February 20, 2025 4:32 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL salary cap will be between $277.5 million and $281.5 million for the 2025 season, rising as much as $26 million from last year. The bump is great news for Cincinnati, which is hoping to sign receiver Tee Higgins to a long-term contract. It also means more money for Minnesota to re-sign quarterback Sam Darnold or Kansas City to bring back guard Trey Smith or Super Bowl champion Philadelphia to keep linebacker Zack Baun. It’s also significant for teams projected to be over the cap when the new league year begins in March.
February 18, 2025 12:01 am
Peters Township boys, Chartiers-Houston and Fort Cherry girls were the only winners among 10 Washington/Greene County teams Tuesday night as the opening round of the WPIAL basketball playoffs ended. The winners join Canon-McMillan, Peters Township and West Greene girls, and Chartiers-Houston boys in the quarterfinals with games set for Wednesday-Friday. The WPIAL championships return to the University of Pittsburgh’s Petersen Events Center Feb. 27-March 1. First round scores are listed along with the upcoming schedule for teams from the two-county area. Click for WPIAL Brackets
WPIAL First Round
Tuesday, Feb. 18
Boys 5A #6 Peters Township 63, #11 Penn Hills 30
Boys 3A #2 South Allegheny 61, #15 Charleroi 32
Boys 3A #9 Shady Side Academy 51, #8 McGuffey 31
Boys 3A #3 Mohawk 59, #14 Waynesburg 40
Girls 2A #5 Fort Cherry 59, #12 California 29
Girls 2A #8 Laurel 44, #9 Beth-Center 32
Girls 2A #3 Winchester Thurston 62, #14 Burgettstown 28
Girls 2A #6 Chartiers-Houston 51, #11 Brentwood 28
Girls 2A #2 Aliquippa 79, #15 Carmichaels 6
WPIAL Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Feb. 19
Girls 5A #6 Thomas Jefferson vs. #3 Penn-Trafford at Norwin, 5:45 pm WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here
Girls 5A #2 Peters Township vs. #7 Indiana at Norwin, 7:25 pm WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here
Thursday, Feb. 20
Girls 6A #4 Canon-McMillan vs. #5 Butler at Canon-McMillan, 5:45 pm WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
Girls 1A #7 West Greene at #2 Geibel Catholic at Geibel Catholic, 7 pm
Boys 2A #7 Chartiers-Houston vs. #2 Sewickley Academy at Peters Township, 7:15 pm, WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
Friday, Feb. 21, sites/times to be announced
Boys 5A #6 Peters Township vs. #3 Uniontown
Girls 2A #6 Chartiers-Houston vs. #3 Winchester Thurston
Girls 2A #5 Fort Cherry vs. #4 South Side Beaver
WPIAL First Round
Monday, Feb. 17
Boys 2A #7 Chartiers-Houston 55, #10 Shenango 35
Boys 2A #8 Union 70, #9 Fort Cherry 49
Boys 2A #2 Sewickley Academy 59, #15 Bentworth 26
Girls 1A #7 West Greene 59, #10 Eden Christian 29
February 19, 2025 4:23 am
PITTSBURGH — This article originally appeared on PGHHockeyNOW.com. As expected, Tristan Jarry’s return to the NHL roster was merely to create space at the AHL level so netminder Joel Blomqvist could play games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and remain sharp for the resumption of the NHL’s regular season this weekend. With the team scheduled to resume practice Tuesday at the UPMC Lemieux Complex, the Pittsburgh Penguins recalled Blomqvist and forward Emil Bemstrom, who is the second-leading scorer in the AHL with games in hand on the leader. Blomqvist, 23, has played in 11 NHL games this season, posting an .896 save percentage and 3.54 goals against. However, the numbers belie the quality of play he’s provided. A couple of low shot-total games and the Penguins’ troublesome attitudes toward defending have also been problems.
February 18, 2025 4:27 am
Auburn is No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for the sixth consecutive week. The Tigers claimed 59 of 60 first-place votes in the latest poll after beating then-No. 1 Alabama on the road. Florida claimed the other first-place vote and broke last week’s tie with Duke to move up to second. The Southeastern Conference has a national-best nine ranked teams. No. 25 Louisville returned to the poll for the week’s only new addition.
February 18, 2025 4:38 am
It should be another emotional game in the 4-Nations Faceoff as the U.S. and Canada collide for the championship. The U.S had already clinched a spot in the title game after its win against Canada Saturday night in Montreal. The American’s fell to Sweden 2-1 Monday night. The Canadians, meanwhile, beat Finland 5-3 to earn the rematch. Nathan McKinnon scored twice and Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist.
February 17, 2025 4:30 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry has captured MVP honors at the All-Star Game in front of his home fans, in his arena. Curry earned all this well-deserved fanfare in what has been a remarkable run from Oakland to San Francisco for the Golden State Warriors star. Curry scored the first points of the final on a 3-pointer and later connected from half-court, running down the other way to chest-bump rapper Mistah Fab along one baseline. He helped Shaq’s OGs beat Chuck’s Global Stars 41-25, scoring 12 points on four 3-pointers.
February 17, 2025 4:29 am
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla (AP) — William Byron raced to his second straight Daytona 500 victory, dodging a string of late-race wrecks that knocked out a chunk of contenders and sent the Hendrick Motorsports driver into victory lane Sunday night at Daytona International Speedway. Ninth in the No. 24 Chevrolet with one lap left, Byron became the first back-to-back winner since Denny Hamlin in 2019-20. Byron took advantage of another wreck on the final lap — NASCAR did not drop the caution and let the field race to the finish — and took another, familiar burnout in Daytona International Speedway. The 27-year-old Byron held on to win after two weather delays totaling more than 3 1/2 hours.
February 17, 2025 4:31 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Ludvig Aberg left Torrey Pines feeling as bad as possible with a stomach bug that caused him to lose 10 pounds. He returned three weeks later as a winner. The Swede birdied four of the last six holes for a 66 to track down Maverick McNealy and win the Genesis Invitational. The tournament normally is held at Riviera but moved to Torrey Pines because of the LA wildfires. Torrey had everything in place from the Farmers Insurance Open last month. McNealy shot 64 and had a three-shot lead until Aberg rallied. Scottie Scheffler shot 66 and tied for third.
February 16, 2025 6:06 am
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes is focused on becoming a more complete pitcher in 2024. The reigning National League Rookie of the Year says he spent the offseason tinkering with adding two new pitches to an arsenal that includes a fastball that regularly hits 100 mph. Skenes says the goal is to give hitters something else to think about when they step to the plate. The 22-year-old added that he’s hoping to be more efficient during his second season and that he can earn the right to be the opening day starter when the regular season arrives in late March.
February 16, 2025 12:01 am
Section, WPIAL, Regional, States–that’s the four-week grind that is the PIAA Wrestling Championship Series. The road opened Saturday with Sectional tournaments across the WPIAL. Washington & Greene County teams competed in 2A Southern Sectional at Burgettstown, 3A Southern Sectional at South Fayette and 3A Eastern Sectional at Norwin. The top six place-winners in each weight paid the toll to stay on the road, advancing to next weekend’s WPIAL Championships. The 2A wrestlers will head to Chartiers Valley. 3A wrestlers head to Canon-McMillan for the next step on the journey. The WPIAL Girls Championships were held Saturday at North Allegheny with the top five place-winners automatically qualifying for the West Regional. The sixth place finisher would qualify in any weight that the Pittsburgh City League champion does not participate. Click on each tournament for medal-bout results.
2A Southern Sectional–McGuffey advanced 11 wrestlers, followed by Burgettstown (8), Avella (7), Chartiers-Houston & Jeff-Morgan (6 each), Beth-Center (5), Bentworth, Wash High & West Greene (4 each), Fort Cherry 3. The other 19 qualifiers include South Side (7), Frazier & Hopewell (5 each) and Brownsville two.
3A Southern Sectional–Trinity leads the way with 9 WPIAL qualifiers. Canon-McMillan advances 6, Peters Township 5 and Waynesburg 4. Bethel Park and Moon Area each have 9 qualifiers among the 3A neighbors. West Allegheny (7), Upper St. Clair (6), Mt. Lebanon (5), Baldwin, Chartiers Valley and South Fayette have four qualifiers each. Montour (3) and Blackhawk (1) round out the field.
3A Eastern Sectional–Ringgold has five WPIAL qualifiers. Thomas Jefferson (7), Belle Vernon (5) and West Mifflin (2) combine for 14 entries. Connellsville and Franklin Regional each have a dozen qualifiers followed by Norwin with 10 more. Penn-Trafford will send seven into next week. Latrobe and Plum have five qualifiers each with Hempfield (4), Gateway (3) and Albert Gallatin (1) rounding out the bracket.
Girls WPIAL Championships–Canon-McMillan led the WPIAL Girls championships with one champion, two runners-up and at least 9 West Regional qualifiers. Marlee Solomon won a major decision to claim the 112 pound championship. Avella’s Abigail Dolanch and Fort Cherry’s Ella Trahan also won WPIAL titles. Dolanch will be joined by Avella teammate Virginia Smith. Trinity has at least two, possibly three, wrestlers advancing to the regional tournament March 1st. Peters Township and Ringgold each have one wrestling moving on.
