Local morra league adds HOF members

Local morra league adds HOF members

Youngstown

The Youngstown Morra League inducted eight members into its Hall of Fame at the year-end banquet last month: Dom Fabulli, Tony Cardarelli, Joe Gallo, John Tomei, Bill Diorio, Dave Palombaro, Attello Dechelis, and Ralph ‘Val’ Valerio.

The HOF committee encourages anybody interested to sign up and help prolong the course of the league.

Managers ready to test expanded video replay

PHOENIX

Major League Baseball managers are getting ready to test the expanded instant replay system. While most seem to embrace the idea, they acknowledge it’s uncharted territory and yet another strategic tool to employ during games. “I think there’s some anxiety because we don’t fully understand it yet,” Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona said.

The issue was a consistent line of questioning when managers and general managers of the 15 teams that hold spring training in Arizona gathered for MLB media day on Tuesday.

All clubs will get a chance to test the new system in a handful of spring training games, although details of that schedule had not been determined.

QB backs bid to form college athletes union

CHICAGO

Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter testified Tuesday that he was essentially paid to play via his scholarship as the National Labor Relations Board opened a hearing on a bid to form what would be the first union for college athletes in U.S. history. Colter characterized playing college football as a job and said schools make clear to incoming players that athletics are a higher priority than academics.

Colter, a co-founder of the newly formed College Athletes Players Association, said players adhere to grueling schedules, putting in 40- to 50-hour weeks on football during and before the season. Whether the players qualify under federal law as employees is the core question for the NLRB. If they are deemed employees, they would have rights to unionize. Whatever ruling the panel makes can be appealed.

Malzahn asks to have slowdown rule tabled

AUBURN, Ala.

Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said Tuesday that he has spoken “numerous times” over the previous five days with Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, the chairman of a committee that passed a proposal designed to rein in hurry-up offenses.

“This is not a rule change year,” Malzahn said. “For a rule to be changed, it has to be under the umbrella of health and safety. There’s absolutely zero documented evidence that it is hazardous to (speed up) the pace of play, only opinions. What I asked him to do is move this to next year, when it is a rule change year where we can hear both sides and have a healthy debate on moving forward with the rule.”

The playing rules oversight panel, which meets March 6, must approve the proposal. The rule, if it’s passed, would give defenses time to substitute by penalizing offenses for snapping the ball before the 40-second play clock has ticked down to 29.

Staff reports/Associated Press