WBC heating up a chilly spring
Sports, Sports Columns
I’M JUST SAYIN’
March 17, 2026
So it begins here in the Mon Valley, and like clockwork, it’s gone as expected. Spring sports – baseball, softball, track and flag football – are underway and to no one’s surprise it’s snowing as I wr...
Final games should have larger impact on seeding
NCAA, Sports, Sports Columns
SPORTLIGHT
By By JEFF OLIVER MVI Sports 
March 16, 2026
Trying to figure out some of the “madness” before the Madness starts, here’s some food for thought: • I know sometimes it is tough to determine who gets in the NCAA Tournament without complaining abou...
It’s March, it’s time for madness to begin
NCAA, Sports, Sports Columns
SPORTLIGHT
By By JEFF OLIVER MVI Sports 
March 10, 2026
“March Madness” means different things to different people. It means the days are getting longer and summer is just around the corner. It means the start of spring sports for high schools and it’s tim...
The wait is over for Heath, but what took so long?
Sports, Sports Columns
SPORTLIGHT
By By JEFF OLIVER MVI Sports 
March 4, 2026
I recently learned that the late “JoJo” Heath will be inducted into the Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2026 in June. My first reaction when I heard the news was simple:...
After college, Mark Thomas recruited heavily in Pa.
Sports, Sports Columns
SPORTS STEW
February 19, 2026
By WAYNE STEWART For MVI Sports Editor’s note: Part 1 of this story covered Mark Thomas’ days at Elizabeth Forward, Penn State, and the early stages of his coaching career. Returning to Mark Thomas’ c...
PBC Hall of Fame welcomes ’73 Rams
Boys and Girls High School Basketball, High school, Sports, ...
By By JEFF OLIVER MVI Sports 
February 10, 2026
Ringgold went 29-2 that season and captured the WPIAL championship. For the second consecutive year, the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Hall of Fame featured a distinct Ringgold flavor. A year after forme...
‘Frenetic February’ to tip off as high school playoffs set to begin
Boys and Girls High School Basketball, High school, Sports, ...
By By JEFF OLIVER MVI Sports 
February 9, 2026
College basketball has its “March Madness” when the tournament begins and we eliminate the pretenders from the contenders (barring upsets) rather quickly. High school hoops playoffs don’t wait for Mar...
Super Bowl is gamblers’ biggest event of the year
NFL, Sports, Sports Columns
By By JEFF OLIVER MVI Sports 
February 2, 2026
The biggest betting extravaganza in the world of sports takes place Sunday. In other words, it’s the Super Bowl. Millions of dollars will be bet on a bevy of different props like whether the toss of t...
McCarthy’s staff could change the sentiment
NFL, Pittsburgh, Sports, ...
SPORTLIGHT
By By JEFF OLIVER MVI Sports 
January 28, 2026
Mike McCarthy might be “one of us” as a Pittsburgh guy. But even with the press conference that introduced him as the new coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, he is not exactly being greeted with open ar...
Rooney dropped hints that McCarthy would be chosen
Pittsburgh, Sports, Sports Columns
By By JEFF OLIVER MVI Sports 
January 26, 2026
We should not be surprised that the next Steelers coach is Mike McCarthy. We really shouldn’t. In fact, team owner Art Rooney II all but told us who the next coach would be last week. At the press con...
Sivek always prepared as player and coach
Sports, Sports Columns
SPORTS STEW
By By WAYNE STEWART For MVI Sports 
January 22, 2026
Karl Sivek had the power of a leopard when he took the field for the Belle Vernon High School football team. Coincidentally, the running back-outside linebacker from the Class of 1975 didn’t even have...
Big game season has arrived
Sports, Sports Columns
I’M JUST SAYIN’
January 22, 2026
Fans of high school basketball will be treated to some great games around the Mon Valley over the next couple of weeks. As the season winds down, a number of teams looking to make a push towards a sec...
Trusting the Steelers’ process
Pittsburgh, Sports, Sports Columns
By By JEFF OLIVER MVI Sports 
January 19, 2026
So the search is on for a new Steelers coach for the first time in 19 years. In my opinion, it’s a search that should have taken place about five or six years ago when it became obvious to me that und...
‘Soups’ Campbell was a ‘heckuva’ player at Donora
Sports, Sports Columns
SPORTS STEW
By By WAYNE STEWART For MVI Sports 
January 17, 2026
When a local athlete is named to an All-State team, it’s headline news. Donora High School’s Ron Campbell did that — and plenty more. The 1967 Donora High yearbook described Campbell as “tall and hand...
Steelers were destined to fail
Pittsburgh, Sports, Sports Columns
SPORTLIGHT
By By JEFF OLIVER MVI Sports 
January 13, 2026
Maybe it was DK Metcalf dropping a pass from Aaron Rodgers when he was wide open early in the first quarter of the AFC Wild Card playoff game. Or maybe it was the fact that the Steelers turned over a ...
Fisher a great ‘fool’ at fullback at California State College
Sports, Sports Columns
SPORTS STEW
By By WAYNE STEWART For MVI Sports 
January 8, 2026
Editor’s note: This is part 2 of a two-part story on Ringgold’s Chuck Fisher. Part 1 ended with Fisher being shifted to fullback at California State College after injuries depleted the depth chart. Wh...
Did the gods give the Steelers a reprieve?
NFL, Pittsburgh, Sports, ...
SPORTLIGHT
By By JEFF OLIVER MVI Sports 
January 6, 2026
When the greatest missed kick against the Steelers since “the idiot kicker” from Indianapolis missed wide right in the playoffs a decade ago sailed wide, it sent Steelers fans everywhere into a wild d...
Chuck Fisher another four-sport star at Ringgold
Sports, Sports Columns
SPORTS STEW
December 31, 2025
For MVI Sports Editor’s note: This is the first part of a two-part story on 1976 Ringgold graduate Chuck Fisher. Chuck Fisher, Ringgold’s Class of 1976, was the type of athlete who seemed at ease in a...
Steelers going from ‘Super Bowl run’ to missing playoffs?
NCAA, NFL, Sports, ...
By By JEFF OLIVER MVI Sports 
December 29, 2025
Last week, when the Steelers beat Detroit and then the Ravens lost to New England, sports talk airwaves were filled with people talking about the Steelers making a deep playoff run, even a run at the ...
Santa Sportlight: Still spreading some holiday cheer
Pittsburgh, Sports, Sports Columns
SPORTLIGHT
By By JEFF OLIVER MVI Sports 
December 22, 2025
‘Twas four days before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except Santa Sportlight, that louse. As we anxiously await the big guy coming down the chimney later this week,...