June 5, 2022 7:47 am
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Billy Horschel is more concerned with the way he is playing than the size of his lead in the Memorial. Either way, he’s in good shape going into the final round. On a Muirfield Village course that is getting increasingly firmer, Horschel hasn’t made a bogey since the 10th hole of his opening round. There were five players tied for the lead at one point. Horschel finished the day five shots ahead. It was the second straight year for a big 54-hole lead at the Memorial. Horschel at least get a chance to finish the job. One year after Jon Rahm built a six-shot lead — only to be forced to withdraw after the third round because of a positive COVID-19 test — Horschel delivered a gem on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon with a 7-under 65 for his largest 54-hole lead of his career. Horschel chipped in for birdie on his opening hole. Everything else was simply solid, with only one other birdie putt outside the 10-foot range. He was at 13-under 203, five shots clear of Aaron Wise (69) and Cameron Smith (72).
June 4, 2022 4:07 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) -Rookie Alek Thomas hit two of Arizona’s five home runs and the Diamondbacks opened a long road trip by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-6. Ketel Marte homered while extending his hitting streak to 15 games and Christian Walker and Jake McCarthy also connected for Arizona. Thomas hit solo drive in the fourth and seventh innings for his first career multi-homer game while raising his season total to five.
June 4, 2022 4:06 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The New York Rangers own a two-games-to-none lead in the NHL’s Eastern Conference finals. Adam Fox set up the go-ahead and game-winning goals in a 3-2 decision over the Lightning. Kaapo Kakko broke a 1-1 tie late in the first period and Mika Zibanejad made it 3-1 81 seconds into the third. K’Andre Miller also scored and Chris Kreider had two assists for the Blueshirts. Igor Shesterkin turned back 29 shots. Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist for the Lightning, who will host Game 3 on Sunday. Nick Paul also scored for Tampa Bay.
June 4, 2022 4:09 am
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) – Cameron Smith is the leader through two rounds of the Memorial. Smith holed out with a downhill chip from beyond the green on the par-3 12th that carried him to a 3-under 69. He kept his one-shot lead over Denny McCarthy and K.H. Lee the rest of the day. Smith is 8 under for the tournament as he tries to crack the top 60 for the first time in seven starts at Murfield Village. He missed the cut four times in six previous Memorials.
June 3, 2022 3:54 am
DENVER (AP) – The Colorado Avalanche have held serve in the first two games of the NHL’s Western Conference finals. The Avalanche have a two-games-to-none lead after a flurry of goals and a backup netminder led to a 4-0 shutout of the Oilers. Nazem Kadri set up goals by Artturi Lehkonen, Josh Manson and Mikko Rantanen during a 2:04 span early in the second period. Lehkonen and Manson tallied just 15 seconds apart, and Nathan MacKinnon capped the scoring late in the third. Pavel Francouz had a 24-save shutout two nights after the Oilers scored six times in a Game 1 loss. Francouz replaced Darcy Kuemper, who sustained an upper-body injury in the second period of the opener. Mike Smith made 35 saves for the Oilers, who host Game 3 on Saturday.
June 3, 2022 3:56 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The Golden State Warriors had one of their patented, strong third quarters in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, but the Boston Celtics had the last word. The Celtics rode the most lopsided fourth quarter in NBA Finals history to a 120-108 victory over the Warriors. Boston outscored Golden State 40-16 in the final 12 minutes after trailing by 15 points late in the third quarter. Boston won it with long-range shooting, shooting 21 of 41 from beyond the arc. Al Horford was the catalyst with six 3-pointers and 26 points. Boston made its first seven tries from long distance in the fourth and wound up 9 of 12 beyond the arc in the period. Derrick White was 5-for-8 from downtown in scoring 21 points off the bench. Jaylen Brown finished with 24 points and Marcus Smart added 18 on 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. Steph Curry had a team-high 34 points for the Warriors, who host Game 2 on Sunday.
June 3, 2022 3:51 am
OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) – Roger Valdiserri, who helped tell the story of some of Notre Dame’s greatest football teams as the school’s sports information director for three decades, has died. He was 95. Valdiserri’s family says he died of natural causes at a retirement community outside Chicago. The family said he was surrounded by his five children at the time of his death. Valdiserri was a native of Belle Vernon who graduated from Notre Dame in 1954. His first job at the school was an administrative assistant for football coaches Frank Leahy and Terry Brennan. He took over as the school’s sports information director in 1966 under coach Ara Parseghian. Notre Dame won the first of four national titles in football during Valdiserri’s tenure that season.
June 2, 2022 3:55 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Bryan Reynolds hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4. The Pirates completed their first sweep at Dodger Stadium in nearly 22 years. Rodolfo Castro went 2 for 2 with four RBI in three innings and the Pirates’ defense turned four double plays. The NL West-leading Dodgers lost their third in a row for the first time since dropping four straight from May 11-14 against the Pirates and Phillies. They were swept for the first time this season.
June 2, 2022 2:48 am
The WPIAL baseball playoffs ended late Wednesday night with West Allegheny’s 8-inning win over Peters Township. WA led 2-0 and 4-1 before Peters Township pulled even in the sixth. The teams worked through weather delays of 40 minutes, then 36 minutes before Anthony Ranieri singled home Brady Miller with the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth. Peters Township got the leadoff man aboard in the bottom of the inning but couldn’t bring in the tying run.
West Greene came up a run short in a bid to set a new WPIAL record as the five-time defending champions lost to Union in the 1A softball championship game. The Pioneers, Sto-Rox and Hempfield are the only schools to win five straight WPIAL softball titles. The PIAA baseball & softball playoffs begin on Monday with West Greene softball (in District 6), Burgettstown baseball (in District 9) and Peters Township baseball (in District 3) all opening on the road. Once the brackets are released, we’ll post links here. Our first round coverage will be based on the time schedule set by the PIAA.
Baseball WPIAL Brackets — Click Here — Softball WPIAL Brackets — Click Here
Tuesday, May 31
Baseball Third Place
2A Riverside 6, Burgettstown 4
5A Bethel Park 6, Thomas Jefferson 0
Baseball Championship
6A Mt. Lebanon 2, Upper St. Clair 1
Wednesday, June 1
Baseball Championship
5A West Allegheny 5, Peters Township 4 (8)
Wednesday, June 1
Softball Championship
1A Union 3, West Greene 2
June 2, 2022 2:13 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Stephon Tuitt’s NFL career is over. The Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman has retired from the NFL at age 29. Tuitt said feels called to move on from the game following the death of his younger brother in June 2021 and Tuitt’s own recent graduation from Notre Dame. Tuitt had 34 1/2 sacks in eight seasons with the Steelers. He did not play last season after his brother Richard Bartlett III was killed in a hit and run in Georgia.
