(Credit for Photo: Courtesy of Visit Pittsburgh)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Tickets are on sale now for The Football Town, a film which explores the storied football tradition of the region as part of the celebration of Western Pennsylvania’s rich football history leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh and they can be purchased on the Kamin Science Center website by clicking here. NFL Films, in partnership with VisitPITTSBURGH, the Pittsburgh Steelers and U. S. Steel will present this film, which premieres on Saturday, February 28th at Kamin Science Center’s Rangos Giant Cinema, right next door to Acrisure Stadium, and it will run exclusively for two months leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh taking place on April 23rd-25th. The first-ever immersive format documentary produced by NFL Films, The Football Town, is an approximately 50-minute film that focuses on the unique history of football in Western Pennsylvania, which is a region defined by grit, steel, hard work, three rivers, the Appalachian hills and its community. Pittsburgh area native Pat McAfee will narrate the film and it will feature appearances by Steelers legends Jerome Bettis, Bill Cowher, James Harrison, Joey Porter Sr. and others. The Football Town is presented by U. S. Steel to celebrate its 125th anniversary and its deep roots in Pittsburgh.

(File Photo of the WPIAL Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) The high school wrestling postseason transitions to the individual playoffs and tomorrow, local wrestlers will be competing in the WPIAL section tournaments at 9:30 a.m. with many aiming to defend their section titles, while others are also looking to punch their ticket to the WPIAL individual championships. Blackhawk, Moon Area and West Allegheny will be competing in the southern sectional tournament at South Fayette in Class 3A. Ambridge, Beaver Area, Beaver County Christian School, Central Valley, Ellwood City, Freedom Area and Quaker Valley will wrestle at the northern sectional tournament at Keystone Oaks, while Hopewell and South Side will compete at Burgettstown in the southern sectional tournament. A preview can also be found by clicking here.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Former Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Elroy Face acknowledges the crowd during a ceremony for players that are part of the team’s Hall of Fame class before a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh, Aug. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Freed, File)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Elroy Face, an All-Star reliever for the Pittsburgh Pirates who saved three games in the 1960 World Series to help them upset the New York Yankees, has died. He was 97.

In a news release Thursday, the Pirates announced they confirmed Face’s death. Team historian Jim Trdinich said the club was contacted by Face’s son, Elroy Jr., and informed the former pitcher died earlier in the day at an independent senior living facility outside Pittsburgh in North Versailles, Pennsylvania.

No cause of death was provided. Face was eight days shy of his 98th birthday.

“It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we mourn the passing of Pirates Hall of Famer Elroy Face, a beloved member of the Pirates family,” team chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement.

“Elroy was a pioneer of the modern relief pitcher — the ‘Baron of the Bullpen’ — and he played a critical role in our 1960 World Series championship.”

Selected to six All-Star teams, Face went 104-95 with a 3.48 ERA in 16 major league seasons with Pittsburgh (1953-68), Detroit (1968) and Montreal (1969). He pitched in 848 games, starting only 27, and compiled 191 career saves — although saves didn’t become an official statistic until 1969.

The 5-foot-8 right-hander holds the National League record for wins in relief with 96 and the major league mark for relief wins in one season after going 18-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 1959.

He topped the National League with 68 appearances and 61 games finished in 1960, when the underdog Pirates stunned Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and the mighty Yankees on Bill Mazeroski’s famous home run that won Game 7 of the World Series at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

Face made four relief appearances in the Series, posting a 5.23 ERA in 10 1/3 innings. He closed out Pirates wins in Games 1, 4 and 5.

Inducted into the Pirates Hall of Fame in 2023, he is the club’s career leader in appearances with 802. And the team noted that if saves had been an official stat before 1969, he also would hold that franchise record with 188.

Face was born in Stephentown, New York, on Feb. 20, 1928. He is survived by his three children, Michelle, Valerie and Elroy Jr., and his sister Jacqueline, the Pirates said.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: HERSHEY, PA – DECEMBER 21: Roman Siulepa #13 of the Pittsburgh Panthers takes a foul shot in the second half during the college basketball game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Giant Center on December 21, 2025 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Mitchell Layton / Getty Images)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Pitt’s men’s basketball team has struggled this season, but one bright spot on the team is freshman Roman Siulepa, who was born and raised in Australia. Siulepa is averaging 10 points and five rebounds per game. Siulepa was swayed away from another sport that is popular in the country “down under,” which was rugby, because Siulepa was a well–known rugby player when he was in high school in Australia. Lamar Patterson, a teammate on his semi-professional team in Australia that once played for Pitt, convinced Siulepa to come to Pitt. Pitt faces North Carolina in Chapel Hill tomorrow, and Siulepa is coming off a great game against another blue blood of college basketball after Pitt lost to Duke on Tuesday in Pittsburgh, as he had a team-high nineteen points, three assists, four rebounds, a block and a steal.

(File Photo of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) reported today in Harrisburg that preliminary figures show $59,275,463 was wagered in Pennsylvania on this past weekend’s Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots through retail and online sportsbooks, which was a 41.6% decrease over wagers placed in Pennsylvania for the Super Bowl that was achieved last year when the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs faced off.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Ben Roethlisberger (from left), Joey Porter and Maurkice Pouncey talk during a photo op for the Steelers’ Hall of Honor prior to the game against Miami on Dec. 15, 2025, at Acrisure Stadium. (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette))

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker and assistant coach Joey Porter Sr. expressed that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was not a good teammate or person on the podcast of Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, “Not Just Football,” when it was recorded last week. Porter also stated during that podcast that Roethlisberger and linebacker James Harrison “broke the brotherhood” by discussing team business and criticizing former head coach Mike Tomlin on their own podcasts. Porter and Roethlisberger won Super Bowl XL together on February 5th, 2006 and were teammates for three seasons. Porter was a teammate of Harrison for four seasons. 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Detroit Tigers pitcher Jose Urquidy throws against the Cleveland Guardians during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Sept. 17, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — José Urquidy and the Pittsburgh Pirates finalized their $1.5 million, one-year contract on Wednesday.

The sides agreed to terms last week, subject to a successful physical.

A 30-year-old right-hander, Urquidy adds depth to a Pirates pitching staff headed by NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes and gives the team roster flexibility because he can be optioned to the minor leagues.

Urquidy had Tommy John surgery on June 5, 2024, while with Houston. He signed a $1 million, one-year deal with Detroit last March and returned to the majors on Sept. 14. He made two big league relief appearances and had a 7.71 ERA over 2 1/3 innings.

A six-year major league veteran, Urquidy is 27-16 with a 4.00 ERA in 70 starts and 11 relief appearances for the Astros (2019-23) and Tigers. He was on the injured list with a forearm strain in 2024 before having surgery.

Urquidy has a 4.08 ERA in 15 postseason appearances, including eight starts.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Pittsburgh Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen watches his RBI double during the first inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 22, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed, File)

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Tuesday the team “will never shut the door” on potentially finding a role for Andrew McCutchen, a longtime cornerstone of the franchise.

The Pirates on Monday reached an agreement with veteran slugger Marcell Ozuna on a one-year contract worth $12 million, subject to Ozuna passing a physical. The deal would make it more unlikely McCutchen, who is unsigned, would be needed on the Pirates’ roster. Ozuna would assume the designated hitter role, which was McCutchen’s primary spot in 2025.

The 39-year-old McCutchen is a five-time All-Star and the 2013 NL MVP. He has played 12 of his 17 seasons in the majors with the Pirates.

Cherington said he believes McCutchen “will always be a Pirate.”

“I think most people feel that way. I certainly speak for the organization and that’s how we feel,” Cherington said.

Even though it appears more unlikely there will be a spot for McCutchen on the roster following the agreement with Ozuna, Cherington said “forever is a long time” and he would not rule out an agreement with McCutchen, who hit .239 with 13 homers last season.

“I think this is a moment in time,” Cherington said. “And I think there’s a long time ahead of us. … I don’t think you ever — the Pirates will never shut the door, completely shut the door, on Andrew McCutchen. That’s just how we feel about him. That’s not going to happen.”

Even so, Cherington said the start of spring training in Florida means the Pirates are “focused on the players that are here, focused on how do we get ready for the 2026 season? … You know longer term, you know we don’t need to make any declaration about the longer term. Just focus on today right now.”

Pirates manager Don Kelly said McCutchen “is always going to be a Pirate in everyone’s heart” and said, as a former teammate, “you respect him and everything that he means to the team and the city.”

Cherington said he hopes to protect the team’s relationship with McCutchen.

“No matter what, Andrew’s a Pirate and certainly our desire will be to continue to have a really strong relationship with him into the future, whatever that looks like.”

Cherington said his priority has been to make personnel decisions that put the team “in the best position to win more games in 2026.”

“I feel confident that every decision we’ve made has been about what we believe is best for the team,” he said. “Sometimes when you are making those decisions, they’re going to be hard. You know, some of those decisions are hard. And I think that, again, that’s the nature of these things. Tremendous respect for Andrew. And certainly our desire would be to have a strong relationship with him going forward.”

(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of Acrisure Stadium)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) According to a release from Acrisure Stadium, Monster Jam®, the hit monster truck stunt spectacular, will return to Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on June 20th, 2026 at 5 p.m. The general public can buy tickets starting on Tuesday, February 17th on Ticketmaster.com. 12,000-pound trucks that are handled by the world’s best drivers will compete for the Event Championship in the Freestyle, Racing, and Skills Events. The Pit Party, which has both family-friendly activities like taking pictures with the trucks and Monster Jam ® drivers signing autographs will also be prior to the event on Saturday, June 20th from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Pitt Head Coach Tory Verdi speaks during a ACC women’s NCAA college basketball media day, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, ,File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Six former players on the women’s basketball team at the University of Pittsburgh have sued coach Tory Verdi and the school over what they call abusive coaching methods and say their efforts to seek help were ignored. Verdi, according to the lawsuit filed Friday, also tried to force players into the transfer portal, putting their scholarships at risk and threatening their academic and athletic futures. Pitt denied the allegations in a brief statement issued yesterday on behalf of both Verdi and the school. The statement said: “The university is aware of these lawsuits and their allegations, which are without merit and will be vigorously defended.” The former players that sued both Verdi and Pitt include Favor Ayodele of Spain, who is now at Grand Canyon University, Raeven Boswell, who left the team but stayed at Pitt to finish her degree, Isabella Perkins, who is now a student at Boston College, Jasmine Timmerson, who is now playing for Davidson College, and MaKayla Elmore and Brooklynn Miles, who had transferred to Pitt for their senior years of college.  The women seek an acknowledgment that the school violated their civil rights under Title IX, which prohibits gender-based discrimination in education, along with the restoration of their school records and reputations, and compensatory and punitive damages. Verdi has struggled over three seasons at Pitt after notching a winning record in seven seasons at the University of Massachusetts.