Beany hired at Fitch

Beany hired at Fitch

AUSTINTOWN

The Austintown Fitch Board of Education hired Brian Beany Monday as the new boy’s basketball coach at Fitch High.

Thomas selected

AUSTINTOWN

Mount Union senior Scott Thomas (West Branch High) won the Ohio Athletic Conference track athlete of the week award.

Thomas posted his best time of the season and an provisional mark to the NCAA championships as he placed fourth in the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.64.

It is the second straight week that Thomas has won the conference weekly honor.

He won it twice during the indoor season this winter.

Hall of Famer, former 49ers great Perry dies

SAN FRANCISCO

Hall of Fame fullback Joe Perry, the first player with back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons and nicknamed “The Jet” for his sensational speed, died Monday. He was 84.

The San Francisco 49ers announced that Perry, also a World War II veteran, had died Monday in Arizona of complications from dementia.

Perry was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969 following a 16-year NFL career, 14 years with the 49ers and the other two for the Baltimore Colts.

A three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, Perry still stands as San Francisco’s all-time leader in yards rushing (7,344) and touchdowns rushing (50).

New contract to pay Bo Pelini $3M in 2014

OMAHA, Neb.

Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne says he’s giving coach Bo Pelini a new five-year contract to ward off teams that might want to hire him away from the Cornhuskers.

Pelini’s contract gives him an immediate $425,000 raise, to $2.775 million, and will pay him more than $3 million a year starting in 2014.

Pelini’s name in December was linked to the opening at Miami in media reports. Osborne said Monday that “two or three” schools were interested in Pelini after last season, but he wouldn’t name them.

Osborne said Pelini didn’t ask for a raise or new contract.

Lakers player shoved pregnant cashier

NEW ORLEANS

Authorities say Los Angeles Lakers forward Derrick Caracter was arrested in New Orleans, accused of public drunkenness and shoving a pregnant cashier at a pancake restaurant.

Police said the 22-year-old player was arrested early Sunday and booked into jail on charges of battery, public drunkenness and resisting arrest. They say Caracter allegedly grabbed and shoved the cashier at an International House of Pancakes after he was refused service and became belligerent. The woman wasn’t injured.

Authorities say Caracter was freed later Sunday morning on $1,000 bond weren’t immediately returned. It wasn’t clear if Caracter had a lawyer, and a call by The Associated Press to the Lakers’ organization wasn’t immediately returned.

Caracter didn’t play in Sunday night’s playoff game against the Hornets

Twitter quitter

LONDON

Manchester United midfielder Darron Gibson’s social networking experiment proved short-lived when he closed his Twitter account on Monday just two hours after opening it following a flood of abusive comments.

Gibson, a bit-part player at Old Trafford, followed United teammates Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen in joining Twitter, and Ferdinand encouraged his followers to “show him some love.”

Instead Gibson was greeted by some less-than-welcoming remarks, many of which appeared to be from United supporters. One of the posts said “nothing would make me happier than if we sold you this summer.”

Two hours after joining, Gibson’s account had been deleted, although he did not say why.

Sports stars and celebrities are often the target of abusive comments on Twitter — but not usually from their own fans.

Vindicator staff/wire reports