Oilers Beat Stars To Tie Western Conference Final

May 30, 2024 4:33 am

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Mattias Janmark and Leon Draisaitl scored in a 51-second span in the second period and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Dallas Stars 5-2 on Wednesday night in Game 4 to even the Western Conference final. Janmark tied it on a short-handed, 2-on-1 break with Connor Brown with 5:29 left in the period, and Draisaitl followed with his 10th of the postseason with 4:38 to go. Game 5 is Friday night in Dallas. Ryan McLeod, Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm, into a empty net with 1:53 remaining, also scored for Edmonton. Stuart Skinner made 20 saves. Wyatt Johnson and Esa Lindell scored as Dallas raced to a 2-0 lead in the first 5 1/2 minutes. McLeod and Bouchard countered for Edmonton late in the period.

Judge Dismisses Charges Against Scottie Scheffler

May 29, 2024 5:24 pm

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Criminal charges against Scottie Scheffler have been dismissed, ending a legal saga that began with images of the world’s top golfer being arrested and handcuffed in Louisville during the PGA Championship. Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell, a local prosecutor, asked a judge Wednesday afternoon to drop the four charges against Scheffler. Scheffler was not required to be in the courtroom Wednesday. Scheffler was charged with a felony for assaulting a police officer with his vehicle, along with three misdemeanors. Scheffler has said he simply misunderstood the commands coming from traffic officers.

Pirates & Tigers Rained Out; Doubleheader Set For Today

May 28, 2024 4:34 am

DETROIT (AP) — The game between the Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates has been postponed because of storms in the area. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader starting at 12:40 p.m. on Wednesday. Left-hander Tarik Skubal and righty Jack Flaherty are expected to start the doubleheader for the Tigers, while right-hander Jared Jones and righty Paul Skenes will pitch for Pittsburgh. Skenes was the first overall pick in the 2023 draft. He will be making his fourth career start on his 22nd birthday.

Josh Gibson Becomes MLB Batting Leader As Negro League Stats Incorporated

May 29, 2024 4:30 am

NEW YORK (AP) — Josh Gibson became Major League Baseball’s career leader with a .372 batting average, surpassing Ty Cobb’s .367, when records of the Negro Leagues for more than 2,300 players were incorporated after a three-year research project. Gibson’s .466 average for the 1943 Homestead Grays became the season standard, followed by Charlie “Chino” Smith’s .451 for the 1929 New York Lincoln Giants. They overtook the .440 by Hugh Duffy for the National League’s Boston team in 1894. Gibson also became the career leader in slugging percentage at .718 and OPS at 1.177, moving ahead of Babe Ruth in each statistic.

Big Changes For NCAA To Upend Scholarship Limits & Roster Sizes

May 29, 2024 4:29 am

Scholarships are not going away in college athletics. But how many there are and which sports they will apply to in coming years are among the many questions stemming from a mammoth antitrust settlement and athlete revenue-sharing plan proposed by the NCAA and its five largest conferences. Nearly $2.8 billion in damages over 10 years must come from somewhere. Schools are scrambling to find out how much more money will be necessary to compensate athletes in sports like baseball and softball, many who previously only got a fragment of what their classmates who play football or basketball received.

WPIAL Championship Week–Tuesday

May 28, 2024 12:01 am

WPIAL Championship Week for Baseball & Softball is underway with League titles and PIAA playoff spots on the line. Baseball championship games will be played at Wild Things Park with third-place games next door at W&J’s Ross Memorial Park. Softball third-place games will all be played on Tuesday (weather permitting) at Gateway, Jeff-Morgan and North Allegheny. Softball championship games will be played Wednesday & Thursday at PennWest-California’s Lilley Field.

Our on-air coverage of Championship Week includes baseball third-place games between Burgettstown/OLSH and Avella/Carmichaels. We’ll also broadcast the Chartiers-Houston/Union and Bentworth/Neshannock softball championship games. We’ll also provide online coverage of all four of those games, plus the other four softball finals. Finally, WJPA Sports Network will produce the NFHS video of all six WPIAL softball title games in conjunction with GreeneSports. All of our broadcasts are linked Watch/Listen Here

WPIAL Bracket Links:   Softball    Baseball

Tuesday, May 28
Baseball Finals
1A #4 Bishop Canevin 10, #2 Eden Christian 3
3A #7 Avonworth 4, #1 Riverside 3 (14 innings)
5A #7 Penn-Trafford 4, #4 Bethel Park 3

Baseball 3rd Place
3A #4 South Allegheny 8, #14 Burrell 2 (both to PIAA)
2A #4 Burgettstown 8, #2 OLSH 2 (Burgettstown to PIAA)
4A #4 Montour 3, #2 Thomas Jefferson 2 (11 innings) (both to PIAA)

Softball 3rd Place
1A #2 Carmichaels 7, #5 West Greene 6 (both to PIAA)
2A #3 Laurel 10, #5 OLSH 0 (Laurel to PIAA)
3A #2 Ligonier Valley 4, #1 Avonworth 0 (both to PIAA)
4A #4 Chartiers Valley 6, #11 Blackhawk 4 (Chartiers Valley to PIAA)
5A #4 Penn-Trafford, 4, #11 Great Latrobe 1 (both to PIAA)

Longtime Umpire Angel Hernandez Retires

May 28, 2024 4:37 am

NEW YORK (AP) — Longtime umpire Ángel Hernández, who unsuccessfully sued Major League Baseball for racial discrimination, is retiring immediately. During a career that lasted more than three decades, the 62-year-old Hernández was often scorned by players, managers and fans for missed calls and quick ejections — some in high-profile situations. Hernández issued a statement through MLB on Monday night saying he has decided he wants to spend more time with his family.

Bill Walton Dies Of Cancer At 71

May 28, 2024 4:36 am

Bill Walton, who starred for John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins before becoming a Hall of Fame center for his NBA career and one of the biggest stars of basketball broadcasting, has died. The league announced that Walton died Monday after a prolonged fight with cancer. He was 71. Walton was the NBA’s MVP in the 1977-78 season, a two-time champion and a member of both the NBA’s 50th anniversary and 75th anniversary teams. That followed a college career in which he was a two-time champion at UCLA and a three-time national player of the year.

Acuña Departs With Torn ACL, Braves Top Pirates 8-1

May 27, 2024 4:05 am

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. left Atlanta’s 8-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates after he tore his left ACL, and the Braves won behind Chris Sale. Acuña opened the game with a double to right-center field against Martín Pérez. With Marcell Ozuna at the plate, Acuña started toward third on a stolen base attempt and his left knee gave way. The reigning NL MVP remained down for several minutes while being treated, pointing at his left leg before walking off under his own power. The Braves’ initial diagnosis was left knee soreness. But the team announced later that an MRI showed a complete ACL tear that will require season-ending surgery.

Newgarden Goes Back-to-back At Indy 500

May 27, 2024 4:02 am

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Josef Newgarden put his cheating scandal behind him to become the first back-to-back winner of the Indianapolis 500 since Helio Castroneves 22 years ago and give Roger Penske a record-extending 20th win in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” The Tennessean passed Pato O’Ward on the final lap of Sunday’s rain-delayed race to become the first driver to win consecutive 500s since Castroneves did it for Penske in 2001 and 2002. And just like last year, Newgarden stopped his Chevrolet-powered car on the track and climbed through a hole in the fence to celebrate with fans in the grandstands. O’Ward slumped his head over his steering wheel in bitter disappointment. He was trying to become the first Mexican in 108 runnings to win the Indy 500.