Sports briefs
Big 12 adds 4
The Big 12 extended membership invitations Friday for BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston to join the Power Five conference that will be losing Oklahoma and Texas to the Southeastern Conference.
The eight continuing members of the Big 12 unanimously approved the applications of the four schools.
The moves come six weeks after the SEC invited Texas and Oklahoma to join its league in time for the 2025-26 season. There remains the possibility that could happen sooner, but the Big 12 is focused on its additions for now.
After identifying its primary expansion targets last week, the Big 12 moved quickly to make it happen. The four schools had previously been vetted and interviewed by the league in 2016 when it considered expansion before staying at 10 teams.
BYU said all its sports will begin Big 12 schedules in the 2023-24 athletic season. BYU is an independent in football, but competes in the West Coast Conference for basketball and its Olympic sports.
UCF, Houston and Cincinnati are in the American Athletic Conference, which requires members to give 27 months’ notice if they plan to leave the league, though there could be negotiations between the schools and that league to reduce the time before beginning Big 12 play.
Boys soccer
Anthony Belcastro scored two goals to power Trinity to a 4-1 victory at Uniontown on Thursday night in Class 3A Section 3.
It was the first section for the Hillers (1-0-1, 1-0-1), who received goals from Connor Bull and Alex Tush.
- Ringgold blanked Washington 2-0 in a Class 3A Section 3 match.
Sahne Seiler and David Molisee foudn the net for Ringgold, which evened its record at 1-1. Freshman goalkeeper Aidyn Whaley had the shutout.
Washington also has a 1-1 record.
In tennis
Daniil Medvedev twice was a point from finding himself tied at a set apiece in his U.S. Open semifinal against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The No. 2-seeded Medvedev surged out of that tight spot, beat a mistake-prone Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 on Friday and now is headed to his third Grand Slam final.
In the NFL
The Baltimore Ravens put running back Gus Edwards and cornerback Marcus Peters on injured reserve with knee injuries.
Coach John Harbaugh described the injuries as season-ending, non-contact ligament tears from practice.
“Gus made a cut – left-to-right cut – and landed wrong on his ankle, and the weight ended up going on his knee. Kind of a fluke deal,” Harbaugh said. “Marcus was just kind of turning, pivoting on a turn – a basic turn that he makes dozens of times every single practice.”
Baltimore’s backfield has been hit hard by injuries during the preseason. Running back J.K. Dobbins is out for the season with a knee injury, and Justice Hill is on IR as well.
The Ravens have signed several veteran running backs this week in an effort to plug the holes in their backfield. Baltimore signed Latavius Murray to the roster and signed Devonta Freeman to the practice squad. The Ravens also added Le’Veon Bell to their practice squad.
In the NBA
The Los Angeles Lakers have traded the rights to Marc Gasol back to the Memphis Grizzlies, where the 36-year-old center spent his first 11 NBA seasons.
The Lakers also sent a second-round pick in 2024 and cash to Memphis on Friday in exchange for the draft rights to Chinese big man Wang Zhelin.