December 13, 2019 3:47 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Former college teammates Sean McDermott and Mike Tomlin will hold a reunion of sorts when the Buffalo Bills visit the Pittsburgh Steelers. McDermott and Tomlin played together at William & Mary in the early 1990s. Now they”re on opposing sidelines as the coaches of two teams trying to reach the playoffs. Buffalo can clinch a postseason spot with a win. Pittsburgh can rise to the top wild-card position in the AFC if they can pick up their eighth victory in their last nine games. The Bills are making their first prime-time appearance since 2007.
December 12, 2019 3:45 am
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – The San Jose Sharks have made a coaching change with the team under .500 through 33 games. A person with direct knowledge of the move tells The Associated Press that the Sharks have fired Peter DeBoer a day after their 3-1 loss at Nashville. The move comes amid an 0-4-1 slide that leaves them 15-16-2. DeBoer was 198-129-4 in parts of five seasons with San Jose, leading the Sharks to the Stanley Cup finals in his first season in 2015-16. He is the fifth NHL coach to lose his job this season and the third for performance reasons. Bob Boughner will serve as interim coach, beginning Thursday against the Rangers.
December 11, 2019 3:46 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry’s shutout streak is over. Montreal’s Tomas Tatar beat Jarry midway through the second period to spark the Canadiens to a 4-1 victory over Jarry and the Penguins. Jarry’s franchise-record shutout streak of 177 minutes and 15 seconds ended when Tatar scored a power-play goal to tie the game. Joel Armia and Shea Weber beat Jarry twice more before the end of the second to give Canadiens goaltender Carey Price all the support he would need. Price finished with 33 saves as Montreal won for the third time in four games.
December 10, 2019 3:43 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Undrafted quarterback Devlin “Duck” Hodges isn’t the only rookie helping fuel the Pittsburgh Steelers’ playoff push. Running backs Benny Snell and Kerrith Whyte and wide receiver Diontae Johnson are chipping in to keep Pittsburgh’s drive to the postseason alive. Johnson scored both touchdowns during a 23-17 win over Arizona while Snell and Whyte combined for 81 yards rushing as the Steelers won for the seventh time in eight games. Pittsburgh holds the second wild-card spot in the AFC with three weeks remaining and could improve its postseason chances with a victory over Buffalo next Sunday night.
December 10, 2019 2:35 am
Charles “Ace” Heberling, longtime WPIAL Executive Director, died Monday morning at his home in McCandless Township, Allegheny County. He was 94 years old. For 21 years, Heberling led the WPIAL, moving the League offices from a home in the East suburbs to an office complex in Greentree. He is credited with creating the WPIAL Championship Day at Three Rivers Stadium in 1986 and with shepherding the growth of girls sports. Heberling is enshrined in the Hall of Fame at Washington & Jefferson College, the Washington/Greene County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and the inaugural class of the WPIAL Hall of Fame. He worked as a game official for the NFL for 23 years, then served as a replay official. He was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Jane, who died on this date in 2015, and by a son, Daniel. The Heberlings are survived by their daughter Karen, by sons Kevin and David, and nine grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are being finalized.
December 9, 2019 3:44 am
LSU will play Oklahoma and Ohio State will face defending national champion Clemson in the College Football Playoff. The selection committee revealed the pairings for the national semifinal. The 13-member committee chose SEC champion LSU as the top seed. The Tigers will head back to Atlanta for its playoff game to face the Big 12 champion Sooners in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 28. Big Ten champion Ohio State will ACC and defending champion Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl in suburban Phoenix that same day. The national championship game is set for Jan. 13 in New Orleans.
The College Football Playoff selection committee ranked more Group of Five schools than ever before. Five schools from outside the Power Five showed up in the final playoff rankings. That’s the most in a final poll since the system began six years ago. A spot in the New Year’s Six was assured to only one of them and it went to Memphis. The Tigers will play Penn State in the Cotton Bowl.
December 7, 2019 4:23 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Jordan Nwora scored 19 points, Malik Williams had 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, and No. 1 Louisville used a 17-4 second-half run to pull away from Pittsburgh for a 64-46 victory. After shooting 37% in their previous game against No. 4 Michigan, the Cardinals came out firing from long range. Every player had at least one 3-pointer as they went 9 of 17 from behind the arc and 13 for 26 overall in the first half. Nwora left the game briefly in the second half after injuring his left shoulder but returned to add a steal and breakaway dunk during the Cardinals’ big run.
December 7, 2019 3:47 am
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers will try to earn their seventh win in eight games when they travel to face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The Steelers are still in the playoff hunt with rookie quarterback Devlin Hodges, who will make his third career start against the Cardinals. Arizona has lost five straight games, including last week’s 34-7 setback to the Los Angeles Rams. Cardinals rookie quarterback Kyler Murray has had a good season, but the team’s defense is one of the worst in the NFL.
December 6, 2019 3:50 am
CHICAGO (AP) – The Chicago Bears find themselves back in the mix for an NFC playoff berth after handling the Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field on Thursday. Mitchell Trubisky threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score in the Bears’ 31-24 victory over the slumping Cowboys. Trubisky shook off an early interception near the goal line to complete 23 of 31 passes for 244 yards, helping Chicago improve to 7-6. Allen Robinson caught two TD passes, and Anthony Miller had one as Chicago tied a season high for points while winning for the fourth time in five games.
Dak Prescott was 27 of 49 for 334 yards and a touchdown for the Cowboys, who have dropped three straight to fall to 6-7. Ezekiel Elliott ran for two scores but was held under 100 yards rushing for the fifth straight game, finishing with 81. Dallas leads the NFC East by a half-game over the Eagles. The Bears have two more losses than the Vikings in the battle for the final NFC wild-card spot.
December 4, 2019 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – The New Jersey Devils have fired coach John Hynes, one day after a 7-1 loss to Buffalo left the team 9-13-4 heading into tonight’s game against Vegas. Hynes was 150-159-45 with one playoff appearance during his four-plus seasons behind the New Jersey bench.\ Alain Nasreddine is serving as interim coach and Devils pro scout Peter Horachek has been added to the coaching staff as an assistant.
