September 11, 2021 4:05 am
Final tune-ups for most teams before conference play begins next week.
Canon-McMillan survived a back-and-forth battle at Bethel Park. Mt. Lebanon handed Peters Township its first loss of the season. Ringgold won its second straight game while Trinity tasted victory for the first time this year.
Washington rolled past a short-handed Clairton squad. McGuffey lost for the second time in three starts. Beth-Center scored 30 for the second straight week but lost to West Greene. Monessen beat Charleroi, the Greyhounds first win in nearly two years. Chartiers-Houston improved to 2-0 while handing Mapletown its first loss. Burgettstown has won two straight dropping Avella to 0-3. Fort Cherry won for the second straight week, giving Carmichaels its first loss. Bentworth edged Frazier, keeping the Commodores winless while Jeff-Morgan’s struggles continue, giving up 50+ points in a third straight loss.
Canon-McMillan 34, Bethel Park 27
Mt. Lebanon 31, Peters Township 0
Ringgold 12, South Allegheny 10
Trinity 41, Yough 6
Wash High 43, Clairton 19
Sto-Rox 36, McGuffey 0
West Greene 38, Beth-Center 30
Monessen 24, Charleroi 6
Chartiers-Houston 44, Mapletown 15
Burgettstown 57, Avella 8
Ft. Cherry 27, Carmichaels 20
Bentworth 20, Frazier 19
California 49, Waynesburg 7
Cornell 52, Jeff-Morgan 8
September 11, 2021 4:02 am
Josh Bell’s return to PNC Park was overshadowed by Ke’Bryan Hayes’s ninth-inning RBI single that led the Pirates over the Nationals 4 to 3. Bell hit his 26th home run, but the Nationals could not hold onto their lead, as Chad Kuhl pitched a scoreless ninth inning and earned his fifth win of the season. The Pirates and Nationals play again this evening, and you can hear that game on WJPA 1450 AM, with the pre-game starting at 6:10 p.m.
September 11, 2021 4:03 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Big 12 has added four new members. BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston have formally accepted invitations to join the league. The Big 12 has moved quickly after learning it will lose Oklahoma and Texas to the Southeastern Conference no later than July 2025. BYU says all of its sports will begin Big 12 schedules in the 2023-24 athletic season. The other three schools compete in the American Athletic Conference. That league requires 27 months’ notice for schools that want to leave. That means they will join the Big 12 no later than July 1, 2024.
September 11, 2021 4:03 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers have made outside linebacker T.J. Watt the highest-paid defensive player in the league. A person with knowledge of the agreement tells The Associated Press that Watt has signed a four-year extension worth $112 million. Watt was set to enter the final season of the rookie deal he signed in 2017. The 26-year-old has become one of the best pass rushers in the league. His 49 1/2 sacks over his first four seasons ranks sixth all time by a player over that span.
September 10, 2021 3:51 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Tom Brady threw for 379 yards and four touchdowns, helping the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers kick off the NFL season with a mistake-filled 31-29 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night. With seats in a NFL stadium filled to full capacity for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Ryan Succop won it with a 36-yard field goal Brady set up with a last-minute drive directed on the same field where the Bucs became the first team to play and win a Super Bowl in its home stadium seven months ago. Dak Prescott threw for 403 yards and three TDs for Dallas.
September 10, 2021 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says there will be growing pains early in the season for his team’s new-look offense. The Steelers will have four rookies in the lineup against Buffalo, including running back Najee Harris and center Kendrick Green. Roethlisberger says it “may not be pretty” early on and that the unit has to make sure to keep its composure. The Steelers face a stiff test against the defending AFC East champion Bills. Buffalo dropped Pittsburgh 26-15 in their previous meeting last December.
September 9, 2021 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Miguel Cabrera and Robbie Grossman each had four hits, and the Detroit Tigers avoided a sweep by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1. Cabrera was 4 for 4 with a double and three RBIs. He doubled off the Clemente Wall in right field to score Grossman in the first, singled home Akil Baddoo in the third and bounced one up the middle in the fifth to bring in Jonathan Schoop. Grossman was 4 for 5 and scored three runs. He singled in his first three at-bats and hit a solo home run just inside the right field foul pole in the seventh.
September 9, 2021 3:42 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt has found an ally in his contract negotiations with the team in quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger says the Steelers should pay Watt “whatever the heck he wants.” Watt is entering the final year of his rookie contract. The Steelers want to lock Watt up long term, but negotiations between the two sides appear to have bogged down with the season opener in Buffalo looming. Roethlisberger says Watt is one of the best players in the league and should be paid accordingly.
September 9, 2021 3:44 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby will miss the start of the regular season after undergoing wrist surgery. General manager Ron Hextall says the surgery was necessary to address a lingering issue. The team estimates Crosby will be out a minimum of six weeks. The Penguins begin training camp later this month and open the 2021-22 season on the road against two-time defending Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay on Oct. 12.
September 8, 2021 3:46 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Ben Gamel had a go-ahead two-run single in the sixth inning among his three hits and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2. Gamel also made an outstanding catch in left field to end the top of the sixth, slamming into the fence to take away a potential extra-base hit from Derek Hill with two runners on and preventing the Tigers from adding to their 2-1 lead. Miguel Cabera went 3 for 4 with a double for the Tigers, raising his career hits total to 2,967.
