December 13, 2021 2:59 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – Taz Sherman scored 27 points to lead West Virginia to a 63-50 victory over Kent State on Sunday. Sean McNeil added 19 points for West Virginia, which won its sixth straight. The Mountaineers continue to have problems getting production from anyone besides Sherman and McNeil. No other West Virginia player scored more than four. After Kent State coach Rob Senderoff was ejected with 7:54 left, McNeil sank four free throws and capped a 14-0 run with a layup for a 54-37 lead. West Virginia shot poorly from the free-throw line for the second straight game, shooting 54%. Sincere Carry scored 18 points to lead Kent State.
December 12, 2021 7:57 am
PITTSBURGH — Goaltender Casey DeSmith found his confidence and it helped the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins to another win on Saturday night. DeSmith stopped all 33 shots he faced, and Brock McGinn gave the Pittsburgh Penguins the only goal they needed for a 1-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks. It was DeSmith’s seventh career shutout and first of the season, and his second straight win in his sixth appearance. DeSmith played four times in the team’s first 24 games and didn’t record a win. But in his last two, he has stopped 61 of 62 shots. McGinn scored his seventh of the season on Pittsburgh’s first shot of the game, 5:12 into the first period. He beat Ducks goalie John Gibson with a one-timer from the right faceoff dot off the rush, set up by Zach Aston-Reese with a backhand pass to the blueline. Sidney Crosby’s seven-game point streak ended, but Pittsburgh won its fourth straight game and ninth in 12 games.
December 12, 2021 4:05 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves running in place as the season winds down. A 36-28 loss to Minnesota dropped Pittsburgh to 6-6-1 with four games to play. The Vikings pushed around the Steelers on both sides of the ball for long stretches. Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin substituted liberally in search of a spark but couldn’t stop his team from failing to win for the fourth time in the last five games. The Steelers have 10 days to recover before hosting Tennessee on Dec. 19.
December 11, 2021 4:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Danton Heinen, Brock McGinn and Kasperi Kapanen scored, Sidney Crosby had two assists and the Pittsburgh Penguins held on to beat the rival Washington Capitals 4-2. The Penguins controlled the play for the first two periods before the Capitals mounted a comeback in the third. Pittsburgh extended its winning streak to three. Washington’s brief two-game streak came to an end. It was the 85th NHL meeting between Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Lars Eller scored for Washington.
December 11, 2021 4:04 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Raina Perez and Camille Hobby scored 15 points each to lead No. 2 North Carolina State over Pittsburgh 89-54 in the ACC opener for both teams. Perez made three 3-pointers, and the Wolfpack shot 47% from beyond the arc. Hobby scored all of her points in 12 minutes. NC State has won nine straight since opening the season with a loss to top-ranked South Carolina. Diamond Johnson scored 10 points for the Wolfpack. Elissa Cunane finished with nine points and 12 rebounds as NC State held a 51-37 advantage on the boards.
December 10, 2021 3:51 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Vikings held on to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 36-28 by forcing an incomplete pass in the end zone on the final play. Ben Roethlisberger’s throw to Pat Freiermuth was on target. Anthony Barr and Harrison Smith sandwiched the rookie tight end at just the right moment to dislodge the ball. The Vikings nearly squandered a 29-0 late third-quarter lead. Dalvin Cook rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns in his faster-than-expected return from a shoulder injury for the Vikings. Roethlisberger had three touchdown passes in the second half. The Vikings improved to 6-7. The Steelers are 6-6-1.
December 10, 2021 3:55 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Former Denver Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas has been found dead in his suburban Atlanta home, according to local police. The public information officer for the police department in Roswell, Georgia, says preliminary information is that Thomas’ death stems from a medical issue, and investigators currently have no reason to believe otherwise. Thomas earned five straight Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl ring. He last played in the NFL in 2019, playing 11 games with 10 starts for the New York Jets.
December 10, 2021 7:55 am
Al Unser, one of only four drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 a record four times, died Thursday following years of health issues. He was 82. Indianapolis Motor Speedway said early Friday that Unser died at his home in Chama, New Mexico. Unser was part of an elite club of four-time winners of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Unser won in 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987, and is the only driver with both a sibling and a child who also won the 500. His namesake son, Al Unser Jr., is a two-time winner. The Unser family combined for a record nine wins in the Indy 500.
December 10, 2021 3:36 am
The PIAA Board of Directors decided to delay the release of new two-year enrollment numbers until early January. The Association said it recently became aware of inconsistencies among schools in how Vo-Tech students were counted. The Board gave schools until Dec. 15 to check/re-submit their numbers. Following that, PIAA will recalculate the distribution of teams for each sport and notify all schools. Districts wishing to “play up” will have until Jan. 5 to notify PIAA and final numbers will then be released in early January. According to reports, as many as 40 WPIAL schools reported issues with their vo-tech numbers, triggering the PIAA pause.
December 10, 2021 2:08 am
The NHL’s Board of Governors has approved the sale of the Penguins to Fenway Sports Group. It was announced earlier this month that FSG has entered into an agreement to acquire controlling interest in the Penguins. Now that the NHL Board of Governors has given its okay, the deal is expected to close by the end of the year. Under the deal, both Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle will remain part of the team’s ownership group. “As the Penguins enter a new chapter, I will continue to be as active and engaged with the team as I always have been and look forward to continuing to build on our success with our incoming partners at FSG,” Lemieux said in a statement. “They have an organizational philosophy that mirrors the approach that worked so well for Ron and me over the past 22 years.” In a news release, the Penguins said Lemieux will “continue his role guiding hockey operations for the organization. In addition, continuity of leadership will be maintained among the club’s senior management team of CEO David Morehouse, COO Kevin Acklin, President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke, General Manager Ron Hextall, and Head Coach Mike Sullivan.” Lemieux and Burkle purchased the team in 1999.
