By now, sports fans throughout the tristate area are aware of the wild melee that broke out during Friday night’s Uniontown-Meadville PIAA playoff game. With just over three minutes to play and Meadvi...

After a few days off I still find myself struggling to get back into the swing of things. It’s First Pitch time, we have new basketball champions and we’re about 8 days away from the start of baseball...

John Kukrak remembers that day in 1995 perfectly. He was in his driveway washing his vehicle when his neighbor and friend, Nick Mahalko, pulled up. Mahalko had been the scorekeeper for Monessen’s boys...

a little food for thought to help Here’s start your week: • Over the many years of his legendary coaching career, Joe Salvino and I had this little moment we used to enjoy. Often times, when I was int...

Here we go again with more parent drama plaguing a successful athletic program in the Mon Valley. And while the Frazier wrestling program has seen a lot of success since it’s creation in 2015, it’s se...

After a weekend of wondering if we needed to build an ark, let’s start the new week off with some food for thought: • There has been a lot of talk about whether the Steelers should trade key players l...

There’s a lot to process when looking through the WPIAL playoff brackets when it comes to our local teams. Needless to say, it was a pretty good season for our Valley teams. Out of the 30 in the Mon V...

They just don’t make ‘em like Joe Salvino anymore. The veteran basketball coach announced last week his 41st season as a head coach at Monessen and Belle Vernon Area would be his last. As someone who ...

Now that the so-called “Big Game” is behind us, it is time locally for the real big games to start … high school basketball playoffs. In honor of one of my favorite times of the year, here’s a little ...

Good morning, friends. I have to tell you, loyal readers, I owe you guys an apology. In this space, I always try to present something interesting for you to read. It should always be creative, and the...

O n ... I’M JUST SAYIN’ So, how do we fix the Steelers? I’ve thought long and hard about it and I’m trying to think practically instead of emotionally. Like any true yinzer, I bleed black and gold whe...

Baseball had its ultimate sad tale of a career cut short in the Lou Gehrig story. Football had a similar story about running back Brian Piccolo as was chronicled in Brian’s Song. Locally, a fine baske...

Dear Art II: Good morning. I hope this letter finds you well, even though I know you must be disappointed that your mandate of a year ago to win a playoff game was not adhered to this season. It’s got...

During his career as a basketball player at Ringgold and later the University of Pittsburgh, Scott Nedrow won his share of honors and accolades. But he counts his next award to be among his most cheri...

So how many out there thought the Steelers would be sitting at 8-2 so far this season? I didn’t. I know many of you didn’t either. It’s OK, you can admit it. The success, I’ll take it though, and I’ll...

He signed with the Dodgers after dominating at the high school level. If there were a Valley version of “Rapid” Robert Feller or Nolan Ryan and his “Express,” it may have been Chuck Giuffrida, a membe...

The pickins’ are getting slimmer as we’re down to the nitty gritty of the WPIAL football season. While there are fewer games involving local teams, the importance of those games grows as we get closer...

Belle Vernon’s Bill Contz went from the Mon Valley to Happy Valley. He then ascended to the summit of football’s Mt. Everest, playing at the peak of the sport in the NFL. When asked for a career highl...

2013 • After facing a string of tough foes, Cal U will be playing winless Seton Hill Saturday. It’s the first-ever conference matchup between the two teams. The Vulcans are in a three-way tie for seco...

The DeBerardinis family, featured in last week’s Sports Stew, had yet another member who had a successful basketball career. Chris DeBerardinis – the son of Paul– who was a 6-1 guard for Mon Valley Ca...