Category: Sports

Marco Andretti retires from racing, ending an era for the Andretti family at the Indy 500

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – ARCA driver Marco Andretti looks out of the garage before a practice run for an ARCA Mendards Series auto race Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara, file)

(AP) Marco Andretti said Wednesday he is retiring from racing, a decision that likely means the “Andretti Curse” at the Indianapolis 500 will never end.

The 38-year-old grandson of Mario Andretti announced on social media he will not attempt to enter the Indianapolis 500 next season and will instead turn his attention to his daughter, business ventures outside of racing, and a memoir in process called “Defending the Dynasty.”

Next year’s Indianapolis 500 will not have an Andretti in the field for the first time since 2005.

“I have had some really fun times behind the wheel in a lot of different types of racing cars — a lot of great memories as well, mostly at the Indy 500,” Marco Andretti wrote in his announcement, noting his start this year was the 20th of his career, good enough for 12th all-time.

“I am very much at peace with the next chapter in my life after dedicating three decades to the sport,” he added.

Marco Andretti also reflected on the Indy 500, his performances there and when he and his father battled for the lead in the closing laps of the 2006 race.

Marco Andretti was an IndyCar rookie, his father, Michael, came out of retirement to race against him, and Marco’s late pass of Michael should have been enough for the victory. Sam Hornish Jr. ended up chasing down Marco Andretti and the curse that dates to 1970 — the year after Mario Andretti gave the family their only Indy 500 win — continued.

“I am proud of my overall stats at the Indy 500. I had six very legitimate shots at victory with Andretti Autosport and ended up with 20% top-3 finishes at the Speedway,” Marco Andretti wrote. “It feels accomplishing to me to be able to retire having more podium finishes than my father Michael and the same as my grandfather Mario at the biggest race in the world.”

He added to his Indy 500 memories nearly being bumped from the field in 2011 and winning the pole in 2020.

“That is what the Indianapolis 500 produces: extremes on both ends. That is why I love and appreciate it so much,” he wrote.

Marco Andretti won two times over 253 IndyCar starts spanning 20 years. He debuted at the age of 19 driving for his father’s team, which is now known as Andretti Global but Michael Andretti was bought out of the ownership group at the end of last season.

Marco Andretti scaled back in 2021 to run only the Indianapolis 500 as he dabbled in NASCAR and other racing series. With Michael Andretti no longer an official part of the team, new owner Dan Towriss is under no obligation to enter Marco Andretti at Indy.

Marco Andretti’s final Indy 500 will go down as one of his worst — he crashed on the fourth lap as both Mario and Michael Andretti dropped their heads at another Indy disaster.

Despite the heartbreak at Indianapolis, the Andretti name is one of the most globally respected in racing. Mario Andretti won the 1978 Formula 1 championship, IndyCar titles in 1965, 1966, 1969 and 1984, and the 1967 Daytona 500 in NASCAR.

Mario Andretti is the only driver to win Indy, Daytona and an F1 championship. He is the only driver to win IndyCar races in four different decades and his 52 career victories rank third on IndyCar’s all-time list.

Michael Andretti ranks fourth all-time with 42 wins in IndyCar, just never at Indianapolis. He won the 500 as a team owner five different times. He won one title, was runner-up in the standings five times and ran 13 of the 16 races in the 1993 F1 season.

Marco Andretti only began trying other racing series after he stepped away from full-time IndyCar competition. The pressure on him to live up to his last name was enormous, especially at Indianapolis.

He reflected on his two decades in IndyCar as “competing at the top level of North American motorsport is and has been an honor for me, even in the tough times.”

“That is where I can look back and say I have made my best progress in life as a man,” he said. “Learning to navigate very difficult dynamics at times, and others doubting me, made me realize that my opinion of myself is the one that should matter the most.”

Steelers acquire safety Kyle Dugger from the Patriots with veteran DeShon Elliott out indefinitely

(File Photo: Source for Photo: New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler, right, runs from New England Patriots safety Kyle Dugger, left, and linebacker Robert Spillane during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers have acquired safety Kyle Dugger from New England in hopes of giving the back end of the secondary another experienced option with starter DeShon Elliott out indefinitely with a knee injury.

Pittsburgh sent a sixth-round pick in the 2026 draft to New England in exchange for Dugger and a seventh-round selection.

Dugger, a second-round choice by the Patriots in 2020, had 17 tackles in seven games with New England this season. The six-year veteran has nine career interceptions, including a pair of Pick-6s in 2022.

Elliott injured his right knee in the second half of Pittsburgh’s 35-25 loss to Green Bay on Sunday night. Dugger joins a safety group that includes Chuck Clark and Jabrill Peppers.

Pittsburgh’s secondary is struggling. The Steelers are dead last in the NFL against the pass and have surrendered over 700 yards in their last two games to Cincinnati’s Joe Flacco and Green Bay’s Jordan Love.

Things won’t get any easier for Pittsburgh this weekend when AFC South-leading Indianapolis (7-1) and the NFL’s top offense visit Acrisure Stadium.

Konecny nets 200th career goal, Brink shines as Flyers edge Penguins in shootout

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Philadelphia Flyers’ Bobby Brink, left, scores a goal against Pittsburgh Penguins’ Arturs Silovs during a shootout in an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Travis Konecny scored a milestone goal, Bobby Brink scored the shootout winner and had a goal and an assist and the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Konecny notched his 200th career goal in the second period on a shot from the right circle, beating Pittsburgh goalie Arturs Silovs over his blocker. He became the 17th player in Flyers history to reach the 200-goal plateau.

Brink scored on the power play in the first by poking a rebound past Silovs for his third goal of the season. He also made a deft double deke move on a goal in the shootout. Sam Ersson made 24 saves for the Flyers, who won for the fourth time in five games.

Sidney Crosby scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season to force overtime for the Penguins, who have registered at least one point in seven straight (5-0-2).

Justin Brazeau scored his sixth goal for Pittsburgh and Silovs made 32 saves.

Both teams thought they had won the game in overtime. A Penguins goal by Evgeni Malkin was waived off for an illegal substitution on a delayed penalty when Malkin entered the ice before Silovs made it to the bench.

Minutes later, a would-be power play goal by Philadelphia’s Tyson Foerster was waived off after a league-initiated review determined the play was offside.

Up next

The Penguins continue their four-game road trip in Minnesota on Thursday.

Philadelphia remains home, where they are in the middle of playing nine of 10, when they host Nashville on Thursday.

Steelers sign wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling warms up during practice at NFL football minicamp, June 10th, 2025, at the team’s training facility in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/John Froschauer, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler yesterday that the Pittsburgh Steelers made a plan to sign wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The move yesterday to the Steelers gave Valdes-Scantling another opportunity to play on the same team as their quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. Both of them played for the Green Bay Packers from 2018 to 2021. Valdes-Scantling was drafted 174th overall in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft by the Packers and has also played for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills, and the New Orleans Saints. Valdes-Scantling signed a one-year contract with the Seattle Seahawks on March 12th, 2025, but was released on August 26th, 2025, and he most previously played on the San Francisco 49ers active roster before being released on October 18th, 2025.

Crosby has goal, 2 assists to reach 1,700 points as Penguins beat Blues 6-3

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby skates back to the bench during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists to become the ninth player in NHL history with 1,700 points and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3 on Monday night.

Crosby, who accomplished the feat in the fourth-fewest games, is the fourth player in NHL history to reach the mark with one team. Crosby also had his 498th multi-point game, passing Mario Lemieux for the team record and sixth in NHL history on the all-time multi-point list.

Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist to extend his point streak to seven games, while Bryan Rust had two goals and an assist. Parker Wotherspoon scored his first with Pittsburgh and Anthony Mantha added his fifth of the season.

Tristan Jarry made 22 saves to help the Penguins get their fifth win in six games. Pittsburgh is 7-2-1 and hasn’t lost in regulation since Oct. 14 at Anaheim.

Jordan Kyrou extended a seven-game point streak with a goal, while Nick Bjugstad and Mathieu Joseph also scored for St. Louis. Joel Hofer stopped 20 shots for the Blues, who lost their fourth straight game.

St. Louis has lost five of their last six games and allowed more than six goals in four of those defeats.

Crosby iced the game with a breakaway goal with 3:21 left in the third off a pass from Rust to make it 5-3. Crosby had the primary assist on Wortherspoon’s goal and the secondary helper on Rust’s second goal.

Both teams played without top forwards. Penguins forward Rickard Rakell will miss six-to-eight weeks after he was struck by a shot on Saturday against Columbus and underwent successful surgery on his left hand on Sunday. Robert Thomas (upper body) and Jake Neighbours (lower body), both normally on the Blues’ top line, are day-to-day.

Up next

Blues: Host Detroit on Tuesday.

Penguins: Open a four-game road trip at Philadelphia on Tuesday.

2025 WPIAL high school football playoff first-round matchups in each bracket

(File Photo of the WPIAL Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) The 2025 WPIAL high school football playoffs kicks off this week as the first round in all six classes will start the journey to a WPIAL championship for each team that has qualified. Here are all the first round matchups that were revealed today with bold indicating the matchups of the Beaver Valley teams competing for their respective WPIAL championships, which will all take place at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh:

Class 6A

#4 Canon-McMillan vs #1 Central Catholic (Location to be Determined, 11/07/25 at 7 p.m.)

#3 Norwin at #2 North Allegheny (11/07/25 at 7 p.m.)

Class 5A

#1 Pine-Richland (First-Round Bye), will host the winner of,

#9 Kiski Area at #8 Shaler, (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#4 Penn-Trafford (First-Round Bye), will host the winner of,

#12 Armstrong at #5 Moon Area (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#2 Peters Township (First-Round Bye), will host the winner of,

#10 North Hills at #7 Bethel Park (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#3 Woodland Hills (First-Round Bye), will host the winner of,

#11 Plum at #6 Upper St. Clair (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

Class 4A

#8 Chartiers Valley at #1 McKeesport (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#5 Mars at #4 Thomas Jefferson (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#7 Aliquippa at #2 Trinity (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#6 Montour at #3 New Castle (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

Class 3A

#1 Avonworth (First-Round Bye), will host the winner of,

#9 Beaver Area at #8 Freeport (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#4 Elizabeth Forward (First-Round Bye), will host the winner of,

#12 Burrell vs #5 North Catholic (Location to be Determined, 10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#2 Imani Christian (First-Round Bye), will host the winner of,

#10 Hopewell at #7 Southmoreland (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#3 Central Valley (First-Round Bye), will host the winner of,

#11 Derry at #6 Highlands (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#12 Beaver Falls at #5 Washington (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#2 Western Beaver (First-Round Bye), will host the winner of,

#10 Riverside at #7 Apollo-Ridge (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#3 Steel Valley (First-Round Bye), will host the winner of,

#11 Keystone Oaks at No. 6 Ellwood City

Class 2A

#1 Seton LaSalle (First-Round Bye), will host the winner of,

#9 OLSH at #8 Mohawk (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#13 Waynesburg Central at #4 South Allegheny

Class 1A

#16 Avella at #1 Fort Cherry (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#9 Neshannock at #8 Leechburg (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#13 Jefferson-Morgan at #4 Laurel (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#12 Chartiers-Houston at #5 South Side (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#15 Monessen at #2 Clairton (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#10 Jeannette at #7 Bentworth (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#14 Greensburg Central Catholic at #3 Bishop Canevin (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

#11 Frazier at #6 California (10/31/25 at 7 p.m.)

Hopewell High School football ends the longest-standing WPIAL playoff drought in the Beaver Valley at thirteen years

(File Photo of the Hopewell Area School District Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Cranberry Township, PA) Even though Hopewell High School’s football team lost to North Catholic High School 44-36 on Friday on the road in Cranberry Township, they broke their thirteen-year WPIAL playoff drought, which was the longest in the Beaver Valley. The Vikings finished the 2025 high school football season with a 6-4 record overall and a 2-4 record in the WPIAL 3A West Hills Conference, but still clinched a wild card spot as the #10 seed in the WPIAL 3A bracket. This is the first time since 2012 that Hopewell High School has reached the high school playoffs, and since their current head coach Matt Mottes got hired as their interim head coach in 2024, they have had one .500 season and two winless seasons since 2013. Hopewell will travel to Alverton, Pennsylvania to take on the #7 seed Southmoreland High School Scotties on Friday, October 31st at 7 p.m. Southmoreland is 9-1 overall with a 4-1 record in the WPIAL 3A Interstate Conference.

Penguins forward Rickard Rakell to miss 6-8 weeks after undergoing hand surgery

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Florida Panthers fans react in the stands as Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Rickard Rakell (67) celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal, during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins will have to try to keep their hot start going without forward Rickard Rakell.

The team announced Sunday that the 14-year veteran will be out 6-8 weeks after undergoing hand surgery. Rickard sustained the injury while blocking a shot in the third period of a shootout loss to Columbus on Saturday night.

Rakell has three goals and five assists in nine games this season for Pittsburgh, which is off to a 6-2-1 start under first-year coach Dan Muse. The injury means Rakell won’t be able to play when the Penguins and Nashville Predators play a pair of games in his native Sweden next month.

Pittsburgh recalled forward Ville Koivunen from its AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to take Rakell’s spot on the roster.

Blue Jackets pick up rare victory in Pittsburgh with 5-4 shootout win over the Penguins

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs makes a save during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kent Johnson, Adam Fantilli and Kirill Marchenko scored in the shootout to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets past the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-4 on Saturday night.

The Blue Jackets won for just the second time in their last 18 trips to Pittsburgh when Penguins star Evgeni Malkin fired wide of the net and goaltender Elvis Merzlikins in the final round of the shootout.

Dmitri Voronkov scored twice for Columbus. His second of the night 4:54 into the third period put the Blue Jackets up two and put Columbus in position to beat the Penguins in regulation in Pittsburgh for the first time since November 2015.

Pittsburgh rallied to force the extra session when Kris Letang and Bryan Rust scored their first goals of the season two minutes apart late in the third period.

Mirzlikins finished with 24 saves, including a sprawling save of Malkin in overtime in which he stopped the shot with his glove only to see it flutter over him toward the Columbus net before a teammate knocked it out of harm’s way.

Yegor Chinakhov and Charlie Coyle scored their first goals of the season for Columbus, which bounced back from a 5-1 loss to Washington on Friday night by carrying play for long stretches against the Penguins.

Letang and Anthony Mantha had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh. Ryan Shea scored his first of the season for the Penguins. Malkin finished with two assists to boost his career point total to 1,360 and move him past Hall of Famer Mike Modano and into 10th on the NHL’s list for most points by a player with one franchise.

The 39-year-old Malkin now has 14 points through nine games for Pittsburgh, which saw its four-game winning streak come to an end. Arturs Silovs made 36 saves but failed to stop any of Columbus’ three shootout attempts.

The result put a small damper on a night in which the Penguins honored former coaches Scotty Bowman and Eddie Johnston and forwards Kevin Stevens and Ron Francis by inducting them into the club’s revamped Hall of Fame.

Up next

Blue Jackets: At Buffalo on Tuesday night.

Penguins: Host St. Louis on Monday night.

Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers fall short in QB’s reunion with Packers as Love leads 35-25 win

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Green Bay Packers’ Rashan Gary sacks Pittsburgh Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jordan Love spent three years absorbing what he could from Aaron Rodgers. Footwork. Cadence. Throwing motion. Film study. The list of things Love gleaned from his mentor goes on and on, every last item invaluable in Love’s development.

And seemingly every last one of them was on display Sunday night, when the Green Bay quarterback of the present and future outdueled the Green Bay quarterback of the past and served notice he’s ready to start writing a legend of his own.

Looking every bit as good as Rodgers in his prime, Love passed for 360 yards and three touchdowns as Green Bay raced past Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-25 in what in many ways felt and looked like an official passing of the torch.

Yes, Love knew there would be considerable hype around Rodgers’ first-ever game against the Packers since being nudged aside for Love in early 2023. While Love admitted there was a little more pressure this week than usual, he hardly looked bothered while completing 29 of 35, including a franchise record-tying 20 straight spanning the end of the first half and the vast majority of the second.

“My mindset was just trying to come out here and focus on getting that win, trying to block all that extra stuff out and just be the player I need to be,” Love said.

That player looks plenty good enough to keep Green Bay (5-1-1) in contention in a wide-open NFC.

“He showed why he’s the (successor),” Packers defensive end Micah Parsons said. “I mean, he’s the up-and-coming. Like Jay Love, when I talking about when I was coming here, I was like, ‘I know they got a quarterback.’”

Yes they do.

“He was on fire,” Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur said. “That’s why we kept wanting to throw the football.”

That and the fact the Steelers (4-3) had trouble stopping it. Green Bay piled up 454 yards of total offense and after a promising first half, the 41-year-old Rodgers and the rest of Pittsburgh’s offense couldn’t keep pace.

Rodgers, who won four MVPs and a Super Bowl in 18 seasons with the Packers before being traded to the Jets in the spring of 2023, completed 24 of 36 passes for 219 yards and two scores but couldn’t deliver the kind of magic that he has summoned on occasion in his 21st year.

“Disappointed I didn’t play better (and) that we didn’t play better, especially in the second half,” Rodgers said.

Given the way Love was slinging it, it might have been Rodgers to keep pace even while at his best. Love completed his last four passes of the first half and his first 16 of the second, two of them for scores, as the Packers erased a nine-point deficit to win at Pittsburgh for the first time since 1970.

“It’s great for Jordan,” LaFleur said. “Jordan’s worked his (butt) off to get here. He was patient throughout the process, throughout the journey, and he took advantage of the opportunity, he really did.”

Tight end Tucker Kraft caught seven passes for a career-high 143 yards and two touchdowns. Christian Watson added four receptions for 85 yards in his return from a torn ACL he suffered in the 2024 regular-season finale.

Josh Jacobs ran for just 33 yards, but his 3-yard scoring sprint on the first play of the fourth quarter put the Packers up for good as Pittsburgh’s defense stumbled yet again, nine days after being carved up by Joe Flacco in a loss at Cincinnati.

Wearing throwback jerseys honoring Pittsburgh’s inaugural team in 1933 — when the club was known as the Pirates — the Steelers turned back the clock in a way that felt less like nostalgia and more like “here we go again.”

Given an opportunity to strengthen its hold on the underwhelming AFC North, Pittsburgh instead saw the NFL’s highest-paid defense struggle to keep Love and the Packers in check. The Steelers were pushed around repeatedly over the final 30 minutes as the Packers firmly grabbed control.

“We’ve just got to be better in all areas and it starts first with the positions that we put players in and so as coaches, as players, as all of us, we own it,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “We’ll be better. We have to be.”

Rodgers said repeatedly that he wasn’t looking for revenge against his old team, and he plans to one day retire in the town where he cemented his status as a future Hall of Famer.

By the end, Rodgers found himself in familiar territory: hearing the fans chant “Go Pack Go! Go Pack Go!” after another Packers victory. It was the first time in 21 years Rodgers found himself on the other side of it.

“I’ve heard that chant for 18 years, so Packer fans travel really well,” he said. “First time in a while I’ve used silent count for a home game. That’s a credit to most Packer fans.”

Injuries

Packers: Linebacker Nick Niemann left in the second half with a chest injury.

Steelers: Defensive lineman Daniel Ekuale left with a knee injury in the second quarter. Safety DeShon Elliott exited in the third quarter with a potentially serious right knee injury. Left guard Isaac Seumalo went down with a chest injury and didn’t return.

Up next

Packers: Host Carolina on Sunday.

Steelers: Host Indianapolis on Sunday.