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CRESTVIEW APPLIES TO OVAC
COLUMBIANA -- The Crestview Board of Education announced it will apply for membership in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference at a special meeting set for 4:30 p.m. today in the Crestview Local Administration Office.
The Rebels were a part of the OVAC from 2016-2020 when it was an independent after the break-up of the Inter-Tri County League. Once the Rebels joined the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference there was no longer a need to be in the OVAC. Since the MVAC Gray Division will no longer exist at the end of the school year, Crestview is once again in need of a conference structure.
If Crestview is approved to join the OVAC, every Columbiana County school except Salem would be in the conference.
Depending on division placement, this could mean the Rebels could get conference tournament opportunities against old rivals Columbiana and East Palestine.
SALEM, BRANCH DROP IN POLL
Salem’s and West Branch’s football teams dropped in the latest Associated Press state high school poll.
The unbeaten Quakers (6-0) dropped two spots to 10th in Div. III after a 38-14 win over Minerva on Friday.
The Quakers host Marlington on Friday.
West Branch (5-1) suffered its first loss of the season in a 24-14 loss at the hands of Canfield. The Warriors are 14th after being eighth a week ago. West Branch will try to get back on track on Friday at Carrollton.
In Div. VI, South Range (6-0) remains third. In Div. VII, Toronto (6-0) moved up to 10th.
ACE FOR JACKSON
BELOIT -- Jim Jackson of Salem aced Westville Lake’s 130-yard, No. 3 with a pitching wedge on Tuesday.
Jackson was playing in the Tired Men’s Golf League field day. It was his second hole-in-one.
Steve Duckworth of Salem, Chuck Estep of Sebring and Tom Wiles of Minerva were his playing partners.
QUAKERS FINISH 13TH
ALLIANCE -- Salem finished in 13th place on Tuesday at the Div. I sectional boys golf tournament at Tannenhauf.
For the Quakers, Caden Arcuri had a 100, Eli James 102, Donald Blackburn 103 and Samual Ziegler 134.
District qualifying teams include North Canton Hoover (315), Canfield (320), Massillon Jackson (323) and Green (338).
Individual qualifiers not on qualifying teams were Alliance’s Jaymes Smith (77), Louisville’s Noah Ickes (78), GlenOak’s Eddie Karam III (81) and Massillon Perry’s Logan Stinard (83).
BEAVER LOCAL TO PLAY FOR TITLE
ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- Beaver Local’s volleyball team will play unbeaten and state-ranked Martins Ferry for the Buckeye 8 Athletic League volleyball championship at 6:30 p.m. today at the ECO Center.
X-TRA MILERS MEET
SALEM -- The Salem X-Tra Mile Club will meet at 7 p.m. on Monday in the high school cafeteria.
MOONEY STUDENT INJURED IN ACCIDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Luke Durst, a ninth grader at Cardinal Mooney High School, was critically injured in an ATV accident on Sunday.
Durst was a student in the South Range school system last year.
Mooney announced postponements of several school events including homecoming on Tuesday.
LOW TURNOUT
HOUSTON (AP) -- The crowd at Daikin Park was surprisingly sparse as the Houston Astros -- baseball’s first division winner with a .500 or worse record -- opened their Wild Card Series against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.
Large swaths of seats, especially in the upper deck, sat empty while right-hander AJ Blumbaugh delivered the game’s first pitch at 4:10 p.m.
The bottom two levels were much more filled than the upper deck, but many seats in the lower two decks were also empty.
Houston returned to the playoffs after missing out last year despite finishing 81-81. It’s the first time a team made the postseason without a winning record in a non-shortened season.
All those empty seats are a rare sight in a ballpark that is normally packed for the postseason.
The Astros averaged 30,519 fans per game during the regular season, which ranked 14th in the majors.
MLB GOING NATIONAL
(AP) -- Major League Baseball has reached out to the federal government about the possibility of one day staging a game in western Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, an idea quickly met with resistance from environmental groups and others.
MLB and the players’ association have played a handful of regular-season games away from the 30 big league ballparks in recent years, including in the Iowa corn fields made famous by the movie “Field of Dreams.”
An MLB official familiar with the discussions confirmed Monday that the league approached the Trump administration about possibly hosting a game in a national park. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league hadn’t authorized comment on the matter and said it was among several ideas MLB has explored.
A White House official said MLB asked the administration whether hosting a game at a national park would be possible but emphasized it was not a presidential directive and was not driven by the administration. The National Park Service has not granted any permits, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
PLAYER SUES TIGERS
DETROIT (AP) -- Athletics utility player Zack Gelof has filed a lawsuit against the Detroit Tigers, Ilitch Holdings and the Detroit-Wayne County Stadium Authority for damages after his right knee slammed into a Comerica Park fence during a game last summer.
“We are aware of the lawsuit and do not comment on pending litigation,” the Tigers said in a statement on Tuesday.
Gelof was hurt in the third inning of a 4-1 loss to the Tigers on July 9 while making a sliding catch in foul territory and colliding with a metal fence while playing left field. The 26-year-old immediately grabbed his knee in obvious pain, a tear in his uniform pants showed where his leg made contact with the fence along the third-base side of the infield. He was left with a deep cut under his right knee cap, just missing the tendon, and didn’t play again until Aug. 10.
“This injury could have easily prevented through the most basic and inexpensive design,” said Gelof’s attorney, Jon Marko. “It doesn’t take a stadium design expert to realize that sharp metal fencing in an area where players are required to slide and play around is a recipe for disaster like the one that occurred here.
“All they had to do was put cheap padding up like they did after Zack was injured and this entire incident could have been avoided. My son’s little league diamond is safer.”
BECKHAM RELEASED
(AP) -- Odell Beckham Jr.’s return to the New York Giants, with the fan-favorite making the team at age 33 after being out of football for more than a year, lasted just three games with no catches.
The Giants released Beckham on Tuesday and signed return specialist Braxton Berrios and fellow receiver Charlie Jones to the active roster from the practice squad.
“Wishing him the best,” edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux said. “He’s a legend in the game, and he’s fought so hard to make his way back in this league. And he’s definitely going to be able to make a statement somewhere, so I’m not worried for him.”
Beckham was thrown at just once during his brief cameo back with the team that drafted him in the first round in 2014.