LOCAL

LOCAL
EIFL tryouts
BROOKFIELD -- The Panthers of the Eastern Indoor Football League will hold tryouts Saturday at the Thunderdome from 4 p.m. until 7. The tryout fee is 25.
The Panthers will be based out of Warren and are set to play in the 2007 EIFL season.
The team has signed Andre Coleman, 6-1, 240-pound former kickoff and punt return player and University of Buffalo standout Jason Hewlett, 240-pound fullback-linebacker. For details, call (330) 742-4871.
College roundup
*NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- Matt Pietro, a junior forward on the Baldwin-Wallace College soccer team from Canfield High, has been named to the 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Men's Soccer team (College Division).
Pietro, who has a 3.86 grade-point average as a major in business administration, was selected to the second team.
The three-team squad was picked by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Pietro led B-W in scoring this season with 21 points on 16 goals and five assists. He helped the Yellow Jackets to a 13-4-1 record, including 5-4 in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
*ASHLAND -- Chris Holland, a senior defensive back for the Ashland University football team from Youngstown and The Rayen School, has been selected to the 2006 All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football team.
Holland, who tied for the No. 7 spot in tackles for the Eagles with 34 on 20 solo stops and 14 assists, was named to the honorable mention list.
He helped Ashland to a 4-6 record overall and in the GLIAC.
Salem will study move
SALEM -- The Salem Board of Education will investigate joining the Trumbull Athletic Conference next year.
The district has approved sending a letter of intent to join the conference. The deadline to submit the letter is Dec. 1.
Superintendent Stephen Larcomb said the proposed move made sense because of Salem's declining enrollment.
The MAC conference would need to know Salem's choice by next spring.
Larcomb said the district in its January newsletter will ask for public input before the board makes a decision.
Correction
BOARDMAN -- The Canfield Thanksgiving Tournament will begin today at the Ice Zone in Boardman. The tournament will continue on Saturday.
REGION
Cavaliers lose
TORONTO -- Chris Bosh and the Toronto Raptors were grateful to be home after a woeful road trip.
Bosh had 25 points and 14 rebounds, and the Raptors ended a six-game losing streak with a 95-87 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
Joey Graham added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Raptors, who returned home following an 0-5 western trip.
"We needed this," Bosh said. "We had our road woes on the West Coast, but we wanted to protect our home court and just get the monkey off our back."
The Cavaliers, who played the night before, missed their first eight shots of the fourth quarter and finished 6-for-26 in the period.
"Can we get some defensive credit today?" Toronto's T.J. Ford said. "I believe it was us. We gave a great effort and I think it kind of wore them down. When it came down to the stretch those open shots they got were either long or short."
LeBron James had 30 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Cavaliers, who are 0-3 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.
"I would hope that playing in a back-to-back had nothing to do with that loss," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "I do not want to be an excuse team."
The Raptors blew another big lead and struggled in the fourth quarter, but Cleveland was worse than Toronto in the final period.
"We definitely needed this win to boost our confidence," Graham said. "If it took us not to hit shots and play great defense, than that's what we needed to do."
WORLD
NHL suspends players,fines coaches
TORONTO -- Washington forward Donald Brashear was suspended for three games by the NHL on Thursday, stemming from a fight a day earlier between the Capitals and Atlanta Thrashers.
Brashear, teammate Brian Sutherby and Atlanta forward Scott Mellanby were automatically suspended one game while coaches Glen Hanlon of the Capitals and Bob Hartley of the Thrashers were fined 30,000 and 10,000, respectively.
Brashear was suspended for an additional two games under a rule that allows the commissioner to tack on additional games. He will be eligible to return Nov. 30 against Dallas.
With 1:22 left in the Thrashers' 4-2 victory, Atlanta defenseman Andy Sutton was penalized for a hard check along the boards.
Vindicator staff/wire reports