Crosby Scores In OT To Give Penguins Win In Utah

January 30, 2025 4:35 am

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored at 3:54 of overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Utah Hockey Club 3-2. Marcus Pettersson and Erik Karlsson scored in regulation as Pittsburgh snapped a three-game losing streak. Alex Nedeljkovic made 27 saves. Mikhail Sergachev and Michael Carcone scored for Utah, and Connor Ingram had 25 saves. In the extra period, Crosby got a drop pass from Cody Glass at the bottom of the left circle, skated across the front of the goal and put a backhander over Ingram’s left pad.

Pirates Win Arbitration Decision With Johan Oviedo

January 30, 2025 4:38 am

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Right-hander Johan Oviedo lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first salary arbitration decision of the year and will earn $850,000 instead of his request for $1.15 million. Oviedo, who turns 27 on March 2, was 9-14 with a 4.32 ERA in 32 starts last year. He earned $765,000. Oviedo is 13-25 with a 4.32 ERA in four major league seasons with St. Louis and the Pirates. Arbitrators Allen Ponak, Robert Herman and Jasbir Parmar made the decision one day after hearing arguments.

Team Tournaments 1st Round & Quarterfinals

January 30, 2025 12:01 am

McGuffey swept Avonworth & Laurel Wednesday night, clinching a spot in the WPIAL 2A Wrestling Team Tournament semifinals. McGuffey will take on #2 Derry Area Saturday morning at Peters Township in the Class 2A semifinals. The Highlanders also qualified for the state team tournament next week.  Burgettstown and Trinity won first-round matches Wednesday but bowed out in the quarterfinals. Avella, Beth-Center, Canon-McMillan and Jeff-Morgan all lost their opening-round matches and were eliminated. Both classes’ semifinals/finals are scheduled for Saturday at Peters Township’s AHN Arena.  We’ll have live coverage of the McGuffey and Thomas Jefferson matches on WJPA-AM (1450) and online. Click for WPIAL Brackets

Wednesday, Jan. 29–1st Round/Quarterfinals
Class 3A at Thomas Jefferson
#6 Trinity > West Allegheny, 41-24
#3 Thomas Jefferson > North Hills, 55-14
Quarterfinals: Thomas Jefferson > Trinity, 39-33

Class 3A at Bethel Park
#5 Norwin > Canon-McMillan, 41-23
#4 Bethel Park > Butler, 50-10
Quarterfinals: Norwin > Bethel Park, 32-28

Class 2A at McGuffey
#3 McGuffey > Avonworth, 62-11
#6 Laurel > Beth-Center, 53-20
Quarterfinals: McGuffey > Laurel, 45-24

Class 2A at Derry Area
#2 Derry Area > Avella, 68-6
#7 Burgettstown > Highlands, 42-34
Quarterfinals: Derry Area > Burgettstown, 49-15

Class 2A at Burrell
#8 Southmoreland > Jeff-Morgan, 36-33
#1 Burrell > Greensburg Salem, 58-15
Quarterfinals: Burrell > Southmoreland, 55-15

Pirates Reunite With Adam Frazier

January 29, 2025 4:30 am

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Adam Frazier is heading back to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The club has agreed to terms with the veteran second baseman/outfielder on a one-year deal worth $1,525,000. The deal is pending Frazier passing a physical. The 33-year-old Frazier spent the first five-plus seasons of his career with the Pirates from 2016-21. He hit .283 with 39 homers and 204 RBIs in 608 games with Pittsburgh. Frazier made the All-Star Game in 2021 before being traded to the San Diego Padres. Frazier has bounced around in recent years and spent the 2024 season with the Kansas City Royals.

Basketball Monday/Tuesday, Jan. 27-28

January 28, 2025 1:02 am

Boys basketball teams move into their final two weeks of the regular season on Tuesday. All section games must be completed by Sunday, Feb. 9 with playoff brackets due to be released the following day. Monday/Tuesday schedules/scores for Washington/Greene County teams follow.

Playoff spots clinched:
Girls–Peters Township (5A), Beth-Center (2A), Chartiers-Houston (2A), Fort Cherry (2A)
Boys–Peters Township (5A), Waynesburg (3A), Chartiers-Houston (2A), Fort Cherry (2A), Jeff-Morgan (2A), West Greene (2A)

Tuesday, Jan. 28
Girls
5A Peters Township 57, Trinity 33
3A Brownsville 61, Waynesburg 29
2A Carmichaels 45, Bentworth 28
1A West Greene 37, Mapletown 30

Boys
6A Central Catholic 74, Canon-McMillan 53
5A Peters Township 67, Trinity 54
5A Thomas Jefferson 78, Ringgold 47
3A Bishop Canevin 68, McGuffey 56
3A Keystone Oaks 53, Wash High 36
3A Waynesburg 45, Charleroi 43
2A Greensburg Central Catholic 65, Bentworth 43
2A Clairton 60, California 48
2A Carmichaels 61, Beth-Center 52
2A Chartiers-Houston 61, Burgettstown 45
2A Mapletown at Fort Cherry, postponed to Feb. 5
2A West Greene 45, Jeff-Morgan 39
1A Summit Academy 87, Avella 76

Monday, Jan. 27
Girls
6A Mt. Lebanon 33, Canon-McMillan 25
4A South Park 81, Ringgold 33
3A Keystone Oaks 61, Charleroi 21
3A Brownsville 63, McGuffey 46
3A Seton-La Salle 55, Waynesburg 29
2A South Side Area 46, Burgettstown 22
2A Fort Cherry 63, Brentwood 23
2A Beth-Center 51, Jeff-Morgan 27
2A Chartiers-Houston 60, California 25
1A Geibel Catholic 61, Avella 36
1A Serra Catholic 59, Mapletown 19
1A West Greene 58, Monessen 13

Penguins Fall To Lowly Sharks

January 28, 2025 4:34 am

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Macklin Celebrini scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, Yaroslav Askarov stopped a penalty shot and the San Jose Sharks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 to snap a six-game losing streak. Celebrini received a pass from Tyler Toffoli in the slot and converted for his 16th goal of the season to give the Sharks the lead in the third. Askarov then stopped Drew O’Connor on a penalty shot for the most important of his 32 saves, delivering San Jose a much-needed win. Sidney Crosby had scored for Pittsburgh just 24 seconds into the third period to tie the game.

Art Rooney II; Steelers Have Problems But Tomlin Is Not One Of Them

January 28, 2025 4:31 am

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Art Rooney II knows the Pittsburgh Steelers have problems. The team’s longtime president doesn’t think coach Mike Tomlin is one of them despite another quick playoff exit. Rooney says the club remains fully behind Tomlin, who led the Steelers to their fourth postseason berth in the past five years but is now closing in on a decade since winning a playoff game. Tomlin, the NFL’s longest-tenured coach, signed an extension last summer that carries through 2027. While admitting he’s frustrated about the team’s late fade that ended with a blowout loss to Baltimore in the first round, Rooney doesn’t see the dismal finish as proof that Tomlin has lost his touch in the locker room.

Brian Shottenheimer Named Cowboys Head Coach

January 28, 2025 4:36 am

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Brian Schottenheimer says he’s “ready” to be coach of the Dallas Cowboys after a long career as an NFL assistant. The son of late NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer says he has had previous opportunities to pursue head coaching jobs but didn’t think he was ready. The younger Schottenheimer’s chance with the Cowboys comes after 25 years in the league with a handful of college seasons as well. The 51-year-old is the 10th coach in the history of the storied franchise. He’s the seventh hired by owner Jerry Jones since the last time the Cowboys reached an NFC championship game 29 years ago.

WPIAL Team Tourney Preliminaries

January 28, 2025 1:01 am

The WPIAL Wrestling Team Tournaments got underway Monday evening with five Washington County teams involved in preliminary matches. Avella was the only winner and advances to the Sweet 16/Quarterfinals on Wednesday. The semifinals/finals are scheduled for Peters Township, Saturday, Feb. 1. We’ll have coverage on-air and online through the tournament continuing with Wednesday action at McGuffey and Thomas Jefferson. Video coverage will be through NFHS Network (subscription required) under agreements with WPIAL/PIAA.  Click for WPIAL Brackets

Monday, Jan. 27–Preliminaries
Class 2A at Bentworth
Elizabeth-Forward 53. Chartiers-Houston 46
Avella 48, Bentworth 27

Class 3A at Shaler Area
Moon Area 37, Peters Township 26
Shaler Area 38, Ringgold 36

Auburn, Duke Top Men’s AP Top 25

January 28, 2025 4:37 am

Auburn is the unanimous No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for the second consecutive week. The top five was unchanged with Duke at No. 2, followed by Iowa State, Alabama and Florida. Texas Tech and Vanderbilt are in the Top 25 for the first time this season at the expense of Michigan and West Virginia. UConn fell to No. 25 but managed to extend its poll streak to 52 consecutive weeks.