January 8, 2024 4:48 am
ATLANTA (AP) — Arthur Smith has been fired by the Atlanta Falcons after completing his third straight losing season. Smith inherited a rebuilding project in his first NFL head coaching job and failed to lift the Falcons from their playoff drought. The 41-year-old son of FedEx founder Fred Smith went 7-10 in each of his three seasons. Atlanta closed the season with an ugly 48-17 loss at New Orleans, its second consecutive lopsided defeat. That sealed Smith’s fate. He was hired by the Falcons in 2021 after a decade-long stint as an assistant with the Tennessee Titans in which he moved up to offensive coordinator.
January 8, 2024 4:50 am
HOUSTON (AP) — No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Washington playing for the College Football Playoff national championship on Monday night is just about the perfect way to close the 2023 season. The matchup of unbeatens hits all the major themes of the past five months from conference realignment to the transfer portal — with Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh as the main character. Michael Penix Jr., the sixth-year quarterback who revived his career by transferring to Washington, and the Huskies will try to deliver the Pac-12 its first championship since 2004 in their last football game before joining Michigan in the Big Ten.
January 7, 2024 7:47 am
BALTIMORE (AP) — Mason Rudolph threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson on the first play of the fourth quarter, and the Pittsburgh Steelers took a step toward the postseason with a 17-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Rudolph led Pittsburgh to three straight wins to close the season, and now the Steelers wait. They would make the playoffs Sunday if Buffalo loses to Miami or Jacksonville loses to Tennessee. There was some bad news for the Steelers. The Ravens have already locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC and held Lamar Jackson out of this game. (Photo: AP)
January 7, 2024 8:05 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Zemgus Girgensons jammed a loose puck by Tristan Jarry late in the third period and Rasmus Dahlin added an empty netter to lift the Buffalo Sabres past the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 40 shots for Buffalo as he continues to bounce back from a rough December. Pittsburgh had tied the game earlier in the third period on Rickard Rakell’s goal. Alex Tuch gave the Sabres an early lead with his 10th goal of the season and the team earned its third victory in four games. Jarry made 29 saves for the Penguins.
January 6, 2024 12:01 am
Burgettstown won its second-straight TriCADA Wrestling Tournament championship, led by individual champions Parker Sentipal and Rudy Brown. Sentipal’s title is his third straight. The Blue Devils (180 points) had two runners-up and four other medalists. Peters Township (156.5) was second, followed by Bentworth (143) , Trinity (139) and Ringgold (136.5). Canon-McMillan, Waynesburg, McGuffey, South Fayette and Jeff-Morgan round out the top ten teams.
Bentworth’s Chris Vargo, one of three champions, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler, defeating Canon-Mac’s Andrew Binni in the 127-pound title match, 5-4 in overtime. Owen Ivcic and Vitali Daniels also won titles for Bentworth.
Canon-McMillan won two of its four championship matches, Collier Hartman and Geno Calgaro each won their first TriCADA titles.
Chase Frameli, Jeff-Morgan, won his third title while Trinity’s Blake Reihner picked up his second championship.
TriCADA Championships
107 Nicholas McGarrity, Peters Township tech. fall Noah Collins, West Greene, 16-1, 3:54
114 Brock Dennison, South Fayette fall Floyd Huff, Waynesburg, 5:42
121 Collier Hartman, Canon-McMillan dec. Dom Canali, Trinity, 6-5
127 Chris Vargo, Bentworth dec. Andrew Binni, Canon-McMillan, 5-4 OT 2:00
133 Parker Sentipal, Burgettstown maj. dec. Vincent Binni, Canon-McMillan, 8-0
139 Blake Reihner, Trinity maj. dec. Gavin Suica, Burgettstown 9-1
145 Owen Ivcic, Bentworth dec. TJ Allison, Trinity, 2-1 OT 2:00
152 Rudy Brown, Burgettstown, dec. Chris Cibrone, Peters Township, 9-3
160 Chase Frameli, Jeff-Morgan dec. Brock Evans, Trinity, 7-1
172 Braedon Welsh, Fort Cherry fall Reid Teagarden, McGuffey, 0:53
189 Vitali Daniels, Bentworth tech. fall Anthony Salvini, Fort Cherry, 15-0, 4:46
215 Geno Calgaro, Canon-McMillan dec. Jake Conroy, Ringgold, 6-3
285 Roan Tustin, Waynesburg dec. Joey Baronick, Burgettstown, 3-1
You can watch the action at the links below through our partnership with Greene Sports.
Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Consolations WATCH HERE DOWNLOAD (coming soon)
Semifinals, Consolations WATCH HERE DOWNLOAD (coming soon)
Championship & Consolation Finals (1st-6th place) WATCH HERE DOWNLOAD (coming soon)
January 6, 2024 4:37 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Martín Pérez and the Pittsburgh Pirates have finalized their $8 million, one-year contract. The 32-year-old left-hander, who won the World Series with Texas in November, agreed to the deal in mid-December subject to a successful physical. Right-hander Max Kranick was designated for assignment to open a roster spot. Pérez went 10-4 for the Rangers last season with a 4.45 ERA in 35 games, 20 of them starts. He moved from the rotation to the bullpen in August and made three relief appearances in the playoffs.
January 6, 2024 4:39 am
PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic (AP) — A judge in the Dominican Republic has ordered the conditional release of Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco. He is still facing allegations that he had a relationship with a 14-year-old girl and gave her mother a car and thousands of dollars in exchange for her consent, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press. The 22-year-old All-Star is accused of commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering. The girl’s mother faces the same charges as Franco. She was placed under house arrest.
January 5, 2024 4:34 am
BOSTON (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored on the power play to snap a third-period tie and added two assists, lifting the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 6-5 win over the Boston Bruins. Crosby’s goal broke a 5-all deadlock and halted a four-game winning streak for the first-place Bruins, who rallied from three down to tie it. The Penguins also got goals from Drew O’Connor, Ryan Graves, Jake Guentzel, Lars Eller and Jeff Carter. Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves. Brad Marchand scored twice for the Bruins, and David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists. Morgan Geekie added a goal and an assist, and Jeremy Swayman stopped 29 shots.
January 5, 2024 4:36 am
BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday. Although the matchup doesn’t mean much for Baltimore’s postseason seeding, it’s huge for Pittsburgh. The Steelers can clinch a postseason berth with a victory and a loss by either Buffalo or Jacksonville. There is a scenario in which Pittsburgh could get in with a loss, but that requires help from multiple teams. Baltimore has already wrapped up the top seed in the AFC. MVP favorite Lamar Jackson isn’t playing in this game.
January 4, 2024 2:53 am
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Ravens coach John Harbaugh says Lamar Jackson will not play in Baltimore’s regular-season finale against the Steelers this weekend. Harbaugh said Tyler Huntley will start for the Ravens. The team has already clinched the top seed in the AFC playoffs. Josh Johnson will be Huntley’s backup. The announcement was no surprise now that Baltimore has wrapped up a first-round bye in the postseason. Jackson missed the end of the 2021 and 2022 seasons, but has started all 16 games so far this season. Huntley has started eight games in his pro career.
