April 1, 2025 4:42 am
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Madison Booker scored 18 points and No. 1 seed Texas used its stifling defense to reach the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003, beating well-traveled point guard Hailey Van Lith and second-seeded TCU 58-47. The Longhorns will face defending champion South Carolina on Friday night in Tampa, Florida, for a spot in the national title game. Texas won a regional final for the first time under coach Vic Schaefer, who previously made two Final Four trips with Mississippi State. The Longhorns’ 35 wins are one more than its only national title-winning squad had in 1986 under Jody Conradt, who was in the stands Monday night.
March 31, 2025 4:38 am
ATLANTA (AP) — Johni Broome had 25 points and 14 rebounds, and Auburn took command with 17 unanswered points in the first half to beat Michigan State 70-64 and complete a sweep of No. 1 seeds advancing to the Final Four. Auburn earned its second Final Four trip. Michigan State fell short in its bid to send coach Tom Izzo to his ninth national semifinal. Auburn’s only previous Final Four appearance came in 2019, also under coach Bruce Pearl. The South Region champion Tigers are the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. They became the last of the No. 1 seeds to advance to the Final Four — joining Florida, Duke and Houston.
March 31, 2025 4:33 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored a power-play goal in overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Ottawa Senators 1-0 on Sunday. Crosby has eight goals and 15 points during a 10-game point streak. Crosby also extended a 13-game home point streak. Ridly Greig was called for hooking with three seconds remaining in the third period, giving Pittsburgh the overtime power play. Tristan Jarry stopped 31 shots for his 20th career shutout and his first of the season. The embattled Pittsburgh goaltender, who spent time in the American Hockey League with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, allowed 11 goals in his last three appearances. Anton Forsberg made 34 saves for Ottawa.
March 31, 2025 4:37 am
MIAMI (AP) — Griffin Conine hit a home run, Derek Hill scored the winning run from third on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth and the Florida Marlins beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2. Conine hit a solo shot to make it 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh. His father, Jeff Conine who is known as “Mr. Marlin,” was inducted in the the franchise’s hall of fame earlier Sunday. Hill walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth, stole second base and advanced to third on a throwing error before he scored on the wild pitch by David Bednar.
March 31, 2025 4:35 am
PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) — Some people might be anxiously waiting for Aaron Rodgers to make up his mind about whether he’s going to play this upcoming season. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is not among them. Tomlin told reporters at the NFL’s owners meetings that while he enjoyed spending some time with the four-time league MVP when Rodgers visited the team’s facility earlier this month, he has no intention of putting Rodgers on a clock. Tomlin said he doesn’t think creating an arbitrary deadline would help matters. Pittsburgh currently only has two quarterbacks on the roster in Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson.
March 30, 2025 12:12 am
South Fayette used a 15-0 run to and held Archbishop Wood without a field goal for more than 14 minutes as the Lions won their first-ever PIAA Girls Basketball state title. Trailing 22-17, SF scored six straight points to take a one-point lead into the locker room at the half. The Lions outscored the Vikings 13-2 in the third quarter, holding the four-time defending state champions to just a pair of free throws. Meanwhile, Juliette Leroux scored three buckets from the floor with three other SF players adding field goals in the run. Archbishop Wood, looking for its 10th state title since joining PIAA in 2010, got no closer than eight midway through the fourth. Leroux led SF with 15 points. Ryan Oldaker added 10 for the winners.
March 29, 2025 4:34 am
Oneil Cruz homered as part of a two-hit performance for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Miami Marlins on Friday night at loanDepot Park. The homer comes a day after a costly fielding error helped spoil Paul Skenes’ opening day start. Friday’s starter Mitch Keller pitched well, but some ninth-inning stress caused some nail-biting, due to closer David Bednar. The Pirates (1-1) broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning when Andrew McCutchen doubled with a pair of runners on. Three batters later, the Pirates were gifted a run when Adam Frazier hit a shallow fly ball to right field. First baseman Matt Mervis cut off a throw home from Griffin Conine, allowing Bart to score uncontested. The Pirates and Marlins play again Saturday at 4:00 p.m. The game can be heard on WJPA AM.
March 29, 2025 4:27 am
On Friday, the Pittsburgh Pirates placed infielder Nick Gonzales on the 10-day injured list with a non-displaced fracture in the left ankle. Infielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdez, who will wear No. 48, has been recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. The 26-year-old Valdez was acquired from Boston on December 15 in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Joe Vogatsky. Valdez has played in a total of 76 games over four stints with the Red Sox last year while being a member of the team’s Opening Day roster. He has made 112 appearances (100 starts) at second base, three appearances (one start) at third base, one appearance at shortstop and one appearance in left field during his career. Photo courtesy MLB.com.
March 29, 2025 4:42 am
PHOENIX (AP) — Several new bars dedicated to women’s sports have made the mad dash to open in time to capitalize on March Madness, now in full swing. From Phoenix to Austin, there will be more than a dozen overall across the country before the year is over. The femme-focused bar scene has made huge strides from three years ago when The Sports Bra in Oregon was the only one. It comes during an exciting first year where women’s teams will finally be paid for playing in the NCAA Tournament. Many credit athletes like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese for raising the profile of women’s college hoops.
March 28, 2025 4:35 am
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Jiri Kulich scored twice as part of a five-goal second period, and the Buffalo Sabres routed Pittsburgh 7-3 in an outing Penguins captain Sidney Crosby broke an NHL record for point-per-game consistency he shared with Wayne Gretzky. Buffalo won its fourth-straight home game with Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, Tyson Kozak each securing a goal and assist. Crosby’s goal 8:49 in cut Buffalo’s lead to 2-1 was his 80th point, to assure he’ll finish his 20th NHL season averaging at least a point per outing. The 37-year-old surpassed Gretzky, who finished all but his 20th and final NHL season in 1998-99 averaging a point a game.
