STEELHOUNDS

STEELHOUNDS
Tape-delaybroadcast
YOUNGSTOWN -- The broadcast of tonight's Youngstown SteelHounds-Corpus Christi hockey game will be tape-delayed on WBBW-AM (1240) at 11 p.m.
LOCAL
Little Clipperfootball election
COLUMBIANA -- The Columbiana Little Clipper Football Association will hold election of officers for the Board of Directors today at 7 p.m. at the American Legion. The meeting is open to the public. For information, call Kurt Miller (330-770-6370), Gary Dickens (330-482-5207) or Cindy Merlo (330-482-5952).
Prep hockey
BOARDMAN -- Canfield High and Mooney/Ursuline each split two games in the first day of the Canfield Thanksgiving hockey tournament at the Ice Zone.
In the day's first game, Canfield defeated CVCA, 5-2. Zack Kovacs scored three goals for the Cardinals, with assists from Tom Mikes, Connor McNamara and Tony Carney. Greg Firestone and Carney scored unassisted goals.
The Cardinals then lost to Ambridge, 8-1. Canfield's lone goal was an unassisted tally by Chad Fischer.
Mooney/Ursuline also lost to Ambridge, 6-3. Jessie Koewacich and Joe Ditomaso both scored one goal and two assists for M/U.
Mooney/Ursuline then defeated CVCA, 6-2. Darren Schluter had two goals and an assist, and Tom Dewey also scored twice. Corey Timmings scored once, while Jim Lacko and Dean Maklen had assists.
The tournament continues today at 10:30 a.m., with the championship game scheduled for 4:15 p.m.
REGION
Edwards backs off
CLEVELAND -- The Browns spent the holiday resolving their family differences.
Wide receiver Braylon Edwards, who on Wednesday questioned safety Brian Russell's jolting hit to Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson earlier this season, expressed regret Friday over his comments.
"The bottom line is you never want to have an article like that that big, especially on Thanksgiving," Edwards said. "I didn't know it was going to be that big of a deal. ... Things like that divide from within and that's something we don't want to do."
Russell's hit knocked off Johnson's helmet and split the receiver's chin near the end of the Browns' 34-17 loss on Sept. 17. Russell, who was not penalized, said he talked to Edwards about his comments, but wouldn't say whether the receiver gave him an apology.
"That's team stuff," Russell said. "It's behind us. The biggest thing is, we're all trying to get a win."
NATION
Astros sign Carlos Lee to six-year deal
HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros, the NL's worst hitting team, signed outfielder Carlos Lee and right-hander Woody Williams Friday, bolstering its offense and a pitching staff that could be without Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.
Lee, a two-time All-Star left fielder who played with Texas and Milwaukee last season, signed a six-year, 100 million deal, the largest contract in Astros history. Last season was Lee's fifth straight with at least 30 home runs and 99 RBIs.
"I won't disappoint you," said the 30-year-old Lee, whose contract includes a no-trade clause for the first four years. "Let's go for the championship."
Adding Lee will give the Astros another power threat besides All-Star first baseman Lance Berkman, who had 45 home runs and 136 RBIs and finished third in NL MVP voting behind Philadelphia's Ryan Howard and St. Louis' Albert Pujols.
Houston was last in the NL in batting average at .255 and languished out of the pennant race until a late-season run that almost overtook World Series champion St. Louis.
Lee hit 28 homers in 102 games for the Brewers before the Rangers picked him up a few days before the July trading deadline. His power numbers dipped after that, but he finished with combined totals of 37 home runs and 116 RBIs. He hit .300, including .322 in 59 games with the Rangers.
Williams, who grew up in Houston and was a college star there, is a 14-year veteran who was 12-5 with a 3.65 ERA last season with San Diego, his best ERA since 2002 with St. Louis. He signed a two-year deal worth 12.5 million, with a club option for a third year for another 6.5 million.
Pregnant Hammdeclines hall induction
AUSTIN, Texas -- Mia Hamm declined induction into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame next year because she's pregnant and has been advised not to travel.
Hamm was voted into the hall with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, former Oklahoma great Billy Sims, Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds and quarterback Warren Moon. But she reluctantly declined induction, which is scheduled for Feb. 15 in Waco.
Hamm and her husband, baseball player Nomar Garciaparra, are expecting their first child in early spring.
Vindicator staff/wire reports