February 27, 2021 4:40 am
The 2021 PIAA Wrestling Series hits the halfway point Saturday with the PIAA Southwest AA Regionals and the WPIAL AAA Championships. We’ll have live coverage of both tournaments Saturday.
Burgettstown leads the way for Washington County teams at the AA Regionals at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The Blue Devils have five qualifiers. Beth-Center is sending four, Bentworth and McGuffey one each. The top five place-winners in each weight class return to IUP for next week’s AA Super Regional. Action begins Saturday morning at 8 am on WJPA-AM (1450) and online HERE.
Waynesburg won 12 individual section titles last Saturday. Now, the Raiders lead the way at the AAA Championships at Canon-McMillan. The host Big Macs have five qualifiers, Trinity four. The top three placewinners in each weight class advance to next week’s AAA Super Regional at Altoona. Action begins Saturday at 10 am on WJPA-FM (95.3) and online HERE.
February 27, 2021 4:43 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Indianapolis will relax coronavirus restrictions on the city’s bars and restaurants starting next week ahead of the upcoming Big Ten and NCAA men’s basketball tournaments. The changes announced Thursday will allow bars to operate at 50% capacity instead of 25% starting Monday, while restaurants will see their indoor restaurant capacity increase from 50% to 75%. Mayor Joe Hogsett says bars, restaurants and music venues will also be able to close two hours later, at 2 a.m. He says the relaxed restrictions were prompted by drops in the city’s COVID-19 cases and its coronavirus positivity rate, and not due to the upcoming Big Ten and NCAA men’s basketball tournaments.
February 26, 2021 3:51 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Tom Wilson scored the go-ahead goal to lift the Washington Capitals to a 5-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s just their second victory in six games this season between the longtime rivals. Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie also scored for Washington. Vitek Vanecek allowed two goals three minutes apart and finished with 26 saves. The Penguins power play went 0 for 4 with four shots on goal.
February 26, 2021 3:54 am
UNDATED (AP) – NHL goaltender Henrik Lundqvist says he’s still months away from making a decision about his hockey future. The 38-year-old Lundqvist returned to the ice this week, less than two months since undergoing open-heart surgery. He posted videos to social media of himself in goaltending gear taking shots in net. However, he said it will be months before he can make any decisions regarding his future after more tests and conversations with doctors. Lundqvist played his entire NHL career with the New York Rangers before signing with Washington last fall.
February 25, 2021 2:57 am
Games don’t start until Saturday, but two teams have already advanced in the brackets following a pair of withdrawals Thursday. Fort Cherry and Burrell now move on to the Sweet 16 following decisions by Propel Braddock Hills and Ambridge to withdraw from the open tournament. The #11 Rangers (2A Boys) will visit #6 Frazier Wednesday. The #16 Bucs (4A Girls) travel to #1 Beaver Area Tuesday night. Click for Girls Brackets, Boys Brackets. Here’s the revised schedule for Washington/Greene County teams.
Preliminaries
Saturday, Feb. 27, 12 noon
Girls 3A #18 South Allegheny at #15 Washington
Girls 2A #19 Frazier at #14 Chartiers-Houston
Boys 6A #17 Canon-McMillan at #16 Greensburg Salem
Boys 5A #20 Kiski Area at #13 Trinity WJPA-AM Listen Here
Boys 5A #19 Ringgold at #14 Shaler
Boys 2A #20 Jeff-Morgan vs. #13 Winchester-Thurston at Peters Township
Boys 2A #21 Riverview at #12 Burgettstown
Boys 2A #15 Carmichaels at #18 Serra Catholic
2:00 pm
Boys 2A #17 California at #16 Chartiers-Houston
Boys 2A #11 Fort Cherry by forfeit over #22 Propel Braddock Hills
Monday, Mar. 1, 6:00 pm
Boys 3A #18 Mohawk at #15 McGuffey WJPA-AM Listen Here
Boys 3A #19 Beth-Center vs. #14 Apollo-Ridge at Charleroi WJPA-FM Listen Here
Boys 3A #13 New Brighton at #20 Waynesburg
8:00 pm
Girls 5A #25 Ringgold at #8 Fox Chapel
Boys 3A #23 Steel Valley at #10 Charleroi WJPA-AM Listen Here
First Round
Tuesday, Mar. 2, 6:00 pm
Girls 2A #9 Fort Cherry at #8 California
Girls 2A #12 Greensburg Central Catholic at #5 Burgettstown
Boys 6A #11 Peters Township at #6 Pine-Richland
Boys 1A #9 Avella at #8 St. Joseph’s
Boys 1A #15 West Greene at #2 Rochester
Boys 1A #11 Mapletown at #6 Leechburg
8:00 pm
Girls 6A #10 Pine-Richland at #7 Peters Township
Wednesday, Mar. 3, 6:00 pm
Girls 3A #10 Charleroi at #7 Keystone Oaks
Girls 3A #13 McGuffey at #4 Laurel
Girls 3A #15 Washington at #2 Mohawk
Girls 3A #11 East Allegheny at #6 Waynesburg
Boys 2A #11 Fort Cherry at #6 Frazier
Boys 2A #12 Burgettstown at #5 Jeannette
Boys 2A #17 California at #1 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
Boys 5A #13 Trinity at #4 Highlands WJPA-AM Listen Here
Thursday, Mar. 4, 6:00 pm
Girls 5A Mars/Gateway winner at #1 Trinity WJPA-FM Listen Here
Girls 1A #9 St. Joseph’s at #8 Avella
Girls 1A #13 Jeff-Morgan at #4 Aquinas Academy
Girls 1A #12 Mapletown at #5 Clairton
Boys 3A Laurel/East Allegheny winner at #5 Washington WJPA-AM Listen Here
Girls 1A #2 West Greene bye to quarterfinals, Monday, Mar. 8
February 25, 2021 2:28 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers plan on having quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back for an 18th season. Team president Art Rooney II says he and Roethlisberger have met to figure out a way to ease the financial pressure caused by Roethlisberger’s contract. Roethlisberger’s current deal carries a $41 million salary cap number for 2021. He is due a $15 million roster bonus on March 20 shortly after the new league year begins. Rooney called the meeting with Roethlisberger “productive,” adding that it allowed the two sides to “discuss a lot of things that relate to where we are and where we want to go.”
February 25, 2021 3:53 am
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Two days after being designated for assignment by the Athletics, outfielder Dustin Fowler was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash. He had been part of the club’s 60-player pool last season but stayed at the alternate site and didn’t play. Fowler had been considered a possible center fielder of the future for the A’s when Oakland acquired him from the Yankees at the 2017 trade deadline in a deal that sent right-hander Sonny Gray to New York.
February 25, 2021 3:55 am
UNDATED (AP) – Coaching the Montreal Canadiens has become a very tenuous position as the club enters a franchise-record 28th consecutive year without a Stanley Cup. The Habs were off to a good start this season, but their current struggles have led to the dismissals of head coach Claude Julien and associate coach Kirk Muller. The marks the second time Julien has been fired by the Canadiens. Assistant coach Dominique Ducharme was appointed interim coach with the team and former NHL forward Alex Burrows was added to the coaching staff. Ducharme inherits a team that has dropped three straight and six of eight since a 7-1-2 start.
February 24, 2021 2:22 am
Playoff pairings for the WPIAL basketball tournaments were released Tuesday night. The Trinity Hillers received the top seed in the 5A girls bracket, the only top four seed among Washington County teams. Preliminary games are scheduled for Saturday and Monday with Sweet 16 match-ups beginning next Tuesday. Prior to the release, it was announced that the Canon-McMillan girls had opted out. Click for Girls Brackets, Boys Brackets. Here’s the preliminary schedule for Washington/Greene County teams.
Preliminaries
Saturday, Feb. 27, 12 noon
Girls 3A #18 South Allegheny at #15 Washington
Girls 2A #19 Frazier at #14 Chartiers-Houston
Boys 6A #17 Canon-McMillan at #16 Greensburg Salem
Boys 5A #20 Kiski Area at #13 Trinity WJPA-AM Listen Here
Boys 5A #19 Ringgold at #14 Shaler
Boys 2A #20 Jeff-Morgan vs. #13 Winchester-Thurston at Peters Township
Boys 2A #21 Riverview at #12 Burgettstown
Boys 2A #15 Carmichaels at #18 Serra Catholic
2:00 pm
Boys 2A #17 California at #16 Chartiers-Houston
Monday, Mar. 1, 6:00 pm
Boys 3A #18 Mohawk at #15 McGuffey WJPA-AM Listen Here
Boys 3A #19 Beth-Center vs. #14 Apollo-Ridge at Charleroi WJPA-FM Listen Here
Boys 3A #13 New Brighton at #20 Waynesburg
8:00 pm
Girls 5A #25 Ringgold at #8 Fox Chapel
Boys 3A #23 Steel Valley at #10 Charleroi WJPA-AM Listen Here
First Round
Tuesday, Mar. 2, 6:00 pm
Girls 2A #9 Fort Cherry at #8 California
Girls 2A Greens. Cent. Cath./Northgate winner at #5 Burgettstown
Boys 6A #11 Peters Township at #6 Pine-Richland
Boys 1A #9 Avella at #8 St. Joseph’s
Boys 1A #15 West Greene at #2 Rochester
Boys 1A #11 Mapletown at #6 Leechburg
8:00 pm
Girls 6A #10 Pine-Richland at #7 Peters Township
Wednesday, Mar. 3, 6:00 pm
Girls 3A #10 Charleroi at #7 Keystone Oaks
Girls 3A #11 East Allegheny at #6 Waynesburg
Girls 3A #13 McGuffey at #4 Laurel
Boys 2A #11 Fort Cherry at #6 Frazier
Thursday, Mar. 4, 6:00 pm
Girls 5A Mars/Gateway winner at #1 Trinity WJPA-FM Listen Here
Girls 1A #9 St. Joseph’s at #8 Avella
Girls 1A #13 Jeff-Morgan at #4 Aquinas Academy
Girls 1A #12 Mapletown at #5 Clairton
Boys 3A Laurel/East Allegheny winner at #5 Washington WJPA-AM Listen Here
Girls 1A #2 West Greene bye to quarterfinals, Monday, Mar. 8
February 24, 2021 3:54 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Kasperi Kapanen scored on a one-timer 1:43 into overtime, lifting the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals. The Penguins won for the fourth time in five games against the Capitals this season, including two in overtime and one in a shootout. They also won for the eighth time this season after entering the third period tied or trailing. Kapanen and Jake Guentzel each had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh, and Evgeni Malkin scored his fifth goal of the season. Conor Sheary and Richard Panik scored for Washington, which only led for 22 seconds all night. Vitek Vanecek made 34 saves.
