LOCAL

LOCAL
Tri-T baseball
POLAND -- A meeting for prospective teams in Tri-T baseball will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Poland Community Baseball administration building on Sheridan Road.
A representative of each team is required to attend. Call Jim DeChellis at (330) 755-6949 for more.
Mooney basketball
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mooney High's boys basketball game against Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin will be played Saturday at Mooney. The game was originally scheduled for tonight. The junior varsity game will begin at 6 p.m.
B-W football
BEREA -- Matt Davis, a senior defensive tackle for the Baldwin-Wallace College football team from Mineral Ridge High, was one of five Yellow Jackets named to the Don Hansen's Football Gazette Division III All-North Region team.
Davis, who enjoyed his finest season as a collegian this fall, made the honorable mention list.
Davis ranked fourth on the team in total tackles with 51, including three quarterback sacks and 5.5 tackles for lost yardage.
He also was an All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection.
Davis also was a good student with a 3.4 grade-point average, and was selected to the Academic All-OAC and ESPN THE MAGAZINE Academic All-District IV teams.
Ty Votaw joins PGA
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Four months after Ty Votaw left as commissioner of the LPGA Tour, he joined the PGA Tour on Monday in a new position as executive vice president of international affairs.
Votaw's move to the PGA Tour had been in the works for the last several months.
Votaw is a native of Salem and a graduate of South Range High.
Umpiring classes
The Youngstown Metro Umpires Association will hold classes for individuals interested in earning an OHSAA license for baseball and softball.
The classes begin Feb. 8 at Canfield High School.
Interested persons should call John Mang (330-502-6665) or Bill Sferra (330-792-6787) for more information.
All-League banquet
YOUNGSTOWN -- Area high school football coaches and athletic directors are reminded to make their ticket requests as soon as possible for the Curbstone Coaches annual All-League Banquet Jan. 29 at Mount Carmel Hall at 6:30.
They should contact Sam Rogers (330) 707-0234 by Friday and give him the number of persons attending.
No tickets will be sold at the gate.
REGION
Pirates
PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Oliver Perez bypassed salary arbitration Monday by agreeing to a one-year contract worth approximately $1.9 million.
Perez made $381,000 while going 7-5 with a 5.85 ERA last season, when he was sidelined for nearly two months with a broken toe after he kicked a laundry cart in frustration following a June 26 start in St. Louis.
Reds
CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Reds avoided salary arbitration with outfielder Austin Kearns on Monday by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $1.85 million.
Kearns batted .240 but set career highs with 18 homers and 67 RBIs last season.
Three Reds players remain eligible for arbitration: first baseman Adam Dunn, pitcher Aaron Harang and shortstop Felipe Lopez. The Reds said arbitration figures would be filed Tuesday.
NATION
ARod missing
NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez was missing from the initial United States roster for the World Baseball Classic on Monday night, and the two-time MVP had one day left to decide whether to participate.
As expected, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Derek Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr. were the biggest names among the 42 players picked by Team USA on Monday.
Provisional rosters of up to 60 players for each country were due today at 5 p.m. and the final 30-man rosters for the tournament will be chosen from those 60-player pools.
Any player not on a provisional roster cannot participate in the event, so Rodriguez was running out of time to decide which country to play for -- or whether to play at all.
Francis reinstated
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Steve Francis was reinstated by the Orlando Magic on Monday, three days after he was suspended for "conduct detrimental to the team."
Francis, who missed two games, met with team officials on Monday and general manager Otis Smith said the team is eager to move on.
Jets coach
NEW YORK -- New England Patriots defensive coordinator Eric Mangini has accepted an offer to become the next New York Jets coach, a person familiar with the situation said Monday night.
Mangini, who turns 35 Thursday, becomes the youngest head coach in the NFL. He replaces Herman Edwards, who left for Kansas City after five seasons.
Vindicator staff/wire reports