LOCAL

LOCAL
Area athletesstrong academically
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Seven Youngstown-area student-athletes were among the 27 from Westminster College selected to the 2001 Presidents' Athletic Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll.
The honor goes to winter or spring sports participants who achieved a 3.6 grade-point average or higher in the spring 2001 semester.
Heading the list were seniors J.P. Maszczak from Canfield High in basketball and Don Augustine from Cardinal Mooney in track and field. They achieved perfect 4.0 grade-point averages in biology and mathematics, respectively.
Also garnering a 4.0 was Kurt Latta, a senior on the baseball team from Wilmington Area High in elementary education.
Just missing 4.0 were Robin Thayer, a junior women's basketball player from South Range; Chad Phillips, senior basketball player from Warren JFK; and Kevin Culp, baseball, Canfield.
Thayer had a 3.933 GPA in financial economics, Phillips a 3.925 in economics and Culp a 3.925 in mathematics.
The other area pick was Ryan Harcar in tennis from Neshannock High, a sophomore who posted a 3.750 in accounting.
Westminster ranked No. 2 among the six PAC schools in the number of student-athletes making the honor roll, behind Grove City with 34.
Golf challenge
WARREN -- Creekside Gardens Golf is holding a Million Dollar Challenge through July 22 at its practice facility on North River Road.
For $10, golfers can take five shots at a hole-in-one. Any shots that get within a 10-foot circle of the hole will qualify for the championships and a chance at $1 million. If no one gets a hole-in-one, the closest shot of the finalists will win $1,000.
There will also be a chance to sink a 50-foot putt to win a new automobile. Golfers can pay $2 per chance to sink the putt. All putts that finish within 1 foot of the hole qualify for the finals. If nobody makes the putt, the closest putt will win $500.
For details, visit Creekside Gardens or call (330) 856-1641.
NATION
Bout for the aged
DENVER -- The fight is being promoted as "When Legends Collide." It certainly sounds better than "When Legends Collapse."
Five years after their disputed 12-round decision, Hector Camacho and Roberto Duran will square off again tonight at the Pepsi Center in a matchup of two former champions whose combined age is 89.
"Being at 50 years old, he wants to go on and do miracles," Camacho said. "He ain't done miracles before. He sure ain't going to do miracles now. He's going to come in there trying to do the impossible, and I'm ready for the impossible."
Camacho, a former WBC super featherweight and lightweight champion, weighed in Friday at 159 pounds for the fight, billed as being for the North American Boxing Association super middleweight title. Duran, who had to lose about 30 pounds for the fight, narrowly made weight at 162 3/4. The contract limit was 163.
Known for his flash, Camacho wore gold chains and a Colorado Avalanche shirt to the prefight news conference this week and hardly sat down as Duran remained stoic and took a dismissive, parental tone with his hyperactive foe.
"This guy is a clown," Duran said. "He's no legend. There's only one legend. That's me."
The Panamanian, called Hands of Stone, has a 104-15 record, with 69 knockouts. Since 1967, he has fought at least once every year except 1985. After Saturday night, he will have fought in five decades.
Duran was a lightweight champion from 1972 until 1980, won a piece of the welterweight title by outpointing Sugar Ray Leonard in 1980, then lost the rematch when he quit in the eighth round of the "No Mas" fight that same year. He refused to retire, and later won pieces of the super welterweight and middleweight titles.
ESPN to airmovie on Knight
PASADENA, Calif. -- Bob Knight can be dramatic enough in real life. Now ESPN is producing its first made-for-TV movie on the fiery college basketball coach.
"A Season on the Brink: A Year with Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers" is based on the best-selling book by John Feinstein. It will air March 10.
"We don't have any expectation that he's going to be thrilled with this," producer Stan Brooks said Friday at the Television Critics Association summer gathering.
Especially since Knight no longer coaches the Hoosiers. He was fired in September for violating a zero-tolerance behavior policy. He'll make his debut as coach at Texas Tech this fall.
The movie will chronicle Indiana's 1985-86 season, when Knight granted Feinstein unprecedented access to the team and its practices, meetings, and huddles. Knight later denounced the book.
"It'll give our viewers a glimpse of where it all started going wrong for Bobby," said Mark Shapiro.
76ers' pickneeds surgery
PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia 76ers first-round draft choice Samuel Dalembert will undergo throat surgery Tuesday to repair a fracture of his Adams Apple, the team said Friday.
Dalembert suffered the displaced laryngeal fracture of his thyroid cartilage during the team's first day of workouts Thursday.
He is expected to return to physical activity four to six weeks after the surgery, to be performed by Dr. Joseph Spiegel at Graduate Hospital.
The 6-foot-11 native of Haiti was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 26th pick in the June 27 NBA draft.
Report: Ewingagrees with Magic
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Orlando Magic have reached a tentative agreement with free agent center Patrick Ewing, according to a published report.
The Orlando Sentinel reported Friday that the Magic have come to terms with Ewing, who played last season with the Seattle SuperSonics, and are hoping to do the same with power forward Horace Grant.
Magic spokesman Joel Glass refused to comment on the story. No new contracts can be signed until Wednesday.
Mariners shunJapanese media
SEATTLE -- All-Stars Ichiro Suzuki and Kazuhiro Sasaki are fed up with the Japanese media covering their play with the Seattle Mariners.
The two players from Japan issued a joint statement Thursday saying they will not talk to the Japanese press corps until further notice.
"Their position is that it's important their privacy away from the ballpark be respected," said Tim Hevly, director of media relations for the Mariners. "And until such time they feel the Japanese media gives them that respect, they will be unable to speak with Japanese media."
The players will continue to take questions from members of the U.S. media, Hevly said.
Avalanche rewardHartley with pact
DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche on Friday signed coach Bob Hartley to a two-year contract extension, five weeks after the team won the Stanley Cup.
Terms were not disclosed. Hartley's current contract had one year remaining and the new deal will carry him through the 2003-04 season.
The team is 138-73-31-4 in Hartley's three seasons, winning division titles all three years. The Avalanche reached the Western Conference finals in each season.
Colorado was Hartley's first head coaching job after 10 seasons leading four teams in three minor leagues.
WORLD
Goosen leadsin Scottish Open
LOCH LOMOND, Scotland -- His momentum slowed only by the soggy greens of Loch Lomond, U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen managed to keep some distance over the field with a 2-under 69 on Friday for a two-stroke lead in the Scottish Open.
Goosen, hitting the ball as crisply as he did last month in his playoff victory at Southern Hills, missed at least a half-dozen putts inside 15 feet as he tried to negotiate spike marks and heel prints from being in one of the last groups to play.
Vindicator staff/wire reports