LOCAL

LOCAL
Correction
The correct answer to Buckeye Trivia question No. 18 was Dick Worden, not Dick Wordem, as appeared in the Dec. 25 edition.
REGION
ESPN2 has another LeBron James game
BRISTOL, Conn. -- LeBron James will make another appearance on national television.
ESPN2 will televise the Jan. 4 game between Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and Mater Dei of Santa Ana, Calif. Mater Dei is led by D.J. Strawberry, the son of former baseball star Darryl Strawberry.
The game will be played at Pauley Pavilion, on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles.
James' first appearance on ESPN2 was one of the network's most-watched shows. The 1.97 rating for the Dec. 12 game was ESPN2's highest in nearly two years. It was surpassed by the GMAC Bowl last week.
James was Ohio's Mr. Basketball the last two seasons, and he's appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He is expected to skip college and be the No. 1 overall choice in the next NBA draft.
Some St. Vincent-St. Mary's games already are being sold for up to $7 on pay-per-view TV in northeast Ohio.
Former Pottstownhockey player dies
DETROIT -- Glenn Allen "Spike" Crane, a highly touted local and collegiate ice hockey player, has died following a two-year battle with cancer. He was 21.
Crane, a forward at the College of Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., died Monday. The Sterling Heights native was a graduate of Cranbrook-Kingswood High School in Bloomfield Hills.
After high school, he attended the Hill School in Pottstown, Pa., where he developed his hockey game. A year later, in September 2000, he went to Holy Cross.
Crane was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymphatic system, in December 2000. The economics major left school for a semester and by May 2001, doctors said he was cancer-free.
His father, former Chicago Bears football player Glenn Crane, also was in remission with colon cancer then.
The younger Crane's cancer did return four months later and he played only in Holy Cross's opening game in the 2001-2002 season but fought to stay in school until the end of the year.
Crane also counseled other cancer patients.
NATION
Texas sprintercoach in crash
AUSTIN, Texas -- World champion sprinter Michelle Freeman was involved in a car accident in Florida on Thursday that killed her mother and one other person and left Texas women's track coach Beverly Kearney critically injured.
According to an accident report filed by the Florida Highway Patrol, Freeman was driving a sport utility vehicle about 35 miles west of Jacksonville at 7:57 a.m. when the vehicle crossed the median and swerved back, causing it to roll.
Killed in the accident was Ilrey A. Sparks of Austin, 40, an academic counselor for women's athletics at Texas. Freeman's mother, Muriel Wallace, 63, who also lived in Austin, also was killed.
Freeman, 33, a former world indoor champion in the 60-meter hurdles who also won bronze in the 400-relay for Jamaica in 1996, was at the hospital in good condition. Sparks' toddler daughter, Imani, 2, was also in the vehicle and was in fair condition.
Kearney, 44, had surgery for back injuries at Shands Jacksonville hospital, University of Texas officials said. A nursing supervisor said she was in critical condition Thursday night.
Christine Plonsky, Texas women's athletic director, said Kearney's prognosis had "improved" after surgery but a school spokeswoman said Texas officials did not have details of her injuries.
Freeman, Wallace and Imani Sparks were wearing seat belts, the accident report said. Kearney and Ilrey Sparks were not .
Shaq marries
LOS ANGELES -- Shaquille O'Neal married longtime girlfriend Shaunie Nelson in a private ceremony at The Beverly Hills Hotel.
The couple exchanged vows Thursday night in front of friends and Los Angeles Lakers teammates at the hotel, where plainclothes security guards began chasing out reporters and photographers during the afternoon.
A television news helicopter captured video of O'Neal standing with his bride as they prepared to take their vows.
"This is a great event for Shaq, I'm really happy for him and his wife and it was a lovely event, so I'm glad I got to attend it," Lakers rookie Kareem Rush told KCAL-TV.
"It was fabulous. It was true to Shaquille's class and grace," said Cheryl Cleamons, wife of assistant coach Jim Cleamons.
O'Neal had declined to discuss his wedding plans after practice Thursday, and his teammates wouldn't say much more.
"We know, and it's only for us," said forward Mark Madsen as he left the team's practice facility in nearby El Segundo.
O'Neal and Nelson have two children together and two from prior relationships. They are expecting a boy in May.
Georgia's Richtearns new contract
NEW ORLEANS -- Moving quickly to reward its championship coach, Georgia gave Mark Richt a new $1.5 million-a-year contract that will keep him with the Bulldogs through at least 2010.
The eight-year deal was announced before the third-ranked Bulldogs arrived in New Orleans for their Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl game against Florida State.
Vindicator staff/wire report