X-Tra Milers to meet

SALEM — The Salem X-Tra Mile Club will meet at 7 p.m. on Monday in the high school cafeteria.

Fitch unveils $12-million facility

AUSTINTOWN — Austintown Fitch unveiled its new $12-million, 42,000-square foot indoor training facility to the public on Monday.

Austintown broke ground on the project in 2023.

A weight room, meeting space and indoor track will follow in the next phase which will cost $7 million and expand the training space to 72,000-square feet. That phase will be completed in two to three years.

Harden heads to Cavaliers

James Harden is headed to the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the Los Angeles Clippers agreeing to send the 11-time All-Star back to the Eastern Conference during his highest-scoring season in six years, a person with knowledge of the agreement said Tuesday night.

ESPN was first to report the deal was finalized.

The Cavaliers are giving up point guard Darius Garland and a second-round pick, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade has not yet been approved by the NBA.

That approval could come by Wednesday, when the Cavaliers and Clippers face off in Inglewood, California.

Harden is averaging 25.4 points this season, his most since averaging 34.3 points in 2019-20. He’s been a huge part of the Clippers’ resurgence back into playoff — or, at least, play-in — contention after a dismal 6-21 start.

“He means a lot to our team and we’ve seen it the last three years,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said Monday night when stories began breaking indicating such a move was close. “Who wouldn’t want to have James Harden?”

Cleveland will become Harden’s sixth team. He played for Oklahoma City, then Houston, then Brooklyn, then Philadelphia and, since 2023, the Clippers.

For the Cavaliers, it seems to be a move for right now — pairing the 36-year-old Harden with another star guard in Donovan Mitchell. For the Clippers, it seems to be a move with an eye on the future — the 26-year-old Garland is a two-time All-Star, averaging 18 points and 6.9 assists this season for Cleveland.

Harden opted out of the final year of his contract last summer with the Clippers to sign a new deal that would have been worth $81.5 million for this season and the 2026-27 campaign. Next year is at his option, which basically meant he was on a one-year contract anyway.

He got that deal after averaging 22.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists and returning to the All-NBA team for the first time since 2019-20.

Shedeur Sanders likes Todd Monken’s ‘vibe’

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Shedeur Sanders is excited to play for new Browns coach Todd Monken.

The rookie quarterback said he felt a “connection” after meeting with Monken at the team facility after the longtime offensive coordinator was hired last week.

“I’m thankful I was able to meet Coach, that he accepted that time that I could meet with him and all I can do is work,” Sanders said Monday before practice for the Pro Bowl Games.

Monken was Baltimore’s offensive coordinator the past three seasons. Lamar Jackson was the AP NFL MVP in 2023 and first-team All-Pro in 2024 under Monken.

“It’s truly great that he was able to coach Lamar and he was able to accomplish everything that he was able to accomplish in his life and his career,” Sanders said. “I feel like we definitely have a connection just in talking to him and seeing kinda like his vibe and he has a great vibe about him.”

Despite starting just seven games for Cleveland, the fifth-round pick was selected as a replacement for the league’s flag football all-star game between the two conferences.

“Yes, I was surprised,” Sanders said. “It wasn’t like I was just sitting there expecting it. … I’m not going to lie, a lot of the time I’m taking it day by day, having that method. … If you would tell me that this was going to happen at the beginning of the year, I couldn’t say that that would’ve happened. It’s amazing. I’m truly thankful for it. I get to come here and be around all these great players and coaches. It’s surreal.”

Sanders was expected to be a top-five pick in the draft last year but slipped to 144th. The Browns selected quarterback Dillon Gabriel ahead of him in the third round. Sanders got an opportunity after veteran Joe Flacco was traded and Gabriel got six starts.

Sanders went 3-4, completed 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions with a 68.1 passer rating.