Nibali all but clinches Tour with one stage left

Nibali all but clinches Tour with one stage left

PERIGUEUX, France

Finally cracking broad smiles after weeks of no-nonsense racing, Vincenzo Nibali confirmed he will win the Tour de France after another impressive ride in a dramatic penultimate stage on Saturday. Nibali all but ensured he will be crowned Tour champion for the first time thanks to winning the last mountain stage on Thursday. But a desire to leave nothing to chance, even with the biggest overall lead in 17 years, saw him push himself in the individual time trial for fourth place behind winner and German speedster Tony Martin.

In doing so, the rider they call “The Shark” padded his overall lead on Stage 20 by more than 40 seconds to nearly eight minutes. He grabbed the yellow jersey on Stage 2 almost three weeks ago, and has worn it for all but two stages.

YSU student-athletes gain academic honors

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown State track and field program had six student-athletes named last week to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team. Additionally, both the women’s and men’s programs were honored for successful academic years.

YSU student-athletes who were selected to U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic team were Samantha Hamilton (Jackson-Milton), Jessica Parham, Conner Neu, John Seaver (South Range), Austin McLean and Eric Rupe (Maplewood).

Both programs earned All-Academic Team honors for posting a 2013-14 academic year team grade-point average of 3.00 or above. The men’s team was one of 116 programs to be honored while the women’s team was among a group of 208 programs to earn that distinction.

Old-Timers schedule four-man golf scramble

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown Baseball OldTimers will have a four-man golf scramble on Sept. 17 at Tanglewood Golf Course.

The event will have a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m.

Contact Nick Granitto for reservations at 330-782-6520.

Penn State hires ex-Cal AD to lead program

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.

Penn State hired Sandy Barbour as athletic director, a month after she stepped down as AD at the University of California-Berkeley. The 54-year-old Barbour replaces David Joyner, who announced he was resigning last month. Joyner took over at Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal and held the job for two and a half years.

Barbour was given a five-year contract that pays $700,000 per year with potential bonuses worth a potential additional $200,000 per year. At a news conference Saturday, new Penn State president Eric Barron said Barbour was the unanimous choice of the university’s screening committee. Barron said Barbour’s salary makes her the fifth-highest paid among Big Ten ADs. She’s the first woman to hold the position at Penn State.

Struthers’ Braydich challenged at Optimist

Palm Beach, Fla.

The boys 16-18 division got underway in the Optimist International Junior Golf Championships at the PGA National Resort & Spa on Saturday.

Nick Braydich of Struthers shot an opening-round 80 at the Fazio Course. He’ll continue with his second round today.

Crew win 2-1, extend Revs’ losing streak

FOXBOROUGH, Mass.

Ethan Finlay scored in the 84th minute and Columbus beat New England to extend the Revolution’s losing streak to eight games. Finlay ran down a long ball from Justin Meram, shrugged off a defender, and hammered a shot into the back of the net.

Federico Higuain opened the scoring for the Crew (6-7-8) in the 43rd minute, bending in a free kick around the wall from 23 yards out. New England’s Kelyn Rowe missed on a left-footed shot in the 50th minute, but his ensuing corner kick to the head of A.J. Soares tied it at 1.

Staff reports/Associated Press