Big Red Boosters meeting today

STEUBENVILLE — The Big Red Boosters Club will meet a 6 p.m. today inside the Harding Stadium Field House.

All are welcome and memberships are available.

OVAC seeks those from 1994

MOUNDSVILLE — The Ohio Valley Athletic Conference is seeking players, coaches, support staff and cheerleaders from the 1994 Rudy Mumley All-Star Football Classic.

For information, contact reunion coordinator Chuck Taskalines at (304) 639-6318 or through e-mail at marshallcoump@yahoo.com.

Gronkowski announces retirement

BOSTON — The party’s officially over for Rob Gronkowski.

The New England Patriots’ fun-loving, touchdown-spiking tight end announced Sunday that he is retiring from the NFL after nine mostly dominant, Super Bowl-filled seasons.

The four-time All-Pro posted his decision on Instagram , saying that a few months shy of his 30th birthday “it’s time to move forward and move forward with a big smile.”

“It all started at 20 years old on stage at the NFL draft when my dream came true, and now here I am about to turn 30 in a few months with a decision I feel is the biggest of my life so far,” Gronkowski wrote in his post. “I will be retiring from the game of football today.”

Drew Rosenhaus, Gronkowski’s agent, confirmed his client’s decision to retire.

The playmaking tight end, who turns 30 in May, leaves as a three-time Super Bowl champion who established himself as one of the most dominant players at his position and one of Tom Brady’s favorite targets. His personality — on and off the field — was as big as his biceps, and he always seemed to be the life of the party.

“In the nine years that I have known Rob Gronkowski, I have never known him to have a bad day,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement. “He always has a youthful exuberance about him and is a joy to be around.

But Gronkowski has been dogged in recent seasons by back, knee, ankle and arm injuries that have limited his ability to stay on the field.

It led him to hint at retirement following New England’s Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles to end the 2017 season and again last month after the Patriots’ Super Bowl win over the Los Angeles Rams.