January 9, 2021 5:01 am
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – Penn State has hired Mike Yurcich as offensive coordinator, replacing Kirk Ciarrocca after one year with the former Texas and Ohio State assistant. Yurcich was offensive coordinator at Texas last season, but found himself out after the school fired coach Tom Herman last week. Yurcich was passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for one season at Ohio State in 2019 after six productive seasons at Oklahoma State. Ciarrocca was hired away from Minnesota after last season by Nittany Lions coach James Franklin after offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne left to become head coach at Old Dominion.
January 9, 2021 5:03 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Tommy Lasorda, the fiery Hall of Fame manager who guided the Los Angeles Dodgers to two World Series titles and later became an ambassador for the sport he loved during his 71 years with the franchise, has died. He was 93. The Dodgers said Friday that he had a heart attack at his home in Fullerton. Resuscitation attempts were made en route to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday. Lasorda had a history of heart problems, including a heart attack in 1996 that ended his managerial career.
January 8, 2021 2:51 am
High school sports are set to resume Friday following a three-week shutdown ordered by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf. That order expired Monday morning and teams had to complete four days of workouts to meet PIAA guidelines. Most teams will resume basketball, wrestling, swimming & diving this weekend, though there are still some hurdles. Some schools require their students to wear masks, even in competition. Some also require visiting teams to wear masks, too, even if those schools don’t require them. Any games not played during the regular season due to mask rules will be viewed as No Contest. PIAA has stated, though, that playoff games would be declared forfeited by the refusing team.
Our coverage of the winter sports seasons begins Friday night with a boys basketball match-up featuring two teams that shared the section title a year ago. Wash High visits Charleroi for the opening game for both teams. We’ll have the game on WJPA-AM (1450) and online starting with pregame at 7:20 pm.
January 8, 2021 3:52 am
CLEVELAND (AP) – The Cleveland Browns are in the playoffs yet they still haven’t practiced for them. For the second straight day, the team’s headquarters and training facility were closed due to a COVID-19 flare-up that knocked coach Kevin Stefanski out of Sunday night’s game in Pittsburgh and wreaked havoc on the Browns’ preparations. Quarterback Baker Mayfield said he hasn’t thrown a football since last Sunday, when the team clinched its first postseason berth since the 2002 season. Mayfield said the lack of practice time isn’t an excuse. An NFL spokesman said the game remains on schedule despite Cleveland’s issues with the coronavirus.
January 8, 2021 3:54 am
CLEVELAND (AP) – The New York Mets have pulled off their biggest trade since Steve Cohen purchased the team in November. The Mets have landed shortstop Francisco Lindor and pitcher Carlos Carrasco from Cleveland. The Mets part with infielders Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario, right-hander Josh Wolf and outfielder Isaiah Greene. A two-time Gold Glove winner, Lindor is a career .285 hitter and has averaged 29 homers, 86 RBIs and 21 steals in his six major league seasons. Carrasco is one of the game’s best comeback stories, overcoming leukemia to reemerge as one of the AL’s steadiest starters. Rosario was a Mets mainstay the last two seasons, and Gimenez showed major league ability following his recall last year. Lindor can become a free agent after the 2021 season, and Carrasco has two years and an option left on his contract. Mets president Sandy Alderson says he hasn’t spoken to Lindor’s agent about an extension.
January 8, 2021 3:55 am
MONTREAL (AP) – The Montreal Canadiens will be able to play home games despite the Quebec government’s imposition of a curfew aimed at curbing COVID-19 in the province. Quebec’s premier says the new measures will take effect Saturday and remain in place until at least Feb. 8. There will be no fans at games. Alberta and British Columbia also have given the green light for their NHL teams to play home games during the pandemic. Manitoba says it is confident the Winnipeg Jets can play home games. Ontario has yet to make a final decision.
January 7, 2021 3:45 am
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) – Ithiel Horton scored 14 points, Au’diese Toney made a go-ahead putback with eight seconds left for Pittsburgh’s first lead and the shorthanded Panthers erased an 18-point deficit to beat Syracuse 63-60, snapping a seven-game losing streak in the series. After Toney put Pittsburgh ahead, Syracuse dribbled across midcourt and called a timeout with 5.2 seconds left. The Orange turned it over, Xavier Johnson made two free throws for a three-point lead and Alan Griffin’s half-court heave at the buzzer hit the side of the rim. The Panthers were without Justin Champagnie, averaging 17.8 points per game and 12.3 rebounds, due to a knee injury. Griffin had 15 points for Syracuse.
January 7, 2021 3:45 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers head into the playoffs knowing the championship window is closing for veterans such as Ben Roethlisberger. The 38-year-old Roethlisberger has been urging his younger teammates to embrace the moment when the AFC North champions open the postseason against Cleveland. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game in four years and several high-profile players are nearing the end of their careers without having reached the Super Bowl. Six-time Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro says a Super Bowl is the only thing he hasn’t done and would love to bring a championship to the city.
January 7, 2021 3:50 am
UNDATED (AP) – Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence has officially thrown his name into the NFL draft. Lawrence had said in September he planned to play his junior season, graduate in December and move on to the NFL. Lawrence discussed in October keeping his options open, which included possibly returning for another year of college as discussions of the No. 1 pick intensified between the then winless New York Jets and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Lawrence finished 34-2 in his college career, leading Clemson to three ACC titles and the national title after the 2018 season. He finished second in the Heisman Trophy race Tuesday night to Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith.
January 7, 2021 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – Tommy John has been battling COVID-19 for at least three weeks, and the former pitching great disputes reports that he is a coronavirus denier. The 77-year-old John remains hospitalized near his home in Indio, California. He said he started to feel ill following a trip to Nashville before he was hospitalized on Dec. 13. His son, Tommy III, has been vocal about his opinions on the coronavirus, saying on social media that it’s not a pandemic.
