina Mann, Sydney Henderson and Jacqueline Brewer, Mount St. Mary's claimed a 62-58 victory over visiting UMES (1-4) in women's basketball Wednesday. Mann finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Henderson posted 13 points and 12 rebounds in the win. The Mount (2-4) held a lead throughout the second half but lost it in the last minute as the Hawks (1-4) tied the game at 58. With 38 seconds remaining, Brewer, a transfer from Virginia Commonwealth making her first start for the Mountaineers, gave them the lead on two free throws.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could all hold hands around the television and sing Christmas carols while the Ravens make like Riverdance on the fleeting playoff hopes of the Pittsburgh Steelers? Can't think of a better way to spend Christmas Eve, but I fear that the Steelers will not be in a giving mood today at Heinz Field. While everything else is decked out in red and green, they're going to send our playoff heroes home black and blue. I wish it weren't so, but I can't let my personal feelings get in the way of an objective evaluation of a matchup that has postseason significance for both teams, but is a desperation game for the defending Super Bowl champions.

Statistics lie, but worried offensive coordinators seldom do.Ask Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese about the Pittsburgh Steelers defense his squad will face tonight (9 p.m., Ch. 13), and the respect in his voice comes through as clear as his point.Unless you are talking about luck as the residue of design, talent and ill-tempered defensive backs, the Steelers have a pass defense that has fought for its No. 1-ranking in the NFL."They're the best pass defense in the league," Zampese said.

In 2005, the Steelers had dropped three consecutive games, causing some to question whether Pittsburgh was deserving of a playoff berth. The Steelers won their last four contests in the regular season and eventually the Super Bowl. Inside linebacker Larry Foote is using that memory as inspiration after Pittsburgh snapped a two-game skid with a 23-20 win against the Ravens and kept its postseason hopes alive. “The older guys, we keep telling the younger guys about this,” Foote said after the Steelers improved to 7-5 and cut the Ravens' four-game lead in the AFC North by half.

In the first meeting between the Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Ravens escaped with a 13-10 win on the strength of a 63-yard punt return for a touchdown by Jacoby Jones in the first quarter. Keeping Jones' prowess on returns - he leads the NFL in kick return touchdowns with three this season - in mind, the Steelers did their best to limit Jones' opportunities in their 23-20 win against the Ravens Sunday. Jones returned three kicks for a total of 74 yards, but he didn't get past the Ravens' 26-yard line.