WBVP:
New Brighton- 13
Rochester 42
FINAL
In a game dominated early by Rochester they jumped out to an early 14-0 lead. then made it 30-6 by halftime. They never looked back. New Brighton adding a late score, not going away easily. The final of the game was 42-13 in favor of Rochester in the week 0 match up.
Images from tonight’s game:
Tonight’s game on WMBA was between freedom and Hopewell. Freedom started the game off with a touchdown on they’re first play of the game. they scored one more time in the first to bring the lead to 14 to 0. the only scoring in the second was a field goal by freedom bringing the first half score to 17 to 0. freedom then put up 13 more points in the third then Hopewell got a touchdown at the start of the fourth and missing theyre field goal. Freedom the answered with 13 more points bringing the final score to Freedom 39 Hopewell 6
1460 WMBA’s Bob Barrickman and Jason Colangelo have the call from Freedom High School of this WPIAL Class 2-A vs Class 4-A Non-Conference high school football game as the Bulldogs battle the Vikings. If you can’t listen to the game on the radio click the Trib-Live Log below at broadcast time to here the broadcast via the internet…..
1230 WBVP’s Tom Hays and Bruce Frey have the call from Rochester High School of this WPIAL Class 1-A vs Class 2-A Non-Conference high school football game as the Rams battle the Lions. Austin Bailey will be providing sideline reports throughout the game. Air-time is 7 o’clock and kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm. If you can’t listen on the air click the Trib-Live Logo below at the time of broadcast to listen to the game on line…….
Chris Boswell, who was voted to his first Pro Bowl last year, kicked four game-winning field goals in 2017 has been signed to a new five-year contract.
Boswell connected on 35 of 38 field goal attempts and 37 of 39 extra point attempts. His 35 field goals set a Steelers single-season record and the first time a Steelers kicker made at least 30 field goals since Shaun Suisham did so in 2013. Boswell also set a team single-season record for most points with 142 and has the sixth-most field goals in team history with 85.
In his career Boswell has connected on 85 of 95 field goal attempts, with the long being his 53-yarder last year, and hit 99 of 102 extra points.
No. 1 Alabama tops preseason Top 25; Clemson, Georgia next
By RALPH D. RUSSO, AP College Football Writer
Alabama will begin its quest for a second consecutive national championship with a rare three-peat.
The Crimson Tide is just the second team to be ranked No. 1 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll for three straight seasons. Alabama received 42 out of 61 first-place votes.
No. 2 Clemson received 18 first-place votes. Georgia is No. 3 and Wisconsin is fourth. The Badgers received one first-place vote. Ohio State was ranked No. 5.
The preseason AP poll started in 1950 and since then only Oklahoma from 1985-87 had started No. 1 in three straight years until now.
Ring up another milestone for coach Nick Saban’s Tide dynasty. Alabama has won five national championships since 2009 and now has been No. 1 to start the season five times under Saban. Last season was the first time Saban’s team started and finished the season No. 1.
The Tide enter this season with a question at quarterback, but there appears to be two good answers from which Saban has to choose: Tua Tagovailoa won the College Football Playoff championship game for Alabama with a second-half comeback and overtime touchdown pass. Jalen Hurts has led the Tide to the national title game in each of his two seasons as a starter.
Whoever is quarterback, Alabama’s offense should be potent with running back Damien Harris working behind a powerful line anchored by tackle Jonah Williams.
The Tide’s always tough defense will have all new starters in the secondary, but defensive end Raekwon Davis and linebackers Mack Wilson and Dylan Moses are primed to be Alabama’s next All-Americans.
The machine never stops in Tuscaloosa. One again, everybody is chasing Alabama.
NO. 1 AT BEING NO. 1
The AP poll began in 1936 and Alabama is approaching the top of a very storied list:
Ohio State — 105 weeks at No. 1
Alabama — 104
Oklahoma — 101
Notre Dame — 98
Southern California — 91
Florida State — 72
Nebraska — 70
PRESEASON FAVORITES
This is Alabama’s seventh time overall being a preseason No. 1, matching USC for fourth most.
Oklahoma — 10 preseason No. 1 rankings
Ohio State — 8
Alabama — 7
USC — 7
Florida State 6
Nebraska — 6
THE OTHER CHAMPS
Central Florida was the only team in the country to go undefeated last season and — you might have heard — the school decided to declare the Knights national champions because why not? This is college football and nobody is really in charge.
UCF is ranked in the Top 25 for the first time to the start the season, coming in 21st in the preseason poll. The Knights are the highest-ranked team not in a Power Five conference, one spot ahead of Boise State from the Mountain West. If that ranking after going unbeaten seems unusually low, it is but it is not unprecedented. In the CFP/BCS era (1998-present), 19 teams have had unbeaten seasons. Three of those teams — 1998 Tulane, 1999 Marshall, 2004 Utah — were unranked in the preseason poll the next season. Not surprisingly, all those teams played outside of what were then called BCS automatic qualifying conferences. Five other teams were ranked outside the top 10, including three from outside BCS-auto bid leagues. Boise State in 2007 was No. 24 in the preseason. Utah in 2009 started 19th. TCU began 2011 at No. 14.
The only so-called power conference team to go unbeaten in the BCS/CFP era and be ranked similarly low the next season was Auburn — twice. After going 13-0 in 2004, the Tigers started 2005 ranked 16th. After Cam Newton led Auburn to the 2010 national title, the Newton-less Tigers were ranked No. 23 to begin 2011.
BUCKEYE QUESTIONS
Urban Meyer’s uncertain status as Ohio State coach cost the Buckeyes some points in the AP poll, and probably at least one rankings spot.
The AP asked voters whether Meyer being on administrative leave as Ohio State investigates what he knew about domestic violence allegations against a former assistant coach influenced how they voted in the preseason poll. Thirteen voters responded saying the uncertainty caused them to move Ohio State down.
“It’s hard not to bump Ohio State down a tick,” said Andy Greder of the St. Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press. “It’s an undoubted distraction. I feel like going through fall camp without your head coach only adds to it. I gave Wisconsin a corresponding slight bump up.”
Ohio State had 1,256 points, 15 behind Wisconsin (1,271). No. 3 Georgia had 1,350 points.
The deadline for voters to submit preseason ballots was Aug. 13. The AP allowed voters to adjust their votes if any major news happened in college football from the deadline until Aug. 15 at noon ET.
NOTABLE
— No. 2 Clemson matched its best preseason ranking. The Tigers were No. 2 in 2016 and went on to win the national championship.
— No. 4 Wisconsin has its best preseason ranking since 2000, when it was also No. 4. The Badgers also had one first-place vote that year.
— No. 5 Ohio State is making it 30th straight appearance in the preseason rankings (1989-2018). Only Penn State (34) and Nebraska (33) have had longer streaks.
— No. 6 Washington has its best preseason ranking since 1997, when the Huskies were No. 4.
— No. 8 Miami has its best preseason ranking since being No. 6 to start the 2004 season.
— No. 18 Mississippi State has its best preseason ranking since 1981, when the Bulldogs were No. 14.
CONFERENCE CALL
Big Ten — 5 (all top 15)
SEC — 5 (3 top 10)
ACC — 4
Big 12 — 4
Pac-12 — 4
American — 1
Mountain West — 1
Independent — 1
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Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://www.podcastone.com/AP-Top-25-College-Football-Podcast
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More AP college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Cubs to face Pirates in 2019 Little League Classic
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — The Chicago Cubs will face the Pittsburgh Pirates in next year’s Little League Classic.
The game will be held at Bowman Field on Aug. 18, 2019. The Cubs and Pirates will attend Little League World Series games earlier in the day.
The matchup was announced Sunday night during the Mets-Phillies game in Williamsport. It will once again be part of ESPN’s Sunday night schedule.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says the Little League Classic “has been a fun summer highlight for baseball the past two years.”
Bowman Field, home of the Phillies’ team in the Class A New York-Penn League, is about five miles from the site of the Little League World Series. It’s the second-oldest minor league ballpark in the U.S.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Frazier homers as Pirates top Cubs 2-1 in 11 innings
By WES CROSBY, Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh’s pitchers delivered once again, and Adam Frazier rewarded them with one big swing.
Frazier hit a game-ending homer in the 11th inning, and the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 on Sunday for a split of their four-game series.
Josh Harrison grounded out and Adeiny Hechavarria struck out before Frazier drove a 3-0 pitch from Brandon Kintzler (1-3) deep to right. It was Frazier’s fifth homer of the season.
“It’s probably the most excited I’ve ever been going around the bases,” Frazier said. “It was pretty cool.”
The Cubs had a prime scoring chance against Richard Rodriguez (3-2) in the top half of the inning, but came up empty. Addison Russell was picked off third by catcher Elias Diaz, and Albert Almora Jr. struck out looking with the bases loaded with two out.
“We tried that play because the situation dictated it,” Diaz said about the pickoff. “(Wilson Contreras) showed bunt and (Russell) was waiting for the bunt and was halfway (down the third-base line). So, that’s why we called the play, and we executed. It felt great. It saved a run. It was beautiful.”
NL Central-leading Chicago managed just one run in each game of the series, but took the first two behind strong pitching performances by Jon Lester and Cole Hamels. It was the fewest runs allowed by Pittsburgh in a four-game series since it also allowed four against St. Louis from July 30-Aug. 2, 1992.
“We have to get our offense straightened out,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “I can’t make any excuses for it. There are none. We just have to get better. But we did pitch. We played great defense. We did a lot of really good things. We just didn’t hit the baseball.”
The Cubs lost two straight for the first time since July 27-28.
Chicago jumped in front on Kyle Schwarber’s 22nd homer off Jameson Taillon in the second. Schwarber belted a ball just foul past the pole in left field before driving the next pitch into the last row beyond right field.
Schwarber also connected during Friday night’s 1-0 victory.
“That was a different series, that’s for sure,” Schwarber said. “The pitching was on all four games. You tip your hat to their side, to what they were able to do the last two days. All four days. What did we score? Four runs in four days, and won two games. Tip the hat to their team, and you obviously tip the hat to our pitchers too.”
Gregory Polanco hit a tying RBI double for Pittsburgh in the sixth. Carl Edwards Jr. then replaced Jose Quintana with runners on second and third and no outs, and wiggled out of the jam.
Quintana allowed four hits, struck out four and walked two. The veteran left-hander was just 1-3 with a 7.52 ERA in his previous four starts.
Pittsburgh had a chance to win it in the ninth after Pedro Strop walked Hechavarria and hit Frazier to load the bases. But Maddon employed a five-man infield and Corey Dickerson grounded into a 4-9-3 double play, ending the inning.
Taillon struck out eight in six innings. He allowed five hits and walked three.
“Jameson had to roll up his sleeves,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “The numbers are good. The results are really good, but there was work to be done today by him.”
DARVISH’S DAY
Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish lasted just one inning in his rehab start with Class A South Bend, casting doubt on his availability for the rest of the year. Darvish, who has been sidelined by triceps and elbow injuries, said he would ask for an MRI when he got back to Chicago.
He wasn’t sure if would miss the rest of the year.
“I can’t really tell right now,” Darvish said. “It depends how I feel tomorrow. I really want to come back this season. I am going to work hard and do my best to try and come back.”
Maddon didn’t provide any additional information following the loss.
UP NEXT
Cubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks (9-9, 4.11 ERA) gets the ball at Detroit on Tuesday. He is 3-0 with a 4.38 ERA in his last four starts.
Pirates: RHP Chris Archer (4-5, 4.49 ERA) faces visiting Atlanta on Monday. Archer is 1-0 with a 5.65 ERA in three starts since he was acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay.
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
Forsythe has 3 RBIs in Twins’ 6-4 win over Pirates
By MIKE COOK, Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Logan Forsythe may be best known by Minnesota fans as the player who replaced fan favorite Brian Dozier.
The lone major leaguer of the three players the Dodgers sent to the Upper Midwest on July 31 for the second baseman, Forsythe has filled in capably.
Forsythe had three RBIs, the Minnesota bullpen tossed 5 1/3 shutout innings and the Twins beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4 Wednesday.
In 13 games with Minnesota, Forsythe is hitting .386 with six multi-hit games. He had eight in 70 games this season with the Dodgers.
“It’s about consistency and these guys throwing me out there every day and letting me play my game is luckily paying off getting some hits and playing some good ball,” he said.
Oliver Drake, Gabriel Moya (3-0), Tyler Duffey and Taylor Rogers allowed five hits and struck out three before Trevor Hildenberger picked up his third save in four chances.
Minnesota is 16-4 in its past 20 home games.
Josh Harrison had three hits for the Pirates, who were 2 for 15 with runners in scoring position. Pittsburgh has dropped three straight.
Forsythe’s two-run single off reliever Edgar Santana (2-2) highlighted a three-run sixth as the Twins took a 5-4 lead.
“He just has a calmness about situational hitting. He knows how to execute, he knows how to put the ball in play for a chance to get guys in from third, hits the ball up the middle really well,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said.
Pirates starter Chris Archer retired 10 straight batters before giving up back-to-back singles, including an RBI by Jorge Polanco, to start the sixth, ending his day.
Acquired from Tampa Bay on July 31, Archer allowed four earned runs and six hits in five innings. In his first three starts with the Pirates, Archer has allowed nine earned runs in 14 1/3 innings.
“They had some productive at-bats,” he said. “They fouled some, they had some good takes. But I got to be better than that. I am better than that. And I will be better than that.”
Minnesota starter Jose Berrios allowed four runs — three earned — as he labored through 3 2/3 innings, his shortest start since April 29.
After a 1-2-3 first, Pittsburgh had at least two runners on in three straight innings, with a two-run single by Gregory Polanco putting the Pirates up 4-2 in the fourth. Elias Diaz homered to start the inning.
Berrios has allowed nine earned runs in 12 2/3 innings in three August starts.
NIGHT AND DAY
Berrios is 8-2 with a 2.79 ERA in 13 nights starts this season, but 3-6 with a 4.91 ERA in 12 day starts. Both his complete games have been during the day.
ROUGH DAY
Pittsburgh C Francisco Cervelli was hit by a pitch for a team-high 11th time in the second inning. One inning later, he fouled a ball off his foot — and took a minute to walk it off — before striking out on a called third strike at the knees. He briefly jumped up and down and said a few words to umpire Doug Eddings.
In the fifth, Cervelli tagged Joe Mauer on what he thought was a third strike and took a couple of steps to the dugout. However, Eddings called it a ball, leading to another discussion.
WEST IS SECOND BEST
Umpire Joe West worked his 5,164th career game, passing Bruce Froemming for second all time. Bill Klem worked 5,375.
“We got Dom Perignon for him. The base he worked. It’ll never happen again, ever. … It’s history. No one is close enough to ever get there again,” Eddings said.
TRAINERS ROOM
Pirates: CF Starling Marte missed the game with an illness. … SS Jordy Mercer, who left Tuesday’s came with left calf discomfort, did not play.
Twins: OF Robbie Grossman, on the disabled list since Aug. 6 with a right hamstring strain, will go to Triple-A Rochester on a rehab assignment. The plan is for him to DH Thursday, then play a couple of games in the outfield before being evaluated.
UP NEXT
Pirates: Face division-leading Chicago at PNC Park Thursday to begin a four-game series with RHP Ivan Nova (7-6, 4.42 ERA) scheduled to start the opener.
Twins: RHP Ervin Santana (0-1, 6.53) takes to the hill Thursday when Minnesota opens a four-game home series against Detroit.
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Polanco, Sano fuel Twins in 5-2 win over Pirates
By DAVE CAMPBELL, AP Sports Writer
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Miguel Sano has embodied this season of disappointment for the Minnesota Twins, with his approach, health and performance all needing a reset.
Maybe all he needed was a haircut.
Jorge Polanco had two hits, scored twice and drove in two runs and Sano followed with a two-run homer, leading the Twins to a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.
After sporting the dreadlocks look and letting his mane grow for three years, Sano had his head neatly shorn before the game.
“It’s a little bit of a struggle here for us, and I try to do something positive,” said Sano, who has nine home runs in 200 at-bats and is hitting .220 with 85 strikeouts this season. “But you know, we just hang in. Hair or no hair, we try to hit the ball and make a play.”
With his no-doubt, opposite-field drive off Richard Rodriguez in the eighth , Sano homered at Target Field for the first time since May 31. He missed 24 games with a strained left hamstring and was later sent to the minor leagues for more conditioning. Slowly upon his return, Sano has begun to look more like the slugger the Twins have been hoping to build their future around.
“I think he’s been real close to clicking on some balls,” manage Paul Molitor said. “My observation is that the swings and misses are a lot less frequent, his chases out of the zone are a lot more rare.”
Jake Odorizzi (5-7) won for the first time in six starts, striking out nine in 5 2/3 innings. Trevor Hildenberger, the fourth reliever of the game for the Twins, pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save since the trade of closer Fernando Rodney.
Polanco hit a two-run single in the fourth inning before Jake Cave’s RBI single put the Twins in front. The Twins, who began the day 12½ games behind AL Central-leading Cleveland, are 15-4 in their last 19 home games. That’s too little too late for a team that expected Sano and Polanco to help lead the charge. Polanco served an 80-game suspension for using a performance-enhancing substance.
“They’re key parts of this team, obviously this year but for years to come,” Odorizzi said. “You can build a team around a good left side of the infield, and we have two really good ones. You saw Sano’s power: It’s pretty unmatched. His arm at third is pretty unmatched as well.”
The Pirates, who started this series with a five-game deficit in the NL wild-card race with three teams between them and the second spot, lost for only the fourth time in 16 games against AL teams this year.
Pirates starter Jameson Taillon (9-9) finished six innings and allowed three earned runs, the 14th straight time he’s taken the mound and surrendered no more than that. Taillon has logged six innings in 10 of those starts, and he’s 4-2 with a 2.70 ERA in his last six turns.
David Freese, who three hits, singled and scored on Francisco Cervelli’s double as the Pirates went up 2-0 in the second. But Tyler Duffey struck out Cervelli with two on to end the sixth and Matt Magill retired Cervelli on a popup with the bases loaded in the eighth, both times with the Twins clinging to a 3-2 lead.
JOE WEST, NOT A YOUNG MAN
Home plate umpire Joe West worked his 5,163rd game, tying Bruce Froemming for the second-most of all time. Bill Klem is first with 5,375. West, whose 40-year career is the longest in major league history, did not go unnoticed, either. He called strike three in Pirates second baseman Josh Harrison’s first two at-bats, and Harrison argued the same pitches he was rung up went against the Pirates on defense.
“We all want a fair shake, man. That’s all it’s about, is being consistent,” Harrison said. “We know you’re not perfect, but at the end of the day, we work too hard for people to shut us down on pitches that we know are balls.”
Said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle: “Joe’s been around a long time. I know one thing, agitating him doesn’t work very well either. You just try and work with him.”
BUXTON’S BACK, SORT OF
Twins CF Byron Buxton returned to action with Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday, going 3 for 5 with four RBIs, including a three-run homer. He recently aggravated a left wrist injury, the latest in a series of setbacks this season. Buxton has played in only 28 games for Minnesota and 23 games for Rochester in 2018.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: SS Jordy Mercer left the game in the middle of the fifth inning with discomfort in his left calf and was replaced by Adeiny Hechavarria.
Twins: OF Robbie Grossman, who’s missed eight games with a strained right hamstring, could be reinstated from the DL on Thursday.
UP NEXT
Pirates: Recently acquired RHP Chris Archer (4-5, 4.36 ERA) pitches on Wednesday afternoon.
Twins: All-Star RHP Jose Berrios (11-8, 3.66 ERA) takes the mound in the matinee finale of the two-game series.
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For more AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
