Prep quarterback Pryor chooses Ohio State

Highly regarded prep quarterback Terrelle Pryor is headed to Ohio State.

The two-sport star announced his decision Wednesday at Jeannette High, about 25 miles east of Pittsburgh, where he had one of the greatest prep careers in Pennsylvania history.

Flanked by his parents, brother, sister and others, the 6-foot-6 Pryor wasted no time with his decision: “If everyone’s here,” he said, “University of Ohio State.”

He then unzipped his windbreaker to reveal an Ohio State T-shirt and donned an OSU hat. He picked Ohio State over Michigan, Penn State and Oregon.

Pryor called a similar news conference last month, then decided at the last minute not to announce his choice, saying he planned to visit Oregon and, on the advice of his father, Craig, continue considering Penn State.

Pryor is the only Pennsylvania player to both rush and pass for at least 4,000 yards. He also scored 2,285 points in basketball. For now, Pryor said he does not plan to play basketball in college.

Virginia Tech’s leading rusher Branden Ore will not return next year, a decision reached after meetings with Coach Frank Beamer.

Ore would have been a redshirt senior.

In January, a federal jury convicted one of Ore’s friends of possessing crack cocaine with intent to distribute. Prosecutors subpoenaed Ore, who was riding with Tony Majette of Christiansburg in June 2006 when police stopped them and found two bags of drugs in the car. Ore was not charged.

An autopsy was inconclusive in the death of Central Florida wide receiver Ereck Plancher, 19, who lost consciousness Tuesday after strength and conditioning drills in Orlando.

The Orange County Medical Examiner’s office said that more testing will be needed and that it will take several weeks to complete.

PRO FOOTBALL

Vikings make Frazier assistant head coach

Minnesota defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, who interviewed for head-coach openings in Miami and Atlanta this off-season, was promoted to assistant head coach by the Vikings.

The Indianapolis Colts re-signed free-agent defensive end Josh Thomas. Terms were not disclosed.

Thomas, 26, started seven games last season after Dwight Freeney suffered a season-ending foot injury in November.

Tennessee Titans center Kevin Mawae was elected president of the NFL Players Assn. in Hawaii.

He replaces Troy Vincent, whose term recently ended and who played most recently for Buffalo and Washington before retiring. Mawae, 37, had been on the union’s executive committee.

FIGURE SKATING

Germans complete sweep of major titles

Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany won the pairs title at the World Figure Skating Championships in Goteborg, Sweden, completing a sweep of all the year’s major titles.

Savchenko and Szolkowy, also the Grand Prix and European champions, took advantage of their difficult routine to win the title with a score of 202.86, beating China’s Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao by more than five points. Canada’s Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison won the bronze.

Earlier, two-time European champion Carolina Kostner edged reigning world silver medalist Mao Asada by 0.18 points to win the short program with a score of 64.28. Asada’s Japanese teammate, Yukari Nakano, was third.

Former world champion Kimmie Meissner, hoping a coaching switch can reverse a dismal season, was ninth with a score of 57.25.

The free skate is today.

Still, the Americans will have to fare better in the free skate if they are to keep three spots at next year’s world championships.

The top two skaters must finish with a combined placement of 13 -- say, fifth and eighth -- to earn three spots at the 2009 worlds, where results will determine how many entries each country has at the Vancouver Olympics.

Bebe Liang and Ashley Wagner were 10th and 11th, respectively.

BOXING

Ward fights Williams tonight in San Jose

Andre Ward, the unbeaten 2004 Olympic boxing gold medalist, will fight Rubin Williams (29-3, 16 knockouts) tonight in a super-middleweight bout at San Jose’s HP Pavilion. Ward is 14-0 with nine KOs.

The World Boxing Hall of Fame’s “Salute to Women in Boxing” will honor Jackie Kallen, Debbie Caplan, Lorraine Chargin, Lucia Rijker and Bridgett “Baby Doll” Riley at a luncheon March 30 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at the Commerce Casino.

CYCLING

Landis’ final appeal underway in New York

Floyd Landis began the final step in his appeals process in New York in the first of a five-day hearing in front of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Landis hopes CAS will restore the 2006 Tour de France title stripped after an arbitration hearing last year in which arbitrators ruled he used performance-enhancing drugs during his victory. Unlike that hearing, the CAS proceeding is closed to the public and media.