May 23, 2024 4:40 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots for his first shutout of the postseason, Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers beat the New York Rangers 3-0 on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final. Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett also scored. Bobrovsky, who had six shutouts during the regular season, had the second of his career in the playoffs. Igor Shesterkin finished with 24 saves for Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers. They lost for the third time in four games after opening the postseason with seven straight victories. Game 2 is Friday night in New York.
May 23, 2024 4:42 am
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The New Jersey Devils have hired Sheldon Keefe as coach less than two weeks after he was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s the Devils’ fifth coach since 2019 and third since March. They fired Lindy Ruff late in the season, replaced him on an interim basis with Travis Green and missed the playoffs anyway. Green left to coach the Ottawa Senators. This is Keefe’s second head-coaching job in the NHL after spending the past four-plus seasons with Toronto. He’ll now be tasked with trying to get New jersey back into the postseason.
May 22, 2024 12:21 pm
(WPXI) – Pittsburgh will host the 2026 NFL Draft. Steelers spokesperson Burt Lauten confirmed that the city was awarded the 2026 NFL Draft. “The NFL Draft is one of the biggest, most-anticipated sporting events of the year, and we’re thrilled to partner with the Pittsburgh Steelers and VisitPITTSBURGH for our 2026 event,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “We have a unique opportunity to spotlight this wonderful community on a global stage, benefiting Pittsburgh’s economy and entertaining football fans from all markets. We know this pride of Pennsylvania will shine bright in 2026.” The NFL decided where the draft would be held in 2026 during the Spring League Meeting in Nashville. Ahead of this announcement, Channel 11 spoke with city officials to find out what the draft would look like, including where the stage and other activities would be. Their vision has Downtown as the central backdrop of the main stage that would be placed on the North Shore near Acrisure Stadium. The full layout has not yet been revealed, but it’s expected to include Downtown, Point State Park, the Central Business District and the Strip District ancillary events, along with Acrisure Stadium and the North Shore. The officials also think the weekend-long event that could bring upwards of 300,000 people to the city will be a major economic boost. The process for Pittsburgh to secure rights to host the draft began years ago, with the Steelers having ongoing conversations with the NFL about bringing a “mega football event” to the city.
May 21, 2024 12:01 am
Wednesday–Chartiers-Houston won a back-and-forth third meeting against section foe Carmichaels to clinch a spot in the WPIAL 1A championship game. Canon-McMillan (6A) lost to Seneca Valley, managing just one hit while West Greene (1A) was beaten by top-seeded Union.
Tuesday–Sofia Gaussa’s two-out, two-run double lifted Bentworth to a 2-1 win over Laurel in the WPIAL 2A softball semifinals. Aubrie Logan walked with one out, went first-to-third on a sacrifice bunt and Sydney Gonglik was intentionally walked. Gaussa stroked middle-of-the-plate fastball past the leftfielder scoring both runners and igniting a wild celebration on, and off, the field. Gonglik held Laurel to one run on just four hits while striking out 13 batter. The Bearcats struggled at the plate most of the night themselves, Gaussa’s double just the fourth hit of the night for the winners who also clinched a berth in the state tournament.
Baseball semifinalists from the two-county area were not as fortunate as Avella, Burgettstown and Carmichaels all will need to win WPIAL third-place games to advance to the state tournament. Bethel Park jumped in front of Trinity in the 5A quarterfinals and rolled to a run-rule win, ending the Hillers’ season.
We’ll have coverage of a pair of softball semifinals on Tuesday: Chartiers-Houston / Carmichaels in the 1A bracket, Canon-McMillan / Seneca Valley in the 6A class. Hear the CHHS/Carmichaels game on WJPA-AM (1450) and online. The Big Macs/Raiders game will be online only. Both games will also have NFHS video available.
WPIAL Bracket Links: Softball Baseball
Wednesday–Softball Semifinals
1A #1 Union 10, #5 West Greene 0
1A #3 Chartiers-Houston 3, #3 Carmichaels 2
6A #2 Seneca Valley 7, #6 Canon-McMillan 1
Tuesday–Softball Semifinals
2A #2 Bentworth 2, #3 Laurel 1
Baseball Quarterfinals
5A #4 Bethel Park 11, #12 Trinity 1 (6 inn)
Baseball Semifinals
2A #1 Serra Catholic 5, #4 Burgettstown 1
1A #2 Eden Christian Academy 11, #6 Avella 2
1A #4 Bishop Canevin 7, #8 Carmichaels 1
May 22, 2024 4:34 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nick Gonzales’ run-scoring single in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 7-6 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night. Gonzales’ leadoff hit up the middle off Erik Miller (0-2) scored automatic runner Connor Joe from second base and ended the Giants’ season-high four-game winning streak. The Pirates have won four of their last five games. The Pirates scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at 6-all and pin Camilo Doval with his first blown save in nine opportunities this season.
May 22, 2024 4:37 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Justin Fields is embracing a fresh start in Pittsburgh. The Steelers acquired the quarterback from the Chicago Bears in March. Fields says he was relieved when the Bears traded him to Pittsburgh and thanked Chicago general manager Ryan Poles for sending him to a place he wanted to be. Fields says he is fine with backing up veteran Russell Wilson but added it’s his job to help Wilson get better.
May 21, 2024 12:01 am
Brayden Fuller stroked a two-run double, breaking a 2-2 tie in the fifth, leading Avella to a 6-3 in over Fort Cherry in the 1A baseball quarterfinals. Winning pitcher Bryce Wright held the Rangers to 3 runs on just five hits over 6 1/3 innings. Isaiah Bradick picked up the save. Eric Kovach struck out 13 batters while allowing just three hit over 5 2/3 innings propelling Burgettstown to a 3-1 win over Greensburg Central Catholic. Brodie Kuzior got the final four out for the save and also drove in a run. Sam Elich and Wyatt Stevenson had RBIs for the Blue Devils who advance to the WPIAL semifinals for the third straight year. Carmichaels scored three times in the top of the first and made it stand up, ousting top-seeded Union, 3-1. All three winner play semifinal games Tuesday afternoon. Meanwhile, after an extra day off, Trinity squares off with section opponent Bethel Park Tuesday afternoon in the 5A quarterfinals, a game we’ll have on WJPA-AM and online. All remaining baseball teams from Washington/Greene Counties are in 1A, 2A or 5A. Each of those classes will send the top three teams to the state playoffs. Quarterfinal winners will then need one more victory to qualify.
West Greene won the only softball game on Monday’s schedule, topping Frazier, earning a trip to the semifinals and a berth in the state tournament. Chartiers-Houston and Carmichaels have also clinched state playoff berths. Bentworth needs one win in its next two games to qualify. Canon-McMillan must win the WPIAL to advance to the state tournament.
WPIAL Bracket Links: Softball Baseball
Monday–Softball Quarterfinals
1A #5 West Greene 13, #4 Frazier 5
Monday–Baseball Quarterfinals
2A #4 Burgettstown 3, #5 Greensburg Central Catholic 1
2A #3 Seton-La Salle 9, #6 Chartiers-Houston 1
1A #6 Avella 6, #3 Fort Cherry 3
1A #2 Eden Christian Academy 5, #7 West Greene 1
1A # 8 Carmichaels 3, #1 Union 1
Tuesday–Baseball Quarterfinals
1:45 pm 5A #12 Trinity vs. #4 Bethel Park at Boyce-Mayview Park, WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here
Baseball Semifinals
1:45 pm 1A #6 Avella vs. #2 Eden Christian Academy at W&J’s Ross Memorial Park, WJPA.com audio Watch/Listen Here
2:00 pm 2A #4 Burgettstown vs. #1 Serra Catholic at West Mifflin
4:30 pm 1A #8 Carmichaels vs. #4 Bishop Canevin at W&J’s Ross Memorial Park
Softball Semifinals
5:45 pm 2A #2 Bentworth vs. #3 Laurel at North Allegheny, WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
Wednesday–Softball Semifinals
3:00 pm 1A #5 West Greene vs. #1 Union at Montour
4:45 pm 1A #3 Chartiers-Houston vs. #3 Carmichaels at Montour, WJPA.com audio Watch/Listen Here
4:45 pm 6A #6 Canon-McMillan vs. #2 Seneca Valley at North Allegheny, WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here
May 21, 2024 4:39 am
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and an assist as Edmonton scored three times in the second period and held on to beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in Game 7 to advance to the Western Conference final. Zach Hyman and Cody Ceci also scored, and Evan Bouchard had two assists for the Oilers. Stuart Skinner finished with 15 saves. Edmonton, back in the conference finals for the second time in three years, will next face Dallas with Game 1 of that series on Thursday night.
May 21, 2024 4:40 am
University presidents around the country are scheduled to meet this week to vote on whether to accept a proposed settlement of an antitrust lawsuit that would cost the NCAA nearly $3 billion. The deal would also create a landmark revenue-sharing system with college athletes. The terms of the agreement have met some pushback from the Division I conferences that do not compete in major college football. They say they are being asked to bear an undue financial burden on the damages portion of the settlement. Attorneys for the defendants in House vs. NCAA gave college sports leaders until Thursday to agree.
May 20, 2024 4:43 am
CHICAGO (AP) — Mitch Keller pitched six effective innings, Nick Gonzales hit a key two-run single and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2. Jack Suwinski connected for another homer against Jameson Taillon as Pittsburgh closed out a 4-3 road trip by taking three of four from Chicago. Gonzales, Andrew McCutchen and Jared Triolo each had two of the Pirates’ 10 hits. Keller improved to 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA in three May starts. Seiya Suzuki and Christopher Morel each hit a sacrifice fly for Chicago.
