(File Photo of Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Midland, PA) Lincoln Park defeated Obama Academy 59-45 in its home opener for high school basketball in Midland on Sunday, which gave Lincoln Park head coach Mike Bariski his 300th win as a head coach. Through twelve years as the Lincoln Park head coach, Bariski’s record is now 300-67. Lincoln Park is 2-0 to start this 2025-2026 high school basketball season and their first section game of the season will be their next game on Wednesday, December 10th on the road to take on Moon Area.  

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025.  (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers hopes his bloodied nose isn’t broken. The reeling Pittsburgh Steelers feel the same way about their season.

The four-time MVP’s fractured left wrist turned out to be far from Pittsburgh’s biggest problem in a 26-7 loss to Buffalo on Sunday that dropped the Steelers back into a tie with Baltimore atop the AFC North.

The 41-year-old Rodgers took a big hit from Bills edge rusher Joey Bosa on the first play of the second half. Bosa drilled the future Hall of Famer into the Acrisure Stadium turf, the ball popped free and Christian Benford scooped it up for a momentum-swinging score.

Rodgers laid face down for several moments before jogging to the sideline. He sat out a series while getting patched up in the medical tent and returned with tape and splotches of blood on his nose.

It wasn’t pretty. Fitting for a group that has looked the part of a first-place team in name only for the better part of two months. The Steelers (6-6) have dropped five of seven, with three of the setbacks coming by 10 points or more at the hands of teams in the playoff mix.

“We’ve got to flush this one,” Rodgers said.

If they want to salvage a season that is threatening to spin out of control, they don’t have much of a choice.

Rodgers, playing exclusively out of the shotgun or pistol to protect his injured wrist, completed 10 of 21 passes for 117 yards, most of them in garbage time.

“We just didn’t have a lot of positive plays,” Rodgers said. “I felt good enough to be out there. … Disappointed in my performance. Disappointed in the offensive performance.”

Pittsburgh managed just 166 yards, its third-lowest total in coach Mike Tomlin’s 19 years. Yet the offense was just one of the Steelers’ many issues.

A defense that knew the Bills and reigning MVP Josh Allen would challenge it on the ground wilted repeatedly.

Buffalo rolled up 249 yards rushing, the most by a visitor at Acrisure Stadium since it opened in 2001. James Cook ran for 144 yards, and Allen mashed his way into the end zone for an 8-yard score early in the fourth quarter that put the game out of reach.

The Bills controlled the ball for nearly 42 minutes and snapped the ball 74 times, nearly double that of the Steelers (40).

“It was (a butt) kicking in all areas,” linebacker T.J. Watt said.

Perhaps just as concerning is the way the Steelers lost their composure. Cam Heyward, a seven-time Pro Bowler and fixture in the locker room for 15 years, was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct in the third quarter when he responded to what he described as Allen kneeing him in the stomach.

“Just jawing back and forth and ticked off the entire game because as a quarterback you’re getting protected, but I’m not,” Heyward said. “It just (ticks) me off.”

There’s plenty to get riled up about. While Pittsburgh still controls its playoff destiny, it also faces a closing five-game stretch that includes two meetings with the run-heavy Ravens and a visit to Detroit.

Tomlin believes his team can find the answers it needs over the next month. Yet the reality is the Steelers have been unable to consistently get stops all season when they can’t produce turnovers.

Pittsburgh had two takeaways in the first half to mask the fact that it was outgained by a more than 2-to-1 margin. Buffalo did a better job protecting the ball in the second half, and the Steelers yielded.

The fans grew so restless that they chanted “Fire Tomlin!” during the second half. While Tomlin didn’t acknowledge hearing it, the longest-tenured coach in major North American professional sports was not surprised.

“I share their frustration tonight,” Tomlin said. “We didn’t do enough.”

Tomlin said he’s “looking at everything” in terms of solutions, though Pittsburgh has been mostly healthy. What the Steelers haven’t been is consistent, and as December begins, it’s fair to wonder if consistency is ever coming.

“Players need to take accountability, myself included,” Rodgers said. “And I will.”

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (90) sacks Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, forcing a fumble that the Steelers Nick Herbig recovered in the end zone for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

(AP) The Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers face off with both trying to bolster their playoff positioning in the wide-open AFC. Buffalo is coming off a loss at Houston while the Steelers have dropped four of six to fall into a tie with Baltimore for first in the AFC North. Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen is 4-1 all time against the Steelers. Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers could play after sitting out last week with a broken left wrist.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – In this April 6, 2006, file photo, Fuzzy Zoeller encourages the crowd to be quiet on the second hole during first round play at the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

(AP) Fuzzy Zoeller, a two-time major champion and one of golf’s most gregarious characters whose career was tainted by a racially insensitive joke about Tiger Woods, has died, according to a longtime colleague. He was 74.

A cause of death was not immediately available. Brian Naugle, the tournament director of the Insperity Invitational in Houston, said Zoeller’s daughter called him Thursday with the news.

Zoeller was the last player to win the Masters on his first attempt, a three-man playoff in 1979. He famously waved a white towel at Winged Foot in 1984 when he thought Greg Norman had beat him, only to defeat Norman in an 18-hole playoff the next day.

But it was the 1997 Masters that changed his popularity.

Woods was on his way to a watershed moment in golf with the most dominant victory in Augusta National history. Zoeller had finished his round and had a drink in hand under the oak tree by the clubhouse when he was stopped by CNN and asked for his thoughts on the 21-year-old Woods on his way to the most dominant win ever at Augusta National.

“That little boy is driving well and he’s putting well. He’s doing everything it takes to win. So, you know what you guys do when he gets in here? You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not serve fried chicken next year. Got it?,” Zoeller said.

He smiled and snapped his fingers, and as he was walking away he turned and said, “Or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve.”

That moment haunted him the rest of his career.

Zoeller apologized. Woods was traveling and it took two weeks for him to comment as the controversy festered. Zoeller later said he received death threats for years after that moment.

Writing for Golf Digest in 2008, he said it was “the worst thing I’ve gone through in my entire life.”

“If people wanted me to feel the same hurt I projected on others, I’m here to tell you they got their way,” Zoeller wrote. “I’ve cried many times. I’ve apologized countless times for words said in jest that just aren’t a reflection of who I am. I have hundreds of friends, including people of color, who will attest to that.

“Still, I’ve come to terms with the fact that this incident will never, ever go away.”

It marred a career filled with two famous major titles, eight other PGA Tour titles and a Senior PGA Championship among his two PGA Tour Champions titles.

More than winning was how he went about it. Zoeller played fast and still had an easygoing nature to the way he approach the game, often whistling between shots.

He made his Masters debut in 1979 and got into a three-way playoff when Ed Sneed bogeyed the last three holes. Zoeller defeated Sneed and Tom Watson with a birdie on the second playoff hole, flinging his putter high in the air.

“I’ve never been to heaven, and thinking back on my life, I probably won’t get a chance to go,” Zoeller once said. “I guess winning the Masters is as close as I’m going to get.”

Zoeller was locked in a duel with Norman at Winged Foot in the 1984, playing in the group behind and watching Norman make putt after putt. So when he saw Norman make a 40-footer on the 18th, he assumed it was for birdie and began waving a white towel in a moment of sportsmanship.

Only later did he realize it was for par, and Zoeller made par to force a playoff. Zoeller beat him by eight shots in the 18-hole playoff (67-75). Zoeller’s lone regret was giving the towel to a kid after he finished in regulation.

“If you happen to see a grungy white towel hanging around, get it for me, will you?” he once said.

He was born Frank Urban Zoeller Jr. in New Albany, Indiana. Zoeller said his father was known only as “Fuzzy” and he was given the same name. He played at a junior college in Florida before joining the powerful Houston golf team before turning pro.

His wife, Diane, died in 2021. Zoeller has three children, including daughter Gretchen, with whom he used to play in the PNC Championship. Zoeller was awarded the Bob Jones Award by the USGA in 1985, the organization’s highest honor given for distinguished sportsmanship.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh linebacker Rasheem Biles (3) celebrates with linebacker Braylan Lovelace (0) after returning an interception for a touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Notre Dame in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Pitt’s college football team is now #22 in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings released yesterday. Pitt has an overall record of 8-3 after defeating Georgia Tech in Atlanta 42-28 on Saturday night, and they are 6-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Panthers have been a resurgent team since freshman quarterback Mason Heinstchel became the starting quarterback in their 48-7 victory over Boston College on October 4th, 2025. In their last seven games this college football season, Pitt is 6-1, with their only loss in that span to #9 Notre Dame, as the Fighting Irish took the win by a score of 37-15. Pitt started their season 2-2 in their first four games in 2025 with losses to West Virginia on the road and Louisville at home, and they benched redshirt sophomore quarterback Eli Holstein after the loss to Louisville. Pitt will take on #12 Miami at Acrisure Stadium this Saturday at noon.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

(AP) Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes will receive a record $3,436,343 from this year’s pre-arbitration bonus pool, raising his two-year total to $5,588,400 under the initiative to direct more money to top younger players.

A 23-year-old right-hander who debuted in May 2024, Skenes was a unanimous winner of this year’s NL Cy Young Award after leading the major leagues with a 1.97 ERA and striking out 216 batters in 187 1/3 innings. He had an $875,000 salary in the major leagues after earning $564,946 in pay last year. He won’t be eligible for salary arbitration until after the 2026 season.

Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. had the previous high of $3,077,595 for the 2024 season. MLB and the union agreed to the $50 million annual pool in their March 2022 labor settlement.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez was second this year at $2,678,437 after earning a $576,282 bonus for 2024.

He was followed by Houston Astros pitcher Hunter Brown at $2,206,538, Seattle pitcher Bryan Woo at $1,540,676 and Arizona outfielder Corbin Carroll at $1,341,674, according to figures compiled by Major League Baseball and the players’ association.

Also topping $1 million were Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz at $1,297,017, Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong at $1,206,207, Atlanta catcher Drake Baldwin at $1,175,583, Milwaukee second baseman Brice Turang at $1,155,884 and Tampa Bay third baseman Junior Caminero at $1,068,739.

Milwaukee became the first team with as many as 10 players earning the bonuses in one year. Detroit and Miami tied for the second-most this year with six each. Brewers players totaled the most money at $4,742,392, followed by Pittsburgh at $4,362,309 and the Athletics at $3,103,411.

Several of the players receiving bonus money have long-term contracts, a group that includes Carroll, Sánchez, Boston outfielders Roman Anthony and Ceddanne Rafaela and pitcher Brayan Bello, Milwaukee outfielder Jackson Chourio and pitcher Aaron Ashby, Cleveland pitcher Tanner Bibee, Detroit infielder Colt Keith and San Diego outfielder Jackson Merrill.

A total of 101 players will receive the payments under a plan aimed to get more money to players without sufficient service time for salary arbitration eligibility going into the season, which was 2 years, 132 days. Players signed as foreign professionals are not eligible.

Eighteen players earned bonuses based on awards. An eligible player receives $2.5 million for winning an MVP or Cy Young, $1.75 million for second in the voting, $1.5 million for third, $1 million for fourth, fifth or selection to the all-MLB first team, $750,000 for Rookie of the Year, $500,000 for second in Rookie of the Year voting or all-MLB second team.

All-MLB teams are voted by fans, media members, broadcasters, former players and officials.

A player is eligible to receive the bonus for one achievement per year, earning only the highest amount. The remaining money is allocated by a WAR formula.

Washington outfielder Daylen Lile received the smallest bonus of $150,000 — while he was not among the top 100 by WAR, he finished fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers stands on the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers and his broken left wrist could play on Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Buffalo Bills.

The 41-year-old Rodgers practiced in a limited capacity last week, but ended up watching Pittsburgh’s 31-28 loss to Chicago from the sideline in sweatpants after Steelers coach Mike Tomlin decided to make Rodgers inactive and start Mason Rudolph instead.

Tomlin called the decision to sit the four-time MVP a “prudent” one but declined to get into specifics. There seems to be a far greater chance of Rodgers returning when Pittsburgh (6-5) tries to snap out of a midseason funk against the Bills (7-4) in a game that could have serious playoff implications for both teams.

“We’re comfortable with the general trajectory (of Rodgers),” Tomlin said.

Tomlin made the final call to sit Rodgers against Chicago on Saturday. He isn’t sure if he will keep the window open a little longer this time around.

Whichever player is at quarterback will have a new face protecting his blindside. Left tackle Broderick Jones will sit out with a neck injury sustained late in the fourth quarter against Chicago when Bears defensive lineman Dominique Robinson jumped and appeared to grab Jones’ head.

Calvin Anderson filled in during the game and would be in line to make his first start with the Steelers, who have dropped four of six to drop into a tie with Baltimore atop the AFC North. Pittsburgh also has veteran Andrus Peat available.

Rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon, who has been effective as part of a rotation that includes fellow rookie Yahya Black, will also sit out with a knee injury. Tomlin said the injury is not related to the one that Harmon suffered at the end of training camp and caused him to miss Pittsburgh’s first two games.

Black could see an uptick in playing time. The Steelers also have Brodric Martin-Rhodes available.

Outside linebacker Alex Highsmith could also be back after missing two games with a pectoral injury. Highsmith also sat out two games earlier this season with an ankle injury.

Pittsburgh’s defense, whichever players are out there, will have to find a way to keep Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen in check in a game that could carry significant postseason implications. There are currently seven teams in the AFC at 7-4 or 6-5.

Allen has toyed with the Steelers through the years. He is 4-1 against Pittsburgh in his career, with the past three victories all by at least 11 points. He will face a defense that is uncharacteristically ranked near the bottom of the league in yards and points against, symbolic of the club’s wildly uneven season.

Asked why consistency has been an issue, the NFL’s longest-tenured head coach shrugged.

“You know, I think oftentimes your record reflects that,” he said. “You know if we were sitting here at 9-2, we’d probably be having less of the discussion at 6-5. I think 6-5 in general speaks to that.”