LOCAL

LOCAL
SteelHounds acquirerookie forward
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown SteelHounds acquired rookie forward Mario Chinelli from the Oklahoma City Blazers in exchange for forward Scott Barnes.
Chinelli, 26, ranks eighth on the Blazers with 21 points. The Quebec native has two goals and two assists in his last four games. His 21 points rank him eighth among rookies and his 15 assists is the fifth most among first-year players. Prior to this season, Chinelli had played one professional game with the Richmond Riverdogs (UHL), where he had two assists. The 5-11, 175-pound forward played his college hockey at Norwich University, where he dressed in 73 games, scoring 32 goals with 61 assists. Chinelli was a member of the Cadets' 2003 NCAA Division III championship squad. That season, he posted his collegiate highs of 10 goals, 20 assists, 30 points and 20 penalty minutes.
Drahos honored
BETHANY, W.Va. -- Bethany senior forward Mike Drahos was named to the D3Hoops.com team of the week. Drahos averaged 27 points, eight rebounds and four assists in a pair of conference wins last week. He is a two-time Presidents' Athletic Conference Player of the Year and set a single-game school scoring record with 49 points against Westminster on Monday.
Globetrotters
YOUNGSTOWN -- Wun Versher of the Harlem Globetrotters will make an appearance at the Boardman Giant Eagle Jan. 25 from 5-6 p.m. The Globetrotters will play at the Chevrolet Centre on Feb. 2.
Academic honor roll
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- A total of 192 student-athletes have been named to the Presidents' Athletic Conference academic honor roll for the fall 2005 season.
The PAC academic honor roll honors student- athletes on fall varsithy sports team who have earned a grade-point average of 3.6 or higher on a 4.0 scale during the semester. Making the list from Bethany College was senior football player Gary Gerba of Warren (communication). Grove City honorees include junior cross country runner Andrew Leuenberger of West Middlesex (molecular biology); sophomore cross country runner Kylie Mackaness of New Wilmington (biology); and freshman soccer player Luke Shealy of Mercer (entrepreneurship).
Thiel College had sophomore volleyball player Molly Klink of East Liverpool (elementary education); sophomore volleyball player Stephanie Monus of Poland (exploratory); senior tennis player Ashley Snyder of Hubbard (elementary education); senior cross country runner Ben Wheeler of Greenville (math/computer science). Waynesburg College had senior cross country runner Carly Logan of New Castle (criminal justice). Westminster had sophomore tennis player Diana Conzett of Hubbard (English/media art); and senior volleyball player Katie McDermott of Austintown (history).
Mineral Ridge coaches
MINERAL RIDGE -- The Weathersfield school board approved these supplemental contracts for the 2006-2007 school year: John Hack, head varsity baseball coach; Ron Toth, head cross country coach; Heather Ference, head varsity volleyball coach; and Jennifer Staunton and Kelly Hontula, seventh- and eighth-grade volleyball coaches.
NATION
NBA suspends Davis
NEW YORK -- New York Knicks forward Antonio Davis was suspended five games by the NBA for entering the stands during a game at Chicago to confront a fan he thought was harassing his wife. While the ruling by NBA vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson showed the league accepted Davis' argument that he believed his wife was in trouble during Wednesday's game, it also made clear that entering the stands would not be tolerated, no matter the circumstances.
Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Maria Sharapova routed Jelena Kostanic 6-0, 6-1 early today, advancing to the fourth round of the Australian Open and a possible showdown with Serena Williams. Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, lost to Williams in the semifinals here last year after twice serving for the match and squandering three match points.
The pair could meet again, this time in the round of 16.
Defending champion Williams was playing No. 17 Daniela Hantuchova in the third round today, with the winner advancing to play fourth-seeded Sharapova.
"It'll be great," Sharapova said, referring to a possible showdown with Williams. "Of course I was disappointed last year. But ... I'll get my revenge."
In other matches, top-ranked Lindsay Davenport faced Maria Kirilenko and reigning French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne played Virginie Razzano.
On the men's side, No. 2 Andy Roddick faced Julien Benneteau of France, and No. 4 David Nalbandian, the Masters Cup champion, was to play Finland's Jarkko Nieminen. Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis had a 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 win over Denis Gremelmayr, becoming the first man to reach the round of 16.
Vindicator staff/wire reports