AROUND THE HORN
‘Hoops at Noon’ for Lisbon girls
LISBON — Lisbon will host Liberty in a “Hoops at Noon” girls basketball game Wednesday to reward students for positive behavior.
It is open to the public with gates opening at 11:30 a.m. There will be designated areas for the public to sit.
The Lisbon PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) committee has games and prizes planned for students of both schools. The concession stand will be open for food. The event is sponsored by the Lisbon Eagles.
The boys teams from both schools played a similar game at Liberty on Dec. 6.
Bethany beats Westminster
BETHANY, W.Va. –Jess Roller scored 23 points and Cole Dailey from East Liverpool added 20 points in leading Bethany College past Westminster, 89-82, Monday at the Hummel Field House.
Dailey also had nine rebounds, four assists and four steals for the Bison, who improve to 7-12.
Westminster was led by Drew Weir of Salem with 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting and five rebounds. Freshman Trevor Siefke from Lisbon scored 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting with five assists and four steals in his second straight start. Jaxon Hendershott from West Branch added 14 points on 4-of-10 three-point shooting.
Westminster (5-7) will travel to Latrobe, Pa., Wednesday night to take on Saint Vincent College.
No name change for Washington
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Washington Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris said Monday the team name is not changing.
Harris said the name is here to stay after inheriting it when he and his group bought the team from longtime owner Dan Snyder in 2023.
“I think it’s now being embraced by our team, by our culture, by our coaching staff, so, we’re going with that,” Harris said at his season-ending news conference. “Now, in this building, the name Commanders means something. It’s about players who love football, are great at football, hit hard, mentally tough, great teammates. It’s really meaningful that that name is growing in meaning.”
The Commanders reached the NFC championship game in quarterback Jayden Daniels’ rookie year, exceeding expectations in general manager Adam Peters and coach Dan Quinn’s first season in charge.
Harris, who grew up as a Washington football fan, had previously said upon taking over that the team would not be going back to the Redskins that Snyder dropped in 2020. Aspects of the team’s history, including old uniforms, could return, and it’s unclear if there would be a new logo.
“As far as rebranding and bringing (back) our past, which obviously I grew up with and all the Super Bowl championships and our future together, you’re going to see us head back towards honoring our past and bringing it together with our future,” Harris said.
Asked multiple times about a new stadium, Harris reiterated talks are ongoing with Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. In August, he said 2030 was a “reasonable target” for opening.
“I grew up with a great stadium, and I understand what it’s like to play in a stadium where it’s hard for the visiting team to play,” Harris said, referring to RFK Stadium, the team’s home in Washington from 1961-96 before moving to Landover, Maryland. “We need to have a great place where our fans can show up, and, as much as possible, we want that to be an advantage to our team in terms of winning on the field.”
That site is one of the places being considered, and it’s a possibility thanks to a law transferring control of the land from the federal government to the city. Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell lobbied lawmakers on Capitol Hill in support of the bill late last year.
Nebraska bails on spring game
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska spring game, one of the best-attended in college football and a major revenue producer, likely won’t be held going forward because of coach Matt Rhule’s concern about other teams poaching his players.
“The word ‘tampering’ doesn’t exist anymore,” Rhule said Saturday at his midwinter news conference. “It’s just an absolute free open common market. I don’t necessarily want to open up to the outside world and have people watch our guys and say, ‘He looks like a pretty good player. Let’s go get him.'”
The spring game has a long tradition at Nebraska. Last year the event drew 60,452 to Memorial Stadium, fourth-highest in the nation behind spring games at Ohio State, Alabama and Penn State. The Cornhuskers’ game also was televised on the Big Ten Network.
“I dealt with a lot of people offering our players a lot of opportunities after that,” Rhule said. “To go out and bring in a bunch of new players and showcase them for all the other schools to watch doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”
Six Nebraska players entered the transfer portal the week after last year’s spring game.
The spring portal period ends April 25 this year, the day before Nebraska’s spring practice wraps up. However, players can switch schools without entering the portal, as was notably the case with Wisconsin safety Xavier Lucas’ recent move to Miami.
Rhule said exposing his players to other schools is more of a concern to him than risking injuries in a spring game. Receiver Demitrius Bell and cornerback Blye Hill were hurt in last year’s spring game and missed the season. Rhule said there would continue to be live tackling in scrimmages during spring practice.
“Guys are being compensated now, and you’re putting money behind some people, a whole other set of parameters,” Rhule said. “Yet at the same time you have to get good. Honestly, to me, it’s about protecting the roster and protecting through that portal period.”
Asked if there would be a spring game with a scrimmage format to wrap up spring practice, Rhule said, “I don’t know that yet, but I’ll be honest with you, I highly doubt it.”
He said he does want to “show off” his players to the fans in some fashion. Athletic director Troy Dannen said on his radio show last week that a to-be-determined event would be held on April 26, possibly one that involves football and other fall sports.