January 14, 2026 2:10 am
Congratulations to the following new members of the
WPIAL Hall of Fame, each with ties to Washington/Greene County and our work at the WJPA Sports Network:
Tricia Alderson (Chartiers-Houston), Kurt Angle (Mt. Lebanon & WJPA Wrestling analyst), Jim Conklin (Waynesburg), Phil Mary (Chartiers-Houston), Charles Hunnell (official), Tim McConnell (coach), Joe Salvino (coach). These seven, along with six other individuals, two Courage awardees and two championship teams will be honored at the annual WPIAL Hall of Fame Induction Banquet, Friday, June 5 at the DoubleTree Hotel, Greentree.
January 15, 2026 4:25 am
ATLANTA (AP) — Brandin Cummings scored 23 points and Barry Dunning Jr. added 17 for Pittsburgh in an 89-66 win over Georgia Tech on Wednesday night, snapping a three-game losing streak. Nojus Indrusaitis put up 16 points off the bench for the Panthers (8-9, 1-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), tying a career and season high on 5-of-9 shooting (4 of 6 from 3-point range). Cameron Corhen added 15 points and Roman Siulepa scored 11 and added eight rebounds in the Panthers’ first conference win of the season. Pitt shot 53% from the field (34 of 64) compared to Georgia Tech’s 40% (24 of 60). The Panthers sank 11 shots from 3-point range.
January 15, 2026 2:42 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II says he wasn’t shocked by coach Mike Tomlin’s decision to step down after 19 seasons. Rooney described Tomlin’s choice as more “family-related” than “football-related.” Tomlin’s departure means the Steelers are searching for just their fourth head coach since 1969. Rooney declined to get into specifics about what the team might be looking for, though each of Pittsburgh’s past three coaches arrived as relative unknowns before taking the Steelers to the Super Bowl multiple times. Tomlin’s departure figures to signal the end of quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ time with the club. Rooney says Rodgers’ decision to play in Pittsburgh was primarily to play for Tomlin.
January 14, 2026 2:36 am
Each WPIAL basketball team plays through its section opponents twice. For the overwhelming majority of teams, Tuesday marked the end of the first trip through their league. Here are the Tuesday results and what they mean heading into the second half of the season.
Girls 5A Bethel Park 40, Peters Township 33 OT
Boys
6A Canon-McMillan 69, Connellsville 58
5A Peters Township 62, Bethel Park 32
5A Ringgold 56, Trinity 44
3A Wash High 51, McGuffey 41
3A Charleroi 74, Ligonier Valley 70
3A Waynesburg 53, Mt. Pleasant 45
2A Bentworth 56, Frazier 35
2A Riverview 76, California 25
2A Chartiers-Houston 50, Jeff-Morgan 45
2A Fort Cherry 79, Carmichaels 26
2A Beth-Center 76, West Greene 67
2A Burgettstown 67, Mapletown 20
Girls
5A Section 4 Peters Township drops into fifth place with the loss to Bethel Park.
Boys
6A Section 2 Canon-McMillan moved to within one game of the final playoff berth.
5A Section 3 Peters Township stays just one game back of first place Thomas Jefferson.
5A Section 3 Ringgold moves into a tie for fourth place while Trinity drops two games off the pace.
3A Section 2 Wash High takes over fourth place, one game up on McGuffey. Watch/Listen Here
3A Section 4 Charleroi and Waynesburg are now tied with Ligonier Valley in second place, two games back of Southmoreland.
2A Section 1 Bentworth stays solidly in third place, two games out of first. California remains winless in the section and overall.
2A Section 3 Chartiers-Houston moves into sole possession of first place, one game up on Jeff-Morgan. The loss is the first of the year for J-M. Fort Cherry is alone in third place, followed by Beth-Center. Carmichaels and West Greene are tied for the final playoff spot in the section. Burgettstown’s win at Mapletown is the first of the year in section for the Blue Devils.
1A Section 1 Avella (2-1) is in third place and is off until Thursday when the Eagles visit Summit Academy (1-2). Avella then hosts Beaver County Christian (1-3) on Friday.
January 14, 2026 4:30 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored the deciding goal in the shootout and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Tuesday night for their 11th straight win. J.J. Moser scored in regulation and Andrei Vasilevskiy had 26 saves for the Lightning, who have not lost since a 2-1 defeat at home against Los Angeles on Dec. 18. The Lightning moved into first place in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of Detroit, which lost 3-0 at Boston. Evgeni Malkin scored for the Penguins and Arturs Silovs had 30 saves. Pittsburgh lost its third straight (0-2-1) since a six-game win streak. Gage Goncalves scored for Tampa Bay in the second round of the tiebreaker, and Egor Chinakov tied it for Pittsburgh on their attempt in the third round. Kucherov then won it for the Lightning.
January 14, 2026 2:23 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Mike Tomlin era with the Pittsburgh Steelers is over. The longest tenured head coach in major American professional sports stepped down Tuesday after yet another quick playoff exit. The announcement came a day after the end of Tomlin’s 19th season in Pittsburgh. Tomlin won a Super Bowl and went to another during his first four seasons with the Steelers before the club settled into a familiar and frustrating pattern of solid if not always spectacular play followed by a playoff cameo that ended with the Steelers on the wrong side of a blowout. Tomlin went 193-112-2 in Pittsburgh but lost each of his last seven playoff games.
January 14, 2026 4:32 am
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired eight-time All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado from St. Louis for minor league pitcher Jack Martinez. The Cardinals are also including $31 million in the trade. A 10-time Gold Glove winner, Arenado has played for the Cardinals the past five seasons and was shopped extensively after the 2024 season by a rebuilding team. The 34-year-old isn’t the offensive force he used to be but will still provide a veteran presence at the position after the D-backs traded slugger Eugenio Suárez at last season’s trade deadline. Arenado batted. .237 with 12 homers and 52 RBIs last season.
January 13, 2026 4:24 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Houston Texans have secured their first road playoff win in franchise history, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6. The Texans held Pittsburgh to 175 yards of offense and scored a pair of defensive touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Houston stretched its winning streak to 10 games and advances to play New England in the division round. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud endured a shaky night, turning it over three times, though he did throw a touchdown pass to Christian Kirk. Aaron Rodgers passed for 146 yards and threw a pick-6 on what could be the final throw of his 21-year career.
January 12, 2026 2:08 am
Most area high school basketball teams have one game remaining in the first half of their seasons with another complete trip through section ahead. Girls teams have a full schedule on Monday’s slate with Peters Township girls wrapping up Tuesday as part of their girls/boys doubleheader at Bethel Park. Boys teams’ first trip through section games is slated to end tomorrow night. There’s no real break as teams return to section play on Thursday/Friday.
Wrestling squads are nearing the end of their dual meet campaigns, at least the matches that count toward WPIAL/PIAA Team Tournament qualifying. The top two teams in each section will qualify for the WPIAL Team Tournaments along with two wild cards in each classification. The WPIAL Team Tournament brackets will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 22, the day after the final matches.
Here’s a look at Monday’s girls action and what it means:
6A Section 2 Canon-McMillan (4-1) maintained a share of the lead with Norwin, beating Connellsville, 55-22.
5A Section 2 Trinity (4-2) won at Uniontown, 52-40, keeping the Hillers a game ahead of Peters Township (2-3) and Bethel Park. Those two play Tuesday with the winner taking over sole possession of fourth place.
4A Section 3 Ringgold (3-4) won at home against Mt. Pleasant, 33-29, pulling the Rams into a three-way tie for fourth place with the Vikings and Laurel Highlands.
3A Section 3 McGuffey (4-2) lost at Seton-La Salle, 56-48. Coupled with Waynesburg’s 62-28 home win over Charleroi (1-5), the Highlanders are in a three-way tie for second place with the Raiders and Keystone Oaks. KO topped Wash High (2-4), 41-36, pushing the Little Prexies two games back of the playoff pack.
2A Section 2 Fort Cherry (5-0) sits alone atop the section after a 60-15 win at South Side (3-2). Burgettstown (4-1), moves into second place with a 40-17 home win against Carlynton (0-5).
2A Section 3 Chartiers-Houston (6-0) leads the section after its 60-24 home win against Bentworth (2-3). The Bearcats dropped into fourth place with the loss. California (4-1) took over sole possession of second place with a 38-29 win at Beth-Center (3-2). Jeff-Morgan (1-4) picked up its first win of the season, beating winless Carmichaels, 33-17.
1A Section 2 West Greene (5-2) and Avella (1-6) have both completed their first trips through the league. West Greene is solidly in third place, two games back of the first place Geibel Catholic, one game better than Bishop Canevin (4-3) a 47-23 winner at Mapletown (0-7). Avella sits two games back of the final playoff spot in the 8-team section.
January 13, 2026 2:14 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Blake Lizotte is now part of the Penguins’ long-term plan. The Penguins have signed the veteran forward to a three-year contract extension. The deal carries an average annual value of $2.25 million. The 28-year-old Lizotte has been a standout on one of the NHL’s most surprising teams, scoring five goals to go with five assists in 35 games this season. Pittsburgh began the year with modest expectations but is now in the playoff mix. The Penguins have thrived with Lizotte in the lineup, boasting a 20-9-6 record when he plays.
