December 15, 2021 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Evan Rodrigues scored his ninth goal of the season and added two assists to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 5-2 victory over reeling Montreal. Rodrigues’ nine goals match a career-high he set during the 2018-19 season. He needed 74 games to get to nine goals that season and has done it in 28 games this season. Mike Matheson, Brian Boyle, Brian Dumoulin and Kasperi Kapanen also scored for Pittsburgh. The Penguins have won five straight. Jesse Ylonen and Jonathan Drouin scored for Montreal. The Canadiens have lost seven in a row.
December 15, 2021 3:54 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is hopeful linebacker T.J. Watt and cornerback Joe Haden will be available when Tennessee visits Heinz Field. Watt left a 36-28 loss to Minnesota in the first half with a groin injury. Haden hasn’t played since spraining his foot in a tie against Detroit in November. Tomlin also thinks defensive linemen Isaiah Buggs and Carlos Davis will be available after missing significant time.
December 15, 2021 3:56 am
UNDATED (AP) – For the second straight season, the Browns are dealing with a major COVID-19 outbreak during their playoff push. Cleveland’s postseason hopes were rocked when the team placed eight players on the reserve/COVID-19 list. The eight include top wide receiver Jarvis Landry, tight end Austin Hooper and starting offensive linemen Wyatt Teller and Jedrick Wills Jr. Those players will all likely miss Saturday’s crucial game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
December 14, 2021 3:45 am
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – The NFC West is a little tighter after the second-place Rams earned a 30-23 victory at Arizona. Matthew Stafford threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, hitting Cooper Kupp 13 times for 123 yards and a score. Kupp has had eight 100-yard receiving games this season. Van Jefferson caught a 52-yard scoring strike early in the third quarter to put the Rams ahead to stay. Odell Beckham Jr. also had a TD catch. Kyler Murray’s two interceptions led to Los Angeles touchdowns as the Cardinals failed to clinch their first playoff berth since 2015. The Rams are within one game of the Cardinals for the division lead.
December 14, 2021 3:43 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Devin Bush says he’s still the same player he was before a knee injury cut short his 2020 season. Bush has struggled at times this fall for the Steelers, but says he’s made tremendous strides in his third NFL season. Bush had one of his more productive games in a loss to Minnesota, finishing with eight tackles and two passes defensed. The Steelers fell to 6-6-1 with the loss, but remain in the mix in the wide-open AFC North. Pittsburgh hosts AFC South-leading Tennessee next week.
December 14, 2021 3:47 am
UNDATED (AP) – The defending champs are the new No. 1 team in the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll. Baylor is the fourth team in as many weeks to take the top spot, moving up a spot after previous No. 1 Purdue fell to Rutgers last Thursday. The Bears earned every vote from a 61-member national media panel Monday to reach the top spot in the poll for the first time since a four-week run ended on Feb. 17, 2020. Second-ranked Duke is followed by Purdue, UCLA and Gonzaga. Alabama, Kansas, Arizona, Villanova and Southern Cal round out the top 10.
December 11, 2021 11:45 pm
The WPIAL had teams in five of the six PIAA Football Championship games this weekend in Hershey, the most ever for District 7. The League had never won more than three state football titles in any single year until this year with the WPIAL winning the four largest classifications. Mt. Lebanon capped the weekend Saturday night, winning its first-ever football state title, beating three-time defending champion St. Joseph’s Prep of the Philadelphia Catholic League. PIAA Brackets
Thursday scores
Class 1A D6 Bishop Guilfoyle 21, D9 Redbank Valley 14
Class 4A D7 Aliquippa 34, D3 Bishop McDevitt 27
Friday scores
Class 2A D4 Southern Columbia 62, D7 Serra Catholic 25
Class 5A D7 Penn-Trafford 17, D12 Imhotep Charter 14, OT
Saturday scores
Class 3A D7 Central Valley 7, D3 Wyomissing 0
Class 6A D7 Mt. Lebanon 35, D12 St. Joseph’s Prep 17
December 13, 2021 3:05 am
Postseason chances are slipping away for the Steelers, who find themselves in last place in the AFC North with a 6-6-1 record. The Browns beat the Ravens at home on Sunday afternoon 24-22, so Cleveland jumps Pittsburgh and Cincinnati to move into 2nd place with a 7-6 record. The Bengals lost to the 49ers in overtime at home, which gives Cincinnati an identical record with Cleveland. Despite the loss, Baltimore still remains in the top spot in the division with an 8-5 record. There is not much breathing room in the standings with just four games left. If the playoffs started today, Baltimore would be in, Cleveland and Cincinnati would be the first two teams out, and Pittsburgh would be behind Denver, four spots out of the postseason.
December 13, 2021 1:56 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Bryce Young didn’t just meet the standard set by the star quarterbacks who preceded him at Alabama, he exceeded it and gave the Crimson Tide a rare Heisman back-to-back. Young became the first Tide quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, making Alabama the fifth school with consecutive winners of college football’s most prestigious player of the year award. Young received 684 first-place votes and 2,311 points to easily outdistance Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (78, 954), who became the third defensive player to be Heisman runner-up and first since Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o in 2012. Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett (28, 631) finished third and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud (12, 399) was fourth. Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. (31, 325) was fifth, putting two defensive players in the top five for the first time since 1962.
December 13, 2021 2:57 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – George Papas had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists, Shavar Reynolds added 14 points and Monmouth beat Pittsburgh 56-52. Papas scored 14 points, including four 3-pointers, in the first half. He made back-to-back 3s to take the lead for good and spark a 17-2 run that he capped with a layup and then a 3-pointer that gave the Hawks a 13-point lead midway through the first half. Jamarious Burton scored 13 of 15 points in the second half for Pitt (3-7). John Hugley and Femi Odukale added 14 points apiece. The Hawks (8-2) are off to their best start since winning 8 of 10 games to start the 2015-16 season
