LOCAL

LOCAL

Cage fighting at Chevy Centre

YOUNGSTOWN — King of the Cage comes to the Chevrolet Centre Jan. 17 at 8 p.m.

Tickets range from $20-$100.

Scheduled bouts include Micah Bender vs. Mitch Whitesel, Brandon Ezzo vs. John Fields, Jim Bundy vs. Victor O’Donnell, Curtis Hall vs. Bogner, Chris Canale vs. Brian Rogers and Tony Abbate vs. Mike Wilkins.

Two other professional bouts and 10 amateur matches will also be held. The card and schedule are subject to change.)

Tickets go on sale Saturday at 11 a.m. at Ticketmaster.com and Ticketmaster locations, including Giant Eagle and Macy’s, or by phone at 800-745-3000, and at the Chevrolet Centre box office.

AREA

Clark named all-region

GROVE CITY, Pa. — Grove City College junior defensive tackle Tony Clark was named third team All-South by D3Football.com.

A 6-foot-4, 265-pound three-year letterman, Clark had 48 tackles this season, including 7.5 for loss. Clark also had 4.5 quarterback sacks and forced a fumble.

PAC sportsmanship awards announced

WEXFORD, Pa. — The following teams received the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Sportsmanship Awards for fall sports:

Saint Vincent, men’s cross country; Waynesburg, women’s cross country; Thiel, football; Grove City, men’s and women’s soccer; Thomas More, women’s tennis, and Bethany, volleyball.

Horvath named all-region soccer

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. — The National Soccer Coaches Association of America named Westminster senior Garrett Horvath to the Division III All-Mid-Atlantic Region Team.

Horvath was named to the second team as a midfielder. He tied for second in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference with a team-high 12 goals, while also ranking third in points (29). Game of Hope classic Jan. 24

YOUNGSTOWN — The Hope Foundation of the Mahoning Valley & Accent Media will present the Game of Hope Charity Classic Jan. 24 at Beeghly Center.

Sponsors are WKBN-TV (27) and WYFX (17/62), radio stations 95.9 KISS-Fm and MIX 98.9, Northeastern Ohio Education Association (NEOEA), GM-Lordstown Complex, UAW Local 1714 & 1112 (GM-Lordstown) and the Lamar Advertising Company.

The Game of Hope Classic is a celebrity-benefit basketball game that benefits the children of the Mahoning Valley and the surrounding areas that are chronically/terminally ill children.

The event is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on 17/62 on Feb. 8 at 5 p.m.

Donations are being accepted on-line, mail or by stopping at any Home Savings and Loan Bank.

Pirates spring sked covers 39 days

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates’ busiest spring training schedule since they moved their camp to Bradenton, Fla., in 1969 includes 35 games against major league teams, two other exhibitions and three off days.

The stretched-out spring training, expanded by the World Baseball Classic and the late start to the regular season, begins with a Feb. 25 exhibition against the World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies in Bradenton. The last exhibition game is April 4 against Minnesota in Fort Myers.

NATION

More people playing tennis

NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly 27 million people played tennis in the United States this year, the most since 1993, according to the U.S. Tennis Association and the Tennis Industry Association.

Participation grew by more than seven percent from 25.1 million last year, the USTA and TIA announced Thursday. It has grown nearly 12 percent since 2003.

Cavs’ James third in All-Star ballots

NEW YORK (AP) — Orlando center Dwight Howard leads early balloting for the NBA All-Star game with 775,933 votes and is followed by Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers’ star, has 719,252 votes and Cleveland’s James has 643,786, according to early returns released by the league on Thursday.

Boston’s Kevin Garnett trails James among Eastern Conference forwards.

Vindicator staff/wire