Potters play in All-Star game

GNADENHUTTEN — East Liverpool’s Cohen Pease and Kenzie Headley have been chosen to play in the District 5 Basketball Coaches Association East-West All-Star Game on Sunday at Indian Valley High School.

The girls game will tip at 2 p.m. with the boys to follow at 4 p.m. Admission is $10.

Vikings move on in WNIT

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland State women’s advanced to the WNIT quarterfinals with a 72-70 overtime win against Coppin State at the Wolstein Center on Tuesday.

The Vikings rallied from a 52-43 deficit with 8 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Mackayla Perdue led the Vikings with 25 points.

Jordana Reisma had 21 points and Sara Guerreiro added 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Cleveland State (25-9) will host Duquesne (21-12) at 7 p.m. Friday. The teams last met in 2001.

Gun show this weekend

NEW CUMBERLAND, W.Va. — The Gun Show will be held at the Hancock County Senior Center, 647 Gas Valley Road, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Admission is $5 and children 12 and under are free. Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

The Chester-Newell Sportsmen Club turkey shoots will resume April 6 and April 13. The Ohio River Catfish Tournaments start May 10.

St. Francis drops to Division III

LORETTO, Pa. (AP) — The first run to the NCAA Division I basketball tournament in more than 30 years by Saint Francis (Pa.) could also be its last.

The school announced Tuesday it would move from Division I to Division III in the summer of 2026.

The announcement comes a week after the Red Flash played in March Madness for the first time since 1990. The Northeastern Conference Tournament champions were edged by Alabama State in the First Four on a last-second layup.

The school, which is located in the Allegheny Mountains about 80 miles east of Pittsburgh, has accepted an invitation to begin play in the Division III-level Presidents’ Athletic Conference during the 2026-27 academic year.

The private Catholic school, with an enrollment of around 3,000 students, indicated that the shift in college athletics over the last few years — including the transfer portal and the ability for athletes to make money off their name, image and likeness — played a factor in the decision.

The wide geographic footprint of the NEC was also an issue.

“Our students travel either to Chicago or to Boston or to points in between,” the school’s president, the Rev. Malachi Van Tassell, said in a statement. “That’s a lot of time not spent on campus, developing friendships or in the classroom. This change allows our students to be present on campus and lets their friends attend more of their home and away games.”

Van Tassell added he knows the transition will be “stressful” for student-athletes and that the administration will do what it can to offer support to everyone involved.

Smart money with Dodgers

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Dodgers have spent a lot of money hoping to win their second straight World Series and bettors are putting their cash on Los Angeles.

BetMGM Sportsbook has taken 37.8% of its futures money on the Dodgers, which far exceeds its previous high of 21.7% of money that was placed on the 2022 New York Mets. It’s also far ahead of this year’s Mets, who at 9.4% are receiving the second-highest amount of the handle. The New York Yankees are third at 7.7%.

The Dodgers also lead in betting tickets at 17.5%, with the Mets next at 8.7% and the Philadelphia Phillies at 8.6%.

Opening day for most teams is Thursday.

“It’s all Dodgers money,” BetMGM trading manager Halvor Egeland said. “That’s somewhat frequent when it comes to the favorites. Favorites are going to take most of the money, but this is a level we don’t typically see. … It’s a little bit of a hole liability wise, which is a little out of the norm for a favorite.”

That’s because sportsbooks typically set a high enough price in anticipation for the rush of money, but not to this level. The Dodgers, who already are 2-0 after a two-game series against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, are +240 at BetMGM.

The next closest are the Yankees and Atlanta Braves at +900 each.

DraftKings Sportsbook race and sports operations director Johnny Avello said the Dodgers are popular, but the futures money is fairly well spread out. LA is +290 at DraftKings and the Braves are next at +750 and the Yankees at +850.

“They’ve got a complete team,” Avello said of the Dodgers. “Will they win it all again? I don’t know. Sometimes at the end of the year, things just need to go your way. I don’t care how good you are.”

Reds are betting on Francona

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Terry Francona was hired for another reclamation project, the Reds hoping he will find similar success in Cincinnati that he had with Boston and Cleveland.

“We are seeing some money on them to win it all,” DraftKings Sportsbook race and sports operations director Johnny Avello. “You get a really good price. They’re projected to win around 78, 79 games or so. And this guy’s a winner. He finds ways to make teams that are average much better, so that’s why I think bettors are betting the Reds to win it all.”

The Reds, who have a core of young players led by Elly De La Cruz, are +8000 at BetMGM and +9000 at DraftKings.

Wilson heading to New York Giants

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Russell Wilson has agreed on a one-year contract with the New York Giants, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the signing hasn’t been finalized, said Wilson’s deal is worth up to $21 million with $10.5 million guaranteed.

The Giants signed veteran Jameis Winston to a two-year contract last week and have the third pick in next month’s NFL draft. They went 3-14 in 2024 and released 2019 first-round pick Daniel Jones during the season. Before signing Winston and Wilson, Tommy DeVito was the only quarterback on the team’s roster.

The Giants have missed the playoffs in 11 of the last 13 seasons since Eli Manning won his second Super Bowl following the 2011 season. General manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll are under pressure to win right away while potentially developing a rookie quarterback.

Shedeur Sanders is a possibility for the Giants with the No. 3 overall pick. With Wilson and Winston ahead of him, Sanders could be eased into a starting role for 2026 if New York selects him.

The 36-year-old Wilson, a 10-time Pro Bowl selection, joins his fourth team in five years. He helped lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to the playoffs last year but the team lost five in a row to end the season after starting 6-1 with Wilson.

Wilson threw for 2,482 yards with 16 touchdown passes, five interceptions and a 96.5 passer rating for the Steelers.