Penguins sign defenseman Marino
The Penguins signed John Marino, a young defenseman they acquired from Edmonton in a trade, to a two- way, entry- level contract Thursday.
Marino, 22, will skip his senior season at Harvard to join the Penguins.
Marino, a 6- foot- 1, 181pound defenseman, is expected to start the season with Wilkes- Barre/ Scranton of the American Hockey League.
The Penguins have eight NHL defensemen under contract and another, Marcus Pettersson, whom they are trying to sign to a longer- term deal.
College basketball
Sophomore point guard Xavier Johnson scored a game- high 20 points as Pitt defeated the Netherlands, 60- 55, in their opening game of a ten- day Italy trip. JUCO transfer guard Ryan Murphy chipped in 13 points, a team- high 6 rebounds and a team leading 4 three- pointers.
Pro basketball
Elena Delle Donne had 22 points and Kristi Toliver added 11 assists as the host Washington Mystics ( 16- 7) beat the Indiana Fever ( 8- 16), 91- 78.
Gymnastics
Sam Mikulak surged to the lead at the U. S. men’s gymnastics championships in Kansas City, Mo. moving closer to a sixth national title after posting an all- around score of 86.750, well clear of 2017 national champion Yul Moldauer. Mikulak’s score of 15.35 on parallel bars was the highest of the night on any event.
Golf
Jane Park, Anne van Dam and Mi Hyang Lee took advantage of calm conditions in the opening round of the Ladies Scottish Open in North Berwick, Scotland shooting 8- under 63s to share the lead. The veteran Park and the rookie van Dam are seeking their first LPGA Tour victories.
Tennis
Top- seeded defending champion Rafael Nadal advanced to the Rogers Cup quarterfinals, beating Argentina’s Guido Pella 6- 3, 6- 4 in the wind in Montreal.
• Serena Williams won for the second night at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, beating Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova, 7- 5, 6- 4, to reach the quarterfinals.
Hockey
A state board for economic development unanimously approved a $ 1.3 billion arena and entertainment complex to be the new Nassau County home of the New York Islanders.
Elsewhere
Rosie Ruiz, whose name became synonymous with cheating after she won the 1980 Boston Marathon by running only the last halfmile of the race, has died. See obituary, Page A- 7.