February 22, 2023 2:01 am
The WPIAL Basketball quarterfinals continue Thursday night. In most classes, teams now have three chances to lock up berths in the state tournament: win now and reach the semifinals or win either of two consolation rounds. As we head to the quarterfinals, Washington County is down to six remaining teams (5 girls, 1 boys). Greene County has two girls teams still in contention. We have a pair of girls games on our broadcast schedule including our first looks at #8 Peters Township (WJPA-FM) and #10 Avella (WJPA-AM). All of our broadcasts will be available online as well. The WPIAL Championships are set for the Petersen Events Center March 2-4. WPIAL Brackets CLICK HERE
Wednesday, Feb. 22
Quarterfinals
5A Boys #1 Peters Township 68, #8 South Fayette 60
2A Girls #5 Burgettstown 50, #4 Greensburg Central Catholic 45
2A Girls #2 Freedom 45, #7 Chartiers-Houston 41 OT
3A Girls #1 Shady Side Academy 49, #8 Waynesburg 19
Peters Township boys never trailed, playing most of the game with leads of 5-11 points. Four Peters players hit double figures, led by Jack Dunbar’s 21. Brendan McCullough added 17. Elijah Hill netted 27 for South Fayette. Burgettstown girls led by four at the half, by six after three and held off Greensburg Central Catholic’s late rally. Jillian Frazier’s deep 3-pointer with less than 20 seconds to play put the Blue Devils over the top. Frazier’s 25-footer was part of her 16-point night. Kaitlyn Nease added 13, Addie Carnes 11 more. Both winners move to semifinal games on Saturday. Chartiers-Houston girls looked poised to join them but let a 10-point lead after three quarters get away and lost in overtime to Freedom. Waynesburg girls lost to #1 Shade Side by 30. Losers drop into the state qualifier brackets with games on Friday at the higher-seeded teams’ home gyms.
Thursday, Feb. 23
Quarterfinals
6A Girls #8 Peters Township at #1 Upper St. Clair, 6:50 pm WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
1A Girls #10 Avella at #2 Bishop Canevin, 6:50 pm WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
1A Girls #8 West Greene at #1 Union, 7 pm
Friday, Feb. 24
Quarterfinals
5A Girls #4 Trinity vs. #12 Woodland Hills, 5:50 pm at Mt. Lebanon WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
State Qualifier Bracket, Round I
2A Girls #7 Chartiers-Houston at #3 Serra Catholic, 8 pm
3A Girls #8 Waynesburg vs. #5 Our Lady/Sacred Heart, 8 pm at Keystone Oaks
Saturday, Feb. 25
Semifinals
5A Boys #1 Peters Township vs. #4 Gateway 1:50 pm at Mt. Lebanon WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
2A Girls #5 Burgettstown vs. #1 Shenango, 2 pm at Beaver Falls
February 23, 2023 3:46 am
PHOENIX (AP) – One of MLB’s most visible rule changes for 2023 is a sizable curtailing of infield shifts. The practice had grown exponentially over the past several years and has been partially blamed for a steady league-wide decline in batting average. The new rule states that all four infielders must have both feet within the outer boundary of the infield – and two infielders must be on each side of second base – when the pitch is delivered. MLB has also mandated that the infield dirt cutout have uniform dimensions in all 30 ballparks. The outfield edge of the dirt must be 95 feet from the front of the pitching rubber.
February 21, 2023 2:18 am
The first round of the WPIAL basketball playoffs wrapped Tuesday night with one of the biggest upsets as #14 Clairton knocked off #3 Ft. Cherry, ousting a returning WPIAL finalist. The Bears hit a number of early three pointers and took the Rangers out of their game. Elsewhere in boys action, Eden Christian grabbed an early 15-2 lead on Burgettstown and never looked back. Chartiers-Houston trailed only 27-26 halfway through the third quarter but Shenango outscored the Bucs 32-12 the rest of the way, cruising to victory. Avery Molek led the Bucs with 11 points, Jake Mele added 10.
On the girls side, Trinity led by 18 halfway through the fourth quarter but had to hold off Latrobe’s late rally to advance. Washington County is down to six remaining teams heading into the quarterfinals (5 girls, 1 boys). Greene County has two girls teams still in contention. Quarterfinal action begins Wednesday for 5A boys, 2A girls and 3A girls. We have a pair of games on our broadcast schedule including our first looks at #1 Peters Township boys (WJPA-FM) and #5 Burgettstown girls (WJPA-AM). All of our broadcasts will be available online as well. The WPIAL Championships are set for the Petersen Events Center March 2-4. WPIAL Brackets CLICK HERE
First Round
Tuesday, Feb. 21
2A Boys #5 Eden Christian 66, #12 Burgettstown 43
2A Boys #8 Shenango 59, #9 Chartiers-Houston 38
2A Boys #14 Clairton 53, #3 Ft. Cherry 46
5A Girls #4 Trinity 68, #13 Latrobe 61
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Feb. 22
5A Boys #1 Peters Township vs. #8 South Park, 6:50 pm at Bethel Park WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
2A Girls #5 Burgettstown vs. #4 Greensburg Central Catholic, 5:50 pm at Peters Township WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
2A Girls #7 Chartiers-Houston vs. #2 Freedom, 6 pm at Moon Area
3A Girls #8 Waynesburg vs. #1 Shady Side Academy, 6 pm at Norwin
February 22, 2023 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nelly Cummings scored 22 points and Blake Hinson scored 19 points and Pittsburgh beat Georgia Tech 76-68 to reach the 20-win mark for the first time since 2015-16. Federiko Federiko threw down a dunk with 9:09 left to put Pitt ahead 53-52 and the Panthers stayed ahead the rest of the way. Pitt led 32-33 at halftime. Miles Kelly scored 24 points shooting 6 of 13 from beyond 3-point range for Georgia Tech.
February 22, 2023 3:54 am
SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) – Of all of baseball’s tweaks under Commissioner Rob Manfred, the pitch clock might be the one that affects the most players. Whether you’re a pitcher, a catcher, a hitter or a baserunner, there’s no hiding from this rule change. The goal is to speed up play by limiting the parts of the game fans find particularly tedious. The clocks will count down from 30 seconds between batters. Between pitches, it will be 15 seconds with nobody on and 20 if there’s a baserunner. There are also limits on pickoff attempts that could help potential base stealers.
February 20, 2023 12:01 am
The WPIAL Basketball first round game wrap up Tuesday night with 4A & 5A girls and 2A boys. Nine Washington County teams (5 girls, 4 boys) are still alive in the brackets. Greene County has two girls teams still playing. We’ll update the daily schedule here. You can hear live coverage of two more first round games on WJPA Tuesday, then we’ll move to quarterfinals on Wednesday. All of our broadcasts will be available online as well. The WPIAL Championships are set for the Petersen Events Center March 2-4. WPIAL Brackets CLICK HERE
First Round
Monday, Feb. 20
3A Boys #1 Steel Valley 67, #16 McGuffey 44
3A Boys #9 Seton-La Salle 59, #8 Wash High 57
6A Girls #8 Peters Township 62, #9 Butler 49
1A Girls #10 Avella 62, #7 Riverview 38
1A Girls #8 West Greene 51, #9 Leechburg 23
McGuffey boys were within three against #1 Steel Valley at the half. The Ironmen dominated after intermission, outscoring the Highlanders 40-20. Seton-La Salle took the lead late in the second quarter, stretching it to as many as 11 points before the Little Prexies got to within a bucket late. The WHS 16-7 advantage over the final five minutes came up two points shy when Ruben Gordon’s final heave went wide left at the buzzer. Gordon had 19 points to lead Wash High. Connor Spratt put up 31 for the Rebels.
Peters Township girls were paced by Sami Bewick & Natalie Wetzel, each with 17 points, plus 16 more from Peri Cendroski, as the Indians earned another shot at #1 Upper St. Clair. Avella returns to the quarterfinals after a comfortable win at Riverview. The Eagles are in the quarters for the fourth time in five seasons but haven’t won two playoff games in a single season in more than 20 years. West Greene easily handled Leechburg in the 8/9 game, moving on to Thursday’s quarterfinals at #1 Union.
Tuesday, Feb. 21
2A Boys #12 Burgettstown vs. #5 Eden Christian, 5:50 pm at Mt. Lebanon WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
2A Boys #9 Chartiers-Houston at #8 Shenango, 6:50 pm WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
2A Boys #3 Ft. Cherry vs. #14 Clairton, 6 pm at South Fayette
5A Girls #13 Latrobe at #4 Trinity, 7 pm
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Feb. 22
5A Boys #1 Peters Township vs. #8 South Park, 6:50 pm at Bethel Park WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
2A Girls #5 Burgettstown vs. #4 Greensburg Central Catholic, 5:50 pm at Peters Township WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
2A Girls #7 Chartiers-Houston vs. #2 Freedom, 6 pm at Moon Area
3A Girls #8 Waynesburg vs. #1 Shady Side Academy, 6 pm at Norwin
Thursday, Feb. 23
6A Girls #8 Peters Township at #1 Upper St. Clair, 6:50 pm WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
1A Girls #10 Avella at #2 Bishop Canevin, 6:50 pm WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
1A Girls #8 West Greene at #1 Union, 7 pm
February 21, 2023 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Bo Horvat and Anders Lee scored less than 2 minutes apart in the third period to spark the New York Islanders to a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Horvat beat Tristan Jarry to the short side with 11:26 remaining to tie it. Jarry turned it over behind the Pittsburgh net moments later, kickstarting a sequence that ended with Lee jamming it home to give the injury-ravaged Islanders the lead. Brock Nelson scored twice for New York. Jarry made 28 saves in his return from a month-long absence due to an upper-body injury.
February 21, 2023 3:51 am
Houston returned to No. 1 in the AP men’s college basketball poll for the third time this season while Northwestern and Texas A&M barged into the rankings after each had a pair of impressive wins last week. The Cougars picked up 48 first-place votes from the 62-member national media panel with just two weeks left in the regular season. Alabama dropped one spot after losing to Tennessee and routing Georgia in its lone week at No. 1. The Crimson Tide held onto seven first-place votes, while Kansas also earned seven to climb two spots to No. 3. North Carolina State and Florida Atlantic dropped out after each lost games last week.
February 20, 2023 3:48 am
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Jayson Tatum put on a record-setting show, and made Giannis Antetokounmpo look like a genius. Tatum scored an All-Star Game-record 55 points, and Team Giannis ended LeBron James’ hold on All-Star captain supremacy by beating Team LeBron 184-175 in the NBA’s annual showcase exhibition game Game on Sunday night. Tatum had 27 of his points in the third quarter, another All-Star Game record for any period. He was the first pick by Antetokounmpo in the starters’ portion of the All-Star draft, and in the end, that pick proved to absolutely be the right one.
February 20, 2023 3:49 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Jon Rahm is back to No. 1 in the world and looking very much the part. He won the Genesis Invitational with a 69 in the final round at Riviera. That gives him a two-shot victory over Max Homa and a trophy presented by tournament host Tiger Woods. Woods played his first 72-hole tournament since the Masters last April. He shot 73 and tied for 45th. Rahm now has three wins in five starts this year on the PGA Tour. He has five wins in his last nine tournaments worldwide. He has made $9.4 million the last two months.
