April 25, 2024 4:33 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Reggie Bush has been reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner more than a decade after Southern California returned the award. Bush gave up the trophy in 2010 following an NCAA investigation that found he received what were impermissible benefits during his time with the Trojans. Heisman Trust President Michael Comerford said the trust considered the enormous changes in college athletics over the last several years that now make some forms of athlete compensation permissible. Bush amassed more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage and scored 18 touchdowns in 2005. He received the fifth most first-place votes in Heisman history.
April 24, 2024 4:34 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Andrew McCutchen led off the bottom of the first with a home run for the second straight game, Bailey Falter took a shutout into the eighth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1. McCutchen hit the first pitch of Tobias Myers’ major league career down the left-field line for his 24th career leadoff homer and his 100th long ball at PNC Park. McCutchen connected off Joe Ross on Monday night in the Pirates’ 4-2 win. McCutchen became the first Pirates player to hit a leadoff homer in back-to-back games since Adam Frazier in 2019.
April 24, 2024 4:36 am
Caitlin Clark appears to be on the cusp of setting another record. The most prolific scorer in NCAA Division I history and No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft is preparing to sign a second contract with Nike, this one paying $28 million over eight years and coming with a signature shoe. The Wall Street Journal and The Athletic reported the pending deal, citing unnamed people familiar with the negotiations between the sportswear giant and Clark’s agents. Excel Sports Management, which represents Clark, declined to comment. Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
April 23, 2024 4:34 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Oneil Cruz broke out of a slump with three hits, rookie Jared Jones allowed one run in six innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates ended their skid at six games, beating Milwaukee 4-2 to stop the Brewers’ four-game win streak. Cruz capped a three-run sixth with a two-out, two-run single. He also singled in the second and dropped a double into right-center in the fourth. The 6-foot-7 shortstop was 4 for 44 in his previous 12 games. Jones gave up four hits and two walks. The 22-year-old struck out seven and has 39 strikeouts through five starts.
April 23, 2024 4:37 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jakob Junis of the Milwaukee Brewers was taken away in an ambulance after being hit in the neck by a line drive during batting practice at Pittsburgh. The right-hander was standing in the outfield when he was struck by the hard-hit ball off the bat of Pirates infielder Alika Williams. Junis remained down for about 20 minutes while being treated by medical teams. He was alert while being loaded onto an ambulance and taken from PNC Park. The teams said in a joint statement that Junis was “conscious, alert and responsive” and was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
April 23, 2024 4:40 am
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Sebastian Aho and Jordan Martinook scored 9 seconds apart late in the third period to help the Carolina Hurricanes complete a comeback from three goals down to beat the New York Islanders 5-3. That gave Carolina a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series in improbable fashion. Aho struck first by redirecting Andrei Svechnikov’s shot at the right post behind Semyon Varlamov with 2:15 remaining to tie the game at 3. Then Martinook scored off Varlamov’s left skate for the 4-3 lead. Kyle Palmieri, Bo Horvat and Anders Lee scored as the Islanders led 3-0 early in the second period. Meanwhile in Boston, Auston Matthews scored on a breakaway to snap a third-period tie and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 to knot their first-round playoff series at one game apiece. Ilya Samsonov stopped 27 shots for Toronto. The Leafs had lost eight straight games to Boston over 534 days dating to November, 2022. Max Domi and John Tavares also scored for the Maple Leafs. They haven’t beaten the Bruins in a playoff series since 1959. Morgan Geekie and David Pastrnak scored for Boston. Linus Ullmark started as part of a goalie rotation even though Jeremy Swayman won Game 1 on Saturday. Ullmark made 30 saves.
April 22, 2024 12:02 am
WPIAL baseball schedules have two weeks remaining for the three largest classifications while the three smallest have three weeks left in the regular season. The top four teams in each section will qualify for the playoffs along with any unbreakable ties. The WPIAL Baseball Committee is scheduled to meet on May 10 to set the pairings for this year’s tournaments. Here’s a snapshot for each team in the Washington-Greene County area:
Baseball: 6A Canon-McMillan (4-5) is tied for third with Central Catholic, one of the two teams still on the Big Macs’ schedule. CM plays last-place Baldwin three times this week, then faces Central Catholic next week.
5A Trinity (3-3) is tied for third in Section 2 with four games against co-leaders Bethel Park (4-2) and South Fayette (4-2) still on the schedule. Peters Township (2-4) is a game back of the tie for the final playoff spot with a series remaining with Connellsville (3-3) and another with Upper St. Clair (2-4).
4A Ringgold (1-5) is two games back of a tie between Uniontown (3-3) and Albert Gallatin. The Rams still have games with AG and with last-place Laurel Highlands.
3A Waynesburg (6-0) remains atop Section 4, halfway through section play. The Raiders still have two-game sets with Mt. Pleasant (5-1), Southmoreland (2-6) and McGuffey (3-3). The Highlanders have dropped to fifth place, a game back of Greensburg Salem. McGuffey has a two-game series with winless Brownsville this week, then series with Yough (4-2) and Waynesburg to close section play.
2A Section 1: Chartiers-Houston (5-0) is in first place, a half-game up on Burgettstown (3-1). Charleroi (4-2) and Wash High (3-3) currently hold the last two playoff spots, a game up on Frazier, Beth-Center and Bentworth have two wins apiece. Two-game series this week include CHHS vs. Wash High, Burgettstown against Bentworth and Charleroi vs. Frazier. There are also a couple make-up games on Thursday: Burgettstown at Chartiers-Houston and Charleroi at Beth-Center.
1A Avella (6-1) and Fort Cherry (5-1) lead the way after splitting their two-game set last week. Carmichaels (4-2) and West Greene (4-2) are tied for third, a week ahead of their home-and-home series. Avella plays Carmichaels this week, then California next week. Fort Cherry finishes with West Greene then the bottom two teams in the league. California (2-5) is 2.5 games off the playoff pace with Jeff-Morgan (1-6) and Mapletown (0-5) barely still alive heading into their series this week.
April 22, 2024 12:01 am
Bentworth, Chartiers-Houston and Trinity lead their respective softball sections heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. The top six teams in Class 6A, along with the top four teams in every other section will qualify for the playoffs along with any unbreakable ties. The WPIAL Softball Committee is scheduled to meet on May 9 to set the pairings for this year’s tournaments. Here’s a snapshot for each team in the Washington-Greene County area:
Softball: 6A Canon-McMillan (3-3) has dropped three straight and fallen to 6th place with more than half of its schedule yet to play. The Big Macs have five games this week including a home-and-home set with Hempfield (7-1).
5A Trinity (4-2) won three of its four games this week, all against teams in playoff spots at the moment. Peters Township (1-4) has lost four in a row since beating Trinity April 8. The Indians are a game back of Bethel Park for the final playoff spot with five games left in the regular season.
4A Ringgold (2-5) swept Albert Gallatin last week and played its way into a tie for the final playoff berth. The Rams face unbeaten Uniontown then face a second meeting with Laurel Highlands (2-5) to end the week.
3A McGuffey (3-1) sits a game back of section leader South Park thanks to the Highlanders’ three-game win streak since losing to the Eagles. Waynesburg (3-2) is a half-game back of McGuffey. The Raiders won three of four last week, all against teams below them in the standings. McGuffey and Waynesburg haven’t seen each other yet but play twice in a week starting Tuesday at McGuffey Community Park in Claysville.
2A Bentworth (6-0) has not allowed a run in section play, while averaging 10+ runs a game. Sydney Gonglik has thrown three straight no-hitters including a 7-inning perfect game against Wash High last Wednesday. Charleroi (4-2) and Beth-Center (3-2) are tied for third, a half-game up on Burgettstown (3-3). Wash High (1-6) and Fort Cherry (0-8) trail the field.
1A Chartiers-Houston (5-0), West Greene (4-1) and Carmichaels (3-1) lead the way with Mapletown (4-2) and Jeff-Morgan (3-2) just a step behind. Avella (0-6) and California (0-7) are facing elimination. CHHS and Carmichaels met Tuesday, playing 13 innings before play was suspended to May 2. The teams met Friday with the Bucs winning at Carmichaels. Each team has four games scheduled this week except California (3), thanks in large part to the weather issue that have plagued area teams since opening day.
April 22, 2024 4:34 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Wilyer Abreu had three hits and drove in two runs and the Boston Red Sox beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 to complete a three-game sweep. Abreu’s RBI single off Martín Pérez (1-1) in the third gave the Red Sox the lead for good. Abreu added another RBI single in the sixth as Boston improved to 10-3 on the road. Reese McGuire added a pinch-hit two-run single for the Red Sox. Ke’Bryan Hayes had two of Pittsburgh’s seven hits. The Pirates have dropped six straight following a promising 11-5 start.
April 22, 2024 4:36 am
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Masters champion Scottie Scheffler is on the verge of another victory. He just has to wait one day because of the rain. Scheffler chipped in for eagle and was comfortably ahead in the RBC Heritage when storms arrived. Heavy rain stopped play for 2 1/2 hours. By the time play resumed, there was no way to finish. Scheffler was 20-under par and leading by five shots. Wyndham Clark finished with a 65 and posted 15 under. Patrick Cantlay and J.T. Poston also are at 15 under but didn’t finish the 18th hole. Scheffler has three holes left to play.
