February 6, 2020 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – Six-time Pro Bowl safety Eric Weddle says he is leaving the NFL after 13 seasons. Weddle made his long-expected retirement announcement on Twitter, although the hard-hitting safety with the big beard didn’t use the specific word. Weddle played nine seasons for the San Diego Chargers and three more for the Baltimore Ravens before spending last season with the Los Angeles Rams. He said in December that he didn’t expect to return for the second season of his contract with the club. The 35-year-old Weddle became one of the NFL’s toughest and most durable safeties after San Diego drafted him out of Utah in the second round in 2007. Weddle was a Pro Bowl selection in 2011, 2013 and 2014 for the Chargers. He joined Baltimore in 2016 and earned three straight Pro Bowl selections.
February 5, 2020 3:42 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Boston Red Sox have parted with Mookie Betts by sending him to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a blockbuster deal. Two people with knowledge of the deal say the Bosox have agreed to send the 2018 AL MVP to Los Angeles. The Red Sox would also send away left-hander David Price in a salary dump designed to save Boston tens of millions of dollars and help them dip below baseball’s luxury tax threshold. The Dodgers are sending outfielder Alex Verdugo back to the Red Sox in a deal that also involves the Minnesota Twins, who are getting right-hander Kenta Maeda (mah-EH’-dah) from Los Angeles and sending pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol to Boston.
February 4, 2020 3:46 am
Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Willie Wood has died. He was 83. Wood won five NFL championships with the Green Bay Packers under coach Vince Lombardi and made the first interception in Super Bowl history. He rose from undrafted rookie to play safety in eight Pro Bowls. Longtime friend Robert Schmidt says Wood died of natural causes in Washington. Wood had suffered from advanced dementia for several years.
February 4, 2020 2:58 am
Six Washington County girls basketball teams, along with one from Greene County, will be in the playoff brackets released by the WPIAL next Tuesday night. The fate of the other 12 teams from the two-county area was finalized last night. Beth-Center’s loss to South Park eliminated the Bulldogs from the 3A Section 2 race. Fort Cherry’s loss to unbeaten Bishop Canevin ended the Rangers hopes out of 2A Section 3.
Avella, Burgettstown, California, Charleroi, Chartiers-Houston and Trinity have clinched post-season berths along with West Greene. We’ll have the WPIAL Playoff Pairings Show with the TribLive High School Sports Network next Tuesday night on WJPA-AM (1450).
February 3, 2020 3:41 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Matt Murray made 29 saves and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 in the 50th regular-season game between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. The Penguins crept within four points of the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals with an extra game left to play. They’re 2-0 out of their bye week and have won five of seven since Crosby came back. Sam Lafferty, Patric Hornqvist, Dominik Simon and Brandon Tanev scored for Pittsburgh. Rookie goaltender Ilya Samsonov allowed four goals to lose his first career start against the Penguins. Ovechkin was held off the score sheet and remains at 695 career goals.
February 2, 2020 4:07 am
With an impressive road win at Thomas Jefferson, the Trinity boys basketball team pulled to within a game of second place and maintained control of its own playoff destiny. Six Washington County boys teams have playoff berths locked up. Trinity and Chartiers-Houston are still alive for post-season spots with one week left in the regular season. West Greene will be the only boys team from Greene County to qualify. The WPIAL will announce the playoff brackets on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
Class 6A-Peters Township has clinched while Canon-McMillan has been eliminated.
Class 5A-Trinity (7-5) is currently tied for third with South Fayette, a game back of Thomas Jefferson (8-4). The Hillers have games remaining with West Allegheny (6-6) and at South Fayette (7-5), both of whom beat Trinity the first time through section play. Trinity can finish anywhere from second to out of the playoffs.
Class 4A-Ringgold has clinched a berth. Waynesburg is out.
Class 3A-Charleroi (10-1), Washington (8-1) and McGuffey (7-3) have all clinched. Fort Cherry (Section 2) and Beth-Center (Section 3) have been eliminated.
Class 2A-California (5-5) has clinched. Chartiers-Houston (3-7) is still alive but must beat Bentworth (0-10) and Carmichaels (2-9) while California loses to Jeannette (9-1) and Bentworth. Burgettstown is eliminated in Section 3.
Class 1A-West Greene has clinched a playoff berth. Jeff-Morgan, Avella and Mapletown have been eliminated.
February 2, 2020 3:54 am
Every year, 18 years and counting, Burrell wrestling has reached the WPIAL Team Tournament Finals. Saturday afternoon, the Bucs continued their dominance of the sport in winning a 14th consecutive championship. Neither Quaker Valley in the semifinals, nor Burgettstown in the championship match, provided much challenge as Burrell picked up it’s 16th overall wrestling championship. Burgettstown reached the WPIAL Finals for the first time in 40 years but the Blue Devils fell short in their quest for a third WPIAL wrestling championship. Burgettstown clinched a first-ever berth in the PIAA Team Tournament with a semifinal win over McGuffey. Quaker Valley rebounded from the semifinal loss to top McGuffey, earning a trip to the PIAA Team Tournament. The Highlanders dual meet season comes to an end with the two losses. Follow the Team and Individual Wrestling Tournament Series on WJPA’s Wrestling Page
WPIAL AA Team Tournament
Semifinals
Burrell 57, Quaker Valley 15
Burgettstown 45, McGuffey 27
Third Place (PIAA qualifier)
Quaker Valley 52, McGuffey 27
WPIAL AA Championship
Burrell 63, Burgettstown 9
February 1, 2020 4:07 am
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced the signing of free agent infielder JT Riddle. General Manager Ben Cherington made the announcement on Friday. The 28 year old Riddle was a 13th round pick by the Miami Marlins and has spent his entire career in the Miami organization. Riddle appeared in 51 games with the Marlins in 2019 making 26 starts in center field and 7 starts at shortstop. Riddle was placed on the injured list on July 18 with a right forearm strain and missed the remainder of the season. In 223 big league games Riddle has a .229 batting average with 18 home runs and 79 RBI. Riddle has been added to the 40 man roster.
January 31, 2020 4:10 am
The top four seeds have reached the semifinals in the WPIAL Team Wrestling Championship Tournaments. Burrell, Burgettstown, McGuffey and Quaker Valley will meet at Chartiers-Houston Saturday afternoon for the Double-A title as well as three berths in the PIAA tournament. Waynesburg, Seneca Valley, Canon-McMillan and Hempfield will square off at Norwin with the Triple-A championship on the line. The top three will also qualify for the PIAA playoffs.
We’ll have all the action for you live on WJPA-AM and online Listen Here!
WPIAL 2A Championships at Chartiers-Houston
Semifinals
12 noon #1 Burrell vs. #4 Quaker Valley
12 noon #2 Burgettstown vs. #3 McGuffey
Third-Place
2 pm Semifinal losers
Championship
2 pm Semifinals winners
WPIAL 3A Championships at Norwin
Semifinals
4 pm #1 Waynesburg vs. #4 Hempfield Area
4 pm #2 Seneca Valley vs. #3 Canon-McMillan
Third-Place
6 pm Semifinal losers
Championship
6 pm Semifinals winners
January 31, 2020 2:45 am
The WPIAL AA & AAA Team Wrestling Tournaments are down to four teams in each bracket with the top seeds advancing. Waynesburg, Seneca Valley, Canon-McMillan and Hempfield head to the AAA Semifinals Saturday at Norwin. Burrell, Burgettstown, McGuffey and Quaker Valley will square off Saturday at Chartiers-Houston for the AA Semifinals. We’ll have live coverage from both sites on WJPA-AM (1450).
Follow the 2020 Wrestling Tournament season on WJPA Wrestling.
Triple-A First Round
Canon-McMillan 55, Norwin 17
Waynesburg 56, Pine-Richland 18
Triple-A Quarterfinals
Canon-McMillan 39, North Allegheny 21
Waynesburg 49, Latrobe 15
Double-A First Round
Beth-Center 34, Southmoreland 31
Quaker Valley 45, Fort Cherry 31
McGuffey 63, Ellwood City 17
Burgettstown 54, Mt. Pleasant 18
Double-A Quarterfinals
Burrell 58, Beth-Center 15
McGuffey 44, Elizabeth-Forward 33
Burgettstown 58, Freedom 17
