SPORTS digest

Hannon will speak to Curbstone Coaches

BEAVER TOWNSHIP

Bob Hannon, president of the United Way of Youngstown and radio voice for the Youngstown State football team, will be the guest speaker when Curbstone Coaches meet on Monday at noon at Avion Banquet Center.

Applications are being accepted for nominations for the 2017 Hall of Fame Class that will be inducted on May 7. For an application to nominate, call 330-506-6774 or 330-792-2272.

Sauter holds off Elliott to win at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va.

Johnny Sauter earned a spot in the Truck Series championship race with a victory Saturday at Martinsville Speedway.

The win was the second of the season for Sauter and 12th of his career. He held off Chase Elliott in the closing laps to preserve the win in the Truck Series’ inaugural Chase. Elliott was racing only to gain track experience for the Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday.

Four of the six Chase drivers finished in the top 10. John Hunter Nemecheck, Christopher Bell and Timothy Peters rounded out the top five, while Daniel Suarez was sixth, followed by Cole Custer and William Byron.

Daniel Hemric and Austin Hill rounded out the top 10.

Sauter now has three career victories at Martinsville in the Truck Series.

Hamilton, Rosberg duo will start 1-2 in Mexico

MEXICO CITY

Lewis Hamilton grabbed the pole position for the Mexican Grand Prix on Saturday and Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg fought back from his rough practice outings to earn the No. 2 spot.

Rosberg’s leap into second position came on his final lap after three practice sessions when he struggled to find the pace to stay with his teammate in their duel for the season championship.

The position is critical. Even if Hamilton wins, Rosberg leads by 26 points and can clinch the title by finishing second twice and third in the final three races of the season.

Hamilton has been in top form in chasing him of late. He won the U.S. Grand Prix a week ago to keep his title chances alive, with hopes he can keep pressuring Rosberg into a mistake.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo will fill out the second row Sunday at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Reeling Jaguars fire offensive coordinator

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.

The Jacksonville Jaguars ended up making a coaching change in the wake of an embarrassing loss at Tennessee.

It wasn’t the one many expected.

The Jaguars (2-5) fired offensive coordinator Greg Olson on Saturday, parting ways with him two days after a lackluster effort against the Titans, and one day after coach Gus Bradley insisted no staff changes would be made.

The team said quarterbacks coach Nathaniel Hackett will take over play-calling duties next week at Kansas City. Hackett, who called plays for two seasons (2013-14) in Buffalo, will be quarterback Blake Bortles’ third coordinator in three years. Olson replaced Jedd Fisch after the 2014 season.

Jacksonville ranks 25th in the league in total offense, averaging about 330 yards a game.

Cibulkova, Kerber set for WTA Finals match

SINGAPORE

Top-ranked Angelique Kerber and seventh-seeded Dominika Cibulkova will compete for the WTA Finals title today.

The top-seeded Kerber picked apart defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska’s game in a textbook 6-2, 6-1 semifinal drubbing on Saturday.

This is Kerber’s fourth trip to the WTA Finals and the first time she’s advanced beyond the round-robin stage of the competition.

Slovakia’s Cibulkova rolled to the ground in celebration after taking her debut at the WTA Finals all the way to the championship match with a 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 semifinal victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Associated Press