YSU

YSU
Men's basketball
INDIANAPOLIS -- Youngstown State will take part in the second year of Bracket Buster Saturday presented by ESPN.
The Penguins are scheduled to play a road game Feb. 21 against an opponent to be determined opponent. The pairings, which will include 46 teams from 11 conferences, will be announced Feb. 1.
YSU's opponent will come from the Mid-American, Missouri Valley, Sun Belt or Western Athletic Conference.
LOCAL
Titans of the week
NEW WILMINGTON -- Two Youngstown-area players on the Westminster College football team were named Titans of the Week for their performances in a 43-20 loss to Walsh last Saturday.
Ryan Mitchell, senior fullback from Warren Harding High, was selected on offense, and Don Waldron, junior defensive end from Lakeview, was selected on defense.
Jason Montgomery, freshman kicker from Wilmington, Pa., was selected on special teams.
Mitchell rushed for 11 yards and his blocking helped junior tailback Scott Froelich to rush for 101 yards.
Waldron contributed four tackles, while Montgomery kicked a pair of extra points and had a solid kickoff performance.
Wagonwheel/Redsare Inncercity champs
YOUNGSTOWN -- In a three-game series for the Innercity League championship, Wagonwheel/Reds lost the first game, then beat BW3 Austintown twice for the title.
Dave Vechione went 4-for-4 and scored three times as BW3 took the first game 19-11. Nelson Conrad also collected three hits and scored three times. Todd O'Palic had a pair of hits for the losers.
Don Davolio, who pitched all three games for Wagonwheel/Reds, had two hits in the first game, three each in the second and third contests.
Wagonwheel/Reds won the second game 16-14 and the title game 18-13. Anthony Naples collected five hits and Ron Pangio six during the three contests.
Jayne receives honor
CLEVELAND -- Ryan Jayne, a junior cornerback for the College of Wooster football team from East Palestine High, was named North Coast Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
Jayne (5-foot-9, 165 pounds) returned a pass interception for a school-record 100-yard touchdown last Saturday, to help preserve Wooster's season-opening 45-36 win over Hope (Mich.)
.
REGION
Aeros win 9-7
WEST HAVEN, Conn. -- Victor Valencia and Corey Smith drove in two runs apiece as the Akron Aeros beat the New Haven Ravens 9-7 Wednesday night to move within one victory of the Eastern League championship.
The Aeros built a 9-0 lead and then held off the Ravens' rally to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series, which shifts to Akron for the final three games.
NATION
Ducks goalie signs
LOS ANGELES -- Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere agreed to a four-year contract with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, one day before training camp opens.
Giguere's goaltending carried the Ducks to the Stanley Cup finals, and helped him get a deal worth nearly $5 million a year. He earned $900,000 last season.
Giguere won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the Stanley Cup finals last year.
No plan yet
SAN JUAN -- Baseball's relocation committee has not ruled out any option for the Montreal Expos next season.
Commissioner Bud Selig said that the options for the team include finding a buyer, playing all 81 home games in Montreal, or playing a split home schedule between Montreal and San Juan or Montreal and Monterrey, Mexico.
The Expos, bought by the other 29 major league teams before the 2002 season, are being sought by Northern Virginia, Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C.
CART series sold
INDIANAPOLIS -- CART reached an agreement to sell its stock to the newly formed Open Wheel Racing Series LLC for 56 cents a share.
Open Wheel is a holding company owned indirectly by a group of investors, including current CART team owners Gerald R. Forsythe, Kevin Kalkoven and Paul Gentilozzi. The new company had previously said it intends to continue to operate the Champ Car series if the transaction is completed.
Woodson has surgery
ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Oakland Raiders safety Rod Woodson underwent surgery late Tuesday to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee.
The 38-year-old Woodson was hurt in the Raiders' 25-20 season-opening loss at Tennessee on Sunday.
Vindicator staff/wire reports