**High School Wrestling**
Dustin Mace (114 pounds), Jorden Moore (121), Dominic Muzzi (189), and Holden Fischer (heavyweight) each won by fall to help Avella top South Side Beaver, 44-28, Wednesday night. With this win, Avella clinched second place in Class 2A Section 2.
Adam Ware secured a technical fall at 139 pounds, and Chas Rush earned a 7-2 decision at 172 pounds.
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**Pens Win in Calgary**
Tommy Novak and Evgeni Malkin each had a goal and an assist as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Calgary Flames 4-1 late Wednesday night. Yegor Chinakhov and Bryan Rust also scored for Pittsburgh, which improved to 24-14-11.
The Penguins have earned points in five straight games (3-0-2) and hold a 9-2-2 record in their last 13 contests.
Goaltender Stuart Skinner made 18 saves, securing his sixth win in seven starts and improving his record to 17-12-4. Skinner is now 6-2-1 against the Flames in his career.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby contributed an assist, extending his point streak to four games (two goals, five assists). Yegor Sharangovich scored Calgary’s lone goal.
Malkin’s 11th goal of the season came at 7:49 of the first period, giving Pittsburgh a lead they never relinquished. Calgary got on the board with only three seconds left in the second period when Zach Whitecloud’s point shot deflected in off the pants of Sharangovich.
Pittsburgh restored its two-goal advantage just 50 seconds into the third period, as Rust scored on a wraparound.
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang (upper body injury) missed his first game of the season.
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**Pitt Falls at BC**
Boden Kapke scored 19 points, including a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left that was the game-winning basket, leading Boston College to a 65-62 victory over Pitt on Wednesday night. The win moved Boston College out of the ACC cellar.
Fred Payne also scored 19 points, and Donald Hand Jr. added 18 points for the Eagles (2-4 ACC, 9-10 overall).
For Pitt, Roman Siulepa and Cameron Cohren each tallied 13 points, Brandin Cummings scored 11, and Barry Dunning Jr. and reserve Nojus Indrusaitis contributed 10 points each. Cohren and Siulepa grabbed 12 and 11 rebounds, respectively.
Following Kapke’s clutch 3-pointer, Cummings missed a deep three-point attempt with nine seconds remaining. After an intentional foul by Pitt (1-5 ACC, 8-11 overall), Siulepa stole the inbounds pass and passed to Cummings, who missed another 3-pointer as time expired.
—
**Golf**
Scottie Scheffler aimed to gauge his game at The American Express, and all signs looked positive on Thursday. He made birdies on half of his holes, finishing with a 9-under 63 to sit just one shot off the lead.
Min Woo Lee and Pierceson Coody led the field at 10-under 62 on the Nicklaus Tournament course at PGA West, considered the easiest of the three courses in rotation.
Scheffler played at La Quinta, where he did not miss a green until the 17th hole, and he chipped in for birdie there.
Jason Day had the most impressive round of the day, shooting a 63 on the Stadium Course at PGA West.
This strong start was notable among the 156 players—the largest domestic field of the year for regular PGA Tour events—because the tournament uses three different courses.
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**Baseball**
The New York Mets acquired ace pitcher Freddy Peralta and right-hander Tobias Myers from the Milwaukee Brewers late Wednesday night in a trade that sent two prized young players to Milwaukee.
The Brewers received pitcher Brandon Sproat and minor league infielder/outfielder Jett Williams, both rated among the game’s top 100 prospects by Baseball America.
Peralta bolsters the Mets’ rotation after a disappointing 2025 season. Last year, Peralta went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 33 starts, leading the National League in wins and finishing fifth in Cy Young Award voting.
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**College Football**
A lawyer for fired University of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore declared his innocence Thursday and said she is seeking to have home invasion and other charges against him dismissed.
Authorities allege Moore entered a woman’s apartment on December 10, blaming her for his job loss that day, then grabbed butter knives and kitchen scissors and threatened to kill himself.
Moore was fired for having a personal relationship with the woman, a football staff member, and for lying during the investigation, according to the university’s athletic director in the dismissal letter.
In court Thursday, defense attorney Ellen Michaels announced a motion to quash the arrest warrant against Moore. She later told reporters that Moore is innocent.
“This warrant was issued based on false and misleading statements presented as facts,” Michaels said. “We’re confident the truth will come out in court under oath where it belongs.”
Moore, 39, faces three charges including felony home invasion and stalking. He has pleaded not guilty.
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**Auto Racing**
Pacific Life Insurance Company asked a federal court Thursday to dismiss an $8.5 million lawsuit filed by NASCAR champion Kyle Busch and his wife over policies that the Buschs claim were sold to them under false and negligent representations as tax-free income for retirement.
The filing in the Western District of North Carolina states that the Buschs purchased five separate Indexed Universal Life (IUL) policies between 2018 and 2022 to provide more than $90 million in insurance protection for Kyle Busch, a two-time NASCAR champion.
The IUL policies were intended to provide immediate death benefit protection and the opportunity to accumulate cash values when held long term.
Pacific Life claims Busch failed to fully fund the policies, allowed some to lapse, and surrendered others.
Busch has claimed he is out $10.4 million.
https://www.observer-reporter.com/uncategorized/2026/jan/22/sports-briefs-1330/
