February 25, 2020 3:48 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Chris Archer was scratched from his scheduled against the New York Yankees and Gerrit Cole due to neck tightness Pittsburgh said the move was precautionary and that Archer is day to day. Archer went 3-9 with a 5.19 ERA in 23 starts last season. The game ended 3-3 after nine innings. Chris Stratton got the start and a total of nine pitchers each worked one inning. Nick Mears allowed all three runs in the 7th inning on four hits. The Pirates will face the Phillies Tuesday afternoon in Bradenton.
February 23, 2020 7:37 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Plenty of work remains for the Buffalo Sabres as they try to claw their way into the playoff picture. Streaking past the suddenly listless Pittsburgh Penguins is a pretty good way to start. Jack Eichel scored twice and Sabres jumped on the Penguins early in a 5-2 victory on Saturday, just their second regulation win over Pittsburgh in the last seven years. Eichel, Zemgus Girgensons and Sam Reinhart all beat Tristan Jarry during an early three-goal outburst and Connor Hutton turned away 41 shots as Buffalo won for the fourth time in five games. Jeff Skinner picked up his first goal since early December with a pretty deflection in the third period and Hutton did the rest, staying calm as Pittsburgh turned up the pressure following its sluggish start. Making the playoffs isn’t much of a concern for the Penguins, who haven’t missed the postseason since 2006. A 14th consecutive trip is all but assured but Pittsburgh looked sluggish in the opening minutes and never recovered. After moving into the top spot in the Metropolitan Division for the first time all season with a win over Toronto on Tuesday, the Penguins have dropped two straight, being outscored 9-2 in the process. Evgeni Malkin picked up his 19th and 20th goals for Pittsburgh and Jarry finished with 21 saves but coach Mike Sullivan admits he’s growing concerned about his team’s play, particularly in the defensive end.
February 22, 2020 4:00 pm
Riley DeRubbo scored 16 points, leading the Trinity girls to a spot in the WPIAL semifinals. The Hillers took the lead for good midway through first quarter then closed the game strongly at the foul line to top Gateway. The Peters Township boys had several chances to beat #1 Butler, but let the Golden Tornado off the hook and fell in double overtime. Ringgold’s championship hopes were dashed quickly by top-seeded Highlands. We expect sites/times for the semifinals to be released early Sunday. Bracket & Listen links and the complete schedule for our coverage follows.
Girls WPIAL Brackets — — Boys WPIAL Brackets
Semifinals–Date/time/site to be determined
1A Girls #2 West Greene vs. #6 Sewickley Academy
5A Boys #4 Thomas Jefferson vs. #8 Laurel Highlands WJPA-FM (95.3)
5A Girls #3 Trinity vs. #2 Woodland Hills WJPA-FM (95.3)
February 21, 2020 3:44 am
NEW YORK (AP) – NFL owners have voted to accept the negotiated terms for a new collective bargaining agreement, putting the onus on players who plan to hold a conference call Friday. Team representatives were summoned to New York to discuss the proposal with the league eager to reach a collective bargaining agreement with the players in the next few weeks. The current deal runs out in March 2021. Among the items in that proposal are a 17-game schedule, a reduction of the preseason and an increase to the current 27% share of revenues for the players. A second bye week to go with a 17th game is also being considered, although almost certainly not for the 2020 season. The expansion of the playoffs easily could occur this year, however.
February 20, 2020 3:48 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Los Angeles Kings have traded Stanley Cup-winning goal scorer Alec Martinez to the Vegas Golden Knights for two second-round draft picks. Martinez has spent his entire career with the Kings, who drafted him in 2007. Although he has never scored more than 11 goals in a regular season, he earned a permanent place in franchise lore by scoring the series-winning overtime goals in both the Western Conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final six years ago. Martinez also was a member of the Kings’ first championship team in 2012. He has 62 goals and 136 assists in 597 career games, and he has six goals and 10 assists in 64 career postseason games.
February 19, 2020 10:30 pm
The WPIAL Basketball opening rounds are complete. Overall, Washington & Greene County teams went 4-8 in the first round, including wins by 6A boys #9 Peters Township, 4A boys #9 Ringgold, 1A girls #12 California and 1A girls #7 Avella. Those four join 1A girls #2 West Greene and 5A girls #3 Trinity in this weekend’s quarterfinals. Semifinals are set for next Monday-Wednesday. The WPIAL Basketball Championships are scheduled for Feb. 27-29 at the Petersen Events Center on the University of Pittsburgh campus. Games and broadcast plans are listed below along with WPIAL Bracket links.
Girls WPIAL Brackets — — Boys WPIAL Brackets
Friday, Feb. 21–Quarterfinals
1A Girls #2 West Greene vs. #7 Avella, 6:05 pm at Peters Township WJPA-FM (95.3)
1A Girls #12 California vs. #4 Clairton, 6:30 pm at Charleroi
5A Boys #4 Thomas Jefferson vs. #12 West Allegheny, 7:50 pm at Peters Township WJPA-FM (95.3)
Saturday, Feb. 22–Quarterfinals
6A Boys #9 Peters Township vs. #1 Butler, 12 noon at Mt. Lebanon
4A Boys #9 Ringgold vs. #1 Highlands, 12 noon at North Hills
5A Girls #3 Trinity vs. #6 Gateway, 12:50 pm at Baldwin WJPA-FM (95.3)
February 19, 2020 3:52 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to help the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2. Bryan Rust had a goal and two assists, and Jason Zucker, Teddy Blueger and Anthony Angello also scored as Pittsburgh moved past Washington into first place in the Metropolitan Division. Tristan Jarry stopped 34 shots while picking up his 13th win in his last 17 games. Auston Matthews scored his 43rd goal for the Maple Leafs and Kyle Clifford scored his seventh of the season and first since he was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings. Frederik Andersen stopped 19 shots for Toronto.
February 18, 2020 10:36 pm
It took eight games, but Washington County finally has a winner in the WPIAL Basketball playoffs. Let the record show that it was the Avella girls convincing win over Propel Andrew Street that broke a seven-game losing streak for teams from the two-county area. Once that happened, Peters Township boys and California girls followed suit, advancing to the weekend’s quarterfinals. Peters Township got 28 points from Sam Petrarca to earn a shot at #1 Butler. #12 California trailed #5 Greensburg Central Catholic, 20-15, at the half, but turned the tables on the Centurions after intermission.
Now, on the final day of the opening rounds, Charleroi girls and Ringgold boys finally take the court. West Greene’s girls team is #2 in Class 1A. The Pioneers will meet Avella in Friday’s quarterfinals. The Trinity girls are the #3 seed in Class 5A. The Hillers have a bye to Saturday’s second round and a match-up with #6 Gateway.
Quarterfinals are this weekend (Thursday-Saturday) with semifinals set for next Monday-Wednesday. The WPIAL Basketball Championships are scheduled for Feb. 27-29 at the Petersen Events Center on the University of Pittsburgh campus. Games and broadcast plans are listed below along with WPIAL Bracket links.
Girls WPIAL Brackets — — Boys WPIAL Brackets
Wednesday, Feb. 19–First Round
3A Girls #10 Charleroi vs. #7 East Allegheny, 6:30 pm at Peters Township WJPA-FM (95.3)
4A Boys #9 Ringgold vs. #8 Ambridge, 8:00 pm at Peters Township WJPA-FM (95.3)
Friday, Feb. 21–Quarterfinals
1A Girls #2 West Greene vs. #7 Avella, 6:05 pm at Peters Township WJPA-FM (95.3)
1A Girls #12 California vs. #4 Clairton, 6:30 pm at Charleroi
5A Boys #4 Thomas Jefferson vs. #12 West Allegheny, 7:50 pm at Peters Township WJPA-FM (95.3)
Saturday, Feb. 22–Quarterfinals
6A Boys #9 Peters Township vs. #1 Butler, 12 noon at Mt. Lebanon
5A Girls #3 Trinity vs. #6 Gateway, 12:50 pm at Baldwin WJPA-FM (95.3)
February 18, 2020 2:36 am
The WPIAL approved new alignments for wrestling for the next two years. Like the football changes announced in January, geography played a large role in the new structure. Washington & Greene County teams are now all together in the same Double-A and Triple-A sections. After spending years split in different sections and subsections, Waynesburg and Canon-McMillan are both in Section 4A, along with Trinity, South Fayette and Chartiers Valley. Peters Township and Ringgold both move into Section 4B along with Bethel Park, Central Catholic, Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair. There are 45 teams in the new Triple-A alignment with Beaver and Highlands moving up, Ambridge, Knoch and Montour moving down to Double-A which now includes 36 teams.
In Double-A, Burgettstown, Chartiers-Houston, Ft. Cherry, Washington and South Park remain in Section 1A. They’ll be joined by Keystone Oaks. Bentworth, Beth-Center, Jeff-Morgan, McGuffey and West Greene continue together in Section 1B. The League added Frazier to that group.
February 17, 2020 3:41 am
CHICAGO (AP) – Anthony Davis made a game-ending free throw to give Team LeBron a 157-155 win over Team Giannis in the revamped NBA All-Star Game. The game’s format was overhauled to put in elements for charity and ensure that someone was going to hit a shot to end the game. That someone was Davis, the Chicago native who missed the first free throw and made the second to end the NBA’s midseason showcase that went down as the closest All-Star Game since the Eastern Conference topped the Western Conference 141-139 in 2010.
