February 4, 2021 2:22 am
The WPIAL Wrestling dual meet regular season ended Wednesday for Team Tournament qualifiers. The final determinations of exactly who those qualifiers are will be made over the next two days–some decisions on the mats, others in the Wrestling Committee meeting on Thursday morning. The second part is due to COVID-19 issues that have left some teams unable to complete their Sub-Section schedules.
Waynesburg removed all doubts about the AAA Section 4A top spot, cruising past Trinity, 54-6. The Raiders will host the Section 4 Dual Meet Championships Monday night, facing the Section 4B runner-up. Canon-McMillan wrapped up the second spot behind the Raiders with a 67-6 win over South Fayette.
AAA Section 4B could give the WPIAL Wrestling Committee some headaches. Peters Township (4-0), Ringgold (3-1) and Mt. Lebanon (2-1) are all in the running for two Section Dual Meet berths. Peters Township’s match at Ringgold Wednesday was cancelled due to a COVID closure at Peters Township. Mt. Lebanon beat Ringgold earlier this year but will not wrestle either Bethel Park or Upper St. Clair due to masking policy differences between the school districts.
Section Dual Meet semifinals/championships are set for Monday. We’ll have full coverage from Section 1-AA and Section 4-AAA. Only the semifinal winners in each section advance to the WPIAL Team Tournaments.
In AA, Beth-Center rolled past McGuffey Tuesday, 51-24, claiming the top spot out of Sub-Section 1B. The Bulldogs had already clinched a berth in the Section Dual Meet Championships and will face Fort Cherry, the 1A runner-up to Burgettstown. McGuffey topped Frazier, 54-21 Wednesday, clinching the other 1B berth on the line. The Highlanders will face Burgettstown in Monday’s Section Dual Meet semifinals.
February 3, 2021 3:56 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Grant Jackson, the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the 1979 World Series for the Pittsburgh Pirates, has died from COVID-19 complications. He was 78. Jackson was a reliable left-hander for 18 seasons in the majors. He was 86-75 with 79 saves and a 3.46 ERA in 692 games from 1965-82. He was 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA in 13 postseason appearances. Jackson was an NL All-Star in 1969 with pitched in the World Series with Baltimore in 1971, the New York Yankees in 1976 and the ’79 Pirates.
February 3, 2021 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers are turning to Adrian Klemm to help turn around the team’s underachieving offensive line. The Steelers have promoted the three-time Super Bowl champion to offensive line coach. The 43-year-old Klemm replaces Shaun Sarrett. Sarrett was fired by the Steelers last month after Pittsburgh finished last in the NFL in yards rushing and yards per rushing attempt in 2020. Klemm, who spent the past two years as Sarrett’s assistant, takes over a unit that’s on the verge of major change.
February 3, 2021 3:52 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The Pittsburgh Penguins are hoping to use some unexpected time off to fix their power play. The NHL postponed Pittsburgh’s two games against New Jersey due to a COVID-19 outbreak among the Devils. The postponement gives Pittsburgh four straight days off, a rarity during the pandemic-shortened season. Coach Mike Sullivan says he’s going to use the break to address Pittsburgh’s power-play issues while also giving the players some time off.
February 2, 2021 3:51 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Chris Kreider scored a power-play goal in the third period, helping the New York Rangers to a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Artemi Panarin had a goal and two assists and Kevin Rooney added a goal for New York. Igor Shesterkin made 25 saves as the Rangers snapped a three-game losing streak against Pittsburgh. Jason Zucker scored and Casey DeSmith made 21 saves for the Penguins in their fifth road loss this season. Penguins were 1 for 6 on the power play in the loss.
February 2, 2021 3:55 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Major League Baseball Players Association has won a scheduling battle with owners. MLB will proceed with an on-time start to spring training and the season after players rejected a plan Monday night to delay reporting by a more than a month. Management proposed to the players’ association on Friday that the start of spring training be pushed back from Feb. 17 to March 22, that opening day be delayed from April 1 to April 28 and that each team’s schedule be cut from 162 games to 154. As part of the offer, MLB included the expansion of the playoffs from 10 teams to 14 and extending the designated hitter to the National League for the second straight season, a plan the union rejected Jan. 6.
February 2, 2021 3:56 am
Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has retired. The three-time All-Star played his entire 17-year career with the Red Sox, taking 2007 Rookie of the Year honors and the AL MVP in his second season. But he played in a total of nine games in the last three seasons because of a knee injury.
February 2, 2021 3:53 am
Gonzaga and Baylor continue their season-long run atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll. The Zags received 61 first-place votes from a media panel and Baylor had the other three. Third ranked Villanova is followed by Michigan and Houston, with Texas, Ohio State, Iowa, Oklahoma and Alabama rounding out the top 10.
February 1, 2021 3:44 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball has proposed a one-month delay in starting spring training due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and pushing back opening day to April 28. That’s according to two people familiar with the plan who tell The Associated Press the regular season would be cut from 162 games to 154. The playoffs would be expanded from 10 teams to 14 and the designated hitter would extend to the National League for the second straight season. In addition, MLB would keep the experimental rules for seven-inning doubleheaders and beginning extra innings with a runner on second base.
February 1, 2021 2:12 am
The WPIAL has set preliminary plans for the coming fall sports season, releasing alignments, schedule grids and preliminary guidance for post-season qualification. The information was sent to athletic directors for Football, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Cross Country, Field Hockey and Girls Tennis. The schedule grids are similar to what the League originally planned for the 2020 fall sports season but later modified due to COVID-19 impacts. The football grids do not include games for Aug. 27 weekend, known as Week Zero. Teams can schedule a second scrimmage or play a non-conference game. The League-provided schedule begins Sept. 3 with Week 1 games and is set to conclude in Week 9 Oct. 29.
In addition, at a Wednesday meeting, the PIAA Board of Directors discussed keeping the state finals on Thanksgiving weekend. Executive Director Bob Lombardi indicated that a determination would be made in the near future. That move would necessitate changes to the just-released WPIAL schedules and post-season format.
Apparently, there will not be a Trinity / Wash High football match-up this year. The two met last year when Uniontown dropped its WPIAL schedule leaving Trinity with an opening that matched Washington’s availability. The newly released League schedule grid lists both schools as having open dates for Oct. 8 this year. According to Trinity AD Ricci Rich, the Hillers expected to be visiting Wash High Stadium but he was notified that the Little Prexies had scheduled Uniontown for a non-conference game. Trinity is still looking for an opponent to fill their open date.
