LOCAL

LOCAL
Yarab commitsto Air Force
YOUNGSTOWN -- Ursuline High School senior running back Matt Yarab committed to the Air Force Academy Tuesday where he will continue his football career.
Yarab led the Steel Valley Conference in rushing during the regular season with 1,161 yards. He also led the Irish in scoring, splitting time at running back and quarterback, and had more than 230 tackles at linebacker in three seasons on defense.
Yarab, an Honor Roll student with a 3.85 grade point average, also had offers from the Naval Academy and several Mid-American Conference schools.
"He's a throwback-type player," said Ursuline coach Dan Reardon. "He's a tough, hard-nosed player who came to work every day, whether it was a practice or a game. You always knew what you were going to get from him and that's a great effort."
Public invitedto Pavlik event
YOUNGSTOWN -- A press conference featuring middleweight contender Kelly Pavlik will be held Thursday at Nicolinni's Restaurant, 1912 S. Raccoon Rd., previewing his upcoming fight with Jose Luis Zertuche Jan. 27 in Anaheim, Calif.
The event, scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m., is open to the public.
The Pavlik-Zertuche fight, a 10-rounder, will be televised on HBO and is scheduled to begin at 10:15 p.m.
Salinas, Chaconwin regionals
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Boxers Alejandro "Popo" Salinas and Richard Chacon, both members of the Southside Boxing Club in Youngstown, won regional championships in the Silver Gloves boxing tournament last weekend to advance to national competition.
Salinas won a three-round decision over Raheem Alexander of Michigan to win his weight class championship, while Chacon took his weight class by a walkover.
Salinas used relentless pressure and landed solid power punches against Alexander. Salinas took control from the opening bell and never let up.
Salinas and Chacon, trained by Jack Loew, will compete in the National Silver Gloves Championships slated Feb. 1-4 in Kansas City, Mo.
REGION
Baseball roundup
*CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Indians signed reliever Rafael Betancourt to a one-year, 840,000 contract Tuesday, avoiding arbitration.
Betancourt was 3-4 with a 3.81 ERA in 50 appearances for the Indians last season. The right-hander finished the season strong with a 1.10 ERA over his final 13 games.
The Indians reached a preliminary agreement Monday with outfielder Jason Michaels on a 4.25 million, two-year contract.
Right-hander Jason Davis is the last member of the club's 40-man roster eligible for arbitration.
*PITTSBURGH -- Left-handed closer Mike Gonzalez and outfielder Xavier Nady bypassed arbitration by agreeing Tuesday to one-year contracts with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
NL batting champion Freddy Sanchez is the most prominent of the Pirates' five arbitration-eligible players. The infielder filed for 3.1 million, about nine times his 2006 salary of 342,000.
The Pirates countered with 2.15 million, and the sides can settle before the case goes to a hearing. Sanchez hit .344 to become the Pirates' first batting champion since Bill Madlock in 1983.
Gonzalez will make 2.35 million, up from his 347,000 salary of last season. Gonzalez was 3-4 with a 2.17 ERA and converted all 24 of his save opportunities before sitting out the final five weeks with a sore elbow. Nady gets a 2.15 million deal after earning 1,077,000 last year. Acquired from the Mets in a July 31 trade for pitchers Oliver Perez and Roberto Hernandez, Nady hit .300 with three homers and 23 RBIs in 55 games with Pittsburgh. He had a .264 average with 14 homers and 40 RBIs in 75 games with New York.
Also unsigned are outfielder Jody Gerut, who missed most of the last two seasons with knee injuries; right-hander Shawn Chacon, second baseman Jose Castillo and left-handed reliever John Grabow.
Castillo filed for 2.2 million, while the Pirates countered with 1.8 million. Gerut wants 925,000, which is 125,000 more than the Pirates' offer. Grabow is seeking 925,000, with the Pirates offering 765,000.
Chacon, obtained from the Yankees in the late-season Craig Wilson trade, wants 4.25 million, while the Pirates countered with 3.7 million. Chacon made 3.6 million while going a combined 7-6 with a 6.36 ERA for the Yankees and Pirates. He was 2-3 with a 5.48 ERA in nine games with Pittsburgh.
NASCAR's Parsons,65, dies
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Benny Parsons made a career of beating the odds, rising up from a childhood of poverty in the North Carolina foothills to a job as a Detroit cabbie, and eventually, becoming a NASCAR champion.
When he was diagnosed with lung cancer, Parsons had every reason to believe he would beat that, too. But despite a battle that saw "BP" carrying an oxygen tank around the race track, Parsons couldn't win this fight.
He died Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C., where he had been hospitalized since Dec. 26 because of complications from his treatment. He was 65.
Vindicator staff/wire reports