Cougars overpowered by Rebels in first-round loss
Boys and Girls High School Basketball, High school, Sports
By By LIAM BELAN lbelan@yourmvi.com 
February 18, 2026
When No. 10 Charleroi drew Seton LaSalle in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs, it had the makings of a high-scoring matchup. Both teams prefer to push the pace and get shots up, and Tuesd...
No. 3 Jaguars rally past Latrobe
Boys and Girls High School Basketball, High school, Sports
By By BRENNAN VALLADARES TribLive 
February 18, 2026
With three minutes left in the third quarter, Thomas Jefferson found itself trailing No. 14 Latrobe by eight on its home court. Both teams entered the postseason as two of the top offenses in Class 5A...
Harrison rejects Porter’s attack on Big Ben
NFL, Pittsburgh, Sports
By By CHRIS HARLAN TribLive 
February 18, 2026
James Harrison isn’t known for comforting quarterbacks but came to his former QB’s defense on Monday. The retired Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker used his podcast to refute a “pureout attack” against B...
USA’s Liu surges into medal range as ‘Angels’ stumble
Olympics, Sports
February 18, 2026
MILAN (AP) — Alysa Liu is left to carry the hopes of the “Blade Angels” into the women’s free skate at the Milan Cortina Olympics. The reigning world champion was the only one of American’s vaunted fi...
Pirates’ Reynolds working to improve his swing
MLB, Pittsburgh, Sports
By By KEVIN GORMAN TribLive 
February 18, 2026
BRADENTON, Fla. – Bryan Reynolds is a man of few words, so the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder didn’t bother to mince them when asked about the object of his offseason. “Fixing my swing, which I did,” R...
Canada-Czechia, U.S.-Sweden in men’s quarters
Olympics, Sports
February 18, 2026
MILAN (AP) — Like a shock to the system, hockey at the Olympics goes from nobody getting eliminated in group play to a single-elimination knockout round until one team is left standing. It’s Game 7 ev...
Slalom is Shiffrin’s last shot at medal in Italy
Olympics, Sports
February 18, 2026
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin likes to invoke the adage from tennis great Billie Jean King that “pressure is a privilege.” Even if, at times, it doesn’t quite feel like it. And it m...
Explaining the new sport of ski mountaineering
Olympics, Sports
February 18, 2026
BORMIO, Italy (AP) — The newest sport on the Olympic program goes by the name “skimo,” which is short for ski mountaineering. It’s basic principles are just as condensed: race up the slope and back do...
Italy beats U.S. men for pursuit speedskating gold
Olympics, Sports
February 18, 2026
MILAN (AP) — Italy’s Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini and Michele Malfatti beat U.S. world record-holders Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman and Ethan Cepuran by 4 1/2 seconds to win the men’s team pursuit g...
Sports
February 18, 2026
COLLEGE BASKETBALL (MEN) 6 p.m. - BTN — Rutgers at Penn St. 6:30 p.m. - FS1 — Butler at Georgetown 7 p.m. - ACCN — Clemson at Wake Forest 7 p.m. - CBSSN — Dayton at George Mason 7 p.m. - ESPN — Arkans...
Brown’s career night leads Leps into quarters
Boys and Girls High School Basketball, High school, Sports
By JEREMY SELLEW 
February 17, 2026
Sophomore Aubrey Brown scored 24 points and freshman Lyla McConnell added 20 in a BVA win. At one point during Monday’s WPIAL Class 4A firstround game between No. 4 Belle Vernon and No. 13 Lincoln Par...
Warriors storm past Vikings
Boys and Girls High School Basketball, High school, Sports
WPIAL PLAYOFF ROUNDUP
By JEREMY SELLEW 
February 17, 2026
Fifth-seeded Elizabeth Forward used a decisive second quarter and a dominant performance from Kaelynn Settles to advance in the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs with a 58-37 victory over Hopewell on Monday nig...
No. 5 Bears too athletic for No. 12 Shenango
Boys and Girls High School Basketball, High school, Sports
By By LIAM BELAN lbelan@yourmvi.com 
February 17, 2026
Clairton’s boys basketball team prides itself on playing tough defense and attacking downhill on offense, using its size and athleticism to wear opponents down. In the first round of the WPIAL Class 2...
Spring brings ‘Food for Thought’
Sports
SPORTLIGHT
By By JEFF OLIVER MVI Sports 
February 17, 2026
With the Pirates in camp for spring training, it’s a sure sign that spring sports for area high school teams are right around the corner. As we get ready for the boys (and girls) of summer in the spri...
Vulcans hit century mark in sweep
Cal (Pa.), NCAA, Sports
By ADAM BREWER MVI SPORTS 
February 17, 2026
The California (PA) men’s basketball team eclipsed the 100-point mark for the first time this season — and needed every bit of it Saturday afternoon. Despite building an early double-digit lead, Clari...
Pirates hoping Ozuna rubs off on Cruz
MLB, Pittsburgh, Sports
By By KEVIN GORMAN TribLive 
February 17, 2026
BRADENTON, Fla. — Marcell Ozuna was all smiles as he stretched his legs in activation drills before the first full-squad workout of spring training, and it wasn’t just because his $12 million free age...
Sports
February 17, 2026
McKeesport holding youth baseball registration The McKeesport Baseball Association will hold signups for children age 4 to 12 Saturday and Feb. 28 at the concession stand at Renzie Park from 12 to 3 p...
Pirates’ GM: ‘Most talented group we’ve had’
MLB, Pittsburgh, Sports
By By KEVIN GORMAN TribLive 
February 17, 2026
BRADENTON, Fla. — Ryan O’Hearn couldn’t wait to get on the field with the Pittsburgh Pirates and interact with fans at Pirate City. Brandon Lowe appeared overwhelmed by the change of scenery. Where fi...
‘Batman’ returns for Pirates in spring training
MLB, Pittsburgh, Sports
By By KEVIN GORMAN TribLive 
February 17, 2026
BRADENTON, Fla. — The request for help came in the form of a phone call instead of a bat signal, but A.J. Burnett was ready to respond to the Pittsburgh Pirates in an instant. Burnett said he was “thr...
Good game, bad dunk contest. Highs and lows of All-Star weekend
NBA, Sports
February 17, 2026
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — If you still didn’t like the NBA’s newest All-Star Game format, you probably just don’t like All-Star games. That seemed to be the sports sphere’s consensus after the U.S.agai...