YSU

YSU

Three Penguins listed
by Sports Network

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State has three players listed in the annual FCS Sports Network position rankings.

Highlighting the rankings is junior defensive tackle Mychal Savage, who has been tabbed the top player at his position.

Altogether five YSU players received preseason mention.

Joining Savage in the top-five rankings are senior Louis Irizarry, who is the third-ranked tight end, and junior guard Brad Samsa, who is the fourth ranked player at his position.

Senior linebacker James Terry was picked as the ninth-best linebacker.

Earlier this summer, the service proclaimed senior quarterback Tom Zetts as the 12th-ranked signal caller in the nation.

Savage, a first-team All-Gateway pick as a sophomore, had an impressive campaign last year. He finished with 54 total tackles, including 5.5 for losses.

Irizarry caught 25 passes for 304 yards in his first year with the program in 2006.

Samsa was a second-team all-conference pick in his first year as a full-time starter.

Terry is a two-time first-team All-Gateway pick. He had 76 tackles last year, including 10.5 for losses and 5.5 sacks.

Zetts enters the campaign with most career school quarterbacking records within his grasp. In his three years as a starter, he has 44 touchdown passes, 817 pass attempts, 481 completions, 5,788 yards, 11 200-yard games and a completion percentage of 58.9.

LOCAL

McDonald board says
“Keep off the grass”

McDONALD — The McDonald board of education and school administrators are asking that individuals temporarily stay off the football field, track and practice field between SIxth and Seventh Streets.

The fields have recently been re-seeded. Gates will be locked and barricade tape will remain up until the fields can be used again.

Children’s choir
has Father’s Day show

AUSTINTOWN — The ROCcK children’s choir performed the national anthem at the start of a Father’s Day racing event.

ROCcK stands for Raising Our Commitment to Cancer Kids. The choir is comprised of survivors, siblings, friends and those touched by cancer ages 4-17. The group also made a financial donation to the Victory Junction Gang.

Deskin races to fifth
place at national meet

BOARDMAN — Boardman's Sam Deskin finished fifth in the freshman mile at the Nike Outdoor National Track & Field Championships.

Deskin's time of four minutes, 28.8 seconds is a personal best and a freshman record at Boardman High School.

Deskin also holds Boardman's freshman record in the 3,200 meters at 9:59.

NATION

AT&T announces
extension with RCR

ATLANTA — One day after NASCAR made a legal request for permission to remove AT&T from the Nextel Cup series in 2008, AT&T made a strong statement it plans to stick around.

AT&T announced it has exercised an option for a three-year extension with Richard Childress Racing to remain the primary sponsor of Jeff Burton’s No. 31 car through the 2010 season. Financial terms were not announced.

Burton, meanwhile, has agreed on a contract extension with RCR.

AT&T’s announcement followed another legal move by NASCAR, which continues to try to protect its 10-year, $700 million primary sponsorship deal with Nextel. NASCAR claims the arrangement was designed to give Nextel exclusive rights among telecommunications companies.

U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob issued a preliminary injunction last month that allowed the Cingular logos on Burton’s Chevrolet to be changed to AT&T markings.

Shoob also barred NASCAR and any entity affiliated with it from interfering with AT&T’s rights as primary sponsor of the car in the Nextel Cup series. On Sunday, NASCAR asked for a minimum of $100 million in damages in a counter claim against AT&T Inc. The suit also asks that NASCAR be granted the right to kick AT&T — and all telecommunications companies other than Nextel — out of its top series in 2008.

Vindicator staff⁄wire reports