Tag: McKeesport

Chicks Picks for Week Two

September 8, 2016

Welcome to Week 2 of the high school football season. Chick’s Picks has been fortunate enough to make a lot of friends throughout her prognosticating career – some that are unforgettable, and others that she cares to forget.  One of Chick’s Picks’ favorites happens to be a very dear Twitter pal, who happens to be the better half of a local coach.  This Twitter pal in particular has stood by Chick’s Picks through good times and bad – weeks when the crystal ball was on fire, as well as weeks when early retirement was considered.  Earlier this season, during Week Zero, Chick’s Picks’ pal even came through with her own prediction when the crystal ball was in the shop for maintenance.

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Big Game Hunting for Week Two 2016

September 7, 2016

Friday and Saturday the MSA Sports Network has you covered with wall to wall games from week two of the WPIAL season, and hey, even if your game turns out to be not that good, at least you won’t have to watch the Pirates! Some eyebrows were raised last week and there were also a lot of “I told you so”s being thrown around the WPIAL in week one. We continue to discover who is going to rise to the top, and who is going to find themselves in a dog fight for their playoff lives here in 2016. Because for sure, some of these teams are going to show a lot more fight for their playoff lives than the aforementioned Pirates. So forget that dusty old Jolly Roger over there in the corner and let’s go Big Game Hunting!

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Big Game Hunting for Week One 2016

August 31, 2016

Big Game Hunting gets bigger! Nothing wrong with that, right? 2016 and our weekly four-pack gets rounded out to an actual 6-pack. While I am not a fan yet of six classifications; I am willing to give it a try and I am a huge fan of six-packs. When someone shows up at your door and they have a six-pack, they are automatically your friend. Well in 2016 I will be showing up at your door with a six-pack every week, so that will make us friends. That’s a good thing and so is more football talk, and so is researching and writing about 150% of the games for the same amount of money right? Er…. Without further ado, let’s for the first time in 2016, go Big Game Hunting!

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CTK ’16: 5-A Big East Conference Preview

August 19, 2016

The 5A Big East Conference bares a strong resemblance for the former Quad-A Foothills Conference, as Connellsville, Greater Latrobe, Kiski Area, McKeesport, Penn-Trafford and Plum all remain intact. The other three spots, though, are comprised of teams previously in the AAA Greater Allegheny Conference, Franklin Regional, Gateway and Armstrong. Six of the nine squads qualified for the postseason last year, with Penn-Trafford reaching Heinz Field for the Quad-A title game and McKeesport also ranking among Quad-A's best. If the Warriors and Tigers take even a slight step back this year, though, the conference could be wide open.

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CTK ’16: New WPIAL Football Coaches

August 15, 2016

New Faces - New Places - New Hopes - New Dreams. While there were two fewer coaching changes this off-season then before the 2015 campaign, there were a couple of big names that hung up the whistle after last fall. Legendary McKeesport coach George Smith retired for a second time while record setting coach Tom Nola exited at Gateway. There are a lot of rookie head coaches getting their first crack, and some coaches who are just changing hats and addresses. Whatever the case, there are 17 coaching changes coming into this 2016 season. Here are the new football coaches that will be running the sidelines in the WPIAL this fall. CLASS 6-A: ALTOONA - Nick Felus replaces John Franco

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2016 National Letter of Intent Day – MSA Sports Elite Eleven College Destinations

February 3, 2016

Wednesday is National Letter of Intent Day where high school seniors make their verbal commitments official by signing on the dotted line to the school of their choice. What were the final college destinations for the members of the 2015 MSA Sports The Elite 11 football all-star team? Here is a look: PLAYER OF THE YEAR: KAEZON PUGH, ALIQUIPPA RB-LB, 6-2, 217, Sr. PITT ZACH CHANDLER, AVONWORTH QB, 6-4, 235, Sr. ALDERSON-BROADDUS   DAMAR HAMLIN, PITTSBURGH CENTRAL CATHOLIC WR-DB, 6-2, 189, Sr. PITT   HUNTER HAYES, SOUTH FAYETTE RB-DB, 6-1, 195, Sr. PENN  

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Scholastic Notebook – 01/08/2016

January 8, 2016

It’s been a while since there has been this much of a roar coming from Cougar Mountain at this time of the year. The Yough Cougars basketball team is making a lot of noise this year. Yough is 9-3 overall and in first place in WPIAL Class AAA Section 3 with 4-0 record. Yough took over sole possession of first place with a 77-69 overtime victory against Indiana Tuesday. Indiana is the defending WPIAL champion. Yough is one of the biggest turnaround stories in the WPIAL, under second-year coach Casey Copeman. Yough was 6-16 last year and won only 49 games in the previous eight seasons. The last time they finished above .500 was 2006-07 when the Cougars were 15-9.

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Chicks Picks – Week 11 – 2015

November 12, 2015

Welcome to Week 11 of the high school football season.  The atmosphere at MSA Sports World Headquarters was full of excitement last Friday night as we began our exclusive coverage of the WPIAL playoffs.  Things seemed to be running smoothly; that is, until Chick’s Picks overheard an unsettling statement during one of the broadcasts. The color commentator said, “This team should utilize that standout running back some more.  He’s really getting it done out there tonight.” The play-by-play announcer called the next play, “That running back just went 80 yards for a touchdown!  Way to go, color commentator guy.  You called it.  It was almost as though you used that trusty crystal ball of Chick’s Picks’, and you saw that play coming.”

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WPIAL Big Game Hunting – Quarterfinals

November 11, 2015

Quarter-finals week on the MSA Sports Network after a pretty chalk first round, really a very chalk first round just four upsets by seed and three of those in the eight – nine games, the other a ten seed over a seven seed. This Friday, I think you will see the chalk go by the wayside as I predict upsets will be the order of the weekend, but hey I know nothing, we’ve gone out of our way to make that abundantly clear here week after week. Just 16 games on this Friday night make sure you get out to one or listen to one here on the MSA Sports Network, even better if you do both of those things. Here are my picks for Week 11 of Big Game Hunting.

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Chicks Picks – Week 10 – 2015

November 5, 2015

Welcome to Week 10 of the high school football season. As a veteran prognosticator, Chick’s Picks has received countless commendations over the years.  None of these honors, however, were quite as prestigious as the one earned this week. Chick’s Picks received an anonymous phone call early Sunday morning.  The caller, a woman, told Chick’s Picks that her presence was requested by The Committee on Monday afternoon.  Confused, Chick’s Picks inquired further as to which committee the woman was referring.  The woman simply said, “Report to the Double Tree Hotel in Greentree at noon tomorrow.  Bring your crystal ball.  All of your questions will be answered there.”

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