Sports briefs
Busch wins delayed Cup Series race
Kyle Busch won for the first time this season to extend a 16-year streak while his penalized teammate missed a chance to secure a spot in the championship in the NASCAR playoff race at Texas that finished Wednesday, three days after it started.
Busch, the reigning Cup champion who is already out of contention for the title this year, finished 0.468 seconds ahead of Martin Truex Jr., his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate who had to go to the back of the field when the race started Sunday because of an illegal spoiler.
Truex, the 2017 champion and runner-up last season, also was docked 20 points because of that spoiler, a crucial penalty for the driver who was already below the cutoff line for the top four before that. A win would have taken care of that, but he couldn’t get past his teammate.
There are spots for three other drivers to join Joey Logano for a run at the championship in the season finale Nov. 8 at Phoenix. The only race before then is Sunday at Martinsville, NASCAR’s oldest and shortest track where Truex won in June.
Field hockey
A goal by Sofia Forlini was enough to give Peters Township a 1-0 victory over North Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 3A field hockey semifinals Wednesday. Goalkeeper Sarah Rubican kept the Indians in front the rest of the way with a shutout.
The Indians will play Pine-Richland in the championship game Wednesday at Fox Chapel.
Girls soccer
A bad first half proved costly to seventh-seeded Chartiers-Houston as the Bucs lost to second-seeded Steel Valley 5-1 in the WPIAL Class A semifinals Wednesday night at Campbell Field.
Steel Valley (14-0-1) forged a 5-0 lead by halftime. Chartiers-Houston’s Ashley Horvath scored the lone goal of the second half. The Bucs finish the season with a 9-6-1 record and a playoff win over the Ellis School. The only blemish on Steel Valley’s record is a regular-season tie with C-H.
“Depending on who you talk to, it had been 16 or 18 years since we’ve won a playoff game, so the girls did a good job,” said C-H coach Bob Acor.
Former Steelers receiver Orr dies at 85
Jimmy Orr, a sure-handed wide receiver who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Colts after starring at the University of Georgia, has died. He was 85.
Orr passed away Tuesday night. His death was confirmed Wednesday by Edo Smith and Sons Funeral Home in Brunswick, Georgia.
After playing with the Steelers from 1958-61, Orr made a name for himself by teaming with the Johnny Unitas to form a formidable passing combination.
Orr caught many a touchdown pass from Unitas at the Colts’ home stadium during the 1960s.