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SPLIT SQUAD
SALEM -- The Salem girls cross country team is expected to be at full strength Saturday as the Quakers seek their sixth straight state berth.
Salem athletic director Matt Freeman said the school’s request to change the time of the girls soccer district final on Saturday was denied by the OHSAA Northeast District.
He said the girls will be running in the Division III regional cross country meet at Boardman High School at 1:40 p.m. Saturday.
Four of the Quakers’ top seven runners also play on the soccer team, which also plays on Saturday afternoon. The 10th-seeded Quakers will play fifth-seeded Warren JFK at noon Saturday in a Division IV district final at Green Memorial Stadium in Uniontown.
Salem had requested to play soccer later so the girls could participate in both events.
BOWLING RESULTS
Sportsman League
at Walnut Lanes
TEAM STANDINGS: Sparkle Market 40, Caliber Collision 33, Safelite 29, Sanford Plumbing and AK Nahas 24, Amato Law Office 23, Historic Highlands 22, Hose before Bros and Jayden 17, Walnut Lanes 16.
HIGH GAME: Jay Davis 289, Tyler Landes 258, Trey Pancake 250.
HIGH SERIES: Jay Davis 692, Charles Henderson 666, Curtis Webb 664.
CLOSE GAMES
(AP) -- The upsets keep coming, followed by "coachspeak" about parity in college football. The trendlines appear to back it up.
Last week, there were 30 one-score games in conference play across the Bowl Subdivision, most in a single week since at least 1973. For the season, there have been 128 conference games decided by eight or fewer points, most through a Week 8 since at least 1973 and 32 more than a year ago at this time. The average point differential in conference games is 13.9 points, again lowest since at least 1973. All this is according to Sportradar.
A total of 69 one-score conference games have been played in the Power Four so far this season, which means there is a lot of riveting football going on. The breakdown: 20 of 39 in the ACC (51%), 19 of 38 in the Big Ten (50%), 13 of 33 in the Big 12 (39%) and 17 of 39 in the SEC (44%).
GARRETT OUT
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Myles Garrett will not practice with the Los Angeles Rams this week, and the star defensive end will miss his seventh consecutive game for his new team on Sunday.
Coach Sean McVay said Wednesday that the Rams will not open the practice window this week for Garrett, who has been on injured reserve since undergoing knee surgery last month following his zero-tackle debut for the Rams in Australia.
Garrett has yet to make any impact at the halfway point of his first season with the Rams (3-4), who traded edge rusher Jared Verse and three high draft picks to Cleveland for the reigning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year. McVay hasn’t given any timetable for the return of the superstar who was expected to be a focal point of the Rams’ revamped defense.
“I know it’s frustrating, but he’s making good progress, and we’re just on a week-to-week basis right now,” McVay said.
He played in at least 16 games in each of the past five seasons with the Browns.
LIKE A DREAM
ATLANTA (AP) -- Game 6 of the WNBA Finals between Atlanta and Golden State on Thursday is a sellout despite its much-criticized 12:30 p.m. EDT tipoff, the Dream announced Wednesday.
The Valkyries lead the series 3-2 and can clinch their first WNBA title with a win in the matinee at State Farm Arena. The Dream need a win to force a Game 7 on Saturday night in California.
There were concerns the early tipoff would have the teams playing the potentially decisive Finals game in a half-empty arena because of fans having work and school obligations. Instead, the sellout means another Atlanta turnout of approximately 17,000 is expected for the third time in the series.
The Atlanta Hawks moved back the start of their NBA game against the Cavaliers from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. so there will be sufficient time to remove the Dream’s court and install the Hawks’ court.
FINAL SEASON
(AP) -- Ernie Johnson will retire as host of “Inside the NBA” in June, capping a 37-year run with the popular studio show.
Johnson announced his decision on Wednesday, saying, “It’s just time,” and that the decision was his alone.
“As the years have gone by and I turned 70 this past summer, folks have asked me, ‘So, how long are you going to keep doing ‘Inside?’ This will be my last season,” he said in a video posted on social media.
Johnson also led off Wednesday’s edition of “NBA Tip Off” on ESPN by informing viewers of his decision.
Johnson began on “Inside the NBA” in 1990 when it was on TNT and TBS; the show moved to ESPN last year. The quartet of Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal has made the program -- which has won 21 Sports Emmy Awards -- a model for other studio shows.
Smith joined the show full-time in 1998. Barkley came aboard in 2000, followed by O’Neal in 2011.