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Phantoms tickets now on sale

YOUNGSTOWN — Season tickets for the Mahoning Valley Phantoms are on sale at the club’s offices at 360 McClurg Road in Boardman.

The ticket packages include all games at the Chevrolet Centre and the Ice Zone.

The Phantoms will play 21 games at the downtown arena and six games at the McClurg Road location.

The ticket package also includes two games at the Chevy Centre and five at the Ice Zone that are part of the NAHL North Division Showcase and won’t include the Phantoms.

Prices range from $218.50 to $602.50 per seat. There is also a 10-game flex plan available.

The Phantoms will provide a 15 percent discount on season ticket packages purchased before Oct. 23.

For more information call Terri Fannon (330-965-7500) at the Phantoms.

Johnstone wins first club championship

COLUMBIANA — Dave Johnstone Jr., of Mineral Ridge shot a 7-under-par 63 to capture his first club championship at Valley Golf Club.

He beat a field of 39 golfers. His closest competitor was Nathan Keagy of Leetonia, who shot 68, and last year’s champion, Tony Perry, with a 69. Joe Davis won the B division, shooting a gross 83 and a low net of 69.

Correction

BOARDMAN — Boardman High cross country runner Ryan Dunn finished eighth during the Spartans’ victory Tuesday.

In Wednesday’s paper, Dunn’s first name was incorrectly listed as Brian. Ryan Dunn’s time was 18:10.

nation

Oden makes strong preseason debut

PORTLAND, Ore. — Greg Oden announced his delayed arrival to the NBA with a dunk two minutes into the preseason.

Oden debuted to a standing ovation, as did the rest of the young Portland Trail Blazers, in a 110-81 exhibition victory over the Sacramento Kings recently. Oden finished with 13 points in just under 20 minutes.

“The big fella is a beast, man,” teammate Brandon Roy said.

Oden was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, but his rookie season was postponed when he needed microfracture on his right knee. He was held out all of last season.

Nice breeze welcomes Cup trimaran

SAN DIEGO — BMW Oracle Racing got a picture-postcard day and a nice breeze as it began the second phase of testing aboard the massive trimaran that might be used in the next America’s Cup.

“It was a really nice day for sailing in San Diego,” tactician John Kostecki said after the triple-hulled boat, which measures 90 feet by 90 feet, returned to its berth around sunset. “We had like 16 to 18 knots of wind, which is pretty unusual for around here.”

With the fate of the next America’s Cup tied up in a New York court, BMW Oracle Racing continues to test the black craft that dwarfs its crew.

McCarver won’t mince words on Manny

PHILADELPHIA — Be sure of this much: When Manny Ramirez walks to the plate for the first time Thursday night for the Dodgers, Fox analyst and former Phillie Tim McCarver won’t pull his punches. Never has, never will.

“It’s extraordinary — the dichotomy between what he was in Boston and what he is in Los Angeles,” McCarver said. “I mean, talk about wearing out your welcome in a town, and it was a long welcome with the Red Sox. But some of the things he did were simply despicable, “despicable — like not playing, refusing to play. Forgetting what knee to limp on. And now it’s washed, it’s gone.”

Not gone in Boston, McCarver said, but he gives Ramirez his complete due for what he’s done in L.A.

“A rejuvenated Manny, I think it would be fair to say,” McCarver said, sitting in the Phillies dugout.

Broadway Joe is Brett Favre fan

BETHPAGE, N.Y. — Disappointed by Brett Favre’s 2-2 start with the Jets? Joe Namath isn’t.

Broadway Joe preached patience with his former team and their new quarterback, saying you never can tell how long the getting-to-know-everyone process will take.

“We all know what Brett Favre can do,” Namath said. “We’ve seen him do it. It’s a team game. If our team can rally around Brett, you’re in the hunt. But it’s an entire team game and Brett’s going to need that help.”

In other words, Namath wasn’t making any guarantees about anything . . . except that it will take more than Favre to win.

Speaking before his annual charity golf tournament at Bethpage State Park, Namath said he’s “been a Brett Favre fan for quite some time.”

But the NFL season isn’t like a game of Madden ’09 on Xbox. It takes more than simply adding Favre to your roster to turn a 4-12 team into a Super Bowl contender.