SANDUSKY, Ohio (AP) - Cedar Point amusement park is opening its new season with a birthday celebration for its pioneering Magnum roller coaster.
The Magnum XL-200 was the first coaster over 200 feet tall when it debuted in 1989. A new entrance sign will be unveiled for the ride and free birthday cake and ice cream will be served during Saturday’s opening day festivities at the northern Ohio park.
Cedar Point has 17 roller coasters among its 75 rides.
The park in Sandusky will launch its 140th season with an opening ceremony at the main entrance featuring a skydiver delivering the American flag and the National Anthem performed by a local choir and the Ohio State University Spring Athletic Band.
Cedar Point’s sister park in southwest Ohio, Kings Island, opened last month.

PITTSBURGH (AP) _ A Pitt wide receiver is charged with indecent assault for allegedly slapping then groping the behind of a female student, but campus officials aren’t commenting on the charges.
A criminal complaint obtained by The Associated Press shows 19-year-old Jonathan Baldwin of Aliquippa is charged with indecent assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. Campus police say the woman complained of the alleged assault April 18 and charges were filed the next day. Baldwin faces a preliminary hearing May 27.
The university’s athletic department says it is declining comment until the investigation is over.
The Associated Press could not immediately locate Baldwin through a campus directory.

By Ronald Blum, AP Baseball Writer
NEW YORK - Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball on Thursday, becoming the latest high-profile player ensnared in the sport’s drug scandals.
The Los Angeles Dodgers star said he did not take steroids and was given medication by a doctor that contained a banned substance. The commissioner’s office didn’t announce the specific violation by the 36-year-old outfielder, who apologized to the Dodgers and fans for “this whole situation.”
“Recently, I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me,” Ramirez said in a statement issued by the players’ union.
“Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I’ve taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.”
The suspension began Thursday and barring any postponements Ramirez will be able to return to the Dodgers - who now have the best record in baseball - for the July 3 game at San Diego. Ramirez will lose about $7.65 million of his $25 million salary.
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig wouldn’t comment on the suspension because of provisions of the management-union drug agreement, spokesman Rich Levin said.

Bill Allmann

Times Sports Correspondent

PITTSBURGH - The WPIAL announced its third annual Hall of Fame class Tuesday and the class has a decidedly Beaver County flavor to it.

Of the 16 inductees, six hail from Beaver County.

The local inductees in the athlete category are Freedom’s Jim Covert, a standout high school lineman and wrestler who went on to a Hall of Fame career at Pitt and was an All-Pro with the NFL’s Chicago Bears; Hopewell’s Jodi Figley-Renner, a standout in golf for the Vikings who went on to Stanford; and Rochester’s Lauryn Williams, a standout sprinter for the Rams who went on to college fame and won a silver medal in the Olympics.

Entering the Hall in the category of coaches is Ambridge gymnastics coach Dale Meddock. He won 12 straight WPIAL titles and, at one point, his teams had a 187-1 record.

One of the teams being recognized with induction at a June 19 banquet is the 1965 Midland basketball team, recognized as one of the best high basketball teams ever by many and the very best ever by some.

BALTIMORE (AP) - Michael Phelps’ three-month suspension from competition is now over and he marked the occasion like any other day: He woke up late and headed to the pool.
Speaking exclusively with The Associated Press, Phelps said he didn’t even realize his suspension ended Tuesday. Coach Bob Bowman couldn’t resist making a joke, saying he planned to enter his star swimmer in a meet later that night.
“I had no idea,” Phelps said of his ban, which was doled out by USA Swimming after a picture surfaced in a London tabloid showing him inhaling from a marijuana pipe.
Actually, he’ll return to competition next week at a meet in Charlotte, N.C. It will be his first time swimming competitively since winning eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.

The trainer of the gelding who won the Kentucky Derby at 50-1 odds said his horse will run in the May 16 Preakness at Pimlico, the second leg of the Triple Crown.
“I’ve never been to Baltimore, but it looks like I won’t be able to say that in a few days,” trainer Bennie Woolley Jr. said Monday.
Woolley said the horse will remain at Churchill Downs in Louisville at least until May 12 before shipping to Baltimore. He jogged a mile at Churchill on Monday morning and will have light jogs each of the next two days.
Woolley said there are no plans for the horse to have a full workout before the Preakness.
Mine That Bird, ridden by Calvin Borel, won the Derby by 6 lengths over Pioneer of the Nile - the largest margin of victory since Assault in 1946.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh Marathon officials say they’re taking precautions and monitoring for the swine flu even though there haven’t been any confirmed cases in Pennsylvania.
About 10,500 runners are registered for Sunday’s marathon, half marathon and marathon relay. Thousands of people will watch.
Ron Roth, the marathon’s medical director, says medical staff will take the same infection-control precautions as in hospitals.
Jean Knaack (K’nak) executive director of Road Runners Club of America, says she’s not heard concerns from race organizers or members about swine flu.
But the organization advises race directors to take extra precautions and check for health alerts. For instance, volunteers with flu-like symptons shouldn’t hand out water.

By Deborah Yao, AP Business Writer
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Comcast Corp. said late Thursday that it will continue carrying the NFL Network even after their contract expires at midnight, as negotiations continue.
Without an agreement, the nation’s largest cable TV operator had said it would be required to pull the plug on the football network starting Friday.
“Comcast and the NFL are engaged in productive discussions toward a new agreement for NFL Network carriage on Comcast,” Comcast said in a statement.
Comcast and the National Football League are in a court battle over Comcast’s decision to put the NFL-owned channel in a premium sports tier rather than in a lesser-priced service package that has more viewers.
Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company, said the NFL asked for a 350 percent increase in the fees it would pay to carry the network, according to documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission.
Since the fees are based on the number of viewers, Comcast was able to pay less to the NFL Network by moving the channel from a digital tier with 8.6 million subscribers to a sports package that has 2 million subscribers and costs an extra $7 per month. The Philadelphia-based cable operator said it was allowed to do so under their contract, signed in 2004.
The NFL said Comcast made the move in retaliation for not getting the rights to show eight live NFL games for its Versus sports channel.
The NFL pointed out that Comcast rivals such as Dish Network Corp., DirecTV Group Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. all agreed to the same rates to carry the network. The NFL Network also said that with a smaller audience, it couldn’t get sports packages like Pac-10 Conference college football games, which had a minimum viewership requirement.
In 2006, the NFL sued Comcast in New York state court to force the cable operator to move the network back to the more popular digital tier. The following May, the court sided with Comcast.
The NFL appealed. An appellate court partially reversed the state court ruling and sent the case back for discovery and trial, where it is pending today.
In the meantime, the NFL sought an FCC order on the dispute. Now the case awaits a ruling from an administrative law judge at the FCC.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh Steelers receiver and Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes was arraigned Wednesday on a misdemeanor marijuana charge stemming from a traffic stop.
Holmes’ attorney, Robert DelGreco Jr., appeared at the brief hearing where charges were formally presented. Holmes did not appear, nor was he required to.
DelGreco said he planed to challenge the constitutionality of the stop, but did not elaborate.
“I will be filing a suppression motion. That will be a public record and we’ll go from there,” he said.
Pittsburgh police said they found three marijuana-filled cigars in Holmes’ car when he was pulled over Oct. 23. Holmes was stopped because his car was similar to one they were looking for in a drug sting.
Holmes was cooperative and alerted officers to the drugs, police said.

PITTSBURGH — The signal for the Penguins Game 5 playoff game against the Philadelphia Flyers returned about 8:45 p.m. just before the second intermission.

No cause has been announced for the blackout that occurred on most area service providers’ systems for most of the second period.

As the game enters the third period, the Flyers lead 1-0.

For the complete story, read Friday’s Times.