January 13, 2026 2:23 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Mike Tomlin era with the Pittsburgh Steelers is over. The longest tenured head coach in major American professional sports stepped down Tuesday after yet another quick playoff exit. The announcement came a day after the end of Tomlin’s 19th season in Pittsburgh. Tomlin won a Super Bowl and went to another during his first four seasons with the Steelers before the club settled into a familiar and frustrating pattern of solid if not always spectacular play followed by a playoff cameo that ended with the Steelers on the wrong side of a blowout. Tomlin went 193-112-2 in Pittsburgh but lost each of his last seven playoff games.
January 13, 2026 11:36 am
Each WPIAL basketball team plays through its section opponents twice. For the overwhelming majority of teams, Tuesday marked the end of the first trip through their league. Here are the Tuesday results and what they mean heading into the second half of the season.
Girls 5A Bethel Park 40, Peters Township 33 OT
Boys
6A Canon-McMillan 69, Connellsville 58
5A Peters Township 62, Bethel Park 32
5A Ringgold 56, Trinity 44
3A Wash High 51, McGuffey 41
3A Charleroi 74, Ligonier Valley 70
3A Waynesburg 53, Mt. Pleasant 45
2A Bentworth 56, Frazier 35
2A Riverview 76, California 25
2A Chartiers-Houston 50, Jeff-Morgan 45
2A Fort Cherry 79, Carmichaels 26
2A Beth-Center 76, West Greene 67
2A Burgettstown 67, Mapletown 20
Girls
5A Section 4 Peters Township drops into fifth place with the loss to Bethel Park.
Boys
6A Section 2 Canon-McMillan moved to within one game of the final playoff berth.
5A Section 3 Peters Township stays just one game back of first place Thomas Jefferson.
5A Section 3 Ringgold moves into a tie for fourth place while Trinity drops two games off the pace.
3A Section 2 Wash High takes over fourth place, one game up on McGuffey. Watch/Listen Here
3A Section 4 Charleroi and Waynesburg are now tied with Ligonier Valley in second place, two games back of Southmoreland.
2A Section 1 Bentworth stays solidly in third place, two games out of first. California remains winless in the section and overall.
2A Section 3 Chartiers-Houston moves into sole possession of first place, one game up on Jeff-Morgan. The loss is the first of the year for J-M. Fort Cherry is alone in third place, followed by Beth-Center. Carmichaels and West Greene are tied for the final playoff spot in the section. Burgettstown’s win at Mapletown is the first of the year in section for the Blue Devils.
1A Section 1 Avella (2-1) is in third place and is off until Thursday when the Eagles visit Summit Academy (1-2). Avella then hosts Beaver County Christian (1-3) on Friday.
January 13, 2026 4:24 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Houston Texans have secured their first road playoff win in franchise history, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6. The Texans held Pittsburgh to 175 yards of offense and scored a pair of defensive touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Houston stretched its winning streak to 10 games and advances to play New England in the division round. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud endured a shaky night, turning it over three times, though he did throw a touchdown pass to Christian Kirk. Aaron Rodgers passed for 146 yards and threw a pick-6 on what could be the final throw of his 21-year career.
January 12, 2026 2:08 am
Most area high school basketball teams have one game remaining in the first half of their seasons with another complete trip through section ahead. Girls teams have a full schedule on Monday’s slate with Peters Township girls wrapping up Tuesday as part of their girls/boys doubleheader at Bethel Park. Boys teams’ first trip through section games is slated to end tomorrow night. There’s no real break as teams return to section play on Thursday/Friday.
Wrestling squads are nearing the end of their dual meet campaigns, at least the matches that count toward WPIAL/PIAA Team Tournament qualifying. The top two teams in each section will qualify for the WPIAL Team Tournaments along with two wild cards in each classification. The WPIAL Team Tournament brackets will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 22, the day after the final matches.
Here’s a look at Monday’s girls action and what it means:
6A Section 2 Canon-McMillan (4-1) maintained a share of the lead with Norwin, beating Connellsville, 55-22.
5A Section 2 Trinity (4-2) won at Uniontown, 52-40, keeping the Hillers a game ahead of Peters Township (2-3) and Bethel Park. Those two play Tuesday with the winner taking over sole possession of fourth place.
4A Section 3 Ringgold (3-4) won at home against Mt. Pleasant, 33-29, pulling the Rams into a three-way tie for fourth place with the Vikings and Laurel Highlands.
3A Section 3 McGuffey (4-2) lost at Seton-La Salle, 56-48. Coupled with Waynesburg’s 62-28 home win over Charleroi (1-5), the Highlanders are in a three-way tie for second place with the Raiders and Keystone Oaks. KO topped Wash High (2-4), 41-36, pushing the Little Prexies two games back of the playoff pack.
2A Section 2 Fort Cherry (5-0) sits alone atop the section after a 60-15 win at South Side (3-2). Burgettstown (4-1), moves into second place with a 40-17 home win against Carlynton (0-5).
2A Section 3 Chartiers-Houston (6-0) leads the section after its 60-24 home win against Bentworth (2-3). The Bearcats dropped into fourth place with the loss. California (4-1) took over sole possession of second place with a 38-29 win at Beth-Center (3-2). Jeff-Morgan (1-4) picked up its first win of the season, beating winless Carmichaels, 33-17.
1A Section 2 West Greene (5-2) and Avella (1-6) have both completed their first trips through the league. West Greene is solidly in third place, two games back of the first place Geibel Catholic, one game better than Bishop Canevin (4-3) a 47-23 winner at Mapletown (0-7). Avella sits two games back of the final playoff spot in the 8-team section.
January 13, 2026 2:14 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Blake Lizotte is now part of the Penguins’ long-term plan. The Penguins have signed the veteran forward to a three-year contract extension. The deal carries an average annual value of $2.25 million. The 28-year-old Lizotte has been a standout on one of the NHL’s most surprising teams, scoring five goals to go with five assists in 35 games this season. Pittsburgh began the year with modest expectations but is now in the playoff mix. The Penguins have thrived with Lizotte in the lineup, boasting a 20-9-6 record when he plays.
January 13, 2026 2:58 am
Former Pirates pitcher Dave Giusti has died. He died late Sunday night at the age of 86. He was a World Series champion and pitched for the Pirates from 1970-76 saving at least 20 games in four consecutive seasons from 1970-73. Giusti finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting in 1970, his first season pitching out of the bullpen. The right-hander made 66 appearances and had a 3.06 ERA in 103 innings, saving 26 games while walking 39 and striking out 85. Individually, his best season came in 1973, when he went 9-2 with a 2.37.
January 12, 2026 4:25 am
BOSTON (AP) — Joonas Korpisalo made 27 saves for his first shutout of the season and the eighth of his career, Viktor Arvidsson scored and the Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 1-0 on Sunday. The Bruins won for the fifth time in six games despite going 0 for 6 on the power play a day after beating the Rangers 10-2. It was Boston’s first shutout this season. Coming off a loss at home against Calgary on Saturday that halted their season-high six game winning streak, the Penguins were shut out for the fourth time this season. Stuart Skinner stopped 17 shots.
January 12, 2026 4:27 am
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Drake Maye threw a touchdown pass to Hunter Henry in the fourth quarter, and New England’s defense roughed up Justin Herbert as the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3 in an AFC wild-card playoff game. Andy Borregales kicked three field goals for the Patriots, who won a playoff game for the first time since their Super Bowl victory to cap the 2018 season. They’ll host the winner of Monday night’s game between Pittsburgh and Houston in the divisional round. New England held the Chargers to 207 yards of offense and sacked Herbert six times.
January 12, 2026 4:24 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Brock Purdy threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey, leading San Francisco to a 23-19 victory over defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia in a wild-card game. The 49ers next face top-seeded Seattle next weekend for an NFC divisional playoff game. Purdy threw for 262 yards and had two interceptions. The 49ers might be without star tight end George Kittle, who was injured in the first half. Philadelphia struggled offensively, with Jalen Hurts throwing for only 168 yards. The Eagles’ final drive ended with an incomplete pass, sealing their elimination from the playoffs.
January 12, 2026 4:27 am
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Josh Allen took a pounding, doled out punishment and delivered Buffalo its first road playoff victory in more than three decades, 27-24 over Jacksonville. Allen found Brandin Cooks for 36 yards just before the two-minute warning and then capped the go-ahead drive with a 1-yard touchdown run in which Jacksonville let him score. On the play before his score, Allen gained 10 yards on a sneak, refusing to go down while being pushed and pulled to the goal line. Allen completed 28 of 35 passes for 273 yards and two rushing touchdowns. He was sacked just once and played turnover-free football.
