GLEASON LED OAC

MINERAL RIDGE — Former Ohio Athletic Conference commissioner Tim Gleason died on Thursday at age 70.

Gleason served as the commissioner from 1991 to 2021. He is known as the ‘Father of the NCAA Grant Program’ which was created while he was a member of the Div. III Commissioners Association.

In 1992 he organized the first ever college football game to be played in Germany between Heidelberg and Otterbein.

He was currently a Mineral Ridge school board member and also served as an announcer at Mineral Ridge basketball, volleyball and wrestling events.

DAVIDSON RECORDS ACE

CALCUTTA — Michele Davidson aced Beaver Creek Meadows 90-yard No. 2 on Friday. Witnesses were Rose Johnston and Jessica Durham.

3-on-3 TOURNEY PLANNED

MIDLAND, Pa. — The second annual Holiness Church of Christ Deliverance Center Rick Sallis 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament is planned for July 11 at Lincoln Park Performing Arts High School (the old Midland High School gym). The double elimination tournament for boys and girls middle and high school basketball players will start at 10 a.m. There will be separate brackets for boys and girls. High school bracket is for ages 14 to 19, while the middle school brackets are from ages 10-14. Each team may have four players. Cost is $40 per team. Concessions will be available. Each winning team gets a trophy. Contact Torrin Sallis at tpsallis57@gmail.com for sign-up and payment information.

CANADA GETS FIRST WORLD CUP POINT

TORONTO (AP) — Late substitute Cyle Larin scored in the 78th minute and co-host Canada earned its first point in its third World Cup appearance — and first on home soil — by rallying for a 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday.

Playing in the shadow of Toronto’s iconic CN Tower, and in front of a sea of red “Ca-na-da!” chanting fans that included hockey star Connor McDavid and actor Ryan Reynolds, Larin converted Promise David’s pass a mere two minutes after entering the game.

The goal was only the second in World Cup play scored by Canada after the team lost all three of its games at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and again four years ago at Qatar.

Injury fill-in Jovo Lukic headed in a corner kick in the 21st minute for Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is making its second World Cup appearance after failing to advance out of group play in 2014.

Starting in place of Edin Dzeko (shoulder) and Haris Tabakovic (undisclosed), Lukic was in a ideal position to cap a set piece with captain Sead Kolasinac flicking along a header off Ivan Basic’s corner kick. The goal was Lukic’s first in international play and coming in the 27-year-old attacker’s fourth international appearance.

INKSTER, 66, MAKES CUT

MIDLAND, Mich. (AP) — Nelly Korda found the perfect tonic for the week after the biggest win of her career. The U.S. Women’s Open champion is playing with good friend Olivia Cowan of Germany in the Dow Championship, two shots out of the lead Friday held by Polly Mack and Celine Borge.

The final two days at Midland Country Club also includes Juli Inkster, the 66-year-old Hall of Famer who became the oldest player to make the cut when she teamed with 27-year-old Angel Yin for a 68 in fourballs.

“I’m happy I played,” said Inkster, born 10 years after the LPGA was founded. “Sometimes you’ve got to put yourself out there and I felt like I did that this week.”

Mack and Borge were among the late starters and posted a 60 to reach 12-under 128 and zoom past the Japanese duo of Ayaka Furue and Yuna Nishimura (61).

Korda and Cowan shot 60 to finish two shots behind, with Korda doing most of the damage and Cowan stepping in for a 20-foot birdie putt on their final hole.

“We just wanted to go out and have some fun. That’s when we play our best,” Korda said. “Last week was a great week. This is the perfect week to back up that week. It’s just a little more relaxed. It’s been a blast.”

FIFA SAYS FANS WERE JUST ON THE CONCOURSE

GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — FIFA on Friday blamed the empty seats during the World Cup match between South Korea and the Czech Republic in Guadalajara on fans who watched from the concourses.

There were many visible empty spots at the 45,664-capacity Guadalajara Stadium, with sections in the middle of the stands showing many unoccupied spaces and with other empty seats scattered around the venue. The announced attendance was 44,985 — including FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

“Official attendance figures reflect the number of tickets scanned and spectators present within the stadium footprint, rather than visual assessments of seating occupancy at any given moment during the match,” FIFA said, adding that it works closely with stadium authorities and ticketing teams to ensure all published figures are based on verified operational data.

“Please note that, during last night’s match in Guadalajara, several ticketed fans could be seen standing in concourses rather than staying in their assigned seats throughout the match,” the governing body of world soccer said.

There was indeed a significant number of fans standing on the concourses and by the concession stands throughout Thursday’s match.

INSIDERS ENJOY THE FINALS

Ernie Johnson has seen many iconic moments in 34 years as host of “Inside the NBA.”

However, nothing might top doing the postgame show Wednesday night from center court at Madison Square Garden after the New York Knicks made the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history to beat the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4.

“That’s the best. None of the fans are leaving. They just want to soak this whole thing in. It was like a college atmosphere. And then to do the show right there with that energy going on, that’s why you do it,” Johnson said.

Who knows how many signature moments are left in the series, but the quartet of Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith is certainly enjoying anchoring pregame, halftime and postgame NBA Finals coverage for the first time.

“Inside the NBA” moved to ESPN and ABC this season under a licensing agreement with TNT Sports, following Warner Bros. Discovery’s inability to retain NBA rights.

The show’s addition has elevated ESPN and ABC’s NBA coverage just as Joe Buck and Troy Aikman’s arrival in 2022 took “Monday Night Football” to another level.

The series resumes Saturday night in San Antonio with the Knicks one win away from their first NBA title since 1973. Johnson will present the Lawrence O’Brien trophy at the end of the finals. If the Spurs stave off elimination, Johnson presenting the trophy to the Knicks at home after a Game 6 win on Tuesday could surpass the bedlam from the comeback.