Princeton contacts Phantoms coach

June 7, 2014 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown Phantoms head coach Anthony Noreen has been contacted by Princeton University about their head coach vacancy.

Troy Loney, Phantoms co-owner, said on Friday that Noreen’s Phantoms contract has been extended for two more seasons, but does has an opt-out clause if a college coaching opportunity arises.

Noreen has been the Phantoms head coach for three seasons, taking them to the playoffs twice.

In three seasons with Princeton, Bob Prier compiled a record of 25-58-12. Three former Phantoms play for Princeton: defenseman Kevin Liss and forwards Mike Ambrosia and Tommy Davis.

Thursday night, ESPN’s John Buccigross through Twitter said that Noreen is one of the six candidates Princeton is considering to replace Prier.

Browns release linebacker Groves

CLEVELAND

The Browns have released outside linebacker Quentin Groves, a special teams’ captain with the club last year.

Groves signed with Cleveland as an unrestricted free agent last year after a season with Arizona. He was in the linebacker rotation and had a sack in the season opener against Miami.

But Groves he severely sprained an ankle on the opening kickoff the following week against Baltimore and was limited to five games. He underwent offseason surgery and had been healthy and practicing with the team this spring.

The Browns also released former Ohio State linebacker Larry Grant, who signed as a free agent last month.

Cavs contact Tel Aviv’s Blatt

CLEVELAND

A person familiar with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ search says the team has contacted Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt about their coaching job.

The highly regarded Blatt coached Russia to a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. He is one of several candidates to speak with the Cavs. Blatt has not had a formal interview.

The Cavs are being thorough as they look to replace Mike Brown, who was fired on May 12, ending his second stint with the team. Cleveland went 33-49 under Brown.

Blatt also has drawn interested for an assistant’s job with Golden State and Minnesota. He recently led Maccabi to the European championship, upsetting Real Madrid.

Power on pole for IRL in Texas

FORT WORTH, Texas

IndyCar Series points leader Will Power will start on the pole at Texas for the second consecutive year.

Power had a two-lap average of 218.896 mph in qualifying Friday at the high-banked, high-speed 1 1/2-mile track for his 34th career pole.

Josef Newgarden qualified second for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing at 217.835 mph. That was just ahead of Chip Ganassi Racing driver Tony Kanaan.

After starting first at Texas last year, Power finished seventh. He was a lap down behind Penske teammate Helio Castroneves, who won at the track for the fourth time. Castroneves, coming off a win in the second Detroit race last week, starts 14th Saturday night after qualifying at 216.591 mph. He expects a tougher race this year after winning by nearly 5 seconds in 2013.

Formula One leaders fastest in practice

MONTREAL

Formula One leaders Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg had the fastest times in practice on Friday for the Canadian Grand Prix.

The two Mercedes drivers are leading the championship standings. They have won all six of the races so far this season.

Hamilton turned in a fastest lap of 1 minute, 16.118 seconds in the afternoon practice on the 4.36-km (2.71-mile) Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Rosberg was 0.175 seconds slower.

Staff/wire reports