Sports shorts Cleveland to host NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2024

The NCAA announced Sept. 25 that the MidAmerican Conference and Greater Cleveland Sports Commission have been awarded the bid to host the Division I Women’s Final Four at Quicken Loans arena in 2024.

The Q previously hosted the Women’s Final Four in 2007 in which included Tennessee, Rutgers, LSU and North Carolina. Tennessee won its seventh D-I championship with a 59-46 win over Rutgers April 3, 2007.

“We are so proud to bring the pinnacle of women’s basketball back to Cleveland and to showcase our great city and vibrant downtown to another generation of basketball fans,” Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, Commissioner of the Mid-American Conference, said in a statement. “The MidAmerican Conference has been aggressive in pursuing NCAA championship events. We have a great team in Cleveland and northeast Ohio which includes the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, Quicken Loans Arena, a long track record of successfully hosting NCAA events, and a great and supportive fan base that is passionate about intercollegiate athletics.”

The MAC, GCSC and The Q have also teamed up to host the D-I Men’s Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional in 2015, the 2018 D-I Wrestling Championships and will host the upcoming 2020 D-I Men’s Basketball Tournament first and second rounds on March 20-22, 2020.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will need season-ending surgery on his injured left knee.

The 49ers said Monday that an MRI confirmed the team’s fears that Garoppolo tore his ACL while making a cut late in a loss at Kansas City. The injury deals a serious blow to the 49ers (1-2), who had planned their rebuild around Garoppolo.

Now San Francisco must go through the season with C.J. Beathard at quarterback. The Niners struggled with Beathard and Brian Hoyer last season before the midseason addition of Garoppolo changed their fortunes. San Francisco won the final five games last year after Garoppolo took over as starter and the team rewarded him with a $137.5 million, five-year contract.

Garoppolo had completed 59.6 percent of his passes with five TDs, three interceptions and an average of 8.1 yards per attempt for a 90 passer rating.

Beathard started five games as a rookie last year, completing 54.9 percent of his passes with four touchdowns, six interceptions, 19 sacks, 6.4 yards per attempt and a 69.2 passer rating that was second lowest in the NFL. Luka Modric broke a decade of award dominance by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi after being crowned world footballer of the year by FIFA on Monday.

Marta won the women’s award for a sixth time.

Modric was voted FIFA’s best player in the 2017-18 season after winning the Champions League for a fourth time in five seasons with Real Madrid and leading Croatia to its first World Cup final where it lost to France.

Messi and Ronaldo were the only winners of world soccer’s main individual award from FIFA in various guises since 2008, both winning five titles each.

Ronaldo, who left Madrid in the offseason to join Italian champion Juventus, was knocked out of the World Cup in the round of 16 with European champion Portugal.

A woman will win the most prestigious individual trophy in soccer for the first time this year.

Awarded every year by France Football magazine since Stanley Matthews won it in 1956, the Ballon d’Or for the best player of the year will be given to both a woman and a man on Dec. 3 in Paris.

Pascal Ferre, the magazine’s editor in chief, told The Associated Press women’s soccer has grown so much in recent years it was a logical step to create the new award.

A list of 15 nominees for the prize will be announced on Oct. 8 alongside the 30-man selection. The players will be selected by France Football and a panel of international journalists specialized in women’s soccer will vote on a winner.