Saturday, July 15, 2006
LOCAL
Schedules needed
The Vindicator seeks fall sports schedules from the following schools:
Warren Harding, Fitch, Lowellville, Sebring, Springfield, Western Reserve, Brookfield, Champion, LaBrae, Lakeview, Newton Falls, Columbiana, East Palestine, Leetonia, Southern, Badger, Mathews, Southington, East Liverpool, Wellsville, Southeast, Farrell, Grove City, Hickory, Kennedy Christian, Laurel, Mercer, Mohawk, New Castle, Neshannock, Reynolds, Sharon, Sharpsville, Shenango, Slippery Rock, Union, Wilmington and West Middlesex.
Athletic Directors should e-mail schedules to sports@vindy.com or fax (330) 747-6712.
Youngstown AA
YOUNGSTOWN -- Bud's/DiCioccio scored four runs in the top of the 10th inning as it turned back Roth Brothers 9-5 in Class AA Baseball at Pemberton-Donnell Park.
Roth Brothers (17-7) jumped out to a 4-0 lead through three innings. Bud's took the lead 5-4 in the top of the fifth, but Roth tied it with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Mark Nightingale hit three singles to spark Bud's, while Frank Santore, Rick Gozur, and Brent Parks each had two hits.
Joe Morzano worked two scoreless innings. allowed only one hit and struck out three to pick up the win.
Eric Jones hit a home run to give Roth a 1-0 lead in the first inning, then hit a three-run home run in the second and he finished with five RBIs. Jim Putko hit a pair of singles.
Vegas Summer League
LAS VEGAS -- Boardman High graduate Terence Dials averaged 4.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in five games for the Toronto Raptors in the Vegas Summer League, which completed play on Friday. Dials, the Big Ten player of the year at Ohio State last season, averaged 10.6 minutes per game for the Raptors, who went 1-4.
Dew Sports Tour
DENVER -- Anthony Napolitan of Austintown was runner-up in the BMX Dirt race final during the Dew Action Sports Tour-Right Guard Open Saturday. Napolitan's score was 94.00.
He won $10,000 for his second-place showing. Winner Ryan Nyquist of Los Gatos, Calif. scored 96.25.
Through two Tour events, Napolitan leads the BMX Dirt standings with 175 points. Nyquist trails with 155.
Red Bulls Win
COLUMBUS -- In overtime, Orson Penney threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Demoun Baker as the Ohio Red Bulls beat the Columbus Cowboys 6-0 Saturday.
The Red Bulls are 4-3 in the USFL while the Cowboys dip to 6-1.
Hardhats prevail
MANSFIELD -- C.J. Ladson caught touchdown passes of 42 and 84 yards as the Steel Valley Hardhats defeated Mansfield 32-14 Saturday.
Walt Lacey ran 6 yards for a score and added a 47 yard interception for a touchdown while Frank Harris rushed 14 times for 65 yards for the Hardhats (3-0).
NATION
USA Basketball
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Kobe Bryant had minor surgery on his right knee Saturday and is highly unlikely to play for the United States in the world championships this summer.
The announcement Saturday that the U.S. team will be without the NBA's leading scorer comes just five days before the Americans open their training camp in Las Vegas. USA Basketball said Bryant will still attend part of the camp and will travel with the team in Asia for training in exhibitions in China and South Korea, and the world championships in Japan.
But full recovery from the procedure normally takes eight to 12 weeks, leaving it doubtful Bryant will be available for any of the world championships, which run from Aug. 19-Sept. 3.
The U.S. has to choose its 12-man roster for the worlds before competition starts, and it can't be changed.
"We trust that Kobe will have a total and speedy recovery, and we were pleased that he expressed a willingness to remain as involved with our team as possible through this process," USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said in a statement. "Kobe being with the team will add to our team chemistry and his presence will help provide valuable off court leadership."
Bryant's withdrawal is the fourth this week for the U.S. team, but easily the biggest blow. One of the leaders of a team that is trying to bounce back from two recent disappointments, he and LeBron James were the first two players publicly named to the team, nearly two months before the rest of the squad was unveiled.
Already this week, the 24-player U.S. roster lost J.J. Redick (back injury), Lamar Odom (personal reasons) and Paul Pierce (expected to have elbow surgery in August).
USA Basketball said Bryant is not expected to miss any of his commitments with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Wizards' Jordansigns extension
WASHINGTON -- Eddie Jordan signed a three-year contract extension with the Washington Wizards, giving the team the hope of long-term stability at the coaching position for the first time since the early 1990s.
The deal, signed late Friday, is worth $12 million over three years, including a team option for the third year, according to an official within the NBA. It takes effect after Jordan's original four-year contract expires after the upcoming season.
Tennis Hall of Fame
NEWPORT, R.I. -- Gabriela Sabatini's rival and doubles partner Steffi Graf introduced her into the Tennis Hall of Fame. Sabatini was enshrined into the Hall of Fame on Newport's grass courts along with Australian Patrick Rafter and Italian journalist Gianni Clerici on Saturday.
Sabatini, the first Argentine women elected to the Hall, defeated Graf to win the 1990 U.S. Open and her only Grand Slam singles title. Sabatini and Graf won the 1988 Wimbledon doubles title.
"I always enjoyed playing Steffi," Sabatini said of the 2004 Hall of Fame inductee. "I always admired Steffi. She's always been a very important person in my tennis career. I always thought this would be a great way to end my cycle at the Hall of Fame."
Sabatini was ranked in the top 10 for 10 consecutive years from 1986-1995, and ranked as high as No. 3. With her U.S. Open win, she became the first female from Argentina to win a Grand Slam singles title and first South American to win since Brazil's Maria Bueno in 1966.
Sabatini, who lost in the 1991 Wimbledon final to Graf, won 27 singles titles and 14 doubles titles. She ended career with a 632-189 singles record (.769) in 1996.
Rafter, a two-time U.S. Open champion (1997-98) and former No. 1-ranked player, is the 24th Australian to be elected.
Vindicator staff/wire reports