May 29, 2024 4:30 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Josh Gibson became Major League Baseball’s career leader with a .372 batting average, surpassing Ty Cobb’s .367, when records of the Negro Leagues for more than 2,300 players were incorporated after a three-year research project. Gibson’s .466 average for the 1943 Homestead Grays became the season standard, followed by Charlie “Chino” Smith’s .451 for the 1929 New York Lincoln Giants. They overtook the .440 by Hugh Duffy for the National League’s Boston team in 1894. Gibson also became the career leader in slugging percentage at .718 and OPS at 1.177, moving ahead of Babe Ruth in each statistic.
May 29, 2024 4:29 am
Scholarships are not going away in college athletics. But how many there are and which sports they will apply to in coming years are among the many questions stemming from a mammoth antitrust settlement and athlete revenue-sharing plan proposed by the NCAA and its five largest conferences. Nearly $2.8 billion in damages over 10 years must come from somewhere. Schools are scrambling to find out how much more money will be necessary to compensate athletes in sports like baseball and softball, many who previously only got a fragment of what their classmates who play football or basketball received.
May 28, 2024 12:01 am
WPIAL Championship Week for Baseball & Softball is underway with League titles and PIAA playoff spots on the line. Baseball championship games will be played at Wild Things Park with third-place games next door at W&J’s Ross Memorial Park. Softball third-place games will all be played on Tuesday (weather permitting) at Gateway, Jeff-Morgan and North Allegheny. Softball championship games will be played Wednesday & Thursday at PennWest-California’s Lilley Field.
Our on-air coverage of Championship Week includes baseball third-place games between Burgettstown/OLSH and Avella/Carmichaels. We’ll also broadcast the Chartiers-Houston/Union and Bentworth/Neshannock softball championship games. We’ll also provide online coverage of all four of those games, plus the other four softball finals. Finally, WJPA Sports Network will produce the NFHS video of all six WPIAL softball title games in conjunction with GreeneSports. All of our broadcasts are linked Watch/Listen Here
WPIAL Bracket Links: Softball Baseball
Tuesday, May 28
Baseball Finals
1A #4 Bishop Canevin 10, #2 Eden Christian 3
3A #7 Avonworth 4, #1 Riverside 3 (14 innings)
5A #7 Penn-Trafford 4, #4 Bethel Park 3
Baseball 3rd Place
3A #4 South Allegheny 8, #14 Burrell 2 (both to PIAA)
2A #4 Burgettstown 8, #2 OLSH 2 (Burgettstown to PIAA)
4A #4 Montour 3, #2 Thomas Jefferson 2 (11 innings) (both to PIAA)
Softball 3rd Place
1A #2 Carmichaels 7, #5 West Greene 6 (both to PIAA)
2A #3 Laurel 10, #5 OLSH 0 (Laurel to PIAA)
3A #2 Ligonier Valley 4, #1 Avonworth 0 (both to PIAA)
4A #4 Chartiers Valley 6, #11 Blackhawk 4 (Chartiers Valley to PIAA)
5A #4 Penn-Trafford, 4, #11 Great Latrobe 1 (both to PIAA)
May 28, 2024 4:37 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Longtime umpire Ángel Hernández, who unsuccessfully sued Major League Baseball for racial discrimination, is retiring immediately. During a career that lasted more than three decades, the 62-year-old Hernández was often scorned by players, managers and fans for missed calls and quick ejections — some in high-profile situations. Hernández issued a statement through MLB on Monday night saying he has decided he wants to spend more time with his family.
May 28, 2024 4:36 am
Bill Walton, who starred for John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins before becoming a Hall of Fame center for his NBA career and one of the biggest stars of basketball broadcasting, has died. The league announced that Walton died Monday after a prolonged fight with cancer. He was 71. Walton was the NBA’s MVP in the 1977-78 season, a two-time champion and a member of both the NBA’s 50th anniversary and 75th anniversary teams. That followed a college career in which he was a two-time champion at UCLA and a three-time national player of the year.
May 27, 2024 4:05 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. left Atlanta’s 8-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates after he tore his left ACL, and the Braves won behind Chris Sale. Acuña opened the game with a double to right-center field against Martín Pérez. With Marcell Ozuna at the plate, Acuña started toward third on a stolen base attempt and his left knee gave way. The reigning NL MVP remained down for several minutes while being treated, pointing at his left leg before walking off under his own power. The Braves’ initial diagnosis was left knee soreness. But the team announced later that an MRI showed a complete ACL tear that will require season-ending surgery.
May 27, 2024 4:02 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Josef Newgarden put his cheating scandal behind him to become the first back-to-back winner of the Indianapolis 500 since Helio Castroneves 22 years ago and give Roger Penske a record-extending 20th win in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” The Tennessean passed Pato O’Ward on the final lap of Sunday’s rain-delayed race to become the first driver to win consecutive 500s since Castroneves did it for Penske in 2001 and 2002. And just like last year, Newgarden stopped his Chevrolet-powered car on the track and climbed through a hole in the fence to celebrate with fans in the grandstands. O’Ward slumped his head over his steering wheel in bitter disappointment. He was trying to become the first Mexican in 108 runnings to win the Indy 500.
May 24, 2024 7:00 am
The WPIAL baseball & softball playoffs have worked their way through to the championship and state qualifier games. Thursday morning, the League finalized the schedule for Championship Week. Baseball finals will be played at Wild Things Park, third-place games (state qualifiers) at W&J’s Ross Memorial Park. The softball championships are set for PennWest-California’s Lilley Field with third-place games at three different sites (Gateway, North Allegheny & Jeff-Morgan). We’ll have four games on WJPA-AM (1450) and online during the week, including Avella, Burgettstown and Carmichaels in baseball state qualifiers, Bentworth and Chartiers-Houston in softball championships. In addition, GreeneSports.net & WJPA Sports Network will produce broadcasts for all six softball championships for the WPIAL & NFHS Network (subscription required. The complete WPIAL Championship Week schedule, along with broadcast and bracket links, is listed.
WPIAL Bracket Links: Softball Baseball
Tuesday, May 28
Baseball Finals
1:00 pm 1A #2 Eden Christian vs. #4 Bishop Canevin
4:00 pm 3A #1 Riverside vs. #7 Avonworth
7:00 pm 5A #4 Bethel Park vs. #7 Penn-Trafford
Baseball 3rd Place
1:00 pm 3A #4 South Allegheny vs. #14 Burrell (both to PIAA)
3:15 pm 2A #2 OLSH vs. #4 Burgettstown (winner only), WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here
6:00 pm 4A #2 Thomas Jefferson vs. #4 Montour (both to PIAA)
Softball 3rd Place
3:00 pm 5A #4 Penn-Trafford vs. #11 Latrobe at Gateway (winner only to PIAA)
3:00 pm 4A #4 Chartiers Valley vs. #11 Blackhawk at North Allegheny (winner only to PIAA)
3:30 pm 1A #2 Carmichaels vs. #5 West Greene at Jeff-Morgan (both to PIAA)
5:00 pm 3A #1 Avonworth vs. #2 Ligonier Valley at Gateway (both to PIAA)
5:00 pm 2A #3 Laurel vs. #5 OLSH at North Allegheny (winner only to PIAA)
Wednesday, May 29
Softball Finals Watch/Listen Here
12:00 noon 3A #3 South Park vs. #4 Mohawk
2:00 pm 1A #1 Union vs. #3 Chartiers-Houston, WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here
4:30 pm 6A #2 Seneca Valley vs. #5 Norwin
Baseball Finals
1:00 pm 2A #1 Serra Catholic vs. #3 Seton-La Salle
4:00 pm 4A #6 North Catholic vs. #9 Indiana
7:00 pm 6A #1 Mt. Lebanon vs. #3 North Allegheny
Baseball 3rd Place
4:00 pm 1A #6 Avella vs. #8 Carmichaels (winner only), WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here
6:30 pm 5A #1 West Allegheny vs. #6 Franklin Regional (winner only to PIAA)
Thursday, May 30
Softball Finals Watch/Listen Here
11:45 am 2A #1 Neshannock vs. #2 Bentworth, WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here
2:15 pm 5A #1 Armstrong vs. #10 Thomas Jefferson
4:30 pm 4A #1 Elizabeth-Forward vs. #2 Hampton
May 26, 2024 7:20 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mitch Keller pitched into the seventh inning, Nick Gonzales delivered an RBI double and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1. Keller kept Atlanta in check for 6 2/3 innings to win his fourth consecutive start. The right-hander gave up one run on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks. Keller is 4-0 with a 1.30 ERA in four starts in May. Bryan Reynolds had two hits for the Pirates, who have won two straight and 6 of 9. Atlanta’s Reynaldo Lopez gave up three runs, two earned in 4 2/3 innings. Lopez remains winless since mid-April despite a 1.75 ERA.
May 26, 2024 7:25 am
(AP) – Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray has died at the age of 30. The PGA Tour and his management company GSE Worldwide confirmed the death Saturday. There were no immediate details how Murray died. He opened with a 68 at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial. The next day he was 5 over for his round when he withdrew with two holes to play. Murray won the Sony Open this year with a 40-foot birdie putt in a playoff. He also won the Barbasol Championship in 2017. Murray made his Masters debut in April.
