November 22, 2024 3:01 am
A year ago, Fort Cherry and Peters Township won their first-ever WPIAL football championships. Saturday, both return to the championship games looking to repeat but facing programs that have combined to win 20 WPIAL titles.
Fort Cherry has beaten its last 27 WPIAL opponents but will have to find a way to score against a Clairton team that has allowed a total of 21 points all year. The Bears own 14 WPIAL championships. WJPA-AM pregame starts at 10:30 am from Acrisure Stadium.
Peters Township takes on a Pine-Richland team looking for its seventh League title. The Rams are also looking to avenge last year’s loss to Peters Township in the finals. WJPA-FM pregame is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
Between our WPIAL finals broadcasts, our coverage switches to Altoona’s Mansion Park and the PIAA 4A quarterfinals as Thomas Jefferson takes on District 9 champion Clearfield. We’ll start our coverage online at 12:45 pm and join in progress on WJPA-AM immediately after the Fort Cherry / Clairton game. We’re also producing the multi-camera video of the Thomas Jefferson / Clearfield game for NFHS Network (subscription required).
WPIAL Football Brackets: 6A 5A 4A 3A 2A 1A
PIAA Football Brackets
Saturday, Nov. 23
WPIAL Finals (at Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh):
1A #1 Fort Cherry vs. #2 Clairton, 10:30 am, WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
5A #3 Peters Township vs. #1 Pine-Richland, 7:30 pm, WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
PIAA Quarterfinals (at Mansion Park, Altoona):
4A 7-1 Thomas Jefferson vs. 9-1 Clearfield, 12:45 pm, WJPA-AM (1450) Listen / Watch Here (NFHS subscription required)
November 22, 2024 4:32 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani won his third Most Valuable Player Award and first in the National League, and Aaron Judge earned his second American League honor on Thursday. Ohtani was a unanimous MVP for the third time, receiving all 30 first-place votes and 420 points in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor was second with 263 points and Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte third with 229. Judge was a unanimous pick for the first time. Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. got all 30 second-place votes for 270 points, and Yankees outfielder Juan Soto was third with 21 third-place votes and 229 points.
November 22, 2024 4:33 am
Alex Ovechkin has a broken left fibula and is expected to be out four to six weeks. The Washington Capitals confirmed Ovechkin’s injury and prognosis Thursday after he was evaluated by doctors upon the teams’ return from a three-game road trip. This prolonged absence puts a pause on Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record. He scored 15 goals in his first 18 games this season to move just 27 away of passing Gretzky. Ovechkin was on pace to break the record in February before his shin-on-shin collision with Utah’s Jack McBain on Monday night.
November 21, 2024 4:25 am
The Steelers and Browns will renew their rivalry Thursday night sitting at opposite ends of the AFC North. After navigating through some quarterback uncertainty, Pittsburgh is a surprising 8-2 while Cleveland is a dreary and disappointing 2-8. The Steelers are coming off a gritty win at home over the Baltimore Ravens and can’t afford a letdown against the Browns, whose playoff hopes are gone and may be headed for another massive overhaul. Coach Kevin Stefanski could use a big win to alleviate any concern that he has lost his team.
November 21, 2024 4:23 am
Atlanta’s Chris Sale and Detroit’s Tarik Skubal have each won their first Cy Young Award. The left-handers were honored Wednesday night after sharing the MLB lead with 18 wins while leading their respective leagues in strikeouts and ERA. Sale went 18-3 and topped the National League with 225 strikeouts, while his 2.38 ERA in 29 starts was the best among all major league qualifiers in his first season with the Braves. The 35-year-old was an All-Star for the eighth time and won his first Gold Glove this year. Skubal, who turned 28 on Wednesday, went 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA and a big league-best 228 strikeouts in 31 starts to take the American League prize in a unanimous vote.
November 21, 2024 4:27 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball will test robot umpires as part of a challenge system during spring training at 13 ballparks hosting 19 teams, which could lead to regular-season use in 2026. MLB has been experimenting with the automated ball-strike system in the minor leagues since 2019 but is still working on the shape of the strike zone. An agreement for big league use would have to be reached with the Major League Baseball Umpires Association, whose collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says: “I would be interested in having it in ’26.”
November 20, 2024 4:27 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Brayden Point scored at 3:58 of overtime and the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Tuesday night. Point’s overtime winner was his 10th goal of the season. Anthony Cirelli scored his fifth goal of the season. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 17 shots for Tampa Bay. Rickard Rakell scored a power-play goal, while Jesse Puljujarvi opened the scoring for Pittsburgh. Tristan Jarry made 32 saves for Pittsburgh.
November 20, 2024 4:30 am
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Bruins have fired coach Jim Montgomery after losing 12 of their first 20 games. Montgomery led the Bruins to the greatest regular season in NHL history but never got them past the second round of the playoffs. He was fired a day after the Bruins lost to last-place Columbus to extend their losing streak to three games. Assistant Joe Sacco was named the interim coach. Sacco led the Colorado Avalanche from 2009-2014 and was a finalist for coach of the year in his first season.
November 20, 2024 4:29 am
The New York Jets have fired general manager Joe Douglas after a 3-8 start to the season. Owner Woody Johnson announced in a statement Tuesday that Phil Savage will serve as the interim GM. Douglas was in the final year of his contract after being hired in 2019. The Jets’ season began with Super Bowl aspirations with a healthy Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. But the team struggled to a 2-3 start, and Johnson fired coach Robert Saleh on Oct. 8. The Jets decided to also part ways Tuesday with Douglas. Johnson said the Jets will begin the process to find a new GM immediately.
November 20, 2024 4:28 am
Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy won National League Manager of the Year on Tuesday night after a stellar debut season with the Brewers, while Cleveland’s Stephen Vogt took home the AL award after leading the Guardians to 92 wins and a division title in his first year as a skipper at any level. Murphy, 65, led the Brewers to a 93-69 record and an NL Central title. He became the first manager in franchise history to win the award since it was introduced in 1983. In the playoffs, Milwaukee lost to the New York Mets in a Wild Card Series. The 40-year-old Vogt beat out Kansas City’s Matt Quatraro and Detroit’s A.J. Hinch, both AL Central rivals.
