February 15, 2024 4:36 am
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers have fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks three days after losing the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs. Coach Kyle Shanahan announced the decision to move on after one season with Wilks in charge of the defense. Shanahan called it a “really tough decision” but says he wants to find a coordinator who was a better scheme fit for the talent on San Francisco’s defense. The Niners struggled on defense in the playoffs and allowed four straight scoring drives to end their Super Bowl loss against Kansas City.
February 15, 2024 1:30 am
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates announced one-year contracts with two-time All-Star catcher Yasmani Grandal and left-hander Josh Fleming as the team started spring training. Grandal gets a $2.5 million salary and Fleming receives a split contract calling for $850,000 while in the major leagues and $240,000 while in the minors. The 35-year-old Grandal was an All-Star with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015 and with Milwaukee in 2019. He is a career .237 hitter and has topped 20 home runs five times. The 27-year-old Fleming is 19-13 with a 4.88 ERA across four seasons, all with Tampa Bay.
February 15, 2024 4:37 am
Don Gullett, a standout major league pitcher who played for four consecutive World Series champions in the 1970s, has died. He was 73. The Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees and Baseball Hall of Fame all paid tribute to Gullett in social media posts. There was no information provided on his death, but the Cincinnati Enquirer reported he had recent health issues. Gullett went 109-50 with a 3.11 ERA in nine seasons with the Reds and Yankees. The left-hander had 44 complete games, 14 shutouts and 11 saves in 266 career games. He was inducted into the Reds’ Hall of Fame in 2002.
February 14, 2024 4:35 am
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Blake Hinson scored 27 points and made five of Pittsburgh’s 14 3-pointers, and the surging Panthers ended No. 21 Virginia’s nation’s-best 23-game home winning streak with a 74-63 victory. Hinson had 18 points after halftime and Jaland Lowe finished with 12 for the Panthers. Pittsburgh has won four straight and six of seven, continuing its push into NCAA Tournament consideration. Virginia’s eight-game winning streak was snapped. Reece Beekman led the Cavaliers with 19 points, but Virginia’s normally stout defense couldn’t slow Pittsburgh.
February 13, 2024 1:46 am
The WPIAL Basketball playoffs begin Friday night as the League set the pairings for this year’s tournaments. All told, Washington/Greene Counties have 12 girls and 12 boys teams in the brackets. Peters Township is the highest-seeded girls team, checking in at #2 in 6A after suffering their first loss of the season Friday night. Trinity girls moved up to the #3 seed in the 5A brackets with an impressive road win at Lincoln Park last Thursday. Waynesburg is seeded sixth in the 3A girls with Fort Cherry, Chartiers-Houston and Wash High slotted 4-5-6 in the 2A girls pairings. On the boys side, Fort Cherry is the highest-seeded squad among the teams from the two-county area, checking in at #4 in the 2A bracket. 5A Peters Township is listed at #5. The schedule for each team’s first game is below. We’ll have live coverage of as many games as we can, on-air and online. Our audio stream is free to all. The video, when possible, will be streamed through WPIAL partner NFHS Network (links provided). For WPIAL brackets, CLICK HERE.
Friday, Feb. 16–all at 7 pm & home gyms except as noted
2A Girls #9 Rochester at #8 Burgettstown
2A Girls #12 South Side Area at #5 Chartiers-Houston
2A Girls #11 Winchester Thurston at #6 Wash High
2A Girls #15 California at #2 Aliquippa
2A Girls #4 Fort Cherry vs. #13 Beth-Center, 6 pm at Peters Township
1A Boys #10 California vs. #7 Aquinas Academy, 8 pm at Peters Township
1A Boys #9 Avella at #8 West Greene, 6:45 pm, WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen/Watch Here
1A Boys #11 Jeff-Morgan at #6 Carlynton
5A Boys #17 Woodland Hills at #16 Trinity, 6:45 pm, WJPA-AM (1450) Listen/Watch Here
Saturday, Feb. 17
3A Girls #14 McGuffey at #3 Beaver Falls, 11:45 am, WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen/Watch Here
3A Girls #11 Seton-La Salle at #6 Waynesburg, 12 noon
Monday, Feb. 19–all at 7 pm & home gyms except as noted
1A Girls #9 Jeannette at #8 West Greene
1A Girls #11 Mapletown at #6 Bishop Canevin
3A Boys #9 Ellwood City at #8 Wash High, 6:45 pm, WJPA-AM (1450) Listen/Watch Here
3A Boys #15 McGuffey at #2 Mohawk
5A Boys #12 Kiski Area at #5 Peters Township
5A Boys #16 Trinity at #1 Moon Area (if Trinity wins)
Tuesday, Feb. 20–all at 7 pm & home gyms except as noted
5A Girls #14 Woodland Hills at #3 Trinity, 6:45 pm, WJPA-AM (1450) Listen/Watch Here
2A Boys #13 Winchester Thurston vs. #4 Fort Cherry, 7 pm at Avella
2A Boys #9 Chartiers-Houston at #8 Serra Catholic
2A Boys #12 Burgettstown at #5 Bishop Canevin, 6:45 pm, WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen/Watch Here
Thursday, Feb. 22–times to be determined
6A Girls #7 Pine-Richland at #2 Peters Township
Friday, Feb. 23–times to be determined
6A Boys #7 Canon-McMillan at #2 Central Catholic
February 14, 2024 4:37 am
Two people with knowledge of the agreement say ESPN and the College Football Playoff have agreed to a six-year deal worth $1.3 billion annually that will allow the network to keep exclusive rights to the 12-team playoff through the 2031 season. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because a deal cannot be finalized until the CFP works through other outstanding issues regarding the format and revenue distribution. The Athletic first reported an agreement had been reached on those terms. ESPN declined to comment and CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock says negotiations are continuing.
February 13, 2024 4:33 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers have cut quarterback Mitch Trubisky, sending the former No. 2 overall draft pick into free agency after two disappointing seasons. Trubisky signed with the Steelers in March 2022 and was given first crack at replacing the retired Ben Roethlisberger. Trubisky started four games before being benched in favor of then-rookie Kenny Pickett. Trubisky struggled again this season while filling in for an injured Pickett, losing two starts before being replaced by third-stringer Mason Rudolph. The Steelers also cut offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor and punter Pressley Harvin III on Monday.
February 13, 2024 4:34 am
The longest Super Bowl game will also go down as the most-watched program in television history. According to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, Kansas City’s 25-22 overtime victory over San Francisco averaged 123.4 million viewers across television and streaming platforms. That shattered last year’s mark of 115.1 million for Kansas City’s last-play victory over Philadelphia and is a 7% increase. The game was televised by CBS, Nickelodeon and Univision and streamed on Paramount+ as well as the NFL’s digital platforms. Some of the increase can be attributed to a change in the way viewers are counted, with out-of-home viewers from all 50 states included for the first time.
February 12, 2024 4:48 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid have made the Kansas City Chiefs a dynasty. They’re already thinking three-peat. First, they had to become the NFL’s first back-to-back Super Bowl champions in 19 years. Mahomes made sure of it, leading another super comeback on the NFL’s biggest stage in America’s showcase capital. Mahomes threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman in overtime, and the Chiefs rallied to beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 on Sunday, becoming the NFL’s ninth repeat Super Bowl champs. With pop star Taylor Swift watching boyfriend Kelce from a suite, the Chiefs captured their third title in five years and joined some of the league’s greatest franchises.
February 12, 2024 4:50 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — San Francisco’s decision to take the ball first in overtime of the Super Bowl will be debated for a while. The 49ers drove for a field goal, then lost 25-22 when Patrick Mahomes guided Kansas City 75 yards the other way for the winning touchdown. San Francisco’s drive ended when the 49ers kicked a field goal on fourth-and-4 from the 9. If they’d known three points wouldn’t be good enough, they could have gone for a touchdown in that spot. Instead it was the Chiefs who knew exactly what they needed to do to win.
