SPORTS digest

Poland Stadium to be closed Friday

POLAND

The Poland High School Athletic Department will be closing Poland Stadium on Friday in preparation for Saturday’s 26th Annual Poland Track and Field Invitational and Monday’s Mahoning County Middle School Track and Field Meet.

YSU basketball coaches set 4 summer camps

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown State women’s basketball coaches will host two elite camps, a half-day individual camp and a team camp this summer The camps will be operated by John Barnes Basketball Camps, LLC.

Barnes and his staff will welcome high-level high school players to campus for Elite Camp sessions on June 23 and Aug. 4. The camp will cost $80 per session, which includes lunch, and go from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Players who wish to attend both sessions will receive a $10 discount and pay $150 total.

The staff will welcome area youth basketball players to campus for four days of an Individual Half Day Camp that runs from June 25-28 in the Stambaugh Stadium gymnasiums. The camp is for players entering grades four-eight and will focus on basic fundamentals, such as ball-handling, passing, shooting, defense and rebounding. Cost is $130, and the camp will go from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be a $10 discount for campers who register by May 31.

The annual Team Shootout on June 22 is designed to help coaches develop winning programs and allow players to find new ways to stay on top over the summer. Teams will be guaranteed four games with certified high school officials. The cost is $280, and a discount is available for multiple teams.

Online registration is available through PenguinsCamps.com. Questions should be directed to Jenn Lawrence, YSU Women’s Basketball Director of Player Personnel, at jklawrence@ysu.edu.

MLB payrolls down thanks to bonuses

NEW YORK

Big deals for Bryce Harper, Mike Trout and others that included large signing bonuses masked an otherwise flat market for the second straight offseason that caused Major League Baseball’s opening-day payrolls to drop by $43 million for 2019.

Payrolls, however, rose by $131 million when using the averages of multiyear contracts. Following a winter in which many journeymen took cuts, a string of stars signed huge long-term agreements during March and April.

Since the end of last season, teams agreed to a record $4.195 billion in guarantees beyond 2019, breaking the previous mark for out-year commitments of $3.414 billion set following the 2013 season, according to figures compiled by the commissioner’s office and obtained by The Associated Press.

Just three teams are on track to pay the luxury tax. World Series champion Boston projects to owe $11.8 million, the Chicago Cubs $5.3 million and the New York Yankees just under $4 million. Figures will fluctuate during the season because of roster moves.

Payrolls totaled $4.072 billion on opening day, down 1.1 percent from $4.115 billion at the start of last season and $4.135 billion on opening day 2017, using the calculation of salaries plus prorated shares of signing bonuses.

Using the average annual values of contracts plus a little over $14 million per team in benefits this year — the measurement used for the luxury tax — payrolls went up 3% from $4.415 billion to $4.545 billion, but remained below the $4.549 billion at the start of 2017.

Angered over the slow pace of free-agent signings, players pushed for an unprecedented early start to labor negotiations, and clubs agreed to bargain over economic terms. The five-year collective bargaining agreement runs until December 2021.

Signing bonuses can impact payroll calculations. Trout originally was set to earn a $33.25 million salary this year, but his record $426.5 million, 12-year contract dropped his salary to $16 million and added a $20 million signing bonus due May 31.

Staff/wire report