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Youth basketball camp slated
EAST LIVERPOOL -- Malone University teammates Justin Miller and Marcus Ernst are teaming up again for a youth basketball camp on Thursday, June 30, at the Destiny House Church gym.
It is for players in grades kindergarten through 12th grade. Cost is $30 per camper.
It will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. for grades 9-12; from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for K-4; and from 2 to 4 p.m. for grades 5-8.
To register, contact Justin Miller at (330) 383-9158 or Marcus Ernst at (440) 645-5674.
Home runs at dizzying pace
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- If the College World Series is like the first two rounds of the NCAA baseball tournament, fans in the outfield seats at Charles Schwab Field are going to take home lots of souvenir balls.
The 424 home runs hit in regionals and super regionals already are a tournament record, and at least 14 games remain to be played in the CWS.
The eight-team event opens today with No. 5 national seed Texas A&M (42-18) playing Oklahoma and No. 9 Texas (47-20) meeting Notre Dame (40-15). Saturday openers match No. 2 Stanford (47-16) against Arkansas (43-19) and Mississippi (37-22) against No. 14 Auburn (42-20).
Omaha's cavernous ballpark hasn't surrendered many homers since it opened in 2011. There were 28 in last year's CWS, the most since the move from the old Rosenblatt Stadium.
Based on what's happened, that number is in jeopardy.
Guardians double their pleasure
DENVER (AP) -- Jose Ramirez doubled for his eighth straight game with an extra-base hit and the Cleveland Guardians matched a season high with their fourth win in a row, beating the sloppy Colorado Rockies 4-2.
Ramirez hit an opposite-field grounder that hugged the third-base line against an exaggerated shift in the first inning. He is the first major leaguer with extra-base hits in eight consecutive games since Cincinnati's Joey Votto in 2020.
The Guardians have won 13 of 16.
"We come out of here feeling good, but there was some closeness to every game," Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. "It's not always perfect, but they keep plugging. They keep trying to pick each other up. It makes for a fun dugout."
Blitzer to get minority share of Guardians
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Their name changed, and now the Cleveland Guardians appear on the way to a switch in ownership.
Major League Baseball approved the sale of a minority stake in the team to David Blitzer, whose sports holdings include ownership shares in the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL's New Jersey Devils, two people familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Blitzer initially will have 25-30% ownership and will have the right to increase his stake to a controlling interest in several years, said one of the people. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been finalized.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced approval of the sale at the conclusion of a three-day owners meeting in New York.
Browns will know by training camp
NEW YORK (AP) -- While Deshaun Watson maintains his innocence and fights to clear his name, the Cleveland Browns and football fans everywhere wait for the NFL to determine an appropriate penalty for the star quarterback accused of sexual misconduct by 24 women.
A person familiar with the league's investigation told The Associated Press a decision is expected before training camp. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the investigation, conducted by Lisa Friel and Todd Jones, is still ongoing.
Once it concludes, former U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson, who was jointly appointed by the league and the NFL Players' Association, will review the league's findings to decide whether Watson violated the personal conduct policy and whether to impose discipline.
This will be Robinson's first case since being hired as the league's disciplinary officer under the latest collective bargaining agreement finalized in March 2020. Previously, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had the authority to suspend players.
The league and the union can recommend a potential length of suspension. If either the union or league appeals Robinson's decision, Goodell or his designee "will issue a written decision that will constitute full, final and complete disposition of the dispute," per terms of Article 46 in the CBA.
Watson is not facing criminal charges after two grand juries in Texas declined to indict him. But he's facing civil lawsuits from 24 massage therapists accusing him of sexual assault and harassment during private sessions when he played for the Houston Texans.
On Tuesday, Watson stood by previous comments proclaiming his innocence.
Cincinnati misses out on 2026 World Cup
NEW YORK (AP) -- The 16 cities of the first World Cup spread across three nations were revealed, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino made a bold statement summing up the goal of the 2026 tournament, to be played largely in the United States.
"By 2026, soccer -- or futbol -- will be the No. 1 sport in this part of the world," he proclaimed.
Roughly four years before soccer's showcase comes to the U.S., Mexico and Canada, there already were winners and losers Thursday: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle and Kansas City, Missouri, were among the cities picked after missing out on hosting the 1994 tournament.
Baltimore, Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Tennessee, and Orlando, Florida, missed the cut.
Eleven U.S. stadiums were picked, all from the NFL. Arlington, Texas; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Foxborough, Massachusetts, and Inglewood and Santa Clara, California, were holdover areas from the 1994 tournament that boosted soccer's American prominence.
Mexico City's Estadio Azteca, which hosted the 1970 and '86 finals, will become the first stadium in three World Cups, selected along with Guadalajara's Estadio Akron and Monterrey's Estadio BBVA.
Toronto's BMO Field and Vancouver, British Columbia's B.C. Place were picked while Edmonton, Alberta's Commonwealth Stadium was dropped.
Following the withdrawl of outmoded FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, Baltimore's omission means this will be the first World Cup with no matches in the vicinity of a host's capital.