HARRIS — The deadline is a little more than a month away, April 25, to reserve tickets for the 52nd annual Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet.

Tickets cost $40 per person for the banquet on Saturday, May 11, at the Island Resort & Casino in Harris, located about 15 miles west of Escanaba.

The inductees in the 2024 class will be the late Shel Chapman of Marquette, Karen (Olson) Flanagan of Marquette, Mark Marana of Negaunee, Jill (Wetthuhn) Beaudo of Daggett, the late Harold (Buddy) Duggan of Sault Ste. Marie, Dave “Whitey” Horka of Sault Ste. Marie, Doug Ingalls of St. Ignace, Terry Smith of Crystal Falls, the late Candy Swetkis of Escanaba, and Fritz Wilson of Chassell and Menominee.

For more information or to reserve a ticket, call one of the following board members — DeeJay Paquette at 906-387-4673, Dan Hinch at 906-458-8536, Don Gustafson at 906-298-0174, Cathy Shamion at 906-364-0961 or Dennis Grall at 906-789-9005. If leaving a message, you’re asked to leave the name of the inductee you are attending for.

OHTANI’S INTERPRETER FIRED

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter and close friend has been fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers following allegations of illegal gambling and theft from the Japanese baseball star.

Interpreter Ippei Mizuhara was let go from the team Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker.

Law firm Berk Brettler LLP says they discovered Ohtani had been the victim of a “massive theft” following media inquiries. Mizuhara has worked with Ohtani for years and been a constant presence with him in major league clubhouses.

The team did not have an immediate comment Wednesday.

PURDUE FACES GHOSTS OF MARCH

By The Associated Press

Purdue is back in the NCAA Tournament with a No. 1 seed with the goal of regrouping from last year’s shocking upset loss to Fairleigh Dickinson.

The Boilermakers became the second top seed to lost to a No. 16 seed. The first was Virginia in 2018. The Cavaliers lost to UMBC but regrouped to win the championship a year later.

The Cavaliers’ journey offers a March Madness roadmap for the Boilermakers before their opener Friday.

Former Virginia player Ty Jerome was part of that title winner.

He says going through the loss together can make Purdue stronger for this year.

MURRAY ADVANCES AT MIAMI OPEN

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Andy Murray won another lengthy match with Matteo Berrettini, who appeared weary and leaned on his racket to keep his balance during Murray’s 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory Wednesday at the Miami Open.