January 28, 2023 3:55 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) – Jon Rahm made an impressive charge up the leaderboard on his favorite course with a 6-under 66 at Torrey Pines to pull within two shots of leader Sam Ryder after the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open. Ranked No. 3 in the world, Rahm is one round away from his third win in as many starts and taking over at No. 1 for the first time since March 20. He began Friday at 4 under and tied for 14th, and moved into sole possession of second place after an eagle on the par-5 ninth hole. Ryder shot a steady 72 to remain at 12 under par through 54 holes.
January 27, 2023 3:49 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nicklas Backstrom had the shootout winner to help the Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in a matchup of rivals jockeying for position in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Alex Ovechkin scored his 32nd goal of the season and 812th of his NHL career. The Capitals snapped a two-game skid. Pittsburgh extended its point streak to six. The Penguins played past regulation for the fifth time in six games. Pittsburgh’s Casey DeSmith stopped 43 of 45 shots he faced in regulation and overtime.
January 27, 2023 4:08 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney is optimistic about his team’s future following a strong finish to the 2022 season. The Steelers won seven of their final nine games to end up at 9-8. Rooney praised the development of rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett and said the improvement the offense made over the second half of the season was the driving force in retaining offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Rooney also gave coach Mike Tomlin credit for the way he handled a young roster, saying he’s “excited” about the steps Pittsburgh could take in 2023 and beyond.
January 27, 2023 3:51 am
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers have hired Frank Reich as their new head coach following an extensive search. The 61-year-old Reich joins the Panthers after spending the past four-plus seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, where he went 40-33-1 as head coach before being fired on Nov. 7. The Colts went to the playoffs twice as a wild-card team under Reich. For Reich, the hire represents a return to Carolina, where he spent one season as the team’s quarterback and started the franchise’s inaugural game in 1995. He was chosen over candidates including Steve Wilks, who served as the team’s defensive coordinator before being promoted to interim coach.
January 27, 2023 3:53 am
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Billy Packer, an Emmy award-winning college basketball broadcaster who covered 34 Final Fours for NBC and CBS, has died at 82. Packer’s son, Mark, told The Associated Press on Thursday night that his father had been hospitalized for the past three weeks and had several medical issues, and ultimately succumbed to kidney failure. Packer’s broadcasting career coincided with the growth of college basketball. He worked as analyst or color commentator on every Final Four from 1975 to 2008.
January 27, 2023 2:16 am
The WPIAL Team Tournament pairings were released by the League Thursday afternoon, including top seeds for #1 Waynesburg & #2 Canon-McMillan in Class 3A, #1 Burgettstown in Class 2A. Action starts Monday night with two preliminary matches in each class including Jeff-Morgan taking on Valley at 6 pm at Carlynton. The top four seeds in each bracket host four-team groups in Wednesday for first round and quarterfinals. We’ll have the Canon-McMillan matches on WJPA-AM (1450) with the Trinity and Peters Township matches from Butler on WJPA-FM (95.3). The survivors of each of those groups moves to the WPIAL Semifinals/Finals, Saturday, Feb. 4, at Peters Township (Class 3A starting at 10 am) and Chartiers-Houston (Class 2A starting at 12 noon). WPIAL Brackets CLICK HERE
Schedule for Washington/Greene County teams:
Monday, Jan. 30
Class 2A Preliminary Round (6 pm at Carlynton)
#15 Jeff-Morgan vs. #18 Valley (winner to first round Wednesday at #2 Quaker Valley)
Wednesday, Feb. 1
Class 2A First Round (all at 6 pm)
#16 Carlynton/#17 Southmoreland winner AT #1 Burgettstown
#7 McGuffey vs. #10 Freedom at Quaker Valley
Class 2A Quarterfinals (all at 7:30 pm)
Burgettstown winner vs. Mt. Pleasant/Montour winner at Burgettstown
McGuffey/Freedom winner vs. Quaker Valley winner at Quaker Valley
Class 3A First Round (all at 6 pm)
Bethel Park/Fox Chapel winner AT #1 Waynesburg
Penn-Trafford/Kiski winner AT #2 Canon-McMillan
#6 Trinity vs. #11 Hempfield at Butler
#14 Peters Township AT #3 Butler
Class 3A Quarterfinals (all at 7:30 pm)
Waynesburg winner vs. North Allegheny/Plum winner at Waynesburg
Canon-McMillan winner vs. Latrobe/Norwin winner at Canon-McMillan
Trinity/Hempfield winner vs. Peters Township/Butler winner at Butler
January 25, 2023 10:23 pm
The final WPIAL Team Tournament berths were decided Wednesday night as the section dual meet season ended. The top three finishers in each section make the team tournament. Waynesburg won the Section 5-AAA title with a 39-27 win over Trinity, dropping the Hillers to third place in the section. Section 6-AAA went to Canon-McMillan with a 45-18 win at Peters Township. Burgettstown had already clinched the Section 1-AA title, going unbeaten. The Blue Devils are expected to be the 2A top seed when brackets are released Thursday. Waynesburg, Canon-McMillan and Burgettstown are expected to host 4-team pods on Wednesday. When the brackets are released, we’ll list the match-ups with bracket links.
Following is a breakdown of Washington & Greene County teams:
Section 5-AAA: Waynesburg is first, Trinity third.
Section 6-AAA: Canon-McMillan is first, Peters Township second.
Section 1-AA: Burgettstown is first, McGuffey second. Jeff-Morgan topped Beth-Center to claim the third spot.
January 26, 2023 4:00 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Blake Hinson scored 24 points on a program-record tying eight 3-pointers and Pittsburgh held on to defeat Wake Forest 81-79 after blowing a 13-point second-half lead. After Wake Forest took its only lead of the second half at 74-73 with 4:34 remaining, Pitt got consecutive 3-pointers from Greg Elliott and Hinson to go back up by five. Tyree Appleby hit a 3-pointer and later added two free throws to get Wake Forest within 81-79 with 1:05 to go but neither team would score again. Hinson made 8 of 14 from 3-point range and Elliott made 6 of 9 for 18 points. The Panthers buried a program-record 18 3-pointers in 37 attempts.
January 26, 2023 2:37 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry’s on-again, off-again season is now off again. Coach Mike Sullivan says the two-time All-Star will miss at least two games with an upper-body injury. Jarry was scheduled to start against Florida on Tuesday night but reported an upper-body issue when he arrived at PPG Paints Arena. Casey DeSmith got the last-second start as the Penguins pulled out a wild 7-6 victory over the Panthers.
January 26, 2023 3:47 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes went through a morning walkthrough Wednesday and intends to practice as usual, raising expectations that the All-Pro quarterback will not be slowed by his sprained right ankle in this weekend’s AFC title game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Mahomes said the injury is similar to one he played through early in the 2019 season, when he came back the following week to throw four touchdown passes in a win over the Raiders. The only difference is it’s the opposite ankle. The Chiefs and Bengals play Sunday night for a spot in the Super Bowl.
