June 8, 2022 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson says he is trying to block out his contract status. Johnson is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is coming off a season in which he had a career-best 107 receptions. Johnson says he’s been paying attention to the big-dollar contracts signed by some of the league’s top receivers during the offseason. Johnson says he would prefer to stay in Pittsburgh but is confident he’ll be fine either way as long as he keeps producing.
June 8, 2022 3:56 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Nikita Kucherov scored on a breakaway and Andrei Vasilevskiy had 33 saves, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning shut down the New York Rangers 4-1 and evening the NHL’s Eastern Conference final at two games apiece. Kucherov took a pass from Ondrej Palat in the middle of the ice and skated in on goaltender Igor Shesterkin to give the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions a two-goal lead just over 13 minutes into the second period. Palat, Pat Maroon and Steven Stamkos also scored for the Lightning, who have rebounded from losing the first two games of the series on the road to keep their bid to become the first team in nearly 40 years to win three consecutive Stanley Cup titles alive. Game 5 is Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
June 8, 2022 3:57 am
UNDATED (AP) – Tiger Woods has pulled out of the U.S. Open and says his body “needs more time to get stronger for major championship golf.” He said he hopes to be ready to play in a charity pro-am event in Ireland ahead of the British Open at St. Andrews in July. The U.S. Open is next week at The Country Club at Brookline outside of Boston. Woods made a surprise return to golf at the Masters just 14 months after he broke bones in his right leg and ankle in a car crash. He later played the PGA Championship at Southern Hills but withdrew after the third round. Woods has won the U.S. Open three times, most recently in 2008.
June 7, 2022 3:46 am
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – Artturi Lehkonen scored 1:19 into overtime, and Colorado rallied to beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 Monday night, completing a four-game sweep in the Western Conference final and sending the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2001. Colorado will take on the winner of the Eastern Conference final between the New York Rangers and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Cale Makar, Devon Toews Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen also scored for Colorado. Pavel Francouz stopped 30 of 35 shots. Zach Hyman scored twice for the Oilers. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid and Zack Kassian also scored for Edmonton. Leon Draisaitl had four assists and goalie Mike Smith finished with 36 saves.
June 7, 2022 3:50 am
UNDATED (AP) – A 24th woman has filed a civil lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct by Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is also awaiting possible discipline from the NFL.
The latest lawsuit was filed in Houston by attorney Tony Buzbee, who is representing all 24 women. Buzbee says in a statement that the women “continue to stand firm for what is right.” Watson’s lead attorney Rusty Hardin did not immediately reply to a request seeking comment. Hardin has repeatedly said Watson has done nothing wrong. Watson has been accused by massage therapists of harassing, assaulting or touching them during appointments and the latest lawsuit makes similar allegations. Watson could be suspended if the league determines he violated its personal conduct policy.
June 6, 2022 11:56 pm
Peters Township baseball gave up a 7-run third, clawed back to within two but got a runner thrown out at home, snuffing out the late rally in a season ending loss. West Allegheny steadily built the lead on the way to a shutout over Thomas Jefferson to advance to the quarterfinals against Bethel Park. Burgettstown baseball, West Greene softball scored one-run victories to advance. The PIAA Baseball & Softball brackets have been updated with winners. Sites/times for Thursday’s quarterfinals are due out Tuesday. Bracket links are below along with a listing of first-round scores and quarterfinal pairings in our neighborhood. We’ll definitely have the Burgettstown game for you on WJPA-AM (1450).
Baseball PIAA Brackets — Click Here — Softball PIAA Brackets — Click Here
First Round, Monday, June 6
Baseball
6A Cumberland Valley 7, Mt. Lebanon 0
6A Upper St. Clair 2, Altoona 0
5A West Allegheny 7, Thomas Jefferson 0
5A Ephrata 9, Peters Township 7
5A Bethel Park 4, Central Mountain 3
2A Burgettstown 6, Johnsonburg 5
Softball
1A West Greene 9, Conemaugh Valley 8
5A Armstrong 13, Chartiers Valley 6
Quarterfinals, Thursday, June 9
Baseball
6A Upper St. Clair vs. Warwick, 12 noon at Mt. Aloysius College
5A West Allegheny vs. Bethel Park, 2 pm at W&J’s Ross Memorial Park
2A Burgettstown vs. Redbank Valley, 2:20 pm at Slippery Rock University — WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here!
Softball
1A West Greene vs. DuBois Central Catholic, 3 pm at Slippery Rock University
June 6, 2022 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Jack Suwinski followed his game-winning homer a day earlier with three hits to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-0. The rookie has at least one hit in his past five games, and was 7 for 12 this series. Pittsburgh took two of three from Arizona after a three-game sweep of the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Pirates starter Zach Thompson allowed four hits and two walks with four strikeouts. David Bednar had two strikeouts in a perfect ninth for his 10th save. Arizona’s Zac Gallen gave up two runs on five hits, and had three walks and four strikeouts in his first loss since Sept. 13, 2021.
June 6, 2022 3:58 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – The Tampa Bay Lightning were able to shake off two straight losses at Madison Square Garden. The Lightning are down 2-1 in the Eastern Conference finals after rallying in the third period of a 3-2 win over the Rangers. The game appeared to be heading for overtime until Ondrej Palat scored with just 42 seconds left in the third period. The game-winner came on a pass from Nikita Kucherov, who had a goal and two assists. The Rangers took a 2-0 lead on power-play goals by Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider 2:07 apart in the second period. Kucherov sparked the Lightning comeback with a power-play goal 66 seconds after Kreider’s tally. Steven Stamkos tied the game by scoring with the man advantage 1:22 into the final period. Igor Shesterkin stopped 48 shots for the Blueshirts. Game 4 is Tuesday in Tampa.
June 6, 2022 3:54 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The Golden State Warriors had another outstanding third quarter on Sunday against the Boston Celtics. This time, the Warriors didn’t waste it. Golden State broke it open by outscoring the Celtics 35-14 in the third period en route to a 107-88 win against Boston, tying the NBA Finals at a game apiece. The Warriors carried a two-point edge into intermission before taking over, ending the third period on a 19-2 run. They held Boston under 38% shooting for the game. Steph Curry was the center of the Warriors’ offense once again, hitting five 3-pointers and providing 29 points with four assists. Jordan Poole was 5-for-9 from 3-point range in scoring 17 points. Celtics forward Al Horford took just four shots and scored two points, three nights after providing a team-high 26 points in Game 1. Jayson Tatum had 28 points and Jaylen Brown added 17 on 5 of 17 from the field. Game 3 is Wednesday in Boston.
June 6, 2022 3:59 am
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) – Billy Horschel made an eagle putt on the 15th hole that all but secured his win in the Memorial at Muirfield Village. Horschel shot a 72 and won by four shots over Aaron Wise. Horschel’s eagle putt from just inside 55 feet had the perfect line and perfect speed, bending left and dropping in the left side of the cup as he stretched out both arms in a quiet, disbelieving celebration. Horschel finished at 13-under 275 and won $2.16 million, the largest paycheck of his career.
