Hruska adds to summer honors

MARQUETTE — Newly crowned Senior Club champion Kenn Hruska added to his laurels at the Marquette Golf Club by notching his third career hole-in-one on the Greywalls course on Thursday.

Hruska used a 19-degree hybrid to ace the difficult 202-yard 15th hole as part of an even-par 71 round.

Witnesses were his playing partners Rick Rhoades, Brock Micklow and Jordan Jurmu, like Hruska members at the club.

Meet the Hematites on Monday

ISHPEMING — Ishpeming High School will hold its seasonal Meet the Hematites gathering for all high school and middle school sports at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

The public is invited to this event that takes place at the IHS gym where coaches and athletes on all teams will be introduced. Parents will have a chance to sign up to work in the booster club’s concession stand.

Emeralds-Mustangs date changed

MUNISING — Due to some scheduling conflicts, a midseason varsity high school football game has been moved to a Thursday evening.

The Manistique at Munising game listed for Sept. 28 on Manistique schedules and Sept. 29 on Munising’s has been moved to Thursday, Sept. 27, according to a email sent out Thursday from Emeralds athletic director Rob Ryan.

The game will be the second game of a JV-varsity doubleheader at Munising High School, with the JV contest to commence at 4:30 p.m. and the varsity a half-hour after the JV, tentatively for 7 p.m.

Pistons’ Griffin attends opening

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Blake Griffin stood inside the new performance center on the campus where he once starred and knew this project went far beyond him.

The former Oklahoma star was on hand Saturday for the dedication of the Griffin Family Performance Center. Griffin, the AP Player of the Year in 2009, made the largest donation ever from a Sooner basketball player. The school would not disclose the amount.

“I’m a little overwhelmed right now,” the Detroit Pistons forward said. “I just can’t find the words.”

The school’s Board of Regents agreed to name the $7 million facility for Griffin, but he wanted his family included. Griffin said his brother, former Sooner Taylor Griffin, helped with the planning.

Griffin and the Pistons will train at the facility before their Oct. 3 preseason game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

NBA 2K wraps up first season

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA 2K League’s first season ended with a video game version of a real NBA rivalry: Knicks against Heat.

In the future perhaps it’s Knicks against London.

Or maybe it’s Heat against Shanghai.

“We expect this to be a global league,” NBA 2K League managing director Brendan Donohue said Saturday.

“That is on our game plan, though when that happens it’s not definitive. But that is our goal.”

The season on the screens turned out like it never has on the hardwood. Knicks Gaming, so far down the standings that they had to win a tournament late in the season as the No. 15 seed just to earn the eighth and final playoff spot, then knocked off the top-seeded Blazers to start a postseason roll that culminated with a sweep of the best-of-three series with Heat Check Gaming to win $300,000.

“It’s history,” finals MVP Nate Kahl said. “I said it earlier, this was the inaugural season, so first-ever championship won, and to bring it to such a mecca of basketball in New York and also big in gaming, I think it means a lot.”

This first official esports league operated by a U.S. professional sports league featured 17 teams in its inaugural season, which began in May.

Nadal, Djokovic OK with shot clock

NEW YORK (AP) – Any discussion of the serve clocks that will make their Grand Slam debut during the U.S. Open’s main draw starting Monday, and could become a regular part of tennis as soon as next year, inevitably turns to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

They are two of the greatest players in history — and two of the slowest between points. For one thing, Djokovic’s incessant bouncing of the ball before a service toss delays things. So do Nadal’s habitual mannerisms: the touching of the nose, the tucking of the hair, the grabbing at the shorts, and on it goes.

And while neither was a big fan of introducing digital readouts on court to show the 25-second countdown before each first serve, the two men with a combined 30 Grand Slam singles titles seem ready to accept that they must abide by a change intended to add uniformity to their sport.

“I just need to go faster,” Nadal said, matter-of-factly.

Djokovic’s take: “I’m pretty comfortable with it.”

Serena OK with black catsuit ban

NEW YORK (AP) — Serena Williams isn’t worried about a dress code at the French Open.

Her skin-tight black catsuit won’t be welcome, but Williams had already put it back in the closet.

She no longer needs a full-length outfit for health reasons and won’t be wearing it again at the U.S. Open.

Besides, for someone with Williams’ style, going back to the same look would be a fashion faux pas.

“When it comes to fashion, you don’t want to be a repeat offender,” she said Saturday.

Williams downplayed concerns that were caused this week when the French Tennis Federation president said in Tennis Magazine that the outfit Williams wore this year in Paris would no longer be accepted.

“One must respect the game and the place,” Bernard Giudicelli said.

Williams said she had a strong relationship with the federation and had spoken with Giudicelli on Friday.

“I think that obviously the Grand Slams have a right to do what they want to do,” she said.

The full-length leggings were for health reasons. In what was her first Grand Slam tournament since giving birth to her daughter last Sept. 1, they were a precaution after her health scare related to blood clots.

Williams said Saturday she no longer needs to wear them because she found that compression tights also work to keep her blood circulating.