Varsity spring sports schedules needed

local

Schedules needed

The Vindicator requests varsity spring sports schedules from high school athletic directors. They can be emailed to sports@vindy.com, faxed to (330) 747-6712, or mailed to Sports Editor, The Vindicator, P.O. Box 780, Youngstown 44501-0780.

Youth Phantoms win

BOARDMAN — The Phantom Fireworks Mite A team outscored four opponents 23-8 to win the Mite March Madness hockey tournament.

The Phantoms opened with a 7-2 triumph over the Pittsburgh Vipers. Drew Murphy and Stone Elias combined for four goals in the second period.

The Phantoms beat the host team, Parma A3, 5-0 as Elias scored twice and added an assist. The Phantoms then defeated the Rocky River Pirates 7-6.

Binko receives notice

Lake Erie College junior first/third baseman Brittney Binko (Warren JFK) was named Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference softball player of the week.

Binko led the Storm with 10 RBIs during the eight-game Sun West Tournament in Orange, Calif. She went 11-for-25 with two doubles, one home run and four walks. The highlight of her week came in a win against Bethany in which she went 3-for-4 with five RBIs. Binko was named player of the week twice as a freshman and once last season.

nation

U.S. Soccer loaded

Although winning a medal at the Summer Olympics has not yet been attainable, qualifying for the quadrennial event has traditionally not been much of a problem for the United States.

As the U. S. takes the field in an attempt to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, though, the team may be reminded of what happened the last time the U. S. tried to qualify.

In 2004, a Landon Donovan-led U. S. squad crashed out of qualifying by losing 4-0 to Mexico and failed to qualify for the Olympics for the first time since 1976. Still, coaches and players are not necessarily focused on history.

“I’m not a guy who looks over my shoulder at what happened in the past,” U. S. coach Peter Nowak said in a conference call last week. “We are moving forward at what will happen next. From the beginning, this group’s ultimate goal would be to qualify for the Olympics. We know from the beginning the pressure is going to be there, especially when we play at home in front of our fans.”

Nome readies for Iditarod finale

NOME, Alaska — This old gold rush town is almost ready for the grand finale of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. About all that’s left is waiting to see whose dogs make it into town first.

The burled arch that marks the end of the 1,100-mile trek has been moved to Front Street from its usual storage place behind City Hall. The fist musher is due to cross the finish line late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Only two likely contenders remained on the lead. The last two men to win the Iditarod — Lance Mackey of Fairbanks and four-time champion Jeff King of Denali Park — were running a very tight race on the last leg of the race to Nome.

“It’s a two-way race. Right now it looks like either Jeff or Lance, but a lot of things can happen,” said Dale Myers, a longtime volunteer who was hanging Iditarod sponsor banners along the snow-packed chute leading to the finish line.

Three hurt when Iditarod plane crashes

NOME, Alaska — Three volunteers working the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race are being flown to Nome for medical treatment after their small plane went down.

Alaska State Troopers say the three were on board a Cessna 180 used by the Iditarod air force, pilots who volunteer their time and planes for the 1,100-mile race. Trooper Sgt. Andrew Merrill says the injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

Merrill says the plane went down Tuesday about 16 miles outside of White Mountain, a checkpoint 77 miles from the Nome finish line. The cause of the mishap is unknown.

world

FIFA president sides with stadium builders

ZURICH, Switzerland — FIFA president Sepp Blatter showed his solidarity with construction workers readying 10 stadiums in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup.

Blatter met with South African trade union leaders Tuesday and said he wanted the workers to be treated fairly.

“Although FIFA is not the employer or the builder responsible for constructing the stadiums, it is well aware of its social responsibility in connection with the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and is also keeping an eye on it,” Blatter said.

Stadium construction is managed by the 2010 organizing committee, with most of the expected $1 billion in costs met by the government.

Blatter has made several visits to monitor construction and has made repeated assurances the stadiums will be ready when the tournament opens June 11, 2010.

Work on Moses Madhiba Stadium in Durban was held up by a strike last November, two weeks before the qualifying draw was held in the city.

Vindicator staff/wire reports