AREA

AREA
SteelHounds helpwith jersey raffle
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown SteelHounds will hold a jersey raffle to benefit the United Way after tonight's game at the Chevrolet Centre.
The SteelHounds host the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs at 7:05 p.m.
The jersey will be a special Elvis edition jersey that the team wore during their December 29-39 games. Raffle tickets will cost 1 and be available at the SteelHounds Team Store located in the main concourse of the Chevy Centre.
The winning raffle ticket will be announced during the third period and posted on www.steelhounds.com immediately following the contest.
Proceeds fwill go towards the United Way's Rally for the Valley which will be seen Monday from 6-8 p.m. on WYTV Channel 33.
The Rally for the Valley is a collaborate effort between the five area United Way branches including Mahoning, Trumbull and Northern Columbiana counties in Ohio and Mercer and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania. The rally is a business blitz and phone-a-thon that is conducted in an effort to wrap up the branches 2006 campaign.
Girls basketball
COLUMBIANA -- Chelsea Bowker scored 30 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and had six blocks and five assists to lead the Crestview High girls basketball team to a 64-35 win over South Range in an Inter Tri-County League game on Friday.
Elyse Mongillo had 25 points, eight steals and six assists for the Rebels (11-2), who outscored the Raiders 23-10 in the third quarter to pull away.
Autumn Carter scored 16 points to lead South Range.
Sorenstam deniesplans to quit
Annika Sorenstam said a Swedish newspaper took out of context her plans to quit golf and have children.
"I am not announcing my retirement and I am not announcing the start of a family," Sorenstam said Friday. "I am very much looking forward to the start of the 2007 season and the various business ventures that I've become involved in."
She issued a statement through her agent, Mark Steinberg of IMG, because both were inundated with calls about a story in the Aftonbladet that quoted the Swedish star as saying, "I'm pretty tired of golf. I want to have kids, and if we decide to do that, the time is now and I probably can't combine that with a golf career."
The 36-year-old Sorenstam is dating Mike McGee, a golf agent and son of former PGA Tour player Jerry McGee of East Palestine. She divorced David Esch two years ago.
She won three times last year on the LPGA Tour, including the U.S. Women's Open for her 10th career major, and remains No. 1 in the women's world ranking. But it was her least productive season since 1999, and 24-year-old Lorena Ochoa ended Sorenstam's five-year run as the LPGA player of the year.
Sorenstam first dropped retirement hints at the end of the 2002 season, saying she had other interest and one day wanted to start a family. She played in the Colonial the next year, becoming the first woman in 58 years to compete on the PGA Tour, completed the career Grand Slam and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
REGION
Blue Jacketsdemote pair
COLUMBUS -- The Columbus Blue Jackets assigned forward Joe Motzko and defenseman Filip Novak to Syracuse of the AHL on Friday night.
The moves were announced shortly after Columbus' 3-1 victory over Detroit.
Motzko had a goal in seven games with the Blue Jackets this season, getting his first career NHL score at Chicago on Jan. 16. He has 11 goals and 23 assists in 31 games with Syracuse this season.
Novak was scoreless in six games with Columbus this season. He has three goals and 23 assists in 35 games with Syracuse.
NATION
Rose stays hotin desert event
THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. -- Justin Rose refused to let a cold, windy day in the desert cool off his game, shooting a 6-under 66 to take a two-stroke lead through three rounds of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.
Rose, who grew up in England, went to 18-under 198 during a round when the weather in the usually warm resort area resembled a chilly day at the British Open.
Scott Verplank, tied with Rose heading into the third round of the five-day event, shot a 68 to drop to second.
Afternoon temperatures dipped into the low 50s, with swirling wind adding to the chill.
The four courses used for the first four days of the Hope generally yield extremely low scores, but conditions kept scoring more pedestrian during the third round.
Bernhard Langer was a notable exception, with his 9-under 63 vaulting him into a tie for 13th at 10 under. He highlighted his round at Bermuda Dunes with an ace, knocking a 7-iron into the cup on the 170-yard seventh.
The 26-year-old Rose, who was born in Johannesburg and lives in London, had an eagle, five birdies and a bogey at PGA West.
He joined the PGA Tour full-time in 2004, and his best finish in the 96 events he's played was a tie for second last year in the Texas Open. Rose has won five international tournaments, including last year's Australian Masters.
Vindicator staff/wire reports