SPORTS digest

YSU volleyball in Akron for weekend

The Youngstown State volleyball team will play its next four matches within 60 miles of campus, beginning with three matches at the Akron Invitational this weekend.

The Penguins will open the tournament at James A. Rhodes Arena on Friday at 4 p.m. against Eastern Kentucky, and they’ll play Canisius on Saturday at 10 a.m. YSU and Akron will square off in the final match of the tournament on Saturday at 7 p.m. Live stats will be available for all three matches, and there will be live video of Youngstown State’s contest against the Zips.

YSU women announces league hoops schedule

Youngstown State will begin Horizon League play with three straight contests on the road, and the Penguins’ February schedule will feature four consecutive road games followed by four straight home bouts. Five of YSU’s nine home games in league play will be part of doubleheaders with the men’s team.

The February stretch begins with YSU’s first stretch of four straight conference road games since January 1998 when it played in the Mid-Continent Conference. The Penguins will play at Valparaiso (Feb. 2) and UIC (Feb. 4) the first weekend, and they’ll make their Wisconsin swing at Milwaukee (Feb. 9) and Green Bay (Feb. 11) the following week. YSU will conclude Horizon League play with four consecutive home games, hosting Northern Kentucky and Wright State in doubleheaders on Feb. 16 and Feb. 18, respectively, and welcoming Oakland (Feb. 23) and Detroit (Feb. 25) to close out the regular season.

Pickleball demo day set for next week

warren

Area residents have the chance to come out and learn more about Pickleball. During the Bolindale Pop-up Farmers’ Market on Thursday, September 15th, local pickleball players will be present to show and teach residents about the game.

The event will be at Bolindale Park located at 3403 Ridge Avenue SE in Warren from 3-6 p.m.

Cross country meet set for Saturday

east palestine

The 2016 East Palestine Rotary Cross-Country Invitational will be held on Saturday, September 10th at East Palestine City Park.

Schools participating are East Palestine, Cardinal Mooney, Eria (PA) Central Tech, Crestview, Lisbon, Heartland Christian, Leetonia, Niles, Ravenna, Salem, Southern, Springfield, St. Thomas Aquinas, Erie (PA) Strong Vincent, Waterloo, and Western Reserve.

Middle school races begin at 10 a.m. High school girls start at 11 a.m. with high school boys at 11:45 a.m.

Donovan set to end retirement, join Galaxy

carson, calif.

Landon Donovan appears set to come out of retirement and rejoin the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The team tweeted “He’s back” on Thursday along with a video of Donovan putting on a No. 26 Galaxy jersey.

Now 34, Donovan retired after the Galaxy won the 2014 Major League Soccer title. Earlier that year, Donovan was controversially cut from the U.S. roster by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, denying him a trip to a fourth World Cup.

Formula One bought by American company

charlotte, n.c.

Despite its popularity, Formula One is barely a blip on the radar in the United States, where NASCAR, IndyCar and even sports cars rule supreme.

But Formula One is getting a new owner, one based in the U.S., no less, and the change at the top should amount to new eyes giving a fresh look at the global reach of the most popular form of motorsport in the world.

Liberty Media, which has stake in SiriusXM and the Atlanta Braves, announced this week it will purchase F1 from European private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for $4.4 billion.

Zak Brown, CEO of CSM Sport & Entertainment, one of the largest sports marketing groups in the world, believes the change in ownership will lead to an investment in the growth of F1.

Staff/wire reports