February 6, 2026 4:28 am
A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that pitcher José Urquidy and the Pittsburgh Pirates have agreed to a $1.5 million, one-year contract. A 30-year-old right-hander, Urquidy adds depth to the Pirates staff and gives the team roster flexibility because he can be optioned to the minor leagues. He had Tommy John surgery on June 5, 2024, while with Houston, signed a $1 million, one-year deal with Detroit last March and returned to the major leagues on Sept. 14. He made two big league relief appearances last year and had a 7.71 ERA over 2 1/3 innings.
February 6, 2026 4:38 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Matthew Stafford edged Drake Maye for the AP NFL Most Valuable Player award on Thursday night in the closest race since Peyton Manning and Steve McNair were co-winners in 2003. Stafford received 24 of 50 first-place votes while Maye got 23. But Maye has a chance to go home this week with a Vince Lombardi Trophy. He leads the New England Patriots against the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
February 5, 2026 2:05 am
The WPIAL basketball regular season wraps up on Saturday with the League’s steering committee set to release playoff brackets Monday afternoon. Most teams have one game remaining with a few playoff spots still to be decided. Here’s a look at the playoff status for the 19 schools from the Washington/Greene County area. (* clinched at least a share of the section title)
Girls
IN–Bentworth (2A), Beth-Center (2A), Burgettstown (2A), California (2A), Canon-McMillan* (6A), Chartiers-Houston* (2A), Fort Cherry* (2A), McGuffey (3A), Trinity (5A), Waynesburg (3A), West Greene (1A)
ALIVE–Peters Township (5A), Ringgold (4A), Wash High (3A)
OUT–Avella (1A), Charleroi (3A), Carmichaels (2A), Jeff-Morgan (2A), Mapletown (1A)
Boys
IN–Avella (1A), Bentworth (2A), Beth-Center (2A), Charleroi (3A), Chartiers-Houston* (2A), Fort Cherry (2A), Peters Township (5A), Wash High (3A), Jeff-Morgan (2A), Waynesburg (3A), West Greene (2A),
ALIVE–McGuffey (3A), Ringgold (5A)
OUT–Burgettstown (2A), California (2A), Canon-McMillan (6A), Trinity (5A), Carmichaels (2A), Mapletown (2A)
February 5, 2026 4:24 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Right-hander Mike Clevinger has agreed to a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates and will attend big league spring training camp. The 35-year-old is 60-44 with a 3.55 ERA across nine seasons with Cleveland, San Diego and the Chicago White Sox. Clevinger has dealt with injuries in recent seasons and struggled with the White Sox last spring after being moved to the bullpen. He bounced back after returning to the rotation with Triple-A Charlotte. Clevinger went 7-3 with a 4.20 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 22 starts in the minors last summer.
February 5, 2026 4:25 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL has suspended Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Caleb Jones for 20 games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy. The 28-year-old Jones says he believes he was exposed to a contaminated substance while receiving therapy from an outside health provider. Jones, who hasn’t played in the NHL since injuring his foot in October, says he didn’t use the substance intentionally. Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas said the club appreciates Jones’ transparency and that Jones has the team’s full support.
February 5, 2026 4:23 am
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State hockey star Gavin McKenna is facing a felony assault charge stemming from an incident on Jan. 31. The 18-year-old McKenna was also charged with simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. McKenna is the presumptive top pick in this summer’s NHL draft. He was awaiting a preliminary hearing as of Wednesday. Details of the allegations against McKenna were not immediately available, and his representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The incident happened in the hours after Penn State lost to No. 2 Michigan State in an outdoor game at Beaver Stadium, home of the Nittany Lions football team.
February 5, 2026 2:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike McCarthy has hired Brian Angelichio as the team’s offensive coordinator. Angelichio spent the past four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings as the tight ends coach and passing game coordinator. This move reunites McCarthy and Angelichio, who worked together in Green Bay from 2016 to 2018. Danny Crossman is joining the Steelers as special teams coordinator while Joe Whitt Jr. has been hired as assistant head coach and secondary coach. Domata Peko will serve as the defensive line coach. Peko was an assistant for McCarthy in Dallas in 2024.
February 3, 2026 2:53 am
It was a full slate, and them some, on the high school basketball calendar for Tuesday. All 19 Washington/Greene boys teams had section games tonight, joined by nine girls games involving teams from the two-county area. Wash High clinched a 3A playoff spot with the home win over Carlynton. McGuffey lost at Sto-Rox and will have to beat the Little Prexies Friday to qualify. Canon-McMillan and Trinity boys both lost and were officially eliminated from the playoff chase. Ringgold lost to Peters Township and still needs one more win to qualify in the 5A bracket. Avella topped Aquinas Academy and stays within reach of at least a share of the 1A Section 1 title.
On the girls side Tuesday, 4A Ringgold lost to South Park and, like the Rams’ boys team, needs one win to clinch a playoff spot. Wash High girls lost at Seton-La Salle tonight and will have to beat Keystone Oaks Thursday to qualify. Fort Cherry and Chartiers-Houston both wrapped up outright section titles with wins. Here’s the Tuesday section scoreboard:
Boys
6A Norwin 49, Canon-McMillan 45
5A Peters Township 59, Ringgold 50
5A South Fayette 54, Trinity 43
3A Wash High 56, Carlynton 43
3A Sto-Rox 72, McGuffey 35
3A Ligonier Valley 63, Waynesburg 44
3A Charleroi 96, Brownsville 65
2A Bentworth 64, California 15
2A Chartiers-Houston 63, Mapletown 13
2A Fort Cherry 63, West Greene 42
2A Beth-Center 74, Burgettstown 54
2A Jeff-Morgan 68, Carmichaels 41
1A Avella 69, Aquinas Academy 50
Girls
4A South Park 45, Ringgold 22
3A Seton-La Salle 64, Wash High 25
3A Keystone Oaks 72, Charleroi 29
2A Fort Cherry 59, Brentwood 21
2A South Side Beaver 35, Burgettstown 34
2A Chartiers-Houston 55, California 37
2A Bentworth 68, Carmichaels 45
1A Serra Catholic 69, Mapletown 17
1A West Greene 42, Monessen 31
February 4, 2026 4:35 am
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Sam Lewis scored 15 points, Thijs De Ridder had 10 points and 12 rebounds and No. 18 Virginia beat Pittsburgh 67-47 while scoring its fewest points this season. De Ridder, the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week, had his third double-double of the season. Chance Mallory scored 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting for the Cavaliers, and Malik Thomas had 10 points. Virginia has won three straight and eight of nine, with its only loss in that stretch coming to now-No. 14 North Carolina. Cameron Corhen and Nojus Indrusaitis scored 11 points apiece for the Panthers.
February 4, 2026 4:36 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Bo Horvat scored his second goal of the game 52 seconds into overtime and the New York Islanders beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4. Mathew Barzal had a goal and two assists, Ilya Sorokin made 31 saves and New York snapped its two-game skid. Matthew Schaefer added a goal and an assist, and Ryan Pulock also scored for the Islanders. Justin Brazeau had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who dropped their second consecutive game. Anthony Mantha, Egor Chinakhov and Bryan Rust also scored. Stuart Skinner stopped 18 shots. Horvat, who also had an assist, buried a breakaway in overtime to give the Islanders a critical victory in their second-to-last game before the Olympic break.
