From Diamonds, Rings, Rinks and Links, Authors Pick 'The Steel City 500'

Chris Fletcher of Forest Hills and David Finoli of Monroeville release their new book featuring 500 of the best athletes to come from or play in western PA.

Mario Lemieux, Bill Mazeroski, Lynn Swann—all names familiar to Pittsburgh sports fans and even those who only casually follow sports. But who are Cool Papa Bell, Louise Fulton, Susan Regan and Danny Seemiller? They, too, have made the list of western Pennsylvania's top 500 athletes of all time—as compiled by Chris Fletcher and David Finoli in their just-released book, "The Steel City 500." The book took seven years from conception to print. Since their college days at Duquesne University, sports have been big part of the friendship between Fletcher, a former editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Magazine from Forest Hills, and Finoli, a Monroeville resident, who has been in retail management for 28 years, most recently as personnel manager …

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Riverview Students Sign On to Play Sports for University of Akron, Robert Morris

Wednesday, Nov. 14, was the NCAA letter of intent day.

Two Riverview High School students have signed on to play sports for the University of Akron in Ohio and Robert Morris in Pittsburgh. On Wednesday, Nov. 14, students Anthony Malky and Arden Fisher declared to play baseball in Akron and volleyball at RMU, respectively. Congratulations to these two students. _______________________ Plum-Oakmont Patch is on Facebook and on Twitter. Don't forget to sign up for our daily email newsletter by clicking here.

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Plum Girls Eek Out Narrow Victory

The Lady Mustangs defeated Gateway 40-39 on Thursday in a tight game.

The Plum Girls’ basketball team captured a hard-fought victory over conference rival Gateway 40-39 Thursday night.   The victory improves their record to 3-2 in conference play, 7-6 overall. The Lady Mustangs trailed most of the game but took the lead in the fourth quarter and were able to fend off a furious comeback attempt by the Gators in the final minute.  Freshman Krista Pietropola led Plum with 16 points, including ten points in the second half. Angelena Borriello also reached double figures, as she accounted for 14 points for the Lady Mustangs.  Plum played without its potent interior presence, senior center Lindsay Deemer, who missed the game with an illness. Freshman Alyson Weifenbaugh started in place of Deemer, and filled in …

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Down the Red Brick Road

Proposed Court More "Botchy" than Bocce

Taliaferro raises concerns about the practicalities of a proposed bocce court to be built next to the Oakmont Borough building.

So here is something that I am still wondering about as 2010 comes to a close — will we ever have a bocce ball tournament in Oakmont?   If so, where are all those people going to park?  Forget about the noise and that there are no restroom facilities. I just can not help myself from wondering why we need to have a bocce court. Do we really have that many bocce players in the borough?  If this is true, what a tragic thing to have happened. No place to play like in the middle of a neighborhood. Let's build it and see who comes! With all the improvements that have occurred and are due to happen at Riverside Park, you think someone would have put this boondoggle there instead of right in the middle of a residential neighborhood with little to …

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Plum Girls Swimmers Make Comeback Win

The Plum varsity girls swim team secured a suspenseful win against Penn-Trafford with just a half-second to spare Tuesday night.

It all came down to one race. The Plum varsity girls swim team fought themselves out of a hole Tuesday night against Penn-Trafford to win 93-90 with the success riding on a final relay race. Plum started off with a 13-point deficit after Penn-Trafford girls competed in diving — the Mustangs don't have divers and had to dig out of a hole. "We needed all of the events to be perfect," captain Lauren Figurelli said. Throughout the meet, swimmers were doubting themselves and their ability to get ahead, she said. "We were the underdogs from the beginning." Figurelli and the other captains hyped up the team to remind them that winning was a possibility. Wins by captain Vanessa Gipson, a junior, in the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle races and …

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Plum Hockey Goaltender Cestra Scores Shut Out

The Mustangs won another game Monday night led by a shut out from goaltender Taylor Cestra.

Put another point in the win column. The Plum varsity hockey team is riding high on a string of successes with a shut out against Shaler Monday night at Bladerunners in Harmarville. The Mustangs won 4-0 thanks to a strong goaltending effort by sophomore net minder Taylor Cestra, who recorded her first varsity shut out. She recorded a pre-season shut out against Latrobe this year. Coach Stu Rulnick attributed the team's success to Taylor's 31 saves. "Taylor was phenomenal," he said after the game. Although she struggled at the beginning of the season, she has been steadily improving and making herself appear bigger in the net, Rulnick said. Cestra said she wasn't paying attention to a shut out but rather focused her entire attention on each…

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First Plum Varsity Swim Meet Yields 11 WPIAL Qualifications

The Plum boys and girls varsity swim teams started out the season strong against Deer Lakes Tuesday night.

It didn't take long for the Plum varsity swim teams to make a splash this season. The boys and girls teams scored 11 WPIAL qualifications at their first meet Tuesday, including four team and five individual qualifications. The girls team beat a small Deer Lakes team on Tuesday with a score of 81 to 29 and the boys, 79 to 14. "The kids did great. They exceeded all expectations," coach Shawn Haupt said. The strong start didn't occur by a stroke of luck, he said. "The attitude on the team has changed," Haupt said. "There is a lot of strong leadership." Haupt credits the team captains — Lauren Figurelli, David Starr, Sean Ging and Vanessa Gipson — with setting a good example for younger swimmers. "They're leading not just by words but in the …

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Plum Varsity Hockey Team Records Another Success

The Mustangs tied Canon McMillan Monday night, keeping the team's playoff dreams alive.

Plum varsity hockey players are taking after the Pittsburgh Penguins as the team continues a streak of successes in response to rough beginnings. The Mustangs tied Canon McMillan 3-3 tonight at the Icoplex at Southpointe, bringing the season record to 2-5-2. Coach Stu Rulnick said he's happy as long as the middle-column number remains the same, and the wins and ties keep adding up. "It would be great if we could hold to those five losses and just continue to climb," he said after the game. Despite Plum's strong offensive presence, Canon McMillan managed to tie the game with four minutes left. The team has greatly improved since the beginning of the season, Rulnick said. The previously struggling defense has developed into a stronger force…

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Consecutive Wins Turn Around Plum Varsity Hockey Team's Season

The previously struggling Mustangs' hope for making the playoffs was rekindled after racking up two consecutive wins.

They just want to make the playoffs.    After Monday's win against Penn-Trafford, the Plum varsity hockey team is striving for more victories and a chance to battle for the Penguins Cup. Six games into the season, the Mustangs had to regroup as they looked back on a disheartening 0-5-1 record.     "We dug ourselves a little bit of a hole," said coach Stu Rulnick, who attributes some of the losses to a wavering defense.  Since then, the team has registered its second consecutive win. Monday night, forward Tyler Galanis took advantage of a penalty shot by deking the goaltender and putting the puck into the cage against Penn-Trafford (5-3). The team's first win occurred Nov. 30 in overtime against Seneca Valley at Blade Runners in Warrendale…

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