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West Branch blanks Salem
BELOIT -- The West Branch tennis team didn't drop a set in spoiling Salem's season opener with a 5-0 victory Thursday.
The Warriors improve to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the Eastern Buckeye Conference. They will host New Philadelphia on Monday.
West Branch 5, Salem 0
FIRST SINGLES: Austin Hawk (WB) def. Avery Yerkey, 6-0, 6-0.
SECOND SINGLES: Damon Edward (WB) def. Ty Tomkinson, 6-3, 6-1.
THIRD SINGLES: Cameron McCartney (WB) def. Max Hammers, 6-1, 6-4.
FIRST DOUBLES: Jeremy Augustein-Connor Loper (WB) def. Ryan Folger-Trevor Bails, 6-0, 6-1.
SECOND DOUBLES: Blake Robbins-Mason Cosma (WB) def. Sean Hoffman-Logan Buher, 6-0, 6-0.
Salem Hall of Famers revealed
SALEM -- The Salem High School Athletic Hall of Fame will induct six individuals and two teams at its 21st annual induction dinner and ceremony on Aug. 27 at the Salem High School cafeteria.
Inducted will be coach Earle Bruce (football, 1956-59), Mike DeBarr (football, Class of 1999), Tom Jesko Jr. (boys basketball, 2006), Sarah Brobeck( girls track and field, 2008), Matt Weingart (football, 2016), girls basketball teams (1979-80 and 1980-81), Tom Wright (Joe Kelley Spirit of Salem Award, 1966) and 1926 football team (legacy inductee).
Doors opening at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6 p.m. and the induction ceremony at 7 p.m. Tickets, including a buffet dinner, are $35 per person, $25 for children ages 2-10, and free for children under 2.
Reservations must be made by Aug. 21 by calling (330) 831-7207 or emailing shs.athletichof@gmail.com. Payments may be made via PayPal using the email address or by check payable to the Salem Athletic Hall of Fame and mailed to Salem Athletic Hall of Fame, c/o Megan Stockman, 1200 East Sixth Street, Salem, OH 44460.
Nastari keeps up with the Lions
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Junior Kaleb Nastari is gaining ground on the Penn State University men's track team.
Nastari, a former United High School state champion, was ninth out of 64 runners in the 800 meters at the Pepsi Florida Relays on Saturday. He ran 1:47.38 on the Pearcy Beard Track.
Georgetown junior Tinoda Matsata, the defending Big East outdoor champion, won in 1:46.17. The field included 24 runners who ran under 1:49.
Nastari was one of four Penn State runners with top-10 finishes. Yukichi Ishii paced the quartet by finishing fifth (1:46.91), followed by Andrew Regnier in eighth (1:47.15), Nastari in ninth and Niko Schultz in 10th (1:47.38).
Penn State returns to action this weekend at Bucknell's Bison Outdoor Classic.
Penguins clinch playoff berth
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- For the first time in four years, it will soon be a great day for playoff hockey in Pittsburgh.
The Penguins clinched a playoff spot Thursday night by beating New Jersey, ending their postseason drought that lasted three seasons. They had made 16 postseason appearances in a row before that, last missing in Sidney Crosby's rookie year in 2005-06, with that stretch including three Stanley Cup titles.
"That's why you play -- that's the best time of year," Crosby said. "I know how hard it is. I think I understand that. We had some tough ones where it came down to the last day and didn't get in, and you don't ever know. But I thought right from camp, we've had those intentions and had that belief."
It was an up-and-down season that included an eight-game skid in December and a pair of six-game winning streaks later in the winter. Far from assured a place in the field in late March when the Eastern Conference race was a crowded mess, they've won five of six games since March 30 to get in.
"A couple weeks ago (we realized) it's really in our hands (because we) play a lot of the teams in it," defenseman Connor Clifton said. "We figured it was going to work itself out, and first and foremost it's about us and getting points and we've done that, so it's been good."
It has also been a surprise. Pittsburgh was a 6-1 long shot to qualify before the puck dropped on opening night, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. This looked like one last kick at it together for an aging core of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, who at 20 seasons together are the longest-tenured trio of teammates in North American professional sports.
Instead, new coach Dan Muse has made general manager Kyle Dubas look brilliant for hiring him from relative anonymity: five years as an assistant under Peter Laviolette with Nashville and the New York Rangers. Succeeding two-time Cup-winner Mike Sullivan was not an easy task, but Muse aced the test in his first chance to run an NHL bench.
"He's been great: Calm there behind the bench, and he's just a really personable guy, easy to talk to away from the rink," forward Justin Brazeau said. "Any time you create that atmosphere in here, it's not too tense or anything like that. I think guys are just willing to go out there and play free."
Center Ben Kindel, picked 11th in the draft last year, made the team at 18. Defenseman Erik Karlsson thrived at 35. Crosby was a point-a-game player for a 21st consecutive season, even if it was interrupted by the injury that knocked him out of the Olympics.
"It takes everybody," Crosby said. "Everybody has had a part in this. Obviously it's a team game, but especially with this group: With the injuries and all the different guys in and out, everybody's contributed to us getting there."
Muse, like Crosby, saw evidence in training camp that this was a playoff-caliber team.
"I just saw the competitive nature of the group," Muse said. "There's ebbs and flows in every season, but I think this group has just continued to grow. Enjoy it for a little bit, a minute, and then it's just continuing that preparation. It's a big step for the group. I'm really proud of these guys, happy for these guys, the staff, everybody involved. The players have done a great job with it throughout the year. We talked about earning things at the beginning of the year. This group earned it."