Friday, 27 July 2012 06:48

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

Pirates/MLB

-Starling Marte (above, with third base coach Nick Leyva) hit a home run on his first career pitch and helped the Pirates defeat the Astros, 5-3.

-Highlights:

-Wandy Rodriguez is ready to compete for the playoffs.

-The minor league report.

Steelers/NFL

-The Steelers begin to play hardball with Mike Wallace.

-Welcome back Kirby Wilson.

-Ed Bouchette speaks:

-The Texans signed former Penn State wide receiver Bryant Johnson and former Steelers linebacker Keyaron Fox.

-The Seahawks signed former Pitt wide receiver Antonio Bryant.

-The Dolphins signed former Browns guard Eric Steinbach.

-The Chiefs signed their first-round pick, nose tackle Dontari Poe.

-Former Penn State offensive lineman Steve Wisniewski resigned from his position as an assistant offensive line coach with the Raiders due to personal reasons.

-Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith donated $100,000 to aid victims of the Aurora, Colo. theater shooting.

-The 49ers signed former Cowboys guard Leonard Davis.

-San Francisco also signed franchise saftey Dashon Goldson to a one-year tender.

-The Vikings signed their first-round pick, tackle Matt Kalil.

Penguins/NHL

-Remembering Jordan Staal (right).

-The Wheeling Nailers re-signed forward Ben Farrer.

-The Flyers re-signed restricted free agent forward Jakub Voracek to a four-year contract worth a total of $17 million.

-The Flyers are expected to offer head coach Peter Laviolette a contract extension.

-The Rangers re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Anton Stralman to a two-year contract worth a total of $3.4 million.

-Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas found time to weigh in on the Chick-fil-A/gay marriage controversy.

-The Hurricanes signed unrestricted free agent forward Alexander Semin to a one-year contract worth $7 million.

Etc.

-Could Bill O'Brien add names to Penn State's jerseys?

-Will the sanctions levied against Penn State's football team impact its men's hockey team?

-The Olympics open today.

(Photos: Marte-Bob Levey/Getty Images; Staal-Christian Petersen/Getty Images)