December 8, 2025 4:26 am
DALLAS (AP) — Mikko Rantanen’s final-round score was the only goal of the shootout and Jake Oettinger made 27 saves as the Dallas Stars beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Sunday night. Defenseman Miro Heiskanen scored 6-on-5 to tie the score 2-2 with 1:49 left in regulation and Jamie Benn also scored for the Stars, who have won three consecutive games. Thomas Novak and fourth-liner Connor Dewar scored for the Penguins, who are 0-4 in shootouts this season. Jarry, who stopped 21 shots, lost for the first time in his last five starts.
December 8, 2025 4:31 am
Alabama and Miami are in, Notre Dame is out and Indiana is No. 1 in the College Football Playoff’s 12-team bracket. The undefeated Hoosiers vaulted to the top spot based on their history-making win in the Big Ten title game against Ohio State, which fell one spot after its 13-10 loss. Southeastern Conference champ Georgia was third and and Big 12 titlist Texas Tech fourth. The drama surrounded the bubble teams, and it was Alabama at No. 9 and Miami at No. 10 making the field by leapfrogging Notre Dame, which lost to the Hurricanes during opening week. Notre Dame has announced it will not participate in a bowl game this season after being left out of the College Football Playoff. The team posted the decision on its official X account.
December 8, 2025 4:35 am
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jeff Kent has been elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame by the contemporary era committee, while steroids-tainted stars Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were among seven players who fell short once again. Kent appeared on 14 of 16 ballots, two more than the 12 ballots needed for the 75% minimum. Carlos Delgado received nine votes, followed by Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy with six each, Bonds, Clemens, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela each received fewer than five votes. Kent will be inducted at the hall in Cooperstown, New York, on July 26.
December 7, 2025 7:14 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — From the moment Curt Cignetti took Indiana’s head coaching job, he made it clear this would be a different program. He refused to tolerate any moral victories or close calls and instead expected to win, to win big and win immediately. In just 737 days, he turned what had been the Football Bowl Subdivision’s losingest program into the nation’s No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs, a legitimate championship contender and a Big Ten champion for the first time since 1967.
December 7, 2025 7:16 am
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Duke has won its first outright Atlantic Coast Conference title since 1962 and thrown the College Football Playoff into chaos. Darian Mensah connected with Jeremiah Hasley for a 1-yard touchdown on a fourth-down play in overtime, and the unranked Blue Devils held on to beat No. 16 Virginia 27-20 in the ACC championship game on Saturday night. The Blue Devils are unlikely to make the playoff field with their 8-5 record, opening the door for a second Group of Five team — likely James Madison — to make it. Duke last won a share of the ACC regular-season title in 1989. Virginia would have made the playoff with a win.
December 7, 2025 7:23 am
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Both the Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles are accounting for Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert’s broken bone in his non-throwing hand this week going into their game on Monday night. Herbert expects to play after he was injured in a win against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday and had surgery Monday, but backup Trey Lance could be used in certain situations if Herbert cannot take snaps under center. The Chargers had to operate their offense out of the shotgun and pistol for the last three quarters against the Raiders.
December 7, 2025 7:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — FIFA has announced the World Cup final will kick off at 3 p.m. EDT on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The timing allows for prime-time viewing in Europe and Britain. The tournament will feature 104 matches, with the opener in Mexico City on June 11. Semifinals are set for July 14 in Arlington, Texas, and July 15 in Atlanta. FIFA revealed matchups for the new round of 32 and other stages. South Korea is the only team other than Mexico and Canada to play no group stage games in the U.S.
December 6, 2025 4:47 am
Friday’s non-section high school basketball results:
Boys:
Avella 75, Mapletown 15
Bentworth 45, Carmichaels 15
South Side Area 92, Burgettstown 57
East Allegheny 73, Charleroi 49
Union 53, Fort Cherry 42
McGuffey 49, West Greene 42
Peters Township 68, Avonworth 41
Elizabeth Forward 66, Trinity 56
Wash High 56, Waynesburg 53 OT
Clairton at Ringgold PPD
Girls:
Avella 43, Jeff-Morgan 22
Brownsville 48, Bentworth 18
Aquinas Academy 45, California 29
Canon-McMillan 49, Moon Area 29
Charleroi 43, Derry Area 15
Chartiers-Houston 46, Uniontown 41
Fort Cherry 47, Ellis School 19
West Greene 42, McGuffey 39
Peters Township 59, Upper St. Clair 51
Greensburg Salem 59, Ringgold 18
December 6, 2025 4:21 am
Matt Campbell has been hired as Penn State’s football coach. The announcement Friday night marks the end of a long search by the Nittany Lions to find James Franklin’s successor. The 46-year-old Campbell heads to Happy Valley after going 72-55 in 10 seasons at Iowa State to become the winningest coach in the history of that program. Campbell’s contract could be approved as early as Monday by a university committee, after which he is expected to be introduced. Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft calls Campbell “the right leader at the right time for Penn State football.”
December 5, 2025 4:30 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Evgeni Malkin scored his second goal of the game with 2:43 left and the Penguins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Thursday night for their fourth victory in five games. Tristan Jarry stopped 36 shots, Ville Koivunen scored his first career goal for Pittsburgh, and Ben Kindel had a power-play goal. Malkin scored the winning goal off a one-timer feed from Tommy Novak. Kucherov appeared to tie it with 55.4 left in the third but the goal was overturned after a league initiated review determined there was a missed stoppage for a hand pass. Pittsburgh’s top-ranked power play scored twice to help the Penguins build a 3-0 lead.
