SPORTS DIGEST || Phantoms goalie commits to Mercyhurst

Phantoms goalie commits to Mercyhurst

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown Phantoms goaltender Colin DeAugustine announced his commitment to play at Mercyhurst University, the team announced on Thursday.

“I was impressed with how beautiful the campus is when I went to visit. My parents and I really like the coaching staff, and I believe they’re going to make my transition from junior hockey to college much easier. On top of that, it’s only two hours away from home, so my family will be able to make a lot of our games,” DeAugustine said.

The Burgettstown, PA native has played in 24 games this season and is currently 8-11 with a 3.30 GAA. He will be reunited with former Phantoms coach John Ronan, who is currently an assistant with Mercyhurst, as well as former Youngstown teammate Taylor Best.

Wentz in spotlight at NDSU pro day

FARGO, N.D.

Top-flight NFL draft prospect Carson Wentz naturally owned the spotlight at North Dakota State University’s pro day, but the Bison quarterback hopes there were a few rays left for his teammates.

Wentz was one of about a dozen players who performed in front of pro scouts Thursday at the Fargodome. The Bismarck, North Dakota, native unofficially completed 63 of 65 passing attempts in a half-hour drill that had him throwing balls to receivers running a variety of routes.

Wentz says he was happy with his performance and the opportunity to mark off the last box in a pre-draft season that has included the Senior Bowl, NFL combine and pro day. He says he was “most excited” about the possibility of the added attention benefiting his NDSU teammates.

Dutch soccer great Cruyff dies at age 68

Dutch soccer great Johan Cruyff, who revolutionized the game with the concept of “Total Football,” has died. He was 68.

Family spokeswoman Carole Thate confirmed to The Associated Press that Cruyff had died. Joaquin Munoz of the Cruyff Foundation in Barcelona said he died as a result of lung cancer.

Obsessed by football to the end and ever the positive thinker, Cruyff only last month said his recovery was going well. He said “I have the feeling that I am 2-0 up in the first half. The game is not over yet. Still I know that in the end, I will win.” On Thursday, he died.

Cruyff won European championships three times with Ajax as a player and once with Barcelona as a coach. He was European player of the year three times and, in 1999, was named Europe’s best player of the 20th century.

Though a World Cup title eluded him, he was the pivotal figure on the Netherlands’ 1974 national team that electrified the sport with its “Total Football” tactics, with players constantly interchanging roles. The tactics influenced the game worldwide.

Cruyff smoked cigarettes most of his life and finally quit after undergoing an emergency bypass operation in 1991. After more heart trouble in 1997, he vowed never to coach again, though he remained a vocal football critic and analyst.

Ex-soccer player gets six years in prison

BRADFORD, ENGLAND

Former England soccer international Adam Johnson has been jailed for six years for child sex offenses.

The former Manchester City and Sunderland winger showed no emotion as he was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court on Thursday.

Judge Jonathan Rose said the 15-year-old girl “suffered severe psychological harm.”

Johnson pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual activity with the girl and another of “grooming” — building an emotional connection with a child to gain trust for sexual motives.

The 28-year-old Johnson denied two further charges of sexual activity with the schoolgirl and he was only found guilty of one of them by a jury earlier this month.

Staff/wire report