PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates president Frank Coonelly is at spring training this week, but his focus isn't entirely on baseball.

Coonelly says he thinks about hockey from time to time — specifically of getting the National Hockey League to stage its annual Winter Classic outdoor game at PNC Park on New Year's Day.

Coonelly would like to see the Pittsburgh Penguins play host to the Washington Capitals at the ballpark on the city's North Shore.

The Penguins played at Buffalo in the first Winter Classic in 2008. Coonelly says bringing Caps star Alexander Ovechkin to face Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby would make for a great attraction.

BUFFALO TWP — Lernerville Speedway has preparations under way for the 2010 season.The track's annual awards banquet takes place at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Butler Days Inn.Also, race cars will be on display March 4 to 6 at Clearview Mall and March 11 to 13 at the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills.Call 724-353-1511 to register for either show.The track will hold Test and Tune Tech Day March 20, when drivers can take shakedown drives and have their cars cleared for inspection.Opening night is March 26.

NEW YORK — Television viewership will fall without Tiger Woods, but the networks that air the sport can handle the setback.That's the word from media analysts as CBS faces the possibility of covering the Masters Tournament just weeks from now with the scandal-beset Woods conspicuously absent.Tournaments where Woods isn't playing generally suffer a drop in viewership and a loss of advertising revenue, says analyst Larry Novenstern.For the 15 or so tournaments where Woods might have been expected to play this year, Novenstern estimated the resulting loss to networks would total between $10 million and $20 million.In comparison to other economic hardships challenging broadcasters right now, he says, "This is just a speed bump."

LAKELAND, Fla. — To Johnny Damon, the Detroit Tigers were the right team."This is where I wanted to be," he said Monday after completing his $8 million, one-year contract. "The Tigers were my first choice. I love it here and think I am a good fit."Let go by the World Series champion New York Yankees, Damon also drew interest from the Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox. When it came time to choose, he darted to Detroit.The 36-year-old outfielder brings another left-handed bat to the Tigers' lineup besides switch-hitter Carlos Guillen.

INDIANAPOLIS — Attendance at NCAA football games was down slightly in 2009 compared with the record 2008 season.The NCAA reported Monday that almost 48.3 million fans attended games at the 630 NCAA schools, including home, neutral-site and postseason games. That's down about 1 percent from the 48.8 million in 2008.NCAA associate director of statistics Gary K. Johnson said crowds were bound to level off after years of increases. He said the economic downturn could have been a factor. Average attendance at Football Bowl Subdivision games was 46,281.