LOCAL

LOCAL
Phantoms win
TOLEDO -- Second-period goals by Rob Rassey and Charley Fetzer were enough to propel the Youngstown Phantoms to a 2-1 road victory over the Toledo Ice Diggers in North American Hockey League action Friday.
Rassey, who also assisted on Fetzer's goal, had a two-point night, as did Casey Russell, who assisted on both Phantoms goals.
Toledo spoiled the bid for a shutout by Youngstown goaltender John Murray when Dan Peace scored with 3:56 remaining in the contest.
The Phantoms have now won three straight games and five of their last six contests to improve to 14-7-6 on the season.
Chaney seeks coach
YOUNGSTOWN -- Chaney High seeks applicants for the position of varsity baseball coach for the 2004 season. Interested persons should call Jim Mullally, athletic director, at (330) 744-8508 by Dec. 18.
The Truth placessecond in event
CANTON -- The Truth from the League of Champions Sports Programs placed second in the 4-on-4 Flag Football Recreational Division of the SportsMonster National Tournament Series.
Sixteen teams participated from across the country.
Youngstown-area team members are Nathan Porter, Mike Pulakos, Eli Alexander III, Tim Novotny and Rick Banna.
Piersante honored
CANTON -- Walsh University's Sara Piersante, a Canfield native, capped an outstanding senior cross country season with her selection as a Daktronics NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete.
Recipients must have a junior or senior academic standing and maintain a minimum grade-point average of 3.50.
Piersante, an education major, carries a 3.51 GPA. She also competed in this year's NAIA National Championships and finished 78th in a field of 256 runners.
Bethany player picked
BETHANY, W.Va. -- Bethany College women's basketball player Kelley Richardson was named to D3hoops.com's team of the week.
Richardson, a senior center, had an outstanding week for Bethany. She led the Bisons to a 2-1 record by averaging 21.7 points, with nine rebounds and 2.3 steals per game.
REGION
Bengals watchingfor counterfeit tickets
CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Bengals said Friday they have increased security at their stadium because of counterfeit tickets sold for a game last month.
Team officials said several fans were victims of the counterfeit ticket scheme for the Bengals' home game Nov. 16 against the Kansas City Chiefs at Paul Brown Stadium.
St. John's advancesto soccer title game
COLUMBUS -- Sebastian Alvarado-Ralph scored on a penalty kick in the 35th minute to lead St. John's into the NCAA championship game with a 1-0 victory over Maryland on Friday.
The Red Storm (17-5-3) will take on Indiana, which defeated Santa Clara 1-0 in two overtimes, in Sunday's title game.
St. John's, the No. 6 seed, was awarded the penalty kick after Maryland goalkeeper Noah Palmer clipped Ashley Kozicki's head while reaching to deflect a shot.
Kozicki, who subbed in just one minute earlier, was sent sprawling and Palmer received a yellow card for the foul. Alvarado-Ralph's penalty kick went into the middle of the net, past a diving Palmer.
Maryland was looking for a championship bid after losing in the semis last year to eventual champion UCLA 2-1. The Terrapins were making their third trip to the semifinals in five seasons.
St. John's made its third appearance in the semifinals since winning the national championship in 1996.
NATION
Commission putsemphasis on grades
MIAMI -- Colleges should graduate at least 50 percent of their football players as a prerequisite for bowl game eligibility, a commission recommended Friday.
The Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics is calling for bowl eligibility reforms, saying that more than half of this year's 56 bowl-bound teams fail to meet their proposed graduation standard.
"It is a reasonable -- indeed, minimum -- standard for demonstrating that academics are valued in big-time college football," said William C. Friday, the commission's chairman.
A call placed to an NCAA spokesman was not immediately returned Friday.
In 1996, the NCAA adopted some reforms proposed by the commission, which is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, a Miami-based journalism consortium.
The commission said only two of this year's bowl games -- the Houston Bowl between Navy and Texas Tech, and the Capital One Bowl between Purdue and Georgia -- match schools with 50 percent graduation rates or better.
Oklahoma and LSU, who will meet in the Sugar Bowl to decide the Bowl Championship Series national champion, have graduation rates for football players of 33 and 40 percent, respectively, the commission said.
IRL reducing speeds
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indy Racing League will cut engine horsepower to reduce speeds next season, a move accelerated by the death of driver Tony Renna and serious injuries to former Indy 500 winner Kenny Brack in separate crashes two months ago.
Vindicator staff/wire reports