LOCAL

LOCAL
Venom teamwins state title
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Mahoning Valley Venom 9-under baseball team defeated Strongsville 10-3 to win the USSSA AAA state championship.
The team also placed sixth in a 68-team field at the national tournament in St. Louis.
The Venom won the St. Patricks Day Slugfest in Virginia, won the Tanner Memorial event in Harrison, Ohio and took the Twinsburg Early Bird.
In addition they placed second in the Brownlee event in Akron and took third in the Mason Dixon Meltdown held in Cincinnati.
Sachire and partnerlose in final
GODFREY, Ill. -- Ryan Sachire of Canfield and Klaasen Ryan lost to Troy Hahn-Hamid Miradeh 6-4, 6-7(13), 2-6 in the championship doubles match of the Futures Tennis Tournament Sunday at Lewis and Clark College.
MVBC advancesto top 100
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The Mahoning Valley Basketball Club participated in the Adidas Big Time tournament recently, finishing with a 3-1 record.
MVBC defeated The Firm of Dallas, Texas, 79-40; Los Angeles Skywalkers, 68-47, and Calgary (B.C.) Dinos, 52-35, putting MVBC into pool play and recognition as one of the top 100 teams in the country. There, MVBC lost to The Donyell Marshall Foundation of New York, 85-77.
Mike Deonofrio (Boardman) and Terrell Eargle (Austintown Fitch) were named to the all-tournament honorable mention team. Deonofrio averaged 17 points and six rebounds per game, while Eargle averaged 16 points, six rebounds and three steals per game.
Craig Hannon (New Castle Union) averaged 12 points per game and Phillip Moore (Cleveland Benedictine) averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Other members of the team were Bobby Preson (Neshannock), six assists per game; Brian Kreefer (East Liverpool), eight points and three assists per game; Chris Saltis, North Canton Hoover; Jay Davis, Boardman, and Mark Aikens, Fitch.
Correction
Anthony Patella hit a two-run double and Charlie Bancroft earned the win for Canfield in Friday's 9-10 Little League state tournament win over North Canton. Their names were misspelled in last week's editions.
REGION
Rigdon pitches Aerosto 8-2 victory
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Paul Rigdon allowed one run on four hits over seven innings as the Akron Aeros beat the Harrisburg Senators 8-2 Monday in the Eastern League.
NATION
Odom signs with Heat
LOS ANGELES -- Restricted free agent forward Lamar Odom signed a six-year offer sheet worth about $63 million with the Miami Heat.
Odom has played his first four NBA seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, who have 15 days to match the offer sheet or lose Odom to the Heat without compensation.
Maryland gets one year of probation
BALTIMORE -- Maryland was placed on one year of probation by the NCAA because an assistant football coach committed a "major" violation by giving money to a high school recruit.
Carlos Moya losesin first round
MASON -- Defending champion Carlos Moya lost his first-round match at the Cincinnati Masters, extending his deep slump heading into the U.S. Open.
The fourth-seeded Moya let two break points slip away in the final game, and France's Fabrice Santoro closed out a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in the tournament's opening match on center court.
Moya has three straight first-round losses since he won in Croatia last month. Santoro was ranked No. 61 in the world and was only 9-16 heading into the match.
Women's bowlingtour canceled
ROCKFORD, Ill. -- The Professional Women's Bowling Association announced that the 2003 fall schedule has been canceled because of a lack of operating funds.
The four-tournament swing was to start in the middle of September and was intended to complete a 13-event season.
Despite the cancellation, PWBA founder and chairman John Sommer said will continue to pursue new investors and explore all options for the 2004 season.
The 2003 PWBA campaign had increased television ratings for the fifth consecutive year.
Vindicator staff/wire reports