OHSAA tabs McKinstry

COLUMBUS — Kevin McKinstry of East Palestine was named the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s volleyball official of the year on Thursday.

McKinstry will be recognized along with 20 other current officials as well as 14 OHSAA Officials Hall of Fame inductees at the Celebration of Officiating banquet set for June 20 at the Hilton Columbus/Polaris in Columbus.

Boys wrestlers open sectionals Saturday

The local boys wrestling sectional tournaments will be held Saturday.

In Division II, Salem and West Branch will be at West Branch; Beaver Local and Edison will be at Steubenville; and East Liverpool at Minerva will be at Urichsville Claymont.

In Division III, United, Southern and Leetonia will be at Rootstown and Columbiana, East Palestine and Wellsville will be at Beachwood.

The top four finishers in each weight class advance to the district tournament.

Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students. Children 5 and under are free.

Girls wrestlers are going Sunday

The local girls wrestling sectional tournaments will be held on Sunday.

The girls wrestle in one division with East Palestine, Leetonia, Southern and West Branch at Austintown Fitch; East Liverpool, Edison and Minerva at Urichsville Claymont; United at Canal Fulton Northwest; and Salem at Avon Lake.

The top four finishers in each weight class advance to the district tournament.

Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students. Children 5 and under are free.

Yankees to retire Sabathia’s No. 52

NEW YORK (AP) — CC Sabathia’s No. 52 will be retired on Sept. 26 by the New York Yankees, who will dedicate a plaque in honor of the Hall of Famer at Monument Park before that day’s game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Sabathia will be the 24th man to have his number retired by the Yankees, the first since Paul O’Neill was honored with the retirement of No. 21 in 2022. Twenty-three numbers have been retired, with No. 8 set aside for both Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey.

New York made the announcement Wednesday night.

Sabathia will join former teammates Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte with plaques in Monument Park, beyond Yankee Stadium’s center-field fence.

Sabathia was a six-time All-Star who won the 2007 AL Cy Young Award with Cleveland and a World Series title in 2009, his first season with the Yankees after signing as a free agent.

He went 251-161 with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts, third among left-handers behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton, during 19 seasons with Cleveland (2001-08), Milwaukee (2008) and the Yankees (2009-19), including a 134-88 record with a 3.81 ERA and 1,700 strikeouts for New York.

Sabathia was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2025.

Other Yankees with retired numbers are: No. 1 (Billy Martin, 1986), No. 2 (Jeter, 2017), No. 3 (Babe Ruth, 1948), No. 4 (Lou Gehrig, 1939), No. 5 (Joe DiMaggio, 1952), No. 6 (Joe Torre, 2014), No. 7 (Mickey Mantle, 1969), No. 8 (Berra and Dickey, 1972), No. 9 (Roger Maris, 1984), No. 10 (Phil Rizzuto, 1985), No. 15 (Thurman Munson, 1979), No. 16 (Whitey Ford, 1974), No. 20 (Jorge Posada, 2015), No. 21 (O’Neill, 2022) No. 23 (Don Mattingly, 1997), No. 32 (Elston Howard, 1984), No. 37 (Casey Stengel, 1970), No. 42 (Mariano Rivera, 2013), No. 44 (Reggie Jackson, 1993), No. 46 (Pettitte, 2015), No. 49 (Ron Guidry, 2003) and No. 51 (Bernie Williams, 2015).

In addition, Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 was retired throughout the major leagues in 1997.

Cincinnati sues ex-QB

CINCINNATI (AP) — The University of Cincinnati is suing Brendan Sorsby, accusing the former Bearcats quarterback of breaching his name, image and likeness contract following his transfer to Texas Tech.

The university filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on Wednesday.

According to the lawsuit, Sorsby signed an NIL agreement in July 2025 covering the 2025 and ’26 seasons and that there would be a $1 million buyout if Sorsby transferred, payable within 30 days. Sorsby announced on Dec. 15 that he was entering the transfer portal and announced on Jan. 4 that he would be attending Texas Tech.

Sorsby received the most lucrative deal of the portal period — a reported $5 million — to return to his home state for his final season.

“Cincinnati Athletics is proud to partner with its student-athletes and honors the contractual commitments it makes to them. We expect student-athletes and their representatives to do the same,” the university said in a statement. “In his lucrative NIL agreement with Cincinnati Athletics, Brendan Sorsby committed to stay and play for two seasons as a proud Bearcat representative. He also agreed that if he left the university before that time, he would pay the university a specific amount for the substantial harm that his breach would cause. Cincinnati Athletics intends to enforce that contractual commitment.”

Sorsby’s agent, Ron Slavin, said pursuing legal action against his client is misguided and that Sorsby intends to fight the lawsuit and any resulting damages.

Sorsby passed for 2,800 yards, 27 touchdowns and five interceptions last season. He also ran for 580 yards and nine TDs. The Bearcats started 7-1 before losing their final five games.

Slavin said Sorsby was paid $875,800 by Cincinnati under its revenue-sharing structure for the 2025 season.