February 9, 2022 3:50 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) – New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara is accused of punching a man about eight times, badly injuring him in an attack also involving at least three men who were with Kamara at a Las Vegas Strip nightclub. That’s according to a police arrest report made public Tuesday. The alleged victim fell unconscious while police say video shows he was punched, kicked and stomped on more than 20 times early Saturday. Identities of the three other alleged attackers were blacked out in the police report. No other arrests have been made. Kamara played in Sunday’s Pro Bowl game before he was arrested on a felony battery charge.
February 8, 2022 3:54 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Houston Texans are expected to hire Lovie Smith as their head coach, a person familiar with the process told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the team had not announced that Smith would be hired. The same source said an official announcement was expected later Monday or Tuesday morning. Smith, who is Black, will be the second minority candidate to be hired this offseason after the Miami Dolphins hired San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, who is biracial, on Sunday.
February 8, 2022 3:53 am
BEIJING (AP) – Marie-Philip Poulin capped a three-goal run by scoring on a penalty shot with 2:35 left in the second period and Canada upended the defending Olympic champion United States 4-2 to claim the women’s hockey tournament’s top seed entering the playoff round. The two global hockey powers are still expected to meet once more in the gold-medal final next week. Brianne Jenner scored twice, Poulin had a goal and assist and Jamie Lee Rattray also scored for Canada. Alex Carpenter and Dani Cameranesi scored for the Americans. Maddie Rooney stopped 23 shots.
February 8, 2022 3:56 am
UNDATED (AP) – Two people familiar with the sport’s Joint Drug Program tell The Associated Press that Major League Baseball has stopped testing players for steroids for the first time in nearly 20 years due to the expiration of the sport’s drug agreement. When the 2017-21 drug agreement was negotiated, the sides included a provision that states “the termination date and time of the program shall be 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1, 2021.” That matched the expiration of the five-year labor contract.
February 7, 2022 2:38 am
The sprint to the finish is here for WPIAL basketball teams. One week remains in the regular season, albeit a very busy week for some with as many as four section games on the docket. The top four teams in each section qualify and only section games count in that process. Playoff spots are in hand for Peters Township, Ringgold, Charleroi, California, Burgettstown, Fort Cherry and Avella girls teams. Boys squads who have already punched their tickets include Wash High, Fort Cherry and California. Here’s a look at where each Washington County team stands as we move into the final week of section play.
Girls
6A Peters Township (6-3) has clinched its berth and is tied for for second with Upper St. Clair. The two meet Monday night at USC. Canon-McMillan (0-10) has been eliminated.
5A Trinity (10-0) leads Section 3, has clinched a playoff berth and is ranked #2 behind Chartiers Valley in the latest TribHSSN rankings. The Hillers have rolled past most section foes and host Albert Gallatin Monday night. Hear the game on WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here starting at 7:05 pm. The Colonials gave Trinity one of the few challenges the first time through the section. Ringgold (2-5) is currently tied for fifth, a game back of Connellsville. The two split their regular season games. The Rams need to win two of three games this week at least.
3A Charleroi (6-4) has won four of its last five games to settle into fourth place, three games up on the rest of the section. Playoff spots from Section 2 are locked up and that leaves McGuffey (3-7), Bentworth (2-8) and Wash High (0-10) on the outside.
2A California (5-3) is in third place in Section 2 with a playoff spot in hand. Beth-Center (0-8) can not qualify. Burgettstown (6-1) has clinched a berth and leads Section 3 with three to play, all against teams on the bottom of the standings. Fort Cherry (5-2) pulled into a tie for second and clinched a playoff spot with a win at Burgettstown. Chartiers-Houston (3-3) is fourth and locks up a spot with a win in any of its four games this week. With a little help, the Bucs could pull all the way into a tie for the section title. Chartiers-Houston visits Fort Cherry Tuesday. Hear the game on WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here starting at 5:50 pm.
1A Avella (4-3) is tied for third with Mapletown in Section 2, having lost to the top two teams, beating the two teams below them and splitting with the Maples.
Boys
6A Canon-McMillan (3-5) stayed alive in the playoff race with a home win over Baldwin Saturday. CM visits Upper St. Clair Tuesday. Hear the game on WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here starting at 7:20 pm. The Big Macs need to win out to stay in the chase. Peters Township (1-7) has been eliminated.
5A Ringgold (2-6) is a game back of Thomas Jefferson for the fourth spot in Section 1. The two meet at Ringgold Tuesday. Trinity (0-8) can not make the playoffs out of Section 2.
3A Wash High (9-0) has clinched a playoff spot, leads Section 4, two games ahead of Brownsville with three games left. The Little Prexies clinch a share of the section title with any win, and win it outright with two more wins or a Brownsville loss. Charleroi (3-5) has dropped to fifth place, a half-game back of Waynesburg. McGuffey (2-7) is two games back of the last berth and virtually needs to win out. Beth-Center (0-10) can not make the playoffs.
2A Fort Cherry (6-1) is one game back of Section 2 leader Carlynton. The Rangers host the Cougars Wednesday night. Hear the game on WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here starting at 7:20 pm. Chartiers-Houston (3-4) sits in 4th place and can clinch a playoff spot with any win. Burgettstown (0-7) must win out and get help but to qualify. California (3-4) is in 4th place in Section 4 and has clinched. Bentworth (1-7) must win out and get help from Jeff-Morgan and Carmichaels against California.
1A Avella (1-6) is in last place in Section 2, two games back of the final playoff position and needs a perfect storm to earn a playoff spot, three wins plus two losses by Mapletown (3-4).
February 7, 2022 3:56 am
Looks like the Steelers may have found their new defensive coordinator. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the team is expected to finalize a deal with Teryl Austin to take over for Keith Butler who retired. Austin has been the team’s senior defensive assistant/secondary coach the past three seasons. He previously worked as a defensive coordinator in the NFL with the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals. The 56 year old native of Sharon played at Pitt.
February 7, 2022 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – Justin Herbert hit Mark Andrews with two touchdown passes, leading the AFC to a 41-35 victory over the NFC in the return of the Pro Bowl. Herbert won the offensive MVP award after passing for 98 yards and finding the Baltimore tight end for two TDs in the first half of the Los Angeles Chargers star’s first Pro Bowl appearance. New England rookie Mac Jones passed for 112 yards and a touchdown pass in the game, which came back from a one-year hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Maxx Crosby of the hometown Raiders won the defensive MVP award with two sacks and three tackles for loss. Kyler Murray passed for 160 yards and three touchdowns for the NFC. After playing in the Pro Bowl, Saints running back Alvin Kamara was arrested and accused of beating someone the night before in a Las Vegas nightclub. Kamara had four catches for 23 yards for the NFC in the game. He was taken into custody and booked at the Clark County Detention Center on charges of battery resulting in substantial bodily harm.
February 7, 2022 3:48 am
MIAMI (AP) – The Miami Dolphins hired San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel as their head coach, making him the first minority candidate to get hired so far this offseason.
The biracial McDaniel replaces Brian Flores, who was fired despite posting winning records in the final two of his three seasons in Miami. McDaniel had worked under 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan for the past 11 seasons and gets his first shot as a head coach after only one year as offensive coordinator. Flores sued the NFL, the Dolphins and two other teams last week over alleged racist hiring practices for coaches and general managers, saying the league remains “rife with racism” even as it publicly condemns it.
February 6, 2022 8:49 am
Waynesburg won its third-straight WPIAL Team Tournament Class 3A wrestling championship Saturday, with wins over #4 Canon-McMillan in the semifinals and #3 Connellsville in the championship match. The Raiders are the defending PIAA champions and will begin defense of that title Thursday night at the Giant Center in Hershey. Canon-McMillan fell to #2 Greater Latrobe in the third-place match. The Big Macs travel to Cumberland Valley for a preliminary round match Monday. That winner goes to Hershey to face the District 11 champion Bethlehem Catholic Monday evening.
Quaker Valley won its first-ever WPIAL Team Tournament Class 2A championship, beating previously undefeated Burgettstown in the semifinals, then knocking off 15-time defending champion Burrell in the finals. The Quakers only won six bouts in each dual meet but scored six pints against Burgettstown and four against Burrell. Burgettstown rebounded to beat Mt. Pleasant in the third-place match, earning a spot in the PIAA preliminary round, Monday evening at Ft. LeBoeuf outside of Erie. That winner advances to the first round in Hershey Thursday against District 9 champion Brookville. Click for Brackets: WPIAL — PIAA
February 6, 2022 7:39 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — If any hockey executive is somehow still uncertain whether Claude Giroux can deliver on the biggest stages, the Philadelphia captain’s MVP performance in the NHL All-Star Game demonstrated his skills under pressure one more time. Giroux scored three goals and the Metropolitan Division beat the Central Division 5-3 on Saturday in the final 3-on-3 match to win the NHL All-Star Game. Giroux excelled under the bright lights as he nears a critical moment in his career: It’s well-known around the NHL that the 34-year-old star could be on the move before next month’s trade deadline after spending his entire career with the Flyers. The seven-time All-Star won his first MVP award with two goals in the final and another in the semifinal. Giroux also picked up the $1 million check shared among the winning players as the captain of the Metropolitan squad — a job he got at late notice in place of Alex Ovechkin, who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week. After a one-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NHL’s midseason showcase returned with the 3-on-3 tournament format introduced in 2016 and employed in the previous five All-Star events.
