Our staff picks the top 25 stories of 2022 in Pittsburgh sports

BALTIMORE -- Happy new year!

We've a tradition at DK Pittsburgh Sports to wrap up each passing year by compiling a list of the top 25 storylines in Pittsburgh sports over the previous 12 months. The process is simple: Each reporter submits a few picks for top stories on the beats they cover most often, after which we put together a broader list and begin paring it down. Once that's done, it's done.

And now that the year's done, here's hoping you enjoy this little rewind ...

25. GOODBYE, HEINZ
... HELLO, ACRISURE

July 11, 2022
Acrisure Stadium

The fan base was rocked by the news that after 21 seasons, the Steelers’ stadium on the North Shore would no longer be named Heinz Field. Instead, an insurance company called Acrisure paid more than $150 million for a 15-year naming rights deal. The name Acrisure Stadium has not caught on as many fans still stubbornly refer to it as Heinz Field, even though the ketchup bottles on the scoreboard are long gone. But hey, Heinz and the Steelers were able to work out a deal so the name is over the Gate C entrance to the stadium. — Chris Halicke

24. THE CLIFFORD ERA 
WINDS DOWN... FINALLY

Nov. 26, 2022
University Park, Pa.

There’s never been a player quite like Sean Clifford at Penn State, and the quarterback’s very lengthy and very uneven career finally reaches its end in the Rose Bowl. It seems like Clifford is 39 years old and has been at Penn State for about 20 years. The six-year player and four-year starter broke most career passing records for the Nittany Lions, but did so while often drawing significant criticism from a fan base that was ready to move on and give somebody else a chance to lead the team. -- Cory Giger

23. ADDISON ENTERS 
TRANSFER PORTAL

May 3, 2022
South Side

Shockwaves were sent through the college football world when word that got out that 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison entered the transfer portal. They reverberated to a supersonic boom once word began to spread about Pat Narduzzi calling USC coach Lincoln Riley about tampering and a massive NIL deal struck with USC, where he eventually ended up transferring to. — Corey Crisan

22. CROSBY SCORES
500TH NHL GOAL

February 15, 2022
PPG Paints Arena

Sidney Crosby became the 46th player in NHL history and just the second in franchise history (after Mario Lemieux, of course) to hit the 500-goal milestone when he did so against the Flyers, and it couldn't have been scripted better:

Evgeni Malkin picked up the lone assist on the goal, and Kris Letang scored the overtime winner to make sure Crosby's special night ended on a good note. After COVID restrictions caused Crosby's 1,000th game to be celebrated without fans or his family in attendance the year before, it was that much more special to have a packed house and Crosby's parents in the building for the moment. Also, he didn't exactly stop scoring. — Taylor Haase

21. INCOMING CALL FOR RODOLFO

Aug. 10, 2022
Phoenix

It's practically impossible for the Pirates to ever have another moment as weird as Will Craig failing to touch first base back in 2021. But hey, they had some contenders in 2022. Infielder Josh VanMeter was forced to play catcher for an inning after Roberto Pérez was injured and backup Andrew Knapp was ejected from the bench. Ke'Bryan Hayes was caught reaching for sunflower seeds while a play was still ongoing. And nothing topped the attention drawn by a cellphone falling out of Rodolfo Castro's pocket as he slid into third base during a game in Phoenix:

The Pirates did not have a good season, but they were at least rarely boring. -- Alex Stumpf

20. SULLY'S CONTRACT EXTENSION

August 30, 2022
PPG Pains Arena

Even though he still had two seasons remaining on his contract, the Penguins re-upped with Mike Sullivan, extending his contract through the end of the 2026-27 season and all but guaranteeing he’d man the bench through the end of the Sidney Crosby era. "When I think about my time here in Pittsburgh, with what we've been able to accomplish and winning a couple of Stanley Cups and making the playoffs every year and challenging every single season, we feel as though we have a chance to win each and every year,” Sullivan said. — Danny Shirey

19. CLAYPOOL TO CHICAGO

Nov. 1, 2022
South Side

A 2-6 start to the season came as little surprise given the poor play of Mitch Trubisky over the first three and a half games, not to mention the critical loss of T.J. Watt for seven games due to a pectoral tear in Week 1. What did come as a surprise was the Steelers pulling the trigger at the trade deadline during the bye week that shipped Chase Claypool to Chicago in exchange for the Bears’ second-round pick. 

It’s a move that resembled a 2-6 team in a rebuild, which is simply not the Steelers way. The move paid off as the Steelers fought back with a 5-2 record after the bye week while the Bears went 0-7 after the trade and had the worst record in the NFC before the calendar flipped over to 2023. -- Halicke

18. PENN STATE HEADS 
BACK TO ROSE BOWL

Dec. 4, 2022
University Park, Pa.

The Nittany Lions had a disastrous two-year run, going 11-11 from 2020-21. Despite getting a new 10-year contact, James Franklin was under heavy pressure from the fan base to right the ship. Franklin and Penn State did exactly that by going 10-2 in the regular season and earning a trip to the prestigious Rose Bowl, all the while setting a foundation for what could lead to a College Football Playoff berth in the coming years. -- Giger

17. HASKINS KILLED

April 9, 2022
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The Steelers were devastated by the tragic death of Dwayne Haskins at age 24. He had served as the third quarterback in 2021 and signed a one-year deal to return to Pittsburgh in 2022. But on April 9, Haskins was struck by a dump truck while attempting to cross an interstate in Fort Lauderdale after running out of gas. The football world mourned the loss of Haskins at such a young age, and the Steelers honored his memory throughout the 2022 season with players wearing a No. 3 decal on the back of their helmets. -- Halicke

16. THE BRAWL RETURNS
IN A BIG, BIG WAY

Sept. 1, 2022
Acrisure Stadium

After an 11-year hiatus, the 105th meeting between Pitt and West Virginia turned out to be one of the most scintillating renditions of the rivalry in its history:

M.J. Devonshire intercepted a tipped pass and ran it 56 yards for a touchdown with 2:58 remaining to give the Panthers a 38-31 victory in front of an announced 70,622 fans at Acrisure Stadium. — Crisan

15. THE LOCAL KID'S
AN ALL-STAR

July 19, 2022
Los Angeles

The 2022 season was a trying one in many ways for the Pirates. David Bednar was a much-needed bright spot. The Mars native emerged as a bona fide closer in the first half of the season and earned his first All-Star nod as a result. In the big game, Bednar pitched a scoreless ninth. "I'm just glad I was part of the experience," he said after the game. "To be able to throw in an All-Star Game, and put up a zero, the whole thing was unbelievable." -- Stumpf

14. MALKIN REACHES 1,000
WITH A CRESCENDO

Nov. 20, 2022
Chicago

Malkin said that he had been "crying every day" in the days spent celebrating his 1,000th game, and for good reason. The real milestone game happened on the road in Chicago -- the Penguins surprised Malkin by flying out his wife Anna and son Nikita, with the latter reading the starting lineup in the locker room before the game. Malkin scored the Penguins' second goal in a 5-3 win. 

The Penguins celebrated Malkin at home in the next game against the Flames, but it also worked the other way around:

The game went into a shootout, and Malkin scored the shootout-winner before tossing his stick into the crowd in excitement in a storybook finish . — Haase

13. PENGUINS ACQUIRE 
RAKELL AT DEADLINE

March 21, 2022
PPG Paints Arena

Ultimately the only splash the Penguins made in advance of the 2022 trade deadline, Rickard Rakell has lived up to every bit of the Penguins’ cost of acquisition and then some. Ron Hextall lost Zach Aston-Reese, Dominik Simon, goalie prospect Calle Clang and a second-round pick to bring Rakell over from the Ducks, but his instant chemistry with Crosby and willingness to embrace physicality has been invaluable. — Shirey

12. KHAN REPLACES COLBERT

May 25, 2022
Acrisure Stadium

The Steelers aren’t a franchise that deals with a lot of change. But when Kevin Colbert decided to retire after 22 seasons as the team’s general manager, the Steelers promoted vice president of football and business administration Omar Khan to GM. Colbert handed over the reins after the NFL Draft, but Khan still had a signature moment in his first season as GM, trading Claypool to the Bears for a second-round pick that will prove to be vital in the 2023 NFL Draft. -- Halicke

11. LETANG SUFFERS 
SECOND STROKE, RETURNS

Nov 30, 2022
PPG Paints arena

Letang suffered a stroke for the second time, though it was “much less severe” than the first. So much so that Letang was badgering Sullivan and Hextall to return to practice several days later. Incredibly, he returned for practice without any limitations just 10 days after the stroke occurred, and was back in the lineup two nights after re-joining the team. — Shirey

10. PIRATES WIN LOTTERY,
WILL PICK FIRST AGAIN

Dec. 6, 2022
San Diego

A draft lottery was one of many changes that came with the new collective bargaining agreement between the league and player's association this year. The Pirates were the big winners at the winter meeting, being awarded the No. 1 overall pick despite not having the worst record in the league. "Every once in a while, in this business, you get a break against you," Ben Cherington said. "And every once in a while, you get a break go for you. We got one tonight." -- Stumpf

9. HAYES SIGNS RECORD DEAL

April 8, 2022
St. Louis

For 22 years, Jason Kendall's six-year, $60 million deal was the largest contract in franchise history. That changed shortly before opening day against the Cardinals when Hayes and the team agreed to an eight-year, $70 million long-term extension. Hayes' deal was seen by both him and the club as a sign of things to come, and potentially locks up a cornerstone player for years to come. -- Stumpf

8. STEELERS BLOWN OUT
IN WILD CARD ROUND

Jan. 16, 2022
Kansas City, Mo.

After sneaking into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, the Steelers traveled to Kansas City to try and knock off the heavily-favored Chiefs. And for just a moment, it looked as if the Steelers could do it. A fumble return touchdown by Watt gave Pittsburgh a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter. However, the Chiefs answered with a vengeance by scoring touchdowns on each of their next six drives, proving the 12.5-point spread was more than comfortable enough. The Steelers were embarrassed, 42-21, handing the franchise its fifth straight playoff loss.  -- Halicke

7. REYNOLDS REQUESTS TRADE

Dec. 3, 2022
San Diego

After years of unsuccessful extension talks, Bryan Reynolds sent shockwaves through the industry by requesting a trade from the Pirates. He had been the subject of trade talks for years, though the Pirates were never interested in moving him. The asking price for the center fielder remains very high, and with spring training nearing, Reynolds still is part of the team's 2023 plans. -- Stumpf

6. YET ANOTHER (SPICY)
FIRST-ROUND EXIT

May 15, 2022
New York

Penguins vs. Rangers was a wild series from the start. Casey DeSmith was the Game 1 starter after Tristan Jarry was injured late in the regular season, but an injury to DeSmith in double-overtime forced No. 3 goaltender Louis Domingue into the game. Domingue -- fueled by spicy pork and broccoli -- was the hero and held on for the Penguins long enough to take Game 1 in triple-overtime. The Penguins went on to take a 3-1 series lead, but Domingue came back down to earth, the Penguins blew that series lead, including 2-0 leads in Games 5 and 6, plus a 3-2 lead late in Game 7. 

It was Artemi Panarin's overtime winner ...

... that put the Penguins out in the first round for a fourth consecutive year — Haase

5. PIRATES LOSE 100 
... YEAH, AGAIN

Oct. 4, 2022
PNC Park

The Pirates' stated aim in spring training was to "get better" in 2022. Which they did. By one stinking game, losing 100 the year after losing 101. What's more, they did so with a criminally cavalier attitude about it at the front-office level, utilizing their active roster as a de facto tryout camp for waiver-wire castoffs over the full six months. 

But hey, at least they got to dance around and celebrate all that failure upon winning the draft lottery:

What a franchise. -- Dejan Kovacevic

4. BEN'S FINAL FAREWELL

Jan. 4, 2022
Heinz Field

"To see all the signs and jerseys and towels, and to hear them cheer for me coming out of the tunnel, all that stuff, I don't know that I'll ever put it into words," Ben Roethlisberger would say on that extraordinary night. "I wish I could bottle it and have it forever."

It sure showed, via the photo by Getty's Joe Sargent that went atop my column that night:

Those who were there, I'm sure, will feel likewise. Rare is the opportunity for any athlete to say goodbye as he did. -- Kovacevic

3. R.I.P. FRANCO

Dec. 20, 2022
North Side

And then, there was polar opposite. Polar in the sense that the Immaculate Reception's anniversary game was played in sub-zero temps. The opposite in the sense that ... right. In a long, long time of doing this job, I'm not sure I've ever covered an emotional outpouring like the one that followed Franco Harris' terribly untimely passing. -- Kovacevic

2. LETANG, MALKIN RE-SIGN
TO KEEP CORE INTACT

July 7-12, 2022
Montreal, Pittsburgh

Crosby, Malkin and Letang are teammates for a 17th consecutive season, tying the all-time professional sports record for such a thing, and that phenomenon's in place only because the latter two agreed over the summer to below-market extensions. Give credit, too, to some smart, above-board negotiating by Ron Hextall that further resulted in retaining Rakell and Bryan Rust, but the Core's the Core, and that's what counts most. -- Kovacevic

1. PICKETT STAYS
IN PITTSBURGH

April 27, 2022
Las Vegas

Whether it's been earned yet or not, this was The Year of Kenny Pickett in our town.

From the very first reaction ...

... to the very last:

It's been a whirlwind and a half witnessing Pickett go from leading Pitt to an unprecedented ACC championship to being drafted by the NFL team that shares the same practice facility to winding up as the starter within a month. And maybe the most enticing element to the storyline is that it's barely begun, with yet another prominent chapter perhaps being written on this very day.

Cycle of life 'n' at. -- Kovacevic