Fast Break
Baseball
Pirates, Doumit sign 3-year deal
Catcher Ryan Doumit and the Pittsburgh Pirates agreed Monday to an $11.5 million, three-year contract that includes a club option that could make the deal worth $26.5 million over five seasons.
Doumit, a Moses Lake native, reached the deal less than a year after becoming the Pirates’ starting catcher. He hit .318 with 15 home runs and 69 RBIs in 431 at-bats after beating out former starter Ronny Paulino early in the season.
The 27-year-old Doumit made $412,000 in 2008.
“With a contract like this comes high expectations,” Doumit said at a news conference. “No one has higher expectations of me than I do. I believe in myself.”
Doumit gets a $300,000 signing bonus, $2.05 million next season, $3.55 million in 2010 and $5.1 million in 2011. The deal includes a $7.25 million club option for 2012 with a $500,000 buyout, and exercising that option also triggers an $8.25 million option for 2013.
Hockey
Ulmer named top defenseman
Spokane Chief Stefan Ulmer was named the best defenseman at the 2009 IIHF Group B World Junior Championships after leading Austria to the gold medal.
Ulmer also led the tournament in scoring with five goals and 11 points.
After two straight second- place finishes in Division I, Austria earned a promotion back to the top U20 level with an 8-3 win over Denmark that included three third-period empty net goals. Denmark needed just a point to win the tournament.
It was a 3-3 game 44 seconds into the third period before Austria took control.
Ulmer missed three games prior to the holiday break and will return to the Chiefs lineup Saturday when Spokane hosts the Tri-City Americans.
College basketball
Bus bringing Vikings to GU
The Gonzaga Bulldogs return to the court tonight against defending Big Sky Conference champion Portland State, which was forced to alter its travel plans after its flight to Spokane on Monday was canceled because of weather conditions.
The Vikings (8-3) were expected to take a charter bus to Bellevue, Wash., and spend Monday night, then depart this morning for Spokane, according to the Oregonian newspaper. Tipoff is at 5 at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
Portland State opened Big Sky play with a 72-45 victory over Montana on Saturday. Gonzaga is coming off an 88-83 overtime loss to No. 2 Connecticut. The Bulldogs (8-2) moved up one spot to No. 7 in the Associated Press poll this week.
Guard Jeremiah Dominguez, last year’s Big Sky Conference player of the year, leads Portland State in scoring at 12.1 points. After sitting out two games with a chip fracture in his right index finger, he has averaged 16 points in PSU’s last three games.