Top Pittsburgh sports stories of 2018

PITTSBURGH — It’s been a busy year for Pittsburgh sports teams. The Steelers played their 2018 season without Pro Bowl running back Le’Veon Bell, and his absence created a lot of drama and distraction. The Penguins went deep into the playoffs on their quest for a third straight Stanley Cup but were defeated by their rival the Washington Capitals, who went on to win their first Stanley Cup. The Pirates took a lot of heat for trading stars Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole.

Some of our top sports stories of 2018 are about things that happened off the field, ice or diamond.

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#1 Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown cited for going 100+ mph on McKnight Road

Brown was stopped by Ross Township police just hours before the team’s Thursday night game against the Carolina Panthers in November. The posted speed limit in the section of McKnight Road where he was stopped is 45 mph.

RAW VIDEO: Antonio Brown speeding on McKnight Road RAW VIDEO: Antonio Brown speeding on McKnight Road

#2 Former pro wrestler Johnny Valiant hit, killed by truck on McKnight Road 
Thomas Sullivan, who is better known as WWE Hall of Famer "Luscious Johnny Valiant, was struck before dawn on April 5 while crossing McKnight Road in Ross Township. He died at the hospital.

#3 Ben Roethlisberger named in porn star's interview about Donald Trump 
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger reportedly walked porn star Stormy Daniels to her hotel room the night after she had an alleged affair with Donald Trump, according to an In Touch magazine article. According to the article, the interview with Stormy Daniels took place in 2011, but the full transcript was released in January 2018.

#4 Ryan Shazier's dad talks about son's injury, family's faith and football 
Channel 11 spoke exclusively with Vernon Shazier, the father of Steeler Ryan Shazier, just one month after the linebacker suffered a devastating spinal cord injury making a tackle in a game against Cincinnati. Vernon Shazier said the family's faith was helping to carry them through the crisis.

>>RAW INTERVIEW: Vernon Shazier's interview with Channel 11

#5 NFL fining Bengals Vontaze Burfict $112,000 for hits during Steelers game 
Cincinnati linebacker Vontaze Burfict was fined for several plays that constituted unnecessary roughness during the Week 6 match-up. Those include the play where Burfict appeared to hit Antonio Brown with a forearm in the third quarter. Another play involved James Conner, where Burfict led with his helmet while hitting Conner.

#6 Report: Steelers offered Le'Veon Bell $47 million over 3 years
The Steelers were prepared to commit paying Le'Veon Bell $47 million over three years, according to a report by ProFootballTalk.com. That deal would have worked out to $15.66 million per year, higher than the franchise tag number of $14.54 million per year.

#7 Legendary Pitt football star, Penn Hills alum Bill Fralic has died
Former University of Pittsburgh and Penn Hills football star Bill Fralic has died at age 56 after a battle with cancer. The Penn Hills native was a two-time All American offensive tackle at Pitt. He was recently inducted into the university's athletics Hall of Fame.

#8 Former Penguin Staal mourning loss of infant daughter 
Former Penguin Jordan Staal and his family are mourning after the death of his infant daughter.
Staal, now a co-captain for the Carolina Hurricanes, and his wife Heather lost baby Hannah in February.

#9 Wexford family suing Steelers' Sean Davis over Snapchat video 
Sean Davis, a safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is now the center of a lawsuit. He's being sued by the family of a 16-year-old boy who was in a Shapchat video Davis shot that showed the boy working at the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru in Cranberry. The boy's family said he was bullied after the video was posted.

#10

Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell has deleted his Twitter account following Sunday's game against the New England Patriots. It's unclear what prompted him to delete his Twitter account, and also disable all of the comments on his Instagram page.

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