Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH - Former corrections officer Harry F. Nicoletti Jr. was found guilty on 27 of 80 criminal counts against him Thursday, ending the guilt phase of his trial on some of the most serious accusations of prisoner abuse the region has seen. He was not convicted on the most serious charges he faced. Nicoletti, 61, of Coraopolis, was accused of abuses by 20 inmates, whose allegations ranged from name calling to sexual assault. Nearly all were housed in 2010 on the State Correctional Institution Pittsburgh's century-old F Block.

MATT MOULSON scored a goal and assisted on another, Evgeni Nabokov stopped 37 shots and the New York Islanders dominated the listless Penguins, 4-1, Tuesday night in Pittsburgh. John Tavares scored for the second straight game for New York while Michael Grabner collected his fourth goal of the season and Casey Cizikas found the net for the first time in his career. It was more than enough to send the Penguins to their third loss in four games. Pascal Dupuis scored with just over a minute remaining to avoid the shutout.

AS SCOTT Laughton hugged and said goodbye to his parents and friends in an empty section of seats in a chilly First Niagara Center on Sunday, teammate Zac Rinaldo limped down the steps toward the Flyers' awaiting bus to the airport. Rinaldo's limp, the product of 20 fresh stitches in his right thigh area, is Laughton's opportunity. "It's hockey. It happens," Rinaldo said of his injury. Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren announced Monday that Rinaldo will need to sit out at least a week to allow his lacerated leg to heal.

Villanova had played some promising basketball through its first three Big East games, overcoming inconsistent shooting and turnovers with strong rebounding and gritty defense. But with Pittsburgh at the Pavilion on Wednesday night, the Wildcats weren't able to do what they had been doing well and shut down offensively in the final five-plus minutes, going scoreless and dropping a 58-43 decision to the Panthers. The Wildcats (11-6, 2-2 Big East), who lost their second in a row after a seven-game winning streak, scored their fewest points ever in the Pavilion, which opened in 1986.

  Villanova had played some promising basketball through its first three Big East games, overcoming inconsistent shooting and turnovers with strong rebounding and gritty defense. But with Pittsburgh at the Pavilion on Wednesday night, the Wildcats weren't able to do what they had been doing well and shut down offensively in the final five-plus minutes, going scoreless and dropping a 58-43 decision to the Panthers. The Wildcats (11-6, 2-2 Big East), who lost their second in a row after a seven-game winning streak, scored their fewest points ever in the Pavilion, which opened in 1986.

Jaryd Jones-Smith, West Catholic's 6-foot-7, 320-pound offensive lineman, flipped a few pages in his spiral notebook on Tuesday afternoon before he found his place. Somewhere in his physics book was the short speech he wrote before he would announce his oral commitment to Pittsburgh, a school he officially visited in December with his mother. "I have a free eighth period," Jones-Smith said. "So I had a little bit of time to write it. " Jones-Smith projects to be an offensive tackle at Pittsburgh.

George Washington defensive end Justin Moody gave an oral commitment Tuesday to the University of Pittsburgh. The 6-foot-3, 279-pounder unofficially visited Pitt in early December. He also weighed offers from Temple and Purdue. The commitment is nonbinding, and Washington coach Ron Cohen said he was unsure whether Moody would visit other schools. "He's a great athlete and a young man that has a great passion for the game of football," said Cohen, who traveled with Moody to Pittsburgh.

George Washington defensive end Justin Moody gave an oral commitment Tuesday to the University of Pittsburgh. The 6-foot-3, 279-pounder unofficially visited Pitt in early December. He also weighed offers from Temple and Purdue. The commitment is nonbinding, and Washington coach Ron Cohen said he was unsure whether Moody would visit other schools. "He's a great athlete and a young man that has a great passion for the game of football," said Cohen, who traveled with Moody to Pittsburgh.

PITTSBURGH - A house fire has killed two people in a Pittsburgh suburb, authorities said, and relatives say the victims are 3-year-old twins. The blaze in North Braddock broke out Friday afternoon. A passerby saw flames, banged on the doors, and called 911, officials said. Allegheny County emergency services Chief Alvin Henderson confirmed that two bodies had been found, but he would not identify them. Darran Miller said the victims were his godsons. The cause of the fire is under investigation.