AREA

AREA
Fairhaven swimmersare at state meet
NILES -- The Fairhaven Special Olympics team is competing in this weekend's 31st Ohio Special Olympics State Aquatics meet.
Swimming for Fairhaven will be Randy Levelle, Marianne Sprankle, Tammy Barnes, Heather Robinson, Kathy Kinney, Buffy Kitch, Bobby Kline, Jeanette Johnson, Paul Colla, Joey Bryant, Joc Pinter, Glen VanKlerck, Zachary Kurtzl, Ron Whitmore, allyson Schiner, Amanda Brozman, Brian Carnehy, Gary Hawley and Roseanne Adams.
Correction
NILES -- Jacob Schimley of Niles McKinley High was named to the All-Metro Athletic Conference second team in boys soccer. He was inadvertantly left off the list that appeared in Wednesday's editions.
REGION
Wright activated
COLUMBUS -- The Columbus Blue Jackets activated center Tyler Wright on Friday.
Wright, on the injured reserve list since breaking a bone in his hand against Anaheim on Nov. 14, has eight goals and one assist in 15 games this season.
The Blue Jackets also recalled defenseman Duvie Westcott from the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. He has one goal and 10 assists in 18 games with Syracuse.
Bucs, Nunezagree to pact
PITTSBURGH -- Pirates infielder Abraham Nunez avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a $675,000, one-year contract deal with Pittsburgh on Friday.
Nunez, 26, who played for oft-injured second baseman Pokey Reese last year, had a disappointing season. He batted .233 with two home runs and 15 RBIs in 112 games last year.
Nunez, picked up by Pittsburgh in 1996, has bounced between Triple-A Nashville and the majors for the past three seasons. During the 2000 season, he played second base as part of the Pirates' patchwork infield.
Last season, he spent most of the season with the Pirates but was briefly sent down to Triple-A Nashville.
Hall of Fame callsfor Vick's shoes
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Quarterback Michael Vick's shoes are headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.
The Hall called Friday to request the shoes Vick wore in a 30-24 overtime victory at Minnesota last Sunday, Falcons spokesman Aaron Salkin said Friday.
"Mike was fired up," Salkin said. "We'll send them up overnight."
Vick's 173 yards rushing set a single-game record for NFL quarterbacks. Green Bay's Tobin Rote established the previous mark of 150 yards in a loss to the Chicago Bears on Nov. 18, 1951.
Vick, who won the game with a 46-yard run, leads the Falcons with 648 yards rushing. His 8.1 yards per carry is the best in the NFL.
NATION
Blues' Barrassoon injured reserve
ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues placed goaltender Tom Barrasso on the injured reserve list, retroactive to Tuesday, because of back spasms.
The 37-year-old Barrasso injured his back in a game against Calgary on Nov. 29. He did not skate with the team Wednesday or Thursday.
Barrasso is 1-4 with a 3.28 goals-against average in six game this season.
Baseball starsface deadline
NEW YORK -- Six-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens could say goodbye to the New York Yankees, and former NL MVP Jeff Kent could say so long to San Francisco.
More than 140 players, including four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux and 10-time All-Star catcher Ivan Rodriguez, face a midnight deadline for their former teams to either re-sign them or offer salary arbitration.
Those offered arbitration have until Dec. 19 to accept or reject the offers and can re-sign through Jan. 8. Free agents not offered arbitration can't re-sign with their old teams until May 1.
As the deadline approached, several free agents returned to their old teams. First baseman John Olerud got a $15.4 million, two-year deal with Seattle and right-hander Jimmy Haynes received a $5 million, two-year contract with Cincinnati, a deal he can void after earning $2.5 million during the 2003 season.
Right-hander Darren Holmes agreed to a $700,000, one-year contract with Atlanta, lefty Jeff Fassero agreed with St. Louis on a one-year deal worth about $1.5 million that also had a club option, right-hander Rudy Seanez agreed to a minor league contract with Texas that will pay him $750,000 if he's added to the major league roster.
Garciaparraproposes to Hamm
BOSTON -- Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra and soccer star Mia Hamm are engaged.
Garciaparra, a two-time American League batting champion, proposed to Hamm, the top scorer in the history of the U.S. women's national team, during the Thanksgiving holiday, the Boston Herald reported Friday.
Staff/wire reports