Briefs
Grotz called
up by Mariners
Former Washington Wild Things righthanded reliever Zac Grotz was promoted to the Seattle Mariners Wednesday.
Grotz, 26, was called up from Double-A Arkansas after the Mariners traded away relievers Roenis Elias and Hunter Strickland to the Washington Nationals hours before the trade deadline ended. In 26 games this year, Grotz was 4-4 with a 2.41 ERA, including starting six games.
He will be the fourth Wild Things’ franchise history to reach the majors.
Grotz was a Frontier League all-star in his only season with Washington in 2016. He was 4-2 with a 1.36 ERA and 10 saves before having his contract purchased by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
First Love’s Roesing commits
First Love Christian Academy senior guard Jett Roesing committed to Duquesne University, announcing his decision Wednesday via Twitter.
Roesing averaged 15 points, five rebounds and made 47% of his three-pointers in his first season at First Love. He spent his first two years at Sewickley Academy before transferring.
Roesing had other offers from Fordham, UMass, Manhattan, Towson, Fairfield, Wagner and others.
Buoniconti dies at 78
Pro Football Hall of Fame middle linebacker Nick Buoniconti, an undersized overachiever who helped lead the Miami Dolphins to the NFL’s only perfect season and became a leader in the effort to cure paralysis, has died. He was 78.
Buoniconti died Tuesday in Bridgehampton, New York, said Bruce Bobbins, a family spokesman.
In recent years, Buoniconti struggled with symptoms of CTE, a degenerative brain disease associated with repeated blows to the head. He had recently battled pneumonia, Dolphins senior vice president Nat Moore said.
The 5-foot-11, 220-pound Buoniconti was bypassed in the NFL draft but went on to a 15-year career. He was captain of the Dolphins’ back-to-back Super Bowl champions, including the 1972 team that finished 17-0.
Following retirement, Buoniconti and his son, Marc, worked to raise more than a half-billion dollars for paralysis research. The younger Buoniconti was paralyzed from the shoulders down making a tackle for The Citadel in 1985.
Marc Buoniconti said his father was his biggest hero.
“He could have been sitting on the beach sipping champagne for the rest of his life,” the younger Buoniconti said in 2017. “But what did he do? He went around and gave the rest of his life to help his son.”
Following retirement, Buoniconti worked as an attorney, a broadcaster, as president of U.S. Tobacco and as an agent to such athletes as Bucky Dent and Andre Dawson. For 23 seasons he was co-host of the weekly sports show “Inside the NFL” on the HBO cable network.
Waynesburg soccer to hold camp
The Waynesburg University men’s soccer team will host a one-day Elite ID Camp on Saturday, Nov. 16, at John F. Wiley Stadium. The camp is for young men who will be graduating high school from 2020 to 2023.
The day, which begins at 2 p.m. and is scheduled to wrap up at 5:30 p.m., features a warmup and technical sessions followed by small-sided games and full-field play. The camp concludes with a cool down period and an information meeting on recruitment.
There is a $55 registration fee for each camper that includes the training sessions, snacks and a Waynesburg University soccer tee shirt. Each camp is limited to the first 30 registrants and forms, complete with payment, must be returned to head men’s coach Brad Heethuis before the camp begins.