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.
February 6, 2022 7:37 am
PITTSBURGH — Storm Murphy scored 10 of his 20 points in the final 8 minutes and Justyn Mutts added 16 to help Virginia Tech, which blew most of a 28-point second-half lead, hold off Pittsburgh for a 76-71 win on Saturday night. Nahiem Alleyne added 14 points for Virginia Tech (13-10, 5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference). Hunter Cattoor hit a 3-pointer to give the Hokies a 52-24 lead — their biggest of the game — about 30 seconds into the second half, but Pitt (8-15, 3-9) scored 15 of the next 18 points and later used another 15-3 run to trim its deficit to six when Jamarius Burton made to free throws with 8:22 to play. Murphy answered with a 3 just 29 seconds later and added to layups before he hit 1 of 2 free throws to push the lead back into double figures with 46 seconds left. Onyebuchi Ezeakudo hit a quick 3-pointer and after Alleyne missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Femi Odukale made another and then hit two free throws to make it 74-71 with 8 seconds to play. Storm made two foul shots to cap the scoring. Odukale scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half and Burton finished with 21 — including 14 after halftime — for Pitt. Mouhamadou Gueye added 13 points.
February 6, 2022 7:40 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Terrence Shannon yelled after falling to the floor following a first-half dunk and had to be helped off the court, dragging his right leg. He returned in time to help No. 14 Texas Tech get a rare road win. Bryson Williams scored 15 points, Shannon sparked a second-half comeback and the Red Raiders beat West Virginia 60-53 on Saturday. Under the first-year coach, the Red Raiders (18-5, 7-3 Big 12) have matched their win total from each of the past two seasons. And while Texas Tech won for the second time in six road games, the Red Raiders have won three straight and five of their last six, with the lone loss at Kansas in double overtime. West Virginia couldn’t hold onto a six-point halftime lead, making just four field goals in the second half.
February 6, 2022 7:43 am
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Any other time Jordan Spieth can see the golf ball sitting up on grass inside a red hazard line, it’s a simple choice: Hit the shot. Saturday at Pebble Beach was different. He could see the ball. He could also see a 60-foot drop off the cliff onto the ocean rocks below the edge of the eighth fairway. His caddie tried to talk him out of it three times. Spieth decided to take 7-iron from 162 yards, a real cliff-hanger of a shot, and he lived to tell about it. He wound up with par, the signature shot Saturday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am that was more memorable than anything Bill Murray, Macklemore or any of the other celebrities did. And it ultimately put Spieth right in the mix for another title at Pebble Beach with a 9-under 63, his best score in the tournament and leaving him one shot behind a trio at the top.
February 5, 2022 8:19 am
BEIJING (AP) – Norway has won gold in the biathlon mixed relay, beating France and the Russian team at the Beijing Olympics. Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway, Quentin Fillon Maillet of France and Eduard Latypov of the Russian team left the range close together after the last round of shooting and raced for position until the final stretch, when Boe sprinted for the win. Norway came into the relay as the World Cup leader. Marte Olsbu Roeiseland and Tarjei Boe also had strong performances.
February 5, 2022 4:36 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman won the Hardest Shot competition and St. Louis’ Jordan Kyrou (KY’-roo) was the Fastest Skater during the NHL All-Star skills competition with a distinct Vegas flavor Friday night. Carolina’s Sebastian Aho (AH’-hoh) won the Accuracy Shooting contest at T-Mobile Arena on a night when the biggest impressions were left by the Sin City settings and showmanship. Columbus’ Zach Werenski won the Fountain Face-Off, in which the All-Stars stood on a floating platform in the middle of the Bellagio casino’s famous fountains up the Strip and shot light-up pucks at a series of targets all around them. Several more All-Stars then played a game called 21 in ’22, in which they shot at a 35-foot outdoor wall of oversized playing cards in a version of blackjack. Dallas’ Joe Pavelski won that competition by getting closest to 21.
