November 16, 2020 2:34 am
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Dustin Johnson capped off a one-of-a-kind Masters with a performance never seen at Augusta National. He shook off a slow start and blew away the field to win his first green jacket. The Masters in November that had no fans also had no drama. Johnson made sure of that. His five-shot victory was the largest at the Masters since Tiger Woods won by 12 in 1997. Johnson finished at 20-under 268 to break the Masters scoring record by two shots. Along the way, he buried memories of past majors that went wrong when he was atop the leaderboard. Cameron Smith and Sungjae Im tied for second. Woods shot a septuple-bogey 10 on the 12th hole.
November 16, 2020 3:57 am
FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) – Hall of Fame manager Tom Lasorda has been hospitalized in Southern California. The Los Angeles Dodgers said Sunday that their 93-year-old former manager was in intensive care and resting comfortably at a hospital in Orange County. Lasorda lives in Fullerton. Lasorda attended the Dodgers’ Game 6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Oct. 27 in Texas that clinched the Dodgers’ first World Series title since 1988. Lasorda had a heart attack in June 1996 and retired from managing the Dodgers the following month. Lasorda was hospitalized in New York eight years ago after having a heart attack.
November 15, 2020 7:00 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Steelers have announced four players have been activated from the reserve/covid-19 list: quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins, running back Jaylen Samuels and linebacker Vince Williams.
November 15, 2020 5:00 am
Pine-Richland scored three times in a span of less than five minutes in the second quarter and rolled to a 35-0 shutout of Peters Township, winning the 5A WPIAL championship. The Indians had the ball deep in P-R territory three different times but failed to score against the league’s top defense. Peters Township’s season ends at 8-1. Pine-Richland advances to the PIAA semifinals next weekend to face District 3 champion Governor Mifflin.
Thomas Jefferson squandered a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter but scored in overtime to beat Aliquippa, 35-28, winning the 4A WPIAL title. It’s the school’s 10th WPIAL championship, the ninth for head coach Bill Cherpak, the most by any coach in the 100+ year history of the league. Jake Pugh threw for two scores and ran for two more, including the two-yard sneak in overtime. The Jaguars’ Flinn McClain intercepted Aliquippa quarterback Vaughn Morris on third-and-goal from the 12 on the Quips overtime possession to seal the win. The Jags will host Oil City, the District 10 titlist, next weekend in the state semifinals.
Jeannette took full advantage of Clairton miscues to cruise to a 45-14 win over the top-seeded Bears in the 1A WPIAL final. Jeannette used four first-half takeaways, six total, to advance to next week’s PIAA semifinals against District 10 champion Reynolds.
Beaver Falls powered to a 36-0 lead halfway through the third quarter, then had to hold off a frantic Sto-Rox rally despite the mercy-rule running clock as the #1 Tigers won the 2A WPIAL championship, 43-30. Beaver Falls will play District 10 champion Wilmington in the semifinals next weekend.
WPIAL football brackets PIAA football brackets
WPIAL Finals
Friday
3A #1 Central Valley over #3 Elizabeth-Forward, 35-0
Saturday
1A #3 Jeannette over #1 Clairton, 45-14
4A #2 Thomas Jefferson over #1 Aliquippa, 35-28 OT
2A #1 Beaver Falls over #3 Sto-Rox, 43-30
5A #1 Pine-Richland over #3 Peters Township, 35-0
November 14, 2020 5:00 am
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) – Four players shared the clubhouse lead when the second round of the Masters was suspended by darkness. Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas top the leaderboard with Abraham Ancer and Cameron Smith at 9 under. Ancer moved up with a 5-under 67, one shot better than Smith. Patrick Cantlay and S.J. Im are in the clubhouse at minus-8. Hideki Matsuyama and Jon Rahm were on the back nine at 8 under when play was halted. Tiger Woods is at 4 under and was among 48 players who will have to finish their second round on Saturday. Meanwhile, 63-year-old Bernhard Langer is positioned to become the oldest player in Masters history to make the cut. Langer will break the record set by Tommy Aaron, who was 33 days younger when he made the cut in 2000.
November 14, 2020 5:00 am
PITTSBURGH — The University of Pittsburgh announced it is pausing all football activities as the coronavirus has made a resurgence, especially in Allegheny County. Pitt officials said the suspension of team activities is “due to COVID-related protocols.” The Panthers’ next game at Georgia Tech has also been postponed until Dec. 12. It’s unclear when Pitt will resume football activities, but it is scheduled to next play Nov. 21 at Heinz Field against Virginia Tech.
November 12, 2020 2:46 am
(WPXI) – The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced Wednesday it is canceling all regular season and championship games for the fall sports this season due to COVID-19 concerns. The board of directors voted in favor of the decision months after the NCAA similarly canceled all 2020 fall championships for Division II. Several local colleges are a part of the PSAC, including: California University of Pennsylvania, Clarion University, Edinboro University, IUP, Pitt Johnstown, Seton Hill and Slippery Rock University. The announcement affects men’s and women’s cross country and soccer, women’s volleyball, field hockey and football. However, PSAC officials said if six or more schools “commit to participating in any of those sports,” it will reinstate the season.
November 13, 2020 3:48 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Indianapolis and Tennessee share the AFC South lead at 6-3 following the Colts’ 34-17 win over the Titans in Nashville. Philip Rivers completed 29 of his 39 passes for 308 yards and a touchdown as the Colts handed the Titans their third loss in four games since a 5-0 start. Indianapolis entered the game leading the NFL in fewest yards allowed before limiting Tennessee to 294 total yards, about 90 below its season average. Derrick Henry ran for 103 yards on 19 carries for the Titans, who didn’t score after halftime. Ryan Tannehill was just 15 of 27 for 147 yards and a TD. The Colts now own the tiebreaker against the Titans and will host Tennessee on Nov. 29.
November 13, 2020 3:46 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Ivy League became the first Division I conference to cancel all winter sports, including men’s and women’s basketball. The decision came 13 days before the scheduled start of the college basketball season. The league had decided this past summer, when it canceled fall sports, not to allow any of its sports to start play before the end of the first semester.
November 13, 2020 2:52 am
Peters Township rallied from a 19-0 halftime deficit to beat Gateway, 20-19, earning a second-straight trip to the WPIAL 5A Finals. Logan Pfeuffer hit Corban Hondru on a quick slant for a four-yard touchdown with 4.7 seconds to play to tie the game. Andrew Massucci’s PAT gave the Indians the win. Wednesday, Massucci scored twice to lead the Peters Township boys soccer team to a 2-1 overtime win in the semifinals. Nico Pate and Donovan McMillon caught TD passes from Pfeuffer who overcame three interceptions in the game. Peters Township’s defense held Gateway to 84 yards of offense in the second half and out of the endzone, giving the offense a chance to win it.
Thomas Jefferson rallied from 10 points down to beat Plum as the defending state champions look to get a 9th WPIAL title for Head Coach Bill Cherpak. The Jaguars will face Aliquippa next Saturday afternoon for the 4A title.
WPIAL football brackets
WPIAL Finals
Friday, Nov. 13
3A #1 Central Valley vs. #3 Elizabeth-Forward, 7 pm at North Allegheny
Saturday, Nov. 14
1A #1 Clairton vs. #3 Jeannette, 11 am at North Hills
4A #1 Aliquippa vs. #2 Thomas Jefferson, 12:30 pm at North Allegheny and on WJPA-FM (95.3) or Listen Here
2A #1 Beaver Falls vs. #3 Sto-Rox, 5 pm at North Hills
5A #3 Peters Township at #1 Pine-Richland, 6:30 pm at North Allegheny and on WJPA-FM (95.3) or Listen Here