The Steelers open their home season  Sunday afternoon against the Cincinnati Bengals. For the most part the Steelers are healthy. LB Ryan Shazier left Monday nights game against Washington. He hurt his right knee  in the fourth quarter.  He did not practice Wednesday.  He did practice yesterday.  He told reporters  yesterday he expects to play Sunday.   Steelers-Bengals Sunday with pregame at 11am on WBVP-WMBA.   Kickoff is at one.

After splitting a series with the Phillies, the Pirates are in Cincinnati tonight to begin a four game series in three days  against the Reds. Tonight’s starters are   Ryan Vogelsong for the Pirates and Robert Stephenson for the Reds.  Because of high school football, the next broadcast will be Saturday.  The second game of the day and night double header starts at 6:10pm.

There is full schedule of College Football on Saturday.  Pitt travels to Stillwater Oklahoma to play Oklahoma State.  Kickoff is 3:30. Penn State hosts Temple  at Beaver Stadium  at noon.  Dayton visits  Rooney Field to play Duquesne with a noon kickoff.  Robert Morris visits Youngstown State for a 4-pm kickoff. Geneva will be on the road Saturday.  They will play at St Vincent College. WBVP-WMBA airtime is 12:30. Kickoff is at one.

The 2016 season is not over but,  the Pirates already no where and when  they will play in 2017.  They open the season on April 3rd at Fenway Park against the Red Soxs. The home opener will be April 7th against the Atlanta Braves. Their inter league  teams will be the American League East plus four games against the Detroit Tigers.  The New York Yankees will make their second trip to Pittsburgh since the inception of inter league play in 1997. They will be at PNC April 21-23.

The 2016 season for the Pirates has been full of injuries. Out since September 5th with back spasms, Starling Marte could return to the line-up on Friday against the  Reds.  RH pitcher A.J. Schugel, right shoulder soreness, is close to returning to action. RH Nefalti Feliz, right arm soreness, is also close to returning to the team.  On Tuesday, the Pirates placed pitcher Gerrit Cole and catcher Chris Stewart on the 60-day disabled list.  The Pirates try to earn a split with the Philadelphia Phillies tonight. The Pirates will start rookie Chad Kuhl (3-3).  The Phillies counter with their rookie Jared Eickhoff (10-13). Airtime on WBVP-WMBA is 6:40

The Pittsburgh Steelers begin their 2016 season tonight in Washington against the Redskins. The Steelers will be without some of their weapons,  L’evion Bell begins his three game  suspension for violating the  leagues drug policy. WR  Marcus Weaton will miss tonight’s game with a shoulder injury.  The Steelers are 2-0  on Monday night against the Redskins.  The Steelers are 10-2 on Monday under Mike Tomlin. Two touchdown passes by Ben Roethlisberger  will push him pass Joe Montana for 13th  on the NFL’s all-time list.  On the Redskins siide,  Quarterback Kirk Cousins has thrown 232-consecutive passes at home without an interception.  Airtime for tonight’s game is 5:10 on the WBVP-WMBA.

It is early but, some local teams appear in the PG WPIAL Rankings. In 5-A West Allegheny (2-0) is ranked fourth. In 4-A, New Castle ranks third. In 3-A, Beaver County teams dominate with the top four spots. In order Beaver (2-0), Aliquippa (2-1), Central Valley (2-1), and Beaver Falls  are the top ranked teams. It has been awhile but, Rochester makes the list in 1A at number three. In the PIAA rankings, Beaver, Aliquippa,  and  Central Valley are ranked three, four, and five in Class 3-A

With their playoff hopes fading, the Pirates begin a 10-game road trip tonight in Philadelphia.  The Pirates finished a 2-8 home stand. They were shutout 8-0 on Sunday.  Starling Marte remains sidelined with back problems.  He hasn’t played since September 5th.  Josh Harrison has a right groin injury.  He suffered the injury in Saturdays game and may miss several games.  The wildcard race is not pretty. The Pirates trail the Mets by 6 games and the Cardinals by 5-1/2 for the second wildcard spot.  Starting pitchers for tonight are  Gerrit Cole (7-9) for the Pirates and Jeremy Hellickson (10-9) for Philadelphia.  Because of the Steelers, the next broadcast game will be Tuesday night at 6:40 on WBVP-WMBA.