Ebony HOF tickets available

The Ebony Lifeline Sports Hall of Fame will conduct its 25th induction banquet at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Youngstown on Friday.

In addition to picking up tickets at Black’s Funeral Home, tickets can also be purchased at the door.

Tickets cost $45, and the event begins at 6:30 p.m.

YSU offers golf simulator sessions

The Youngstown State golf programs are offering open simulator sessions in the Watson and Tressel Training Site (WATTS) on select dates in November and December.

The sessions, which are open to the public, include use of the program’s golf simulator rooms, which were installed earlier this year. Please note there is no instruction included; this is an opportunity to use the indoor facilities at YSU. All the money raised will benefit the YSU men’s and women’s golf programs.

The cost for each one-hour session is $30 and the available dates are Nov. 4, Nov. 11, Nov. 18, Nov. 25, Dec. 2 and Dec. 9. The cost will be discounted to $25 per hour if two or more hours are reserved. Slots are available between 4-8 p.m.

To confirm a spot, contact Head Women’s Golf Coach Nate Miklos by phone at 7249791192 or by email at nmiklos@ysu.edu prior to sending in payment. Complete payment must be received at least one week prior to session date for a spot to be held.

Make checks payable to YSU Penguin Club and send to:

Nate Miklos – YSU Women’s Golf, 1 Tressel Way, Youngstown, OH 44555.

The WATTS is located at 651 Elm St. in Youngstown. Parking in the adjacent M-81 parking lot is $5.

Singler charged with assaulting GF

OKLAHOMA CITY — Former Duke and Oklahoma City Thunder player Kyle Singler was charged Tuesday with misdemeanor assault in Oklahoma after his girlfriend told authorities he grabbed her head and shoved her to the ground.

Singler, 37, was arrested Thursday in the eastern Oklahoma town of Whitefield after someone called 911 to report Singler was chasing a woman outside a residence there. He was booked into the Haskell County jail and later released on $6,000 bond, jail records show.

Singler was charged Tuesday in Haskell County with one misdemeanor count of assault and battery in the presence of a child. Singler’s girlfriend told a sheriff’s deputy that Singler grabbed her by the head and shoved her to the ground, according to an arrest affidavit. Deputy Mitch Dobbs also reported he could observe finger outlines on the woman’s face and marks on her arm. The woman told Dobbs that Singler is the father of her young child, who was present during the incident, the affidavit states.

Dobbs reported Singler did not cooperate with authorities or give them a statement and appeared to be under the influence of narcotics.

Court and jail records don’t indicate whether Singler has an attorney. Singler’s former agent, Jason Ranne, said in an email he no longer represents Singler.

Singler’s arrest comes nearly a year after a cryptic Instagram post in which he said he feared for his life drew an outpouring of concern and support from former teammates and others.

Singler was on Duke’s 2010 national championship team and was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament.

He was the 33rd overall pick in the 2011 draft and started his career overseas before playing in the NBA. He played three seasons for the Detroit Pistons, who drafted him, and was on the All-Rookie second team in 2013. He played parts of four seasons for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

WNBA offers extension for CBA talks

NEW YORK — The WNBA has offered a 30-day extension to players to continue negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, two people familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday night.

The current CBA is set to expire on Friday and tensions have been rising in recent weeks as the sides try to work toward a new deal. The league is willing to push back the deadline, according to the people who spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made.

An extension would give both sides more time to come up with a new deal that would be transformational for the players in terms of salary. In 2019, when the last CBA deal had expired, the sides agreed to a 60-day extension and eventually ratified the current CBA in January 2020.

It’s unclear if the union will accept the extension.

ESPN was the first to report the extension offer.

WNBPA senior advisor and legal counsel Erin D. Drake said on a podcast published by The Athletic that it “takes two to tango” and a deal wouldn’t be reached by Friday.

The league responded with a statement rebuking any notion it wasn’t operating in good faith.

“We urge the Players Association to spend less time disseminating public misinformation and more time joining us in constructive engagement across the table,” the statement said.

The sides have had meetings over the past few weeks, including once in New York earlier this month, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because details about the meeting were not publicly discussed.

The players exercised their right to opt out of the current CBA last year with hopes of getting, among other things, increased revenue sharing, higher salaries, improved benefits and a softer salary cap.

The WNBA’s offers to this point have clearly not been to the players’ liking, although it is unclear how far apart the sides are in terms of salary parameters. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said during the WNBA Finals that the league — like the players — wants a “transformative deal” done with significant increases to salary and benefits.