Bengals consolidating wealth?
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Geno Stone said it was a little hard not to take it personally when the Cincinnati Bengals asked him to take a pay cut this year, but he assumed if they were clearing space in the budget, it would be going elsewhere to improve the team.
Although the Bengals never told him specifically the money would be going toward an extension for Trey Hendrickson, that was where Stone’s mind went when he agreed to what OverTheCap.com reported as a $1.575 million salary cut.
The deal also helped give him more guarantees after he worried earlier this offseason he might lose his job all together. Cincinnati added $1.5 million in guaranteed money, which historically has been enough to prevent the team from cutting a player. Stone signed a two-year, $14 million contract last March and was set to make $6.475 million in 2025.
“At the end of the day it is business,” Stone said Tuesday after the Bengals’ first on-field practice as part of the voluntary offseason workouts. “This is a business, and they’re trying to do the best for the team, and I understand that as well. And I want to do the best for the team too. If that’s able to get Trey (Hendrickson) back or whatever gets him here, signed, I’m gonna do it.”
READ MORE: Stone takes pay cut
Wright State Baseball: Still good
The Wright State baseball team has already sewed up its seventh straight Horizon League regular-season title.
While folks outside the program may feel a little blasé about the feat, those who pulled it off know it’s a cause for celebration.
“It’s not easy to do,” said seventh-year coach Alex Sogard, who has led the team to six consecutive titles (the 2020 season was cancelled). “People could definitely take it for granted. But we were talking as a coaching staff, and we have a new pitching guy (Travis Ferrick) — he’s a stud —and he said it’s the first time he’s won the regular-season. That hit me.
“It’s definitely a huge accomplishment. It’s something some kids never get to do in their careers.”
Dayton Softball: Also still good
The Dayton Flyers volleyball program enjoyed its typical dominant season in the Atlantic 10 Conference last fall and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the first time. The men’s soccer team soared to new heights at the same time and also appeared in the Sweet 16 for the first time.
The standout team at UD in the spring season for the second straight year is the softball program, which won the A-10 regular-season championship for the first time in 2024 and did it again this season.
Dragons scuffling to close out first month
Although the parent club is having a better season to this point, the Reds and Dragons seem to have something in common.
They can’t hit enough to overcome defensive deficiencies.
Local grad waived during WNBA preseason
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Those who only casually follow women’s basketball might be surprised to find out just how hard it is to make a WNBA roster.
The league only has 13 teams with 12 players apiece, so the math is not too difficult.
A reminder came this week when Wayne grad Bree Hall, who was a two-year starter for South Carolina teams that made the Final Four four times and won two national titles, was waived by the Indiana Fever despite being a second round draft pick (something that is uncommon in other sports but happens regularly in the WNBA).
As of this writing, Fairmont grads Maddy Westbeld and Kathryn Westbeld (her older sister) were both still in position to make their squads. Maddy is a rookie with the Chicago Sky while Kathryn is trying to make the Phoenix Mercury after playing overseas for several seasons.
READ MORE: GWOC trio taken in WNBA Draft
That’s all for this week, but if you have thoughts on this newsletter or anything else pertaining to the local sports landscape, please feel free to reach out to me at marcus.hartman@coxinc.com.
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