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Benefit dinner

AUSTINTOWN — Austintown Middle School will hold a spaghetti benefit dinner for longtime Fitch pole vault coach Joe Hammond from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today. Hammond is battling pancreatic cancer and proceeds will go toward his medical expenses.

Tickets are $7.50 for adults and $5 for children. There will also be a Chinese auction.

Curbstoners

BOARDMAN — Bob Laricca, former Warren Western Reserve boys basketball coach, will be the guest speaker of the Curbstone Coaches on Monday at the Blue Wolf Catering Center.

The luncheon begins at noon.

Bocce champs

YOUNGSTOWN — Fernando’s Wedgewood Pizza won the Pacentrani City Bocce League Championship for the fifth time in the last eight years by defeating Allied Locksmith.

Members of the Wedgewood team are Bob Camardo, Gene Russo, Tom George, George Panno, Nick Gentile, Dominic Infante and Tony Sorbara.

Camardo, Russo, and George also won the Arco Club Bocce Championship this year.

Hole in one

BROOKFIELD — Tom Hart of McDonald shot a hole in one at Yankee Run course on the 184-yard, No. 2 hole with a hybrid wood.

It was the first ace of Hart’s career and the first for the season at Yankee Run.

Hart was in a foursome with Rich Daugherty, Dave Houck and Ed Mayfield.

nation

Nicanor runs 2nd

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. — Barbaro’s little brother is still waiting for his first win.

Nicanor finished second in an eight-horse maiden race Saturday at Gulfstream Park, falling short of breaking his maiden for the third straight time.

A full brother to the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner, who was badly injured in the Preakness and eventually succumbed several months later, Nicanor simply couldn’t run down Glittermans Cartel in the stretch. The 3-5 favorite finished second for the second straight outing.

He was 10th in his debut after taking a misstep at the start of a race Jan. 31.

Old horse to race

OKLAHOMA CITY — At an age when some quarter horses are finished racing, Silent Cash Dasher was just getting started. More than a decade later, he’s still running — and setting records.

When the 16-year-old gelding leaves the starting gate today night in the 250-yard Remington Dash at Remington Park, he’ll become the oldest quarter horse to race in the U.S., according to the American Quarter Horse Association in Amarillo, Texas.

The AQHA said the Oklahoma-bred son of Dash Easy last year became the oldest quarter horse to win in the U.S. In fact, he won three races at age 15 — one each at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Fair Meadows in Tulsa and Blue Ribbon Downs in Sallisaw.

Women soccer opens

CARSON, Calif. — Soccer has carried Shannon Boxx around the world. She’s now ready for a different sort of adventure.

Boxx will line up at midfield today for the Los Angeles Sol in the first game of a new league — Women’s Professional Soccer.

The Sol, who feature three-time world player of the year Marta, face the Washington Freedom.

The seven-team WPS hopes to succeed where the Women’s United Soccer Association didn’t.

Alysheba euthanized

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Alysheba, winner of the 1987 Kentucky Derby and Preakness and chosen 1988 Horse of the Year, has died. The champion stallion was 25.

The charismatic star, dubbed “America’s Horse” by racing fans, Alysheba was euthanized Friday night following a fall in his stall at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Hall of Champions, where he was buried Saturday.

Madoff Citi Field seats on market?

NEW YORK — The prime Citi Field seats of Bernard Madoff’s company could soon be available.

The New York Mets season tickets, just behind home plate, will likely be resold by the trustee for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

“We have no intention of not monetizing them and letting them go unused,” trustee Irving H. Picard said Saturday in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “When we have something to announce, we will do so.”

Cross-country pursuit

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Leif Zimmermann won the men’s 30K pursuit national title and Elizabeth Stephen the women’s 15K title at the U.S. Distance Cross Country Championships.

Zimmermann finished second in 1:27:40, trailing Canadian Ivan Babikov by 1:37. James Southam (1:28:38) and Lars Flora (1:28:52) finished third and fourth.

Stephen finished in 47:36.3. She was followed by Kristina Strandberg (47:52) and Kikkan Randall (48:01). Randall recently became the first American woman to win a cross-country medal at the world championships, taking silver in the individual sprint.

Chambers tops Peter

LOS ANGELES — It took him a year, but Eddie Chambers is back in title conversation.

Chambers landed solid straight punches all night, outboxing former heavyweight champion Samuel Peter to win a majority decision Friday at the Nokia Theatre.

Chambers, who’s won four straight since losing an IBF title eliminator, turned it up in the ninth round, landing several hard shots and cutting Peter (30-2, 23 KOs) on his lower lip.

world

Pendleton edges Kanis

PRUSZKOW, Poland — Victoria Pendleton edged Willy Kanis of the Netherlands to win the women’s individual cycling sprint title Saturday at the track world championships.

It was the third consecutive world sprint crown and fourth overall for Pendleton, but the British sprinter called the victory “one of the greatest accomplishments” of her career.

“This was the hardest world championship title I’ve ever won,” said Pendleton, who broke into tears after the race.

Lithuania bows, 1-0

KAUNAS, Lithuania — Franck Ribery scored from 21 yards off a pass from Yoann Gourcuff in the 67th minute after Lithuania lost possession in its own half, giving France a 1-0 victory in a World Cup soccer qualifier on Saturday night.

France (2-1-1) is third in Europe Group Seven with seven points, five behind first-place Serbia (4-1), which won 3-2 at Romania. Les Bleus are two back of second-place Lithuania (3-2).

Vindicator staff/wire reports