Gabriel to speak to Curbstone Coaches

Erin Gabriel, a former Poland High School and University of Tennessee softball pitching standout, will be the guest speaker at Monday’s luncheon meeting of The Curbstone Coaches at the Avion Banquet Center on Western Reserve Road in Beaver Township.

The event begins at noon and the public is welcome to attend. For those arriving early, the buffet lines will open at 11:45 a.m.

The annual Curbstone Coaches Hall of Fame Induction ceremony is set for Sunday at Mr. Anthony’s in Boardman. The keynote speaker will be former Cleveland Browns stand out running back Greg Pruitt.

The doors will open at 4 p.m. The event will start at 6 p.m. For more information please call 3305066774.

YSU women’s tennis falls to Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Youngstown State women’s tennis team suffered a 4-0 setback to third-seeded Michigan on Friday afternoon at the Varsity Tennis Center.

The Penguins end the year at 14-8 while the Wolverines improve to 25-3 and will face Arizona State in the second round.

YSU battled with the Wolverines in doubles and singles.

In doubles, Michigan won 6-0 at No. 3, but the Guins hung tough at No. 1 and No. 2. Twice in both contests, the Wolverines won deuce points at key spots and eventually earned a 6-2 win at No. 1. At No. 2, YSU trailed 5-2 (40-15).

In singles, the Wolverines won in straight sets at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 to clinch the contest.

Against No. 5 Julia Fliegner, Julia Marko dropped a 6-1, 6-3 decision after grabbing the lead in the second set. At No. 2, Lili Minich dropped a 6-2, 6-0 contest to No. 25 Piper Charney. At No. 6, Yoana Dudova dropped her match 6-4, 6-0 and was tied 4-all in the first set.

At No. 3, Yeseniia Ovcharova played a 6-1, 5-4 contest against 41st-ranked Lily Jones. At No. 5, Ghada Dirninger took a first set lead in a 6-3, 5-0 contest. Loreno Cedeno was a in back-and-forth first set before falling 7-5. U-M took a 1-0 lead in the second set.

Rangers hire ex-Pens coach Sullivan

The New York Rangers have hired Mike Sullivan as coach, days after he and the Pittsburgh Penguins agreed to part ways.

General manager Chris Drury announced the move Friday, bringing in the organization’s top candidate who was out of work for less than a full business week.

Sullivan replaces Peter Laviolette, who was fired after the Rangers missed the playoffs following a trip to the Eastern Conference final last year. Sullivan, who coached Pittsburgh to the Stanley Cup back to back in 2016 and ’17, is tasked with trying to turn the Rangers back into an immediate contender.

Drury made the move to get Sullivan not long after receiving a multiyear contract extension of his own.

Sullivan, 57, spent four seasons as a Rangers assistant under then-coach and still close friend and confidant John Tortorella from 2009-13. He coached Drury during that time, and the two have worked together professionally through USA Hockey, most recently at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, and are part of the U.S. contingent for the 2026 Milan Olympics.

Sullivan had been with the Penguins since getting hired midseason in December 2015 when Mike Johnston was fired months into his lackluster tenure. This is his third head-coaching job in the NHL after a short stint with the Boston Bruins in 2003-04 and ’05-06 sandwiched around the lockout that wiped out an entire season.

Spurs’ Popvich retires after 29 years

Gregg Popovich stepped down as coach of the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, ending a three-decade run that saw him lead the team to five NBA championships, become the league’s all-time wins leader and earn induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

“While my love and passion for the game remain, I’ve decided it’s time to step away as head coach,” Popovich said.

He will remain as team president. Mitch Johnson, a Spurs assistant who filled in for Popovich for the season’s final 77 games, becomes the team’s head coach.

Popovich, 76, missed all but five games this season after having a stroke at the team’s arena on Nov. 2. He has not spoken publicly since, though had addressed his team at least once and released a statement in late March saying that he hoped to return to coaching.

That won’t be happening.

“I’m forever grateful to the wonderful players, coaches, staff and fans who allowed me to serve them as the Spurs head coach and am excited for the opportunity to continue to support the organization, community and city that are so meaningful to me,” Popovich said.

Popovich’s career ends with a record of 1,422-869, which includes the 77 games — 32 wins and 45 losses — that were coached by Johnson this season. He also won 170 playoff games with the Spurs, the most by any coach with one team and the third-most overall behind Phil Jackson’s 229 and Pat Riley’s 171.

Popovich was a three-time coach of the year, led the U.S. to a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and coached six Hall of Famers in San Antonio — Ginobili, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Dominique Wilkins and Pau Gasol. He went up against 170 coaches in the NBA and there have been 303 coaching changes made in the league, including interim moves, during the Popovich era.

Popovich, in his role as general manager of the Spurs, made the move to fire coach Bob Hill and promote himself into that job on Dec. 10, 1996. The timing seemed, at best, awkward. The Spurs were 3-15 at that point, having played all 18 of those games without Robinson, who was just about to come back from injury. Popovich took over on the day that Robinson returned to the lineup.

The Spurs hadn’t changed direction again since.

The fortunes changed — Duncan was picked No. 1 overall in the 1997 draft — but the direction under Popovich always stayed the same. The first championship came in 1999; others followed in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014. In his first 22 seasons as coach, the Spurs had 22 winning records, the first 20 of those seasons winning at least 60% of the time.

His decision to step away comes with the Spurs having just completed the second year of a rebuild around French star Victor Wembanyama, who arrived touted as the next San Antonio great and has done nothing to suggest he won’t live up to that billing.