Kentucky extends Stoops’ contract

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

LEXINGTON, Ky.

Kentucky has extended the contract of head football coach Mark Stoops, a Cardinal Mooney graduate, through the 2018 season. The university said in a statement Tuesday that the new agreement extends the current term from Dec. 31, 2017, to June 30, 2019.

Athletic director Mitch Barnhart says Stoops has brought enthusiasm to the program along with recruiting successes. Kentucky had an average attendance increase of 9,700 per game at Commonwealth Stadium last season, Stoops’ first year. Total attendance averaged 59,472 per game. The team struggled in Stoops’ first season, going 2-9 and 0-7 in the SEC.

Tamer Win’s Rura cited by school golf coaches

CORTLAND

Deborah Winch Rura, owner and director of golf at Tamer Win Golf and Country Club, was presented a distinguished service award Monday by the Ohio High School Golf Coaches Association.

Canfield High girls golf coach Diane McCall presented the award at the Fawcett Center at Ohio State University to Rura for her contributions to junior golf in northeast Ohio.

Tamer Win has provided instruction and tournament opportunities for junior golfers since 1980 and more than 1,000 juniors have participated in lesson programs at Tamer Win under Rura’s supervision.

Boxing event to raise money for food pantry

YOUNGSTOWN

The St. Vincent de Paul Society, in conjunction with Lights Out Productions, is presenting “Knock Out Hunger 2014,” an amateur boxing show to benefit the St Vincent de Paul Society dining hall and food pantry that served over 117,000 less fortunate people last year.

The event is scheduled May 31 at St. Mary’s, 356 S. Belle Vista. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the first fight will start at 7. Tables can be purchased for $300 or $400, VIP seating is $50 and general admission is $15. The Society also is having a food drive that night sponsored by the Holiday Inn and Springfield Grille.

Warriors fire Jackson as coach despite success

OAKLAND, Calif.

Mark Jackson came to the Golden State Warriors talking big and brash. He promised playoff appearances and championships, and he delivered plenty of wins along the way. Away from the court, though, Jackson never backed down from doing things how he wanted. His inability to mesh with management — and management’s inability to mesh with Jackson — increasingly overshadowed his success and ultimately cost him his job.

The Warriors fired Jackson after three seasons Tuesday, ending the franchise’s most successful coaching tenure in the past two decades. “Obviously it was not made exclusively on wins and losses,” Warriors owner Joe Lacob said.

Staff reports/Associated Press