YSU

YSU
Men's basketball
FAIRBORN -- Zakee Boyd scored 22 points to lead Wright State (5-5, 1-0) over Youngstown State, 72-51, Saturday night in the Horizon League men's opener.
Quin Humphrey led the Penguins (2-6, 0-1) with 14 points. Zach Silverman added 12 points.
LOCAL
Curbstone Coaches
There will be no weekly meeting of the Curbstone Coaches on Monday or on Dec. 27 because of the holidays.
Phantoms peeweeteam wins
The Phantoms peewee A major team defeated previously unbeaten Brooklyn 5-2.
Evan Filip had two goals and an assist. Cory Barnhouse, Scott McKee and Mike Gorgacz also scored goals. Ryan Demyen and Jesse Depietro each had two assists and Adam Robertson had one.
Goalie John O'Brien made 24 saves.
REGION
Buckeyes kickerseeks sixth year
COLUMBUS -- Ohio State and kicker Josh Huston have asked the NCAA for a rare sixth year of eligibility because Huston missed two seasons with knee and hip problems.
The sixth year is usually granted to players who can prove a significant medical problem kept them out one season.
Huston was signed from Findlay in 2000 but missed his freshman season with left knee pain, which was fixed in a postseason operation. He played in 2001 but mostly did kickoffs as then-freshman Mike Nugent handled most extra points and field goals.
Huston had surgery on his right knee and hips that kept him out in 2002. The last two seasons he's watched from the bench.
NATION
Former pitcher Ted Abernathy dies at 71
GASTONIA, N.C. -- Ted Abernathy, who twice led the National League in saves during the 1960s and pitched for seven teams during his major league career, died at 71.
He died Thursday, the McLean Funeral Home said Saturday.
Abernathy appeared in 681 games and picked up 148 saves during a career from 1955-1972. He had a 63-69 record and 3.46 ERA.
Abernathy recorded a league-leading 31 saves with the Chicago Cubs in 1965, along with a 2.57 ERA. He had 28 saves and a 1.27 ERA two seasons later with the Cincinnati Reds.
He made his major league debut with the Washington Senators in 1955. In addition to the Cubs and Reds, he also pitched for Cleveland, Atlanta, St. Louis and Kansas City.
Soldiers in Iraq get to watch basketball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Troops at Camp Fallujah and Camp Cooke in Iraq were able to watch Saturday's telecast of the annual basketball game between Kentucky and Louisville.
"Anything we can do to entertain or distract them in any small way is awesome," said Louisville coach Rick Pitino, whose No. 13 Cardinals lost 60-58 to No. 9 Kentucky.
Duke fires offensive coordinator Galbraith
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke fired offensive coordinator Marty Galbraith after one season, during which the Blue Devils ranked last in the Atlantic Coast Conference in points and total offense.
Duke (2-9, 1-7) averaged 16.6 points and 265.5 yards per game.
Eddie House signs with Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE -- Guard Eddie House signed with the Milwaukee Bucks before Saturday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
In 13 games with the Charlotte Bobcats this season, House averaged 11.1 points while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from the 3-point line.
Bucks general manager Larry Harris said he was able to sign House after the NBA granted the team an exemption to have a fourth player on the injured list.
"Eddie was having a career year with Charlotte before being waived," Harris said. "We think he'll be a productive addition to our backcourt."
House was drafted by the Miami Heat with the 37th overall pick in the 2000 draft. In 242 career NBA games, House averaged 7.1 points, 1.8 assists and 1.7 rebounds.
Terms of his contract were not disclosed.
Rick Majerus will not take USC job
NEW YORK -- Rick Majerus backed out of a deal to become Southern California's new basketball coach just days after his hiring, and will stay at ESPN as a college basketball analyst.
"Rick expressed to us that he had a change of heart and wondered if the possibility still existed for him to work for ESPN. And it does," ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said Saturday night. "We told him he could [return]."
Majerus, who cited health reasons when he retired in January after 15 seasons as Utah's coach, was announced as the Trojans' incoming coach Wednesday. He was to assume the post on April 1.
Until then, Majerus was supposed to serve on the staff and work on recruiting, filling the assistant's job vacated when Jim Saia was promoted to interim coach after Henry Bibby's firing.
At a campus news conference following his hiring, the 56-year-old Majerus said he wasn't worried about his health.
"My health is good or I wouldn't do this," he said. "Both my doctors encouraged me to do it. I wouldn't put anyone, least of all myself, in harm's way."
Majerus coached Utah to the national championship game in 1998, losing to Kentucky, one of the school's 10 NCAA tournament appearances during his tenure. His other stints were at Ball State, Marquette and with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant.
Stanford wins NCAA volleyball title
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Ogonna Nnamani had 29 kills to lead Stanford to the NCAA women's volleyball championship with a 30-23, 30-27, 30-21 victory over Minnesota on Saturday at the Long Beach Arena.
The 11th-seeded Cardinal needed rallies in the second and third games to win. The victory marked the 15th consecutive win and sixth NCAA title for Stanford (30-6)
Nnamani, the national player of the year, was voted the tournament's most outstanding player after setting an NCAA record with 62 kills in the semifinal and final matches.
Danielle Scott of Long Beach State, the previous record holder, had 55 in 1991.
Freshman setter Bryn Kehoe added 48 assists for Stanford and Courtney Schultz made 14 digs.
Erin Martin and Trisha Bradford each had 13 kills for the fourth-seeded Golden Gophers (33-5), playing in their first NCAA final.
Minnesota's Paula Gentil, the NCAA single-season record holder with 924 digs, left the match in the third game. Coach Mike Hebert said she injured her neck diving for a ball.
The Golden Gophers held a 27-25 lead before the Cardinal scored five consecutive points to take the second game. Nnamani scored three points on two kills and a block.
In the third game, the teams were tied at 18 when Nnamani made three kills and Kehoe scored a service ace to put Stanford ahead 22-18. Martin's kill narrowed the margin to 22-19, but Minnesota committed four successive attacking errors and the Cardinal built a 26-19 lead.
Vindicator staff/wire reports0