SPORTS digest
Curbstone Coaches to host YSU’s Calhoun
BEAVER TOWNSHIP
The Curbstone Coaches will host a meet-and-greet dinner with newly hired Youngstown State men’s basketball coach Jerrod Calhoun on Thursday at Drake’s Landing Banquet Center on Western Reserve Road.
The cost of the buffet dinner is $11 per person. Reservations are not necessary. The public is encouraged to attend and welcome Coach Calhoun to the Valley.
San Francisco figures honored in ceremony
SAN FRANCISCO
Joe Montana passed to Dwight Clark for another memorable play on Sunday.
San Francisco plans to name the streets of a development on the land formerly occupied by Candlestick Park after some of the city’s most prominent sports figures, and Montana says he wants “Joe Montana Drive” to be renamed “Joe Montana-Dwight Clark Drive.”
Montana and Clark hooked up for the winning touchdown in the 1981 NFC Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys. Clark’s leaping grab in the back of the end zone is remembered simply as “The Catch.”
Montana says he wants “to honor my very special friend.” Clark, whose No. 87 has been retired by the 49ers, announced last month he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that attacks cells that control muscles.
“The first time (Clark) saw me he thought I was the kicker, and if it wasn’t for that ‘well-placed’ throw that he caught, we would still be chasing the Cowboys today,” Montana said.
The city of San Francisco announced its plans for the streets in a dedication ceremony on Sunday. Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott and former coach Bill Walsh are among the honorees on the 49ers’ side, and former San Francisco Giants players Barry Bonds, Orlando Cepeda and Juan Marichal also will have streets named after them.
Former MSU player jailed on sex charge
OKEMOS, Mich.
Police say former Michigan State defensive end Auston Robertson is in custody after being charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
The Meridian Township Police Department updated a message on its website Sunday to say the 19-year-old was in custody. No additional information was provided.
Robertson is accused of forcing a woman to have sex with him at her apartment on April 8. Shortly after prosecutors announced the charge on Friday, Michigan State said Robertson had been dismissed from the football team.
The Associated Press sent an email seeking comment Friday from Robertson, who hasn’t been arraigned.
Police dispatch directed inquiries about the case on Sunday to the county jail, where calls went unanswered. An email to the sheriff wasn’t immediately returned, and calls to the prosecutor’s office also went unanswered.
Nastase suspended for abusive comments
LONDON
Ilie Nastase, the captain of Romania’s Fed Cup team, has been provisionally suspended from the competition for abusing players and the umpire during the playoff match against Britain.
The International Tennis Federation, which organizes the Fed Cup, said Sunday that Nastase “may not participate in the Fed Cup in any capacity with immediate effect.”
The 70-year-old Nastase was heard hurling expletives at British player Johanna Konta, Britain captain Anne Keothavong and the umpire during Konta’s match against Romania’s Sorana Cirstea on Saturday. Nastase was sent off the court by referee Andreas Egli and, after taking a seat in the stands, was then sent back to the locker room.
Nastase, a former world No. 1 in the 1970s, also publicly hurled insults at a British journalist in Constanta on Saturday, a day after apparently making racially offensive comments about Serena Williams’ pregnancy.
ITF president David Haggerty condemned Nastase for his “unacceptable behavior.”
Staff and wire reports