Sports shorts

BEMIDJI -- Five lakes area boys' basketball players and two area coaches will participate in the inaugural North Central High School Boys' All-Star Games April 27 at the Bemidji State University gymnasium.

John Holder of Aitkin, Brett Dickie of Crosby-Ironton, Joe Kavanaugh of Pillager and Mike Lien of Walker-Hackensack-Akeley will play for Maroon Team I, which will be coached by W-H-A's Jim Lien.

Dustin Greenwaldt of Staples-Motley will play for Gold Team I. S-M's Lynn Peterson will coach Gold Team II.

Gold Team Boys I will play Maroon Team Boys I at 6 p.m. Gold Team Boys II meets Gold Team Boys II at 9 p.m.

Individual contests include: boys' three-point shooting at halftime of the 6 p.m. game; girls' three-point shooting at halftime of the 7:30 p.m. game; and boys' slam dunk contest at halftime of the 9 p.m. game.

Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students. For more information, contact Dan Ninham at (218) 333-3215, ext. 1122 (work) or e-mail dninham@bemidji.k12.mn.us.

Freshmen softball team defeats Tech

The Brainerd Warrior freshmen softball team defeated St. Cloud Tech 12-6 Tuesday night.

Tika Klauk picked up the win for the Warriors with the aid of great defense. Kayla Huether and Karlye Barron both homered, Hanna Brueland scored three runs and Barron doubled for Brainerd.

Zauhar to speak to boosters club

Brainerd Warriors softball coach Mike Zauhar will be the speaker at the Brainerd Sports Boosters Club meeting, which begins noon Thursday at the Moose Lodge.

Pitcher Hilary Smith, the Warrior Athlete of the Week, will be honored. Smith also was named the Central Lakes Conference Performer of the Week ending April 16. In the first two games she pitched two shutouts, allowed seven hits and struck out 17.

Corrections/clarifications

In Tuesday's Dispatch a headline incorrectly reported that Brainerd's Brock Larson's would compete in the final extreme fight of his career Saturday at Brainerd Area Civic Center. It will be his final fight of the season.

In Monday's Dispatch it was incorrectly reported that Brainerd's Dave Maras was a junior high coach in gymnastics, football, basketball, wrestling and track and field. Maras coached those sports at the elementary school level.

The Dispatch regrets the errors.

TNT hires Saunders for playoff analysis

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Flip Saunders will still have a say in the NBA playoffs this year.

The ex-Minnesota Timberwolves coach has been hired by cable network TNT to be a game analyst during its postseason coverage.

"We're excited to welcome Flip to our announcing team and look forward to his fresh insight, as well as his firsthand knowledge and experience in the playoffs," said Jeff Behnke, senior vice president and coordinating producer of Turner Sports.

Saunders was fired by the Timberwolves in February after 10 years with the club.

Charges sought against fans in scuffle

BOSTON (AP) -- Boston police are seeking misdemeanor criminal charges against two fans who were involved in a scuffle with New York Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield during the eighth inning of a Yankees-Red Sox game at Fenway Park last Thursday.

Police on Tuesday asked a clerk magistrate to decide whether a disorderly conduct charge is warranted against the fans, according to Officer John Boyle, a department spokesman.

Boyle wouldn't name the two fans, but Red Sox officials have revoked season tickets from Christopher House, a Boston man who appeared to make contact with Sheffield while he was chasing down a ball in the right-field corner of Fenway Park.

The team also banned a fan who spilled beer on Sheffield from buying tickets this season. The Red Sox did not release his name.

O'Neal out for final two games

MIAMI (AP) -- Shaquille O'Neal's bruised right thigh will keep him out of the Miami Heat's final two regular-season games, but the team expects him to be ready when the playoffs open this weekend.

Before Tuesday's game, the Heat placed O'Neal on the injured list and activated rookie Dorell Wright.

Red Sox lock up Wakefield through 2006

BOSTON (AP) -- Tim Wakefield, the longest-tenured player on the Boston Red Sox, agreed Tuesday to a $4 million, one-year contract extension through 2006 that gives the team up to three additional option years at the same salary.

The 38-year-old knuckleballer is getting $4.67 million this year in the final season of a three-year contract. If Boston exercises its option for 2007, the Red Sox get an option for 2008, and if the team exercises the option for 2008, it also gets an option for 2009.

In each year of the deal, Wakefield could earn $1.5 million in performance bonuses and $800,000 in award bonuses.

Negussie captures Boston Marathon

BOSTON (AP) -- Hailu Negussie won the 109th Boston Marathon in a wind- and heat-slowed time of 2 hours, 11 minutes, 45 seconds. The victory was Ethiopia's first in the men's race since Abebe Mekonnen won in 1989 and just the second by a non-Kenyan in 15 years.

The 25-year-old Negussie won the Xiamen Marathon in China in 2003 and the Hofu Marathon in Japan 2001 and '02; his times at both races remain course records. He ran for Ethiopia in the Athens Olympics but dropped out about halfway through because of soreness in his upper right leg.