Aug 1, 2018 3 min read

Schmidt wins amateur title

Venetia native Connor Schmidt shot a 5-under 65 Wednesday to win the 105th Amateur Championship.

Schmidt, a Peters Township High School graduate, was 7 under in the three-round tournament held at Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown. He won by two strokes over Anthony Sebastianelli from Huntsville Golf Club.

Schmidt, who was representing Nemacolin Country Club, shot a 3-under 67 Monday and followed that up with a 1-over 71 Tuesday. His 5-under 65 was tied for the best round at the tournament with Brady Pevarnik from Hannastown Golf Club.

Also from Nemacolin Country Club, Brett Young, a Bethel Park native, finished tied for 24th at 5 over.

Schmidt’s first-place finish in the best finish at the Amateur Championship by a local golfer since Waynesburg’s Robert Rohanna was the runner-up in 2009.

Schmidt is about to enter his junior year as a Division I golfer at Drexel University.

Sports betting

gains traction

Resorts Casino Hotel and DraftKings have received approval to become the first companies to offer online and mobile sports betting in New Jersey.

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement gave approval Wednesday afternoon to the casino and its Boston-based online partner to launch an invitation-only version of mobile sports betting, which will undergo several days of testing before becoming fully available. Requests for invitations can be made at draftkings.com.

The companies won a heated race to be first to market with mobile and online sports betting, widely seen as the most promising segment of the nascent sports betting market.

New Jersey regulators are considering mobile applications from several other companies as well. Four casinos and two horse tracks currently offer in-person sports betting.

Harrah’s became the fourth casino on Wednesday morning.

In Mississippi, legalized sports betting is now available.

Mississippi is now the fourth state in the nation to offer sports wagering. The others are Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey.

The first bets in Mississippi were simultaneously taken at noon at Beau Rivage Resort & Casino on the Gulf Coast and at its sister property, Gold Strike Casino Resort, in Tunica.

News outlets report former NFL players Willis McGahee and Robert Royal were among those in Biloxi to celebrate with Beau Rivage executives.

The legalization comes 26 years – to the day – after Isle of Capri in Biloxi became the first legal casino in the state on Aug. 1, 1992. The sports betting law went into effect following a Supreme Court ruling in May that allowed such bets to be offered in places besides Nevada.

Merriman tries his hand at boxing

The former NFL linebacker known as “Lights Out” will try to punch out an opponent’s lights in a bare-knuckle boxing match.

Shawne Merriman has agreed to compete with the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation on a pay-per-view event in Casper, Wyoming, this fall, the promoters announced Wednesday.

The 34-year-old Merriman was a three-time Pro Bowl selection during his eight-year NFL career with the Chargers and the Bills.

Merriman retired from the NFL in 2013, and he flirted with the idea of becoming a professional wrestler the next year. He has trained in mixed martial arts during his retirement, even considering a professional bout in Japan.

Several UFC veterans also have agreed to fight on the bare-knuckle show in Wyoming.