February 3, 2024 4:39 am
TORONTO (AP) — NHL players are returning to the Olympics for the first time in more than a decade. The plan calls for the NHL to allow its players to participate in the 2026 Games in Milan and also in 2030. Commissioner Gary Bettman and players’ union executive director Marty Walsh announced the deal. NHL players have not been at an Olympics since 2014 in Sochi. The last two have been held in Asia and the pandemic was a factor in scuttling 2022 plans for Beijing. The international calendar also includes a four-nation tournament involving the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland next year.
February 2, 2024 4:31 am
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The Las Vegas Raiders are hiring former Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury to be their offensive coordinator, a person informed of the decision told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been finalized. This is the first major hire for new Raiders coach Antonio Pierce, who had the interim tag removed Jan. 19. Kingsbury spent this past season at USC as an offensive analyst. Kingsbury went 28-37-1 over four seasons at the Cardinals coach from 2019-22.
February 2, 2024 4:28 am
The Washington Commanders have an agreement with Dan Quinn to hire him as coach, two people with knowledge of the move tell The Associated Press. Quinn has been the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator for the past three seasons. He coached the Falcons to a Super Bowl appearance in his five-plus years in Atlanta. Quinn became the choice for Washington after Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson informed teams he was staying with Detroit. Controlling owner Josh Harris, new general manager Adam Peters and Quinn give the organization a much-desired new approach after four years of Ron Rivera in charge turned out to be a disappointment.
February 2, 2024 4:30 am
The Milwaukee Brewers have traded All-Star right-hander Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles for left-hander DL Hall, infield prospect Joey Ortiz and a competitive balance draft pick. It’s a blockbuster for the Orioles, who had a quiet offseason but remained hopeful they could add more pitching as they prepared to defend their AL East championship. Baltimore has a terrific core of young players but had not been particularly aggressive in terms of signing free agents or making trades. Now the Orioles are acquiring the 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner. Then 29-year-old Burnes went 10-8 with a 3.39 ERA last year.
February 1, 2024 12:01 am
Fort Cherry took the lead midway through the first quarter and never looked back, rolling past Burgettstown and pulling into a tie for first place atop the 2A Section 4 standings. This was the third straight broadcast on the WJPA Sports Network where an unbeaten section leader lost on the road. Raney Staub scored 16 points to lead the Rangers. 6A #1 Peters Township won its 19th straight game to start the season. Trinity won for the third straight outing after losing four consecutive overtime games. McGuffey clinched a playoff spot despite losing at home. Chartiers-Houston and Wash High both won and remain tied on top of 2A Section 4. Avella kept its ultra-thin playoff hopes alive with a win at Jeff-Morgan.
The following girls team have clinched playoff spots: (*-at least share of section title) 6A *Peters Township, 5A Trinity, 3A Waynesburg, McGuffey, 2A Burgettstown, Fort Cherry, Chartiers-Houston, Wash High, California, Beth-Center, 1A West Greene.
Thursday–Girls Basketball
6A-2 Peters Township 57, Mt. Lebanon 42
5A-4 Trinity 44, West Allegheny 37
4A-3 Uniontown 61, Ringgold 41
3A-4 Waynesburg 49, Yough 19
3A-4 Brownsville 44, McGuffey 36
3A-4 South Park 61, Charleroi 30
2A-2 Fort Cherry 39, Burgettstown 25 Watch Here
2A-4 Chartiers-Houston 73, Frazier 20
2A-4 Wash High 32, Carmichaels 23
2A-4 California 52, Bentworth 31
1A-2 Avella 40, Jeff-Morgan 39
1A-2 Geibel 43, Mapletown 27
1A-2 Monessen 45, West Greene 39
January 31, 2024 10:01 pm
Host teams won seven of the eight WPIAL Team Tournament wrestling quadrants Wednesday night, earning trips to Saturday’s WPIAL Championship Day at Peters Township. The four hosts in 3A all advanced, led by #1 Trinity. The Hillers will be joined by #2 Franklin Regional, #3 Connellsville and #4 Bethel Park. In 2A, #1 Burgettstown, #2 Burrell and #3 Quaker Valley each won two matches to return to the semifinals. They’ll be joined by #5 Mt. Pleasant, a double winner at #4 Derry. Six Washington County teams started the day with just the two top seeds advancing. 2A #6 McGuffey went to the final three matches tied with Quaker Valley before falling, the Quakers clinching a fifth straight trip to the semifinals. 2A #7 Bentworth lost in the quarterfinals at Burrell, ending the Bearcats’ best dual meet season in years. Peters Township and Ringgold both fell in the 3A first round.
Saturday’s action starts with 2A semifinals at 10 am, followed by the 2A championship and third-place matches. 3A semis are scheduled for 1:30 pm with the championship and third-place bouts immediately following. We’ll have both Burgettstown and Trinity matches live on WJPA-AM (1450) and online. Our video coverage will be available only at the NFHS Network site (subscription required). Listen and/or Watch Here
WPIAL Wrestling Team Tournament–Wednesday
2A Quarterfinals
Burgettstown 52, Montour 15
Mt. Pleasant 37, Derry 31
Quaker Valley 39, McGuffey 23
Burrell 47, Bentworth 25
2A First Round
Burgettstown 55, Laurel 15; Montour 45, Frazier 30
Derry 47, Southmoreland 19; Mt. Pleasant 32, Indiana 30
Quaker Valley 60, Hopewell 15; McGuffey 50, Freedom 18
Burrell 60, Hampton 6
Bentworth 42, Highland 33
3A Quarterfinals
Trinity 43, Norwin 19
Bethel Park 26, North Allegheny 19
Connellsville 33, Fox Chapel 24
Franklin Regional 38, Latrobe 24
3A First Round
Trinity 55, Kiski Area 18; Norwin 39, Plum 27
Bethel Park 39, North Hills 15; North Allegheny 55, Baldwin 15
Connellsville 52, Ringgold 12; Fox Chapel 37, Peters Township 24
Franklin Regional 42, Pine-Richland 27; Latrobe 43, West Allegheny 22
2A Semifinals, Finals, Third Place at Peters Township
9:50 am #1 Burgettstown vs. #5 Mt. Pleasant; #2 Burrell vs. #3 Quaker Valley WJPA-AM (1450) Listen and/or Watch Here
11:30 am Semifinal winners for championship; losers for third place
3A Semifinals, Finals, Third Place at Peters Township
1:20 pm #1 Trinity vs. #4 Bethel Park; #2 Franklin Regional vs. #3 Connellsville WJPA-AM (1450) Listen and/or Watch Here
3:00 pm Semifinal winners for championship; losers for third place
February 1, 2024 4:43 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Carlton Carrington scored 24 points, Ishmael Leggett added 22 and Pittsburgh rallied to beat Wake Forest 77-72. Pitt trailed by as many as 12 points early in the second half, and tied it three times before Carrington’s two free throws gave the Panthers their first lead of the game, 57-55, with 6:58 remaining. Hunter Sallis hit a jumper for Wake Forest to tie it 57-all. Leggett followed with a 3, sparking a 14-4 run to give Pitt a 71-61 advantage with 1:20 to play. Pitt (13-8, 4-6 ACC) snapped a four-game home losing streak in ACC play. Sallis scored 22 points for Wake Forest (13-7, 5-4).
February 1, 2024 4:35 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The early money is heavily on Kansas City to repeat as Super Bowl champion when the Chiefs face the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl on Feb. 11. That caused sportsbooks to drop the opening number that favored the Niners by 2 or 2 1/2 points to 1 or 1 1/2 points. FanDuel Sportsbook opened the Niners as 2 1/2-point favorites. That number was 1 1/2 on Tuesday night.
February 1, 2024 4:36 am
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — The PGA Tour is getting a $3 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group. The deal gives players access to more than $1.5 billion as equity owners in the new PGA Tour Enterprises. The launch of PGA Tour Enterprises comes eight months after the PGA Tour signed a framework agreement with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf. That led to private equity groups wanting to join. The tour still is negotiating with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. The PIF is not yet part of the new venture. The tour says its partnership with SSG allows for the Saudis to be co-investors.
January 31, 2024 1:14 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers are hoping Arthur Smith can turn around one of the NFL’s most underachieving offenses. The Steelers are nearing an agreement to make Smith their new offensive coordinator, multiple sources told The Associated Press. The sources spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was not official. Smith would join a Pittsburgh team that knows it needs to score more points if it wants to compete in the AFC. The Steelers went 10-7 in 2023 despite finishing 28th in scoring.
