February 25, 2025 2:00 am
Dylan Donovan scored 22 points, including 8-of-10 at the foul line, as Peters Township outlasted Mars Area in overtime to return to the WPIAL Basketball championship game. The Indians will take on Chartiers Valley Saturday night in the final game of the three-day championship event at the Petersen Events Center on the Pitt campus. Canon-McMillan girls fell behind early, pulled back to within 3 points after intermission, but couldn’t sustain the drive, losing to #1 Norwin. The Big Macs will host Mt. Lebanon in the 6A girls 3rd place game Thursday with only the winner advancing to the PIAA tournament. Chartiers-Houston’s girls host a ‘win-and-you’re-in’ game Wednesday night as the Bucs host Laurel. We’ll have both state qualifier games on WJPA-AM (1450) and online and we’re producing the NFHS Video stream (subscription required under WPIAL agreements). Click for WPIAL Brackets
WPIAL Semifinals
Saturday, Feb. 22
Girls 5A #2 Peters Township 46, #6 Thomas Jefferson 43
Girls 5A #1 South Fayette 67, #13 Mars Area 32
Tuesday, Feb. 25
Girls 6A #1 Norwin 42, #4 Canon-McMillan 26
Boys 5A #6 Peters Township 58, #10 Mars Area 52 OT
WPIAL Consolation Brackets
Saturday, Feb. 22
Boys 2A #6 OL/Sacred Heart 54, #7 Chartiers-Houston 45
Monday, Feb. 24
Girls 2A Fort Cherry 58, Laurel 33. Fort Cherry clinches PIAA berth.
Girls 2A Rochester 48, Chartiers-Houston 46 2OT. Rochester clinches PIAA berth.
Girls 1A St. Joseph 54, West Greene 38. St. Joseph clinches PIAA berth. West Greene is eliminated.
Wednesday, Feb. 26
Girls 2A 7th place game: Laurel at Chartiers-Houston, 6:45 pm, WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here Winner clinches PIAA berth. Loser is eliminated.
Girls 2A 5th place game: Ft. Cherry vs. Rochester (both have clinched PIAA berths)
Boys 2A 7th place game: Chartiers-Houston at Northgate (both have clinched PIAA berths)
Thursday, Feb. 27
Girls 6A 3rd place game: Mt. Lebanon at Canon-McMillan, 5:45 pm, WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here Winner clinches PIAA berth. Loser is eliminated.
February 26, 2025 4:30 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bobby Brink had one goal and three assists for a career-high four points, and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-1. Noah Cates had two goals and an assist in Philadelphia’s third consecutive win. Tyson Foerster had a goal and two assists, and Owen Tippett and Rasmus Ristolainen also scored. Brink and Cates scored 10 seconds apart late in the second period, lifting Philadelphia to a 5-1 lead. Samuel Ersson made 23 saves for the Flyers. Philip Tomasino scored for the Penguins in their fourth consecutive loss.
February 26, 2025 4:32 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta considers the mounting allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior against kicker Justin Tucker “serious” and “concerning.” He said Tuesday the team will let the NFL’s investigation play out before determining how to proceed. The Baltimore Banner reported that 16 massage therapists in the Baltimore area have accused Tucker of inappropriate behavior. DeCosta says he has met with Tucker but declined to provide specifics of the conversation. The Ravens have instituted a zero-tolerance policy but DeCosta says the team will apply that policy on a case-by-case basis.
February 26, 2025 4:29 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni pushed back against the Green Bay Packers’ proposal to ban the tush push play his team has used so successfully in short-yardage situations, including during its victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59. Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed Tuesday that the Packers were the team that had made that proposal. The tush push is a modified quarterback sneak where teammates behind Jalen Hurts push him forward to help him try to gain the yardage necessary for a first down or touchdown.
February 25, 2025 4:22 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — One NFL team is proposing an end to the tush push play the Philadelphia Eagles have used so successfully at the goal line and in short-yardage situations, including during their victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59. According to NFL Network and the Washington Post, league executive Troy Vincent said Monday that a team submitted a proposal to ban the play. Vincent didn’t identify the team. The tush push is a modified quarterback sneak where two teammates behind Jalen Hurts push him forward to help him try to gain the yardage necessary for a first down or touchdown.
February 25, 2025 4:25 am
CLEVELAND (AP) — Lawrence J. Dolan, owner of Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team since 2000, has died at age 94. The Cleveland Guardians said in a statement Monday that Dolan died Sunday night of natural causes. Dolan, a Cleveland native, bought the team from Richard Jacobs in 2000 for $320 million. The Dolan family is the longest-tenured ownership group in Cleveland franchise history. The franchise was known as the Cleveland Indians before changing its name to the Guardians after the 2021 season. Over the past 24 seasons, Cleveland has won seven American League Central Division titles, made nine postseason appearances and advanced to the 2016 World Series before losing to the Chicago Cubs.
February 24, 2025 4:39 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Adam Fox scored the go-ahead goal at 11:26 of the third period, J.T. Miller had two goals and the New York Rangers rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3. Will Cuylle scored on the power play and Jimmy Vesey added his 100th NHL goal for the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin made 30 saves. Ryan Shea scored two third-period goals to give Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead. Vesey tied it for the Rangers 4:21 into the third. Evgeni Malkin had Pittsburgh’s other goal. Sidney Crosby had an assist and became the ninth player in NHL history with 17 or more 60-point seasons.
February 24, 2025 4:38 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin had so many chance to score in the Washington Capitals’ rout of the Edmonton Oilers that he joked, “I’ll take three.” His 32nd hat trick of his 20-year NHL career puts him at 882 goals. He is 13 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record that long seemed unapproachable. Ovechkin, even after missing 16 games with a broken leg earlier this season, is now back on pace to pass Gretzky this spring. The Capitals have 25 left to play for him to make that a reality.
February 23, 2025 3:45 pm
The road to the PIAA Individual Wrestling Championships continued Saturday with the WPIAL Individual Championships at Chartiers Valley (2A) and Canon-McMillan (3A). The top eight 2A place-winners advance to next week’s Southwest Regional in Altoona while 3A will see its top 7 return to Canon-McMillan for the West Regional. Click on each tournament for medal-bout results.
WPIAL 2A Championships–Washington/Greene County wrestlers won four individual 2A titles, including Fort Cherry senior Braedon Welsh winning his second championship. Juniors Lucas Barr (McGuffey), Owen Ivcic (Bentworth) and Colin Whyte (West Greene) also stood atop the medal platform at the end of the day. McGuffey is sending 8 wrestlers to the SW Regional next weekend. Burgettstown has five qualifiers. Beth-Center and Jeff-Morgan have four wrestlers advancing, Bentworth and Wash High three apiece. West Greene is sending two to Altoona, with Avella, Chartiers-Houston and Fort Cherry one each.
WPIAL 3A Championships–Nicholas McGarrity (Peters Township) and Jake Stephenson (Waynesburg) won individual 3A titles on Saturday. McGarrity, a sophomore, won his second straight 107-pound championship. Canon-McMillan has six Western Regional qualifiers. Trinity has four wrestlers advancing, Ringgold and Waynesburg three each. Peters Township has two qualifiers.
February 23, 2025 7:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jakob Chychrun scored twice during a second-period surge and the Washington Capitals raced past the Pittsburgh Penguins 8-3 on Saturday. Alexander Ovechkin was held without a goal to remain at 879 for his career, 15 away from tying Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky’s all-time mark. The Capitals hardly needed the Russian superstar in their return from the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Chychrun beat Alex Nedeljokvic twice in less than four minutes to break open a tie game. Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson pushed Washington’s lead to 6-2 by the end of the period as the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals improved to 13-1-6 in their last 20 games. Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby — fresh off Team Canada’s victory at 4 Nations — scored his 18th of the season on a pretty backhand 6:36 into the second that briefly tied the game before Washington took firm control. The goal was the 610th of Crosby’s career, tying him with Bobby Hull for 18th in NHL history.
