LOCAL

LOCAL

All-Ohio softball

Poland senior shorstop Ashley Conger was named first team all-Ohio in Division II after helping the Bulldogs reach the regional final this spring.

Conger will play volleyball at Fairmont (W.Va.) State this fall.

Mooney senior Mara Palombaro and West Branch senior Bri Benedict each made honorable mention in Div. II.

Canfield junior first baseman Melissa West, whose Cardinals lost to eventual state champion Hudson in the regional semifinals, was named to the second team in Div. I.

Ursuline freshman pitcher Casey Lower, who helped the Irish reach the regional final, was second team in Div. II. Jackson Milton senior Krista Kiraly made the second team in Div. IV, while Western Reserve senior McKenzie Mowery was honorable mention.

Timko wins Callaway
PGA junior event

MANSFIELD — Boo Timko of Girard shot rounds of 70-72 to finish two under par to win the Callaway PGA junior golf tournament at Westbrook Country Club.

Timko was competing in the 13-15 age division.

Timko will compete in the Optimist International Tournament in West Palm Beach, Florida later this month. He qualified for that meet by winning at Deer Creek in Hubbard and placing second at the state tournament in Dayton with a 74.

PNC Park to host
Yo. Community Night

PITTSBURGH — Youngstown Community Night will be held Aug. 14 at PNC Park.

The New York Mets will be playing the Pittsburgh Pirates at 7:05 p.m. Transportation will be provided by Anderson Coach and Travel.

For details call (412) 325-4797.

NATION

Tonsils stop Oden

PORTLAND, Ore. — Top draft pick Greg Oden needs to have his tonsils removed and is expected to miss the rest of the Portland Trail Blazers’ summer league games.

After he tapes the ESPY awards in Los Angeles, he will undergo a tonsillectomy Saturday, at the Vancouver Clinic in nearby Vancouver, Wash., the team said.

Recovery time is expected to be two to three weeks.

“Greg felt that this was the right decision to make in the interests of his health, and we support that decision 100 percent,” Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said. “The sooner he gets the procedure done, the sooner he can get back on the court at full strength.”

Oden, a 7-foot center who played one season at Ohio State, was the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

In his summer league debut, Oden scored six points and had two rebounds before leaving with 10 fouls, the maximum allowed in the summer league.

In his second game against Dallas, a fatigued Oden finished with 13 points, five rebounds and nine fouls. The Mavericks won 72-68.

Oden will miss Sunday’s matchup with Seattle that would have pitted him against No. 2 pick Kevin Durant.

“They’ll make more money during the regular season,” Oden jokingly said earlier this week.

Johnson among nine
headed to OSU hall

COLUMBUS — Bruising fullback Pete Johnson, a part of four Big Ten championship teams, heads a class of nine people who will be inducted into the Ohio State athletics hall of fame, the school said Tuesday. Johnson held a number of Buckeyes rushing and scoring records by the time he was finished. As a junior in 1975, he led the nation in scoring with a Big Ten- and school-record 26 touchdowns. Johnson also set the school’s scoring mark with 30 points against Illinois and with 156 points in a season. His five TDs against North Carolina in 1975 is still the Buckeyes record.

Joining him in the class of 2007 are Andy Dumpis (volleyball), Ivan Gilbert (fencing), Marv Homan (administration), Kristy Dascoli (tennis), Yelena Kalkina (fencing), Conny Kirsch (rowing), Susan Mallery (cross country⁄track and field) and Anna Smith (softball). The class will be inducted in two ceremonies on Sept. 7 and will be introduced at halftime of Ohio State’s football game on Sept. 8 against Akron.

With this class, the athletic hall will have 301 members.

Blue Jackets sign 4
players to contracts

COLUMBUS — The Blue Jackets re-signed left wings Curtis Glencross and Joakim Lindstrom, center Andrew Murray and right wing Steve Goertzen to contracts on Tuesday.

Glencross, Lindstrom and Murray signed one-year deals, while Goertzen’s was for two years.

Glencross, 24, had a goal in nine NHL games last season and was scoreless in seven outings with the Blue Jackets after joining the club from the Anaheim Ducks in January. He spent most of the season in the American Hockey League, where he had 25 goals and 26 assists in 60 games.

HR Derby ratings
down slightly

SAN FRANCISCO — Television ratings for baseball’s All-Star Home Run Derby dropped slightly from last year.

Monday night’s contest, won by the Los Angeles Angels’ Vladimir Guerrero, received a 5.1 rating on ESPN, the network said Tuesday. That was down 6 percent from the 5.4 rating for last year’s derby in Pittsburgh but above the 4.9 rating for the 2005 derby in Detroit.

ESPN estimated 6.8 million viewers tuned in Monday night.

Vindicator staff⁄wire reports