January 25, 2025 4:15 am
The intensity of playoff races increases as the number of remaining section play dates dwindles for area high school basketball teams. Friday presented a full slate of boys games in addition to a pair of girls games. By the end of the week, most teams in the WPIAL will have just four section games left in their quest to make the playoffs.
Friday, Jan. 24
Girls
6A Canon-McMillan 45, Upper St. Clair 38. Big Macs pull within one game of first place
1A Avella 34, Mapletown 20. Eagles are in 6th place, just a half game back of a tie for the final playoff spots. Maples are 2.5 games off the pace.
Boys
6A Mt. Lebanon 76, Canon-McMillan 45. Big Macs fall 4.5 games out of final playoff spot.
5A Baldwin 88, Trinity 58. Hillers on brink of elimination, need to sweep South Fayette, Peters Township & Ringgold.
5A Bethel Park 55, Ringgold 47. Rams are winless in the section
3A McGuffey 67, Carlynton 39. Highlanders are tied for 2nd with Keystone Oaks, now two games ahead of Wash High & Carlynton.
3A Bishop Canevin 59, Wash High 40. Crusaders have a two-game lead on McGuffey. Little Prexies are tied with Carlynton in 4th place.
3A Southmoreland 61, Charleroi 35. Cougars sit in 4th place, a half-game up on Brownsville for the final playoff berth.
3A Waynesburg 68, Brownsville 59. Raiders are in 2nd place, one game back of Southmoreland.
2A Bentworth 70, Springdale 58. Bearcats pull even with Dynamos for the 5th and final playoff berth.
2A Greensburg Central Catholic 77, California 20. Trojans are winless in the section.
2A Chartiers-Houston 49, West Greene 40. Bucs are in 1st place, One game up on Jeff-Morgan, two better than Fort Cherry & West Greene.
2A Fort Cherry 58, Beth-Center 34. Rangers pull into tie for third with West Greene, one game back of Jeff-Morgan in second. Bulldogs holds the 5th playoff spot.
2A Burgettstown 63, Carmichaels 36. Blue Devils & Mikes are tied for 6th, 3.5 games out of the playoff picture with four games left.
2A Jeff-Morgan 62, Mapletown 13. Rockets are tied with West Greene, one game back of Chartiers-Houston. Maples are 0-16.
1A Nazareth Prep 58, Avella 38. Eagles are currently fifth, 1.5 games behind Beaver County Christian for the final berth.
January 25, 2025 4:11 am
(AP) – The young collector who scored a one-of-a-kind baseball card featuring National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes has turned down a trade offer from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Topps announced the 11-year-old from the Los Angeles area had declined the deal and instead was going to put the card — which features Skenes’ autograph and a patch from a game-worn jersey, had been found — up for auction. The Pirates had put together a package that included 30 years’ worth of season tickets behind home plate at PNC Park and the chance to play a softball game on the field in exchange for the card.
January 25, 2025 4:13 am
(AP) — The Dallas Cowboys say offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has agreed to become the storied franchise’s next coach. The somewhat surprising choice is a familiar one for Dak Prescott. The star quarterback worked closely with Schottenheimer the past two seasons with former coach Mike McCarthy as the play-caller. Schottenheimer is the ninth coach hired by owner Jerry Jones since he bought the team in 1989 and fired the only coach the Cowboys had for their first 29 seasons, Tom Landry. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Raiders have agreed to hire Pete Carroll as their head coach, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Friday. The team and Carroll agreed in principle on a three-year deal with a one-year team option, the person told the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract hasn’t been finalized. The Raiders fired coach Antonio Pierce this month. Carroll won a Super Bowl as coach of the Seattle Seahawks and won a college football championship with Southern California. And the Jacksonville Jaguars have hired Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen as the eighth head coach in franchise history. It capped a covert operation that included owner Shad Khan moving on from general manager Trent Baalke and Coen reversing course with the Buccaneers. Khan fired Baalke on Wednesday to clear a path for Coen to land in Jacksonville. The 39-year-old Coen was the architect of one of Tampa Bay’s most productive offenses in its history in 2024. The Bucs ranked third in the NFL in yards and fourth in points.
January 23, 2025 12:01 am
Girls basketball has entered the homestretch with just four section play dates left after Thursday’s games. There were several boys games on Thursday’s schedule as well, the result of the winter weather over the past 10 days.
Thursday, Jan. 23
Girls
5A Baldwin 56, Trinity 36
4A Yough 30, Ringgold 26
3A McGuffey 67, Charleroi 21
3A Wash High 50, Waynesburg 46
2A Fort Cherry 67, Carlynton 22
2A Burgettstown 59, Northgate 14
2A Chartiers-Houston 48, Beth-Center 22
2A Bentworth 42, Jeff-Morgan 32
2A California 55, Carmichaels 38
1A Serra Catholic 62, Avella 21
1A Clairton 63, West Greene 52
1A Mapletown 39, Monessen 28
Boys
2A Jeff-Morgan 72, Beth-Center 40
2A West Greene 61, Mapletown 33
2A Chartiers-Houston 55, Carmichaels 21
January 23, 2025 1:01 am
The WPIAL Wrestling Team Tournament brackets were released Thursday morning, including 10 Washington County teams and another from Greene County. Action begins with four preliminary matches in each classification on Monday. Those winners advance to the Sweet 16/Quarterfinals on Wednesday. The semifinals/finals are scheduled for Peters Township, Saturday, Feb. 1. The pairings for teams from the two-county area are listed below. We will have coverage on-air and online through the tournament. Video coverage will be through NFHS Network (subscription required) under agreements with WPIAL/PIAA. Click for WPIAL Brackets
Monday, Jan. 27–Preliminaries
Class 2A at Bentworth
Chartiers-Houston vs. Elizabeth-Forward, 5:50 pm, WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here
Avella vs. Bentworth, 7:05 pm, WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here
Class 3A at Shaler Area
Peters Township vs. Moon Area, 6 pm
Ringgold vs. Shaler Area, 7:15 pm
Wednesday, Jan. 29–Round of 16, Quarterfinals
Class 2A, 6 pm unless noted, winners meet in quarterfinals at 7:15 pm
At #1 Burrell: Jeff-Morgan vs. Southmoreland, Knoch/Greensburg Salem vs. Burrell
At #2 Derry Area: Burgettstown vs. Highlands, Avella/Bentworth vs. Derry Area
At #3 McGuffey: Beth-Center vs. Laurel, Avonworth/Central Valley vs. McGuffey, 5:50 pm, WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here
At #4 Quaker Valley: Chartiers-Houston/Elizabeth-Forward vs. Quaker Valley, Freedom vs. South Park
Class 3A, 6 pm unless noted, winners meet in quarterfinals at 7:15 pm
At #1 Connellsville: Ringgold/Shaler vs. Connellsville, Kiski Area vs. Greater Latrobe
At #2 Franklin Regional Peters Township/Moon vs. Franklin Regional, North Allegheny vs. Fox Chapel
At #3 Thomas Jefferson: Trinity vs. West Allegheny, North Hills/Penn-Trafford vs. Thomas Jefferson, 5:50 pm, WJPA-FM (95.3) Watch/Listen Here
At #4 Bethel Park: Canon-McMillan vs. Norwin, Butler/Belle Vernon vs. Bethel Park
January 24, 2025 4:36 am
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mason McTavish and Alex Killorn each scored twice and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1. Frank Vatrano also scored and Troy Terry and Jacob Trouba each had a pair of assists as the Ducks snapped a four-game winless streak. John Gibson made 31 saves. Michael Bunting scored on a power play for Pittsburgh. Alex Nedeljkovic made 29 saves.
January 24, 2025 4:33 am
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — From Buffalo’s Josh Allen facing Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, to Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts going up against Washington’s Jayden Daniels, the NFL conference championship games are abundant with dual-threat quarterbacks. It’s a reflection of the NFL, perhaps, entering a mobile age for quarterbacks who are just as capable of winning games rushing as they are passing. The four players combined for 2,359 yards rushing during the regular season, by far the most of any final foursome of NFL quarterbacks. Former NFL quarterback and current TV analyst Matt Ryan calls it the natural progression of the position.
January 24, 2025 4:39 am
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An injured Novak Djokovic has quit after dropping the first set of his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev. Djokovic lost the opening set 7-6 (5) in a tiebreaker Friday and immediately walked around the net to concede the match to Zverev. Fans booed as Djokovic walked off toward the locker room, and he responded by giving two thumbs-up. Djokovic, who was bidding for an 11th championship at the Australian Open and record 25th Grand Slam title overall, hurt his left leg during his quarterfinal victory against Carlos Alcaraz. The No. 2-seeded Zverev reached his third Grand Slam final and first at Melbourne Park.
January 22, 2025 12:01 am
The WPIAL 2A & 3A Team Tournament brackets will be released Thursday with preliminaries to be wrestled on Monday. In Class 3A, Trinity rallied late, winning five of the final seven bouts, to beat Canon-McMillan, winning the 3A Section 2 championship. Both teams had already qualified for the WPIAL Team Tournament. Peters Township’s win over Mt. Lebanon clinched a spot for the Indians out of 3A Section 3. Ringgold clinched the second spot out of 3A Section 7 with a win at Belle Vernon.
In Class 2A, Beth-Center powered its way into the team tournament, handing Bentworth its first Section 3 loss. That loss, coupled with Jefferson-Morgan’s win over Frazier, puts the Bearcats in search of a wild card invitation. McGuffey rolled past Chartiers-Houston to claim the Section 1 championship. Avella won the last five bouts to top South Side in Section 2. The Eagles will qualify if Burgettstown beats Hopewell, or if the Blue Devils lose but win at least 4 bouts in the match.
Wednesday, Jan. 22
3A-2 Trinity 31, Canon-McMillan 27
3A-2 Chartiers Valley 46, Waynesburg 22
3A-3 Peters Township 38, Mt. Lebanon 29
3A-7 Ringgold 35, Belle Vernon 30
2A-1 McGuffey 65, Chartiers-Houston 9
2A-1 West Greene 41, Wash High 21
2A-2 Burgettstown at Hopewell, postponed to Thursday, Jan. 23
2A-2 Avella 40, South Side Area 35
2A-3 Beth-Center 43, Bentworth 29
2A-3 Jeff-Morgan 58, Frazier 17
January 23, 2025 4:25 am
The New York Jets and Aaron Glenn have agreed to terms on making the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator their head coach. Glenn oversaw the Lions’ defense the past four years and beat out 15 other candidates for the job as the Jets went through an extensive search. And they ended up choosing one of their former players. Glenn was a first-round draft pick in 1994 who was mentored by Bill Parcells, became one of the Jets’ best playmakers and developed into a well-respected and highly sought coach.
