Bucs’ Brown to speak at Curbstone

Pittsburgh Pirates radio broadcaster Greg Brown will be the guest speaker at Monday’s luncheon meeting of The Curbstone Coaches at the Avion Banquet Center on Western Reserve Road in Beaver Township.

The event begins at noon and the public is welcome to attend. For those arriving early the buffet lines will open at 11:45 a.m.

All sports fans are welcome, and you do not need to be a current or former coach.

Ex-YSU slugger signs with Rockies

Former Youngstown State All-American outfielder Kyle Fossum has signed a minor league contact with the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball.

Fossum, the 2025 Horizon League Player of the Year, was named to the ABCA/Rawlings East All-Region First Team and the ABCA/Rawlings All-America Third Team following his breakout senior campaign with the Penguins. The Seattle, Wash., native became the third player in YSU history to garner All-America honors. He was the first Penguin to collect All-American recognition since Jim Lipinski earned honorable mention honors in 2001.

“We could not be more thrilled for Kyle to receive this opportunity with the Colorado Rockies organization,” YSU head coach Trevor Charpie said. “Kyle is one of the most talented and naturally gifted hitters I have ever been around, but his grit, perseverance and work ethic is even more impressive. We’re so thankful to have had the chance to coach him and welcome him into the YSU Baseball family. Kyle made such an impact on our program in so many ways, and we are excited to see where he will do with this next opportunity.”

Fossum put together one of the most prolific and productive seasons in YSU history in 2025 after spending the first three years of his career at the University of Washington. He batted .382 with 84 hits while setting new single-season school records for home runs (23), RBIs (62), runs scored (67), slugging percentage (.777) and total bases (171). Fossum also recorded 18 doubles, 46 walks, a .496 on-base percentage, a 1.273 OPS and nine stolen bases while starting all 57 games. He ranked in the top 10 in the Horizon League in batting average, hits, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS, RBIs, runs scored, home runs, doubles and walks.

USA 250 patch to debut at SB LX

WASHINGTON — A patch commemorating the U.S.’s 250th anniversary will make its debut at the Super Bowl on the uniforms of the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks.

The NFL, NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, Major League Soccer, UFC and WWE along with the White House and Fanatics unveiled the USA 250 patch on Friday.

“The NFL is honored to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary on a global stage,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “These special patches symbolize a country and a game built on the shared values of hard work, sacrifice and innovation. We are proud to be a part of the American story.”

Players are also set to have it on their uniforms in the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Final, baseball games on July 4 and MLB All-Star festivities in Philadelphia, among other events.

“This collaboration is an important addition to MLB’s commemoration of America’s 250th birthday this season, which includes the dedication of 250,000 volunteer hours across baseball,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “This exciting initiative has the opportunity to use the collective popularity of these properties to do what sports does best — bring people together.”

President Donald Trump invited commissioners to the White House to commemorate the patch, but the event scheduled for earlier this week was postponed because of Winter Storm Fern.

Coyle powers Jackets past ‘Hawks

CHICAGO — Charlie Coyle had his second career hat trick, Mathieu Olivier added a goal and an assist and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Friday night.

The win was Columbus’ fourth straight and eighth in the last nine games (8-0-1). The Blackhawks lost in regulation for the third time in five games (0-3-2).

Coyle set up Olivier’s goal, the eventual winner, for his third point of the game. It gave the Blue Jackets a 3-1 lead 6:47 into the second period.

Coyle finished off his second career three-goal effort with an empty-netter with 1:03 left. He scored Columbus’ first two goals, beating Spencer Knight from the doorstep on a power play with 47 seconds left in the first period, and on a hard wrist shot over Knight’s glove 1:23 into the second.

In between, Connor Bedard whistled a wrist shot past Elvis Merzlikins with 2.7 seconds left in the first. Bedard set up Chicago’s other goal, matched with a perfect feed to Frank Nazar on a 3-on-2 break four minutes after Olivier’s goal. Nazar beat Merzlikins from 25 feet.

Merzlikins stopped 22 shots, and Knight made 22 saves.

Columbus blanked the Blackhawks on their two power-play chances, running their string of futility to 26 man-advantages and 10 games without a goal. Chicago’s last power-play goal was in Nashville on Jan. 10.

The Blackhawks called up defenseman Sam Rinzel from Rockford before the game, benching defenseman Artyom Levshunov, who was a minus-5 in Thursday’s 6-2 loss at Pittsburgh and is minus-11 in his last eight games.