Steelers– The Steelers were chosen as game of the week being the Sunday night football game, and boy did they not disappoint. They hosted the Ravens at Acrisure Stadium and let’s just say this game might have been one of the best in-season games I’ve seen live of all time. The game opened up very slowly for the Steelers, even with the home crowd on their side they were being overwhelmed by the Ravens offense quite instantly. First play of the game Derrick Henry (Raven’s running back) took the ball 45 yards past into the Steeler’s side of the field. Fans including me were worried that this might be a foreshadow to the rest of the game. It seemed that way for sure when it was half time and it was 10-3, Baltimore in the lead. The second half started and the game continued to open up for the Steelers on offense and they struck on their opening drive with Connor Hayward scoring on the Steelers tush push with his older brother Cam shoving him into the end zone. Later on in the 3rd the Steelers added 3 to the board taking the lead 13-10.
The fourth quarter then came and it was a quarter for the ages. Middle of the quarter Lamar Jackson threw a strike into Zay Flowers for a 50 yard touchdown. He streaked past Patrick Queen and had a wide open touchdown. The Steelers would then later score with Aaron Rodgers leading the offense down the field even with his mic broken in his helmet and Kenneth Gainwell scoring a 2 yard touchdown to take the lead back 20-17. The reusing drive Baltimore struck again after Lamar split through two defenders Alex Highsmith and Keanu Benton on a 3 & 1 and fired the ball down the field to a wide open Zay flowers again for a 64 yard touchdown to take the lead 24-20 with two minutes left. The secondary for Pittsburgh played horrible the whole game with on this play they left around 40 yards of the field wide open with no defender anywhere in sight and Baltimore came up big again.
Aaron Rodgers would then deliver another huge comeback drive leading the Steelers down the field and scoring a 26 yard touchdown to Calvin Austin for the lead 26-24. Chris Boswell would then miss the extra point which meant the ravens only needed a field goal to win. 55 seconds left Lamar and the Ravens got into field goal range but a costly illegal motion call backed them up. No need to fret Ravens fans. Isaiah Likely delivered with a massive catch over Jalen Ramsey on 4th down to get the Ravens to the 23 yard line and a field goal would win the game, and clinch the AFC North. Tyler Loop came out to attempt the 44 yard field goal and send the Ravens to the playoffs. The loop lined up, the ball was snapped perfectly, the hold was perfect, the kick went up and it was no good. It went wide right and the Steelers won and were AFC North champs. They are headed to the playoffs and will host their first home playoff game since 2020 and will play against the Houston Texans. I truly believe they can win the game and advance. With D.K. back it will help this offense start quick and not as sluggish as it has been. Rodgers has this team believing and that is the recipe you need at this time of the year.
Penguins– After losing 9 out of their last 10 games and looking like one of worst teams in the NHL, the Pens have turned the narrative around now red hot, on a 5 game winning streak after winning two games this weekend against the Detroit Red Wings and the Columbus Blue Jackets. The defense came to play Saturday in Detroit where they held the Red wings to just 12 shots on goal and had one of their best defensive efforts of the season. Pens goalie, Stuart Skinner saved 11 of 12 shots and was huge in their 5-1 victory. 5 different players scored for Pittsburgh and Rickard Rackell finished the game with the finishing open net goal to lift them to the victory. On Sunday against Columbus they came out hot stringing in a goal in the first two minutes of the first period. They then would allow 3 goals to end the first period heading into the break with some questions. 47 seconds into the second period defenseman Zach Werenski scored to get it to 4-1. It would then be a standstill until late in the period when the pens struck to cut the lead to 2 with Noel Acciari scoring on a wrist shot. In the 3rd period the pens hit gold, scoring 2 more goals to tie the game at 4 to send it to Overtime. Tommy Novak and Rickard Rackell were the two who scored and Rackell’s goal was with 15 seconds left in the period. These Pens were determined to win another one and two minutes into the period the all time points leader Sidney Crosby scored the game winning goal to get the pens another win. We are finally inside the playoff picture and looking forward to the upcoming schedule, this winning could most easily continue.
Pitt Basketball– Another day, another late game choke by the Pitt Panthers. Pitt came into this game facing a red hot 10-4 Clemson team looking to get their second ACC win. Pitt came off a loss to Miami earlier in the week now looking to get their first win in ACC play. The two teams went back and forth in the beginning of the game but it felt to me that they were getting out physicalled. The one thing going for them was their shots behind the ark. They were shooting great from three and that prevailed into a 35-34 lead at the half. Clemson started hitting more shots in the second half and the refs were handing them foul shots it felt like every possession. Pitt defense couldn’t touch them or it would be called a foul and the whole arena let the refs hear their dissatisfaction. Clemson hit almost every free throw while Pitt when they got to the line couldn’t hit the side of a barn if they tried. Pitt makes half of those missed free throws; it’s a whole different story. Pitt tried to get back late but a 3 point shot under a minute, blocked and another wide open 3 missed ended Pitt’s hopes of a win. Pitt now 0-2 in ACC play and even though they fought late, it just wasn’t enough to get it done. They will have a chance next Saturday against hated rivals, Syracuse. If Capel can’t get this team to pull out wins, the run with him as the head coach needs to be over because after 8 years it feels like the same story every week.
Pirates– This isn’t a game recap for the Pirates but I felt like we should talk about it. After long talks with third baseman Kazuma Okamoto, the Japanese superstar, he ended up signing with the Toronto Blue Jays instead. The deal was a four year, 60 million dollar deal which I feel like the pirates should have been willing to give. If they did offer that, then I guess he didn’t want to play for this organization and I wouldn’t blame him. Consistently underperforming, cheap, and even though they have made good moves, the Blue Jays just have more talent and a better chance of winning in October.
Shaler boys basketball– Last week Shaler took on Sto-Rox at the Holiday tip off tournament at Montour. From the jump it was pretty clear Shaler had the size advantage as well as the skill advantage. This game was completely one sided where the Titans would lead the Vikings for the whole game. Shaler destroyed Sto Rox with their press getting easy steals, turning them into offensive possessions for Shaler. The Titans also did a great job at dominating the glass, which helped them break into their fastbreak offense and limiting second chance opportunities for the Vikings. In the end the Titans put on a dominating showcase and a huge bounce back from the Penn Hills game. The Titans would beat the Vikings by more than 30 points with a final score of 71-40
Shaler at Mountour- After Shaler’s win against Sto-Rox the Titans traveled back to Montour the next day for the final game of the tournament Montour vs Shaler. It was a close game but the titans were able to pull away winning 62-50 after a very solid second half to get the Titans to 7-4 on the season.
College Basketball– Potentially the best game so far this year happened in Athens, Georgia on Saturday in a classic between Auburn and Georgia. The game was very back and forth heading into halftime with Georgia having the lead 47-42. Both teams were hitting their shots and everyone knew it would be a close Finnish. The second half was great with either team ever down more than 7 points the entire second half. Georgia did have the lead for most of the second Jeremiah Wilkinson leading the way for the dawgs. With just five seconds remaining in the game Auburn trailed by 4. Keyshawn Hall was fouled on a three pointer and went to the line. He made two of three and the missed shot hit off the rim into Auburn’s Kevin Overton and hit it to send the game to overtime. In overtime the game was back and forth but Georgia was able to pull away and survive winning 104-100
Nebraska, who is undefeated early in the season, hosted one of the biggest games in Nebraska history against the Michigan State Spartans. The arena was packed with the Cornhusker faithful as they tried to take down the ranked Spartans. It was a close game in the first half with it all tied at 33 going into the break. Nebraska was hitting their threes and played some really good defense. In the second half both teams went colder and were not hitting their shots. The score seemed like it was the same for the last 5 minutes of the game. With 1:54 left in the second half Nebraska’s Rienk Mast hit a three pointer to give the Huskers a 58-55 lead and would end up being the game winning shot and lift the Huskers to 14-0 on the season. Nebraska is the real deal and I feel like nobody is paying attention to them. They could definitely have a chance to go on a march madness run and I feel will be a title contender.
College football- The quarterfinals of the College Football playoff passed this week and we have a very interesting final 4. The Indiana Hoosiers continued their National Championship push with them blowing Alabama out of the water in the Rose Bowl and captured their first bowl win since the 1991 Copper Bowl. Fernando Mendoza threw for 192 yards and 3 touchdowns. He looked calm and poised all game and he was ready for the lights. The Indiana defense pressured Ty Simpson all game and they couldn’t do anything on offense, Simpson got injured which meant Austin Mack had to come into the game but it was way too late for the Tide and they lost this game 38-3. This was the worst loss in a bowl game in Alabama football history and I think everyone in the country enjoyed this.
#10 Miami upset Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl to advance to the Fiesta Bowl. Miami defense came up big with 5 sacks, 2 interceptions, and one of those picks returned 75 yards for a touchdown. Sophomore quarterback Julian Sayin looked overwhelmed all game, not being able to do much for the Buckeyes. He threw for 187 yards, 1 touchdown and the interception that was a pick six. Nothing was working for Ohio State with their defense getting torn apart by Carson Beck and the Canes rushing attack. Miami ran for over 150 yards and had a late game clinching touchdown. A year after winning the National Championship, they will exit the playoffs after their first game. With Jeremiah Smith returning as well as Sayin the Buckeyes will be right back in this spot next year with more experience.
Texas Tech gets destroyed in the Orange Bowl vs Oregon as Dante Moore puts on a clinic to advance the Ducks to the Peach Bowl vs Indiana. Oregon started the game off slow only leading 6-0 at the break but the questions for Texas Tech’s offense leading into this game played a big role as they were never able to move the ball well and get into scoring position which derailed this game for them. They turned the ball over 2 times which killed them. The defense got gassed in the second half and that led to 17 Oregon points in the second half to clinch this game 23-0. Oregon had the force to get it done and it is hard for a team to beat a team twice so don’t be surprised if these Ducks are back in Miami in two weeks for the National Championship.
Ole Miss pulled the shocker in the Sugar Bowl beating the Georgia Bulldogs in a classic game that came down to a game winning field goal and a few interesting flags that were called in the final seconds. Ole Miss, who is without their now former Head Coach Lane Kiffin, has had a chip on their shoulder all postseason. They started hot taking the lead early before Georgia scored three more times to go up 21-12 at the break. Even though Ole Miss was losing they looked like the better team on the field. And that continued over into the third quarter as Ole Miss would score late in the quarter to get the game to 21-19. Kewen Lacy scored the touchdown and it continued even more into the 4th quarter as when the rebels were down 24-19 he powered into the end zone for a touchdown to take the lead. Then a few minutes later he scored again to make it 34-24 Ole Miss. Georgia was flustered but knew they needed to score on their drive so Gunnar Stockton drove them down the field with maybe some questionable flags called on the drive favoring Georgia but they would come up big with a Zachariah Branch touchdown to make it a 3 point game. Georgia would somehow get the ball back with a little over a minute to go and would get all the way into field goal range and hit the kick to tie the game. Ole miss would get the ball back and with 26 seconds, Trinidad Chambliss would connect with receiver De’Zhaun Stribling for a 40 yard completion in field goal range that would set up the game winning kick. Kicker Lucas Carneiro drilled the kick right down the middle to win the game for Ole Miss and send them to the Semifinals. This was one of the craziest games I’ve watched and this Rebels team truly could make and potentially win the National Championship.
Other NFL- The Giants took down the Cowboys 34-17 in a great offensive showing by Jackson Dart and his weapons to finish the season 4-13. With this win the Las Vegas Raiders clinched the first pick in the NFL draft which will be held in Pittsburgh this upcoming April. Jackson put on a show, throwing for 230 yards and 2 touchdowns. Tyrone Tracy Jr ran for over 100 yards rushing and it was just a great day on the ground game and passing game. Giants head into the offseason looking to continue to add to this young core.
The Seattle Seahawks took down the San Francisco 49ers to win the NFC West and get the number 1 seed in the NFC. They will have a week off before having to play again against one of the wildcard teams in the divisional round. Sam Darnold’s offense was solid against the 49ers all game with Zach Charbonett and Keneth Walker III both rushing for over 150 yards. Jackson Smith Njigba had a solid day receiving 84 yards. The MVP of the game went to the Seahawks defense who held San Francisco to just 3 points. They sacked Brock Purdy 3 times and picked him off once by Drake Thomas. San Francisco could not get the ball into a scoring position and that haunted them all game. If you can’t score you won’t win and now they face a tough challenge having to go all the way to Philadelphia to take on the NFC East champs, Eagles. If they win that they might have to travel all the way west again back to Seattle for the third time this season. Travel will be an issue and I believe that will be a problem for this 49ers team.
The Denver Broncos knocked off the Chargers in Mile High Stadium to clinch the 1 seed in the AFC. Bo Nix had a solid showing but it was the Broncos defense who played great forcing 4 sacks, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and had one defensive touchdown. This carried them all the way to a victory over LA which gives them home field advantage throughout their playoff run. The Chargers rested most of their starters, but even with Trey Lance playing at quarterback, it never felt like they were completely out of the game. They had chances but couldn’t finish the drives. Chargers head into wild card weekend as the 7th seed and will travel on the road against the 2 seed New England Patriots; a young team who is in the playoff for the first time since 2021.
