PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Pirates top prospect Nick Gonzales is trying to absorb what he can during his first spring training. The Pirates grabbed Gonzales with the seventh overall pick in the 2020 first-year player draft with an eye toward making him their second baseman of the future. The 21-year-old Gonzales says he is in no rush to get to the majors and is simply happy to play games after last year’s minor league season was canceled. Gonzales hit his first home run of spring training earlier this week, a solo shot off Atlanta’s A.J. Minter.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Jon Rahm wound up being the only top-20 seed to reach the Round of 16 in the Dell Technologies Match Play. Rahm finished 2-0-1 by halving his match with Ryan Palmer. Sergio Garcia beat Lee Westwood in the longest of the eight playoffs. Garcia won it with a 9-iron from 161 yards to a front pin on the par-3 fourth hole that landed just beyond the pin and trickled back into the cup. Kevin Na sent Dustin Johnson home. Na birdied his last two holes for a 1-up victory over the No. 1 player in the world. Dylan Frittelli is the first No. 64 seed to make it to the knockout round. Other winners include Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Matt Kucher and Tommy Fleetwood.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -Jared McCann scored a pair of power-play goals, Casey DeSmith made 36 saves and the Pittsburgh Penguins extended Buffalo’s winless streak to 16 straight with a 4-0 victory. Radim Zohorna picked up a goal on his first shot in the NHL for the Penguins. Jake Guentzel added an empty-netter and Sidney Crosby had three assists to raise his career point total to 1,300. Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams served as head coach after interim Don Granato and assistant Matt Ellis were placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol a few hours before the opening faceoff.
Get out your brackets and your highlighters! March Madness is underway.
WJPA-AM (1450) will bring you live broadcasts of the listed “feature games” as well as look-ins from across the tournament. Our coverage runs through the Women’s & Men’s National Championships April 4-5.
From each day’s first tip to the night’s final whistle, you can listen on-air and online Listen Here! Scores of each days games will be listed in the Scoreboard Section while our “Feature Games” will be listed below.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Make it eight in a row for Kevin Kisner. The defending champion in the Dell Technologies Match Play built a big lead over Justin Thomas and then hung on to beat the No. 2 seed in 17 holes. Kisner’s streak is the fifth-longest streak since this tournament began in 1999. Tiger Woods holds the record at 13 in a row from 2003 to 2005. Bob MacIntyre of Scotland gave the world’s No. 1 player all he could handle before Dustin Johnson rallied just to escape with a tie. MacIntyre build a 2-up lead with three holes to play when Johnson birdied the 16th, and then tied the match with a tough 18-footer. That sent the match down the 18th, and both players had birdie chances that missed. U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau won his second match as a pro with a 2-and-1 victory over Si Woo Kim. DeChambeau was trailing with five holes to play when he rallied to win.
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Sidney Crosby picked up his 13th goal of the season and the Pittsburgh Penguins extended Buffalo’s winless streak to 15 games a with a 5-2 victory. Evan Rodrigues, Kris Letang, John Marino and Zach-Aston Reese also scored for the Penguins. Pittsburgh recovered from a sluggish three-game set against New Jersey by pouncing on the undermanned and overmatched Sabres. Buffalo’s 15-game winless stretch (0-13-2) is a record for futility since the shootout was introduced during the 2005-06 season.
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates are shutting down starting pitcher Steven Brault for at least a month to address discomfort in his throwing shoulder. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said it’s likely Brault will be out for a minimum of 10 weeks. The team had expected the left-hander to be a part of a totally revamped starting rotation in 2021.
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Steelers have released veteran cornerback Steven Nelson. The team gave Nelson permission to seek a trade partner last week but opted to release him outright after Nelson claimed on Twitter the team was holding him “hostage.” The 28-year-old Nelson was about to enter the final season of a three-year, $25.5 million deal he signed in 2019. Nelson and veteran Joe Haden have teamed up to become one of the better cornerback tandems in the NFL over the last two years. Nelson, however, became expendable when the team re-signed Cam Sutton to a two-year contract last week.
UNDATED (AP) – Elgin Baylor was among the very best NBA players of his era, averaging 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds during a 14-year career spent entirely with the Lakers. The Lakers have announced that Baylor died Monday of natural causes at age 86. Baylor’s greatness occurred before the league gained a hold on television exposure. With a silky-smooth jumper and fluid athleticism, He played a major role in revolutionizing basketball from a ground-bound sport into an aerial show. Baylor was outstanding in the Lakers’ first three seasons after leaving Minneapolis, averaging 35.3 points, 17.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists from 1960-63. However, the 11-time All-Star never won a scoring title and went 0-7 in NBA Finals series, eclipsed in points by Wilt Chamberlain and beaten six times by the Boston Celtics. Injuries limited him to 11 games over his final two seasons and caused him to retire during the 1971-72 campaign, the season the Lakers finally won a championship in Los Angeles.
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers are bringing back defensive lineman Chris Wormley on a two-year deal. Pittsburgh is in need of help along the line after veteran Tyson Alualu left in free agency for Jacksonville. Wormley had eight tackles in 13 games for the Steelers last season after Pittsburgh acquired him from AFC North rival Baltimore. The Steelers also signed wide receiver Tyler Simmons to a one-year contract.
