January 9, 2025 4:42 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was a limited participant in practice for the first time since he suffered a concussion in Week 16, clearing the way for him to start this weekend in an NFC wild-card playoff game. Hurts could return for Sunday’s home game against the Green Bay Packers. He threw for 2,903 yards this season with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions.
January 8, 2025 4:34 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson scored in the shootout and the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Tuesday night. Elvis Merzlikins, who made 20 saves, stopped Bryan Rust and Sidney Crosby in the shootout, as Columbus came back from a 3-1 deficit in the third period. Adam Fantilli scored a third-period power-play goal and Dmitri Voronkov scored twice, giving him nine goals in seven games. Rickard Rakell scored twice and Michael Bunting set a career high with his eighth power-play goal. Crosby had two assists. Tristan Jarry made 26 saves.
January 8, 2025 4:37 am
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Star freshman Cooper Flagg scored 14 of his 19 points after halftime to help No. 4 Duke beat Pittsburgh 76-47. Flagg’s big night included a jaw-dropping play on a coast-to-coast dunk over Guillermo Diaz Graham in the second half. Fellow freshman Kon Knueppel added 17 points for the Blue Devils. Duke has now won nine straight games. Cameron Corhen scored 11 points to lead the Panthers. Pitt had won five in a row and was unbeaten in league play coming into Cameron Indoor Stadium. But Pitt shot just 31% and didn’t score for the last eight minutes.
January 8, 2025 4:38 am
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The Las Vegas Raiders have fired Antonio Pierce after just one season as their full-time coach. It’s the latest in a line of coaching changes for the Raiders over the past several years. Pierce took over as the interim coach midway through the 2023 season and went 5-4 the rest of the way. That earned strong player support for him to get the job on a full-time basis. But the Raiders went on a 10-game losing streak this season to put his job in jeopardy. Minority owner Tom Brady is expected to have a role in the Raiders’ coaching search.
January 7, 2025 2:57 am
Winter weather has forced multiple postponements of high school basketball games around the area. Following is the two-day varsity-only schedule.
Tuesday Girls
6A Canon-McMillan 51, Hempfield 32
5A Peters Township 61, Albert Gallatin 29
4A South Park 54, Ringgold 16
3A McGuffey 52, Waynesburg 34
1A Clairton 83, Avella 41
2A Beth-Center at Carmichaels (postponed to Wednesday, 5:30 pm)
Tuesday Boys
6A Hempfield 66, Canon-McMillan 47
5A Peters Township 62, South Fayette 50
5A Baldwin 72, Ringgold 29
3A McGuffey 69, Keystone Oaks 65
3A Charleroi 60, Mt. Pleasant 44
3A Southmoreland 72, Waynesburg 62
2A Clairton 64, Bentworth 52
2A Fort Cherry 48, Jeff-Morgan 43
3A Sto-Rox at Wash High (postponed to Wednesday, 7:30 pm)
2A Burgettstown at West Greene (postponed to Wednesday, 7 pm)
2A California at Frazier (postponed to Wednesday, 7:30 pm)
2A Mapletown at Carmichaels (postponed to Wednesday, 7 pm)
1A Avella at Cornell (postponed to Wednesday, 7:30 pm)
Monday Girls
2A Fort Cherry 60, Burgettstown 41
January 7, 2025 4:33 am
The Steelers offense may be struggling but that’s not stopping at least two teams from expressing an interest in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. According to reports, The New York Jets and Chicago Bears have requested an interview with him to fill their head coaching vacancies. Because the Steelers are in the playoffs, in-person interviews with coaches under contract cannot take place until January 20 at the earliest. Virtual interviews can take place three days after the Steelers season ends. Smith, of course, is in his first season as the Steelers offensive coordinator.
January 7, 2025 4:26 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Chargers are planning to sign running back Ezekiel Elliott to their practice squad pending a physical. That’s according to two people familiar with the situation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the move had not been completed. The Chargers are the No. 5 seed in the AFC and open the playoffs at Houston on Saturday in a wild-card round game. Elliott was released by the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 31 so that he could possibly sign with a playoff team seeking a veteran running back.
January 6, 2025 4:33 am
Losers of four in a row, The Steelers get to open the playoffs in Baltimore against their division rival. The L.A Chargers secured the fifth seed by beating the Raiders Sunday. This will be the fifth time the two have met in the playoffs. The Steelers are 3-1 in the first four but those were all in Pittsburgh and theywill be a decided underdog in the Saturday night matchup. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m.
January 6, 2025 4:33 am
DETROIT (AP) — Jahmyr Gibbs scored three of his franchise-record tying four touchdowns in the second half, and the Detroit Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings 31-9 to win their second straight NFC North title and earn home-field advantage until the Super Bowl. The Lions and Vikings could meet again in two weeks. Detroit will have a much-needed bye for its banged-up team during the first week of the playoffs while Minnesota plays at the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams next Monday night. Gibbs had 23 carries for 139 yards with a career-high three rushing touchdowns and caught five passes for 31 yards and another score.
January 6, 2025 9:48 am
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Doug Pederson is out as Jacksonville’s head coach after the franchise’s “best team assembled” won just four games. Jaguars owner Shad Khan fired Pederson following a 26-23 overtime loss at Indianapolis. It was the team’s 18th loss in its last 23 games. But Khan kept general manager Trent Baalke, a questionable decision that surely will affect who will become Jacksonville’s next coach. Khan made the move with one year remaining on Pederson’s contract. The 56-year-old Pederson went 23-30 with Jacksonville, a far cry from the Super Bowl-winning coach Khan thought he hired in February 2021.
