SPORTS DIGEST || Canfield tops Ohio showcase leaderboard

Canfield tops Ohio showcase leaderboard

CLEVELAND

Canfield High’s girls golf team took home top honors at the statewide Ohio Girls Golf Foundation (OGGF) Showcase Monday at Avon Oaks Country Club.

Eight teams competed from across the state, as the top five teams were Canfield (340), Hathaway Brown (351), Lakeview (352), Magnificat (357) and Medina (374). Others teams playing were Laurel, Warren JFK and Copley.

Kaylee Neumeister of Lakeview shot a second-place 72, Gillian Cerimele (Canfield) notched a fourth-place 78 and Hannah Keffler (Canfield) shot a 79 for a fifth-place tie.

Also, eight girls were presented college scholarships, including Kaci Carpenter of Canfield High (awarded Maureen T. O’Brien Memorial) and Evyenia Spencer of Poland Seminary (awarded Patty Wood Memorial Scholarship).

Juventus signs striker Higuain for $99 million

TURIN, Italy

Italian champion Juventus says it has signed Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain from Serie A rival Napoli for 90 million euros ($99 million).

Juventus said in a statement Tuesday that the 28-year-old Higuain has signed a five-year contract with the Turin club and that the transfer fee would be paid over a two-year period.

Higuain joined Napoli from Real Madrid in 2013 and went on to score 71 goals in 104 matches in Serie A for the southern club.

His 36 goals last season helped Napoli finish second behind Juventus.

Amare Stoudemire retires from NBA

NEW YORK

Amare Stoudemire’s greatest NBA success was in Phoenix, where as Steve Nash’s pick-and-roll partner he was one of the NBA’s most fearsome finishers.

But he chose to leave the league as a member of the Knicks, the franchise that was mired in a lengthy playoff drought before he signed in 2010 and revitalized the franchise.

Stoudemire retired Tuesday after signing a contract with the Knicks with much less fanfare than the $100 million deal he inked six years ago to halt the team’s downward spiral.

“Although my career has taken me to other places around the country, my heart had always remained in the Big Apple,” he said in a statement. “Once a Knick, Always a Knick.”

Stoudemire was a six-time All-Star, but battled knee injuries after his sensational first season in New York, when he became the first Knicks player to be voted an All-Star starter since Patrick Ewing in 1997.

Still just 33 years old but with knees that hadn’t been healthy in years, the 6-foot-10 forward asked team president Phil Jackson and general manager Steve Mills to add another signing to the ones they hope will lead to the first playoff berth since Stoudemire left.

Wizards announce re-signing of Beal

WASHINGTON

The Washington Wizards say they have re-signed shooting guard Bradley Beal.

The team did not announce the terms of the deal Tuesday, but the AP reported this month that Beal agreed to a five-year contract worth $128 million.

Beal, 23, was a restricted free agent.

The No. 3 overall draft pick in 2012, he averaged a career-high 17.4 points in his fourth season, pairing with John Wall to form one of the NBA’s most dynamic young backcourts.

The biggest question mark about Beal is health. He has never played more than 70 games in a season and has been bothered by stress fractures in his right leg.

Last season, he made only 35 starts and 55 appearances as the Wizards went 41-41 and missed the playoffs.

Staff/wire report