Sports
This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 08/30/2011
August 30, 2011
IT's TIME! The 2011 high school football season kicks off as we say so long to August and hello to September this week on the MSA Sports Network.CTK 2011 – MSA Sports Top 10: WPIAL Preseason Class AAAA
August 28, 2011
With kickoff of the 2011 WPIAL football season less than a week away, MSA Sports continues our 'Countdown to Kickoff 2011' with the WPIAL Preseason Top Ten rankings. The weekly rankings will be released each Monday during the regular season. Here is the Preseason Class AAAA Top Ten.MSA SPORTS PRESEASON TOP TEN WPIAL CLASS AAAA:CTK 2011 – WPIAL A BLACK HILLS Conference Preview
In dedication to Clairton's school colors, maybe they should change the name of this Class A section to the Black AND Orange Hills Conference. The Bears have dominated the WPIAL and the state in recent years, but they have really done a number in the Black Hills since moving over from the Eastern Conference in 2008.CTK 2011 – WPIAL A EASTERN Conference Preview
This is a conference that has a lot of new faces - and a couple of old faces.Avonworth, Leechburg, Northgate and Wilkinsburg all have new coaches. Meanwhile, Springdale coach Chuck Wagner and Bishop Canevin coach Bob Jacoby have 84 years of head coaching experience between them.CTK 2011 – WPIAL AA ALLEGHENY Conference Preview
August 27, 2011
Either Ford City or Shady Side Academy has won or tied for the conference championship six years in a row. Don’t look for the trend to stop this season.Ford City and Shady Side Academy are pegged by many coaches as the teams to beat in the Allegheny Conference. A year ago, Ford City finished first and Shady Side Academy fourth.CTK 2011 – WPIAL AA MIDWESTERN Conference Preview
As much as the teams change in the MAC, some things remain the same...Aliquippa, Beaver Falls and Beaver are all favored in the conference going into 2011.But will there be another feel-good story from the Midwestern this season? In 2009, Ellwood City ended a looong losing streak, then qualified for the playoffs in 2010.CTK 2011 – WPIAL AA INTERSTATE Conference Preview
August 25, 2011
Greensburg Central Catholic has won or tied for the Interstate Conference title five times since joining in 2002. Jeannette has won or tied for the Interstate title three times since 2002.Don’t look for much to change this season.CTK 2011 – WPIAL AA CENTURY Conference Preview
The Century Conference has always been one of the most competitive conferences from top to bottom in the WPIAL. Just three years ago, the conference crowned tri-champions in Sto-Rox, Seton-LaSalle and Keystone Oaks. But since winning three of four WPIAL Class AA championships from 2002 through 2005, Century Conference teams had been in a four year title drought until last fall.CTK 2011 – WPIAL AAA KEYSTONE Conference Preview
August 24, 2011
Although the Keystone Conference was winless once again in the 2010 postseason, the conference was improved. The addition of Franklin Regional helped strengthen the conference, and Ringgold had one of its best teams in a while.CTK 2011 – WPIAL AAA GREATER ALLEGHNEY Conference Preview
Quietly, the Greater Allegheny Conference in Class AAA has become a primetime postseason player...at least in the First Round. A year ago, the four playoff teams (Mars, Knoch, Indiana and Highlands) in the GAC were a combined 3-1, giving the conference a 6-2 record in the opening round of the WPIAL playoffs the past two years.CTK 2011 – WPIAL/City League Week Two Scrimmages
One scrimmage is in the books and one more coming up this weekend as WPIAL and Pittsburgh City League football teams continue to prepare for the kickoff of the 2011 season. Scrimmage number two will take place for most teams this Friday, August 26th with two taking place on Thursday, August 25th and two more being played on Saturday, August 27th.Laredo, Texas Wins 2011 PONY League World Series
The eight day PONY League World Series here in 2011 from Lew Hays Field in Washington is in the books as Laredo, Texas outslugged Chinese Taipei to take the title. All of the games heard live on WJPA-AM 1450 can be heard again archived at msasports.netHere are recaps from all of the games.This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 08/24/2011
While Countdown to Kickoff heats up as we inch closer to the start of the high school football season, August starts winding down with its final full week, this week on the MSA Sports Network.Terrell Pryor Selected by Oakland in NFL Supplemental Draft
One of the most celebrated athletes in WPIAL history has a new home. Terrell Pryor, the former Jeannette Jayhawk and Ohio State Buckeye is now Oakland Raiders property after the he was selected in the third round of Monday's NFL Supplemental Draft.CTK 2011 – WPIAL AAA PARKWAY Conference Preview
August 20, 2011
There are many things you need to know about the Parkway Conference. The first is that making the playoffs will likely lead to a trip down the Highway to Heinz to the Class AAA Championship Game.CTK 2011 – WPIAL AAA BIG EIGHT Conference Preview
Discussions about the race for the conference crown in the Big Eight usually start and end with the big one. Thomas Jefferson.CTK 2011 – WPIAL AAAA BIG EAST Conference Preview
August 19, 2011
This is the second season that the Big East is a little bigger. This is the second season that Altoona is in the WPIAL and in the Big East Conference. Altoona can only hope this goes a little better than the first as the team finished 0-9 last year and was outscored 354-118.CTK 2011 – WPIAL AAAA FOOTHILLS Conference Preview
The Foothills has become the not-so-golden conference in Class AAAA. With North Allegheny ending the Northern Seven championship drought in 2010, attention turns to the Foothills Conference. McKeesport won WPIAL gold in 1994 and again in 2005, however the last Foothills Conference team to win WPIAL gold other than those two Tigers teams was...ready for this...Connellsville in 1991.CTK 2011 – WPIAL AAAA GREAT SOUTHERN Conference Preview
August 16, 2011
In the first eleven years of this century, three different Great Southern Conference teams won WPIAL football championships (Mount Lebanon in 2000, Upper St. Clair in 2006 and Bethel Park in 2008), nearly matching the total from the other three conferences combined (Woodland Hills, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, McKeesport, North Allegheny).CTK 2011 – WPIAL AAAA NORTHERN SEVEN Conference Preview
For the past five years, either North Allegheny or North Hills has won the conference of northern suburban teams. It could be more of the same this year as many are pegging North Allegheny as the team to beat. But on the other hand, maybe there could be a Titanic uprising at the top.
