Torre, La Russa, Cox elected to baseball Hall

Torre, La Russa, Cox elected to baseball Hall

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.

Joe Torre, Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox spent decades trying to beat each other, now they are going to the Hall of Fame together. With a combined eight World Series titles and more than 7,500 wins, the managerial trio made it to Cooperstown in results announced Monday. Each was unanimously selected when the 16 voters on the expansion era committee met a day earlier.

Candidates needed 12 votes for election. No one else on the 12-person ballot that included former players’ union head Marvin Miller and late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner got more than six votes.

Mancini film makes TV debut on Saturday

The television debut of the award-winning documentary film “The Good Son: The Ray Mancini Story” is scheduled Saturday at 10 p.m. on NBC Sports Network.

The movie follows “Fight Night live on NBCSN” which begins at 8 and features a heavyweight bout between Amir Mansour and Kelvin Price.

Directed by Jesse James Miller and based on the book of the same name by Mark Kriegel, the documentary chronicles the history of both Mancini and Duk-Koo Kim, the Korean boxer who was killed during a fight against Mancini. The film follows the personal developments three decades after the fateful fight, including Mancini’s grief, guilt, retirement and subsequent redemption as he meets Ji Wan, Kim’s son who was born shortly after the fight.

Penguins add third volleyball recruit

YOUNGSTOWN

Lauren Blanco of El Paso, Texas, has become the third player to sign a national letter of intent to continue her academic and volleyball career at Youngstown State University. YSU head coach Mark Hardaway announced the signing of Blanco, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter.

She joins outside hitter Sam Brown (Chicago) and middle hitter Morgan Tippie (Willoughby) as members of the 2013 fall signing class.

“We are thrilled to have Lauren join the Penguin family,” Hardaway said. “I think our fans are in for a real treat because Lauren is so dynamic and exciting to watch. Like Brown, Lauren is a six rotation player with strong skills, and she is used to carrying a big load for her team.”

Kobe, Lakers ready for bumps as star returns

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.

Kobe Bryant had the ball in his hands and the crowd on its feet for the final possession of the first half in his comeback game. He deked and drove — and his shot was swatted away by Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan. With his 18th NBA season finally underway, Bryant will go back to work tonight against Phoenix in his second game back from a torn Achilles tendon. Bryant had nine points on 2-for-9 shooting with eight rebounds and eight turnovers over 28 minutes in his season debut Sunday in the Lakers’ 106-94 loss to the Raptors.

Patriots’ Gronkowski on IR with knee injury

FOXBOROUGH, Mass.

The New England Patriots must get used to playing without Rob Gronkowski again. The star tight end who missed the first six games while recovering from surgeries is done for the season after being placed on injured reserve Monday with a damaged right knee.

Indians sign free agent first baseman Cooper

CLEVELAND

The Indians have signed free agent first baseman David Cooper to a major league contract. Terms of the deal were not immediately available. Cooper, 26, a former first-round pick of Toronto finished last season with Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August.

Reporting prep results

The Vindicator encourages coaches and statisticians to report prep results by email (sports@vindy.com) or fax (330-747-6712). Phone calls (330-747-1478) are also acceptable but emails and faxes are strongly preferred. Deadline is 10:30 p.m.

Staff reports/Associated Press