Penguins announce promotional schedule
The Penguins will recognize two Hall of Famers this season with one of the highest honors in all of sports — bobblehead nights.
The Penguins will celebrate “Mike Lange Night” at the Oct. 8 game against Winnipeg at PPG Paints Arena. Lange, who is entering this 45th season in the Penguins broadcast booth, will be honored on the ice with a pregame ceremony. He then will call the action live on 105.9 FM The X and the Penguins Radio Network. All fans in attendance will receive a Lange bobblehead.
On Nov. 19, general manager Jim Rutherford will be recognized with a bobblehead in a game against the New York Islanders. Rutherford, who helped to assemble Penguins teams that won back- to- back Stanley Cup titless in 2016 and 2017, will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame a night earlier, Nov. 18 in Toronto.
The two events are just part of the Penguins promotional schedule, which was announced Monday.
Other promotional highlights include the Oct. 10 game vs. Anaheim. The first 3,000 kids ages 12 and under will receive a Sidney Crosby growth chart. The Penguins also will hold eight theme nights that give fans a chance to dress in ugly holiday sweaters ( Dec. 12 and Dec. 14), Star Wars gear ( Dec. 10) and a newly created “Pittsburgh” theme night ( Jan. 14).
The popular Fan Appreciation Night, after which players give their shirts off their backs to fans, will be on the final home game of the season April 2 against the New York Rangers.
Individual tickets go on sale at 10 a. m. Aug. 7. A full list of promotional giveaways can be found on the Penguins website ( nhl. com/ penguins/ tickets/ promotional- schedule).
More hockey
Veteran defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk signed a one- year, $ 1.75 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning after being bought out by the New York Rangers. Shattenkirk, 30, played 73 games for the Rangers last season, finishing with two goals and ranking first among the team’s defensemen in assists ( 26) and points ( 28). He has 75 goals, 349 points and 368 penalty minutes in 609 games. He was an AllStar with the Blues in 2015 and has five goals and 34 points in 60 career playoff games.
Pro basketball
The Memphis Grizzlies hired former Notre Dame women’s associate head coach Niele Ivey among the new assistants on Taylor Jenkins’ staff. There now are nine women coaches in the NBA. The Grizzlies also announced the hiring of Brad Jones, David McClure, James “Scoonie” Penn, Vitaly Potapenko and Neven Spahija. Ivey spent the past 12 seasons at her alma mater with the previous four as Notre Dame’s associate head coach and recruiting coordinator.
• Vince Carter, 42, reportedly is returning to the Atlanta Hawks for his record 22nd season in the NBA. Carter will continue to serve as a mentor to some of the NBA’s most promising young talent, including first- round picks D’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish. He also will eclipse the record shared with Robert Parish, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Willis and recently retired Dirk Nowitzki for most seasons in the NBA. Carter showed a season ago that he still has got some playing skills, as well. He played 76 games in his first year with the Hawks, including nine starts, while averaging 17.5 minutes and 7.4 points per contest.
Track and field
London Olympics hurdles gold medalist Sally Pearson, 32, announced her retirement from elite track and field after failing to recover from a series of recent leg injuries. Pearson, who won the 100- meter hurdles at London in 2012 four years after taking silver at the Beijing Games, also won world championship titles in 2011 and 2017. She had hoped to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics next year, but announced the decision to retire in a statement. She had been preparing to defend her world title in Doha next month when she had another injury setback.