IMOLA, Italy (AP) -- Michael Schumacher held off Fernando Alonso in a tight duel Sunday to win the San Marino Grand Prix.
Schumacher covered 62 laps around the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit in 1 hour, 31 minutes, 6.486 seconds, with Alonso 2.0 seconds behind. McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya was 15.8 back for third.
It marked the Ferrari driver's record seventh win at Imola and the 85th of his career. Apart from last year's U.S. Grand Prix, when only six cars competed because of a tire dispute, it was Schumacher's only win since the end of 2004.
"We had an amazing weekend," said Schumacher, who earned the 66th pole position of his career on Saturday to break the record he shared with Ayrton Senna.
Alonso started five cars behind Schumacher, but by the 35th lap he was on Schumacher's tail. However, the Spaniard never found a way to pass the seven-time world champion.
"It was a bit of a struggle, but luckily we know overtaking is nearly impossible here," Schumacher said.
The scene was the opposite of last year's race here, in which Alonso held off a surging Schumacher over the final 12 laps.
This time, Alonso went into the pits on the 40th lap, while Schumacher came in one lap later and managed to come out just in front of the Renault driver. Schumacher's expert blocking skills and Imola's narrow track prevented any serious attacks from Alonso the rest of the way.
"I waited for an opportunity and it didn't come," Alonso said. "We were still the quickest on the track today, so it looks good for the championship."
Schumacher's Ferrari teammate, Felipe Massa, was fourth and McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen crossed fifth.
Williams' Mark Webber took sixth and Honda's Jenson Button came seventh after starting from the front row for the fourth straight race.
Alonso's Renault teammate Giancarlo Fisichella took the last point in eighth.
Alonso leads the drivers' standings with 36 points. Schumacher moves up to second with 21, and Raikkonen dropped to third with 18.
"It's looking two points better now and we have a long way to go," Schumacher said.
Schumacher's run of five-straight world titles was ended by Alonso last season and Ferrari worked hard in the offseason to regain its edge.
It looked like it was going to be a close battle when Alonso and Schumacher finished 1-2 in the season-opening Bahrain GP. At the next race, though, Renault claimed both of the top spots with Fisichella winning ahead of Alonso and Schumacher sixth. In Australia three weeks ago, both Ferrari cars crashed and Alonso won again.
The next race is the European GP at Nurburgring in two weeks.

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP)
-- If Kevin Harvick had any doubts about the direction his race team was headed, they were eased with a dominating performance in the desert that ended a 38-race winless drought.
Harvick completed a sweep at Phoenix International Raceway on Saturday night, winning the Nextel Cup race to go along with his Busch Series victory a day before.
If it was enough to keep with Richard Childress Racing remains to be seen.
"We've run really good this year and the performance is up," said Harvick, who swept weekend events for the second time in his career. "Everything is running good right now."
His contract expires at the end of the year and Harvick is at a very lucrative crossroad in his career. He said Friday that he has told Childress he wants to stay -- something he wouldn't decide until he was sure RCR was turning the corner after several seasons of struggles.
It's possible that the two still won't work out a deal, and Harvick will enter the free-agent market as the most coveted driver in the garage.
Whatever Childress is thinking is not known. The owner is in Africa on a safari and Harvick joked that he maybe should not come home.
"All I know is while he's been gone, we're undefeated," Harvick said. "If I was him, I'd stay away until we at least lost."
Harvick was off the radar most of the race, driving a car that ran in the top 10 but never challenged for the lead. He made his move late, passing Greg Biffle with 10 laps to race away to his sixth career victory.
Once Harvick got by Biffle, it was clear sailing because the top challengers had late fuel problems.
Biffle ran out of gas, then Mark Martin's tank went dry. It left only Tony Stewart to chase Harvick down and he never got close.
Harvick coasted to the finish line, a luxury because he, too, had feared he might run out of gas -- just like he did last year when his tank ran dry when he was running in fourth. But it was a never an issue this time because with such a big lead, he didn't have to push it.
"We didn't have the best car all day, but we had the best car when it counted," Harvick said. "Once we were able to get out front, I just started conserving fuel. I was sweating the gas."
Stewart was second, a remarkable feat considering he had to forfeit his qualifying spot (third) and start last in the 43-car field because of a mistake by his championship-winning crew.
Stewart's team accidentally turned his qualifying tires into Goodyear, rendering them unusable for the start of the race. NASCAR penalized him by sending him to the back, but he stayed patient, worked his way to the front and even led six laps.
Matt Kenseth finished third to take over the Nextel Cup points standings lead. Carl Edwards was fourth and Clint Bowyer, Harvick's teammate, was fifth.
Martin, who led three times for 111 laps, wound up 11th and Biffle ended up 16th.
It was a heartbreaking defeat for Biffle, who had the car to beat for at least the third time this season only to fall victim to yet another bad break. He did, however, gain two spots in the standings to 21st.
"I feel bad for Greg, it's hard to look at the good side if you are him," said Kenseth, his teammate. "He had a car good enough to win three or four times this season, and none of its his fault. But I have no doubt Greg is going to make the Chase.
"He's running so strong and there's no doubt in my mind he's going to be a contender at the end of the year."
The race was stopped 100 laps in after a multicar accident collected several cars and caused pole-sitter Kyle Busch to lose his temper. Away from the accident, Busch made contact with Casey Mears and spun. As the red flag came out to clean up the debris from the larger accident, Busch headed to the garage for repairs -- but not before passing by Mears and running into his car.
It earned Busch, who won here last November, a five-lap penalty and a meeting after the race with NASCAR officials. He finished 36th.
His brother, Kurt, the defending race champion, was 24th.
The duo had been expected to compete for the win -- the Busch Brothers swept the two Phoenix events last year -- but they never contended. Kurt Busch had to finish the race using one hand to hold his window net up after it fell with about 25 laps to go.
"Guess I've seen it all this time," he shrugged. "They finally black-flagged us and we had to come in with four laps to go to get it back up to their approval."

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Carlos Delgado is glad he's playing with Pedro Martinez, rather than against him.
Martinez had a season-high 11 strikeouts in seven innings and Delgado homered in his third consecutive game to lead the New York Mets to an 8-1 win over San Diego on Saturday night.
Martinez (4-0) allowed just one run and two hits and reached double digits in strikeouts for the 105th time in his career.
"I am glad that I do not have to face him any more," Delgado said. "I think I have faced him probably 80 to 85 times in my career so it is a nice break."
Martinez did not allow San Diego to put together any threats and has a 3.04 ERA in 26 2-3 innings this season. He became the first Mets pitcher to go 4-0 to start the season since Frank Viola started 7-0 in 1990.
"I had pretty good command today," Martinez said. "I got ahead with the fastball a lot. After I was ahead I was able to mix in some cutters and the breaking ball came back whenever I needed it."
New York began the second inning with solo homers by former Padres outfielder Xavier Nady, who hit a 429-foot shot to left center, and Ramon Castro off starter Chris Young (2-1).
The 6-foot-10 right-hander worked four innings, allowing six hits and four runs. The Mets had been held to one run in three of their last four games.
Mike Piazza led off the bottom of the second by hitting a 429-foot homer to left against Martinez, a former Mets teammate. The homer was Piazza's 399th, and first since he connected on opening day in his first at-bat with the Padres.
"At 2-0 I wanted to throw a strike, I wanted to get him. It was a cutter," Martinez said of Piazza's at-bat. "But Mike didn't waste any time and he does really well against me in his career."
New York had a chance to blow the game open in the third, as Delgado led off with a walk, David Wright singled and Cliff Floyd was hit by a pitch. Nady hit into a double play to score a run and Castro followed with a two-out, RBI single to give New York a 4-1 lead.
Young, who had allowed just one run in winning his last two starts, was replaced in the fifth by Dewon Brazelton with two on and no outs. Brazelton pitched out of that jam, but Delgado to led off the seventh with his eighth homer to make it 5-1.
Afterwards, Young said he has been pitching with a thumb injury since his first start of the season. Young said he jammed his thumb during batting practice before his first start.
"There is no pain, just coldness which leads to a lack of sensation," Young said. "It feels like I stuck my thumb in a freezer."
Young is scheduled to see a hand specialist on Monday.
Delgado also walked three times and was hit by a pitch, to go along with the homer.
"I don't try to hit home runs," Delgado said. "When you come to a big ballpark you just want to hit the ball hard somewhere and if it goes I'll take it.
Floyd also had a sacrifice fly in the seventh to extend the lead to 6-1.
Jorge Julio followed Martinez with two scoreless innings to complete the combined three-hitter.
"Pedro was tough," San Diego's Brian Giles said. "He was throwing as well as I've seen him. He mixes it up so well, he makes it tough to get comfortable up there against him."
Notes: Delgado's homer was the 377th of his career, which ties him for 57th on the career list with Norm Cash. Delgado's eight homers in April is one home run shy of tying Dave Kingman's franchise record for homers in April in 1976. ... Piazza had gone 7-for-41 (.171) since opening day before the homer off Martinez. ... Castro had four hits.

BERLIN, Germany (AP) -- Wladimir Klitschko refused to let the rematch with Chris Byrd go the distance. The Ukrainian stopped Chris Byrd in the seventh round of a one-sided fight Saturday to gain the IBF heavyweight title. Klitschko's right hook finished off the American 41 seconds into the round, the second time Byrd was floored in the fight. The rematch was similar to their first encounter in October 2001. Byrd also lost that bout, although he survived two knock downs on his way to losing a decision. This time around Klitschko -- executing trainer Emanuel Steward's strategy flawlessly -- finished off Byrd early. It began in the third round when Byrd, dropping his hands for a second, took a pair of hard left-right combinations from the 6-foot-6 Klitschko that shook him up. "It was like a musician playing notes," Klitschko said. "Everything we trained worked." After the fight, Klitschko first went to speak to his beaten rival, then to Byrd's trainer and father, Joe. "He should be proud -- I have never seen anybody take that much punishment and come back," Klitschko said. "They are a great family." In the fifth round, Byrd climbed to his feet after being knocked down then withstood a barrage of shots. He took a beating for more than a minute as 14,500 spectators roared until Klitschko backed off. Byrd waved his gloves at Klitschko, telling his opponent to come at him. "He's a fighter with a big, big heart," Klitschko said. "But he provoked me." The 35-year Byrd had made four successful defenses of the belt he won from Evander Holyfield in 2002. He was the longest reigning of the four heavyweight champions. "I never hit him, not the way he hit me," Byrd said. "I was just so pumped up for the fight, it got the better of me. If I had to do it again I would go in there with a different strategy, but Wladimir will be hard to beat. He is very talented for a big man." Byrd said he will have to decide if he wants to continue his career. He was taken to the hospital after the post-fight news conference for X-rays on his swollen face. "I will talk to the wife," he said. "I enjoy this a lot, of course not when you're pounded like that." Klitschko (46-3, 41 KOs) has now resurrected his career. After being knocked out by Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster, he started his comeback by beating favored Nigerian Samuel Peter in October. It is very important to know both sides," said Klitschko, 30. "I enjoyed a lot of success in my early years, then come the tough years." Byrd acknowledged that Steward, who has trained more than 30 world champions, put together a smart plan for Klitschko. During the first fight the Ukrainian used his six-inch height advantage and jabbed from outside until Byrd's eye swelled shut. Since then, the 6-foot Byrd has beaten some big men such as Andrew Golota and Jameel McCline, and Steward this time around had Klitschko use his left arm to keep Byrd off balance. "Byrd didn't fight Wladimir, he fought his left arm. He never saw the rights coming," Steward said. Klitschko became the third fighter from the former Soviet Union to win a heavyweight title in four months. Russian Nikolai Valuev took John Ruiz's WBA belt and Sergei Liakhovich of Belarus won Brewster's WBO crown. That leaves Hasim Rashman as the only American champion. "I don't care where people come from. It is not important to me. If you are good people will like you, if your are not, they won't. It is simple," Klitschko said.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Becoming eligible for the Bowl Championship Series might be easier this season. With the BCS expanding to five games, college football officials will consider increasing the number of teams eligible for at-large bids. To do so, they'll have to lower the standards a bit. In the past a team needed nine wins and a top-12 ranking in the final BCS standings to be in the running for an at-large bid to the best paying bowl games. "One thing we will discuss is whether or not the pool of eligible at-large teams should be increased, given the additional two slots with the fifth bowl," new BCS coordinator Mike Slive said. "I'm not staying we will or we won't. There will be discussion and I anticipate a decision will be made and recommended." Slive, the Southeastern Conference commissioner, and the rest of the Division I-A conference commissioners that make up the BCS braintrust begin four days of meetings in Phoenix on Monday. For the first time in three years, they'll gather with no major changes needing to be made to the system used to crown a major college football champion. Two years ago the BCS simplified its standings formula, emphasizing the polls over the computers. Last season the formula stayed the same, but a new poll was created to replace The Associated Press Top 25. The Harris Interactive poll, voted on by former college football players, coaches and administrators, plus some media members, took the place of the AP poll. The status quo will be in effect this season. "We anticipate that the BCS standings will again be made up of the Harris poll, the coaches' poll and the computers," Slive said. Last season, after two straight years filled with controversy, everything fell into place nicely for the BCS. Southern California and Texas were the undisputed top two teams in the country, and both were undefeated when they played in the Rose Bowl for the national title. The Longhorns knocked off the defending champion Trojans in a game that will go down as one of the best in college football history. The decision to add a fifth big-dollar game was made in 2004, with BCS officials feeling pressure to provide greater access to teams outside the six conferences with automatic bids. The BCS championship game will now be played a week after the four other marquee games at the site of either the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta or Orange bowls. The Fiesta Bowl gets the first shot at double hosting. Fiesta Bowl officials will be part of the BCS meetings this week. "So there are several format and administrative issues that are not necessarily newsworthy, but that will take some time and some thought and some consideration," Slive said. Representatives from Fox, the new television home of the BCS, will also be on hand. Fox takes over for ABC after signing a four-year deal worth $320 million for the broadcast rights to the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowls from 2007-10 and the national title game from 2007-09. The Rose Bowl, which negotiates its own TV deal, will still be on ABC. Fox is in charge of naming the new championship game and finding a sponsor. "It doesn't do me any good to speculate," Slive said when asked about possible sponsors. The Sugar Bowl has a new sponsor this year -- AllState Insurance replaces Nokia -- and should be back in its old home. The Sugar Bowl made a temporary move to Atlanta last season after being forced out of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. The Sugar Bowl is expected to return to the Superdome this season. "The Saints expect to play there so we think by the time the Sugar Bowl comes there won't be an issues," Slive said. "We're really looking forward to getting back to New Orleans."

DENVER (AP) -- Barry Bonds found his power and his long-lost sense of humor, too.
Bonds homered for the first time this season, hitting No. 709 of his career to help the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 6-4 on Saturday night.
Relief?
"I don't get relief over that stuff," Bonds insisted.
Bonds suggested he was just glad not to be trailing diminutive shortstop Omar Vizquel, who led off the game with his first homer of the season.
"It just felt good not to be behind Omar," cracked Bonds. "I couldn't be behind Omar."
The slugger sliced a belt-high fastball from right-hander Aaron Cook 384 feet to left field, moving within five home runs of Babe Ruth for most by a left-handed hitter. It came in Bonds' 31st at-bat and 14th game this year.
For San Francisco's usually surly star, it was one of his longest droughts to start a season. In 1998, he didn't homer until his 13th game and 55th at-bat, the longest season-opening drought of his career when healthy.
Bonds' shot left him clearly in his best mood this season.
"I feel good that we won because we always have bad times here in Colorado," Bonds said. "They always seem to come back and beat us. I'm just glad we won, that's it."
The Rockies nearly came back to win it in the ninth for the second straight night. Armando Benitez got the final three outs for his first save, preserving the win for Brad Hennessey (2-0), who allowed four runs and five hits in seven innings.
Benitez struck out Clint Barmes on a sharp sinker with runners at second and third to end it.
"I'm relieved," Giants manager Felipe Alou said. "My heart is still pounding from this one. My heart can't take too many more of these. Both Barry's first home run and Armando's first save brought me relief."
Benitez started the year on the disabled list with a knee injury and was tagged for the game-winning hit Friday night when Colorado rallied from three down in the ninth.
Before the game, the Rockies placed slugger Todd Helton on the 15-day DL with a stomach ailment and scratched third baseman Garrett Atkins with a nasty virus that is making its way through the Rockies' clubhouse.
Bonds got off to a slow start this season, hounded by steroid suspicions, a federal probe into his testimony in the BALCO steroid case and baseball's investigation of performance-enhancing drugs. He's also been plagued by sore knees, a swollen left elbow and few pitchers willing to challenge him -- he walked 19 times before hitting his first home run.
Bonds brought a .200 batting average and just one RBI into Saturday night's game.
Bonds came up with nobody on and two outs in the first and Cook (1-3) went right after him but left a fastball up and away and Bonds sent it into the left-field seats for a 2-0 lead.
"The pitch to Bonds wasn't quite over the plate," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "But with him if it's up, he can get it. And he crushed it."
After circling the bases gingerly on his sore knees, Bonds knocked fists with teammates Moises Alou and Pedro Feliz and his manager as he descended into the third-base dugout to jeers and a scattering of applause.
Then, his teammates gave him some space.
"They gave me the silent treatment," Bonds said. "It took me back quite a few years. It was fun."
To chants of "Steroids, Steroids" the rest of the night, Bonds grounded out, lined out, reached on an error and walked on a full count, which counts as an improvement for a man seeking some rhythm at the plate.
"It was good. I finally got to swing the bat a little bit more," said Bonds, who swung at just two of 17 pitches he saw in the series opener.
Bonds' biggest smile came when asked about taking Sunday off.
"Call it age, knee, everything, anything you want to call it," Bonds said.
The 41-year-old slugger said he decided he was going to have to make a major adjustment in his approach and be more aggressive in his first at-bat because of his age and pitchers' philosophies to work around him the later the game goes.
"I've never been a first at-bat type of person. I've been a late-inning type of person," he said. "I just kind of die out the later part of the game. The pain in the knee gets overwhelming as the innings go on and go on."
Ray Durham also hit his first homer of the season, making it 3-0 in the third. The Giants scored two unearned runs in the fifth to make it 5-1.
The Rockies cut it to 5-4 in the bottom half on Matt Holliday's three-run homer off Hennessey, who allowed Brad Hawpe's fifth homer in the fourth. Jason Ellison, pinch-running for Bonds, scored on Feliz's double-play grounder in the ninth.
Bonds was so soothed finally contributing a big hit in a win that he declared afterward, "I'm always in a good mood -- as long as this goes quick."
He then patiently took questions for seven minutes, smiling all the while.
Notes: Bonds has now hom

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)
-- Cristobal Huet's first NHL playoff start in net didn't begin so well. Less than a minute in, he and the Montreal Canadiens already trailed.
"I just tried to focus on my game," he said. "There was a long way to go."
Considering how far he already had come, staying patient wasn't a problem.
Huet made 43 saves, 12 players recorded points and the Canadiens made up for four lopsided losses to the Carolina Hurricanes during the regular season with a 6-1 victory Saturday night in the opener of the Eastern Conference series.
Alex Kovalev had two goals and Francis Bouillon, Radek Bonk, Chris Higgins and Sheldon Souray each added one for Montreal, which ended the regular season with four losses in its last six games.
"It's playoff hockey," Bouillon said. "We could've won 2-1, or 3-2 in overtime. It just so happened it was 6-1. We just need to forget about this win, and we need to come back and play our style of game."
Game 2 is Monday night.
The Hurricanes earned the second seed in the conference with the best year in franchise history, a run that included a 4-0 record against Montreal. None were really close, with the combined margin of the final three 20-6.
And when Matt Cullen scored only 50 seconds into the first period, it appeared the domination might continue. But the Canadiens soon began controlling the action and stymied Carolina's high-powered offense for the rest of the game, with Huet having the biggest role.
"For us, it seemed like the puck didn't want to bounce in," Cullen said. "You've got to give their goalie credit. He played well."
Huet is the latest in a long line of French-speaking goaltenders for one of the NHL's marquee teams, yet he's from France, not the province of Quebec. He surprisingly got the nod over David Aebischer for the start in Game 1, even though he had lost his final two starts of the season.
His performance made coach and general manager Bob Gainey look like a genius -- and made Montreal the second No. 7 seed to take a 1-0 lead in the playoffs. Colorado won at second-seeded Dallas earlier Saturday.
"It's good to get the win, first, and for me to have a good game, it is nice," Huet said. "I try to do my best, and sometimes it's not working, sometimes it works. You just forget if you get scored on, and try to bounce back."
The Hurricanes took nine of the first 10 shots and held a 35-14 advantage following two periods. One stretch was particularly frustrating, when they failed to score during three Montreal penalties in a span of about 3 1/2 minutes.
That included 55 seconds of 5-on-3, but Huet stopped everything with the help of his defense as the Canadiens finished with 22 blocked shots.
"That was a huge turning point," Carolina captain Rod Brind'Amour said. "You've got to score on your 5-on-3s. That's very, very important. We didn't do it. Generally when you don't score on those, that's a telltale sign of what is going to happen."
When the third penalty on Niklas Sundstrom ended, the standing-room-only crowd at the RBC Center unleashed a chorus of boos. They quickly turned to anguish when Montreal scored 10 seconds later. As Sundstrom left the box, Saku Koivu lunged to get the puck to his teammate.
Sundstrom went straight to the net and drew a delayed penalty on Carolina's Frantisek Kaberle before shooting. Higgins tried to stuff in the rebound, then chased down the puck after it scooted behind the net. He sent it toward the crease, where it bounced in off the back of goaltender Martin Gerber.
"I was just following up and got a bit fortunate," said Higgins, who purposely banked in his goal.
That made it 4-1, and when Kovalev added another midway through the third period, the game essentially was over.
"It wasn't what we expected," Cullen said. "You have to give Montreal credit. They are a very good team. They're an explosive team. They made the most of just about every one of their opportunities."
Souray tacked on his with less than 2 minutes remaining.
"This game really showed that if we play a little tighter game, we're real smart on defense and dump the puck in when we get a chance, that makes a really big difference," Kovalev said. "But the first game doesn't mean anything."
The Hurricanes finished 0-for-5 on the power play and clearly missed Erik Cole and fellow left wing Ray Whitney, both of whom sat out with injuries. Cole missed the final 22 games with a fractured vertebra -- Carolina won only 10 of those -- and Whitney didn't dress for the final six with a lower-body ailment.
Each are valuable on the man-advantage, and their absence was glaring for this one.
"It was a frustrating night," Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette said. "I guess the only positive you can take is you have to win four games, not just one. We get to come back and play again in a couple of nights right here in our ow

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP)
-- Jaromir Jagr's attempted swipe at Scott Gomez left the New York Rangers' star forward with an injury that could sideline him in the playoffs.
With the Rangers trailing by four goals and virtually no chance of coming back late in the third period Saturday, Jagr was sent out by coach Tom Renney to get what he called "practice" in penalty killing. Jagr tried to hit Gomez, New Jersey's second leading scorer, and lunged toward him.
He didn't connect and then stumbled as he appeared to stretch his arm out awkwardly.
Right after Patrik Elias scored the Devils' final goal in the 6-1 opening victory of the best-of-seven series, Jagr was escorted to the dressing room and favored his left arm.
Renney only confirmed that Jagr had an "upper body injury," and the right winger who finished second in the NHL with 54 goals and 123 points didn't offer any more details or any assurance he'd be able to play Monday night in Game 2.
He is expected to be evaluated by doctors on Sunday.
"I don't know what is going to happen tomorrow. After that, if I'm ready to play, I'll play," he said. "It doesn't matter. We have to get ready for the next game whether I play or not."
New York was done in on Saturday by undisciplined penalties that led to five New Jersey power-play goals in 13 opportunities.
If the Rangers don't have Jagr in the lineup, they will have to figure out how to stop the Devils' offense while trying to replace the player who had a hand in nearly 50 percent of their goals in the regular season.
Jagr wasn't ready to concede anything, even if he is forced to watch instead of play. The loss was New York's sixth straight.
"We can win," he said. "You always have to believe."
By dropping their final five games in the regular season, the Rangers missed a chance to win the Atlantic Division. A 5-1 loss to Ottawa in the finale dropped them from first to third in the Atlantic and from third to sixth in the Eastern Conference.
That put them on the road to start their first postseason appearance since 1997 instead of inside the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP)
-- The New Jersey Devils knew what to expect in the playoff opener. The inexperienced New York Rangers certainly did not.
The result was a rout.
Patrik Elias scored two of New Jersey's playoff-record five power-play goals and the Devils earned their 12th straight victory by beating the Rangers 6-1 Saturday in the opener of the Eastern Conference series.
"We were warned before the game that they are going to keep calling the penalties the way they did in the regular season," Elias said. "This was more emotional today because we know what's on the line."
The Devils turned the emotions into goals, while the Rangers continued to march to the penalty box and took themselves right out of the game.
New York survived the first period by allowing just one man-advantage goal in four opportunities, but the discipline and penalty killing got progressively worse.
The calls varied from hooking, to elbowing to cross-checking and roughing. Marek Malik took a swipe at an opponent's face right in front of an official.
"We lost our composure, we had some selfish hockey, some undisciplined play, and we had guys that chose to think of themselves ahead of their teammates," Rangers coach Tom Renney said. "One thing we know for sure is we're not going to beat the New Jersey Devils from the penalty box."
The Rangers were called for 16 penalties that totaled 43 minutes and produced 13 power plays for New Jersey. Scott Gomez, Brian Rafalski and Jamie Langenbrunner also scored with a man advantage.
New York, which lost its final five games of the regular season to allow the Devils to win the Atlantic Division on the last day, tied it 1-1 on rookie Petr Prucha's first-period, power-play goal. But the Rangers, playing their first postseason game since 1997, just couldn't stay out of the box.
Elias gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead during New York's first infraction, and Gomez and defenseman Ken Klee beat Rangers rookie goalie Henrik Lundqvist in the second. Rafalski, Langenbrunner and Elias made it a blowout in the third.
"It was one of those crazy games where sometimes it happens," Gomez said. "We hope the power play goes that way the whole playoffs but that's impossible."
The final New Jersey goal, scored with 4:26 remaining, might prove to be the most costly to New York.
Right after Elias scored, Rangers leading scorer Jaromir Jagr was helped to the dressing room with an injury to his left elbow or shoulder. He took a swipe at Gomez, but didn't connect.
He will be evaluated by doctors on Sunday, and his status for Game 2 on Monday is unclear.
"It doesn't matter. We have to get ready for the next game whether I play or not," said Jagr, who had 123 points this season.
Klee's goal that made it 3-1 with 2:50 left in the second period missed being a man-advantage tally by two seconds. Rafalski stretched the lead to three 53 seconds into the third period, 21 seconds after Jagr was sent off for hooking. Langenbrunner netted the Devils' fifth goal at 8:45.
Not only did the penalties give the Devils opportunities to score, but they also kept Jagr planted on the Rangers' bench for long stretches of time. Devils forward Jay Pandolfo didn't have to worry about shadowing the league's second-leading scorer when the Czech star was safely off ice.
Martin Brodeur made 29 saves in his 134th consecutive postseason start for the Devils. He will break Patrick Roy's league record of 136 if he starts the next three games of this series.
By then he might also accomplish one goal that has eluded him in his brilliant career that includes three Stanley Cup titles and two Vezina Trophies. Brodeur and the Devils have never beaten the Rangers in the playoffs, losing the first three series.
"We're going to face a different club," Gomez said. "They got a lot of young guys who got their first taste of it. We've got to be ready for that on Monday night."
The Devils made up a 19-point deficit and passed both the Rangers and Flyers in the Atlantic Division on the strength of their 11-game winning streak -- the longest to end a season in NHL history.
Although the crowd was largely in favor of the hometown Devils, many Rangers fans also were in attendance. After Lundqvist made a nice save to keep the game tied in the first period, alternating cheers of "Hen-rik" and "Let's Go Rangers" rained down.
Those chants were all gone by the time Rafalski made it 4-1. The Devils rooters took back their building and serenaded Lundqvist -- the Olympic gold-medal winning goalie for Sweden -- with taunts of "Mar-ty's Better."
"I won't say I was struggling but I was having a hard time to see the puck," Lundqvist said. "A lot of pucks that went in I never saw. I don't know why."
Notes: New Jersey D Colin White didn't play after the 17-minute mark of the first period. He sustained a groin injury in the season finale and was only 5

DALLAS (AP)
-- Their lowest playoff seed in nearly 20 years. Ten losses in their last 16 regular-season games. A two-goal deficit on the road.
None of that bothered the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 of the Western Conference playoff against favored Dallas.
Rob Blake and John-Michael Liles scored power-play goals only 2:04 apart in the second period and seventh-seeded Colorado beat the Stars 5-2 on Saturday.
"We've had four really competitive games with Dallas, and felt evenly matched," Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville said. "Some times starting on the road is not the worst-case scenario. You're a little more relaxed."
Colorado cut a 2-0 deficit in half before the end of the first period, and had three goals in the second. Rookie winger Wojtek Wolski tied the game at 2 before Blake and Liles scored.
"We felt pretty good today, and we'll feel good tomorrow," said Avs captain Joe Sakic, who had two assists to start his 12th playoff appearances. "We're pretty excited about winning, but Monday we have Game 2.
"That's a great hockey team over there," he said. "I thought they were flat. It was a bad day for them."
Jose Theodore stopped 16 shots in only his sixth game for Colorado.
For the Stars, it's already eerily similar to their last playoff series two years ago. Colorado won that first-round series in five games and twice scored five times against Dallas goalie Marty Turco.
There were plenty of problems Saturday. Three of the seven Dallas penalties came in the decisive second period.
"Work ethic, turnovers, penalties ... that sums it up," Stu Barnes said.
"The calls were made because we were out of position," said Stars captain Mike Modano, whose only two shots came in the third period. "We were chasing the puck all day long and that's not a recipe for success."
This is the Avalanche's 25th playoff series since moving to Denver in 1995 -- more than any other team. But they were 6-10 down the stretch for their lowest playoff seeding since 1987 while still in Quebec.
"I don't think it's an on-off switch," Quenneville said. "I thought we did a lot of good things with the puck. ... We had the puck a lot, particularly down in their end."
This is the fourth time in seven years the two teams have met in the playoffs. Dallas won a pair of incredible seven-game Western Conference finals in 1999 and 2000 to get to the Stanley Cup finals.
Dallas went up 2-0 Saturday when Jason Arnott slid by the net and made a backhand pass to Bill Guerin, who slammed the puck behind Theodore with 4:58 left in the first period.
That came only two minutes after a one-timer by Brenden Morrow on Dallas' third shot of the game.
But the Stars didn't hold on to that momentum very long.
"I felt really good even though we got two goals down," Theodore said. "I felt in control. We didn't panic. I knew if we could keep going the same way we were, we'd be able to get a couple of goals."
Less than two minutes after Guerin's goal, Turco was sliding to his right when Sakic pushed the puck back toward the middle. Milan Hejduk knocked it into the open net.
Another defensive mistake led to Colorado's tying goal 51/2 minutes into the second period. Turco was still on the side of the net after playing the puck when defenseman Jon Klemm gave it away. Jim Dowd passed the puck to Wolski and Turco couldn't get back in time.
After Blake's power-play goal, a puck through traffic that Turco didn't see until it was too late, there was only 15 more seconds of play before Colorado was on the power play again. Liles scored past a sprawling Turco, assisted by Sakic and Andrew Brunette.
Turco stopped 26 shots, but has allowed 23 goals in six playoff games against the Avalanche.
Theodore was 1-3-1 down the stretch for Colorado. The former league MVP didn't make his debut for the Avalanche until a month after coming from Montreal at the NHL trade deadline March 8 for David Aebischer, the goalie who beat Dallas in the series two years ago.
The Stars didn't make Theodore work too hard after the goals. Dallas only had four shots in the second period, and their nine in the third period matched their total before that.
"Hopefully this is a real good slap in the face for us," coach Dave Tippett said. "The level of urgency has to be turned up several octaves now."
Notes: Dowd and Wolski assisted on Brett Clark's goal in the third period. ... Wolski is a rookie who had 128 points in 56 games in the Ontario Hockey League before being added to Colorado's playoff roster. ... Dallas had a 3-1 advantage in the season series, two of the wins coming in shootouts.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP)
-- Daniel Briere and the young Buffalo Sabres feel like postseason veterans now.
Briere tipped in Jochen Hecht's centering pass 7:31 into the second overtime for a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference playoff series Saturday night.
Although the Sabres did squander a 2-0 lead, giving up Simon Gagne's tying goal in the final two minutes of regulation, it was a strong outing for an youthful team making its first playoff appearance in five years.
"People complain about the Sabres not being an experienced team, but you play all the way into a second overtime against the Flyers with their history -- it's pretty amazing," Briere said, making only his seventh career NHL postseason appearance. "I was surprised by the way we kept our composure."
The Sabres entered the game with a roster featuring a combined 295 playoff games or, in comparison, the same amount that Philadelphia's Peter Forsberg and Eric Desjardins had between them.
"The inexperience in this locker room just got a lot more experience," defenseman Brian Campbell said.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Monday night in Buffalo.
Tim Connolly and Jay McKee also scored for the Sabres who, including the regular season, have won six straight and eight of their last nine. Rookie Ryan Miller stopped 30 shots in his NHL playoff debut.
Mike Knuble had a goal and assist for Philadelphia. Despite the loss, Robert Esche had a solid night, stopping 55 shots, delivering on coach Ken Hitchcock's decision to give him the starting job over Antero Niittymaki.
The Flyers did receive a scare when rookie R.J. Umberger was knocked woozy and had to be helped off the ice in 12 minutes into the first overtime. He was hurt when he was leveled by Buffalo defenseman Brian Campbell at the Flyers' blue line.
Hitchcock said Umberger is fine and "good to go."
Umberger was spotted in the Flyers locker room walking around without any trouble following the game.
With a delayed penalty being called against the Flyers in the second OT, Hecht got to a loose puck in the left circle of the Philadelphia zone. Circling along the left boards, he sneaked a pass into the middle, where the wide-open Briere stuck his stick out and directed the puck past a helpless Esche.
"I saw Jochen going around their player and my eyes got a little big, and I was just hoping he'd see me backdoor," said Briere, who finished with a team-record 14 shots. "I had missed enough chances already tonight. I couldn't give `Eschey' another freebie."
R.J. Umberger is checked out by a trainer after he was knocked woozy and had to be helped off the ice.AP
The Sabres made it difficult on themselves in a game they had thoroughly dominated, outshooting the Flyers 29-12 through two periods and 58-32 overall. The 58 shots broke the franchise record of 57 set April 8, 1976, in a 3-2 overtime victory over St. Louis.
"My first thought? You can't write it," Esche said, referring to the loss. "I'm focused on seven games. I'm focused on leaving this one behind."
Esche's best stop came in the first overtime when he instinctively kicked out his right pad to prevent Drury's wraparound attempt from behind the net.
Miller wasn't as busy in the Buffalo net, but he was solid when tested. His best save came six minutes into overtime when Forsberg, from behind the net, set up Gagne for a one-timer from close range.
Miller had little chance on Gagne's tying goal, which came on the power play after Toni Lydman was called for delay of game when he backhanded the puck into the second row of the stands with Buffalo inexplicably reverting into a defensive shell.
After cutting the Sabres lead to 2-1 16 minutes into the second period, Knuble appeared to tie it three minutes later but the goal was disallowed when referee Dennis LaRue correctly ruled that Knuble batted the puck in with a high stick.
"Big sense of relief," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "In these games the hockey gods have to be with you. You have to get a few bounces."
Notes: Hecht returned after missing the final seven regular-season games with a knee injury. ... Knuble has scored in nine consecutive games against Buffalo, including the regular season, and dating to when he played with Boston. ... The Sabres, who ended the regular season with two shutout victories, had their shutout streak end at 178 minutes.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- No matter how far the San Antonio Spurs go in search of another NBA title, Tony Parker thinks they might never match their practically perfect first half in their first playoff game of the spring.
The Sacramento Kings? They were already thinking about Game 2 at halftime of this humiliating defeat.
Parker scored 25 points and Nick Van Exel added 11 in the decisive second quarter as the Spurs got their championship defense off to a blazing start, taking a 34-point lead at halftime on the way to a 122-88 rout of Sacramento on Saturday.
San Antonio's fleet-footed point guards led a 41-15 run in the second quarter, hitting basket after basket with unnerving ease. After the best regular season in franchise history, the top-seeded defending champs showed their game is still sharp for the second season.
"It's the playoffs, and everybody is focused, everybody is very motivated," Parker said. "Everybody was ready. We're not going to shoot the ball like that every night, but that was a good feeling. Game 2 is going to be different."
Parker already has two championship rings from his first five years with the Spurs, but he's a bigger part of the club this season than ever before. Even Tim Duncan, the three-time NBA Finals MVP, claimed he's a supporting player -- just "part of the puzzle" -- after Parker's latest dominant performance.
Parker's 9-of-11 first half was no surprise after his excellent regular season as the Spurs' leading scorer. But three 3-pointers from Van Exel, the seldom-used veteran guard who's retiring after this season, were shockers from which the Kings couldn't recover.
"I wasn't surprised, because that's what he does," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He relishes those situations. He likes to take those shots. Hopefully his body will allow him to continue to do that."
San Antonio, which lost its playoff opener to Denver last season, made eight 3-pointers and 68 percent of its first-half shots -- both franchise records for a playoff half. Ten Spurs scored at least six points apiece in the game, and Popovich still got to rest his stars for Game 2 on Tuesday in the best-of-seven series.
The second half was all garbage time in San Antonio's seventh victory in the last eight playoff series openers -- and the biggest postseason loss in the Kings' history.
"They beat the life out of us, basically," said Bonzi Wells, who had 12 points for Sacramento. "If we were playing somebody that hadn't won the championship, we'd be frustrated. But they're the defending world champions, and they were really hyped."
Duncan had 11 points and seven rebounds while sitting out the fourth quarter along with Parker, Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry. Nazr Mohammed added 18 points and eight rebounds, hitting the second 3-pointer of his NBA career in the final minute.
Mike Bibby scored 17 points and Ron Artest had 16 on 7-of-21 shooting for the Kings, whose newfound defensive intensity is lost again after Artest labeled his surging club as "the team to beat" in the first round.
Artest had nothing to say after the game: He was hit flush in the mouth by Manu Ginobili's elbow while they scrambled for a loose ball on the Spurs' opening possession, and the resulting cut in his mouth required postgame medical treatment.
Sacramento entered the playoffs with 25 wins in its last 36 games, including nine of 11 to earn its eighth straight postseason trip. But the Kings were thoroughly outrebounded and outworked in their biggest defeat of the season, surpassing 26-point losses to New Orleans and Dallas.
It also was the biggest margin of defeat in the Kings' playoff history, besting a 30-point loss at Utah in the 1999 postseason opener.
"We didn't come out with anything tonight. They just brought way more energy than us," said Kenny Thomas, who had seven points. "Tony got off to a great start, and we didn't contain him at all. We just have to come in with a different approach, or maybe an entirely different game plan for [Game 2]."
Parker penetrated the lane at will from the opening minutes, and Ginobili also set the tone with several drives past Artest. Sacramento actually kept it close in the first quarter, trailing just 32-24 before Van Exel hit the first of his three 3-pointers to open the second.
San Antonio made a 12-2 run before scoring 14 consecutive points midway through the period, including eight more from Van Exel on a pair of 3s and two free throws.
The AT&T Center crowd was as stunned as the Spurs when Michael Finley's 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer rattled in and out, sending San Antonio to the locker room up 73-39. The Spurs hit six 3-pointers in the second quarter while outrebounding Sacramento 26-10.
Notes: Kings F Shareef Abdur-Rahim had six points and eight rebounds in the first playoff game of his 10-season NBA career. Abdur-Rahim played in 744 games for four NBA teams before reaching the playoffs

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Los Angeles Clippers won their first playoff game since 1997 -- even after blowing a late 10-point lead.
When it was over, it really didn't matter whether it was the Clippers' lack of playoff experience or the Denver Nuggets getting the job done down the stretch that made the game close.
The fact is, Los Angeles won.
"It was pretty, and then it got ugly," Clippers star Elton Brand said. "It was a long time coming, and it was an important win for the organization."
Brand had 21 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots in the first postseason game of his career, veteran Sam Cassell added 19 points and seven assists, and the Clippers beat the Nuggets 89-87 Saturday night.
"They punched us in the mouth tonight, but we overcame our nerves, and we're starting to get it," Clippers guard Cuttino Mobley said.
Two free throws by Vladimir Radmanovic with 59.8 seconds left snapped an 87-all tie, and Denver's Carmelo Anthony missed three shots after that, including one from the left corner as time expired.
Anthony, the Nuggets' star, had 25 points and seven rebounds, but shot just 9-of-26 and missed all eight shots he attempted in the fourth quarter.
Game 2 will be played Monday night at Staples Center before the best-of-seven, first-round series shifts to Denver for the third and fourth games.
Chris Kaman added 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers, who led 87-77 after his three-point play with 4:10 remaining.
Andre Miller had 25 points and six assists for the Nuggets. Marcus Camby had nine points and 10 rebounds and Kenyon Martin had nine points and eight boards.
The Clippers have been one of the most unsuccessful franchises in professional sports, qualifying for the playoffs only seven times in their 36-year history. They're making just their fourth postseason appearance since moving to California in 1978.
But things have changed, and that was never more obvious than Saturday night, when they recorded their first postseason victory since 1993 and just the 14th in franchise history.
"I was not concerned," Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor said regarding the Nuggets' late rally. "In the past, we would have folded. But I knew that Sam and Mobley would be up to the challenge."
Brand and six teammates made their postseason debuts. Brand played in 526 regular-season games before appearing in a playoff game -- the seventh-longest such streak in NBA history.
Teammate Corey Maggette ranks 13th on the list, having played in 444 regular-season games before making his postseason debut.
After Kaman gave the Clippers their 10-point lead, the Nuggets scored the next 10 points -- the first four on foul shots by Anthony and the final four by Miller following two turnovers -- to tie it at 87 with 1:08 left.
Radmanovic made his game-winning foul shots a few seconds later.
"It's a learning experience," Cassell said. "It's never good to blow a 10-point lead. We got on-the-job experience. They outhustled us, they made big-time basketball plays. They scrambled, we didn't.
"It's not major things that win playoff games, it's small things -- loose balls, deflections."
Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said his young players, "did great -- just as I expected them to."
"I thought defensively we did well," he said. "It might have been good for them to be in a situation with the lead and then have a team come back and tie them up, but they still figured out a way to win it."
The Clippers led by as many as 16 points late in the third quarter. That's when Nuggets got more physical and were able to sustain it, according to coach George Karl.
"Down 16 and wobbling, they never quit," he said. "I just wish we could have gotten the lead. We've got to get better in the next couple of days. My team played with a lot of heart, a lot of courage. I think you win a lot of games like that in the playoffs."
Anthony said he didn't have a good look at the game's final shot, and credited the Clippers.
"It was a battle -- it was going back and forth. They hit us, we hit them, they just hit us more than we hit them," he said. "I feel really good about our chances in this series."
Notes: The Clippers were 47-35 this season -- the second-best record in franchise history behind the 49-33 mark of the 1974-75 team that played in Buffalo. The franchise moved to San Diego in 1978 and to Los Angeles six years later. ... Denver's only turnover of the first half was on basket interference by Martin with 1:27 left in the second period. The Nuggets committed seven in the game to 15 for the Clippers. ... Broadcaster Ralph Lawler has called 2,113 regular-season Clippers games since being hired in 1978, but only 14 in the postseason. "I think it's a great day for the organization," he said. "Now, it's a matter of how far they can go." ... The Nuggets lost in the first round of the play

MIAMI (AP) -- Pat Riley called this one perfectly.
Asked 90 minutes before the game about Dwyane Wade's season-long struggles against the Chicago Bulls, Riley expressed nothing but confidence in the Miami Heat's superstar guard.
"Great players will find a way to get around any defense when you raise the stakes," Riley said. "And Dwyane is a big-game guy."
Sure enough, Riles was right.
Wade scored 30 points, 14 in the fourth quarter -- including six straight to lead Miami back from its only deficit of the night -- and the Heat beat the Bulls 111-106 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference series on Saturday night.
"That's what he does," Heat center Shaquille O'Neal said. "The fourth quarter is his."
Echoed Wade: "Like Shaq and I always say, the fourth quarter is my time."
Wade added 11 assists for Miami before hobbling into the locker room with 8.6 seconds left, succumbing to a severe cramp in his calf. O'Neal added 27 points and 16 rebounds for the Heat, who can now enjoy a lead and a good omen -- no O'Neal team has ever lost a playoff series when taking a 1-0 lead.
Game 2 is Monday in Miami.
"We didn't play as smart as we needed to in some instances," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "But we put it all out there. ... We took it down to the end. We had our opportunities. We just weren't able to make the big plays when it was necessary to make them."
Ben Gordon scored 35 points and Andres Nocioni had an 18-point, 15-rebound effort for Chicago, which connected on 13 tries from 3-point range. Kirk Hinrich scored 19 points and had eight assists for the Bulls, who entered the game as the NBA's hottest team, winning 10 of their last 11 in the regular season.
"No moral victories at this point in the season," Gordon said. "We've just got to figure out how to slow them down. I thought in the first half they had way too many fast-break points and in the key moments of the game we had some turnovers that really hurt us."
By the time he left, Wade -- who averaged 12.3 points and shot 24.3 percent in three regular-season meetings with Chicago -- had done plenty to doom the Bulls' chances of stealing the opener.
The Bulls never led until the fourth quarter, using a 12-0 run to turn an 87-79 deficit into a 91-87 lead. Gordon had 10 of those 12 points, including a pair of free throws that ended the run with 8:22 remaining.
Wade, who was 4-for-15 at that point, provided Miami's answer.
He scored the game's next six points, capping his personal burst with a jumper over Chris Duhon for a 93-91 edge with 7:06 left. O'Neal added a dunk 35 seconds later for a four-point lead and the Heat never trailed again.
"Too much Dwyane Wade and Shaq in the end," Duhon said.
Wade said he didn't believe the cramping issue would keep him out of Game 2.
"I'll be all right," Wade said. "I'll get a lot of liquids and Gatorade in me tonight, and I'll be good for Monday."
Wade had two huge rebounds in the final minute, first an offensive one that allowed Miami to run 20 critical seconds off the clock, then a defensive board off Nocioni's missed 3-pointer with 16 seconds left. He was fouled and hit both free throws to give the Heat a five-point lead with 14 seconds remaining.
"We feel like we should have stolen that game," Hinrich said. "We were right there."
The win added to an emotional time for Riley, whose 96-year-old mother Mary died on Friday. Riley's eyes reddened as he discussed his mother's death before the game, although he insisted that his personal turmoil will not distract him during the playoffs.
"My mother always used to say, and she told me time and again this week, 'Life goes on, so get on with it,"' Riley said. "She couldn't stop saying that to her children. That's who she was. And we're getting on with it."
There were some fireworks in the first half, when Heat forward Udonis Haslem wound up on the floor after battling three Bulls for a rebound and voiced his displeasure in a less-than-ideal manner -- he threw his mouthpiece in the direction of referee Joey Crawford, who immediately signaled his ejection.
"I threw my mouthpiece at the ground," said an apologetic Haslem afterward. "Looking at it on TV, I could see how Joey would think I was throwing it at him."
It wasn't clear if the mouthpiece actually hit Crawford, who began angrily shouting and pointing at someone sitting with the Heat radio crew at the scorers' table about 1 1/2 minutes later.
But Crawford wasn't the only person in the arena left fired up by the Haslem incident.
After Haslem left, Miami scored the next seven points to start a half-ending 22-11 run for a 63-51 lead at intermission. Wade had seven points in the period-ending spurt, but Gordon had 11 in the third quarter as the Bulls got within five entering the final period.
"We've got to expect a war," Heat guard Gary Payton sa