March 23, 2023 3:46 am
Notre Dame is finalizing a deal to make Penn State’s Micah Shrewsberry its new men’s basketball coach, two people with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because contract details were still being completed and needed school approval. Shrewsberry, in his second season at Penn State, led the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 and a tournament victory for the first time since 2001. He will replace Mike Brey at Notre Dame. Shrewsberry grew up in Indianapolis and his first head coaching job was at an NAIA school in South Bend, Indiana, where Notre Dame is located.
March 22, 2023 2:23 am
The South Fayette girls have never played in a basketball state championship game. That will remain fact until Saturday night when the Lions take on District 12 champion Archbishop Wood for the 5A state title. South Fayette got 24 points from Maddie Webber, 14 more from Ava Leroux and held off Oakland Catholic late in the game to get the 58-54 win. The Lions were 10-of-11 at the foul line including Leroux’s 4-for-4 performance in the final period, sealing the win with a pair with just eight seconds to play.
South Fayette sprinted to leads of 8-0, 15-7 and 19-10 in the opening quarter. Oakland Catholic responded with runs of 8-2 and 10-4 to pull within two at halftime, and after three quarters. Oakland Catholic, which never led in the game, pulled even for the first (and only) time with 4:18 to play on Jill Gallo bucket in close. Following the under-4 time out, Leroux hit two free throws, Lainey Yater added two more with 1:06 to play. Oakland Catholic got another bucket from Gallo and two points from Rachel Haver to pull within 56-54 with 13 seconds to play. Leroux’s two makes on a 1-and-1 set the game’s final margin. The Lions will ride a 22-game win streak into the final against Archbishop Wood, making an 11th title game appearance, all since 2010. PIAA Brackets
Saturday, March 25, State Championship Game
5A Girls South Fayette vs. Archbishop Wood, 5:45 pm at Giant Center, Hershey, WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
March 22, 2023 3:58 am
MIAMI (AP) – Shohei Ohtani emerged from the bullpen and fanned Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout for the final out in a matchup the whole baseball world wanted to see, leading Japan over the defending champion United States 3-2 for its first World Baseball Classic title since 2009. Ohtani, the two-way star who has captivated fans across two continents, beat out an infield single in the seventh inning as a designated hitter, then walked down the left-field line to Japan’s bullpen to warm up for his third mound appearance of the tournament. Trout, the U.S. captain and a three-time MVP, struck out on a full-count pitch.
March 22, 2023 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed longtime Philadelphia Eagles guard Isaac Seumalo to a three-year, $24 million contract. Seumalo’s arrival fortifies the interior of the Steelers offensive line as Pittsburgh builds around second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett. The 29-year-old Seumalo started 60 games across seven seasons with the Eagles, who selected him in the third round of the 2016 draft. Seumalo appeared in 81 games in all for Philadelphia and won a Super Bowl with the Eagles following the 2017 season. Seumalo is considered an excellent run blocker, though he has improved in pass protection during his career. He allowed just one sack while playing 1,137 offensive snaps in 2022.
March 22, 2023 8:00 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Willis Reed, who dramatically emerged from the locker room minutes before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals to spark the New York Knicks to their first championship and create one of sports’ most enduring examples of playing through pain, has died. He was 80. Reed died Tuesday, according to the National Basketball Retired Players Association, which confirmed it through his family. Reed had been in poor health recently and was unable to travel to New York when the Knicks honored the 50th anniversary of their 1973 NBA championship team last month. Nicknamed “The Captain,” Reed was the undersized center and emotional leader on the Knicks’ two NBA championship teams.
March 20, 2023 12:01 am
South Fayette girls have never played in a state championship game. Oakland Catholic has seven times but not since losing in the 2012 final. Now, one of those droughts will end as the two meet in the PIAA 5A semifinals Tuesday night at Peters Township and on WJPA-FM (95.3). The Lions beat the Eagles for the WPIAL championship early in the month. Since then, both teams rolled through the first two rounds of the state playoffs, then won their quarterfinal games at the last minute: South Fayette on a buzzer beater, Oakland Catholic in overtime. The winner will take on the Archbishop Wood / West Chester Rustin winner in Saturday night’s championship game. PIAA Brackets
Tuesday, March 21, Semifinal (winners to PIAA Final Saturday)
5A Girls South Fayette vs. Oakland Catholic, 6:15 pm at Peters Township, WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
March 21, 2023 3:46 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dylan Ferguson stopped 48 shots in his first NHL start, and the Ottawa Senators topped the reeling Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1. Drake Batherson’s power-play goal with 2:09 left in regulation helped the Senators end a five-game losing streak. Thomas Chabot scored his 10th goal for Ottawa, which won in Pittsburgh for the first time since 2014. Rickard Rakell scored his 21st of the season for the Penguins. Tristan Jarry made 19 saves but couldn’t stop Pittsburgh from falling behind Florida for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.
March 21, 2023 3:51 am
MIAMI (AP) — Shohei Ohtani sparked a ninth-inning rally with a leadoff double, and Munetaka Murakami hit a walk-off, two-run double to lift Japan over Mexico 6-5 and into the World Baseball Classic final. Japan will face the defending champion United States in Tuesday night’s championship game. Ohtani went 2 for 4. The Los Angeles Angels star scored in the seventh when Masataka Yoshida hit a tying, three-run homer off reliever JoJo Romero.
March 21, 2023 3:50 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Rick Pitino is back in the Big East Conference. St. John’s has hired the Hall of Fame coach to boost a storied program that’s been mired in mediocrity for much of this century. The school posted the announcement on Twitter, and Pitino is expected to be formally introduced during a news conference Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. Following a successful run at nearby mid-major Iona, the 70-year-old Pitino was plucked away to replace Mike Anderson, who was fired March 10 after four seasons in charge of the Red Storm without making the NCAA Tournament.
March 19, 2023 1:33 am
WJPA-AM (1450) is your radio home for all the action, running right through the Men’s National Championship Game April 3 in Houston. You can also listen online through our partnership with Westwood One and the NCAA! Our coverage includes feature games each day with live ‘look-ins” for the 1st & 2nd Rounds, then expanded coverage through the national semifinals. And the Women’s Tournament comes back to WJPA starting March 24 with Sweet 16 action running through the Women’s National Championship Game Sunday, April 2 in Dallas. WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
Sunday, March 18, Second Round
#3 Xavier 84, #11 Pitt 73
#3 Kansas State 75, #6 Kentucky 69
#7 Michigan State 69, #2 Marquette 60
#4 UConnecticut 70, #5 St. Mary’s 55
#6 Creighton 85, #3 Baylor 76
#9 Florida Atlantic 78, #16 Fairleigh-Dickinson 70
#5 Miami 85, #4 Indiana 69
#3 Gonzaga 84, #6 TCU 81
