LOCAL

LOCAL
OAC honors
ALLIANCE -- Cara Russo, a sophomore midfielder for the Mount Union College women's soccer team from Warren JFK High, was named to the All-Ohio Athletic Conference team as an honorable mention.
Russo scored two goals and four points this season to help Mount Union to a 7-7-3 regular-season record, including 3-5-1 in the OAC for seventh place.
She was one of five MUC players who made all-conference. The others were senior defender Carrie Coon and freshman forward Brittany Grinstead, both named to the second team; and junior forward Jessica Gordon and junior midfielder Jackie Orth, honorable mentions.
Grinstead led the Purple Raiders in scoring this year with 20 points.
Nemergut, Koppel all-conference
CONWAY, S.C. -- Two Youngstown-area runners for the Coastal Carolina University women's cross country team -- Kara Koppel (McDonald) and Kim Nemergut (South Range) -- have made the All-Big South Conference team.
Koppel placed third and Nemergut fifth in the Big South Conference Championship meet, to gain the all-league honors and help Coastal Carolina to the team championship with 22 points.
Koppel also tied for the Women's Scholar-Athlete Award.
Capital, Wilmington picks in OAC voting
COLUMBUS -- Capital's men's basketball team and the Wilmington women were selected Wednesday as the favorites to win Ohio Conference championships this season.
Mount Union was the sixth pick by the coaches and fourth by the media in the men's balloting.
In the women's polls, Mount Union was predicted ninth by the media and seventh by the coaches.
Kicker guestof Browns group
GIRARD -- Cleveland Browns kicker Phil Dawson will be at the CreekSide Golf Dome Monday from 6 to 7;30 p.m. as a guest of the Ohio Browns Boosters.
Admission is a donation of one canned good. For more information call 1-866-BROWNS1.
NATION
Surgery for Karsay
NEW YORK -- Yankees reliever Steve Karsay will have surgery Thursday to repair a herniated disc in his lower back. The 30-year-old right-hander was injured Aug. 30 while pitching in Toronto.
Heat ownerwithdraws
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The candidates pursuing an NBA expansion team for Charlotte narrowed to two after Miami Heat co-owner Bob Sturges withdrew from consideration.
Sturges was thought to be third on the list of potential ownership candidates, said Steve Belkin, a Boston-based businessman trying to land a franchise, along with a group that includes Larry Bird.
NBA spokesman Tim Frank said Belkin and Black Entertainment Television founder Robert Johnson are the only two applicants for ownership at this time. The NBA has set Friday as the deadline to file applications.
Football roundup
* TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Cardinals placed kickoff returner and wide receiver MarTay Jenkins on the injured reserve list, ending his season. Jenkins broke his shoulder blade Sunday against the St. Louis Rams. He led the NFL with a 28-yard average on 20 kickoff returns through the first half of the season.
* KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs' beleaguered defense took another blow when linebacker Lew Bush was suspended for four games after testing positive for a banned substance.
* ST. LOUIS -- Kurt Warner starts throwing on Thursday, confident he'll have to miss only one more game because of a broken pinkie.
* EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Derrick Alexander will miss the rest of the season with a torn ligament in his left knee.
Blackhawks'Karpovtsev out
CHICAGO -- Defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev will be out for up to six weeks after he broke his ankle Tuesday night in the Chicago Blackhawks game against Detroit.
Parlow leadswomen's team
SEATTLE -- Cindy Parlow scored three goals as the United States clinched a berth in next year's Women's World Cup with a 7-0 victory over Costa Rica in the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup semifinals.
WORLD
Tennis roundup
* LOS ANGELES -- Sixth-seeded Monica Seles fought back from seven match points down in the second set, then took control in the third to beat Lindsay Davenport 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3 in their WTA Championships match.
Also, No. 2 Venus Williams defeated Patty Schnyder 6-2, 7-6 (7).
* PATTAYA, Thailand -- Top-seeded Tatiana Panova beat Tatiana Poutchek 6-4, 6-1 in the Volvo Women's Open first round, while second-seeded Tamarine Tanasugarn ousted Akiko Morigami 7-5, 7-6 (6).
* SHANGHAI, China -- Top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt will face No. 3 Marat Safin in next week's season-ending Shanghai Masters Cup.
The draw put No. 2 Andre Agassi and French Open finalist Juan Carlos Ferrero in the other four-man group. Agassi trails Hewitt by 88 points in the ATP Champions Race, and 150 points are available in Shanghai.
Vindicator staff/wire reports