Eye On Sports

"There was a human-shaped hole in the wall." Ummm ... what? The Butler Eagle named its third annual Male and Female Athletes of the Year this week: Butler senior baseball player Nolan Stefaniak and North Catholic senior soccer and flag football player Simone Sharpless. The two local standouts joined us in the studio this week to talk about their championship-winning and record-setting seasons, the...

Jake is here, but he's not. But he's here! The power of YouTube magic has Jake Merda Adams, on vacation, back in studio with Derek Pyda this week to break down the rest of our spring all-stars. WPIAL champions Butler baseball, Mars boys and Mars girls lacrosse stole the all-star show. Find out which of their stats earned our player of the year honors, and who else from their teams and the rest of...

A couple two-time players of the year and our very first flag football all-star team! Who made the cut for the all-Butler County spring teams? Derek Pyda and Jake Merda Adams break down the awards and talk about the first-teamers, from Freeport's Mackenzie Magness to North Catholic's Lizzie Fabian. There's a lot to discuss. Plus, Derek got back from vacation and returned to civilization, and we le...

"State champion" has a nice ring to it. Mars boys lacrosse's Grant Weaver, Reed Fuller, David Renner and Jack Tirch joined the show today to continue celebrating their PIAA championship, the second in program history. The crew relived the final minutes of the game, their favorite highlights of the season, proving "the doubters" wrong and talked about what it means to them. Brendan and Jake also re...

"They look like a droid from Star Wars." We go off the rails almost immediately, from pistachio chocolate to rainbow vacuum clearers, cutting the grass and, well ... you get the picture. Butler baseball and volleyball are in the PIAA tournament this week, plus Mars and girls lacrosse and a few other teams. Derek and Jake preview the first-round matchups and talk about some of the history being mad...

The 2026 Wing Fest is June 7, and Jake broke containment from the office for the difficult task of taste-testing some of the wings that might be entered in the competition to by the Beacon Hotel this year. It was a difficult assignment, don't let his sauce-covered hands fool you in this special episode of Eye on Sports. Get your ticket to Wing Fest fast. They can sell out in advance. Go to  https:...

"You're not Derek!" Nope, she's not. Laura steps into the host seat for the first time with Derek and Brendan in parts unknown so we can drop a special Memorial Day episode previewing this week's WPIAL and District 9 baseball and softball championships. The stars have aligned for Butler to finally win a WPIAL baseball title. They have the ace pitchers (plural) and some serious pop in the lineup. T...

Can Freeport's Mackenzie Magness defend her PIAA pole vault title? And who else will join her on the podium at Shippensburg University this weekend? Derek, Jake and Brendan break down the Butler County contingent heading to the PIAA Track and Field Championships. Butler's 4x800 relay is coming off a WPIAL title, as are Seneca Valley's Audrey Wolfe and Tennyson Voll, Karns City's Alex Wilson and Ph...

We won't make the Jim Mora "Playoffs?!?!" joke this season. It's a Derek and Jake episode this week, and they're breaking down a couple big WPIAL playoff storylines: Can Butler baseball finally win a title as the top seed? And can Knoch softball do the same? Will Mars boys lacrosse make it 10 straight and the girls four? And who is Dominic The Intern? The answer to those questions and more this we...

The WPIAL track and field championships are next week, as are District 9 and 10. What can we expect from some of Butler County's top runners, jumpers and throwers? We break it down. A week off should've given us a rested Jake. Instead, he's in pain from his Broad Street Run.  You know who's not in pain? Butler County's standout track and field athletes who are gearing up for the district champions...

Jake's on vacation, but the sports world isn't slowing down. This week, we dive into JJ Wetherholt 's continued impact, highlight standout performances from WPIAL team track, and break down the excitement as the NFL Draft lands in Pittsburgh . From local athletes to the national spotlight, it's a quick look at what's making headlines across the region.   For more on Butler Eagle Sports go to:   ht...

 "It's very hard not to see 2 or 3 players on the board (they like)." The Penguins are down bad, but it's the week of hopes and dreams for all football fans. PennLive Steelers reporter Nick Farabaugh makes his debut on the show to talk all things NFL draft this week. What's the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Steelers? Will they take Omar Cooper, Makai Lemon or Jordyn Tyson at 21? What...

"I got about four hours of sleep last night." Seneca Valley grad Easton Bazzoli still hasn't slept much since leading Gannon men's basketball to its first NCAA Division II title a week ago. Is it the recruiting, the celebration or raising a 3-year-old? The former Raiders standout hops on the pod to talk about a whirlwind season and what's next. But before that, Jake and Brendan (Derek is on vacati...

"What do you got there, Brendan?" Jake finally pays off his debt from the fantasy football season, much to Brendan's full stomach's content. He chows down while we break down our decisions for the Butler Eagle all-county boys and girls basketball teams, including players of the year Teegan Finucan (Knoch) and Madison Romanovich (Slippery Rock). Did we make the right calls? Who else could've made t...

Mars football and track star Brad Mueller is heading to the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame this month. The former Boston College running back who later went to Slippery Rock University joined us in studio to relive some of his favorite memories as head enters the hall. But before that, a food debate leads to ... well ... something. We get "real," and maybe a little TMI. Please some recaps on th...

"Diving is definitely the way we still get that excitement."  Mars diver and newly crowned WPIAL and PIAA medalist Marin Raible hopped on "Eye on Sports" to talk about her transition from gymnastics to diving and what it was like to win multiple medals. But first, we stumble all over ourselves to get the interview started as she laughs at our expense. The guys talk spring sports. Can Mars boys and...

"Speaking of flags..." Warmer weather means outdoor sports are back. And that means storylines.  Jake is all on board the flag football train. The first PIAA-sanctioned season began in the past week, and Mars, Seneca Valley and North Catholic will be part of the debut season. What can we expect? What's there to be excited about? (Answer: more football!) And is boys flag football next? Derek and Ja...

Butler's Santino Sloboda won his fourth medal, bronze, at the PIAA Individual Wrestling Championships, closing out a historic career. Jake was on site with coverage, highlights and interviews with the man of the weekend.  And with it feeling like a (soggy) spring finally, you better be watching some baseball. Mars Planets fans have reasons to be excited, with David Bednar pitching for Team USA in...

"Some of its jokes haven't aged well." Jake gets nostalgic for Scrubs returning after nearly 15 years, which gets Brendan to open up about his love for Peaky Blinders and Derek espousing the virtues of Breaking Bad again. As for sports, the PIAA basketball playoffs and PIAA wrestling championships are upon us. Do we get a Knoch-North Catholic IV, and who wins? And does the winner of that game or a...

We find out Jake REALLY likes to talk about the Olympics, and figure skating, and King Klaebo. And we didn't even get to Nazgul the wolfdog! But first, Derek and Jake break down a big week of WPIAL wrestling championships, where Butler's Santino Sloboda won his third straight gold to join rarified air, the Seneca Valley and Mars boys teams sent several to the PIAA regional tournament and Raiders'...

It's the best time of the wrestling calendar — POSTSEASON! Jake was on site at Butler High School and got some highlights and news from the WPIAL sectional wrestling tournament, where Butler's Santino Sloboda broke a historic record and classmate Sutton Stoner at long last got the win he has been waiting for. What's ahead for the area's best wrestlers? And what did Sloboda have to say about his la...

So, as soon as we started recording this week's episode, the WPIAL basketball tournament brackets were announced. But unlike that bracket show, ours doesn't freeze in the middle of the stream! Derek, Brendan and Jake attempt to break down in real time the seedings and matchups for Knoch boys, Mars boys and girls, Seneca Valley boys and girls, Freeport girls and North Catholic boys and girls. The W...

The WPIAL, District 9 and District 10 playoffs are right around the corner. But many Butler County teams still have to make the dance. Derek, Brendan and Jake discuss this year's surprises and which teams have the best chance to stick around for a while. Can Seneca Valley girls, poised to repeat as WPIAL Section 1-6A champs, make a deep run to the PIAA tournament, or are Karns City, North Catholic...

Student section week is here in Butler County, and Derek, Brendan and Jake talk about how high school crowds do it best. And then Karns City senior Quinn Robinson, the man behind the theme nights and organizing the gang, joins the show to tell us why the Gremlins have the best supports in all the land.   Plus, the Steelers named a head coach. Maybe you know his name. Mike McCarthy. Brendan covered...

Move over, Mike Tomlin. There's bigger coaching carousel news this week!   Derek, Brendan and Jake break down last week's stories on Mars and Slippery Rock losing their head football coaches. What's next? Who might be a candidate for those teams? How good of a job are they? Oh, yeah, there's a Steelers coaching search going on. The guys discuss one of the rarest occurrences in American sports.   A...