December 11, 2020 3:58 am
West Virginia has paused all football activities for the next seven days and will not host No. 13 Oklahoma on Saturday due to a surge of positive COVID-19 cases and contact tracing in the football program. Athletic director Shane Lyons says the game will not be rescheduled. The next game for the Sooners will instead be the Big 12 championship game against No. 10 Iowa State in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 19.
December 11, 2020 3:50 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers rookie outside linebacker Alex Highsmith drew raves from coaches following his first NFL start. Highsmith had five tackles in Pittsburgh’s loss to Washington while playing a season-high 60 snaps. Highsmith was thrust into a starting role after veteran Bud Dupree was lost for the season because of a knee injury. Highsmith is making the transition from defensive end to outside linebacker and has won defensive coordinator Keith Butler over with his “football IQ.” Highsmith and the Steelers face a stiff test when they travel to Buffalo to take on quarterback Josh Allen and the surging Bills.
December 11, 2020 3:56 am
Pittsburgh has taken right-hander Jose Soriano from the Los Angeles Angels organization with the first of 18 picks in the major league phase of the winter meeting draft of players not protected on 40-man rosters. The 22-year-old Soriano was 0-1 with a 1.93 ERA in three starts for the Arizona Rookie League Angels in 2019 and 5-6 with a 2.55 ERA in 15 starts and two relief appearances for Burlington of the Class A Midwest League. He missed last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
December 11, 2020 3:54 am
UNDATED (AP) – Outfielder Adam Eaton and the Chicago White Sox have reunited, finalizing a one-year contract that guarantees $8 million. Eaton gets $7 million next season, and the White Sox have an $8.5 million option for 2022 with a $1 million buyout. Eaton played for Chicago from 2014-16 and was dealt to the Washington Nationals at the December 2016 winter meetings for current ace Lucas Giolito, Dane Dunning and Reynaldo Lopez. Eaton helped the Nationals win the World Series in 2019. They declined their option on him after he hit .226 in 41 games last season.
December 10, 2020 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers’ struggling running game received a boost when James Conner was activated off the reserve/COVID-19 list. Conner missed each of Pittsburgh’s last two games, including a 23-17 upset loss to Washington that ended the Steelers’ bid for an unbeaten season. Pittsburgh (11-1) managed 21 yards on 14 carries, the franchise’s lowest single-game rushing total since 1970. Conner has run for a team-high 645 yards and five touchdowns, including an 89-yard performance against Jacksonville in his previous start last month. He is expected to be in the starting lineup when Pittsburgh visits surging Buffalo (9-3).
December 10, 2020 3:49 am
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) – Xavier Johnson scored 21 points and fed Justin Champagnie for the game-winning basket with 5.6-seconds to play and Pittsburgh rallied to defeat Northwestern 71-70 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. After Boo Buie missed a pair of free throws with 16.3 seconds left, Johnson took the ball up court and penetrated along the left side of the lane, dumping the ball underneath to Champagnie when the double-team came. That was the only lead of the game for the Panthers and Northwestern never got a good look at a winning basket. Champagnie scored 20 points and corralled a career-high 20 rebounds for Pitt. Buie led Northwestern with 14 points.
December 9, 2020 3:46 am
BALTIMORE (AP) – The Baltimore Ravens ended their three-game losing streak and improved their playoff position by running through the Dallas defense. The Ravens are 7-5 after racking up 294 yards rushing in a 34-17 win over the Cowboys. Lamar Jackson ran for 94 yards and a touchdown while also throwing for two scores. Jackson was one of 23 Ravens to spend time on the reserve/COVID-19 list while four different strains of the virus swept through the organization. Gus Edwards ran for 101 yards on just seven carries and rookie J.K. Dobbins added 71 yards rushing with a TD. The Ravens averaged 7.9 yards per carry against the NFL’s worst rush defense. Greg Zuerlein missed three field goal tries and Dallas yielded 20 straight points after taking an early 10-7 lead. Andy Dalton went 31 for 48 for 285 yards and two touchdowns for the 3-9 Cowboys.
December 10, 2020 2:51 am
It looks like the winter sports season will begin, as scheduled, Friday. The PIAA Board of Directors met Wednesday and took no action on delaying the season. One Superintendent did ask that the season be pushed back to February and the Pennsylvania Principals Association also sent a letter requesting a delay. There has been plenty of speculation that the PIAA would delay basketball, wrestling and swimming because of the continued surge in COVID_19 cases across the state. Some leagues have announced that they will delay the season but the WPIAL is not one of them.
The PIAA did announced that any game canceled because of COVID-19 will be considered ‘no contest’. The same is true for any game canceled because of a disagreement between schools over the wearing of masks during competition. Teams that are shut down because of virus issues will be on a sliding scale to determine when it can return.
December 9, 2020 3:44 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers are no longer perfect, and their first loss of the season left them with plenty to work on. Pittsburgh’s running game managed just 21 yards rushing against Washington, the franchise’s third-lowest total since 1970. The loss dropped the Steelers to 11-1 and into a tie with Kansas City for the top spot in the AFC. Coach Mike Tomlin says his team can’t use injuries as an excuse and needs to become more physical. The Steelers will try to avoid a losing streak when they travel to surging Buffalo next weekend.
December 9, 2020 3:50 am
UNDATED (AP) – Michigan has canceled its annual football showdown with Ohio State, citing a rising number of COVID-19 cases within the Wolverines program. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said his players were “very disappointed” to not face the third-ranked Buckeyes, who would be heavily favored. The season-ending grudge match known as “The Game” won’t be played for the first time in 102 years. With two games already canceled, the Buckeyes under current conference rules still need a sixth game to be eligible to play for a Big Ten championship Dec. 19 in Indianapolis against Northwestern. Coach Ryan Day said the conference should consider allowing Ohio State to play with only five games.
