November 3, 2024 6:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored two goals and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-1. Blake Lizotte scored an empty-net goal in the final minute for Pittsburgh. Kris Letang, playing in his 1,100th regular-season game, finished with an assist against his hometown team. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 25 shots for the Penguins. Christian Dvorak scored for Montreal and Sam Montembeault made 21 saves. Crosby has four goals and seven points in his last three games, and is three from 600 in his career.
November 3, 2024 6:45 am
DALLAS (AP) — Brashard Smith ran for 161 yards and two touchdowns and caught a pass for another score as No. 20 SMU overwhelmed previously undefeated and 18th-ranked Pittsburgh 48-25. The 8-1 Mustangs remain tied with No. 5 Miami for the conference lead in their Atlantic Coast Conference debut. Kevin Jennings threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns. Pitt, now 7-1, was trying to open 8-0 for the first time since 1981. SMU has won five games in a row since an 18-15 home loss to still-undefeated and No. 9 BYU.
November 3, 2024 6:42 am
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — James Franklin doesn’t want his players to dwell on a loss that might not be as costly as it would’ve been a year ago. That’s going to be tough for Penn State players, who lost their eighth straight to rival Ohio State 20-13 on Saturday. Franklin fell to 1-10 against the No. 4 Buckeyes and was booed as he made his way through the stadium tunnel behind his players trickling into the No. 3 Nittany Lions’ locker room. But losing to Ohio State doesn’t necessarily doom Penn State’s postseason outlook with the College Football Playoff now expanded from four teams to 12.
November 2, 2024 2:56 am
WPIAL Soccer (click for brackets)
BOYS 4A 3A 2A 1A
GIRLS 4A 3A 2A 1A
Top-seeded Peters Township needed overtime, and then some, to win the WPIAL 4A girls soccer title. And Cailin Martin scored her second playoff goal of the week to deliver the championship in a 1-0 shootout win over Seneca Valley. The teams went scoreless through regulation and 30 minutes of overtime, setting up the five-round penalty kick shootout. Both teams’ first four shooters scored including Paige Malley, Marina Hajnosz, Camryn Gambill and Fallan Malley for Peters Township. The fifth Seneca Valley shooter hit the crossbar, setting the stage for Martin’s golden goal, a hard left shot along the ground. Martin scored the semifinal game-winner in overtime against North Allegheny on Monday, then brought home the Indians’ third WPIAL title Friday night, keeping PT unbeaten at 19-0-1. Peters Township will host the District 3 fourth-place finisher, either Central Dauphin or Central York, in the opening round of the PIAA tournament on Tuesday.
Thursday evening, Bentworth senior Isaac Reynolds scored in the seventh round of shootout penalty kicks, and senior goalkeeper Andrew Vipperman blocked Isaac Tarbuk’s offering as the Bearcats won their second straight WPIAL 1A boys soccer championship, beating Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 1-0. Vipperman took over in net for the shootout, relieving DJ Hays for the Bearcats. Bentworth had not been held under three goals in any of its previous 18 games this season all wins. And the Bearcats won each of those games by two goals or more. With the win, Bentworth will take on District 6 champion Westmont-Hilltop Tuesday in the opening round of the PIAA tournament. The match will be somewhere within the WPIAL. OLSH will travel to face District 9 champion Brockway also on Tuesday.
Neither team scored in regulation or in the two overtime periods. Vipperman, Adam Moessner and Dillan Colbert scored in the first five rounds of the shootout for Bentworth against OLSH goalie Patrick Altmar. Aaron Callahan, Owen Minzer and Seth Therrien scored for the Chargers, forcing coaches to select different shooters for additional rounds. Billy Moyer scored for Bentworth and Andre Kolocouris matched it, setting the stage for Reynolds’ golden goal, his first of the season, and Vipperman’s championship save.
WPIAL Soccer Championships at Highmark Stadium
Thursday, Oct. 31
Boys 1A #1 Bentworth > #3 Our Lady/Sacred Heart, 1-0 SO (5-4 PK)
Friday, Nov. 1
Girls 4A #1 Peters Township > #2 Seneca Valley, 1-0 SO (5-4 PK)
November 2, 2024 12:01 am
The WPIAL football playoffs opened Friday night for seven teams from our two-county area. Trinity stayed with Aliquippa but lost to the three-time defending WPIAL champions. Wash High was within a touchdown at the half before Steel Valley scored three times in the third quarter to take control, beating the Little Prexies for the second time this year. Fort Cherry had no trouble with #16 Brentwood. #10 California won on the road in an upset. Bentworth, Jeff-Morgan and Waynesburg fell behind early and couldn’t rally.
WPIAL Football (click for brackets): 6A 5A 4A 3A 2A 1A
Friday, Nov. 1, First Round:
4A #4 Aliquippa 34, #5 Trinity 14
2A #4 Steel Valley 49, #13 Wash High 28
2A#6 South Allegheny 53, #11 Waynesburg 14
1A #1 Fort Cherry 56, #16 Brentwood 14
1A #10 California 22, #7 Laurel 6
1A #11 South Side Area 39, #6 Jeff-Morgan 30
1A #3 Bishop Canevin 56, #14 Bentworth 3
Friday, Nov. 8, Quarterfinals (7:00 pm unless noted):
5A #6 Penn-Trafford at Peters Township
1A #1 Fort Cherry vs. #9 Cornell
1A #10 California vs. #2 Clairton
November 1, 2024 4:35 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored his second goal of the game 2:35 into overtime as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 to end a six-game losing streak. Crosby found himself in alone on Lukas Dostal and hit the brakes before roofing the puck over the Ducks’ goaltender for the 93rd game-winning goal of his career. Alex Nedeljkovic made 22 saves for Pittsburgh, which outshot Anaheim 46-23. Dostal stopped 44 shots to keep the Ducks in it, but it still wasn’t enough. Alex Killorn scored for the Ducks. Crosby tied it at 1 in the third period.
November 1, 2024 4:36 am
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Garrett Wilson made a dazzling one-handed 26-yard go-ahead touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter and the New York Jets snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the Houston Texans 21-13. Aaron Rodgers had three touchdown passes, including another earlier one-handed score by Wilson and a 37-yard throw to recently acquired Davante Adams, and the Jets won for the first time in four games under interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich. It also helped make up for a Jets touchdown that wasn’t when rookie Malachi Corley made a mental mistake that negated his first NFL score. Rodgers finished 22 of 32 for 211 yards. C.J. Stroud was 11 of 30 for 191 yards for the Texans.
November 1, 2024 4:21 am
NEW YORK (AP) – After 42 seasons, Bob Costas is retiring from baseball play-by-play. Costas had done games the past couple seasons for MLB Network and TBS Sports. His final games were the American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals. Costas’ contract with TBS expired at the end of the season, but his plans to retire from baseball play-by-play had been in the works for over a year. The Athletic was the first to report on Costas’ baseball play-by-play retirement. Costas plans to address his decision at a future date.
October 31, 2024 4:27 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers won their second World Series championship in five seasons, overcoming a five-run deficit with the help of three Yankees defensive miscues and rallying on sacrifice flies from Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts in the eighth inning to beat New York 7-6 in Game 5. Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, Alex Verdugo’s RBI single chased Jack Flaherty in the second and Giancarlo Stanton’s third-inning homer against Ryan Brasier built a 5-0 lead for New York. But the Dodgers rallied, helped by a shaky defensive performance by the Yankees.
NEW YORK (AP) — When the World Series started, it was hard to figure what Freddie Freeman would be able to provide for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He left no doubt about the MVP winner. Freeman broke records by homering in the first four games and he matched a Fall Classic mark with 12 RBIs to power the Dodgers past the New York Yankees for their second championship in five years. The popular slugger delivered yet again Wednesday night with a two-run single off Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in a five-run fifth inning that helped rally Los Angeles to a clinching 7-6 victory in Game 5. When it was over, Freeman was an easy choice for the Series MVP award.
October 30, 2024 12:01 am
WPIAL Soccer (click for brackets)
BOYS 4A 3A 2A 1A
GIRLS 4A 3A 2A 1A
Defending champion Bentworth earned a return trip to the WPIAL finals with solid 3-0 win over Beaver County Christian. Adam Moessner scored just over 10 minutes into the game. His brother, Ryan, added a goal in the final minute of the half, his 43rd goal of the season, tying the school’s single season record. Dillan Colbert closed the scoring in the 52nd minute, while DJ Hays notched his 25th career shutout in goal for the Bearcats (now 18-0). The shutout is the team’s 7th straight and 14th of the year.
Monday, Oct. 28, Semifinals
Girls 4A #2 Seneca Valley > #6 Canon-McMillan, 4-1
Girls 4A #1 Peters Township > #4 North Allegheny, 2-1 OT
Tuesday, Oct. 29, Semifinals
Boys 1A #1 Bentworth > # 4 Beaver County Christian, 3-0
Boys 4A #3 Fox Chapel > #2 Peters Township, 1-0
Thursday, Oct. 31, WPIAL Championships at Highmark Stadium
Boys 1A #1 Bentworth vs. #3 Our Lady/Sacred Heart, 8:00 pm
Friday, Nov. 1, WPIAL Championships at Highmark Stadium
Girls 4A #1 Peters Township vs. #2 Seneca Valley, 6:00 pm
WPIAL Girls Volleyball (click for brackets)
4A 3A 2A 1A
After losing the first and third sets, Canon-McMillan rallied to force a fifth & deciding set. The Big Macs fell behind early, battled back within 14-13, but a service error ended the rally as Canon-McMillan lost to North Catholic, 15-13, in the final, eliminating the Big Macs. North Catholic is playing its first season in 4A and reaches the WPIAL final for the seventh straight year.
Wednesday, Oct. 30, Semifinals
4A #3 North Catholic > #2 Canon-McMillan, 3-2 (25-17, 13-25, 25-18, 22-25, 15-13)
