Jun 6, 2019 4 min read

W&J receives national rankings

The Washington & Jefferson football team was ranked by both Lindy’s and Street & Smith’s magazines in their NCAA Division III football preseason polls.

Lindy’s magazine slotted the Presidents at No. 20 while Street & Smith’s lists W&J at No. 22.

Lindy’s recognized W&J junior wide receiver Andrew Wolf as a preseason all-American and a candidate for Offensive Player of the Year.

Wolf had a breakout year in 2019 with 79 catches and a Division III-best 1,339 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns.

Pony baseball

Gary Hatfield went 3-for-4, lifting Printscape to a 12-11 victory over Elks Lodge in the Washington Pony League on Friday.

Jerry Hay, Brandon Helicamp and Dre Daughterty also had multi-hit games for Printscape.

Aiden Metz hit a three-run homer and Christian Bover had a two-run shot for Chambers Insurance.

The game was the regular-season finale. The playoffs will begin Monday.

Sato has pole for IndyCar race

Takuma Sato has earned the pole for the IndyCar Series race at Texas with a two-lap qualifying average of 220.250 mph.

Sato got his ninth career pole with the strong run Friday at the high-speed 1 ½-mile oval. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver won from the pole at Barber Motorsports Park two months ago.

The only other Texas qualifier over 220 mph was defending race champion Scott Dixon at 220.162 mph.

Sebastien Bourdais, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Indianapolis 500 champion Simon Pagenaud and Spencer Pigot filled out the first three rows. IndyCar Series points leader Josef Newgarden qualified seventh.

The last driver to win from the pole at Texas was Ryan Briscoe in 2010.

L.A. Coliseum naming rights deal modified

United Airlines and the University of Southern California have reached a new naming rights agreement for Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to resolve criticism that placing a corporate name on the stadium would disrespect its history as a monument to troops who fought and died in World War I, the parties announced Friday.

The new 10-year deal names the field rather than the whole stadium, satisfying a key elected official who joined with veterans in opposing the original plan to rename the nearly century-old landmark United Airlines Memorial Coliseum.

Starting in August, the playing field will be referred to as United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a name that was suggested as an alternative when the controversy boiled up last March, shortly after the centennial of the war’s end.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, the current president of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission, said in a statement that the agreement ensures United remains a sponsor of a $315 million renovation and the stadium’s legacy.

“I am pleased that USC and United have come together in a way that will honor the memories of veterans who served in World War I and our broader community of veterans,” Hahn said.

Texans fire GM

The Houston Texans have abruptly fired general manager Brian Gaine less than 18 months after he took the job.

The team announced the move Friday with a statement from team owner Cal McNair, who said only that “while the timing may be unusual, this decision was made in the best interest of the organization in our quest to build a championship team.”

Gaine was hired to replace Rick Smith in January 2018. The Texans went 11-5 in his first season in charge after he spent the 2017 as vice president of player personnel for the Buffalo Bills.

Senior vice president of football administration Chris Olsen will run the team’s football operations while the Texans search for a new general manager.