Penguins honor late Hall of Fame broadcaster Mike Lange during emotional pregame ceremony
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins honored Hall of Fame broadcaster Mike Lange during an emotional ceremony before Saturday's game against Washington.
Lange, who died on Wednesday at 76, called Penguin games for 46 years and spent five decades in broadcasting before retiring in 2021.
The Penguins invited Lange's two sons, their families, and some of Lange's former broadcasting partners onto the ice before the opening faceoff. Longtime Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby along with Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang greeted them and then stood alongside them during a lengthy video package that featured some of Lange's iconic sayings, from 'It's a hockey night in Pittsburgh' to 'he beat him like a rented mule."
Fans finished the ceremony by giving Lange a long, loud standing ovation while one of his sons flashed a sign that read 'Thank you Pittsburgh.'
The team placed a large picture of Lange next to a table filled with a vase of yellow roses and a set of headphones along the lower concourse at PPG Paints Arena. There was another gathering of flowers and another set of headphones inside one of the radio booths on the press level, which was named after Lange in 2019.
The Penguins sported stickers on the back of their black helmets with a microphone and headphones set against a gold background.
Lange spent nearly five decades chronicling the franchise's rise from also-ran to Stanley Cup champion five times over, his unique delivery and quirky sayings serving as the soundtrack for iconic moments from Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux and longtime running mate Jaromir Jagr to current stars Crosby and Malkin.
The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted Lange in 2001 when he received the Foster Hewitt Award for broadcast excellence.
___
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Uriah Rennie, the Premier League's first Black referee, dies at 65
SHEFFIELD, England (AP) — Uriah Rennie, the first Black referee in the Premier League, has died. He was 65. 'We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our former chair and trailblazing referee, Uriah Rennie," the Sheffield and Hallamshire County Football Association posted Sunday on X. Advertisement 'Uriah made history as the Premier League's first Black referee, officiating over 300 top-flight matches between 1997 and 2008," the statement said. "He broke down barriers, shaped our football community and inspired generations to come." The Jamaica-born official grew up in Sheffield, northern England, and oversaw hundreds of matches starting with his breakthrough appointment when Derby hosted Wimbledon in August 1997. That game was abandoned, however, because the stadium lighting failed. Rennie told BBC News in April how, while on holiday in Turkey last year, he felt severe pain in his back and doctors discovered he had an inoperable neurological condition that confined him to a wheelchair. ___ AP soccer: The Associated Press
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers Can Make NFL History with Week 8 Win
Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers Can Make NFL History with Week 8 Win originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The NFL scheduling Gods smiled on us and we didn't even know it. When the 2025 NFL schedule came out, we all noticed the Week 1 matchup with the New York Jets. Advertisement That, of course, will pit Aaron Rodgers and Justin Fields against their old teams. We call that revenge week for each quarterback. But that's not the most interesting matchup on the calendar next year. That will come in Week 8 when Rodgers faces his old team, the Green Bay Packers at Acrisure Stadium, on Sunday Night Football. With a win, Rodgers will become just the fifth quarterback ever to beat all 32 teams. He'll join Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees. That's pretty good company, but we already know Rodgers' resume. The achievement will ultimately be just a footnote on his Hall of Fame resume. Advertisement In what could be his last season under center, he'll have the unique opportunity to beat both his former teams. And while we have no idea how the Pittsburgh 2025 season will go, those might be two of the biggest highlight games for the Steelers. Some pundits have the Steelers poised for a Super Bowl run in 2025. To others, it could mean more of the same. Another disappointing end to the postseason, or worse, no playoff appearance at all. Inside the NFL's Mina Kimes believes even with the addition of Rodgers, there are still questions on offense, namely, the rushing attack. 'None of this will work, even if Rogers does buy in, which I'm skeptical of. None of it will work, regardless of what the offense looks like, if they can't run the football better than they did last year. And that's something that they've invested in,' Kimes said. Advertisement Rodgers, who turns 42 in December, led the Jets to a 5-12 mark in his only full season in New York. Don't forget (Jets fans won't) that he missed all but four plays of the 2023 campaign after rupturing his Achilles on the first drive of the first game after joining the team two offseasons ago. Last season should be one to forget for Rodgers. He finished below the league average in passer rating - a stat of which he's the all-time career leader, and 31st in the league in QBR - behind names like Aidan O'Connell and Kirk Cousins. What version of Rodgers will the Steelers get? Related: Steelers' Ceiling Questioned ... Even After Signing Aaron Rodgers Related: Steelers Believe Aaron Rodgers' 'Best Field Vision' Can Fix Offense This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
Fox Sports
2 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Brown, Milam drive in 4 runs each, LSU beats West Virginia 12-5 to clinch 20th CWS berth
Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Jake Brown hit a home run and had four RBIs, Steven Milam had two doubles and also drove in four runs and LSU beat West Virginia 12-5 on Sunday night to sweep the best-of-three Baton Rouge Super Regional. No. 6 seed LSU (48-15) clinched the program's 20th berth in the College World Series, where the Tigers will try to win their eighth national championship — all since 1991, the most recent in 2023. Derek Curiel led off the game with a double and scored to make it 1-0 when Brown reached on a fielder's choice in the first inning and the Tigers led the rest of the way. Anthony Eyanson (11-2) gave up four runs on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in five innings. Chris Stanfield, Curiel and Ethan Frey each drew a two-out walk to load the bases before Milam cleared the bases with a double off starter Jack Kartsonas (6-4) to spark a five-run second that made it 6-0. After Jace Rinehart hit a two-out solo shot and pinch-hitter Chase Swain drew a walk, Chase Shores came on a struck out Brodie Kresser swinging to end the eighth and the pitched a 1-2-3 ninth. Sam White hit a leadoff homer and Ben Lumsden added a two-run shot in the fourth before White added an RBI single in the fifth to cut the deficit to 6-4. Stanfield hit a two-RBI single to spark a six-run seventh, capped when Brown's two-run home run gave LSU an eight-run lead. Milam and Josh Pearson each hit a grand slam as LSU beat the Mountaineers 16-9 in Game 1 on Saturday. West Virginia (44-16) set the program's single-season record for wins under first-year coach Steve Sabins. The Mountains advanced to their first-ever super regional last season. The game had originally been scheduled for 5:06 p.m. local time but was delayed approximately three hours due to inclement weather in the area. ___ AP college sports: recommended
