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.
January 23, 2025 4:26 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes does not believe NFL officials are calling games to help his team win. That has been the national discourse following last week’s divisional-round matchup with Houston, in which the Texans were twice penalized for hits on the two-time NFL MVP. Yet most statistical breakdowns show that the opponents of Kansas City have benefited from flags than the Chiefs have over the years, including in games that come down to the wire. Asked whether he believes the Chiefs are getting more than their share of flags, Mahomes replied: “I don’t feel that way.”
January 22, 2025 7:24 am
Trinity boys were up seven with a minute to play in the third quarter only to see Thomas Jefferson score 10 points before the end of the period. The Jaguars then hit 12 of 16 free throws in the final quarter to win, dealing a crushing blow to the Hillers’ playoff hopes. Peters Township boys fell two games off the lead in the section. On the girls side, Ringgold won its first section game this year.
Tuesday, Jan. 21
Girls
5A Thomas Jefferson 70, Trinity 43
5A Peters Township 67, Baldwin 57
4A Ringgold 57, Southmoreland 32
1A Avella at Monessen, postponed to Wednesday, Jan. 29, 5:30 pm
Boys
6A Upper St. Clair 69, Canon-McMillan 15
5A Thomas Jefferson 64, Trinity 60
5A Baldwin 61, Peters Township 57
2A Bentworth at Jeannette, postponed
2A California at Springdale
2A Beth-Center at Jeff-Morgan, postponed
2A Fort Cherry 71, Burgettstown 38
2A Chartiers-Houston at Carmichaels, postponed to Wednesday, Jan. 22, 7:30 pm
1A Summit Academy 60, Avella 50
January 21, 2025 12:01 am
Three weeks remain in the high school basketball regular season. Seven boys teams from Washington/Greene Counties are almost locked in to playoff berths. Seven more are in good battles for spots. Five others are likely to miss the playoffs without extended win streaks and plenty of help.
Entering the final six play dates of the season, Peters Township (5A-3), Waynesburg (3A-4), and the top five teams in 2A Section 3–Chartiers-Houston, Jeff-Morgan, West Greene, Beth-Center and Fort Cherry–are all in very good positions to qualify. Chartiers-Houston is the only section leader at this point of the season.
Trinity (5A-3) is in a three-way battle for two spots with Bethel Park and Thomas Jefferson. McGuffey and Wash High are fighting Keystone Oaks and Carlynton for three spots out of 3A Section 2. Charleroi is in 4th place in 3A Section 4, challenging Ligonier Valley and Brownsville for the last two berths. Bentworth is one game back of the 5th (and final) playoff spot in 2A Section 1. Avella is tied for the final spot in 1A Section 1.
Canon-McMillan (6A-2), Ringgold (5A-3) and the remaining 2A teams–California, Carmichaels, Burgettstown and Mapletown–have various challenges to overcome to keep their playoff hopes alive. Canon-McMillan is in 7th place, three games off the playoff pace. Ringgold, despite being winless, is only two games out at the moment. California (-4 games in 2A-1) and Mapletown (-3 games in 2A-3) are also winless.
January 22, 2025 4:15 am
An 11-year-old collector in Los Angeles has scooped up a one-of-a-kind baseball card featuring National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes. Now comes the fun part, seeing what the collector could get for it in a trade. The Pittsburgh Pirates have said they’ll offer a package that includes season tickets at PNC Park for 30 years in exchange for the card, which includes Skenes’ autograph and a patch from a game-worn uniform. Skenes’ girlfriend, LSU gymnast and influence Livvy Dunne, has also offered the winner a chance to join her in a luxury suite during one of Skenes’ starts. (PHOTO; Topps)
January 22, 2025 4:18 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player chosen for baseball’s Hall of Fame, falling one vote shy of unanimous when he was elected along with CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. Suzuki received 393 of 394 votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Sabathia was on 342 ballots and Wagner on 325, which was 29 more than the 296 needed for the required 75%. Sabathia and Suzuki were elected in their first appearance on the ballot. Wagner made it on his 10th and final try. The trio will be inducted into the Hall at Cooperstown on July 27 along with Dave Parker and Dick Allen, voted in last month by the classic era committee. Mariano Rivera remains the only player to get 100% of the vote from the BBWAA.
January 22, 2025 4:19 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings and coach Kevin O’Connell have agreed to terms on a multiyear contract extension. The deal reached Tuesday follows a 14-3 regular season that defied external widespread preseason projections of at least a losing record if not a last-place finish in the NFC North. In three seasons with the Vikings, the 39-year-old O’Connell is 34-17 in the regular season and 0-2 in the playoffs. The Vikings didn’t disclose terms of the deal. It was reached with one year remaining on O’Connell’s existing contract.
