YSU tennis

YSU tennis

Indianapolis

YSU tennis players Tariq Ismail and Margarita Sadovnikova earned All-Horizon League honors.

Sadovnikova, a first-team pick, went 12-7 at No. 1 singles after joining the program in January. She was 5-3 in Horizon League play. She is the first Penguin to earn first-team honors since Karen Najbert in 2005.

Ismail, a second-team selection, went 11-8 mark at No. 1 singles and won league matches against Valparaiso and Butler.

Curbstoners

BOARDMAN

Mahoning Valley Scrappers GM Dave Smith will be the guest speaker at the Curbstone Coaches’ noon luncheon Monday at the Blue Wolf Tavern. The public is invited to attend.

Sharon Speedway

HARTFORD

Racing at Sharon Speedway Saturday was rained out.

Rain checks issued Saturday will be valid for Friday Night Thunder and 6 PAK Saturday throughout the season.

The points season for 410 Sprints, Big Block Modifieds, Pro Stocks, Limited Sprints and Hobby Stocks will now begin Saturday.

US forward Altidore ejected for head butt

HULL, England

American forward Jozy Altidore will miss Hull’s last two matches of the Premier League season after he was ejected for head butting an opponent.

Altidore got the red card in the 50th minute of Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Sunderland for a clash with Sunderland defender Alan Hutton. Hutton threw the ball at Altidore, and the 20-year-old responded with a head butt.

A red card for violent conduct earns a three-match ban. Hutton was also sent off.

Hull (6-20-10) is 18th with 28 points in the 20-team Premier League, six points behind 17th-place West Ham (8-18-10). The Tigers can avoid relegation only by winning their two remaining games by huge margins and hoping West Ham goes 0-2.

Rachel Alexandra eyeing racing return

LOUISVILLE, Ky.

Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra could be heading back to work. Owner Jess Jackson is considering running the 4-year-old filly in the $400,000 La Troienne Stakes next Friday at Churchill Downs.

Rachel Alexandra hasn’t run since finishing second to Zardana in the New Orleans Ladies on March 13, a performance that ended plans for her to meet unbeaten mare Zenyatta at the Apple Blossom.

Jackson said he’s pointing Rachel Alexandra to the La Troienne, a 11/16-mile race for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up. The race is the day before the Kentucky Derby, and on the undercard of the Kentucky Oaks, which Rachel Alexandra won by a record 201/4-lengths last year.

Brazil may scratch some World Cup cities

BRASILIA, Brazil

Brazil’s sports minister says some cities slated to host World Cup games in 2014 may be removed from the list if they don’t start refurbishing their stadiums or build new ones soon.

Orlando Silva says many cities did not meet the March 31 deadline to begin renovating their stadiums or build new ones. Unless they meet the second deadline on May 3, they run the risk of being excluded from the World Cup.

FIFA has approved 12 cities to host the 2014 games in Brazil. Silva says eight would be enough for the event. He did not say what cities were running behind schedule.

Afleet Again pulls upset in Big A’s Withers

NEW YORK

Afleet Again pulled off the upset Saturday in the $147,000 Withers Stakes for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct.

The 24-1 gray colt trained by Robert Reid, Jr. rallied down the center of the track to beat Ibboyee by 11/2 lengths in a race that set up perfectly for his late-running style.

Castaneda set a sizzling pace with the D’Funnybone, the 1-2 favorite, following closely in second.

Vindicator staff/wire reports