RENFREW — Lindsay Stevenson of Renfrew, along with RL Cocoas Version, a 1997 sorrel American Quarter Horse gelding, will be among 72 contenders for the Featherlite All-Around Amateur Award.

The award will be presented during the 2009 Bank of America Amateur competition at the American Quarter Horse Association World Championship Show Nov. 6 to 21 in Oklahoma City.

The Featherlite All-Around Amateur Award is presented to the amateur exhibitor earning the greatest number of points in a minimum of two categories and three events on the same horse in amateur competition.

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State's Sean Lee is back at practice and optimistic he can play Saturday, though head coach Joe Paterno is still being cautious with his star linebacker.Lee sprained his left knee last month against Temple and has missed the last three games. He returned to practice Monday, and Lee says if he keeps progressing he should be ready to play the last six regular-season games of the year.But it's up to the team doctor to ultimately determine whether Lee will be available for No. 14 Penn State's game this weekend against Minnesota.

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates games on FSN Pittsburgh drew a Nielsen rating of 3.25 that was higher than the regional sports network ratings for 11 other major league clubs, according to SportsBusiness Journal.Although the Pirates lost 99 games during a record-setting 17th consecutive losing season, their ratings were higher than those for the Royals, Orioles, Astros, Indians, Mets, Rangers, White Sox, Dodgers, Angels, Athletics and Nationals.The Pirates' ratings were up 18.2 percent from 2008 and the average number of households watching, 38,000, was up 18.8 percent. By comparison, Dodgers games on FS Prime Ticket drew a rating of 2.15, but the average number of households watching was 122,000, according to the publication.The Nationals had the lowest rating (0.60 on MASN/MASN2) and households (14,000) of any team in the majors, SportsBusiness Journal reported.The rating is the percentage of all homes with TVs, whether or not they are in use.