CCW class coming up

CHESTER, W.Va. — The Chester-Newell Sportsmen’s Club will offer a concealed carry class at 9 a.m. on May 18 at the club’s grounds. Cost is $75. Class is good for Ohio and West Virginia. Phone or text James at (757) 288-4772 to sign up.

EP to host meets

EAST PALESTINE — The William E. Ward Boys and East Palestine Girls Invitational will be held Saturday.

Action at Reid Stadium gets under way at 10 a.m. with the boys discus and high jump, girls shot put and long jump and the preliminaries in the 100-meter dash and high hurdles.

Twenty-seven schools are entered, including host East Palestine, Beaver Local, Columbiana, Crestview, Heartland Christian, Salem, Springfield Local and South Range.

Red and White game

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown State football team will play its annual Red-White Spring Game at 11 a.m. Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium.

Admission is free while parking is available in nearby YSU lots for $5. Seating will be in the West stands only.

The game will feature the offensive (Red Team) vs. the defense (White Team) in a format that will include a variety of scrimmage-like situations.

The first half will include two 15-minute quarters with normal clock procedures. The second half will have a continuous 20-minute running clock.

Warmups will begin at 10:10 a.m.

YSU still alive

LAS VEGAS — Youngstown State’s women’s bowling team is still alive in the NCAA Final Four.

The Penguins, the third seed, knocked off second-seed Nebraska in the early session on Friday with a 1,021-973 win in the traditional round and a 1,116-1,006 win in the baker series.

Facing off against No. 1 seed Jacksonville State of Alabama in the winners bracket in the evening session the Penguins lost the traditional round 1,051-1,045 and then won the baker 1,127-1,123 to force a best-of-seven series. Jacksonville State won that 4-1.

YSU will play Nebraska again early on Saturday. If YSU beats the Huskers it will play defending champion Jacksonville State in the title match.

The tournament final will be broadcast at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.

From gun to grenade

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant got in trouble again for aiming an imaginary gun to celebrate 3-pointers, so he has gone to a different make-believe violent way to mark a long-distance shot.

The Memphis Grizzlies leading scorer, who was fined $75,000 recently for mimicking pointing a long gun after a basket from outside the arc, acted like he was pulling the pin and tossing a grenade in Thursday night’s 141-125 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Morant, who was 5 of 13 from 3-point range, in some cases even covered his ears after the windmill-like hurl of the invisible explosive.

“That’s my celebration now until somebody else has a problem with it, and I’ll find another one,” Morant said after Thursday’s shootaround.

The league handed down the $75,000 fine on April 4 after Morant twice made what was considered an “inappropriate” imaginary gun-aiming gesture on the court. He was previously warned by the league office that this gesture could be interpreted in a negative light.

The gestures that drew the fine were made by Morant during the Grizzlies’ 110-108 victory over the Miami Heat on April 3, but it first drew the league’s attention in an April 1 home game against the Golden State Warriors.

That led to the investigation and the warning before Morant did it again against Miami.

The fine was the culmination of several questionable incidents involving firearms. Morant was suspended for 25 games at the start of the 2023-24 season after he was seen on video waving a gun in a car. He previously was suspended eight games after he was seen with a gun in a Denver-area nightspot.

“I wasn’t surprised,” Morant said of the latest fine, “just for showing people what’s pretty much been evident for the last two years.”

Teammate Vince Williams Jr. wasn’t really surprised by the change in celebration, adding “I would have went to that too.”

“It’s good for him,” Williams said. “He gets to save his money. Anything that benefits him saving his money, I’m all for it, honestly.”

But the grenade celebration drew criticism from the TNT studio crew on Thursday night. Kenny Smith noted that Morant “has a history that maybe he shouldn’t be doing that.”

Shaquille O’Neal added: “He knows what he’s doing because y’all are going to keep talking about it.”

As for Charles Barkley, he said the happiest person may be former Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, fired March 28 because “he ain’t got to deal with this immature stuff.”

——

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba