November 14, 2020 5:00 am
PITTSBURGH — The University of Pittsburgh announced it is pausing all football activities as the coronavirus has made a resurgence, especially in Allegheny County. Pitt officials said the suspension of team activities is “due to COVID-related protocols.” The Panthers’ next game at Georgia Tech has also been postponed until Dec. 12. It’s unclear when Pitt will resume football activities, but it is scheduled to next play Nov. 21 at Heinz Field against Virginia Tech.
November 12, 2020 2:46 am
(WPXI) – The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced Wednesday it is canceling all regular season and championship games for the fall sports this season due to COVID-19 concerns. The board of directors voted in favor of the decision months after the NCAA similarly canceled all 2020 fall championships for Division II. Several local colleges are a part of the PSAC, including: California University of Pennsylvania, Clarion University, Edinboro University, IUP, Pitt Johnstown, Seton Hill and Slippery Rock University. The announcement affects men’s and women’s cross country and soccer, women’s volleyball, field hockey and football. However, PSAC officials said if six or more schools “commit to participating in any of those sports,” it will reinstate the season.
November 13, 2020 3:48 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Indianapolis and Tennessee share the AFC South lead at 6-3 following the Colts’ 34-17 win over the Titans in Nashville. Philip Rivers completed 29 of his 39 passes for 308 yards and a touchdown as the Colts handed the Titans their third loss in four games since a 5-0 start. Indianapolis entered the game leading the NFL in fewest yards allowed before limiting Tennessee to 294 total yards, about 90 below its season average. Derrick Henry ran for 103 yards on 19 carries for the Titans, who didn’t score after halftime. Ryan Tannehill was just 15 of 27 for 147 yards and a TD. The Colts now own the tiebreaker against the Titans and will host Tennessee on Nov. 29.
November 13, 2020 3:46 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Ivy League became the first Division I conference to cancel all winter sports, including men’s and women’s basketball. The decision came 13 days before the scheduled start of the college basketball season. The league had decided this past summer, when it canceled fall sports, not to allow any of its sports to start play before the end of the first semester.
November 13, 2020 2:52 am
Peters Township rallied from a 19-0 halftime deficit to beat Gateway, 20-19, earning a second-straight trip to the WPIAL 5A Finals. Logan Pfeuffer hit Corban Hondru on a quick slant for a four-yard touchdown with 4.7 seconds to play to tie the game. Andrew Massucci’s PAT gave the Indians the win. Wednesday, Massucci scored twice to lead the Peters Township boys soccer team to a 2-1 overtime win in the semifinals. Nico Pate and Donovan McMillon caught TD passes from Pfeuffer who overcame three interceptions in the game. Peters Township’s defense held Gateway to 84 yards of offense in the second half and out of the endzone, giving the offense a chance to win it.
Thomas Jefferson rallied from 10 points down to beat Plum as the defending state champions look to get a 9th WPIAL title for Head Coach Bill Cherpak. The Jaguars will face Aliquippa next Saturday afternoon for the 4A title.
WPIAL football brackets
WPIAL Finals
Friday, Nov. 13
3A #1 Central Valley vs. #3 Elizabeth-Forward, 7 pm at North Allegheny
Saturday, Nov. 14
1A #1 Clairton vs. #3 Jeannette, 11 am at North Hills
4A #1 Aliquippa vs. #2 Thomas Jefferson, 12:30 pm at North Allegheny and on WJPA-FM (95.3) or Listen Here
2A #1 Beaver Falls vs. #3 Sto-Rox, 5 pm at North Hills
5A #3 Peters Township at #1 Pine-Richland, 6:30 pm at North Allegheny and on WJPA-FM (95.3) or Listen Here
November 12, 2020 3:47 am
UNDATED (AP) – This weekend’s college football schedule continues to shrink. Saturday’s game between 12th-ranked Georgia and host Missouri has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues involving the Tigers, who are short on players. It’s the fourth Saturday game involving SEC teams to be postponed by the coronavirus. The Big Ten game between third-ranked Ohio State and host Maryland has been canceled because of an elevated number of COVID-19 cases within the Terrapins program. Maryland has halted team-related activities after eight players tested positive for COVID-19 over the last seven days. Eight games across major college football have been called off this week. Overall, 55 games involving FBS teams have been canceled or postponed since late August.
November 12, 2020 3:45 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The state of Ohio has swept this year’s Cy Young Awards. Cleveland Indians ace Shane Bieber has claimed the American League Cy Young Award in a unanimous vote, while Cincinnati’s Trevor Bauer is the National League winner. Bieber went 8-1 with a 1.63 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 77 1/3 innings during the pandemic-shortened season. He led the majors in ERA and strikeouts while tying Cubs ace Yu Darvish for the most wins. Bieber is the first Indian to win pitching’s Triple Crown since Bob Feller in 1940. Twins hurler Kenta Maeda finished second in the balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America, ahead of Toronto’s Hyun-Jin Ryu. Bauer went 5-4 with an NL-best 1.73 ERA in 11 starts, helping the Reds reach the playoffs for the first time since 2013. The 29-year-old right-hander struck out 100 in 73 innings and led the majors with two shutouts, a pair of seven-inning performances on doubleheader days. Bauer is the first Cy Young winner for Cincinnati, the majors’ oldest franchise. He received 27 of 30 first-place votes.
November 11, 2020 2:34 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers have placed four more players on the COVID-19 list, including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The move comes a day after tight end Vance McDonald went on the list after testing positive following a 24-19 win at Dallas that pushed the Steelers to 8-0. Running back Jaylen Samuels, offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins and linebacker Vince Williams joined Roethlisberger on the list Tuesday. The reserve/COVID-19 list is either for players who have tested positive or have been in close contact with someone who has. All players who have been in close contact must quarantine for five days and are unable to visit the team’s practice facility but can participate virtually. They must pass COVID-19 tests throughout the week to have an opportunity to play Sunday when the Steelers host the Cincinnati Bengals.
November 11, 2020 3:45 am
UNDATED (AP) – No. 1 Alabama at LSU and No. 5 Texas A&M at Tennessee won’t be played Saturday because of COVID-19 issues, raising the number of Southeastern Conference football games postponed this week to three. The Aggies and Volunteers will be rescheduled for Dec. 12, but the Crimson Tide’s game against the defending national champion Tigers is in danger of not being played at all. Both teams are coming off their open dates and LSU already has a game against No. 6 Florida scheduled for Dec. 12 that had to be postponed last month. In the American Athletic Conference, Memphis at Navy was postponed as the Midshipmen struggled with COVID-19 cases for a second straight week.
November 11, 2020 3:43 am
UNDATED (AP) – It’s official: The NBA is coming back Dec. 22. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have struck a deal on rules for this coming season, setting the stage for what will be a frenzied few weeks before games resume. Teams will play a 72-game schedule. The league said a new system will be used to ensure that the split of basketball-related income continues, one of the many details that had to be collectively bargained with the union because the current agreement between the sides had a great deal of language that needed reworking because of the coronavirus pandemic.
