WPPA / T102 SPORTS / Friday

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sat out yesterday's practice to rest his sprained left ankle and will be a game-time decision when the Steelers face St. Louis tomorrow. Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians says the team will wait as long as possible before determining whether Roethlisberger or veteran backup Charlie Batch will start.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel missed a second consecutive practice yesterday with a hamstring injury. Samuel is in danger of missing the Eagles' game against the Cowboys tomorrow, a game the Eagles could need to win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL has suspended Pittsburgh defenseman Deryk Engelland for three games for an illegal check to the head. The league punished Engelland for hitting Chicago forward Marcus Kruger during Tuesday night's game.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Two more people have come forward claiming they were abused by a Philadelphia sports columnist. Philadelphia Daily News columnist Bill Conlin abruptly retired just before a report was published alleging he abused young children decades ago. The two women bring the total number of adults who say Conlin molested them when they were younger to six.

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Maalik Wayns came off the bench to score 12 points and lead Villanova to a 73-52 victory over American University last night. JayVaughn Pinkston also had 12 points for Villanova, which had lost five of seven games.

VESTAL, N.Y. (AP) — Samme Givens scored 15 points and Drexel shot 55.3 percent from the field to defeat Binghamton 68-44 last night, keeping the Bearcats winless through 10 games. Nine of Givens' points came in the first half. The Dragons led 22-18 with 5:32 remaining before closing the half with a 14-4 run, which featured five layups to go in front 36-22.

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Jerrell Wright scored 21 points to lead five La Salle Explorers in double figures in an 85-59 rout of Central Connecticut State last night. La Salle took a 52-22 halftime lead and coasted the rest of the way to win easily. CCSU lost its fourth game in a row and suffered its first defeat at home.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The Penn State committee searching for a new football coach is taking what acting athletic director David Joyner called a very deliberate and measured approach in finding Joe Paterno's replacement. Joyner says in a statement the school is continuing to work through the interview process.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A person with knowledge of the decision says Pittsburgh has hired Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst as its head football coach. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement hasn't been made yet. Chryst replaces Todd Graham, who left the Panthers last week after one season to coach Arizona State.


NFL
Thursday's Game
Indianapolis 19, Houston 16
Saturday's Games
Oakland at Kansas City, 1 p.m.
Jacksonville at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
St. Louis at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
Denver at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Carolina, 1 p.m.
Minnesota at Washington, 1 p.m.
Cleveland at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Miami at New England, 1 p.m.
N.Y. Giants at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m.
Arizona at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
San Diego at Detroit, 4:05 p.m.
San Francisco at Seattle, 4:15 p.m.
Philadelphia at Dallas, 4:15 p.m.
Sunday's Game
Chicago at Green Bay, 8:20 p.m.

NHL
Thursday's Games
Los Angeles 3, Anaheim 2, SO
Toronto 3, Buffalo 2
N.Y. Rangers 4, N.Y. Islanders 2
Ottawa 4, Florida 3, OT
Nashville 6, Columbus 5
Winnipeg 4, Montreal 0
Calgary 3, Detroit 2
Edmonton 4, Minnesota 1

Friday's Games
Florida at Boston, 7 p.m.
Washington at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Toronto at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Ottawa at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Winnipeg, 8:30 p.m.
Nashville at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Colorado, 9 p.m.
St. Louis at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Calgary at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
Los Angeles at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.

NBA PRESEASON
Thursday's Games
Atlanta 92, Charlotte 75
Denver 110, Phoenix 85
Saturday's Games
No games scheduled

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thursday's Games
( 1) Syracuse 80 Tulane 61
( 2) Ohio St. 69 Miami (Ohio) 40
( 3) Kentucky 87 Loyola (Md.) 63
( 6) Baylor 72 Saint Mary's (Cal) 59
( 8) UConn 79 Fairfield 71
( 9) Missouri 78 (25) Illinois 74
(10) Marquette 64 Milwaukee 50
(11) Florida 82 Florida St. 64
(12) Kansas 63 Southern Cal 47
Long Beach St. 68 (14) Xavier 58
(16) Georgetown 70 Memphis 59
(17) Indiana 89 UMBC 47
(18) Mississippi St. 82 Northwestern St. 67
(19) Michigan St. 90 Lehigh 81
(20) Michigan 77 Bradley 66
(23) Creighton 87 Northwestern 79

TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thursday's Games
( 4) Stanford 90 CS Bakersfield 48
(11) Ohio St. 79 Washington St. 57
(13) Georgia 81 Appalachian St. 37
(20) Purdue 73 IPFW 36
(21) DePaul 93 S. Illinois 67
(25) Vanderbilt 64 Florida St. 59