Youth hunt goes well

COLUMBUS — Hunters ages 17 and younger checked 10,449 white-tailed deer during Ohio’s youth gun hunting season on Saturday and Sunday according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. Each fall, youth hunters enjoy a weekend of deer hunting with a firearm before the statewide gun season begins.

The top 10 counties for deer taken during Ohio’s 2024 youth season include: Tuscarawas (354), Knox (314), Coshocton (303), Guernsey (291), Muskingum (284), Holmes (268), Licking (253), Washington (227), Harrison (223), and Carroll (218).

In Columbiana County, youth hunters checked 168 deer which was about on par with the three-year average of 167. In Mahoning County, hunters harvested 61 deer which was up from the three-year average of 55. Jefferson County had 161 deer taken which was up from a three-year average of 126. In Carroll County hunters took 218 which was up from the three-year average of 177.

Youth hunters checked 6,042 antlered and 4,407 antlerless deer during the weekend. In 2023, hunters harvested 10,033 deer during the two-day youth gun season. The three-year average from 2021 to 2023 is 9,061 deer.

Gun hunters of all ages can participate in the upcoming seven-day gun season which begins Monday, Dec. 2 and runs until Sunday, Dec. 8. A bonus weekend of gun hunting will occur Dec. 21-22.

Oregon clinches Big Ten title game berth

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The top-ranked Oregon Ducks have clinched a spot in the Big Ten championship game.

The Big Ten announced Tuesday that after extensive evaluation, there were “no conditions whereby the Ducks do not finish No. 1 or No. 2” in the conference.

The league championship is set for Dec. 7 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Oregon (11-0, 8-0) has a bye this weekend after a 16-13 victory at Wisconsin on Saturday. The Ducks finish out the regular season against visiting Washington on Nov. 30.

It is Oregon’s first season in the Big Ten. The Ducks, the Huskies, USC and UCLA all left the Pac-12 under conference realignment.

Oregon is one of just three undefeated teams left in the country this season.

Tyson-Paul grosses $18 million

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jake Paul’s unanimous decision over Mike Tyson was the highest-grossing combat sports event in Texas at $18.1 million, the promotions company co-founded by Paul said Tuesday.

The eight-round fight at the home of the Dallas Cowboys drew about 72,000 fans and was part of a co-main event that featured Katie Taylor’s latest disputed decision in a super lightweight championship slugfest against Amanda Serrano.

The event surpassed Texas’ previous sports combat high of $9 million set by Canelo Alvarez when he faced Billy Joe Saunders at 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium in 2021, according to Most Valuable Promotions.

There were 73,000-plus fans at the Alvarez-Saunders fight, which at the time was the biggest crowd for a U.S. sporting event since the start of the pandemic a year earlier.

Paul beat Tyson, the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion, in a lopsided decision, winning all but one round on the three judges’ scorecards combined. It was the 11th victory in 12 fights for the YouTuber-turned-boxer, who has seven knockouts in 4 1/2 years since turning pro.

BetMGM said the fight was its most-bet boxing or mixed-martial arts fight, taking three times the number of bets and four times the money of any combat sport in the sportsbook’s history. A Caesars Sportsbook official said the fight was on par with an NFL Monday night game.

Netflix reported a peak of 65 million viewers in the streaming platform’s debut for live sporting events. Netflix is carrying two NFL games on Christmas Day and WWE “Raw” on Jan. 6.

Chicago Bull great dies

CHICAGO (AP) — Former Chicago Bulls forward Bob Love, a three-time All-Star who spent 11 years in the NBA, died Monday. He was 81.

The Bulls said Love died after a long battle with cancer.

Love averaged 21.3 points and 6.8 rebounds during his nine seasons with the team.

“With his No. 10 jersey hanging in the United Center rafters, his on-court achievements are forever etched in history, but Bob’s impact transcended basketball,” the Bulls said in a statement. “He became an inspirational figure and a passionate community ambassador for the Bulls, dedicating himself to charitable causes and uplifting countless lives with his motivational speeches. We are profoundly grateful for his enduring contributions and legacy both on and off the court in Chicago.”

Growing up in northern Louisiana, Love was one of 14 children. He was nicknamed “Butterbean” because he liked lima beans.

The 6-foot-8 Love starred at Southern University in Baton Rouge before he was selected by Cincinnati in the fourth round of the 1965 NBA draft. He played for the Royals for two seasons before he was taken by Milwaukee in the expansion draft in 1968.

Love and Bob Weiss were traded to Chicago in November 1968 for Flynn Robinson. With the Bulls, Love developed into one of the NBA’s best forwards.

Love was an All-Star for three straight seasons from 1970-73. He averaged a team-high and career-best 25.8 points during the 1971-72 season.

Love retired after the 1976-77 season. He averaged 17.6 points and 5.9 rebounds in 789 career games, also playing for the Nets and Seattle SuperSonics.

In January 1994, Love became the second player in franchise history to have his number retired by the Bulls, joining Jerry Sloan. Love was part of the team’s inaugural Ring of Honor class this year in January.

Ovechkin is week-to-week

Alex Ovechkin is considered week-to-week after injuring his lower left leg in the Washington Capitals’ most recent game at Utah, an absence that is expected to slow down his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record.

The Capitals said Tuesday that Ovechkin would be evaluated further by doctors when they return home from their road trip. He was injured in a shin-on-shin collision with Jack McBain.

Ovechkin scored twice before leaving the game in Salt Lake City on Monday night to give him a league-best 15 goals in 18 games this season. He’s at 868 — 27 goals away from passing Gretzky.

There was immediate concern about Ovechkin when he left the game 5:30 into the third period. The 39-year-old took a brief twirl to test it before realizing he couldn’t put much weight on his left leg and limping down the tunnel to the locker room.

He did not return. Coach Spencer Carbery said only that Washington’s longtime captain was being evaluated after the game.

Ovechkin over two decades in the NHL has been known for his durability, which has allowed him to score at a pace unlike any other player in history. The Russian winger has only missed 35 games because of injury.

Until the injury, Ovechkin was on pace to break the record sometime in February.