TORONTO (AP) – Former All-Star shortstop Tony Fernandez has died. The director of his charitable foundation said Fernandez died Sunday afternoon. He had been ill with a kidney disease and was on a life support system. Fernandez was a stylish shortstop who made five All-Star teams during his 17 seasons in the major leagues and helped the Toronto Blue Jays win the 1993 World Series. Fernandez earned four straight Gold Gloves with the Blue Jays in the 1980s and holds club records for career hits and games played. Fernandez was 57.
The agent for Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph says Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett opened himself up for potential legal action after reiterating his claim that Rudolph used a racial slur shortly before their infamous brawl in November. During an interview with ESPN, his first since being hit with a suspension after slugging Rudolph in the head with Rudolph’s own helmet in the final seconds of a Browns win on Nov. 14, Garrett said Rudolph called the defensive end “the N-word.” Rudolph, as he did when Garrett made the claim while appealing the suspension in November, called the allegation “a disgusting and reckless attempt to assassinate my character.” Tim Younger, Rudolph’s agent, went a step further. Because Garrett conducted the interview in California, Younger said Garrett’s “defamatory statement” has now exposed the former No. 1 pick to “legal liability.” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin also came to Rudolph’s defense. Tomlin said he interacted with “a lot” of people within the Browns’ organization in the aftermath of the fight and that no player or coach indicated there was a racial element to the incident. “In my conversations (with the Browns), I had a lot of sorrow for what transpired,” Tomlin said in a statement. The NFL said there was no evidence of Rudolph using a slur when it handed out an indefinite suspension to Garrett, a suspension which ended when he was reinstated earlier this week. Garrett, however, hinted the league may know more that it has revealed.
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers are banking on Ben Roethlisberger’s return in 2020. General manager Kevin Colbert says “all signs are good” in terms of Roethlisberger’s rehab from a right elbow injury that cut short his 2019 season. The Steelers finished 8-8 without the two-time Super Bowl winner, who turns 38 in March. Roethlisberger is scheduled to meet with doctors next week to gauge his progress and there remains no timetable for when he will be cleared to start throwing.
Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett has been reinstated by the NFL after being suspended for hitting Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph in the head with a helmet in a Nov. 14 game. The 24-year-old Garrett missed Cleveland’s final six games last season after his disturbing attack on Garrett. The 2017 top overall pick met with Commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday in the final step before he could be cleared. Garrett has expressed remorse for pulling off Rudolph’s helmet and smashing him in the head with it in the final seconds of Cleveland’s win over Pittsburgh.
CLEVELAND (AP) – A person familiar with the meeting says suspended Browns defensive end Myles Garrett has spoken with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell about being reinstated. Garrett discussed his situation with Goodell and other league officials in New York. Garrett was banned indefinitely for pulling Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph’s helmet off and striking him over the head with it during a game on Nov. 15. Garrett’s meeting with Goodell was a necessary step before he’s allowed to play in 2020. Garrett missed Cleveland’s final six games last season.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Two-time All-Star pitcher Charlie Morton says he regrets not doing anything to try to stop the Houston Astros from illegally stealing signs and relaying information to their hitters during the team’s 2017 World Series championship season. Morton helped the Astros win the 2017 title in his first season with the team, winning Game 7 of both the ALCS and World Series. He says he’s not sure what he could have done to stop his former teammates and doesn’t recall specifics about who did what wrong in 2017. Morton spent one more season with the Astros before signing a two-year deal with the Rays last winter.
The WPIAL Basketball Committee laid out the matchups on Monday. The League’s office staff spent the afternoon and all of Tuesday putting together the schedule for the opening rounds. Tuesday night, the details will be announced for the upcoming WPIAL Basketball Playoffs. When the 12 brackets are posted, a dozen Washington County teams—six boys and six girls—will be listed. California and Charleroi have qualified boys and girls teams. West Greene has as well. Girls squads from Avella, Burgettstown, Chartiers-Houston and Trinity plus boys teams from McGuffey, Peters Township, Ringgold and Wash High have also made it to the post-season. We’ll have the WPIAL Playoff Pairings Show via the TribLive High School Sports Network Tuesday night, starting at 7 pm, on WJPA-AM (1450). Listen Here!
Once the brackets are posted, we’ll have links here along with the first game schedules for all 14 teams from the two-county area.
The WPIAL Basketball Championship games are scheduled for Feb. 27-29 at the Petersen Events Center on the University of Pittsburgh campus.
Friday was supposed to be the final day of section play for area high school basketball teams but tricky road conditions and cancelled classes changed that. With the re-scheduling to Saturday, there were six potential additions to the brackets, five on the boys side. West Allegheny boys are the only team that joined the playoff fields as a result of Saturday’s action.
Boys 5A: Trinity lost at South Fayette, 77-63, eliminating the Hillers from contention. Trinity dropped into a three-way tie for fourth with West Allegheny and Montour. WA won three of its four games against the other two, including both matchups with Trinity. With that, the Indians clinch the final playoff berth out of 5A Section 2. Also in 5A, Woodland Hills hopes of making the playoffs ended when Gateway edged McKeesport, 56-53, Saturday afternoon.
Boys 2A: Chartiers-Houston beat Carmichaels, 78-61, but was bumped from contention when California beat Bentworth 72-44. The Trojans had already clinched a berth in 2A Section 2. Also in 2A, South Side Beaver qualified when Our Lady of the Sacred Heart beat Sewickley Academy, 81-41.
Boys 4A: Central Valley was eliminated from the race when New Castle beat Ambridge Saturday night.
Girls 3A: Neshannock needed to beat Avonworth to reach the playoffs but lost to the Antelopes, 49-28.
The WPIAL Basketball Committee meets Monday to work out the pairings and the League will announce those, along with sites, dates and times Tuesday. We’ll have the WPIAL Playoff Pairing Show live Tuesday, 7 pm, on WJPA-AM (1450). Listen Here
Persistent snowfall today led to the closing of area schools. In addition, a number of districts have been forced to make changes to sporting events, including the scheduled final night of boys section play. Here’s what we know so far:
Carmichaels at Chartiers-Houston, now Saturday, 1:00 pm
Peters Township at Connellsville (exhibition), now Saturday, 1:30 pm
Brownsville at Beth-Center, now Saturday, 2:00 pm
Bentworth at California, now Saturday, 2:00 pm
On As Scheduled
Avella at Bishop Canevin
Ringgold at Canon-McMillan
South Side Beaver at Burgettstown
Fort Cherry at Carlynton
Girls Basketball POSTPONED
Jeff-Morgan at Monessen, now Saturday, 11:00 am
The 2020 PIAA Team Wrestling Championships are underway at the Giant Center, Hershey. Five WPIAL teams, including three from the two-county area, have made the trip. WPIAL 3A champion Waynesburg as well as Bugettstown, the WPIAL 2A runner-up, are in the PIAA tourney for the first time ever. Canon-McMillan, the WPIAL’s 3A third-place team, is making a fifth consecutive trip and is seeking a third state title, the first since winning back-to-back championships in 2012-2013. Links to our coverage, on-air and online, as well as bracket updates will be available on our dedicated Wrestling Page WJPA Wrestling 2020
Here’s Thursday’s schedule/results for the WPIAL teams: Chestnut Ridge 56, Burgettstown 12 Burrell 46, Montoursville 21
Seneca Valley 34, State College 29 Waynesburg 40, Central Dauphin 21 Canon-McMillan 45, Gettysburg 18
District 5 champion Chestnut Ridge won the last seven bouts, including four falls, to knock off Burgettstown in the Class 2A first round. Riley Kemper had a fall for the Blue Devils who also got decision wins from Shane Kemper and DJ Slovick. Burgettstown, the WPIAL runner-up, drops into the consolation bracket and will face District 3 champion Hamburg Friday morning at 8 am.
Canon-McMillan jumped to an early lead and rolled to the win over District 3 champion Gettysburg. Jimmy Baxter and Evan Miller scored pins for the Big Macs. Jacob Gardner and Gerit Nijenhuis added technical falls and CM got five major decisions to advance to the quarterfinals against District 11 runner-up Bethlehem Catholic Friday afternoon.
WPIAL champion Waynesburg won its first-ever PIAA Team Tournament match, nearly doubling up District 3 third-place Central Dauphin. The got pins from Mac Church, Hunter Shriver and Luca Augustine to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals against District 10 champion Cathedral Prep.
