LOCAL

LOCAL

Cross Country preview
race slated Monday

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown Road Runners Club and Second Sole will hold their annual preseason cross country race Monday at the Boardman High School course.

The first race for sixth grade students and younger will start at 5 p.m. The middle school boys and girls races will follow.

The high school boys and girls races will be next with an open race to finish the evening.

They are expecting a record number of runners. For information, call (330) 799-5229.

Proceeds of this race go to the Youngstown Road Runners Scholarship Fund to Youngstown State University and other charitable causes.

NATION

Paterno says team
yet to mature

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State has some growing up to do, according to the Nittany Lions’ 80-year-old head coach.

Fifteen starters are back this season for Joe Paterno, but just four are seniors, including only one on defense — standout linebacker Dan Connor. There are several juniors and some sophomores in key starting assignments.

“It’s a real good squad,” Paterno said Saturday at Penn State’s media day, “except it’s so darn young.”

So JoePa said he plans to spend these last three weeks before the Sept. 1 opener against Florida International cajoling his players to work on “the little things” to make them better players.

For example, how to hold a block just a second longer, or eliminating careless mistakes in the red zone — a common theme for an offense that in 2006 had lots of hiccups inside the 20. All part of growing-up, Paterno said.

“We have a bunch of guys who will be grown up in a hurry and play under pressure,” Paterno said. “We’re going to have to be mature. We’re going to have to handle the pressure.”

And that’s just on the field. Paterno has harped throughout the summer on getting players to step up as team leaders off the field, too. It’s such a question mark that the Nittany Lions have yet to name captains.

Middle linebacker Connor seems like an ideal candidate to lead on defense, as does quarterback Anthony Morelli on offense. But neither is as highly regarded as Paul Posluszny, the two-time captain now entering his rookie season with the Buffalo Bills.

Then there’s the April 1 off-campus fight that still hangs over the team.

Four members of the defense — safety Anthony Scirrotto, defensive lineman Chris Baker, linebacker Jerome Hayes and cornerback Lydell Sargeant — were expelled by the university for the second summer session for their roles in the altercation, though they are allowed to take part in practice.

Scirrotto and Baker also face criminal charges, including burglary and simple assault. A trial could start in October — right in the middle of the football season.

Scirrotto, the Big Ten leader in 2006 with six interceptions, could be a big loss if he has to miss playing time. One of several talented juniors on the squad, Scirrotto has emerged as a ballhawking safety on a secondary that could be one of the best in the country.

In his first public comments since the altercation, Scirrotto said he’s focusing on the season ahead.

“I’ve put things behind me, and I don’t let that affect me mentally,” he said.

Scirrotto declined to talk about the pending legal case and said he doesn’t know whether Paterno plans to bench him for any games as additional punishment. Paterno said Saturday that he still hasn’t decided.

“It was tough because it was something that I’d never been through before,” said Scirrotto, surrounded by a horde of microphones and cameras. “But you learn from it, you grow up, become a man.”

Landis crashes but
finishes 2nd in race

LEADVILLE, Colo. — Floyd Landis finished second in a mountain bike race Saturday despite a crash that left last year’s disgraced Tour de France champion with a bloody right leg.

Landis, unable to defend his 2006 Tour title because of a positive drug test, was runner-up to five-time winner Dave Wiens in the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race in this old mining town.

Landis, riding on a surgically repaired hip, had scrapes on his elbows and forearms and bandages on three fingers. His leg was wrapped in blood-soaked gauze from just above his knee to his hip.

He said he went down about an hour into the 100-mile race while going downhill. Landis’ career began in mountain biking.

“I’m never going to do this again,” he joked, then added: “I’m glad I came and did this. I really enjoyed it.”

Landis finished in 7 hours, 30 seconds. Wiens was timed in 6:58.47, the first rider to break seven hours in the event.

After finishing, Landis took a sip of water and got back on his bike. He then rode to a nearby house, where he and his wife were staying, to treat his wounds.

Leadville 100 organizers had hoped to also land seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong in the field of 1,000 mountain bikers.

Landis’ cycling career has been in limbo since he tested positive for synthetic testosterone at last year’s Tour. He is awaiting the findings of an arbitration panel.

Landis rode for charity at the Teva Mountain Games in Colorado two months ago, his first real race of any kind since his victory ride down the Champs-Elysees in Paris last July. He finished nearly 25 minutes behind the winner in a two-hour grind through the mountains of Vail.

Pair rally to win
Manhattan Beach

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. — Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor rallied from a one-set deficit in the semifinals and final on Saturday to win the Manhattan Beach Open for a record-tying fourth time.

Manhattan Beach is considered the most prestigious tournament in pro beach volleyball.

In the final, they beat Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh, 15-21, 14-7 (forfeit), 15-12. Walsh and May-Treanor are 5-0 in finals vs. Youngs and Branagh this season.

The men will play their semifinals and final on Sunday.

Walsh and May-Treanor, the top-ranked team in the world and the reigning Olympic gold medalists, tied the women’s team record for most Manhattan Beach titles. The record was originally set by Nina Grouwinkel Matthies and Linda Robertson Hanley from 1980 to 1986.

Walsh and May-Treanor also won their 10th straight AVP Tour event. The only time they failed to win an event they entered was the season opener at Miami, when Youngs and Branagh prevailed.

On Saturday, the momentum changed in the second set.

Vindicator staff⁄wire reports