New college baseball wristband rule may thwart sign stealing
By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer
A new rule intended to help speed up the game also could thwart attempts to steal signs in college baseball. The NCAA will allow a pitcher to wear a wristband with a signal card when the season opens Friday. That will allow him and the catcher to look into the dugout to get pitch calls and eliminate the need for the catcher to relay the call with hand signs. Sign stealing has come to the fore since the Houston Astros were found to have used electronics to steal signs in 2017 and 2018.

Daytona 500 up for grabs as no clear theme has emerged
By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Denny Hamlin will try to become the first driver in 25 years to win consecutive Daytona 500’s this weekend. But the race is full  unknowns. No clear favorite has emerge and events this week have featured different winnerst. Teams have yet to show if they will make manufacturer alliance.d President Donald Trump is scheduled to give the command to start engines at the start ofSunday’se race. The 62nd running of “The Great American Race” is up for grab to kick off NASCAR’s season.

Pirates pitcher Archer has a clear mind — and less hair
By JOHN PERROTTO Associated Press
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Chris Archer is 2 ½ pounds lighter than at the end of last season. The right-hander didn’t go on a winter diet, though. Instead, Archer cut off his trademark dreadlocks. Archer said it was time for a change. He feels the same way about his pitching. Archer was 3-9 with a 5.19 ERA in 23 starts last year. He was a two-time All-Star with the Tampa Bay Rays, yet has gone 6-12 with a 4.92 ERA in 33 starts since the Pirates acquired him in a trade in July 2018.

Logano, Byron win Daytona 500 qualifying races
By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Joey Logano and William Byron won the qualifying races that set the field for the Daytona 500. Logano’s victory in the first 150-mile race Thursday night earned him a spot in the second row for the season-opening Daytona 500. Byron will start on the second row.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Alex Bowman are on the front row, which is set in time trials. Five drivers were racing Thursday night for two slots in the Daytona 500, and they went to Reed Sorenson and Timmy Hill. Sorenson was aided in the first race when Daniel Suarez was crashed by Ryan Blaney.

Busch has done it all in NASCAR, except win the Daytona 500
By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer
Kyle Busch has had a victory lane party  at every NASCAR track from Darlington to Dover. He has even celebrated at Daytona, with a 2008 summer race victory on his resume. But he is 0 for 14 at the Daytona 5004. Winning the biggest race in NASCAR remains a goal for Busch. He already has two NASCAR Cup Series  championships and more than 200 NASCAR victories. But he would very much like to win Sunday’s race to add to his bucket list.

Some say it’s more maddening than March.

The 2020 WPIAL Basketball Playoffs begin this week, and 21 local teams–11 boys’ teams and 10 girls’–will find out where they land in the 12 different brackets decided upon by the WPIAL selection committee. Coverage of the pairings meeting begins at 7:00 tonight on Beaver County Radio.

The local teams that have qualified for the WPIAL Playoffs are listed below (in alphabetical order):

BOYS
Aliquippa
Ambridge
Beaver Falls
Blackhawk
Cornell
Lincoln Park
Our Lady of Sacred Heart
Quaker Valley
Sewickley Academy
South Side Beaver
West Allegheny

GIRLS
Beaver
Blackhawk
Central Valley
Freedom
Moon
Our Lady of Sacred Heart
Rochester
Sewickley Academy
South Side Beaver

Stay tuned to Beaver County Radio for future announcements on upcoming WPIAL playoff basketball broadcasts.