March 1, 2025 4:37 am
The Pittsburgh Pirates continued their winning ways in grapefruit league action on Friday. The Pirates beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2. Bryan Reynolds went 2 for 3 and continued his current 3 game hitting streak. Mitch Keller threw 3 scoreless innings. The Pirates will take on the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota on Saturday at 1:05. Paul Skenes is expected to make the start.
February 27, 2025 2:58 am
Two teams in WPIAL championship games, two more teams with state playoff berths in hand, and two teams looking to grab a PIAA playoff invitation. ALL of that action happens Wednesday through Saturday this week. Chartiers-Houston girls jumped out to a 15-0 lead and never looked back, snapping a two-game losing streak and clinching a state playoff berth. The Bucs will play the WPIAL champion in the opening round of the PIAA tournament. Both Fort Cherry girls and Chartiers-Houston boys had already clinched state playoff spots. Both will open the state tournament at District 10 champions.
Even a 12-minute power outage in the Canonsburg area couldn’t stop the Canon-McMillan girls from qualifying for the PIAA playoffs. The Big Macs led by 3 points late in the third quarter when everything went dark. Once play resume, CM built the lead to 8 points but they had to hold off a late Mt. Lebanon rally. Canon-McMillan will play at the winner of Saturday’s Erie / Allderdice game when the PIAA tournament opens next weekend.
Peters Township will send both its girls and boys teams to the Petersen Events Center this weekend for the 5A WPIAL Championships. The girls are seeded #2 and will face #1 South Fayette, the three-time defending champion, Friday night. The boys are the 6-seed and will take on #4 Chartiers Valley Saturday night, the last of 12 WPIAL Finals atop Cardiac Hill in Oakland.
We’ll have live coverage of the state qualifier games and the WPIAL championships on the WJPA Sports Network. Wednesday & Thursday broadcasts will be on WJPA-AM (1450) with free-to-access audio online. We’re also producing the NFHS Video stream (subscription required under WPIAL agreements) for both of these games. The WPIAL Championships will be on WJPA-FM (95.3) and online. We are NOT able to provide the video feed for those games under WPIAL restrictions. Click for WPIAL Brackets
State Qualifier/Seeding Bracket
Wednesday, Feb. 26
Girls 2A 7th place game: Chartiers-Houston 60, Laurel 27. Bucs clinch PIAA playoff berth
Girls 2A 5th place game: Rochester 54, Fort Cherry 45. Both have clinched PIAA berths
Boys 2A 7th place game: Northgate 48, Chartiers-Houston 27. Both have clinched PIAA berths
Thursday, Feb. 27
Girls 6A 3rd place game: Canon-McMillan 36, Mt. Lebanon 34. Big Macs clinch PIAA playoff berth
WPIAL Basketball Championships at Petersen Events Center, University of Pittsburgh
Friday, Feb. 28
Girls 5A #2 Peters Township vs. #1 South Fayette, 6:45 pm, WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
Saturday, Mar. 1
Boys 5A #6 Peters Township vs. #4 Chartiers Valley, 6:45 pm, WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
February 28, 2025 4:30 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Evgeni Malkin scored his second goal at 1:03 of overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4. Malkin scored the tying goal in the third period and added two assists, and Erik Karlsson added two goals and Philip Tomasino also scored for Pittsburgh. Matvei Michkov had two goals and an assist for Philadelphia. Owen Tippett scored his fourth goal in three games and Noah Cates also scored in consecutive games.
February 28, 2025 4:31 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce plans to play next season rather than retire. The 35-year-old Kelce had been mulling whether to return for a 13th season. But the four-time All-Pro made his feelings clear in a text to Pat McAfee that the host read during “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday. The four-time All-Pro wrote he’s “coming back for sure.” The Chiefs’ quest to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls ended with a 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 9. Kelce professed his love for football several times leading up to the Super Bowl.
February 27, 2025 4:41 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NFL is considering changing overtime rules in the regular season to decrease the advantage for teams who win the coin toss. League executive Troy Vincent said the competition committee agrees overtime rules need to be addressed. Receiving the ball first has become more of an advantage than pre-2011, when overtime was sudden death. Both teams currently have an opportunity to possess the ball in overtime unless a touchdown is scored on the first possession. The rules are different in the playoffs. Also, the NFL plans to use its virtual measuring system to determine first downs in 2025, although officials will still spot the ball by hand.
February 27, 2025 4:40 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Miami Dolphins are the top-ranked team, followed by the Minnesota Vikings, for the second consecutive season in the NFL Players Association report card. The Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers round out the top five in the third annual NLPA report card released Wednesday at the NFL scouting combine. The Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals were the bottom five. JC Tretter, the NFLPA’s chief strategy officer, said 1,695 players responded to the survey, an average of 52 players per team and 77% of the union’s membership. The report cards were compiled between Aug. 26 and Nov. 20.
February 25, 2025 2:00 am
Dylan Donovan scored 22 points, including 8-of-10 at the foul line, as Peters Township outlasted Mars Area in overtime to return to the WPIAL Basketball championship game. The Indians will take on Chartiers Valley Saturday night in the final game of the three-day championship event at the Petersen Events Center on the Pitt campus. Canon-McMillan girls fell behind early, pulled back to within 3 points after intermission, but couldn’t sustain the drive, losing to #1 Norwin. The Big Macs will host Mt. Lebanon in the 6A girls 3rd place game Thursday with only the winner advancing to the PIAA tournament. Chartiers-Houston’s girls host a ‘win-and-you’re-in’ game Wednesday night as the Bucs host Laurel. We’ll have both state qualifier games on WJPA-AM (1450) and online and we’re producing the NFHS Video stream (subscription required under WPIAL agreements). Click for WPIAL Brackets
WPIAL Semifinals
Saturday, Feb. 22
Girls 5A #2 Peters Township 46, #6 Thomas Jefferson 43
Girls 5A #1 South Fayette 67, #13 Mars Area 32
Tuesday, Feb. 25
Girls 6A #1 Norwin 42, #4 Canon-McMillan 26
Boys 5A #6 Peters Township 58, #10 Mars Area 52 OT
WPIAL Consolation Brackets
Saturday, Feb. 22
Boys 2A #6 OL/Sacred Heart 54, #7 Chartiers-Houston 45
Monday, Feb. 24
Girls 2A Fort Cherry 58, Laurel 33. Fort Cherry clinches PIAA berth.
Girls 2A Rochester 48, Chartiers-Houston 46 2OT. Rochester clinches PIAA berth.
Girls 1A St. Joseph 54, West Greene 38. St. Joseph clinches PIAA berth. West Greene is eliminated.
Wednesday, Feb. 26
Girls 2A 7th place game: Laurel at Chartiers-Houston, 6:45 pm, WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here Winner clinches PIAA berth. Loser is eliminated.
Girls 2A 5th place game: Ft. Cherry vs. Rochester (both have clinched PIAA berths)
Boys 2A 7th place game: Chartiers-Houston at Northgate (both have clinched PIAA berths)
Thursday, Feb. 27
Girls 6A 3rd place game: Mt. Lebanon at Canon-McMillan, 5:45 pm, WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here Winner clinches PIAA berth. Loser is eliminated.
February 26, 2025 4:30 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bobby Brink had one goal and three assists for a career-high four points, and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-1. Noah Cates had two goals and an assist in Philadelphia’s third consecutive win. Tyson Foerster had a goal and two assists, and Owen Tippett and Rasmus Ristolainen also scored. Brink and Cates scored 10 seconds apart late in the second period, lifting Philadelphia to a 5-1 lead. Samuel Ersson made 23 saves for the Flyers. Philip Tomasino scored for the Penguins in their fourth consecutive loss.
February 26, 2025 4:32 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta considers the mounting allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior against kicker Justin Tucker “serious” and “concerning.” He said Tuesday the team will let the NFL’s investigation play out before determining how to proceed. The Baltimore Banner reported that 16 massage therapists in the Baltimore area have accused Tucker of inappropriate behavior. DeCosta says he has met with Tucker but declined to provide specifics of the conversation. The Ravens have instituted a zero-tolerance policy but DeCosta says the team will apply that policy on a case-by-case basis.
February 26, 2025 4:29 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni pushed back against the Green Bay Packers’ proposal to ban the tush push play his team has used so successfully in short-yardage situations, including during its victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59. Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed Tuesday that the Packers were the team that had made that proposal. The tush push is a modified quarterback sneak where teammates behind Jalen Hurts push him forward to help him try to gain the yardage necessary for a first down or touchdown.
