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BISCELLA RECORDS ACE
COLUMBIANA -- Karen Biscella of New Waterford recorded a hole-in-one on Valley Golf Club’s 110-yard, No. 2 on Wednesday. She used a hybrid No. 5 club. Michele Davidson of Columbiana, Brenda Kekel of Columbiana and Rose Johnstone of Columbiana were her playing partners. It happened during the Wednesday Morning Ladies League.
SCRAPPERS CANCEL GAME
NILES -- The Mahoning Valley Scrappers canceled their home game against Aberdeen on Thursday due to poor air quality from the fires in Canada.
The Scrappers will host the State College Spikes today. The game is sold out.
The air quality forecast for Friday is also poor.
PELÉ JERSEY SOLD FOR $4.9 MILLION
NEW YORK (AP) -- A No. 10 jersey worn by Brazil icon Pelé in the 1958 World Cup final has been sold for $4.9 million, Sotheby’s said Thursday.
Pelé, who died in 2022, was 17 when he scored twice in Brazil’s 5-2 win over hosts Sweden at the Rasunda Stadium and still remains the youngest player ever to score in a World Cup final.
Sotheby’s said the jersey worn by the Brazilian star is the second-most valuable soccer shirt ever sold. Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” jersey sold in 2022 for $9.3 million.
The previous most valuable item of Pelé memorabilia was $976,000 for a 1958 trading card last month, the auction house said.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento -- aka Pelé -- had gifted the handmade shirt after the final to his roommate and teammate, Dida.
The jersey had remained with Dida’s family for decades before being housed in a Brazilian museum and eventually acquired in 2004.
SPAIN PRACTICES OUTSIDE
With the sun obstructed by haze, Spain’s players practiced Thursday ahead of the World Cup final outside in northern New Jersey while air conditions are hazardous because of smoke from Canadian wildfires.
It was not clear how fast-paced a practice Spain held. Media members are only able to observe the first 15 minutes of what was scheduled to be a hourlong session in East Hanover beginning at 11 a.m.
Argentina remained in the Atlanta area to work out less than 24 hours after rallying to beat England and reach the final for a second consecutive tournament. Marietta, Georgia, is far enough south to avoid the effects of the fire, which are being windblown to the southeast from northern Ontario, triggering warnings from the U.S. Midwest through the Northeast.
Officials urged people to stay inside or wear masks outside as air quality reached unhealthy to hazardous levels, meaning it’s unhealthy for anyone, regardless of health conditions. Experts expressed concern over holding practice outdoors.
“These are high-level athletes who are moving a lot of air through their lungs during every practice in every game, and really they shouldn’t be practicing outside if the air quality levels are at hazardous sort of ranges for wildfire-related air pollution,” said Dr. Courtney Howard, an emergency room physician and Global Climate and Health Alliance official. “That’s the time to schedule a practice inside. You could put an N95 mask on them, but trying to make sure that everybody’s mask is well-fitted, I suspect that’s not the best choice. I would go find an air-conditioned indoor facility that’s a clean-air shelter.”
WINGS-LIBERTY GAME POSTPONED
NEW YORK (AP) -- New York’s game against the Dallas Wings was postponed Thursday after the Liberty had travel delays caused by mechanical issues on their charter flight, the league announced.
The game was originally scheduled to be played Thursday night in Dallas, but has been rescheduled for Monday.
New York Liberty players posted photos on social media of them sitting on a plane on Wednesday.
The Liberty, who have dropped three games in a row, next visit Indiana on Saturday.
EARLY START IF THEY PLAY
NEW YORK (AP) -- Major League Baseball is set to have its earliest opening day next year except for international games, starting on March 24 -- if there is an opening day.
MLB said Thursday its 2027 season will start with a single game to be televised that night by Netflix. The teams have not been chosen.
Opening matchups include Cleveland at the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis at Cincinnati, the Chicago White Sox at Detroit, Texas at Houston, Minnesota at Kansas City, Atlanta at the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Mets at Miami, the Los Angeles Angels at Milwaukee, Toronto at the New York Yankees, the Athletics at Pittsburgh, Arizona at San Diego, Colorado at San Francisco, Boston at Seattle, Baltimore at Tampa Bay and Philadelphia at Washington.
Baseball’s labor contract expires Dec. 1 and a management lockout is expected. In 2022, an agreement wasn’t reached until March 10, causing opening day to be pushed back from March 31 to April 7.
Chicago’s Wrigley Field will host the All-Star Game on July 13 and a rivalry weekend will follow.
The regular season is scheduled to end Sept. 26.
The Athletics are scheduled to play most of their home games in West Sacramento, California, for the third straight season before moving to a new ballpark in Las Vegas. They will have a homestand at the Triple-A ballpark in Las Vegas starting May 31 against San Diego and Cincinnati.
With no labor contract in place for 2027, no international games are scheduled.