Sports digest

area

All-PAC honors

WEXFORD, Pa. — Eleven area student athletes, including four from Westminster College and three from Thiel, have been named to the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll for the fall semester of 2008.

The Westminster selections were Dana Griesmer, Canfield, tennis, volleyball; Adam Griffith, Warren Harding, cross country, history; Ryan Konik, Canfield, soccer, chemistry; and April Scudere, Brookfield, junior, tennis, mathematics.

The Thiel picks were Lynnette Enterline, Crestview, volleyball, neuroscience; Megan Kay, Liberty, volleyball, elementary education; and Allison Wynn, East Liverpool, cross country, accounting and business administration.

Also, Washington & Jefferson’s Mario Nigro, Canfield, soccer, undeclared major; and Bobby Swallow, West Branch, football, business; Waynesburg’s Rachell Storm, Crestview, volleyball, communications; and Geneva’s Nicole Okerlund, cross country, biology, Champion.

Pirates’ uniforms

PITTSBURGH — Red is out, black is in and the sleeves are attached again to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ jerseys.

The Pirates are restoring sleeves to all jerseys except the white pinstriped tops worn during Sunday afternoon home games. The sleeves will be on both the primary home and away jerseys, along with a Pirates logo on the left shoulder.

The Pirates returned to wearing vest-style jerseys without sleeves when they opened PNC Park in 2001. The sleeveless tops were first worn in 1957, then discarded when the Pirates moved into Three Rivers Stadium at midseason in 1970.

The new alternate uniforms will feature black tops with a gold “P” emblem displayed on the left chest. They replace red jerseys that were worn for the last two seasons and were not popular with the fans or players.

Cavs sign Williams

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward Jawad Williams to a second 10-day contract.

Williams, who played at Lakewood St. Edward High School and on North Carolina’s national championship team in 2005, has appeared in six games for the Cavaliers, who played at Golden State on Friday night.

He was waived on Jan. 7 before signing his first 10-day deal on Jan. 12.

nation

Soccer tuneup

CARSON, Calif. — Nearly all the regular starters will be missing when the United States plays Sweden tonight in a tuneup for next month’s World Cup qualifier against Mexico.

While the stars remain with their European clubs, U.S. coach Bob Bradley will use a roster that includes seven players who haven’t made their international debuts.

Forward Brian Ching and midfielder Sacha Kljestan are the only players available from the lineup that who started in October’s World Cup qualifier against Cuba, the last match that really mattered for the Americans. Nearly all of the players, who have been training for the past three weeks, are from Major League Soccer.

Big A feature

NEW YORK — Quip held off the onrushing Run With the Lark by a half length Friday to capture the $48,000 allowance feature at Aqueduct.

Quip gained a slight lead on the final turn and battled gamely the rest of the way for his third win in 13 starts. The 4-year-old, making his first start since mid October at Keeneland, ran the one mile, 70 yards in 1:42.02 on the fast track.

Richard Migliore rode for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin as Quip, the 2-1 favorite, paid $6.90, $3.50 and $3.40. Run With the Lark returned $4.70 and $4.10.

world

Armstrong comeback

ADELAIDE, Australia — Lance Armstrong forgot about his own comeback after a hot ride through the Adelaide Hills on Friday, instead turning his attention to the return of Floyd Landis from a doping suspension.

Armstrong was recovering from the fourth stage of the Tour Down Under, where he’s 38th among 124 riders and 39 seconds off the lead, when the seven-time Tour De France winner endorsed Landis’ planned return to cycling in February’s Tour of California.

There was mild irony that Armstrong began his day with a doping test and ended it discussing Landis, “a friend of mine and former teammate” whose failed doping test after victory in the 2006 Tour de France led to a two-year competitive exile.

Vonn out front

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Overall World Cup leader Lindsey Vonn led a World Cup downhill training session Friday after three days of cancellations because of fog and snow.

Vonn posted her first podium finish on the Olympia delle Tofane course in 2004 and won the prestigious downhill last year. She has five top-three finishes overall on the course. Vonn clocked 1 minute, 17.36 seconds on a shortened course. Andrea Fischbacher of Austria was second fastest, 0.22 seconds behind, and Kelly Vanderbeek of Canada was third.

Vindicator staff/wire reports