Good morning, Pittsburgh. Here's your day in sports for Thursday, September 10, 2015. What's on tap for today: The Pirates (83-55) are back at PNC Park after a 4-5 road trip to Milwaukee, St. Louis and Cincinnati. A.J. Burnett (above) will make his return to the starting rotation after missing six weeks with a forearm injury. The Bucs are hosting the Brewers for four games this weekend. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ROOT Sports Pittsburgh The Steelers will kick off the 2015 National ... Read More
W&J’s Lis and Torrance earn PAC Weekly honors
Week 1 of the 2015 college football season is in the books and local Division III teams like W&J and Waynesburg got off to very strong starts to the season with Week 1 victories. A pair of W&J players earned President's Athletic Conference honors in the process as they took apart Wooster 56-10. Junior linebacker Ryan Torrance, a Latrobe native, was named the PAC Defensive Player of the Week. Torrance turned in a dominant Week 1 performance with 11 solo tackles, while playing just ... Read More
AM Joe: A win is a win is a win
Good morning, Pittsburgh. Here's your day in sports for Sunday, September 6, 2015. What's on tap for today: It's Fan Appreciation Night at Consol Energy Park as the Wild Things (41-54) wrap up their 2015 season against the Windy City Thunderbolts (41-54) at 2:35 p.m. 93.5 WJPA-FM The Pirates (80-54) and the Cardinals (87-48) will play the rubber match of their three-game series at Busch Stadium. Pirates ace Gerrit Cole hopes to bounce back after a sub-par performance last outing. ... Read More
PSAC West teams have successful opening weekend
PSAC West teams opened up action this past week in impressive fashion. In seven games featuring PSAC West teams, the PSAC West team won five of them. IUP had a bye week to open the season. Clarion 40, Lock Haven 3 The Golden Eagles won the first game under new head coach Chris Weibel 40-3 over Lock Haven on Thursday. QB Connor Simmons led the offensive attack with 407 yards passing, fifth most in a game in school history. Clarion built a 17-0 lead before Lock Haven got on the board. ... Read More
AM Joe: Friday night lights return to Western Pa.
Good morning, Pittsburgh. Here's your day in sports for Friday, September 4, 2015. What's on tap for today: It's Fireworks Friday in Washington, Pa. as the Wild Things (40-53) are back at home following a 4-0, 11-inning win last night. First pitch against the Windy City Thunderbolts is at 7:05 p.m. 95.3 WJPA-FM The Pirates (79-53) will need to turn things around quickly if they want to catch the St. Louis Cardinals (86-47) in the National League Central. The Bucs have an opportunity ... Read More
Cal football program continues to put players in NFL
When playing football at a high level, the goal is to advance to the next level of competition. For Division I athletes, the next step tends to lead toward the NFL. But for Division II athletes, chances of getting looked at by an NFL squad are rare. Somehow, though, Cal (Pa.) has found a way to put players into the NFL. Heading into the regular season, the Vulcans have three former players currently on NFL rosters — Rontez Miles (S, N.Y. Jets), Tommie Campbell (DB, Jacksonville) and Dewey ... Read More
PSAC West teams ready for 2015 football season
College football is upon us and members of the PSAC West are ready to get things kicked off this week. The shape of this season for PSAC West teams begins up front with two elite squads in Gannon and Slippery Rock. The two programs shared a portion of the PSAC West title a year ago, but Gannon comes into the 2015 season as the favorite to win the league. Gannon is led by senior running back Brock Jones. Jones, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound back from Ohio, ran for 162.8 yards per game last year ... Read More
Gannon No. 1 in PSAC West preseason poll
The Gannon Golden Knights have been picked as the preseason favorites to win the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s Western Division. The 2015 PSAC preseason football poll, which surveys the league’s head coaches, chose Gannon (9-2) to repeat as champions after sharing the title with Slippery Rock in 2014. Senior running back Brock Jones will return to lead the Golden Knights powerful rushing attack. Gannon led the PSAC West with 239.6 rushing yards per game last season. Slippery ... Read More
W&J picked to finish atop PAC again
Coming off another successful season in 2014. The Washington and Jefferson Presidents find themselves in a familiar position heading into 2015. That would be as the favorites in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. W&J is the overwhelming favorite to repeat as conference champions, finishing atop the 2015 PAC Preseason Football Poll. It is the eighth time since 2000 that the Presidents have been tabbed the conference’s preseason favorite. W&J collected 28 first-place votes, while ... Read More
Clarion’s Julian Howsare motivated to make New York Jets roster
Julian Howsare has always made the most of every situation he's been put into. Make it out of Altoona and into a college football program. Check. Become an All-American. Check. Sign an NFL contract. Check. The last check mark for Howsare came just minutes after May's NFL Draft had ended. For Division II football players like Howsare, who played his college ball at Clarion in the PSAC West, being drafted sometimes isn't the outcome but rather signing as an undrafted free agent. Those who sign ... Read More