March 23, 2021 3:52 am
UNDATED (AP) – Elgin Baylor was among the very best NBA players of his era, averaging 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds during a 14-year career spent entirely with the Lakers. The Lakers have announced that Baylor died Monday of natural causes at age 86. Baylor’s greatness occurred before the league gained a hold on television exposure. With a silky-smooth jumper and fluid athleticism, He played a major role in revolutionizing basketball from a ground-bound sport into an aerial show. Baylor was outstanding in the Lakers’ first three seasons after leaving Minneapolis, averaging 35.3 points, 17.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists from 1960-63. However, the 11-time All-Star never won a scoring title and went 0-7 in NBA Finals series, eclipsed in points by Wilt Chamberlain and beaten six times by the Boston Celtics. Injuries limited him to 11 games over his final two seasons and caused him to retire during the 1971-72 campaign, the season the Lakers finally won a championship in Los Angeles.
March 23, 2021 3:38 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers are bringing back defensive lineman Chris Wormley on a two-year deal. Pittsburgh is in need of help along the line after veteran Tyson Alualu left in free agency for Jacksonville. Wormley had eight tackles in 13 games for the Steelers last season after Pittsburgh acquired him from AFC North rival Baltimore. The Steelers also signed wide receiver Tyler Simmons to a one-year contract.
March 22, 2021 2:52 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jesper Bratt scored on a wraparound at 2:50 of overtime and the New Jersey Devils beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1. The Devils won for the third time in four games. They won for the second time in three games against Pittsburgh. The Devils had three wins in their previous 13 games before Sunday. Bratt scored his second of the season and continued a four-game point streak, while Sami Vatanen also scored his second of the season for New Jersey. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 35 shots for the Devils. Sidney Crosby scored his 12th of the season for Pittsburgh, which lost for the third time in four games.
March 21, 2021 12:06 am
Due to COVID-19, only district champions were invited to the PIAA Basketball playoffs. Bishop Canevin had to withdrawal from the 1A boys bracket moments before its scheduled tip-off against Berlin Friday night due to a positive test by one of the Crusaders’ players. Upper St. Clair (6A boys) had quarantined since winning the WPIAL title a week ago and had only six players cleared but that was enough against District 10 champion Erie. The Chartiers Valley girls easily pulled away from Warren in the second half. Winners advance to the semifinals Monday and Tuesday with the PIAA Finals set for Hershey’s Giant Center next weekend. The semifinal schedule for the remaining WPIAL champions (boys 3-3, girls 5-1) is listed below.
Monday, March 22
6A Girls North Allegheny vs. D3 Cumberland Valley, 5 pm at Altoona
4A Boys Lincoln Park vs. D10 Hickory, 6:30 pm at Lincoln Park
3A Girls Mohawk vs. D6 Forest Hills, 6:30 pm at Mohawk
2A Girls Neshannock vs. D6 Penns Manor, 6:30 pm at Neshannock
Tuesday, March 23
5A Girls Chartiers Valley vs. D3 Spring Grove, 5:45 pm at Bald Eagle Area WJPA-FM (95.3) or Listen Here or Listen Here
6A Boys Upper St. Clair vs. D3 Reading, 5:45 pm at Altoona WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here or Listen Here
2A Boys OLSH vs. D6 Portage, 6:30 pm at OLSH
1A Girls Rochester vs. D6 Bishop Guilfoyle, 6:30 pm at Rochester
March 21, 2021 12:02 am
The top seeds won Presidents Athletic Conference championships on their home floors Saturday. Westminster topped Grove City, 73-62, to claim the men’s title. St. Vincent rallied from down eight with four minutes to plat to beat Washington & Jefferson, 65-61, to win the women’s championships. Due to COVID-19, the NCAA canceled the national championship tournaments for Division III this year, meaning today conference championship games mark the end of the line for all four finalists.
March 20, 2021 12:11 am
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel each had a goal and an assist, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New Jersey Devils 3-1. Zach Aston-Reese also scored for the Penguins and Sidney Crosby had two assists. Pittsburgh won for the seventh time in nine games. Kyle Palmieri scored for New Jersey . The Devils had won their previous two games. The two meet Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh.
March 20, 2021 4:39 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Penguins say center Evgeni Malkin is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. Head coach Mike Sullivan described Malkin as “week to week.” Malkin appeared to injure his right knee after colliding with Boston defenseman Jared Tinordi in a loss to the Bruins on Tuesday. Malkin has eight goals and 16 assists for the Penguins this season.
March 20, 2021 4:39 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is sticking with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Smith-Schuster announced he is remaining in Pittsburgh rather than leave as a free agent. The move is a bit of a surprise considering the 24-year-old was considered one of the most coveted receivers on the open market. Smith-Schuster said in a social media post that it was too difficult to leave. Smith-Schuster caught 97 passes a year ago and has developed a deep bond with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
March 19, 2021 3:53 am
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – Scott Wedgewood made 40 saves, Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist, and the New Jersey Devils beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2. P.K. Subban and Travis Zajac also scored, and the Devils collected their second straight win at home following a losing streak of 11 games in Newark. Mackenzie Blackwood was expected to start in goal for New Jersey, but he was scratched after warmups. The team says the absence was not COVID-19 related. Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust scored for Pittsburgh, and Tristan Jarry made 32 saves. Pittsburgh lost its second straight.
March 19, 2021 3:55 am
UNDATED (AP) – The NFL will nearly double its media revenue to more than $10 billion a season with new rights agreements announced Thursday, including a deal with Amazon Prime Video that gives the streaming service exclusive rights to “Thursday Night Football” beginning in 2022. The league took in $5.9 billion a year in its current contracts. Amazon has partnered with the league to stream Thursday night games since 2017, but it will take over the entire package from Fox. Games will continue to air on CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN, while ABC will have a limited schedule of games as well as returning to the Super Bowl rotation (two games) for the first time since the 2005 season.
