LOCAL

LOCAL
Girard's Bartacompetes in Masters
RENO, Nev. -- Adam Barta of Girard finished 69th in the PBA ABC Masters over the weekend at the National Bowling Stadium. He missed the match-play by seven pins, but cashed for $1,060. His 15-game final pin total was 3,150.
Westminster menfall to Waynesburg
WAYNESBURG, Pa. -- Ray Robinson scored 19 points and pulled in eight rebounds as Waynesburg (10-4) defeated Westminster 81-70 in a late area college men's basketball game Saturday night.
Ryan Oman, a graduate of Greenville High School, scored 17 points and Jeff Simmons had 12 points for the Titans (6-9, 0-2 PAC).
REGION
Minnesota bestsBucks for title
COLUMBUS -- Top-ranked Minnesota beat Ohio State 26-8 to win its second straight championship Sunday in the National Wrestling Coaches Association national duals.
The Golden Gophers won seven of 10 individual matches against No. 7 Ohio State.
Minnesota got wins from Leroy Vega (125 pounds), Ryan Lewis (133), Jared Lawrence (149), Luke Becker (157), Jacob Volkman (174), Damion Hahn (184), and Owen Elzen (197). Becker's 19-4 win, with a fall for Ohio State's Keeton Anderson, brought six points.
The Golden Gophers beat No. 4 Michigan in the semifinals and Ohio State upset No. 3 Oklahoma to advance.
In the third place dual, No. 5 Iowa defeated No. 6 Iowa State 25-15 on wins by Cliff Moore (133 pounds), Mike Zadick (149), Matt Anderson (157), Tyler Nixt (174), Jessman Smith (184) and Steve Mocco (285).
In Division II, No. 2 Central Oklahoma beat top-ranked North Dakota State 26-15 to win the championship.
In the third-place match, No. 4 Nebraska-Omaha beat No. 3 Ashland 21-18.
In Division III, top-ranked Augsburg won the championship beating No. 2 Wartburg 29-12.
No. 3 Wis.-LaCrosse won the third-place match by beating No. 4 King's, Pa., 25-15.
Butler group looking to rehabilitate park
BUTLER, Pa. -- A group is working to rehabilitate a ballpark that once played host to New York Yankee greats such as Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig.
High school, community college and American Legion teams now play at Pullman Park in Butler, about 29 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
Built in 1934, the park once was home to farm teams of the Yankees and Detroit Tigers.
The Pullman Board of Trust, a civic group dedicated to preserving the park, is hoping to secure $300,000 in state grants to improve the lights and refurbish the field. After that's done, they want to raise more money for a small museum that would be filled with memorabilia from the park's heyday.
"It's a part of Butler County's history, for one thing, and some of baseball's all-time greats played there. So it has historic value," said Deborah Grass, of DG Consulting and Project Management in Pittsburgh, which was hired to find the grant money.
The Yankees sometimes brought their big league club to the park to play exhibitions in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Whitey Ford, Hank Bauer, DiMaggio and Gehrig played at the park, preservation officials said.
WORLD
Not perfect,Yagudin prevails
LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Alexei Yagudin knows he cannot win an Olympic gold medal next month if he performs as he did in capturing his third European figure skating title.
He reclaimed his European title with one quad and six triples -- missing his opening quad and finishing with a pair of double loops. It was an unlikely element for a skater of his caliber.
Though he was beaten on the jumps by silver medalist Alexander Abt, Yagudin won the title on superior artistry. But he isn't bothered that he won less than perfectly.
"In 10 years nobody will remember how I skated in the Europeans, but my name is going to be in the results," Yagudin said.
"Of course, it's way better to win with a great skate," he added. "But, still, if I'm going to be Olympic champion with bad skating I wouldn't be that upset."
Yagudin and Russian teammate Yevgeny Plushchenko have gone 1-2 in nearly every major championships they've skated against each other since the 1998 Nagano Olympics, when Yagudin finished fifth, skating the free with a 101 temperature.
The two Russians have avoided direct competition this season -- skating against each other only at the Grand Prix Final last month in Kitchener, Ontario. Yagudin won. Then he skipped Russian nationals, and Plushchenko withdrew from the Europeans.
Plushchenko is working on a new program for the Feb. 8-24 Salt Lake City Games. He has ditched a medley, including "Cirque de Soleil" and "Moulin Rouge," and is returning to classical scores.
Vindicator staff/wire reports