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BEAVER LOCAL BESTS SALEM
CALCUTTA -- Beaver Local defeated Salem 157-194 in a boys golf match Thursday at Turkana.
Eli Stewart earned medalist honors with a 36 to lead the Beavers. Brady McNear added a 37, while Britton Hickman, Andre Wiegand and Nathan Pusateri each shot 42. Matt Tomaino carded a 44.
Beaver Local improved to 2-1 on the season. The Beavers will host Oak Glen on Tuesday at Beaver Creek Meadows.
For Salem, Eli James had a 42, Donald Blackburn 49, Gabe Leek 50 and Caden Arcuri 53.
Salem is 1-2 and will be at Carrollton on Monday.
CRESTVIEW DOWNS LEOPARDS
CALCUTTA -- Crestview defeated Liberty 169-185 in a boys golf match Thursday at Beaver Creek Meadows.
Derek Duvall earned medalist honors with a 38 to lead the Rebels. Grant Snyder added a 40, Landon Hildreth shot 44 and Logan Neff carded a 47.
Liberty was led by Sergio Gonzalez with a 42. Riley Crish followed with a 44, Jack Hope shot 49 and Alex Hauser finished with a 50.
Crestview will face Southeast on Monday at Olde Dutch Mill Golf Course.
STEVE BELICHICK TAKES LEAVE
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -- North Carolina defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, the son of head coach Bill Belichick, is on medical leave, his father said Thursday morning.
The Tar Heels are in the second week of preseason camp. UNC opens the season Aug. 29 against TCU in Dublin, Ireland.
“It’s a medical situation so I really can’t make any further comment on that,” Belichick said, adding only that the team hoped to have him back “as soon as possible” when asked about a timeline for his return.
He also said the defensive staff already works “collectively” when asked how the team would adjust during his son’s absence.
UNC’s defense improved as a 4-8 season wore on, ranking 38th in the Bowl Subdivision ranks in total defense (336.9 yards) while finishing tied for 20th with 2.67 sacks per game.
Steve Belichick joined his father’s staff ahead of the NFL coaching great’s first college season last year, following a year as the University of Washington’s defensive coordinator. Before that, he had worked on his father’s staff with the NFL’s New England Patriots.
Last week the school announced general manager Michael Lombardi had been placed on paid administrative leave and was the subject of a school investigation.
PENGUINS SIGN KOIVUNEN
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins made a significant investment in their future on Thursday, signing forward Ville Koivunen to an eight-year contract worth $4 million annually.
Koivunen, 23, was a restricted free agent. The deal signals Koivunen is an important part of the franchise as it navigates the twilight of the careers of icons Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
The Finnish-born Koivunen, acquired in a March 2024 trade with Carolina that sent Jake Guentzel to the Hurricanes, had two goals and five assists in 39 games with Pittsburgh during the 2025-26 season.
Koivunen excelled in the playoffs for Wilkes-Barre, Pittsburgh’s American Hockey League affiliate, collecting four goals and five assists in nine games to help the club to the conference finals.
NCAA DIV. II ADOPTS AGE ELIGIBILITY MODEL
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- NCAA Division II will move to the age-based eligibility model that has prompted athlete lawsuits across the country since it was adopted in Division I.
The Division II executive board voted Tuesday to have athletes’ eligibility to begin upon initial full-time enrollment or the regular academic year immediately following the athlete’s 19th birthday, whichever occurs earlier. Athletes will be allowed five seasons of competition over five years.
Previously, Division II athletes were allowed four seasons of competition to be completed within their first 10 semesters or 15 quarters of full-time enrollment.
A series of lawsuits have been filed in state and federal courts since the Division I Council approved age-based eligibility June 23. Athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 and exhausted their four-year eligibility in the last academic year have argued they have been unfairly denied a fifth year of eligibility in 2026-27.
A federal judge in Denver on July 31 ruled all high school class of 2022 athletes who exhausted their fourth season of college eligibility this spring are eligible for a fifth season this school year. The NCAA has filed its intention to appeal that ruling.
NASCAR CHANGES RULES
NASCAR plans to implement a new stage-break procedure for its Cup Series races beginning this weekend at Iowa Speedway and continuing through the remainder of the season.
Under the new rules, when a natural caution occurs with 10 or fewer laps remaining in Stage 1 or Stage 2, it will be deemed complete at the time of caution -- with that same caution period serving as the scheduled stage break.
NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell said Thursday on social media the change stems from the July 26 race at the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis, where he said fans were unhappy about too many back-to-back laps run under caution near stage breaks.
“Long periods of caution laps and not enough green-flag racing,” O’Donnell said. “We heard you, and we want to make a change. … No more back-to-back cautions. No more elongated cautions laps. More green flag racing. More action for you the fans.”
When the field returns to the start/finish line under yellow, the leader will receive the green-and-white checkered flag along with the yellow, according to NASCAR. At the time of the caution, the top-10 stage finishing order will be determined using all available resources, including scoring loops and video replay -- similar to how stage points are awarded.