PITTSBURGH — Veteran Sprint car driver Charlie Holben of Cabot remains at UPMC Mercy Hospital and is in fair condition following a fiery crash Friday night at Lernerville Speedway.

Clarifying earlier reports, fellow driver Brent Matus assisted emergency personnel in removing Holben from the car after the car was upright and the fire was out.

Cards and well wishes can be sent to UPMC Mercy, 1400 Locust Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 or online at ecards.upmc.com in care of Charlie Holben.

ROBINSON TWP — Four Butler County baseball players will be participating in the WPIAL Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Games Sunday at Burkett Field.The Class A stars face the Class AA stars at 1 p.m., followed by Class AAAA vs. Class AAA at 4 p.m.Butler's John Crummy (AAAA), Knoch's Cullen Hinderliter (AAA), Mars' Andrew Rush (AAA) and Freeport's Ryan Siegel (AA) will participate.

GROVE CITY — The West Penn Football Coaches Association 2010 North-South All-Star Classic takes place at 7 p.m. Saturday at Forker Field.Karns City coach Ed Conto and his staff will run the South squad. Butler County players include J.R. Yough, Joe Fallecker, Aaron Markle and Matt Bauldoff of Karns City; Brennan Bliss of Union; and Zach Wheeler, James Shope, Mike George, Robert Moore and Victor Santoyo of Moniteau.Mercer coach Pat McClearn and his staff will run the North team. Grove City players Leonard Howard, Brandon Steffanus, Nick Reddick, Marty Phipps, Dan Sprando, Lucas Pryor, Wesley Uber, B.J. Johnston and Jeff Hershberger will be on that squad.Tickets for the game are $5.

SLIPPERY ROCK — Former Slippery Rock University basketball standout Denell Stephens tallied 15 points and 17 rebounds Sunday and earned game MVP honors in the decisive game to lead T 71 Dudelange past Sparta in the Luxembourg-Diekirch League finals.Stephens, an honorable mention All-America performer in 2008-09, his only season at SRU, averaged 14.9 points and 9.7 rebounds, and he shot 62.2 percent from the field to help lead T 71 to a 21-7 record and a second-place finish in regular-season competition.He scored 20 or more points in six games and grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 15 of the 32 games he played in his first season as a professional.Stephens averaged 20 points and 9.6 assists per game to lead The Rock to a second-place finish in the PSAC West, a berth in the league semifinals and a 21-8 record in 2008-09.

ERIE — The U14 Girls Northern Steel soccer team were finalists in the Memorial Day Shootout in Erie.Olivia Sharbaugh of Sarver tallied two goals and Lauren Schillero of Evans City one to key the squad, which defeated Niagara United (Canada) 2-0, Ohio Premier 1-0, Erie Admirals 5-1 and Super Nova 2-1 before dropping a 1-0 decision to Cleveland Futbol Club in the championship final.Alisa Marsinetti of Beaver, Roya Fashandi of Oakmont, Allison Lonas of Johnstown and Allyson Iorio, Allyson Kendall and Kyler Lum of New Castle also scored for the U14 team.

SECAUCUS, N.J. — The Washington Nationals got their ace a year ago. Now, they think they've found a big-time slugger.The Nationals selected the much-hyped Bryce Harper, a 17-year-old with prodigious power from the College of Southern Nevada, with the No. 1 overall pick in Monday night's draft.A year after taking similarly hyped right-hander Stephen Strasburg, the Nationals took Harper, who can play catcher but was announced as an outfielder at the draft site at MLB Network studios by commissioner Bud Selig.

JOHANNESBURG — While many soccer fans expect Brazil to win the World Cup for a record sixth time, almost half of the North Americans surveyed predict an unexpected triumph for the United States.Bookmakers rate Brazil and Spain as the favorites to win the title at Soccer City on July 11, with a worldwide survey released Tuesday showing that 34 percent of people are backing the South Americans.But Nielsen Media Research said 46 percent of North Americans believe that the United States is going to shock the soccer world and take home the trophy.The Americans are in form and beat European champion Spain last year but, other than the first tournament in 1930, have made it past the first round only once in a World Cup outside the United States.That helps explain why, when everyone else's votes are included, the U.S. slips back to share second place with former champions Argentina, England and Germany — taking just 9 percent of the global vote.

NEW YORK — Super Bowl champion quarterback Drew Brees, Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, and NFL draft consultant Gil Brandt are among the winners of the Professional Football Writers of America annual awards.