February 4, 2020 3:43 am
UNDATED (AP) – Baylor has strengthened its hold on No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll. The Bears received 49 of 65 first-place votes in the latest poll to stay comfortably ahead of Gonzaga and Kansas. The Bears are atop the rankings for a third straight week. Nos. 1-4 remained unchanged, continuing a stretch of stability in what has been an unpredictable season with a record-tying seven different teams reaching No. 1. Atlantic Coast Conference leader Louisville climbed a spot to No. 5, followed by Dayton, Duke, Florida State and Maryland – which jumped six spots to No. 9 after beating Iowa last week for its fourth straight win. Villanova rounded out the top 10. No. 9 Maryland and No. 11 Auburn made the week’s biggest jumps. Each rose six spots. No. 21 Creighton and No. 23 Arizona re-entered the poll. Wichita State and Rutgers fell out.
February 4, 2020 2:57 am
For more than 70 years, WJPA Radio has been the home of the PIAA Wrestling Championship Series. Starting with our coverage of the 1950 PIAA Individual Championships right through this year’s PIAA Team Tournaments (this weekend) and Individual Tournaments (Feb. 14 – Mar. 7), we’ve got the action covered. Links to our coverage, on-air and online, as well as bracket updates will be available on our dedicated Wrestling Page WJPA Wrestling 2020
February 3, 2020 3:47 am
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) – The Kansas City Chiefs have ended a half-century of frustration. Patrick Mahomes engineered three touchdown drives in the final 6:13 as the Chiefs roared back from a 10-point deficit to defeat the San Francisco 49ers, 31-20 in Super Bowl 54. It’s the first NFL championship for the Chiefs since beating the Minnesota Vikings, 24-7 in Super Bowl 4. Mahomes righted himself after throwing interceptions on consecutive possessions. The comeback started when Mahomes engineered a 68-yard drive that was capped by a one-yard scoring toss to Travis Kelce. The Chiefs quarterback put his team ahead for the first time since the second quarter by hitting Damien Williams for a five-yard TD. Williams later capped his 104-yard rushing performance by scampering 38 yards to give Kansas City breathing room. Mahomes shook off a slow start to finish 26 of 42 for 286 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Tyreek Hill had 105 receiving yards on nine catches, and Sammy Watkins had five receptions for 98 yards. The 49ers took advantage of Mahomes’ first interception by turning it into a one-yard scoring run by Raheem Mostert late in the third quarter. Mostert’s scoring run gave San Francisco a 20-10 lead. Chiefs coach Andy Reid earned his 222nd career victory, and his first in a Super Bowl. No other coach had won more games without winning an NFL championship.
February 3, 2020 3:42 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Xavier Johnson scored seven of his 13 points in the final 3 minutes as Pittsburgh held off Miami 62-57. Trey McGowens led Pitt (14-8, 5-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) with 17 points. Au’Diese Toney scored 15 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for the Panthers, who snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Hurricanes. Rodney Miller tied a career high with 16 points for Miami (11-10, 3-8). Isaiah Wong added 15 points, Harlond Beverly chipped in 11 and DJ Vasiljevic scored 10 to go with nine rebounds but the shorthanded Hurricanes lost for the fifth time in six games.
February 2, 2020 2:01 am
Waynesburg won 13 WPIAL wrestling titles before the League instituted the Team Tournament format. Saturday night, the Raiders won their fifth Team Tournament title, the first since 1989, downing Seneca Valley at Norwin, getting a pin in the final bout to win the title. Canon-McMillan, after dropping a one-point loss to Seneca Valley in the semifinals, rolled past #4 Hempfield Area, 41-16, taking third place and claiming a berth in the PIAA Team Tournament. The Big Macs will face City League champion Carrick Monday night with a trip to Hershey going to the winner. Follow the Team and Individual Wrestling Tournament Series on WJPA’s Wrestling Page
WPIAL AAA Team Tournament
Semifinals
Waynesburg 37, Hempfield Area 33
Seneca Valley 31, Canon-McMillan 30
Third Place (PIAA qualifier)
Canon-McMillan 41, Hempfield Area 16
WPIAL AAA Championship
Waynesburg 33, Seneca Valley 30
February 1, 2020 4:33 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Sidney Crosby beat Brian Elliott 55 seconds into overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins blew a two-goal lead but recovered for their NHL-leading 19th home victory when Crosby’s wrist shot slipped by Elliott for his ninth of the season. Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust and Kris Letang also scored for Pittsburgh. Tristan Jarry, fresh of his first All-Star appearance, stopped 27 shots for the Penguins. Jakub Voracek, Tyler Pitlick and Scott Laughton scored for Philadelphia. Elliott finished with 16 saves.
January 31, 2020 3:47 am
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Tomas Hertl will miss the rest of the season for the San Jose Sharks with a serious knee injury. The Sharks say Hertl tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee during the first period of a loss against the Vancouver Canucks. Hertl is the second significant Sharks player to be sidelined with a significant injury. Captain Logan Couture has a broken ankle. The Sharks entered the day with 48 points and are nine points out of a playoff spot.
January 31, 2020 2:22 am
Following a season of perfection that ended with WPIAL and PIAA championships, the Peters Township girls basketball team will miss the 2020 playoffs, falling out of the top four spots in Class 6A Section 2. The Indians’ dim hopes were extinguished Thursday night in an 18-point loss to Hempfield. Trinity locked up second place in Class 5A Section 1, topping Moon, 66-63. Charleroi and Brownsville have both clinched Class 3A playoff spots in Section 2. The Cougars handed 1st-place Seton-La Salle its first section loss while the Falcons fell to South Park. Beth-Center remains alive despite losing at McGuffey. To qualify, B-C must beat Charleroi and South Park while Brownsville loses twice (vs. Charleroi and Waynesburg). Fort Cherry’s hopes were dimmed with Frazier’s win over Bentworth. California clinched a Class 1A berth with a win over Monessen, eliminating Jeff-Morgan and Mapletown in the process. One week remains in the girls regular season with the playoff brackets due to be released Tuesday, Feb. 11.
Class 6A–defending WPIAL/PIAA champion Peters Township and Canon-McMillan are eliminated.
Class 5A–Trinity has clinched a playoff spot and second place in Section 1.
Class 4A–Ringgold is eliminated.
Class 3A–Charleroi (8-4) has clinched. Beth-Center (4-8) is alive but must win out while Brownsville (6-6) loses twice. McGuffey, Washington and Waynesburg have been eliminated.
Class 2A–Burgettstown (7-2) and Chartiers-Houston (7-3) have clinched playoff berths and will meet Monday at Burgettstown, with second place on the line. Fort Cherry (4-6) is still alive for the fourth spot but must beat both section champion Bishop Canevin (11-0) and Burgettstown and have Carmichaels (1-8) beat Frazier (5-6). Otherwise, the Rangers are out and Frazier is fourth.
Class 1A–West Greene, Avella and California have clinched playoff spots. Jeff-Morgan and Mapletown have been eliminated.
January 30, 2020 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Kansas City Chiefs had everyone on the field Wednesday for their first significant practice of Super Bowl week as they went without helmets or pads during the 90-minute workout. The only injury concerns involve defensive tackle Chris Jones and tight end Travis Kelce, although head coach Andy Reid says Kelce is fine and Jones is “good to go.” Kelce has been dealing with knee soreness during the postseason, and Jones is bothered by a calf strain.
January 30, 2020 2:28 am
Five Washington County schools have clinched spots in the WPIAL Boys Basketball playoffs. Four other teams are still alive with at least one of them assured of a berth while five teams are out of the running. Greene County has two schools still alive and three eliminated. With three game days remaining in the regular season, here’s what the picture looks like at the moment (section records):
Class 6A-Peters Township (4-4) has clinched a berth. Canon-McMillan (1-7) has been eliminated.
Class 5A-Trinity (6-5) is currently in third place and would be in if the playoffs started today, but the Hillers are behind the proverbial “eight ball” in tie-breakers at the moment. Trinity is 0-1 against Thomas Jefferson (8-3), South Fayette (6-5) and West Allegheny (5-6) and will play those three teams over the season’s final eight days. Trinity can finish anywhere from second to out of the playoffs depending on those games.
Class 4A-Ringgold (4-4) has clinched. Waynesburg (1-7) is out.
Class 3A-Charleroi (9-1), Washington (8-1) and McGuffey (7-3) have all clinched. The Cougars and Little Prexies share the lead in Section 4. Beth-Center (1-8) and Fort Cherry (1-9) have been eliminated from their section races.
Class 2A-California (5-4) and Chartiers-Houston (3-6) are both alive and at least one of them will qualify out of Section 2. The Trojans are in with any win or any Chartiers-Houston loss. The Bucs need California to lose at least twice in its final three games-vs. Brentwood (8-2), at Jeannette (8-1) vs. Bentworth (0-9)-while winning out themselves–vs. Jeannette, at Bentworth, vs. Carmichaels (1-9). If California and Chartiers-Houston tie in the standings, both make the tournament. Burgettstown (2-7) is still alive in Section 3, but must win out and get lots of help.
Class 1A-West Greene (5-4) and Jefferson-Morgan (3-6) are still alive with at least one making the tournament. Both qualify in a tie. Avella (1-8) and Mapletown (1-9) have been eliminated.
