February 11, 2025 4:22 am
Fox Sports is projecting a Super Bowl record average audience of 126 million U.S. viewers across television and streaming platforms for Philadelphia’s 40-22 victory over Kansas City. Sunday night’s game was televised by Fox, Fox Deportes and Telemundo and streamed on Tubi as well as the NFL’s digital platforms. Fox’s projections include Nielsen’s early numbers and streaming data from Tubi and the NFL. Updated and more complete numbers are expected on Tuesday. It would be the second straight year the Super Bowl has reached a record audience. The Chiefs’ 25-22 overtime victory over San Francisco last year averaged 123.7 million on CBS, Nickelodeon, Univision and streaming platforms.
February 10, 2025 4:33 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Cooper DeJean, Josh Sweat and the Philadelphia Eagles’ ferocious defense denied Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs a Super Bowl three-peat. It wasn’t even close. DeJean got a pick-6 on his 22nd birthday, Sweat tormented Mahomes and the Eagles routed the Chiefs 40-22 on Sunday to secure the franchise’s second Super Bowl championship. Jalen Hurts threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score on a tush push, and Vic Fangio’s defense was so dominant that the Eagles didn’t need much from Saquon Barkley. With Donald Trump becoming the first president in office to attend a Super Bowl, the Eagles outplayed Kansas City in every facet.
February 10, 2025 4:34 am
Aaron Rodgers is still contemplating whether to continue his playing career. If he does, it appears it won’t be with the New York Jets. The team has told the 41-year-old quarterback it is “moving on from him,” Fox Sports reported Sunday. Rodgers said toward the end of the Jets’ 5-12 season he was undecided on his playing future and wanted to take a mental break. There was also uncertainty as to whether the Jets would even want to move forward with Rodgers. The Jets recently hired general manager Darren Mougey and coach Aaron Glenn, and owner Woody Johnson said at their introductory news conference on Jan. 27 the new regime would have the final say in that decision.
February 9, 2025 12:02 am
The WPIAL Basketball Committee is crafting six girls playoff brackets with a total if 84 teams, 11 of them from Washington and Greene Counties, with seven of those in the Class 2A bracket. The tournament pairings will be released Monday afternoon. Following is a playoff primer on all six girls brackets.
Class 6A – 8 teams including Canon-McMillan (12-8). Norwin and Upper St. Clair are expected to get the top two seeds, splitting their regular season series. Section 1 champion Seneca Valley should be third. Canon-Mac is in line to get the #4 seed and host a quarterfinal round game.
Class 5A – 16 teams including Peters Township (19-2). The Indians and three-time defending champion South Fayette have been ranked #1 and #2 all season and haven’t lost to any Pennsylvania teams. Penn-Trafford hasn’t lost to anyone this season. Chartiers Valley, Franklin Regional and Indiana should fill in the next three slots.
Class 4A – 17 teams. Blackhawk, North Catholic, Oakland Catholic and Elizabeth-Forward are likely to be the top four seeds. The bracket’s preliminary game will include two of these four teams: Freeport, Highlands, Hopewell and Mt. Pleasant.
Class 3A – 15 teams including McGuffey (13-8), the third-place finisher in Section 3. Shady Side Academy (21-0) is a lock for the top seed. Keystone Oaks, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Greensburg Central Catholic and Seton-La Salle should follow.
Class 2A – 17 teams, 7 from the two-county area. Neshannock (20-2) will be the top seed, coming in on an 11-game winning streak. Winchester Thurston should be #2, aided by a mid-January win over Chartiers-Houston. Aliquippa, Chartiers-Houston, Fort Cherry and South Side Beaver will round out the top six seeds. Carmichaels (3-18), the last team in the field, will play in the bracket’s preliminary, possibly against Section 3 foe Bentworth (7-14), the Bearcats heading into the playoffs with losses in 9 of their last 10 games. Burgettstown (8-13) is also a possible opponent for the Mikes. California and Beth-Center should be in the 8-10 seed range, the Trojans likely getting the higher spot thanks to their win over the Bulldogs on Thursday.
Class 1A – 11 teams including West Greene (15-7). Union (22-0) and Geibel Catholic (21-1) are locks to be #1/#2. Aquinas Academy, Clairton and St. Joseph are likely to be #3 through #5, getting first-round byes along with Union & Geibel. Serra Catholic and West Greene (15-7) should each host first-round games against the Section 1 fifth-place teams, Sewickley Academy and Eden Christian.
February 9, 2025 12:01 am
Monday afternoon, the WPIAL Basketball Committee will release its six boys basketball playoff brackets. Those pairings will include 10 Washington & Greene County teams, six of them in the Class 2A bracket. Following is a playoff primer on all six boys brackets.
Class 6A – 11 teams with five first-round byes. Upper St. Clair (20-2) will be the top seed, with New Castle, Imani Christian, Central Catholic and Fox Chapel rounding out the top five. Butler, Mt. Lebanon and Seneca Valley should host opening-round games.
Class 5A – 17 teams including Peters Township (15-6). Montour (20-1) has been the #1 ranked team all season. Baldwin, Uniontown, Chartiers Valley and Moon Area will round out the top five. Peters Township is likely to be seeded 7th, funneling into a possible quarterfinal rematch with Baldwin.
Class 4A – 12 teams. Belle Vernon, Beaver Area, North Catholic and Avonworth should be the top four seeds, each receiving first-round byes. Central Valley, Deer Lakes, Elizabeth-Forward and Knoch should host opening-round games.
Class 3A – 16 teams including Charleroi (10-11), McGuffey (15-6) and Waynesburg (9-11). Aliquippa, South Allegheny, Mohawk and Bishop Canevin are likely the top four seeds, followed by Southmoreland and South Park. Keystone Oaks, Ligonier Valley, and McGuffey are next in line with the Highlanders likely settling in at #9, having to open the playoffs on the road.
Class 2A – 21 teams, including six from Washington/Greene Counties. Greensburg Central Catholic, Sewickley Academy, Neshannock, Jeannette and Chartiers-Houston (19-2) will be the top five seeds. Fort Cherry (12-8), Jeff-Morgan (14-7) and West Greene (12-8) will be in the next group of seven teams, six of whom will avoid preliminary games. Bentworth (10-10) and Beth-Center (9-13) will certainly have to play opening night.
Class 1A – 8 teams. Neighborhood Academy will be #1, followed by Serra Catholic and Nazareth Prep, the Section 1 champion. Serra beat Nazareth in mid-January to earn the second spot. Aquinas Academy will be fourth and host the quarterfinal round match-up, likely with Geibel Catholic.
February 9, 2025 6:05 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Travis Konecny had a goal and an assist to help the Philadelphia Flyers snap a five-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. Scott Laughton and Garnet Hathaway also scored for Philadelphia. Samuel Ersson made 32 saves. Erik Karlsson and Kevin Hayes had tallies for Pittsburgh, and Joel Blomqvist stopped 17 shots. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (upper body) missed his second straight contest after sitting out Friday’s 3-2 win over the Rangers. Pittsburgh also was without Evgeni Malkin (lower body) and Bryan Rust, who was placed on injured reserve on Saturday.
February 9, 2025 6:12 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Andy Reid and Matt Nagy vs. Vic Fangio. Nick Sirianni and Kellen Moore vs. Steve Spagnuolo. This Super Bowl is a matchup of some of the brightest — and oldest — minds in the NFL. When the Kansas City Chiefs go for a three-peat in a rematch against the Eagles on Sunday, the game will come down to what Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones and teammates do on the field against Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, Jalen Carter and the rest of Philadelphia’s talented roster. But it starts with the coaches and the coordinators and their schemes. They have to devise the right game plan and make the best play calls.
February 9, 2025 6:09 am
CLEMSON. S.C. (AP) — He’s back, baby! ESPN’s Dick Vitale received a standing ovation at Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum in his first game back as a commentator since recovering from his fourth bout with cancer. About 30 minutes before Clemson faced Duke, Vitale was greeted by cheers as he arrived on the floor from a tunnel and began to make his way to his courtside seat to call the game. Clemson’s PA announcer chimed in with his best Vitale impersonation, saying “Dickie V, you’re awesome, baby!” Vitale, 85, hasn’t called a game for ESPN in two years. He’s battled four different types of cancer over the past four years, including vocal cord cancer. Vitale announced in December he’s cancer-free after his fourth bout with the disease in just over three years.
February 8, 2025 4:19 am
(NHL.com)-On Friday in New York, the Penguins played without their captain for the first time since 2022, when Sidney Crosby missed Game 6 of the First Round against the Rangers. He missed tonight’s contest with an upper-body injury, ending his consecutive games played streak at 229. Head Coach Mike Sullivan said, “Right now, we’re just taking it one day at a time” when it comes to Crosby’s situation, but that it’s encouraging he was on the ice for the optional game-day skate. “Obviously, he’s an important player for us,” Sullivan said. “When he’s not in our lineup, he’s a hard guy to replace. He’s the heartbeat of this team. So, we’re going to do our best to put our best game on the ice tonight.” Crosby joined Evgeni Malkin (lower body, week-to-week) on the injury list, which meant other players had big opportunities to step up – and that’s what they did. They brought the high compete level that Sullivan said would be necessary for success, and battled their way to a 3-2 win to begin this year’s Highmark Dads Trip. Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves, while Blake Lizotte, Rickard Rakell and Phil Tomasino all scored for Pittsburgh.
February 8, 2025 1:50 am
The Steelers are headed to Ireland! The team announced Friday that it will be the designated team to play in Dublin in 2025. It’s the first overseas game for the black and gold since it played the Minnesota Vikings in London in 2013. In addition, this is the first-ever NFL regular season game to be played in Ireland. The game will happen at Croke Park, the largest sporting arena in Ireland. The Steelers have a long history with Ireland. The team played an exhibition game there in 1997 at Croke Park against the Chicago Bears. Also, the late Steelers president Dan Rooney served as ambassador to Ireland under the Obama Administration. The Rooneys are of Irish descent. Croke Park is the principal national stadium of Ireland. It’s in Dublin and seats nearly 70,000 with an additional 13,000 in standing room. It also has a walkway, known as the Kellogg’s Skyline Tour Croke Park, that gives a 144-foot view of Dublin and the surrounding areas. Details including who the Steelers will play, the date of the game and kickoff will be announced when the 2025 NFL scheduled is revealed this spring.
