March 27, 2024 4:45 am
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Kickoff returns are returning to the NFL. Team owners have approved a new rule that will take what essentially had become “a dead play” and make it an integral part of the game again. The major overhaul to special teams has been in the works for years. It takes elements of the kickoff rules used in the XFL and tweaks them for use in the NFL beginning in 2024. There were 1,970 touchbacks on kickoffs last season that now could be returns. There were 92 fair catches last season that are no longer allowed. Any ball caught in the field of play must be returned.
March 27, 2024 4:30 am
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart confirms on social media that John Calipari will return as men’s basketball coach despite calls for his firing following the Wildcats’ third consecutive early exit from the NCAA Tournament. Barnhart posted Tuesday night on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he and the Hall of Fame coach have talked about the direction of the men’s program. He posted: “I can confirm that he will return for his 16th season as our head coach.” Kentucky was seeded third in March Madness, but fell 80-76 to No. 14 seed Oakland in the first round on Thursday.
March 25, 2024 12:04 am
The state basketball finals ended Saturday. Monday, high school baseball and softball teams begin section play, weather permitting. The WPIAL baseball schedules include two-game, back-to-back series for most teams, with 6A sections playing three-game sets. Softball plays through section opponents twice during the six-week regular season.
Tuesday — Baseball
McGuffey at Southmoreland
Greensburg Salem at Waynesburg
Bentworth at Wash High, PPD to Thursday, 4 pm
Beth-Center at Frazier
Burgettstown at Charleroi
Avella at West Greene, PPD to Wednesday
California at Mapletown, PPD to Wednesday
Carmichaels at Jeff-Morgan, PPD to Wednesday
Tuesday — Softball
Wash High at Bentworth, PPD
OLSH at Beth-Center
Ft. Cherry at Burgettstown, PPD to Thursday
West Greene at Avella, PPD
Mapletown at California, PPD to Wednesday
Monday — Baseball
McGuffey 6, Southmoreland 0
Waynesburg 10, Greensburg Salem 3
Wash High 6, Bentworth 3
Beth-Center 5, Frazier 2
Burgettstown 9, Charleroi 0
Avella 3, West Greene 1
California 16, Mapletown 0
Carmichaels 7, Jeff-Morgan 6
Softball
Norwin 7, Canon-McMillan 6
Charleroi 13, Burgettstown 3
March 25, 2024 12:02 am
Higher seeds won 31 of the 32 first-round games in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, but the first game of the second round saw #2 Ohio State fall to #7 Duke. Two more lower-seeded teams scored upsets Sunday. Second round action continues through Monday with the winners moving on to the Sweet 16. WJPA-AM (1450) will have coverage of several Women’s Sweet 16 games next weekend, then Elite, Final Four and the National Championship game Sunday, April 7th.
Women’s Second Round Schedule — Monday
#2 Notre Dame > #7 Ole Miss, 71-56
#3 NC State > #6 Tennessee, 79-72
#3 UConn > #6 Syracuse, 72-64
#4 Indiana > #5 Oklahoma, 75-68
#1 Iowa > #8 West Virginia, 64-54
#2 UCLA > #7 Creighton, 67-63
#1 Southern Cal > #8 Kansas, 73-55
#4 Gonzaga >#5 Utah, 77-66
Women’s Second Round Scores — Sunday
#7 Duke > #2 Ohio State, 75-63
#1 South Carolina > #8 North Carolina, 88-41
#5 Colorado > #4 Kansas State, 63-50
#3 LSU > #11 Middle Tennessee, 83-56
#3 Oregon State > #6 Nebraska, 61-51
#1 Texas > #8 Alabama, 65-54
#5 Baylor > #4 Virginia Tech, 75-72
#2 Stanford > #10 Iowa State, 87-81 OT
March 26, 2024 2:15 am
ORLANDO, Fla. _ (AP) — Russell Wilson’s resume and experience give him the edge over Justin Fields. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Monday that Wilson is considered Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback but Fields will get a chance to compete. The Steelers revamped their quarterback room earlier this month, signing Wilson to the $1.21 million veteran’s minimum after the nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback was released by Denver. Kenny Pickett, the team’s first-round pick in 2022, asked for a trade after Wilson’s arrival, Tomlin said. So, Pittsburgh sent him to Philadelphia and acquired Fields, a first-round pick in 2021, from Chicago for a conditional sixth-round choice in 2025.
March 26, 2024 4:30 am
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The NFL is eliminating the hip-drop tackle. NFL team owners on Monday unanimously approved a rule that bans players from using a swivel technique to tackle an opponent. A violation will result in a 15-yard penalty and could ultimately result in fines for players. NFL executive Jeff Miller said the hip-drop tackle was used 230 times last season and resulted in 15 players missing time with injuries. The NFL Players Association has opposed the rule.
March 26, 2024 4:29 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani says he never bet on sports and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara stole money from him and told lies. Ohtani held a news conference at Dodger Stadium, five days after Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well over $1 million. Ohtani spoke for nearly 12 minutes, referring to a document in front of him. He did not take questions.
March 24, 2024 12:03 am
The NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship with the first two rounds completed and the original 68-team field reduced to the Sweet 16. WJPA-AM (1450) is your home for all the exciting moments of March Madness with live coverage from every site, every game through opening weekend. Each day’s coverage will center around Westwood One’s feature games (highlighted) but will include live “look-ins” and updates of all games. Then we’ll have Sweet 16, Elite 8, the Final Four and the National Championship games. And, once again this year, we’ll bring you extensive coverage of the Women’s Tournament starting with the Sweet 16 on Friday.
Men’s Second Round Scores — Sunday
#2 Marquette > #10 Colorado, 81-77 F
#1 Purdue > #8 Utah State, 106-67 F
#4 Duke > #12 James Madison, 93-55 F
#6 Clemson > #3 Baylor, 72-64 F
#4 Alabama > #12 Grand Canyon, 72-61 F
#1 UConn #9 Northwestern, 75-68 F
#1 Houston vs. #9 Texas A&M, 100-95 F OT
#5 San Diego St. > #13 Yale, 85-57 F
Second Round Scores — Saturday
#2 Arizona > #7 Dayton, 78-68 F
#5 Gonzaga > #4 Kansas, 89-68 F
#1 North Carolina > #9 Michigan State, 85-69 F
#2 Iowa State > #7 Washington State, 67-56 F
#11 North Carolina State > #14 Oakland, 79-73 OT
#2 Tennessee > #7 Texas, 62-58
#3 Illinois vs. #11 Duquesne, 89-63 F
#3 Creighton > #11 Oregon, 86-73 F2OT
March 25, 2024 4:39 am
DENVER (AP) — Jonathan Drouin scored his second goal of the game 54 seconds into overtime, and the Colorado Avalanche rallied from a four-goal deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 for their ninth straight win. Nathan MacKinnon extended his point streak to 18 games with a goal and two assists. MacKinnon has at least a point in 34 straight home games, second all-time behind Wayne Gretzky’s 40-game streak in 1988-89. Alex Nedeljkovic, who had 21 saves, was replaced by Tristan Jarry at 5:17 of the third after a collision with Casey Mitteltstadt. Jarry had four saves and allowed the tying goal.
March 23, 2024 1:28 am
Unlike their male counterparts, the NCAA Women’s Tournament has been more mellow than madness with only one lower seeded team winning in the entire first round. #11 Middle Tennessee eliminated #6 Louisville to advance to Sunday’s second round matchup with LSU. WJPA-AM (1450) will have coverage of several Women’s Sweet 16 games next weekend, then Elite, Final Four and the National Championship game Sunday, April 7th.
Women’s First Round Schedule, Scores — Saturday
#6 Tennessee > #11 Green Bay, 93-63 F
#3 UConn > #14 Jackson State, 86-64 F
#4 Indiana > #13 Fairfield, 89-56 F
#8 Kansas > #9 Michigan, 81-72 F
#2 Notre Dame > #15 Kent State, 81-67 F
#3 NC State > #14 Chattanooga, 64-45 F
#1 Iowa > #16 Holy Cross, 91-65 F
#6 Syracuse > #11 Arizona, 74-69 F
#5 Oklahoma > #12 Florida-Gulf Coast, 73-70 F
#1 Southern California > #16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 87-55 F
#7 Old Miss > #10 Marquette, 67-55 F
#8 West Virginia > #9 Princeton, 63-53 F
#7 Creighton > #10 UNLV, 87-73
#4 Gonzaga > #13 UC Irvine, 75-56 F
#2 UCLA > #15 California Baptist, 84-55 F
#5 Utah > #12 South Dakota State, 68-54 F
Women’s First Round Scores — Friday
#1 South Carolina > #16 Presbyerian, 91-39
#8 North Carolina > #9 Michigan, 59-56
#6 Nebraska > #11 Texas A&M, 61-59
#3 Oregon State > #14 Eastern Washington, 73-51
#1 Texas > #16 Drexel, 82.42
#8 Alabama > #9 Florida State, 82-74
#7 Iowa State > #10 Maryland, 93-86
#2 Stanford > #15 Norfolk State, 79-50
#5 Colorado > #12 Drake, 86-72
#4 Kansas State > #13 Portland, 78-65
#11 Middle Tennessee > #6 Louisville, 71-69
#3 LSU > #14 Rice, 70-60
#5 Baylor > #12 Vanderbilt, 80-63
#4 Virginia Tech > #13 Marshall, 92-49
#7 Duke > #10 Richmond, 72-61
#2 Ohio State > #15 Maine, 80-57
