West Virginia playoffs on hold

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Due to ongoing litigation regarding reclassifications, the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission postponed the state’s football playoffs indefinitely.

“We are extremely disappointed to not be having the playoffs this weekend.” WVSSAC Executive Director David Price said. “We understand the frustration from all of the parties involved, and we want nothing more than to put the focus back on the student-athletes and their pursuit of a championship. However, we must abide by the decisions of the courts and their timeline.”

Several injunctions issued across the state have plunged the state playoff system into chaos. The matter is expected to be taken up by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in the coming days and the postseason will begin when a final ruling is made.

The state championship games were slated for Dec. 6-7 in Charleston but now will be moved back at least one week.

There was no new update on the Class A state volleyball tournament that was postponed due to the same reclassification issues.

Clark takes a swing

BELLEAIR, Fla. (AP) — Caitlin Clark has one goal when she plays in an LPGA pro-am.

“I’ve tried to practice as much as I can,” Clark said Tuesday. “I’m just the average golfer. I’m going to hit some good, I’m going to hit some bad. … Just going to try not to hit anyone standing outside of the ropes. But it’ll be fun.”

The WNBA rookie of the year star was invited to take part in Wednesday’s pro-am at Pelican Golf Club ahead of The Annika. The presenting sponsor is Gainbridge, which has an endorsement deal with Clark.

She took part in an LPGA Women’s Leadership Summit with Sorenstam, the tournament host, and former model and business leader Kathy Ireland.

Clark will be playing the front nine with Nelly Korda, the No. 1 player in the women’s ranking who has clinched the LPGA’s player of the year award. She plays the back nine with Sorenstam, who retired in 2008 and now dabbles in senior golf.

Clark had said after the Indiana Fever were eliminated from the WNBA playoffs that she planned to play golf until it became too cold in Indiana, adding with a smile, “Become a professional golfer.”

Yes, she was kidding.

“I’ve tried to take as much time as I can to practice, but there is only so much hope. You just cross your fingers, pray,” she said Tuesday. “No, I’ve practiced a little bit and I just had the quote about becoming a professional golfer. Everybody thought I was serious. I was not serious. I love it. I love being outside and making it competitive with my friends.

“It’s challenging and getting to come here and be around the best and have a good time is what I’m looking forward to.”

This will be her second pro-am, which often attracts athletes and entertainers. Clark played in the pro-am at the John Deere Classic in July 2023 when she was still at Iowa.

Highsmith won’t play vs. Ravens

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers will head into their AFC North showdown with rival Baltimore without outside linebacker Alex Highsmith.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Highsmith is “week to week” after Highsmith twisted his left ankle late in a 28-27 victory over Washington last Sunday. Highsmith suffered the injury while chasing down Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels in the fourth quarter.

This is the second time this season Highsmith has missed time. A groin injury forced him to sit out three games earlier this season.

Highsmith will be replaced in the starting lineup by either Nick Herbig or Preston Smith. Herbig’s been out a month with a hamstring injury, but Tomlin said he’s “comfortable” that Herbig will be available when Pittsburgh (7-2) hosts Baltimore (7-3). The Steelers also have Preston Smith after acquiring the veteran edge rusher from Green Bay last week.

Wide receiver Calvin Austin, who left late in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed issue, is also expected to play. Tomlin is less sure about cornerback Donte Jackson, who injured his hamstring against Washington. While Tomlin said Jackson felt good on Tuesday that might not mean anything when practice begins on Wednesday.

The meeting with Baltimore is the start of a tough finishing stretch for the Steelers that includes six games against AFC North opponents.

“I’ll play them whenever they schedule us,” Tomlin said. “We got no control over schedule. Our goal is to beat everybody.”

Penguins send Eller to Caps

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Washington Capitals have reunited with veteran center Lars Eller.

Washington sent a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2027 third-round pick to Pittsburgh on Tuesday for Eller, who spent seven seasons with the Capitals and helped the club win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 2018.

The 35-year-old Eller had four goals and three assists in 17 games with Pittsburgh. He was in the second season of a two-year deal he signed with the Penguins in the summer of 2023.

Eller has 182 goals and 227 assists in 1,053 games with Montreal, Washington, Colorado and Pittsburgh. He remains a dependable two-way player and penalty killer and is rejoining a Washington team off to a hot start in the competitive Metropolitan Division. The Capitals entered play on Wednesday at 10-4-0, good enough for third in the division behind Carolina and New Jersey.

The move could be the first of several for Pittsburgh, which began Wednesday just two points clear of the bottom of the Eastern Conference. The Penguins were whipped 7-1 by Dallas on Monday night, a game in which the Stars poured in six goals in the first period.

Evgeni Malkin apologized for the team’s performance on Tuesday.

“I want to say sorry to the fans,” Malkin said. “They (watched) a really bad game. I hope we, together, find a good way, win tomorrow and start building the team better.”

Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas has tried to straddle a line that keeps the team competitive in the twilight of the careers of franchise icons Sidney Crosby, Malkin and Kris Letang.

The team’s wobbly start highlighted by the struggles of goaltender Tristan Jarry and a porous defense — the Penguins are tied with Montreal for a minus-21 goal differential, the worst in the league — could lead to more substantial changes. Dubas has been intent on trying to beef up the team’s prospect pool and sending out Eller for two picks down the road is another step in that direction.

USC football placed on 1 year of probation

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California’s football program has been fined $50,000 and placed on probation for one year by the NCAA because of multiple violations of coaching staff rules over two seasons.

The NCAA and USC announced Tuesday that they reached a settlement in the case.

An NCAA investigation found that USC exceeded the allowed number of countable coaches during the 2022 season and during spring practices in 2023. Eight analysts did on- and off-field coaching during that period, exceeding the permissible number by six