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2007-10-04T04:01:00.001-07:00

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2006-06-08T00:25:00.010-07:00

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)
-- Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro will face several familiar rivals in the Preakness on May 20, including beaten favorite Sweetnorthernsaint. Brother Derek, who finished in a dead heat for fourth with Jazil, also will give it another go, along with Lawyer Ron, who was 12th. Sweetnorthernsaint was seventh as the 5-1 favorite. Jazil, trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, is possible for the 1 3/16-mile race at Pimlico. New horses expected for the second leg of the Triple Crown include Gotham winner Like Now, Withers winner Bernardini and Simon Pure, who finished fourth in the Arkansas Derby for trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Trainer Bob Baffert said he'd wait a few days before deciding whether to send any of his three Derby starters, Point Determined (ninth), Sinister Minister (16th) and Bob and John (17th). As the field for the Preakness takes shape, Barbaro was being vanned to his home base at Fair Hill, Md., about 60 miles from Pimlico. Barbaro came out of the race in great shape, trainer Michael Matz said Sunday. "It was a tremendous race for him," Matz said. "He trained well for the race and we're glad he didn't disappoint us." Derby runner-up Bluegrass Cat was unlikely for the Preakness, trainer Todd Pletcher said. He added that his last-place finisher, Keyed Entry, most likely would make his next start in the Riva Ridge on the Belmont Stakes undercard. Steppenwolfer, who finished third, will be pointed to the Belmont, trainer Dan Peitz said. The Derby winner has gone on to win the Preakness six times in the last nine years. A win by Barbaro would set the stage for a seventh Triple Crown try in the last 10 years in the Belmont Stakes on June 10. The last non-Derby starter to win the Preakness was Red Bullet in 2000. The Preakness is limited to 14 starters.

2006-06-08T00:25:00.009-07:00

IRVING, Texas (AP)
-- Bill Parcells says he's finished talking about Terrell Owens -- until the Dallas Cowboys get to training camp in July.
"I answered 35 questions on him the other day," Parcells said Sunday. "That will be the last on him until we get on the field at practice in training camp. You won't hear anything else from me on that subject. Go to the tape."
It's not a short tape.
Parcells spent the first half of a 50-minute media session at the start of a rookie minicamp Friday answering questions strictly about Owens. That was the coach's first news conference since after the Cowboys' last game New Year's Day, and first public comments since the receiver signed March 18.
When the minicamp camp ended Sunday, Parcells wasn't in the mood to answer any more.
The Cowboys report to training camp in Oxnard, Calif., in late July.
Before then, Owens is expected to attend a minicamp for veterans June 2-4 at the Valley Ranch facility. When asked if he would talk about Owens then, Parcells indicated he wouldn't.
But the coach had also said he was only going to speak for 10 minutes Sunday. He went nearly twice that long, the question about Owens not coming until he was already getting up to leave.
Before then, Parcells said he felt recharged and energetic. And he discounted the idea that he was trying to convince himself of that.
"This is the time of year you need to feel like that. I got excited for the draft," Parcells said. "It's going to happen to you, you're not going to have the energy to do what you're supposed to do, and that's when you're going to hang it up. When that day comes, I'm hanging it up.
"I'm not in a position where I have to work for a living if I don't want to. So, fortunately, God was good to me in that regard."
Parcells has a 25-24 record in three years with the Cowboys, including a playoff loss his first season. Dallas dropped to 6-10 in 2004, then went 9-7 and missed the playoffs last season.
"This is probably the toughest job I have ever had," he said. "There's still a couple of things that concern me a great deal, but personnel-wise, I know we're getting closer to where we're going to be able to be competitive."
Parcells is 163-123-1 over an 18-year career, ninth on the career win list. He won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants, the last after the 1990 season.
The 64-year-old Parcells had a year left on his original four-year, $17 million contract with Dallas when he agreed on a new contract through the 2007 season. The new deal came in January, less than a week after the season ended.
"He's very disappointed and thought we had a chance to have a better year last year," owner Jerry Jones said Sunday. "There's a resolve. You don't have to worry about him. ... I think his battery is charged right now."
Notes: Parcells said he plans to take more than three quarterbacks to training camp in July, in part to make sure veteran starter Drew Bledsoe won't have to throw as many passes. Bledsoe, Drew Henson and Tony Romo were the only QBs in camp last summer. ... Henson strained his knee during an NFL Europe game over the weekend. Jones said it's a "day-to-day" injury, and nothing serious.

2006-06-08T00:25:00.008-07:00

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Billy Wagner has come out firing more than fastballs at his former team.
Wagner closes for the Mets now instead of Philadelphia, but the opinionated lefty has thrown some gas on the rivalry between the two best teams in the NL East.
Wagner told The Philadelphia Inquirer for Sunday's editions that he was not well-liked in the Phillies clubhouse, his former teammates were waiting to see him fail and left fielder Pat Burrell called him a "rat" during a midseason team meeting last year.
The division-leading Mets open a three-game series Tuesday at second-place Philadelphia. The Phillies wrapped a three-game series Sunday with San Francisco and the Barry Bonds circus.
"Now it goes from Bonds to Wagner," Phillies starter Brett Myers said in mock indignation.
Forget the heckling Bonds received. The Phillies fans will surely stuff the fence over the visitor's bullpen where Wagner will sit within earshot of the nonstop abuse.
"Bring on Billy Boy," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said, laughing.
Wagner saved 59 games in two seasons with the Phillies before signing a free-agent deal with New York, but sometimes made as much noise with his mouth as he did with his 100 mph fastball. Last July, Wagner said the Phillies "ain't got a chance" of making the playoffs and criticized his teammates for not having enough intensity, saying they quit when they got behind.
That led to a team meeting where Wagner told the Inquirer he felt it was "24 against one," and added that Burrell called him a "rat" during the meeting.
Also, Wagner said he didn't believe the Phillies supported him and felt that he deserved to fail, especially in a late-season loss to Houston where he gave up a ninth-inning, three-run homer to Craig Biggio in an 8-6 loss.
The Phillies finished just one game behind National League wild-card winner Houston.
"That wasn't a good comment," Phillies pitcher Cory Lidle said before Sunday's game. "I don't know what was going on in his mind when he said that. That wasn't the case. We needed him to pitch well down the stretch if we wanted to make the playoffs."
Lidle said Wagner's description of the team meeting was "completely false" and he never heard anyone call the reliever a rat.
Manuel understood why the Phillies would be upset with the comments because he took them to the media.
"A lot of that should have stayed in the locker room among the players," Manuel said.
Manuel, though, believed the quotes would add to the hype of the important early series. So does Manuel think Wagner would be booed now that the former fan favorite is on the other side?
"There may be a good chance," he said, smiling.

2006-06-08T00:25:00.007-07:00

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP)
-- Ville Nieminen started it with one zealous check after another. The rest of the San Jose Sharks followed, and the crowd roared to a crescendo with every white jersey falling to the ice.
Everybody knew the Sharks had speed. In their series-opening win over Edmonton, Team Teal showed plenty of bite as well.
Captain Patrick Marleau scored his eighth goal of the postseason and added an assist on Christian Ehrhoff's go-ahead goal, leading the hard-hitting Sharks to a 2-1 victory over the Oilers on Sunday night in Game 1 of the second-round series.
Marleau's latest offensive gem was an afterthought when the Sharks showed off their aggressive side in the final two periods. San Jose's forechecking did much of the work in holding the Oilers to two shots in the one-sided second period -- and the pesky Nieminen played an inspired game that included several big checks.
"I like whatever brings the meat loaf to the table," he said with a grin when asked if he preferred hitting to scoring. "We noticed earlier in the playoffs that teams who had a little layoff looked flat, so the first thing in our minds was getting our legs moving. It was one of those games where you could do some hitting."
Rookie Milan Michalek had two assists and Vesa Toskala stopped 15 shots in his fifth consecutive victory for the Sharks, who took control of the series opener with a one-sided second period featuring Ehrhoff's first career playoff goal.
San Jose then hung on against another late-game surge by the eighth-seeded Oilers, who thrived on the road and in tight games in their first-round upset of Detroit, capped by their four-goal third period in the clincher.
"They made it difficult the last couple of minutes," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. "We managed to weather the storm, and I'm happy with our effort. ... We just wanted to establish a forecheck. [Hitting] got contagious, the way our crowd was responding to every hit, and we just built off that."
The clubs won't have much time to dwell on this one: They're back in action for Game 2 on Monday night in the best-of-seven series. Game 3 is in Edmonton on Wednesday night.
Dwayne Roloson made 28 saves for the Oilers, who went scoreless in the final 57:27 after Jaroslav Spacek's early power-play goal. Edmonton twice grazed the post behind Toskala, but was held to fewer than two goals for the first time in the postseason.
"We were standing still at the blue line a lot," Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish said. "I don't know whether it was tough for our team to change the mentality [from the first round]. I was really happy with our start, but they took it to us physically in the second period."
San Jose knocked off the fourth-seeded Nashville Predators in the first round, while the Oilers upset the Presidents' Trophy-winning Red Wings. With four upsets in the Western Conference's topsy-turvy playoff openers, the Sharks were handed home ice for the second round and the conference finals, if they can repeat their 2004 appearance.
These clubs were evenly matched in the regular season, with their young rosters and speed-based styles making for entertaining hockey. The opener was just such a game -- but the Sharks' 30-16 shot advantage and aggressive play turned it into San Jose's 13th victory in its last 15 games.
But Spacek scored a power-play goal just 21/2 minutes in, and Edmonton's team speed quickly caught the Sharks' attention. San Jose tied it 5 minutes later on a blast from the slot by Marleau, who had a hat trick while scoring seven goals in the five-game first round.
Marleau also reclaimed the playoff goal lead from Ottawa's Martin Havlat.
The Sharks completely dominated the second period, holding Edmonton without a shot in the first 11:52 while keeping the puck in the Oilers' end for minutes at a time.
"You could tell in the second period, we're on our heels," center Michael Peca said. "We didn't really accomplish much. We weren't aggressive in our game. They forecheck so much."
Ehrhoff scored his first career playoff goal on a needle-threading shot from the boards at the blue line, somehow finding the net's top corner off a pass from Marleau.
The Oilers failed to get a shot in the first 6 minutes of the third period, then couldn't score on a power play when Joe Thornton was sent off for tripping Roloson. Edmonton pulled Roloson for the final 90 seconds, but got just one good chance.
Notes: The sellout crowd at the Shark Tank booed D Chris Pronger every time he touched the puck, a tradition since Pronger's days with the St. Louis Blues. ... Edmonton LW Todd Harvey, who played for the Sharks from 1999-04, was a scratch. San Jose briefly sent Harvey to the minors in late 2003, then didn't attempt to re-sign him in the offseason. ... Roloson's mask came flying off when he stopped a shot by Scott Thornton in the third period. Roloson made his Edmonton debut at the Shark Tank back on March 9, st

2006-06-08T00:25:00.006-07:00

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)
-- Ilya Bryzgalov wasn't terribly impressed that he tied an NHL rookie record set in 1945.
"It's not a big deal for me. It's fun because we won the game," the Anaheim goalie said Sunday after he blanked Colorado in a 3-0 Mighty Ducks' victory for his third consecutive shutout of the playoffs.
The victory gave Anaheim a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinal that resumes in Colorado on Tuesday night.
Bryzgalov, who made 22 saves in the win, matched the record by Toronto's Frank McCool, who had three postseason shutouts in a row as a rookie against Detroit in 1945.
Bryzgalov supplanted 2003 playoffs MVP Jean-Sebastien Giguere as the Ducks' No. 1 goalie during the opening round against Calgary. The 25-year-old Russian shut out the Flames in Game 7, then blanked the Avalanche in Anaheim's series-opening 5-0 win.
"I don't even think he realizes," Anaheim's Teemu Selanne said of Bryzgalov's impressive string. "He's just a guy who goes out there and has fun and doesn't take any pressure or anything."
Selanne grinned and added, "So don't tell him."
Bryzgalov hasn't allowed a goal in 229 minutes, 42 seconds, longest ever by an NHL rookie in the postseason, and fourth longest for any goalie. George Hainsworth tops the list with a stretch of 270:08 in 1930. Giguere is sixth on the list with 217:54 scoreless minutes in 2003.
Bryzgalov has said reading philosophers such as Socrates and Plato has helped him put things in perspective, and that he feels no pressure in goal because hockey is, after all, a game.
"I concentrate for a game and help my team win the game," he said. "I always feel confident. Right now I feel confident because our team is playing well and they're giving me confidence."
Ryan Getzlaf opened the scoring in the first period, and Ruslan Salei and Joffrey Lupul added goals in the second.
The 6-foot-3, 208-pound Bryzgalov's play impressed Colorado's Ian Laperriere.
"He's a big kid. He made unbelievable saves when he had to, but if you put more quality shots on the net and more traffic, you'll have more chance to score," Laperriere said.
Dominating the second game almost as handily as they did the first, the Ducks outshot the Avalanche 35-22, and Colorado had only 10 shots until the final period.
"We had our best chances in the third period," Colorado coach Joel Quenneville said. "We didn't generate a whole lot in the first two. We still need the puck more and more people getting in there, and we're having a hard time finding it right now."
He hopes returning home will change the momentum.
"It's exciting to get back and play in front of our fans on home ice. We've played well there all year," Quenneville said. "We've just got to get back there and grab the next game."
Bryzgalov took over for the Ducks when Giguere missed the first game of the opening playoffs with a lower body injury, then Giguere returned and was inconsistent, so the Russian got the job.
Although the Ducks' defense kept the pressure off the goalie most of the game, he made several fines saves, including reaching behind him to snare the puck on a close-range shot by Alex Tanguay.
Among his other saves was blocking Joe Sakic's shot from the slot on an Avalanche power play -- Colorado's first shot -- 12:55 into the game. Sakic got off another shot near the crease at 18:40 of the second period, but Bryzgalov turned that aside as well.
Colorado goalie Jose Theodore was considerably busier, making 32 saves.
Lupul made it 3-0 at 12:24 of the period after Salei had scored at 4:41. Salei got his second goal of the postseason on a slap shot from just inside the left point.
The Ducks expected the Avalanche to come out strongly early in the second game being outshot 14-4 in the first period of the lopsided loss in the opener. It didn't happen.
Colorado didn't get off a shot for the first 7:05, had only three in the first 15 minutes and was outshot 11-6 in the first period.
Finally, on a power play that began at 14:08 of the first period, the Avalanche managed two shots -- but so did the short-handed Ducks.
Notes: The Ducks have scored 13 straight goals dating to Game 6 against Calgary. ... For the second game in a row, the Ducks skated and hit with much more energy than the Avalanche. Anaheim had just one day off between Game 7 against Calgary and Friday's second-round opener against Colorado. The Avalanche had been off since wrapping up their series against Dallas in Game 5 on Sunday. ... Anaheim RW Corey Perry missed his second game in a row because of a knee injury. ... Giguere had three consecutive shutouts and a total of six in the 2003 playoffs, when the Ducks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals to New Jersey.

2006-06-08T00:25:00.005-07:00

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Detroit center Ben Wallace won the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award for the fourth time in five years, a person within the Pistons organization told The Associated Press on Sunday.
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the award has not been announced, said Wallace will be presented with the award Tuesday night before Game 2 of the second-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"Is that for sure? Don't get me excited over nothing now," Wallace said after Detroit beat the Cavs 113-86 in the series opener. "That means a lot. That's my pride and joy."
The Pistons said after the game that they would have a news conference Monday for an important announcement.
Wallace joins Dikembe Mutombo as the only four-time Defensive Player of the Year in league history. The muscular 6-foot-9, 240-pounder also won the award last year in 2003 and 2002.
Detroit won an NBA-high and franchise-record 64 games during the regular season, helped by the work Wallace did while being honored as an All-Star for the fourth straight year.
Wallace ranked fourth in the NBA in rebounding (11.3), ninth in blocks (2.2) and 10th in steals (1.78) -- the only player among the top 10 in all three categories -- and led one of the NBA's top teams at the defensive end of the court.
He became the fifth player in league history to have 100 blocks and 100 steals in six straight seasons, a list that includes Hakeem Olajuwon, Julius Erving, Sam Lacey and David Robinson.
Wallace scored 7.3 points a game this season, and has not averaged double digits in any of his 10 years in the league.
Despite his lack of scoring, he is a key reason the Pistons have become one of the NBA's best teams in recent years. And Wallace -- with his trademark Afro or cornrows -- is clearly a sports celebrity in Detroit. His popularity is rivaled only by that of Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman, who might retire this offseason.
Detroit acquired Wallace from Orlando along with Chucky Atkins in a sign-and-trade deal for Grant Hill before the 2000-01 season. The building block for the Pistons' turnaround helped them advance in the playoffs in 2002 -- for the first time since 1991 -- to the conference finals in 2003, win a title in 2004 and get to the finals last year.

2006-06-08T00:25:00.004-07:00

PHOENIX (AP) -- That mop-haired Canadian did it again, running away with his second consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player award.
Steve Nash -- the maestro of the fast, frenetic Phoenix Suns -- beat runner-up LeBron James of Cleveland by a comfortable margin in results announced Sunday.
He is the ninth player to win consecutive MVP trophies and joins Magic Johnson as the only point guards to win the award more than once.
"I have to pinch myself," Nash said. "I can't believe that I'm standing here today. I couldn't believe it last year, and to do it again is even more difficult to understand -- but I'm not going to give it back."
The Suns playmaker received 57 first-place votes and 924 points overall from a panel of 125 sports writers and broadcasters in the United States and Canada.
James had 16 first-place votes and 688 points overall. But at 21, though, James knows he will have many more opportunities.
"It would have been nice of course to put another trophy in my house, in my showcase," he said from Auburn Hills, Mich., before the Cavaliers played the Detroit Pistons. "But it's something I'm going to keep working hard for. I can't dwell on not being named MVP."
Nash's close friend Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas was third with 14 first-place ballots and 544 overall. Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers had the second-most votes for first place (22), but was fourth overall with 483 points.
"Steve is not just a great player," Suns chairman Jerry Colangelo. "He's one of the few players who I believe have ever played who makes everyone better around him. There are very few players who have the ability to directly control the flow of the game, and he does it as well as anyone ever has."
The 32-year-old Nash is the 11th player to win the MVP award more than once.
"Steve's a leader," Suns owner Robert Sarver said. "He's the face of our team, he's the face of the organization. He's a role model for a lot of people, including me, who look up to him for his ability to constantly motivate the people around him with positive encouragement, even in the face of adversity and when things aren't going well."
Nash praised his teammates and coaching staff for "a perfect environment for me to succeed and for our team to succeed, and for me to stand here today."
Last season, he directed the Suns to an NBA-best 62 victories. This year, the Suns lost Amare Stoudemire to injury and traded Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson. Yet they still won 54 games and a second straight Pacific Division title.
This season, Nash had career highs in scoring (18.8 points), rebounding (4.2), field goal percentage (.512) and free throw percentage (a league-leading .921). He led the league in assists at 10.5 a game and finished sixth in 3-point percentage at 43.9.
"There was no way he had a better year than last year," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He just had another phenomenal year."
Others who have won consecutive MVP awards are: Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, Kareem-Abdul Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. Karl Malone and Bob Pettit also won it twice, but not in consecutive years.
Not bad company for someone out of Victoria, British Columbia, who wasn't expected to succeed in college basketball, let alone become an NBA star.
"I guess part of me just tries to find the comedy in it," Nash said with his usual self-effacing humor. "It's thrilling and it's comedic and it's unbelievable. I just feel extremely honored to be recognized. I just love playing and I love working at it, trying to get better and challenging myself. I'm really lucky to have a place to do that in my life. I've come a long way, and I've enjoyed it."
Sarver remembered how he had just agreed to buy the team in July 2004 when a caravan of Suns officials and players flew to Dallas to persuade the free agent Nash to leave the Mavericks.
"Jerry made sure he didn't leave the house without Steve saying he was going to be a Phoenix Sun," Sarver recalled.
Nash agreed to a five-year, $65 million contract, and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban didn't match it. Since then, the Suns have won 116 regular-season games and are in the second round of the playoffs after making it to the Western Conference finals a year ago.
"It's surreal," Nash said. "I feel silly being up here because I really can't put it into words, no matter how hard I try."

2006-06-08T00:25:00.003-07:00

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Avery Johnson should've known better than to underestimate Tim Duncan. Especially in the playoffs.
In the opener of a second-round series against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, Johnson took the calculated risk of letting his former teammate go against his centers with only limited help.
Duncan, a three-time Finals MVP who teamed with Johnson for the Spurs' 1999 championship, made the strategy backfire by scoring 20 of his 31 points in the first half, giving his worn-out teammates the lift they needed to pull out an 87-85 victory Sunday.
"Timmy was awesome," teammate Tony Parker said. "When he plays like that, it makes it easy for everybody."
The Spurs were playing just 36 hours after closing out their first-round series in Sacramento, while the Mavs had been off since Monday.
Both teams, however, had been bracing for this meeting most of the season because of a flaw in the NBA's seeding system that forced them to meet in the second round, regardless of the fact they both hit 60 wins.
Neither team needed much time to prepare for the other, anyway, considering all the ties between them -- from Johnson's time in San Antonio and his close relationship with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to San Antonio reserve Michael Finley having spent the last nine years on the Mavericks.
But at game's end, when the difference should've benefited Dallas the most, it was San Antonio that persevered -- thanks mostly to Bruce Bowen.
Bowen hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:15 left that ended up being the winner. His biggest contribution, though, was pestering Dirk Nowitzki into a forgettable game with what Johnson called "bear-hug defense."
Nowitzki was 8-of-20 for 20 points after averaging 31.3 in the first round. It was a bit of redemption for Bowen after not living up to his first-team All-Defense reputation against Sacramento's Bonzi Wells in the first round.
"You don't want people talking bad about you," Bowen said. "You get a little upset and your pride gets hurt a little bit."
Bowen came up big on the game's final possession, which began with 13.9 seconds left.
Nowitzki got the ball on the right side, but Bowen was all over him. When Nowitzki tried going right, Duncan headed his way. So Nowitzki threw a crosscourt pass to Jerry Stackhouse.
Manu Ginobili nearly intercepted it, but Stackhouse recovered. He could've driven for a tying shot, but instead stepped back into the left corner and put up a well-covered 3 that came up way short.
"Somehow, if I had a little more on it, then maybe we'd have a different feeling right now," said Stackhouse, who led Dallas with 24 points. "We came in here with the right attitude, right energy, but we let them take the game."
Johnson worried that the long layoff might get some of his players to lose their focus. Perhaps all the down time got him to overthink his strategy against Duncan -- one that's likely to change in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
Duncan hasn't been his Big Fundamental self lately. His scoring was down this season and again in the first round. He's also been slowed by a foot injury.
Parker said he wasn't surprised that Dallas didn't aggressively double-team Duncan.
"A lot of people have been doing that lately because they thought he can't score any more," Parker said. "That's a big mistake."
DeSagana Diop was the first to go at Duncan alone. He got two fouls, then was replaced by Erick Dampier. He got two fouls, then was replaced by D.J. Mbenga. Yes, he also got two fouls -- all before the first quarter ended.
Despite the barrage, Duncan was only 3-of-5 for 10 points. Then he scored 10 of San Antonio's first 12 in the second quarter, giving him 20 of their first 38 points.
"He was pretty aggressive," Johnson said.
Most importantly, Duncan's start made the Spurs tied in a game they otherwise might've already gotten away from them. He was the only player who didn't seem bothered by the quick turnaround, or the noon start.
Duncan said he felt good even though he woke up at 6 a.m.
"Not by design," he added. Considering how he played, he joked that "that might be the routine" from now on.
Duncan made 12 of 24 shots, grabbed 13 rebounds and tied Parker for the team's assist lead with four. Parker scored 19 and Ginobili added 15.
Nowitzki was only 1-of-4 in the fourth quarter. He scored only two points in the final period and Dallas scored only 13. The Mavericks missed their final six shots.
"There wasn't any rust," said Nowitzki, who put himself through two workouts a day to remain sharp. "We played well enough to win the game, but didn't."
Dallas' Josh Howard scored 17, but only four in the second half. Jason Terry had 14. Nowitzki had 14 rebounds and Dampier had 10.
Dallas was hurt by nine missed free throws. The Mavs missed only 16 in four games against the Grizzlies.
Notes: Nowitzki finished third in MVP voting for the second

2006-06-08T00:25:00.002-07:00

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- When LeBron James had the ball, he saw Detroit Pistons defenders to his left, to his right, and straight ahead.
The Pistons also had James seeing triple at the other end of the court.
Detroit made 10 3-pointers in the first half -- one shy of an NBA playoff record -- to open up a 21-point lead at halftime before cruising to a 113-86 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday in Game 1 of their second-round series.
The Pistons finished with a franchise playoff-record 15 3-pointers, on 22 attempts, and missed only one of their 11 attempts beyond the arc before halftime.
"They're going to sweep the rest of the playoffs if they shoot like that and win the NBA championship," James said. "We shot 50 percent and had only six turnovers in the first half and were down 22. It's hard to explain that."
James scored all of his 22 points in the first half, but the 21-year-old star had to work for each one. Triple-teamed at times, James was forced to take difficult shots or defer to teammates who didn't respond by making shots of their own.
"The team has to be in a zone situation behind me," said Tayshaun Prince, who led Detroit's "LeBron Rules" defense.
James didn't play in the fourth quarter after he was held scoreless in the third while the Pistons built a 30-point lead.
Prince made James work on defense, too, scoring 24 points and tying his playoff record.
The two-time defending Eastern Conference champions turned the game into a rout with a franchise playoff-record 43 points in the second quarter against a team in the second round for the first time since 1993.
The Pistons had four double-figure scorers in the first half alone, including reserves Antonio McDyess and Lindsey Hunter. Both had 12 at halftime -- outscoring every Cavs player not named James in the first half.
Richard Hamilton scored 20, Chauncey Billups had 14 points and 10 assists, and Rasheed Wallace added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Ben Wallace, the NBA Defensive Player of the Year according to an Associated Press source, had 11 rebounds and four blocks for the Pistons.
Cleveland's Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 14 points after a poor series against Washington in the first round. The Cavs, who didn't have a third double-digit scorer until the fourth quarter, got 11 points from Anderson Varejao.
The Cavs played about 40 hours after their Game 6 win at Washington in overtime, flying home and then to suburban Detroit. Meanwhile, the Pistons had a day off and two days of practices after eliminating Milwaukee in five games.
"It was up to us to jump out early after the first round they had," Prince said. "I think they had some tired legs."
The Cavs began the game with some fight, leading 12-7 and being tied late in the first quarter. Detroit went on a 10-0 run over the last 1:57 of the first quarter -- helped by James' two turnovers -- to take a 26-16 lead.
Cleveland was still hanging around, by NBA standards, trailing by 14 until the Pistons closed another quarter in dominating fashion. Hunter made three 3-pointers in just under a minute and McDyess closed the 11-4 run to put the Pistons ahead 69-48 at halftime.
"This team already has a lot of confidence," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "When they go on runs like that at the end of quarters, they tend to pounce on you."
Detroit went up 32 in the third quarter and emptied its bench midway through the fourth with a 37-point lead.
"Thank goodness the outcome of the series doesn't have anything to do with point differential," Brown said.
The Pistons will host Game 2 on Tuesday night in the best-of-seven series.
Notes: Ben Wallace won the defensive award for the fourth time in five years, a person within the Pistons organization told the AP before the game started. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the award has not been announced, said Wallace will be presented with the award Tuesday night. ... James played his first second-round game in the same place he made his pro debut on October, 7, 2003, in an exhibition game against the Pistons. ... Detroit's previous playoff record was 12 3-pointers, a total reached twice in 2002 against Boston. ... Four teams have made 11 3-pointers in one half of a playoff game. ... James finished second to Phoenix's Steve Nash in the MVP voting and Billups was fifth. ... Kid Rock sat courtside, sporting a black Pistons jersey, shorts and white socks pulled up to his knees.

2006-06-08T00:25:00.001-07:00

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Carlos Oliveras has a home run ball specially marked to assure authenticity.
It just doesn't have Barry Bonds' autograph as the slugger refused to sign the ball.
The 25-year-old Air Force serviceman bought his lucky ticket because he wanted to see Bonds chase Babe Ruth on the career home run list. Oliveras had little idea he'd be the one being chased -- by fans, by media -- after snagging career home run No. 713.
When the San Francisco Giants' slugger hit a mammoth shot in the sixth inning off Philadelphia right-hander Jon Lieber to put him one behind the Babe on Sunday night, the ball bounced around Section 202 and into Oliveras' hands.
"I never thought I was going to be lucky like that," Oliveras said.
This was the first game of the three-game series Oliveras and a friend attended. He bought the ticket two days ago because he's a Bonds fans and wanted to see a slice of history. Then he was part of it.
"Everybody was looking on the floor," Oliveras said. "The ball bounced to me. I grabbed the ball and I stuck it between my legs. Everyone was still looking around."
Oliveras, a native of Puerto Rico, said no one immediately tried to snag the ball because he had it hidden. When the media and Phillies security discovered he caught the ball, other Phillies fans -- many who spent the series jeering the sullen slugger -- started yelling for him to throw the ball back.
"It made me nervous," he said.
Oliveras, an Airman 1st Class who lives on McGuire Air Force Base in Fort Dix, N.J., paid $20 for his seat in Section 202, Row 7, Seat 24.
He said he is a Bonds fan and would probably keep the ball. He hoped it would have Bonds' signature.
Bonds said no when he was asked at his news conference if he would sign the ball if a fan wanted an autograph. Moments later, when an official asked if there were any more questions, Oliveras piped up:
"Will you sign my ball?"
Bonds smirked and said nothing.
After his news conference, Bonds shook Oliveras' hand and took a picture with him.
"I'm happy because I got a picture and he shook my hand," he said.
There was one signature needed though. Oliveras had to sign a waiver for Bonds' reality show.

2006-06-08T00:25:00.000-07:00

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Barry Bonds closed in on the Babe with a Ruthian clout.
Now the San Francisco slugger is headed home with history on deck.
Bonds hit his 713th homer Sunday night, moving within one of tying Babe Ruth for second place on baseball's career list.
"It's overwhelming," Bonds said. "It's a little bit larger than a single-season home run record. It's big. It's really, really big."
The San Francisco slugger hit a mammoth shot in the sixth inning off Jon Lieber, sending a 2-1 sinker off the facade of the right-field upper deck during the Giants' 9-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
"They tell me that's the way the Babe used to hit them," Giants manager Felipe Alou said.
Bonds' fifth homer of the season was estimated at 450 feet, one of the longest ever at Philadelphia's hitter-friendly park. He needs 42 to tie Hank Aaron for the major league record.
"He about tore that golden arches sign down," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "I'm glad he's leaving town. He's starting to get hot now. It was just a matter of time, you can see he's getting his swing down. He'll hit a few more."
As Bonds took his slow trot around the bases, some of the Phillies fans -- who had been needling Bonds with boos and derisive chants throughout the series -- stood up, cheered and clicked photos.
He struck out swinging in his next at-bat against reliever Aaron Fultz in the eighth, sending many fans toward the exits. Bonds came out of the game before the bottom half.
The solo homer cut the Phillies' lead to 5-3, but they soon broke it open and pushed their winning streak to eight games for the first time in 15 years. The last time Philadelphia won eight in a row was a 13-game run in 1991.
The Giants were headed back to San Francisco to begin a homestand, but Bonds is not expected to play Monday night.
Bonds had been held in check since arriving here on Friday. He went 3-for-9 in Philadelphia's three-game sweep with a pair of singles, and had gone 11 at-bats since his previous home run Tuesday against San Diego.
Carlos Oliveras caught Bonds' home run ball, specially marked to ensure authenticity. The 25-year-old Oliveras, an Airman 1st Class who lives on McGuire Air Force Base in Fort Dix, N.J., paid $20 for his seat in Section 202, Row 7.
He said he is a Bonds fan and would probably keep the ball.
"I never thought I was going to be lucky like that," Oliveras said.
After his news conference, Bonds shook Oliveras' hand and took a picture with him.
With his mother cheering from behind San Francisco's dugout, Bonds pumped his fist as he finished circling the bases and returned to the bench, perhaps trying to inspire a slumping Giants team that has lost four straight, seven of eight and nine of 12.
"I'm just happy I didn't waste my mom's trip," said Bonds, adding that a long conversation with her helped him get his head "back on straight."
Bonds set the single-season mark with 73 homers in 2001. Ruth's career total of 714 is also one of the most hallowed numbers in a sport ruled by them. The Sultan of Swat hit his last long ball in 1935 and held the major league record until Aaron broke it on April 8, 1974.
"Babe Ruth is a great, great baseball player," Bonds said. "He started all of this. He was in a league of his own."
Ruth's total is the record for left-handed hitters, and Bonds has said he's more interested in owning that mark than catching Aaron.
"I'm just going to keep on playing," Bonds said.
Commissioner Bud Selig has said baseball won't do anything special to celebrate Bonds passing Ruth because it would only put the Giants' star in second place.
Maybe it also has something to do with allegations of steroid use by Bonds and baseball's probe into whether he took performance-enhancing drugs.
The seven-time NL MVP has long denied ever knowingly taking steroids, though the new book "Game of Shadows" reveals his alleged extensive doping regimen the authors say began after the 1998 season when Bonds saw the attention Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa generated in their race for the single-season homers record.
Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson, pleaded guilty to his role in a steroid distribution ring, and a federal grand jury is looking into whether Bonds perjured himself when he testified to the separate grand jury that indicted Anderson and three others in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative scandal.
After the game, Bonds declined to answer any questions about steroids or the investigation.
Perhaps no pursuit of second place has ever garnered as much attention as Bonds closing in on Ruth. The Phillies said they received about 200 requests for media credentials this weekend, about 125-150 more than for a typical game.
The Giants do plan a celebration when Bonds catches Ruth. The team was set to take an overnight, cross-country flight and face Houston ace Roy Oswalt at home Monday night to make up a

2006-06-07T00:25:00.008-07:00

PHOENIX (AP) -- Johnny Estrada's big offensive day will force him to take some extra rest.
Estrada hit three doubles, drove in a run and scored twice and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-1 for their seventh straight win.
Estrada doubled home the tying run in the second inning, then later in the inning came home with what proved to be the decisive run.
"I got some good pitches to hit and was able to get the bat on some," Estrada said.
However, he tweaked a quad injury that he's been battling since fouling a pitch off his leg against San Diego about two weeks ago. Estrada, who raised his average to .321, will sit out the series finale Sunday in favor of Chris Snyder and then get a second day off with Arizona idle on Monday.
"He's got that upper quad and every time he hits a ball in the gap it seems to be barking on him," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. "It seems like just when it gets better, he hits another ball in the gap."
Estrada's hitting made a winner of Claudio Vargas, who rebounded from first-inning struggles to record his second consecutive home win.
Vargas (4-1) allowed an inside-the-park home run to Felipe Lopez in the first and walked the bases full. But he struck out Brandon Phillips to cap the 42-pitch inning trailing only 1-0.
"After that I controlled the ball like I'm supposed to," Vargas said. "I said, 'Here's my best stuff. Hit it."'
Beginning with Phillips, Vargas retired 16 of the final 19 batters he faced. He allowed one run on four hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
"In the first inning we really had a chance to do something," Cincinnati manager Jerry Narron said. "We were one hit away from doing some damage early."
Jose Valverde, the fourth Arizona pitcher, pitched the ninth for his ninth save in 10 tries.
Arizona remained in a first place tie with Colorado in the NL West.
Bronson Arroyo (5-1) allowed two runs in the second and another in the fourth in his first loss of the season. The Reds retained their half-game lead in the NL Central with Houston's 5-0 loss at Colorado.
Conor Jackson led off the second with a double to left and scored on Estrada's first double, a line drive into the right-field corner, to tie the game 1-1. Estrada later scored on a two-out RBI single by Craig Counsell for a 2-1 lead.
The Diamondbacks made it 3-1 in the fourth when Estrada doubled, went to third on a single by Orlando Hudson and scored on a Craig Counsell groundout to second.
Arroyo allowed three runs on a career-worst 11 hits with one walk and one strikeout.
"Sometimes you pitch better that your line shows," Arroyo said. "This was one of those nights that I pitched worse than my line looked. I felt like I had decent stuff but those guys had a great approach against me. They were on my stuff better than anyone has been this year."
Lopez's home run came when his line drive hit a padded column in left-center field and bounced away from center fielder Jeff DaVanon.
The Reds have been held to one run in each of their last two games.
"We've got a good hitting ball club," Narron said. "We're going to start scoring some runs. We just haven't put it together in the last week or so."
Notes: Estrada became the 10th Arizona player to hit three doubles in a game and the second this season. Chad Tracy also hit three doubles on April 22 at Los Angeles. ... Lopez's inside-the-park homer was the Reds' first since Ken Griffey Jr.'s game-ending homer August 20, 2001, at Cinergy Field off St. Louis' Alan Benes. It was the third inside-the-park homer in Chase Field's nine-year history. ... DaVanon singled in the first to snap an 0-for-17 skid.

2006-06-07T00:25:00.007-07:00

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Kevin Harvick was the driver to beat, even Dale Earnhardt Jr. knew that.
But when Harvick made his only mistake of the entire weekend, Earnhardt pounced. It put him back into Victory Lane for the first time this season, and proved that his team has truly turned around after struggling through all of last year.
"For 80 percent of that race, Kevin Harvick had the best car," Earnhardt said after winning the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night.
"I made a charge on him, but I sort of conceded the win to him and was just going to race for second."
Harvick, who led 272 of the 400 laps, was racing for his second weekend sweep of the season. He won the Busch Series race on Friday night, just hours after announcing he had signed a three-year extension with Richard Childress Racing.
But one bad pit call ruined it.
Harvick decided not to stop during the eighth caution of the race, while Earnhardt and the other contenders all ducked in for fresh tires. The ramifications were obvious less than 40 laps later when several cars were right on Harvick's bumper.
Denny Hamlin, Earnhardt and Kyle Busch all blew past him, and Harvick never led again.
Busch was out front after taking the lead following another round of pit stops, but he couldn't hold off Earnhardt and Hamlin, who both raced their way past him with 44 laps to go.
Earnhardt then held off Hamlin for several more restarts to snap his 27-race winless streak. Coming off the worst season of his career, this victory proves just how far his team has come since missing out on the Chase for the championship last year.
"I think we are there," he said. "We keep taking our shots, but we're pretty competitive and I'm real proud of the team I got," he said. "Everything is working really great. I couldn't ask for any position on this team to be any better.
"I'm just glad to be back in Victory Lane. It feels really great."
Long overdue for a win, he celebrated his 17th career Nextel Cup victory and third at Richmond with perfect doughnuts along the frontstetch, spinning his No. 8 Chevrolet until it was engulfed in thick, white smoke and his tire had exploded.
Earnhardt won last July in Chicago -- his only victory of 2005 -- but backed into the win because of fuel strategy. It was the lone highlight in a season of turmoil: He finished 19th in the final standings and was never a contender.
But he has reunited with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. this season, and the two had made quiet strides with a handful of solid finishes this season.
Now he's got a win, and it moved him up two spots in the standings to sixth. He trails leader Jimmie Johnson by 216 points.
"We're having fun and we're finally winning some races," Earnhardt said. "This is a great deal for our team."
Hamlin, driving with his hand heavily bandaged after he needed 19 stitches to close a gash he received "horseplaying" with his crew, finished second. Although he won the season-opening exhibition race in Daytona, the Chesterfield, Va., native cherished this finish in front of a hometown crowd more.
"This is by far the biggest race of my career," he gushed. "It's awesome, I can't tell you how I feel. I'm going to ride this wave for months."
Earnhardt admitted he wanted Hamlin, one of his closer friends in the Nextel Cup Series, to win.
"A little part of me wanted to see him get the win," Earnhardt said. "He's a great driver and he's going to win a lot of races."
Harvick was extremely disappointed with his third-place finish.
"Just got tight," he shrugged.
Greg Biffle, plagued with bad luck all season, finished a season-best fourth.
"I'm so excited -- I'm going to celebrate like it's a victory," Biffle said. "I tell you what -- it's like I won even though I didn't get the trophy."
Busch, who turned 21 earlier this week, was fifth and defending series champion Tony Stewart was sixth. Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Sterling Marlin and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top 10.
Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon, both in the top 10 in the standings, had their races ruined by mechanical failures.
Kenseth went out before the first 100 laps when his oil tank broke and he spent considerable time in the garage getting it fixed. He was almost 50 laps off the pace when he returned to the track, and nursed his Ford home to a 39th-place finish. He's third in the standings after starting the race only 21 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.
Gordon's troubles were in his engine and came shortly after the halfway point. Gordon, who was in 13th place when his engine sputtered, needed extensive work and wound up finishing 40th.

2006-06-07T00:25:00.006-07:00

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Sidney Lowe has never forgotten the night he helped North Carolina State and Jim Valvano pull off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history. Nearly two decades later, he's returning home with hopes of helping the Wolfpack experience some of that magic again. N.C. State hired the Detroit Pistons' assistant as its head basketball coach Saturday, bringing the former Wolfpack player back to the school he led to that improbable 1983 title under the late Valvano. And Lowe wasted little time embracing that tradition, from talking about "those glory days" to pumping his fists at teammates from that title team who attended a news conference to announce his hiring. "This is definitely a dream come true for me," said Lowe, who wore a black suit and a red N.C. State tie. It seemed as though it was the perfect time for the 46-year-old Lowe -- who has no college coaching experience -- to get the job and end the monthlong search that missed out on its top targets. Herb Sendek left last month for Arizona State after 10 seasons marked by steady improvement, yet Wolfpack fans grew discontent at the end of his tenure with the program's Princeton-style offense and its inability to beat instate powers Duke and North Carolina. Hiring Lowe brings back a significant figure from one of the biggest moments in N.C. State's history. He was the point guard on the team that upset Houston and Hakeem Olajuwon on a last-second dunk by Lorenzo Charles in the 1983 final, and ranks second among the school's assist leaders and third in steals. Now Lowe is talking about letting his players have fun in an up-tempo offense and chasing after the top-tier recruits that seemed earmarked for those rivals just down the road -- exactly the kind of things Wolfpack fans are yearning to hear. "I'm here to try to do something even a little more, and it's nothing against anyone else," he said. "We're in the right direction. We just want to continue to grow and go a little further in the tournament and do a little better. That's what you're here for. That's what you set out to do." Lowe will continue working with the Pistons through the rest of the playoffs before starting work here July 1. Larry Harris, an assistant coach who had left with Sendek, will return to the Wolfpack and lead the program in the interim. Lowe played four seasons in the NBA before moving on to coaching, rising to become the head coach at Minnesota and Memphis. He has a career record of 79-228 and resigned at Memphis after the team's 0-8 start in the 2002-03 season. "I have mixed feelings about it," said Pistons coach Flip Saunders, who has had Lowe at his side in the NBA for many years. "It's almost like a parent when the kid is leaving the nest for the first time." Lowe will have plenty of studying to do before taking the job. In addition to learning the lengthy list of NCAA rules, Lowe is still working to complete his undergraduate work in business administration at St. Pauls College in Lawrenceville, Va. Lowe said Saturday that he is three courses short and expects to finish in June. The hiring ends a lengthy search for N.C. State. The Wolfpack's top two targets -- Texas' Rick Barnes and Memphis' John Calipari -- reportedly turned down offers of about $2 million a year to replace Sendek, who went 191-132 here. Last week, two more men linked to the job -- former UCLA coach and TV analyst Steve Lavin, and West Virginia coach John Beilein -- issued statements saying they would remain in their current positions. Athletics director Lee Fowler said he was interested in Lowe from the start and the two maintained contact throughout the process. He said Lowe became a serious candidate about 10 days ago, and said Lowe's NBA experience would be an asset when trying to lure recruits to Raleigh. "They like the idea that the guy's been in the pros and they like the idea that he knows what it takes to get to that level," Fowler said. "So I think he will be a home run in recruiting." Sendek's run of five straight NCAA tournaments tied Valvano for the best in school history. But Sendek was criticized by some Wolfpack fans in recent seasons despite that success, often for the program's motion offense and 8-38 record against Duke and North Carolina. Lowe's return has Wolfpack players and fans hoping for more. "He told us he wanted us to be free and have fun," said sophomore Gavin Grant, an athletic 6-foot-7 swingman. "[Sendek] wasn't focused on having fun. He was more focused on we've got to win and it was this way or no way at all. "In the Princeton offense, I don't think that offense fit me and a couple of other guys on the team as best we could. Now that we have a coach that understands where we're coming from and played a little bit like some of us here, things should be a lot better around here."

2006-06-07T00:25:00.005-07:00

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- Brett Favre is back.
And so, it seems, are the questions about his future beyond this season.
Despite comments earlier in the offseason that there was "no doubt" his potential return to the Green Bay Packers would be for only one more season, Favre said Saturday that he wasn't so sure.
"I know I said that," Favre said Saturday, in his first public comments since telling the Packers he would return for another year. "But I hope you guys will respect me. I'm going to play this year, give it my best and not talk about it."
Favre said the constant speculation surrounding his football future -- much of which has been propelled by his own public comments on the subject -- has become a distraction for the team.
"It's been a distraction not only for me but for I think the guys I played with in the past, and I'm not going to talk about it this year," he said.
In a half-hour session with reporters, Favre admitted he doesn't know whether his decision to return was the right one. But Favre said he also would have questions if he had decided to retire.
Favre knows athletes nearing the end of their careers can risk their legacies by playing on despite retirement being a viable option. Others choose to quit when they could have played effectively for a few more years.
"Where do I fall in? I don't know, and don't care," he said. "The Packers still want me, I want to be back."
Favre threw a career-worst 29 interceptions last season and the Packers went 4-12, the team's first losing season since he became its quarterback.
"I'm going to take chances," he said. "And there's going to be people who agree with that and there's going to be people who don't agree with it. And I really don't care."
Favre doesn't plan to change his style of play at this stage of his career.
"My desire and my commitment is why I'm here," he said. "Not my footwork, not my mechanics, not arm strength or decision making. It's my desire to win. I want to win more than anyone else. I'm willing to do whatever it takes, and sometimes it's not pretty."
New Packers coach Mike McCarthy said he wants Favre to keep playing aggressively, but only when the time is right.
"It's important for him to play within the realm of the offense, which I think he always has,' McCarthy said. "And I've said it over and over again, when you're calling plays, the play caller and the quarterback have got to be on the same page. You've got to know when to push the envelope, when to pull back."
Favre said many of last year's interceptions came when the Packers were trailing in games and, because of mounting injuries, Favre was playing with young players with whom he wasn't familiar.
"Maybe I should have made some different decisions at times, but we had to try to win the ballgame with whoever was in there," Favre said.
Interceptions aside, Favre's return is a boost for his teammates. Had he not come back, the team likely would have started last year's first-round draft pick, Aaron Rodgers, at quarterback.
"I don't have to ever worry about anything, because I know when the time comes, I'm going to be that guy that's going to be getting the ball," receiver Donald Driver said. "I would have had worries if he wasn't here. You never know how the system works then."
Favre may have hastened the departure of disgruntled receiver Javon Walker when he publicly criticizing Walker's threats to hold out for a new contract last year. Walker was traded on draft day.
"We could sure use him," Favre said of Walker. "Any team could use him. But I don't regret the things I said. And I stand by that."
Favre reiterated several times on Saturday that he never considered asking to be traded to another team in the offseason.
"I know there was a lot of talk about being traded or wanting to play for another team," Favre said. "That never, I've told you guys that over and over again that I didn't want to play for another team, and that's the truth. And never once did I mention [a] trade. This is where I wanted to be the whole time."
But does he still want the ball with 2 minutes left and the game on the line?
"I'm here," Favre said Saturday. "I didn't pull too many out last year, but I gave it my damnedest, and that's all I can do this year. But if I didn't want the ball, believe me, I wouldn't be here."

2006-06-07T00:25:00.004-07:00

INCHEON, South Korea (AP) -- Michelle Wie shot a 2-over 74 Sunday to finish out of title contention at the shortened SK Telecom Open, where she made the cut in a men's tournament for the first time.
The Hawaiian-born teenager had two birdies and four bogeys at the Sky 72 Golf Club course for a 54-hole, 3-under 213 -- 12 strokes behind winner Prom Meesawat of Thailand (68).
"I did my best, but the result was not as satisfying as I would have liked," said the 16-year-old Wie said. "But the most important thing is that I tried my best."
Indian Jeev Milkha and Lee Seung-ho of South Korea shot final rounds of 70 to share second place at 12-under, one stroke ahead of defending champion K.J. Choi (65).
Heavy rain and strong winds forced the cancellation of the third round of the Asian Tour event, which was shortened from 72 holes. Wie was at the tee when the rain hit Saturday. After a delay of almost 3 hours, the course was declared unplayable.
Wie shot a 3-under 69 in the second round Friday to make the cut by five strokes and improve on her opening 70. She started the final round at 3 under, six strokes off the pace.
"I was really, really happy I've passed the first stage," Wie said. "Now I want to make the next step."
Wie heads to the U.S. Open qualifying round in Hawaii later this month. She will attempt to make the cut in two PGA tournaments -- the John Deere Classic in July, where last year she fell two strokes short of the cut, and September's 84 Lumber Classic.
The SK Telecom Open was Wie's eighth men's event. She has played in four PGA Tour events and has competed on the Japan, Nationwide and Canadian tours, missing the 36-hole cut in all seven tournaments. No woman has made the cut on the PGA Tour since Babe Zaharias at the 1945 Tucson Open.
Wie became the second woman to make the cut at a men's tournament in South Korea. LPGA star Se Ri Pak tied for 10th in the lower-tier KPGA Tour SBS Pro-Golf Championship in 2003.
Annika Sorenstam, the world's top female player, became the first woman in 58 years to compete on the PGA Tour when she missed the cut at the Colonial in 2003, shooting rounds of 71 and 74.
Wie opened her final round confidently Sunday, with birdies on the second and third holes, moving her to 7 under in early play despite high winds that sent her early shots wide of the fairways and greens.
Two bogeys later and she was back where she started.
On No. 4, Wie added a penalty stroke when her tee shot fell short of the green and rolled back across a hazard line within feet of the water. She then watched her 8-foot putt lip out on No. 5 and swung her club in frustration after forcing herself into a two-putt finish on No. 9.
The sweltering heat did little to help matters, and Wie went on to bogey the 11th and 15th.
Wie's parents were born in South Korea and her visit here has been treated like a homecoming by the local media and public, who formed galleries of thousands and clogged an expressway Friday to catch her play.

2006-06-07T00:25:00.003-07:00

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Oscar De La Hoya went into the ring Saturday night knowing he might only be a few minutes away from the end of his lucrative career. He left as a champion who might want to rethink his retirement plans after turning in his most impressive performance in years. Fighting for the first time in 20 months, the Golden Boy dominated Ricardo Mayorga, knocking down the Nicaraguan brawler in the first round before finally stopping him in the sixth to claim the WBC's 154-pound title. Showing no signs of rust or reluctance, the 33-year-old De La Hoya flattened Mayorga in the opening minute and never let up, unleashing waves of punishing head shots until Mayorga went down for the third time at 1:25 of the sixth. De La Hoya then jumped onto the ropes with the flair of a champ who was back in his element once again. "No matter what, I was going to stand up to him, let him know right away that I was here to fight," De La Hoya said. "I had to show the bully that I wasn't going to back down. He fought recklessly, but I stood my ground, and he saw I wouldn't back down." From the opening shots to the fantastic final flurry, it was the best fight for De La Hoya since he stopped Fernando Vargas four years ago, and a near-perfect result in what De La Hoya claims will be his penultimate fight. De La Hoya has said he wants to finish his career Sept. 16 -- and after this performance, there's a genuine chance of a tantalizing bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., the world's top pound-for-pound fighter whose father trains De La Hoya. Mayweather watched De La Hoya's dominance from ringside, then said he wants the September fight, calling it "the biggest fight in boxing history." "If Oscar wants to go out on top being the best, I believe on Sept. 16 we must meet," Mayweather said. "It's about legacy." But Floyd Mayweather Sr., who devised De La Hoya's precise plan to stop Mayorga, doesn't think he could stomach such a fight -- and De La Hoya, who said there's still "a good chance" he might retire, won't take the bout without his trainer. "I don't feel good about that at all," Mayweather Sr. said. "What kind of father am I if I let my son get knocked out? I'm not saying my son can't win the fight, because he can ... but if I've got anything to do with it, and I have a lot to do with it, it ain't going to happen." De La Hoya (38-4, 30 KOs) clearly hadn't lost his passion for the ring since Bernard Hopkins stopped him in the ninth round with a devastating body punch in September 2004. Spurred by Mayorga's pre-fight insults toward his family and courage, he overwhelmed the wild-punching Mayorga with clinical right hands and a handful of devastating left hooks, stalking him around the ring and controlling nearly every moment of the fight. He sent Mayorga to the canvas just 60 seconds in, artfully ducking a wild punch and responding with a strong right and a brutal left hook. The crowd stood, and De La Hoya cast a disdainful glance over his shoulder as he walked to the neutral corner. The fight got no better for Mayorga (27-6-1), with De La Hoya's tactical precision -- using his right hand with uncommon grace -- and surprising power taking a quick toll. De La Hoya knocked him down again in the sixth, when a glassy-eyed Mayorga stayed momentarily on his wobbly feet before finally going down for good. De La Hoya also went to the canvas when referee Jay Nady pushed him away from his fallen opponent, but he sprung up to climb the ropes in triumph. De La Hoya chose Mayorga as his comeback opponent partly because of the chain-smoking, beer-swilling Nicaraguan's reputation for reckless behavior in and out of the ring. During their pre-fight publicity tour, El Matador wore bullfighting outfits and repeatedly insulted his opponent, questioning everything from his heritage to his sexuality. "In the beginning, the way he was talking about my wife and my son, he motivated me to go right at him," De La Hoya said. "He was going to talk dirty, and that was the motivation I needed to get myself up for this fight." The crowd of 13,076 at the MGM Grand Garden clearly favored De La Hoya, chanting his name and booing Mayorga. The fighters didn't touch gloves beforehand, but the beaten Mayorga was humble. "You are a great champion," Mayorga said to De La Hoya. "You are a great fighter. I apologize for everything I said to you." "I forgive you," De La Hoya replied. De La Hoya hadn't fought since losing to Hopkins. He remembered being face-down, punching the canvas in pain and embarrassment when the champion's liver-bruising shot stopped him for the first time in his career -- and he couldn't allow that fight to be his farewell to the sport. But many wondered whether De La Hoya could ever come back from that shot -- or even if he should. With two losses in his last three fights, he risked a tedious end to a stellar career. M

2006-06-07T00:25:00.002-07:00

PHOENIX (AP)
-- The Phoenix Suns scheduled a news conference for Sunday to announce that Steve Nash is the NBA's MVP for the second year in a row.
The announcement of the 1:30 p.m. EST news conference did not specify the reason, but Suns officials confirmed it was to present the award to Nash.
The Arizona Republic reported earlier that Nash would get the award, becoming the 10th player to win it in consecutive seasons.
The award is determined by a panel of sports writers and broadcasters.
Nash, 32, won his first MVP award last season, when he directed the Suns to an NBA-best 62 victories. This year, the Suns lost Amare Stoudemire to injury, and traded away Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson.
This season, Nash had career highs in scoring (18.8 points), rebounding (4.2), field goal percentage (.512) and free throw percentage (a league-leading .921). He led the league in assists at 10.5 per game and finished sixth in 3-point percentage at 43.9.
"Any time you sit back and think about just winning it once, it's mind-boggling -- the company and what it means in the history of the game," Nash said after the Republic broke the news. "To win it twice obviously just compounds that. It's just an incredible honor."
Nash was drafted by Phoenix as the No. 15 pick overall out of Santa Clara in 1996. Two years later, with Kevin Johnson and Jason Kidd playing ahead of him, he asked for a trade and was sent to Dallas. The deal included the draft choice that the Suns used to get Shawn Marion.
The Suns signed Nash to a five-year, $65 million contract in 2004, a deal Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban wouldn't match.

2006-06-07T00:25:00.001-07:00

PHOENIX (AP) -- The Phoenix Suns went from the brink to a blowout, from the edge of elimination to one of the most impressive turnarounds in NBA playoff history.
So much for the nail-biting suspense of a Game 7. The fast, feisty Suns won in a 121-90 laugher over the listless Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.
Leandro Barbosa led the layup parade with a career playoff-best 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting and the Suns became the eighth team in NBA history to win a series after trailing 3-1.
"I am going to steal a line from Disney and say it's a small world after all," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "I guess small guys can play. That's about as good as we could play. Every one of our guys, I can't pick out one, all of them had an amazing game."
That all-L.A. second-round series that looked so probable a few days ago vanished in a blur of Suns' fast breaks and repeated drives to the basket.
Instead, the Clippers will come to Phoenix for Game 1 of the second-round series on Monday night.
"It's a shame we couldn't have given them a better game," said the Lakers' Phil Jackson, who lost a first-round series for the first time in his coaching career.
Kobe Bryant scored 24 points of 8-of-16 shooting, but the rest of the Lakers starters were 17-for-50. Bryant scored only one point and took just three shots in the second half.
"If we were going to get back in this type of game, we have to have everybody contributing," Bryant explained.
He said his team played about as well as it could in taking its 3-1 series lead, then couldn't keep up when the Suns found their footing.
"They just have a lot of talent over there," Bryant said, "a lot of firepower. They stepped up to the challenge and kept coming at us in waves. We just didn't have enough in the tank to hold on."
The Brazilian Barbosa and Frenchman Boris Diaw led the way. Diaw had 21 points and nine assists as seven Suns scored in double figures. Phoenix's turnaround can be traced directly to the improved play of Barbosa and Diaw.
"Tonight, Boris and Leandro were our best players," Steve Nash said. "The two guys that people said were disappointing in the beginning of the series, I think they are accustomed to the series now and they lost their virginity, so to speak, in the seventh game."
Nash, who had 13 points and nine assists, sprained his right ankle late in the first half and was not as nimble as usual after that.
"It is the same ankle I tweaked a couple of months ago and the swelling went down finally just a week ago," he said. "It is encouraging that I could move around on it the second half, and with a day and a half of rest, I think it will be fine for Monday."
Shawn Marion had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix.
Raja Bell returned to a hero's welcome from a one-game suspension for throwing Bryant to the floor in Game 5. He scored 13 points and drew three offensive fouls against Bryant.
"We've got bigger fish to fry now," Bell quipped, a reference to Bryant's derisive comments about him after a regular-season game.
Jackson lost for the first time in 45 series where his team had the lead.
The Lakers -- after losing 126-118 in overtime at home in Game 6 Thursday night -- barely offered resistance Saturday night, cutting the lead to single digits only once after falling behind 28-13 in front of a raucous packed house.
The Suns started the first quarter with a 16-6 run and ended it with a 12-2 spurt. They made 14 of 20 shots for 70 percent, while the Lakers were a bumbling 6-for-20.
With the Suns leading 20-13, Barbosa sank a 13-footer and a layup, then dished off to Marion for a stuff in an 8-0 surge that put Phoenix ahead 28-13 with 1:15 left in the first.
After Kwame Brown, who was 1-for-5 in the first quarter, made two free throws, Bell made a 20-footer and Barbosa two free throws to put Phoenix ahead 32-15 after one.
Barbosa's layup to start the second quarter made it 34-15. Bryant cut the lead to single digits, 45-36, with a 3-pointer 6:21 before halftime. But Bell followed with a 3, then Bryant was called for an offensive foul. Replays showed Bryant elbowed Bell to the face, the kind of play the Suns' guard had complained about throughout the series.
Tim Thomas' stuff with 5:32 remaining in the half put Phoenix ahead 50-36.
Bryant's 21-footer as the shot clock expired cut the lead to 50-40, but the Suns scored the next six with Diaw's two free throws making it 56-40 with 51 seconds to go.
Nash left the court with a slight limp after stepping on Marion's foot on the play but returned in the second half.
Bryant made a 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining, then Diaw sank a 20-footer with 1.1 seconds to play and Phoenix led 60-45 at the break.
Notes: The Clippers and Suns split their season series 2-2. ... Barbosa scored 48 in the final two games of the series. ... Brown finished 2-for-10 shooting. ... The Lakers' Smush Parker was 7-for-37 shoot

2006-06-07T00:25:00.000-07:00

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- The unbeaten horse stumbled out of the gate. The reluctant hero kept his cool. "Good horses make good riders and good horses make good trainers," Michael Matz said. They also make good stories, and this certainly is one. A hard-charging Barbaro galloped into the lead at the top of the stretch and won the Kentucky Derby by a stunning 6� lengths Saturday, giving Matz his first Derby victory and jockey Edgar Prado his first winning ride. The trainer's joyous day came nearly 17 years after he led three children to safety within minutes after United Airlines flight 232 from Denver to Chicago cartwheeled down a runway, caught fire and skidded to a stop in an Iowa cornfield. The two brothers and their sister, now grown, joined Matz in the grandstand at Churchill Downs, where they cheered the strapping bay colt onto his sixth consecutive win. "There's always anxious moments, but Edgar's ridden him beautifully every time," Matz said. Given a masterful ride by Prado, the Barbaro beat a full field of 20 3-year-olds -- considered one of the toughest in years. With Sinister Minister and Keyed Entry setting the pace, Barbaro settled in right outside the leaders after his brief stumble out of the No. 8 gate. He made his powerful move around the far turn, just as he had in winning his first five races. And even though he was making only his first start in five weeks, the Florida Derby winner had plenty left in the tank as he lengthened his lead over runner-up Bluegrass Cat and helped Prado into the winner's circle on his seventh try. After the horse righted himself after the stumble, Prado said, "I was very confident and it was just a matter of time when I could turn him loose. And when I turned him loose, he was like a rocket. "I didn't have any doubt about the kind of horse he is." Steppenwolfer was third, and there was a dead heat for fourth between Brother Derek and Jazil. Barbaro became the sixth undefeated winner, following Smarty Jones in 2004. Trainer Bob Baffert had three horses in the field, but failed in his attempt to win his fourth Derby: Point Determined was ninth, Sinister Minister was 16th and Bob and John was 17th. Sent off as the 6-1 second choice by the crowd of 157,536 -- the second largest in Derby history -- Barbaro covered the 11/4 miles in 2:01.36, well off Secretariat's record of 1:59 2/5 in 1973. The margin of victory was the largest since Assault won by a record-tying eight lengths in 1946. There other Derby winners won by eight lengths. The son of Dynaformer, owned by Gretchen and Roy Jackson's Lael Farm, returned $14.20, $8 and $6. Bluegrass Cat, trained by Todd Pletcher, returned $28.40 and $15.40. Steppenwolfer paid $7.80 to show. Showing Up was sixth, followed by Sweetnorthernsaint, the surprise 5-1 favorite, Deputy Glitters, Point Determined, Seaside Retreat, Storm Treasure, Lawyer Ron, Cause to Believe, Flashy Bull, Private Vow, Sinister Minister, Bob and John, A.P. Warrior, Sharp Humor and Keyed Entry. Barbaro earned $1,453,200 to boost his career earnings to $2,302,200. If Barbaro goes on to win the Preakness in two weeks, the stage would be set for a fourth Triple Crown try in the past five years at the Belmont Stakes on June 10. War Emblem in 2002, Funny Cide in '03 and Smarty Jones in '04 each won the Derby and Preakness, but came up short in the last race. "He's a very nice horse," Prado said, "and hopefully we can win a Triple Crown." All week, Matz patiently answered questions about the crash of the DC-10 that killed 111 of the 296 passengers and crew members. He led the two brothers and their sister, who were traveling without their parents, away from the burning wreckage. D.D. Alexander, Matz's fiancee at the time and now his wife, also survived and the two stayed with the children until their parents arrived.
He's a very nice horse, and hopefully we can win a Triple Crown. -- Barbaro jockey Edgar Prado
Matz and another passenger then went back inside the plane after hearing the cries of a baby and pulled the infant out of a luggage compartment. "I think Michael is one of those rare people who does amazing things and doesn't showboat or take a lot of credit," Melissa Radcliffe, now 29 and one of the children Matz saved, said earlier this week. "In the plane crash, we knew him but we had no idea he was an Olympic equestrian rider. He said he was just a guy who likes horses." The 55-year-old Matz was an equestrian show jumping superstar for years before turning to training, competing in three Olympics between 1976 and 1996 and carrying the U.S. flag at the closing ceremony in Atlanta. Matz left the sport in 2000 as show jumping's all-time money leader with $1.7 million, and was inducted into show jumping's Hall of Fame on April 1 -- the same day Barbaro won the Florida Derby. Until Barbaro came around, Matz' best horse was Kicken Kris, who won 2004 Arlington Million. Matz t

2006-06-06T00:25:00.007-07:00

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Bo Van Pelt hardly would call himself a fashion plate.
"I'm pretty much a khaki and white shirt guy, pretty bland," he said.
Yet that hardly describes his attire Friday at the Wachovia Championship. He stuck with the white shirt, but completed the ensemble with -- gasp! -- BRIGHT ORANGE PANTS.
"I guess I felt the heat," Van Pelt said. "I put on these orange pants, and I felt like I really better play good or I was going to get made fun of. Maybe I ought to wear them more often."
Something worked, that's for sure.
Van Pelt set the 36-hole tournament record, tying the course mark with a 64 Friday for a 10-under total of 134 at Quail Hollow. It was good for a three-shot lead over former U.S. Open champ Jim Furyk, with Davis Love III another stroke back.
Play was suspended for about 90 minutes during the afternoon because of thundershowers, then called off for good about 30 minutes after it resumed when more bad weather moved through.
Seventy-four players did not finish the round, although six players -- including John Daly -- didn't show up to finish the round, knowing they likely would miss the cut. Luke Donald also withdrew with a back injury.
The cut was at 2-over 146, and among those making it on the number was 52-year-old Jay Haas, who birdied three straight holes Saturday morning and finished with a par. His 23-year-old son, Bill Haas, completed a 72 and was six shots off the lead.
Masters champion Phil Mickelson dropped two shots in seven holes Saturday morning and was at 1-under 143.
Van Pelt matched the 64 shot by Kirk Triplett in the first round of the inaugural event in 2003.
"I was concentrating when I was out there, but it's always fun when you feel like you've got control over your golf ball," said Van Pelt, still looking for his first career victory. "You know, you feel like you can work it the way you want to work it. They rhythm with my putter felt really good, so that always helps."
He finished off his round in style with a birdie on the 17th hole -- one of only nine birdies made Friday on the 217-yard par 3 with a peninsula green. With the pin to the far left -- only 15 feet from the water -- Van Pelt hit a 5-iron into 6 feet.
He added a sand save on the finishing hole to complete his round of nine birdies and one bogey.
"It's not the end all, be all, but obviously I want to win," Van Pelt said. "It would mean a lot."
To do so, he needs to hold off a stellar field that includes eight of the 10 players in the world. Tiger Woods is missing, having already decided to skip the tournament for the first time in three years to be with his father, Earl, who died of cancer earlier in the week.
Furyk, who shared the first round lead with three other players, got to 9 under before some problems late, with bogeys at 16 and 17 spoiling his day a bit. He finished with a 69.
"Yeah, I'm disappointed," Furyk said. "I felt like in my mind I should have played those holes better. If those bogeys come at 4 and 13, you know, none of us would think twice about it. They just happened to come at 16 and 17."
Defending champ Vijay Singh was five shots behind after a 68 to leave him at 5-under 139.
"The golf course is a driving golf course, so you drive the ball and you can give yourself chances at birdies, like I did," said Singh, who beat Furyk and Sergio Garcia in a playoff last year. "No matter which way you do it, you've got to put the ball in the fairway."
Love didn't do that very well -- he found the short grass on only six of the 14 driving holes -- but he got away with it. He had three birdies to offset two bogeys on the front, then finished the back nine without another bogey to match his score of 69 from the first round.
Winless since 2003, when he won four times, Love is trying to put less pressure on himself these days.
"I think I've been trying too hard, obviously trying to win majors and trying to make Presidents Cup teams and Ryder Cup teams," he said. "I felt like the last two days, I went out and played and had fun and enjoyed myself, and got into playing golf."

2006-06-06T00:25:00.006-07:00

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)
-- Friends and relatives came to the Tiger Woods Learning Center on Friday to privately remember the golf star's father, Earl Woods, who died this week after a long battle with prostate cancer.
Earl Woods, 74, was best known for the impact he had on his son, who began hitting balls at age 3 after watching as his father practiced his swing in the family's garage. He died Wednesday at his Cypress home.
Mourners arrived at the memorial and reception after the burial at a cemetery in Cypress. In attendance were former basketball great Charles Barkley, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, Nike Chairman Phil Knight, volleyball player and model Gabrielle Reece and her husband, pro surfer Laird Hamilton, among others.
Limousines delivered Tiger Woods, his wife, Elin, and his mother, Kultida.
Police restricted reporters to a public sidewalk about 10 feet from the entrance to the center.
Earl Woods, who was more determined to raise a good son than a great golfer, was the driving force behind Tiger Woods' phenomenal career.
A smoker who had heart bypass surgery in 1986, Earl Woods was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1998 and was treated with radiation. But the cancer returned in 2004 and spread throughout his body.
The last tournament he attended was the Target World Challenge in December 2004, when his son rallied to win and then donated $1.25 million to the Tiger Woods Foundation that his father helped him establish.
The 35,000-square-foot facility where the memorial and reception were held is located next to the H.G. "Dad" Miller Golf Course, where Tiger Woods played when he was in high school.
At the center's opening ceremony in February, Tiger Woods nearly broke down when he mentioned the support of his father, who was already too ill to attend.
"I talked to him last night," he said at the time. "He kept telling me how proud he was of what I was able to do, and proud of me for thinking of this. It's hard on all of us."

2006-06-06T00:25:00.005-07:00

IRVING, Texas (AP)
-- Bill Parcells says he's happy to have Terrell Owens on the Dallas Cowboys.
It just took him 48 days to say so.
"I say, `I support it,' and that's the way we go," Parcells said Friday. "I don't view it as a gamble. It's in my best interest that he's successful. And it's in his best interest that he's successful. ...
"I'm not approaching this with the idea it's going to be adversarial or I'm going to be mandating every little thing this player does."
Parcells loves keeping a low profile in the offseason, but he took it to an extreme this year considering the high-profile move of signing Owens, the receiver whose spectacular plays tend to be overshadowed by personality conflicts with teammates and coaches.
When Parcells didn't talk last weekend after the first day of the draft -- something he did the previous three years -- speculation increased that he didn't agree with the move.
Finally, on Friday afternoon, following the start of a rookie minicamp, Parcells walked into his normal news conference setting and was greeted by almost as many cameras as the day he was hired. He sat down, smiled and said, "Well, let me see what you want to talk about here."
His response to the first question wasn't exactly seven weeks in the making.
"He's a good, productive player, has been for a long time," Parcells said. "I've seen quite a bit of him. I think he can help us."
First, Owens will have to adjust to a new offense, one in which "he's not going to catch 100 balls."
"He's been in the league for quite a while so I don't worry about him making that adjustment," Parcells said. "But it is going to be different."
Parcells spoke for 50 minutes, the first 26 strictly about Owens. He answered every question -- calmly, too.
Two things he was adamant about: He's not cutting Owens any slack by letting him do most of his offseason conditioning work away from team headquarters; and the decision to sign Owens and all other personnel moves are made by the trio of himself, team owner Jerry Jones and scouting director Jeff Ireland.
Parcells said agent Drew Rosenhaus warned the team all along that Owens had some other matters to deal with this spring. Parcells said he wanted them all taken care of now so they won't be in the way later. He said Owens will be in town before a June 2-4 minicamp.
"He's done exactly what I wanted," Parcells said. "I'm not giving him special leeway."
Parcells frequently brought up the front-office triumvirate with Jones and Ireland. He also mentioned several times that picking players "is about a 50-50 proposition anyway."
"We work as a team here, we really do," Parcells said. "Hey, now, I'm not going to say we don't have a difference of opinion on some things. Once we go, we're going. If we're wrong, we'll cut our losses and keep going."
Parcells avoided talking about incidents that ruined Owens' tenures in San Francisco and Philadelphia -- except to say, "My best guess is it really is a little exaggerated" -- Parcells instead spoke of glowing reports about Owens' work ethic and conditioning.
He especially likes that Owens "responds to competition."
"If the answer to that question was no, then I probably would've had a problem with bringing him here," Parcells said. "Everyone I consulted on that -- which was people who know, not guess, know -- were very positive in that regard."
One of the people Parcells called was David Culley, who played quarterback for Parcells at Vanderbilt in the mid-1970s and spent the last two seasons as Owens' position coach with the Eagles.
One of the people he didn't ask many questions of was Philadelphia coach Andy Reid. They chatted at the scouting combine in Indianapolis, but Parcells said it was mostly about which one of them could lose more weight this offseason.
"If the subject [of Owens] came up, it was very lighthearted," Parcells said.
Once questions about Owens slowed, Parcells talked about his reasons for signing a contract extension through 2007.
"I like it and I'm challenged by it," he said, also throwing in that he did it "knowing full well that when you get to be my age [64], things can happen."
Parcells is 25-24 over three seasons in Dallas, counting a loss in his only playoff game. They missed the playoffs the last two seasons.
"It hasn't gone exactly the way I wanted it to go," he said. "I think we were a lot closer to being pretty good last year than anybody really knows."

2006-06-06T00:25:00.004-07:00

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Mark Guidry sat atop Lemons Forever with the winner's blanket of lilies draped over the Kentucky Oaks champion. He hopes to be smelling roses Saturday. Lemons Forever, a 47-1 long shot who trailed by 14 lengths down the backside, staged the biggest upset in the Oaks' 132-year history Friday, winning by 1� lengths. "This is big-time," exclaimed winning trainer Dallas Stewart. Indeed. Lemons Forever covered 1 1-8 miles in 1:50.07 and paid $96.20, $37 and $18 as the longest shot in the $685,900 race. The previous highest winning odds were 40-1 on Lemco in 1903. "Anybody knows you got your ups and your downs," Guidry said, "but right now we're on an up and I'm very grateful." Guidry has a chance to pull off the first Oaks-Derby double since jockey Jerry Bailey did in 1993. The two-day wager rewards bettors who correctly select the winners of both races. Guidry will ride Sharp Humor in Saturday's Derby. If they win, the double would trigger a probable payout of $2,755.80. "You can't count us out until the race is over," he said. "Then I'll say we got beat." Balance, the 8-5 wagering favorite in the Kentucky Derby eve race for fillies, finished 11th, disappointing her backers among the crowd of 108,065 -- second-largest in Oaks history. Ermine returned $11.20 and $7.80 at 10-1 odds. Bushfire was disqualified from third and placed sixth for interfering with Red Cherries Spin near the wire. Wait a While was moved up to third and paid $6.40, while Wonder Lady Anne was fourth. The $2 trifecta paid $12,186.60. Lemons Forever broke slowly out of the gate and was 14 lengths behind pacesetter Miss Norman after a half-mile. "I didn't think I'd be that far back going into the first turn," said Guidry, who was riding the filly for the first time in a race. "I just took my time and gave her an opportunity to run her best and she proved the best." Stewart also co-owns Lemons Forever. He is a former protege of Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, whose Ex Caelis was last in the full field of 14 fillies. "I've won a lot of good races and I'm lucky to have great owners, but this is the ultimate," said Stewart, who opened his own stable in 1997. Stewart's accent belies his New Orleans roots. He was affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which left his relatives widely scattered as they tried to recover. "It was difficult but we were blessed in my family that we all had insurance and everything went well," he said. "We stuck together and we helped each other. It was a little tough being spread out in three places."

2006-06-06T00:25:00.003-07:00

OTTAWA (AP)
-- Chris Drury figured it wouldn't take long to settle this shootout.
Drury scored 18 seconds into overtime after Tim Connolly netted his second goal of the night with 10.7 seconds remaining in regulation and the Buffalo Sabres stunned the Ottawa Senators with a 7-6 victory Friday in a wild Eastern Conference semifinal opener.
"Down the stretch, it was pretty amazing how many goals were scored," Drury said. "Sitting in the locker room you had the feeling it was going to be a quick end."
The teams scored three goals in the final 1:37 of regulation as Buffalo's Derek Roy tied it at 5 with a short-handed effort for his second goal of the game -- his team-record tying fifth point -- at 18:23. But Bryan Smolinski scored his second 24 seconds later during the same power play to give Ottawa its fifth straight lead, 6-5.
"It wasn't your typical playoff game," Roy said.
The Sabres pressed for one more, and Connolly got it as he swept a puck that lay within Ray Emery's reach up and over the rookie goalie to shock the sellout crowd.
"We weren't going to give up," Connolly said. "We came back a few times during the hockey game and we've been able to come back all year long and we're never going to give up until the game's over, and I think that's a credit to this hockey team."
Buffalo has been scoring goals in bunches. The Sabres beat Philadelphia 7-1 to clinch the first-round series in which they also had an 8-2 victory.
The winning goal was truly sudden as Drury beat Emery with a shot from the left circle.
"We couldn't play worse and we still had a chance to win it," Senators coach Bryan Murray said. "I'm disappointed. We were so sloppy with the puck."
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series won't be until Monday because the arena is unavailable over the weekend.
Five of the game's 13 goals were scored within the first or last minute of a period, including Mike Grier's opener just 35 seconds in which put Buffalo up 1-0. That was the Sabres' only lead until they won.
Mike Fisher set a Senators record for the fastest playoff goal from the start of a period when he scored 16 seconds into the third to make it 5-4. Jason Spezza and Bryan Smolinski scored 15 seconds apart early in the second, setting a Senators record for fastest two playoff goals.
"It's disappointing," Fisher said. "We played well throughout parts of the game, carried the play, forechecked well, skated and did some good things, but we just gave them too many chances offensively, odd-man rushes and some bad decisions defensively.
"You can't be doing if you want to beat this team. They're skilled, they're offensive and they thrive on odd-man rushes and counterattacks."
Martin Havlat and Dany Heatley each had a goal and an assist for Ottawa, which led the NHL with 314 goals this season.
Teppo Numminen also scored for the Sabres.
Fisher, still wearing a wire face shield to protect an injury sustained in Ottawa's first-round win over Tampa Bay, got a rebound of Wade Redden's point shot that struck Buffalo defenseman Toni Lydman and put a shot past Miller into the left side.
The Sabres scored twice in the second despite being held to four shots in the period.
Roy, who also assisted on Numminen's power-play goal in the first, scored his second goal of the playoffs with 30 seconds left in the frame to tie it at 4.
The teams combined for four goals in the first 6:56, including Numminen's power-play goal which tied it at 2.
Spezza got his third of the playoffs to tie it at 3:05 and Smolinski scored at 3:20 as Ottawa took a 2-1 lead with two goals during a 4-on-4.
After Numminen tied it, the Senators came close to regaining the lead at 9:31 when a loose puck got behind Miller, but Henrik Tallinder reached down and swatted the puck away from the goal line and under the goalie's right pad.
Ottawa had another chance later in the period when Peter Schaefer hit the right post with a backhand as he elected to shoot on a short-handed 2-on-1 with Fisher at 14:22. The Senators broke through early in the second on Havlat's seventh goal of the playoffs. Havlat got behind defenseman Dmitri Kalinin after taking Christoph Schubert's long pass up the middle and deked Miller before beating him with a backhand to make it 3-2.
Connolly scored a short-handed goal at 3:29 to square it at 3 as he shot on a 2-on-1 with Paul Gaustad.
Ottawa took its third lead, 4-3, moments later when Heatley scored a power-play goal at 4:15 on the Senators' third rebound off Redden's point shot.
Heatley finally put the puck past Miller from the right side of the net, 5 seconds after Ottawa's two-man advantage expired. Miller initially stopped rebound shots by Heatley and Zdeno Chara with Buffalo's Jason Pominville still in the penalty box.
"We got the lead and then gave it up and then we came back again," Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said. "We did a lot of good things but we know we

2006-06-06T00:25:00.002-07:00

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)
-- A young Mighty Ducks goaltender is at it again in the playoffs -- and his name isn't Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
Ilya Bryzgalov posted his second consecutive shutout Friday night when Anaheim opened the Western Conference semifinals with a 5-0 rout of Colorado. Teemu Selanne helped provide the offensive punch, with a goal and two assists against his former Avalanche teammates.
Bryzgalov, who started again over 2003 playoffs MVP Giguere, is the first rookie to post back-to-back postseason shutouts since Toronto's Frank McCool had three straight in 1945.
"I'm not really surprised. The team played very well and helped me stop the puck," said Bryzgalov, a 25-year-old Russian who was coming off a 3-0 victory over Calgary in Game 7 of the first-round series.
The Ducks scored four times in the second period, including goals by Selanne and Joffrey Lupul in the final minute to break the game open. Bryzgalov made 29 saves after stopping all 22 he faced in his clinching win at Calgary.
He only allowed three goals on 93 shots in four games against the Flames.
Bryzgalov got lots of help in this series opener from the Ducks' defense, which prevented the Avalanche from getting off few quality shots.
"The defensemen make my job easier. Our team is playing very well and I am feeling very well, too," he said. "Our team had a great performance and they didn't give a lot of scoring chances. The guys played great."
Defenseman Scott Niedermayer said, "He's playing well right now. He's doing his job, obviously, and making the saves he needs to make and it's great. It's fortunate we have the two goalies we have."
Colorado's Jose Theodore allowed all five Anaheim goals on 34 shots.
While the Ducks had only one day off between wrapping up their first-round series and beginning the matchup against Colorado, they dominated the Avalanche, who eliminated Dallas on Sunday.
"The Game 7 in Calgary, we played really well and this was a carry-over of that," Selanne said. "Sometimes you don't have so much time to think about the next series, and we just jumped into this series right away."
Coach Randy Carlyle liked the Ducks' energy level.
"We were able to turn the page on what happened in the last series and refocus and re-energize ourselves," he said.
The Avalanche simply looked flat.
"Physically they were stronger and they wanted the puck more than we did," Colorado defenseman Rob Blake said. "They dominated pretty much all facets of the game. We've got to compete more."
Said coach Joel Quenneville: "We didn't have anything going for us. They beat us to every loose puck."
The start was the third of the postseason for Bryzgalov, who played in a 2-1 overtime defeat in the opening game against Calgary while Giguere was sidelined by a lower body injury. Giguere returned and wasn't particularly effective, so Bryzgalov started again in the crucial Game 6, a 2-1 victory. Then he won Game 7.
Giguere was sensational for the Ducks in 2003 when they made it to the Stanley Cup finals and lost Game 7 to New Jersey.
Selanne sped down on a breakaway and beat Theodore with a backhander on the glove side with 55 seconds left in the second period for his fifth of this postseason.
Fifty seconds later, he picked up his own rebound near the left post and slid the puck across the crease, where Lupul tapped it in for his second goal of the playoffs.
After Samuel Pahlsson opened the scoring at 2:38 of the second period, Chris Kunitz gave Anaheim a 2-0 lead at 10:24. Travis Moen made it 5-0 midway through the final period.
Kunitz, skating through the right circle, picked up a rebound of a shot by Francois Beauchemin that bounced some 10 feet in front of the goal. Kunitz took a shot that got past Theodore but hit the right post. The Ducks left winger then controlled the puck again and slipped it into the net as he skated past the post.
The goal was his second of the playoffs.
Pahlsson, also netting his second of this postseason, scored on a slap shot from the left circle at 2:38 of the period. Colorado was down a man on the play because left wing Andrew Brunette was lying on his face back up ice. Beauchemin had flattened him with a shoulder.
Brunette lay there for a couple of minutes before getting up and slowly skating off. He had a jaw injury and didn't return. He is tied for the team lead with three playoff goals.
Theodore had a busy first period, facing 14 shots -- 13 in the last 15 minutes -- while his Colorado teammates got off only four at Bryzgalov. The Ducks finally scored on their first shot of the second period.
Notes: Selanne's goal was his 22nd in the playoffs. ... Because of an arena conflict, dates of the sixth and seventh games, if necessary, were switched to May 16 and May 18, with Game 6 at Colorado and Game 7 at Anaheim. ... Anaheim RW Corey Perry was scratched because of a knee injury. ... All four meetings between the Avalanc

2006-06-06T00:25:00.001-07:00

MIAMI (AP)
-- Some of the lights went out Friday night at Dolphin Stadium, forcing a delay in the fourth inning of the Florida Marlins' game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The power outage didn't last long -- not with Albert Pujols around.
Pujols hit his 16th home run to spark a seven-run fifth inning, and the Cardinals beat Florida 7-2 to snap a four-game losing streak, their longest since the 2004 World Series.
Playing in his team's 30th game, Pujols tied Cy Williams of the 1923 Philadelphia Phillies for the fewest games needed to reach 16 homers.
Imagine Pujols' pace if he was healthy. He sat out Tuesday's game because of a stiff back, and fouled a ball off his left ankle Thursday.
"I feel a little sore," he said. "There are some things I can't do playing defense. Hopefully it's getting better. I've played hurt before. I've just got to play smart and not push it."
Jeff Suppan (3-2) won his third consecutive start, allowing five hits and two runs in 8 1-3 innings. After St. Louis gave him a lead, he retired 10 in a row.
"He was a master," manager Tony La Russa said. "He made so many great pitches."
The Cardinals, who matched a franchise record for April victories with 17, had been winless in May. They snapped an even longer streak: 13 consecutive losses on Cinco de Mayo since winning on May 5, 1992.
"I was unaware of that. Thirteen? Wow," Suppan said, tongue in cheek. "I'm happy to be a part of this."
The game was halted for 18 minutes in the fourth inning when the lights malfunctioned. Unfortunately for the Marlins, power was restored, and they lost their eighth home game in a row.
Sergio Mitre (1-4) shut out the Cardinals for four innings, but retired only one more batter while giving up all seven runs in the fifth.
"A terrible job," said Mitre, who lost his fourth consecutive decision. "One inning will kill you."
David Eckstein walked and John Rodriguez singled to start the fifth, and Pujols hit the first pitch into the right-field stands to break a scoreless tie.
"It's exciting when they have to come in to him," Suppan said. "Watching him is so impressive."
The Marlins unraveled from there. Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen singled, and both advanced on an error by center fielder Reggie Abercrombie. Following a groundout, Gary Bennett hit a two-run single through the drawn-in infield.
Aaron Miles reached on a bunt single, and an errant throw by catcher Matt Treanor put runners at second and third. Suppan singled home a run, prompting boos from the crowd of 13,266, and Eckstein's sacrifice fly put the Cardinals ahead 7-0.
"That inning everyone got involved," La Russa said.
Florida scored in the eighth when Hanley Ramirez tripled and came home on Dan Uggla's groundout. In the ninth, La Russa gave Suppan a shot at his first complete game since 2003, but the right-hander came out after giving up a walk and a single. Alfredo Amezaga drove in a run with a pinch-hit single off John Hancock.
The Cardinals finished with 11 hits. They had totaled only 10 runs in the first four games of the trip, all losses.
Edmonds went 2-for-3 to hike his average to .220. Henry Rodriguez also had two hits in five at-bats, but his average fell to .429.
Pujols went 2-for-3 and is at .326. He set a big league record for homers in April with 14 and still leads the majors.
"You can say he's so hot right now, but he's always like this," Girardi said. "That's who he is."
Actually, Pujols was in a 1-for-12 slump this week before he singled in the third.
Notes: Before Pujols hit No. 16, the Cardinals' past eight home runs had been solo homers. ... Suppan improved his career record to 97-96. Over the past three starts, he has given up four earned runs in 21 1-3 innings. ... The outing was Suppan's longest since June 24, 2005, when he pitched 8 1/3 innings against Pittsburgh in an 8-1 win.

2006-06-06T00:25:00.000-07:00

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Tony Parker's hip was sore and his arms were aching -- and he could already feel the burn from the San Antonio Spurs' next playoff game less than 48 hours ahead.
Yet the young point guard was thrilled to be rid of an even bigger pain: The Sacramento Kings, who stretched the defending champions in all kinds of ways before ultimately behaving like a typical No. 8 seed in Game 6.
Parker scored a playoff career-high 31 points and Tim Duncan had 15 as the Spurs finally shook the Kings, finishing off their first-round series 105-83 Friday night.
With an 18-1 run spanning halftime and fundamentally flawless play down the stretch, the top-seeded Spurs advanced to the second round for the sixth consecutive season. And their next matchup is a grabber: On Sunday afternoon, the Spurs will host the fourth-seeded Dallas Mavericks, their biggest rivals.
They were led out of unfriendly Arco Arena by the superb play of Parker, who helped take control of the game on a bruised right leg when Sacramento's Ron Artest was briefly sidelined by a sprained ankle -- a twist that turned Game 6 in San Antonio's favor.
"I'm happy that the series is over," said Parker, who surpassed his previous high from a 2004 game against the Lakers. "Sacramento is a really great team. They're definitely not an 8 seed. ... We'll see [how the leg feels]. I'm going to count on all those new machines we've got, and be ready for Sunday."
The Mavericks, who finished their first-round sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, chased San Antonio in the Western Conference standings all season, ultimately falling three games short of the Spurs' franchise-record 63-win season.
While Dallas cruised, the Spurs had a rough round in between blowout victories in the first and last games -- but they finished strong. Bruce Bowen scored 16 points in Game 6 as the NBA's best road team during the regular season also closed out a series on the road for the seventh time in the last four playoffs, barely noticing the sellout Sacramento crowd's cheers and jeers.
"It was great to finish this series in pretty convincing fashion," Duncan said. "Those guys were playing some of the best basketball in the league, and they won some tough games, so it was good to finish those guys up."
Mike Bibby scored 19 points and Bonzi Wells had 17 points and 11 rebounds in another standout game for the Kings, who took two games from the Spurs at Arco Arena last week. Artest had 11 points on 2-of-11 shooting while playing on an injured ankle, but Sacramento didn't have the poise or the resourcefulness to rally after San Antonio took control in the third quarter.
"We all had confidence we would win," said Wells, who probably earned a fat free-agent contract with his inspired series. "I basically had my bags packed [for Game 7]."
The Spurs scored the final five points of the first half after Artest limped to the locker room with 1:58 left. San Antonio then made a 16-3 run to open the second, getting consecutive 3-pointers from Bowen and another from Brent Barry to take a 61-41 lead.
"I think the wind did go out of their sails when he got hurt," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "It's hard to quantify that, but I thought it had an effect, because we tried to take advantage of that."
Manu Ginobili scored two baskets while Artest was hobbled, and Parker scored 14 points in the third quarter, including a long 3-pointer at the buzzer after Kevin Martin hit one for the Kings.
Parker also left the game in the fourth quarter to rest his strained and bruised right leg, but returned quickly as the Kings never got closer than 14 points.
"Such a bad time to get an ankle sprain -- such an unfortunate break," Artest said. "Pretty sore to cut and stuff. I couldn't do what I wanted to do."
The Kings couldn't become the third No. 8 seed to win a playoff series, but their late-season surge and a strong effort against the champs bodes well for next season. Wells is the only Sacramento regular who isn't signed through at least 2007 -- though coach Rick Adelman also doesn't have a contract after eight consecutive playoff trips.
"My situation, tonight is not the time to talk about it," Adelman said. "The smoke will clear, and we'll see what happens."
The Kings rolled into the playoffs with 25 wins in their last 36 regular-season games, and had been nothing but trouble for the defending champs since Game 2 in San Antonio, where they nearly won before Barry's tying 3-pointer took a fortuitous bounce in an overtime thriller.
Sacramento took Game 3 on Martin's layup over Duncan as time expired, then stuck with the Spurs into the late minutes of Game 5 before San Antonio pulled it out.
The Kings hadn't lost a Game 6 at home since 1951, when they were the Rochester Royals. Sacramento also hadn't been eliminated from the playoffs at home since the Lakers did it in Game 7 of the me

2006-06-05T00:25:00.005-07:00

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP)
-- The San Francisco 49ers acquired a proven backup quarterback for Alex Smith, getting Trent Dilfer from the Cleveland Browns on Thursday in a trade for quarterback Ken Dorsey and an undisclosed 2007 draft pick.
Dilfer, who won a Super Bowl with Baltimore in 2001, will give the 49ers depth behind Smith, who struggled as a rookie last season after being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft.
"Trent was a player we had interest in last season," 49ers coach Mike Nolan said in a statement. "We were looking for a veteran quarterback with experience that could help mentor Alex Smith. Trent fits the bill on both counts and we are excited to have him with the 49ers."
Dilfer signed a four-year deal with the Browns last year after stints with the Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks. He went 4-7 as a Browns starter before losing the job to rookie Charlie Frye. Dilfer completed 59.8 percent of his passes last season for 2,321 yards, with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
"Trent Dilfer played an important role in the making over of our football team last year," Browns general manager Phil Savage said in a statement. "At this point, to add Ken Dorsey and to give Trent the opportunity to go back home to California is a win-win for all parties."
Dilfer, who played in college at Fresno State, has started 107 career games, throwing for 106 touchdowns and 117 interceptions. He made the Pro Bowl with Tampa Bay in 1997 after passing for 2,555 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Dorsey started 10 games in his three years in San Francisco, including three last season. He completed 48 of 90 passes for 481 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in 2005.
Cody Pickett is San Francisco's third-string quarterback and the team also drafted Michael Robinson in the fourth round last month. Robinson, a quarterback in college at Penn State, is expected to mostly be used as a running back, receiver or kick returner in San Francisco.

2006-06-05T00:25:00.004-07:00

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Mike Metzger broke the world record for longest motorcycle backflip Thursday, flying 125 feet over the fountains at Caesars Palace and becoming only the second person to clear the pool on two wheels. Immediately after a flawless landing over fountains that reached some 30 feet in the air, Metzger jumped off his 220-pound motorcycle and hugged his wife and three-year-old son. "It's something I've wanted to do forever," said Metzger, a 30-year-old freestyle motocross rider. "Everyone pushes the limits in Las Vegas!" he yelled as a crowd cheered and his parents, Ted and a tearful Sharon, looked on. The jump was made famous when motorcycle stuntman Evel Knievel crashed on an attempt with no backflip on New Year's Eve 1967. Knievel was in a 29-day coma after the crash. Gary Wells also crashed horrifically trying the jump in 1980 but Knievel's son, Robbie, successfully landed a no-frills leap in 1989. Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg was the previous record holder for longest motorcycle backflip with a 108-foot jump at the 2005 Summer X Games.

2006-06-05T00:25:00.003-07:00

NEW YORK (AP) -- Chris Paul of New Orleans, who led all rookies with 21 double-doubles, was an unanimous selection to the NBA all-rookie team on Thursday.
Paul topped the first team with 58 points, followed by Toronto's Charlie Villanueva (56), Milwaukee's Andrew Bogut (55), Utah's Deron Williams (46) and New York's Channing Frye (45) in balloting by the league's head coaches.
Paul averaged 16.1 points, 7.8 assists and 5.1 rebounds for the Hornets, who took up temporary residence in Oklahoma City after Hurricane Katrina.
Villanueva led the Eastern Conference rookies with 13 points per game. Bogut, the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft, topped all rookies in rebounding (7.0). Williams averaged 10.8 points and ranked third among rookies with 4.5 assists. Frye led all rookie centers in scoring with 12.3 points.
The all-rookie second team included Indiana's Danny Granger, Charlotte's Raymond Felton, Houston's Luther Head, Atlanta's Marvin Williams and Boston's Ryan Gomes.

2006-06-05T00:25:00.002-07:00

DETROIT (AP) -- Detroit Pistons assistant coach Sidney Lowe will return to North Carolina State to coach the school he led to a national championship under Jim Valvano. N.C. State, which has searched for a successor to Herb Sendek for the past month, will introduce Lowe as its new coach over the weekend, a person within the Pistons organization told The Associated Press on Thursday. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because the school planned to make its announcement during a news conference Saturday. Lowe was the point guard on the Wolfpack's 1983 national championship team under Valvano and ranks second among the school's all-time assist leaders and third in steals. Lowe, 46, declined comment when asked whether he had interviewed for the opening. "Right now, my focus is right here," Lowe said Wednesday night as he walked onto the court while the Pistons were warming up. He said earlier this week he would be interested in the job, but wasn't focusing on it as Detroit chases a second NBA title in three years. The Pistons concluded their first-round series against Milwaukee on Wednesday and will play the winner of the Cleveland-Washington series. The hiring was first reported by The News & Observer of Raleigh and ESPN.com. NC State athletics director Lee Fowler and Pistons coach Flip Saunders did not immediately return phone calls Thursday afternoon. Saunders said most coaches, including Lowe, think about what it would be like to coach where they went to college. "He's always kept in close touch with the program," Saunders said Wednesday. The Wolfpack's top two targets -- Texas' Rick Barnes and Memphis' John Calipari -- reportedly turned down offers of about $2 million a year to replace Sendek, who went 191-132 in 10 seasons before leaving for Arizona State last month. Last week, two more names linked to the job -- former UCLA coach and TV analyst Steve Lavin, and West Virginia coach John Beilein -- issued statements saying they would remain in their current positions. Regina Davis, the mother of incoming recruit Larry Davis, said associate athletics director Jon Fagg had called the family to tell them that the new coach would contact them Thursday or Friday. "We were being patient all along and we just figured we'd rather they take their time and get the right guy instead of making a hasty decision," said Davis, who lives in Deer Park, N.Y. Sendek led NC State to five straight NCAA tournament appearances, tying the late Valvano for the best run in school history. But Sendek was criticized in recent seasons despite that success, often for the program's Princeton-style motion offense and its struggles against Atlantic Coast Conference neighbors Duke and North Carolina. Sendek went 8-38 against those rivals, and went 9-16 against Wake Forest, the state's other ACC school. Lowe, who has never coached in college, played four seasons in the NBA before moving on to coaching, rising to become the head coach at Minnesota and Memphis. He has a career record of 79-228 and resigned at Memphis after the team's 0-8 start in to the 2002-2003 season. Lowe does not hold an undergraduate degree, which NC�State has said it will require of its next coach. He is completing degree work at St. Pauls College in Lawrenceville, Va., the school provost confirmed Wednesday.

2006-06-05T00:25:00.001-07:00

INCHEON, South Korea (AP) -- Michelle Wie made her first cut in a professional men's tournament Friday after shooting a 3-under-par 69 in the Asian Tour's SK Telecom Open.
Wie finished at 5-under 139 after two rounds and was tied for 17th at the Sky 72 Golf Club course, six strokes behind co-leaders Iain Steel of Malaysia (66) and Prom Meesawat of Thailand (64). The cut was set at even-par 144.
"It's just wonderful. Great. I feel really, really happy," Wie said. "Now I want to play well tomorrow. It's not over yet."
The Hawiian-born teenager becomes the second woman to make the cut at a men's tournament in South Korea; LPGA star Se Ri Pak finished tied for 10th in the lower-tier KPGA Tour SBS Pro-Golf Championship in 2003.
Wie improved on her opening round of 70 with a near flawless display Friday, dropping just one bogey on the 16th against four birdies.
"My putting was good," she said. "Yesterday was pretty good, but today was better. I was more confident today."
The SK Telecom Open is Wie's eighth start in a men's professional event.
She played in four PGA Tour events and has also competed on the Japan, Nationwide and Canadian tours, missing the 36-hole cut in all seven tournaments.
Since turning professional last year when she turned 16, Wie has missed the cut in the PGA's Casio World Open and Sony Open.
"In the future, I still want to challenge the PGA Tour and make the top-ten," Wie said.
Annika Sorenstam, the top women's player in the world, became the first woman in 58 years to compete on the PGA Tour when she missed the cut at the 2003 Colonial, shooting rounds of 71 and 74. She has played in men's Skins Games the last two years.
No woman has made the cut on the PGA Tour since Babe Zaharias at the 1945 Tucson Open.
Two years ago, Britain's Laura Davies was given a sponsor's exemption to the ANZ Championship, jointly sponsored by the men's European Tour and Australasian PGA, the first woman to get one on either tour. In the modified Stableford system of scoring, Davies missed the cut with a two-day total of minus-13 points -- 40 points behind the second-round leader.
Both of Wie's parents were born in South Korea, and her visit has generated intense media coverage and large galleries following her on the course.
"I'm really happy to make the cut in Korea, and I had such big galleries," she said. "Plus I really love children and there were lots of young fans here today."
Galleries of at least a thousand people gathered around each hole she played and police had to control traffic clogging a nearby expressway that passes the Sky 72 course as onlookers cheered her bunker shot over the bluff on the 16th.
"I really enjoy that kind of thing," Wie said. "Police officers came to the people who stopped their cars and told them to move. The gallery was crowded and they made so much noise. It made me laugh a bit."
When she fired her fairway shot on the 220-yard 3rd, a toddler in a flowery dress shouted "on-ni (big sister) fighting!" as Wie strode by.

2006-06-05T00:25:00.000-07:00

ATLANTA (AP) --�Billy Payne, who ran the Atlanta Olympics a decade ago, is replacing Hootie Johnson as chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters.
The 75-year-old Johnson had served in the role since 1998, notably leading the fight against demands that women be allowed to join the club.
Johnson also ordered two major overhauls of the course, adding 460 yards in length -- making it the second-longest test in major championship history at 7,445 yards -- in an era of rapidly improving equipment and longer-hitting players.
A South Carolina native and member of the club since 1968, Johnson moved up to become the club's fifth chairman after Jack Stephens stepped down.
Johnson will relinquish his title on May 21 and move into the role of chairman emeritus.
"I have enjoyed my time serving as chairman," he said in a statement. "Working with club members, staff and volunteers on the Masters has been very rewarding. The tournament is successful by any measure and will continue to grow. I know I leave the championship in very capable hands."
The 58-year-old Payne has headed the Masters media committee since 2000.
"It's an honor to be the new chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters tournament," he said in the statement. "Our club has outstanding membership, dedicated staff and volunteers committed to the Masters, and loyal and knowledgeable patrons. Hootie did a wonderful job as chairman, and I will endeavor to maintain the customs and traditions of our club as established by Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones."
Payne was not immediately available for further comment. The club said he would discuss his new position on Monday.
Martha Burk, who led the fight to open the club's all-male membership to women in 2003, ran up against stiff opposition from Johnson and didn't draw nearly as many counter protesters and supporters when she staged a rally near the club during the Masters.
Still, she was hopeful of discussing the issue again with Augusta National's new chairman.
"I hope that Billy Payne will exercise stronger leadership and better judgment than Hootie Johnson has," said Burk, who is chairwoman of the National Council of Women's Organizations. "He has a unique opportunity to show some leadership."
Payne was born in Athens, raised in Atlanta and played football at the University of Georgia, where he earned All-Southeastern Conference honors as a senior in 1968. He came to international prominence when he led Atlanta's long-shot bid to land the 1996 Centennial Olympics.
The privately funded Atlanta Games were plagued by transportation problems and charges of rampant commercialization, though Payne pointed to huge crowds, impressive venues and the post-Olympics impact on development in downtown Atlanta as the more lasting legacies.
Payne is currently a partner in the Atlanta-based Gleacher Partners, an investment banking firm. He also is chairman of Centennial Investment Properties, in which his son is a partner.
Burk said she knew little about Payne, other than his role in the Atlanta Olympics.
"To my knowledge, he never spoke out during the controversy," she said. "But I hope Billy Payne has not had to engage in a prior agreement to continue to bar women in order to ascend to the chairmanship.
"I would welcome a dialogue."

2006-06-04T00:25:00.005-07:00

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)
-- The Kansas City Royals lost yet again Tuesday, a 4-1 setback in Detroit. With the worst record in the majors, who could fault a fan for taking a nose dive from the bandwagon -- much less selling his allegiance?
Chad Carroll auctioned off 25 years of loyalty to the Royals on eBay on Tuesday, along with jerseys, hats, baseballs and other memorabilia.
And in a spate of irony, faithfulness to a club with one of the smallest payrolls in Major League Baseball sold for a paltry $278.47.
"It really does feel like a big weight has been lifted," Carroll, 34, who lives in Maryland but grew up listening to Kansas City games from his home in Iowa, told The Kansas City Star. "I really can't tell you how good it feels. I really can't."
A group of nine friends bid for Carroll's freedom, splitting the cost and earning the right to select his new favorite team.
They outbid the T-Bones, a minor league team, and saved Carroll from being held hostage by yet another Kansas City franchise. They also outbid Yahoo Sports baseball columnist Jeff Passan, who planned to ask readers to choose the new focus of Carroll's admiration.
"We didn't think it would be right if somebody else got to name his new team," said Dan Young, Carroll's best friend. "We don't know who it's going to be. We just know it's not going to be the Royals anymore."
His friends say they saw it coming.
Year after year, Carroll would adhere to the baseball cliche of "wait 'til next year." He would draft promising young players -- this year it was relief pitcher Ambiorix Burgos -- for his fantasy team. He promised his buddies the Royals would finish third in the division, at the very least.
"Year after year he'd say, 'Next year's going to be our year,"' Young said. "After a while, you could see it. He wouldn't talk about the new guys, and he'd talk more and more about the George Brett era."
After this season's 2-13 start and an 11-game slide, Carroll cut Burgos and his ties to the entire organization. Relics from the Royals' 1985 World Series championship came down, balls signed by Bob Hamelin and Angel Berroa went out the door, and a breath of fresh air wafted in.
Carroll's last game will be May 12, when Kansas City plays Baltimore, and after that his brother will remove the last traces of the Royals from his den.
Team officials claim no knowledge of the sale.
"It started off as a joke," said Carroll, who has taken a shine to the Cleveland Indians. "But now I'm completely serious. Now I can concentrate on other teams in other sports that have caused me pain and misery."

2006-06-04T00:25:00.004-07:00

PHOENIX (AP) -- The NBA suspended Phoenix guard Raja Bell for one game on Wednesday for throwing Kobe Bryant to the floor in the fourth quarter of Tuesday night's playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
That means the Suns will be without Bell, the principal defender against Bryant, for Game 6 Thursday night in Los Angeles.
Phoenix beat the Lakers 114-97 in Game 5 but Los Angeles still leads the best-of-seven series 3-2 and can eliminate the Suns with a victory. In a brief news release, the NBA said Bell was suspended for "excessive and unnecessary contact."
After the team landed in Los Angeles, Suns coach and general manager Mike D'Antoni called the suspension "consistent with what the league has been doing with other fouls of this sort.
"We'll accept it and try to suck it up and get the win, and try to get him back for Game 7," D'Antoni said in a telephone interview.
The suspension had yet to be announced when the Suns practiced earlier Wednesday before leaving for Los Angeles. After the workout, Bell repeated that throwing Bryant down was wrong but explained what led to the foul and made clear his dislike for the Lakers' star.
"I have no respect for him," Bell said. "I think he's a pompous, arrogant individual."
Bell said he had been repeatedly hit in the face by Bryant during the game.
"I got a bruised cheek here and I can barely open my jaw on this side," he said, indicating the left side of his face, "and that didn't come from nowhere, and I felt like I'd had enough of that."
Bell said it went from a game to a personal insult.
"When I get hit in the face multiple times, you've stepped across the line with me," he said. "It's not basketball anymore. It was basketball for four games, then when he hit me in the face, that was the last straw last night. It still doesn't excuse me, but that's just the way I felt about it."
At the other end of the court just before Bell threw Bryant down, the Suns guard said he complained to referee Greg Willard about getting hit in the face, and Lakers coach Phil Jackson hollered out that Bell "deserved it," adding a profanity to emphasize the point.
That's why Bell pointed to the Lakers' bench yelling "That's your foul!" after he threw Bryant down.
Bell and Bryant received a double-technical in the second quarter. A few minutes after Bell was tossed, Bryant was thrown out of the game for his second technical for complaining about James Jones' hard foul on Kwame Brown.
The latest incident is part of a season-long series of expressions of mutual contempt between Bell and Bryant.
After Tuesday night's game, Bryant said he hoped Bell wouldn't be suspended but added that players can't afford to lose their temper in games.
"I'm not trying to go out there and elbow somebody, that's not the way I play," Bryant said. "If you get elbowed, you still have to keep your cool. I get elbowed all the time."
Bell called Bryant's comments "hypocritical."
Bell's teammate Steve Nash said the Lakers have gotten the best of the officiating in the series.
"We're playing a very heated battle and people on the outside are constantly telling guys that we've got to be more physical," Nash said. "It's tough, and he's faced a lot this series. He's done a great job on Kobe, and Kobe gets away with whatever he wants. That's kind of frustrating."

2006-06-04T00:25:00.003-07:00

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)
-- New Kansas City Chiefs coach Herman Edwards is counting Priest Holmes in for next season, despite counting him out for minicamp.
Edwards told The Kansas City Star on Wednesday that the Chiefs' three-time Pro Bowl running back will not be with the team when it begins offseason practices in two weeks because he has not been medically cleared.
Holmes, 32, has been recovering from a helmet-to-helmet collision with the Chargers' Shawne Merriman during a midseason game in San Diego. He has been seeing a spinal specialist, Robert Watkins, and has been working out at his home in San Antonio during the offseason.
"I told him, 'Hey, when you get cleared, when you get ready in your mind to get back here, you need to be back here,"' Edwards said. "So there's no pressure on him by our people, by us, at all."
Holmes has remained mum about his chances to return next season. He was put on injured reserve in November and has been undergoing a battery of neurological tests and evaluations since.
General manager Carl Peterson said before the NFL draft that if Kansas City had to play a game, Holmes would not be cleared. "But we don't have to start today," he said, adding that doctors will evaluate Holmes again soon.
"I haven't really called (Priest) in a while, since he hasn't been cleared," Edwards said. "I would assume he'll probably show up sometime.
"People can interpret what they want. Until you hear it from Priest Holmes that he's not going to play, in my mind, he's playing."
If Holmes does return, it will be as a backup to emerging star Larry Johnson.
After toiling behind Holmes for two years, Johnson rushed for more than 100 yards in each of his nine starts last season, racking up 1,750 yards and scoring 20 touchdowns. It was enough that one of Edwards' first moves with the Chiefs was to name Johnson the starting running back entering fall camp.
Both running backs will have a veteran offensive line to run behind. Right guard Will Shields and left tackle Willie Roaf, both 12-time Pro Bowlers who each toyed with retirement, have decided to return for one more run.
"I thought about (retiring)," Roaf said. "I talked to Will and some of the guys. Then last year we finished so strong at the end of the year. It was great seeing Will come back. That helped."
___
Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com

2006-06-04T00:25:00.002-07:00

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- His role as the Kentucky Derby favorite confirmed, Brother Derek now needs only to figure out how to win from the far, far outside. The front-running colt was installed as the 3-1 favorite Wednesday after drawing the No. 18 post position. Only one horse has ever won the Derby from that spot -- Gato Del Sol in 1982. "How can I complain about my post?" trainer Dan Hendricks said. "We're here. This is the greatest race in the world. And the 18 hole is not too bad the way the speed is set up in the race." Unbeaten this year and winner of the Santa Anita Derby, Brother Derek will be ridden by Alex Solis in a crowded field of 20 3-year-olds. In California, Brother Derek won easily while racing on the lead against small fields. In his only race with a large field, the bay colt finished fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile leaving from the No. 13 post. But with expected speed horses Sinister Minister and Sharp Humor starting inside Brother Derek, Hendricks says his colt will simply follow 4-1 co-second favorite Lawyer Ron, who drew the No. 17 post. "We should be able to follow Lawyer Ron," Hendricks, paralyzed from the waist down because of a motocross accident in 2004, said. "With his high cruising speed, Alex should be able to set him up where ever he wants to be. If it rains, the outside post will benefit us even more." Undefeated Barbaro, who drew the No. 8 post, was also 4-1. Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia made up his mind Brother Derek would be the favorite following the Santa Anita Derby. "I think the California horses were very strong this year," Battaglia said. "He won impressively." Lawyer Ron comes into the Derby with a six-race winning streak. Trainer Bob Holthus was happy his colt will start from the outside. "Fifteen would have been ideal, but it was already taken," Holthus said. "I didn't want to get trapped on the inside -- there's a lot of speed on the inside. If we can follow somebody, we'll be in good shape." Illinois Derby winner Sweetnorthernsaint, ridden by two-time Derby winning jockey Kent Desormeaux, was the fourth choice at 10-1. Trainer Bob Baffert will seek his fourth Derby win with three entries: Wood Memorial winner Bob and John, Blue Grass winner Sinister Minister and Santa Anita Derby runner-up Point Determined. All were listed at 12-1. A.P. Warrior, at 15-1, gives John Shirreffs a chance to repeat after sending out Giacomo to victory last year at 50-1 odds. Shirreffs went with post No. 10, the same spot Giacomo won from. "It was so lucky for us last year," Shirreffs said. "It's a good spot." A third Derby winning trainer has a horse in the field: Barclay Tagg, who won in 2003 with Funny Cide, will try again with unbeaten Showing Up, the Lexington Stakes winner and 20-1 choice, leaving from the No. 6 post. Three trainers have two horses in the field -- Todd Pletcher with Bluegrass Cat and Keyed Entry; Steve Asmussen has Private Vow and Storm Treasure; and Kiaran McLaughlin has Jazil and Flashy Bull. For the first time, an owner will send out two unbeaten horses in the same Derby -- Gretchen and Roy Jackson's Lael Farm owns Showing Up, who is 3-for-3, and Barbaro, who is 5-for-5. Absent from this year's Derby will be Hall of Fame trainers D. Wayne Lukas, a four-time winner, and Nick Zito, a two-time winner who sent out five horses in last year's race. Also out of this year's race are recently retired Hall of Fame riders -- Gary Stevens, Jerry Bailey and Pat Day, who combined to win six Derbies. Since the 20-horse rule began in 1984, the race went off with the maximum field only last year. There have been 19 starters five times under the rule, most recently in 2000. With 23 horses entered, only the top 20 graded-stakes earners made the field. Sunriver was ranked 21st on the graded stakes earnings list, while others left out were Lewis Michael and Hemingway's Key.

2006-06-04T00:25:00.001-07:00

BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) -- Charles Barkley estimated that he's lost about $10 million gambling over the years in an interview Wednesday.
"My agent has really worked with me to try to get it where I can go and gamble and have fun," Barkley told ESPN. "That's easier said than done. Do I have a gambling problem? Yeah, I do have a gambling problem. But I don't consider it a problem because I can afford to gamble."
Barkley, who is an NBA analyst for TNT, later had a different assessment of his gambling habits.
"It's not a problem," Barkley said on TNT during halftime of the Pistons-Bucks game. "If you're a drug addict or an alcoholic, those are problems. I gamble for too much money. As long as I can continue to do it I don't think it's a problem. Do I think it's a bad habit? Yes, I think it's a bad habit. Am I going to continue to do it? Yes, I'm going to continue to do it."
He also added that he never bet on basketball, he only bet in casinos.
Barkley said in the ESPN interview he's not concerned about his habit because he has enough money to cover his losses, though he did say he hoped to wager less money.
"When I gamble I should be playing $1,000 a hand instead of $20,000 a hand, because if I played for $1,000 a hand I probably could lose $50,000 to $100,000 a hand instead of millions of dollars," Barkley said. "And I've got to reach a happy medium because I've told all of the people in my life that first and foremost it's my money."
Barkley said the thrill of competition has a lot to do with his urge to wager. "I like to gamble and I'm not going to quit," he said. "I've just got to get it under control."
Barkley, elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame last month, averaged 22.1 points and nearly 12 rebounds in a 16-year career that included stops in Philadelphia, Phoenix and Houston. He was the league's MVP in 1993, and he won gold at the '92 Barcelona Olympics as part of the original U.S. Dream Team.
Recently, golfer John Daly said in his upcoming autobiography that he has lost between $50 million and $60 million during 12 years of heavy gambling, and that it has become a problem that could "flat-out ruin me" if he doesn't bring it under control.

2006-06-04T00:25:00.000-07:00

CLEVELAND (AP) -- LeBron James now has his signature shot. Until further notice, "The Layup" defines his growing greatness.
James tiptoed along the baseline and muscled through traffic for the layup with 0.9 seconds left in overtime, giving the Cleveland Cavaliers a 121-120 victory over the Washington Wizards and a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series on Wednesday night.
With the Cavs down by one, James, who finished with 45 points, grabbed an inbounds pass from Larry Hughes with 3 seconds to go. Nearly trapped in the corner, he delicately slid past Antawn Jamison and knifed inside.
As Michael Ruffin, Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood collapsed around him, James rose in the lane and softly dropped in his game-winning layup, sending a sellout crowd of 20,562 into a frenzy.
"I had enough room on the baseline," said James, who added seven rebounds and six assists. "If I wore an 18 or 19 size shoe, I wouldn't have made it. But I wear a 16 and was able to tightrope that baseline to get a layup."
Arenas, who matched James bucket for bucket and had 44 points, was way off with a desperation heave at the buzzer. The Wizards still had two timeouts left, but failed to call one after James' basket.
The best-of-seven series, which has been bogged down by whining from both teams and some questionable officiating, returns to Washington for Game 6 on Friday night.
"If we can go to Washington and close it out, it will be one of my biggest basketball thrills," James said.
Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said the plan was not to put James on the line. If he was going to win it, he would have to earn it.
"He made something out of nothing which is what great players do," Jordan said. "A lot of normal guys miss that."
Larry Hughes scored 24 points, Eric Snow had 18, including six in overtime, and Flip Murray added 12 for the Cavaliers, who blew a seven-point lead late in regulation and nearly gave up their home-court advantage for the second time in the series.
Jamison had 32 points, Caron Butler 20 and Antonio Daniels 13 for the Wizards, who stole a Game 5 at Chicago in the first round last year in the playoffs and nearly did it again.
James, who fouled out Jared Jeffries late in regulation, gave Butler his sixth personal foul with 25 seconds left. James made both free throws -- he went 17-for-18 from the line -- to give the Cavaliers a 119-118 lead.
But Arenas, who scored eight points in the overtime, was fouled on a drive to the hoop by Murray and made two free throws with 3.6 seconds left, setting up James' final shot.
Cleveland's star, who won Game 3 with a last-second drive, had missed a jumper at the end of regulation that would have won it, but he made sure he was closer to the basket for this attempt, a layup that moves to the top of his already superlative-laden resume.
"We thought we did a great job cutting off that baseline," Arenas said. "He made an athletic move. He hit his first game-winner in the playoffs."
Arenas paused, then corrected himself.
"Second," he said.
It was the kind of play Michael Jordan used to make, and the kind James has been delivering for most of his basketball life.
"The last play," Cavs coach Mike Brown said, shaking his head. "What an aggressive drive. He knew we needed the basket. They ran three guys at him and he found a way to get to the rim and score the basket."
The Cavaliers seemed to have Game 5 wrapped up, leading 107-100 when James, who scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, made two free throws with 1:18 left.
LeBron James found clear sailing against the Wizards during his 45-point effort.David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images
But Daniels completed a three-point play and Butler forced a turnover before scoring twice underneath as Washington fought back to tie it 107-all on Butler's layup with 7.5 seconds remaining.
James spent the final 6:53 of the third quarter sitting angrily on the bench after picking up his fourth foul. Referee Joe Forte called a block on James, who tried to slide in front of Arenas on a drive.
James bounced off the floor to argue and then walked to the Cavs bench palming the ball and looking as if he might take it home with him. He stood during his first minute of his seclusion cheering for the Cavs, who were down 64-63 when he left but outscored the Wizards 22-17 to take an 85-81 lead into the fourth.
The Cavaliers shot 61 percent from the field in the first half but only led 52-51.
Arenas scored 20 points in the first 16 minutes. However, the Cavaliers adjusted and held him without a field goal over the final 8:22 after they began running a second defender at the guard as soon as he touched the ball.
James divulged part of Cleveland's game plan before tipoff, saying he was going to get the ball early to Hughes, who came in averaging just 10.3 points in the playoffs. James made good on the promise as Hughes scored 11 points in the opening quarte

2006-06-03T00:25:00.003-07:00

NEW YORK (AP)
-- Forward Brian Ching and defender Jimmy Conrad were the biggest surprises among 11 players selected Tuesday for their first appearances on a U.S. World Cup roster. Forward Taylor Twellman, and defenders Gregg Berhalter and Chris Albright were not included in the 23-man group picked by U.S. coach Bruce Arena. Twelve holdovers were chosen from the 2002 team, which advanced to the quarterfinals in the best showing by the United States since 1930: forwards Brian McBride and Josh Wolff; midfielders Claudio Reyna, Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, John O'Brien and Pablo Mastroeni; defenders Steve Cherundolo, Frankie Hejduk, Eddie Lewis and Eddie Pope; and goalkeeper Kasey Keller. Among the newcomers were forward Eddie Johnson; midfielders Bobby Convey, Clint Dempsey of the New England Revolution and Ben Olsen; defenders Carlos Bocanegra, Cory Gibbs and Oguchi Onyewu; and goalkeepers Marcus Hahnemann and Tim Howard. "We are deeper from one through 23 and a better team," Donovan said, comparing this year's roster with the one four years ago. "The thing we don't have that we had four years ago was not as many clear leaders on the team." Ching learned he made the team when he viewed Arena's televised announcement with Houston Dynamo teammates at a sports bar in Denver International Airport. "I was kind of a nervous wreck," he said. "My name popped up on the screen, so I was pretty excited. There was a big cheer, a lot of excitement." Conrad found out he made the team from Donovan, a former MLS teammate, who told him a few minutes before Conrad received an e-mail with the official news. "I've never had the attitude that I was on the roster," Conrad said. "I always felt like I was on the outside looking in." Arena cited Conrad's improvement and big games Ching had in World Cup qualifiers. "Jimmy can help us on the field and off," Arena said. "Brian has had a good start in the MLS season." Dempsey's Internet hookup went down at his apartment in Mansfield, Mass., so he gave information on how to access his e-mail to his mother, Debbie, who was at home in Nacogdoches, Texas. "She called me screaming and crying," he said. Dempsey said his selection was bittersweet because Big Hawk, a rapper who recorded a commercial with him, was shot to death Monday night in Houston. "It's always tough to lose a friend under the conditions his life was taken," Dempsey said. The average age of the U.S. team was 28.6 years, down slightly from 2002's average of 28.8 and just above the 28.1 average in 1998, when the Americans finished last in the 32-nation field. At the World Cup in Germany, the United States opens against the Czech Republic on June 12, meets Italy five days later and closes the first round against Ghana on June 22. "With a good training camp, good preparation games and the right mental approach, our team will be a team that's going to challenge anybody on the field in this World Cup," Arena said. Since the 2002 tournament, the Americans have risen to fourth in the FIFA world rankings, trailing defending champion Brazil, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. While the rankings aren't well regarded by many, American players are faced with increased expectations. A 701/2-foot high Nike billboard near New York's Madison Square Garden and a nearly identical 40-foot high ad in San Francisco have a picture of Johnson, Donovan and Beasley and proclaims in huge yellow letters: "THE WORLD NO LONGER WANTS TO PLAY US." Twelve of the players are with European clubs, and 11 are from Major League Soccer -- exactly the same as the 2002 roster. Three players come from the Kansas City Wizards. Keller is the oldest at 36, and the youngest is Johnson, who turned 22 on March 31. Reyna, the U.S. captain, and Keller set records by making a World Cup roster for the fourth time. McBride, Pope and Hejduk are headed to their third World Cups. O'Brien, who scored the first goal against Portugal in the 2002 U.S. opener, has been sidelined for most of the past four years. Just coming off a groin injury, he has a calf problem and Arena said if O'Brien doesn't get fully fit, he could be replaced. "Physically, I'll need to step it up," O'Brien said. "We have the time for that, and that's what I'm going to try to do." Olsen, who turns 29 Wednesday, was the only player selected who didn't appear in any qualifiers for the 2006 tournament, although he did play in a qualifier in 2001. "I bet a lot of people didn't think I would be back on the national team," said Olsen, who overcame four operations on his right ankle. Among those not picked were Steve Ralston, Pat Noonan and Jonathan Spector, whose bids were hurt by injuries. The U.S. team gathers May 10 in Cary, N.C., then plays exhibition games against Morocco (May 23 at Nashville, Tenn.), Venezuela (May 26 at Cleveland) and Latvia (May 28 at Ea

2006-06-03T00:25:00.002-07:00

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Police are investigating sexual assault allegations against Los Angeles center Kwame Brown, who started in the Lakers' playoff game Tuesday night against Phoenix shortly after releasing a statement proclaiming his innocence.
The alleged assault occurred early Saturday, hours after the Lakers beat the Suns in Game 3 of their NBA playoff series, Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Jason Lee said Tuesday.
Police did not say when the report was filed or by whom. No charges have been filed, and Brown denied any wrongdoing in a statement issued through the team office Tuesday night.
"I want to assure everyone that I am completely innocent of any wrongdoing and look forward to the truth coming out when this matter is fully investigated," he said. "However, on the advice of my attorney, I cannot comment further at this time."
The 24-year-old Brown started the game in Phoenix, where the Lakers lost but still hold a 3-2 advantage over the Suns. Brown scored 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting, but was plagued by foul trouble.
"We are aware of the release issued earlier today by the LAPD," the Lakers said in a statement. "However, due to the fact that this is an ongoing legal matter, we cannot comment at this time."
Lee, the police spokesman, said the Los Angeles County district attorney's office had been made aware of the investigation, but declined to provide further details.
Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson said before the game that he had spoken with Brown about the matter.
"I did say something to Kwame: 'You know we have three priorities -- basketball, basketball and family. That's it."'
Jackson said Brown would play his usual minutes "if he can focus and play through this. I'm sure it's a distraction."
"We're not even going to discuss it," Jackson said. "It's a basketball team and we've got to focus on what we need to do."
Desperately needing an inside presence, the Lakers acquired the 6-foot-11, 270-pound Brown from Washington in a four-player deal last summer, sending highly regarded perimeter player Caron Butler to the Wizards.
Brown was a disappointment in four seasons with the Wizards after they made him the first pick in the 2001 NBA draft following his graduation from Glynn Academy in Brunswick, Ga.
Brown has picked up his game considerably since replacing Chris Mihm as the Lakers' starting center after Mihm sustained a severely sprained right ankle March 12. Brown had been coming off the bench before Mihm got hurt.

2006-06-03T00:25:00.001-07:00

PHOENIX (AP) -- Boris Diaw got his most-improved trophy, then showed he deserved it. Kobe Bryant got tossed to the floor by Raja Bell, then got thrown out of the game.
The small Phoenix Suns turned physical, of all things, and rolled past the Los Angeles Lakers 114-97 Tuesday night to stay alive in their first-round playoff series.
"I think the playoffs bring the best out in everybody," the Suns' Steve Nash said. "All of us choirboys are living up to our reputations."
Diaw -- presented with the NBA's most-improved player award before the game -- had 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
The Lakers still lead the series 3-2, with Game 6 Thursday night in Los Angeles.
Bryant, who scored 29 points, was thrown out after drawing his second technical foul with 3:11 to play. His nemesis in the series, Raja Bell, was tossed after throwing Bryant to the floor for his second technical with 7:33 left.
The two had been called for a double-technical in the second quarter.
"It's been a pretty physical series, and at that point in time I had caught another elbow in the jaw and I lost my head and overreacted to it," Bell said. "It could have cost my team and for that I'm sorry."
As for that rough style, Bryant said bring it on.
"That's how I grew up playing basketball in Philadelphia," he said. "I love playing that style. It excites me more than anything."
Kwame Brown scored 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting for the Lakers, but was plagued by foul trouble. He started hours after Los Angeles police said he was being investigated for a possible sexual assault. Before the game, Brown issued a statement through the team office saying he was "completely innocent of any wrongdoing."
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Brown's woes had his team off balance before the tip.
"I think the only thing it did was take our mind off the game," Jackson said.
Nash scored 22 points and Shawn Marion 21 for the Suns in their highest-scoring game of the series. Tim Thomas added 13 and Leandro Barbosa 11.
Lamar Odom added 18 for the Lakers.
After Bell threw Bryant down, he pointed to the Lakers' bench and yelled, "That's your foul."
"It's a physical game," Bryant said. "I'm not trying to go out there and elbow somebody, that's not the way I play. If you get elbowed, you still have to keep your cool. I get elbowed all the time."
Nash said Bell's foul was no worse than some the Lakers committed earlier in the series, so he didn't believe a suspension was warranted.
"They're going to single one out because it's on Kobe? To me that's a shame," Nash said.
"There were a couple of elbows thrown," Diaw said. "I saw Raja on the floor twice before he got ejected. Raja got hit many times. It probably was frustration."
After Bell left, Bryant made one of two free throws, then sank a 3-pointer to cut the Suns' lead to 93-83 with 7:17 left. The teams traded baskets, then Barbosa and Marion sank 3-pointers to trigger a 12-0 run that sealed the victory. Diaw scored the last four to make it 107-85.
Bryant was tossed by referee Leon Wood after complaining that a hard foul against Brown should have been called flagrant.
"He didn't like my toneage, if that's a word." Bryant said. "He's the decider. Is that a word, decider?"
Whether Brown's problems were a distraction for Los Angeles or not, the Suns finally got their fast-paced game in gear to blow open a 22-point third-quarter lead.
Diaw scored the Suns' final 11 points of the first half -- going 9-of-9 at the foul line -- to lead Phoenix to a 56-47 at the break.
Ronny Turiaf, playing for the first time in the series, completed a three-point play to put Los Angeles up 39-37 with 5:09 left in the second quarter, then the Suns outscored the Lakers 19-8 the rest of the half.
In the third quarter, the Suns' trademark high-flying style made its first appearance since the opening quarter of the series.
Marion and Bell sank 3-pointers in a 21-7 run that put Phoenix ahead 79-58 on Diaw's emphatic fast-break dunk with 3:15 left in the quarter. Nash's layup, followed by his free throw following a delay-of-game technical, put Phoenix ahead 84-62 with 1:22 to go in the third.
But Brian Cook and Bryant sank 3-pointers to cut it to 84-68 entering the fourth. Bryant's inside basket to start the fourth sliced the lead to 84-70.
Notes: The Suns' 29 points marked the first time in the series that they had topped 20 in the second quarter. ... Of the seven teams to come back from a 3-1 series deficit, five won the NBA title. ... Phoenix has not lost four straight playoff games since it was swept by the Lakers in the 1989 Western Conference finals.

2006-06-03T00:25:00.000-07:00

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)
-- Expected favorite Brother Derek and three horses trained by Bob Baffert were among a full field of 20-year-olds entered Wednesday for the Kentucky Derby. Brother Derek, trained by Dan Hendricks, will attempt to become the first horse bred in California to win Saturday's Derby since Decidedly in 1962. The colt is 3-for-3 this year and coming off a victory in the Santa Anita Derby. Baffert, seeking his fourth Derby win, will send out Wood Memorial winner Bob and John, Blue Grass Stakes winner Sinister Minister and Santa Anita Derby runner-up Point Determined. Among others entered are Showing Up, the Lexington Stakes winner trained by Barclay Tagg, who sent out Funny Cide to win the Derby in 2003. Tagg's decision to enter Wednesday -- after being satisfied a minor injury to the colt had healed -- denied Sunriver of being included in the field limited to 20 starters based on graded stakes earnings. The field, in order of post-position selection, is: A.P. Warrior, Bob and John, Sharp Humor, Barbaro, Showing Up, Point Determined, Deputy Glitters, Private Vow, Bluegrass Cat, Steppenwolfer, Sinister Minister, Seaside Retreat, Sweetnorthernsaint, Cause to Believe, Lawyer Ron, Brother Derek, Storm Treasure, Flashy Bull, Keyed Entry and Jazil. While Baffert has three entries, three other trainers have two horses in the field -- Todd Pletcher trains Bluegrass Cat and Keyed Entry (he also trains left-out Sunriver); Steve Asmussen has Private Vow and Storm Treasure and Kiaran McLaughlin has Jazil and Flashy Bull. Since the 20-horse rule began in 1984, the race went off with the maximum field only once -- last year in Giacomo's victory at 50-1 odds. There have been 19 starters five times under the rule, most recently in 2000. Sunriver was ranked 21st on the graded stakes earnings list, while others who failed to make the field were Lewis Michael and Hemingway's Key. Absent from this year's Derby will be Hall of Fame trainers D. Wayne Lukas, a four-time winner, and Nick Zito, a two-time winner who sent out five horses in last year's race.

2006-06-02T00:25:00.006-07:00

DAVIE, Fla. (AP)
-- A man faces hate crime charges stemming from an alleged assault on Miami Dolphins linebacker Jason Taylor that left the NFL player with a minor injury to one forearm, police said Monday.
Redmond Charles Burns, 24, allegedly used racial epithets and yelled obscenities at Taylor, who is black, during an alleged highway confrontation Sunday night. Taylor told police that Burns grabbed his shirt, ripping it in several places, and suffered a "minor laceration" from a metal object Burns allegedly used to attack him.
Taylor, who played in a charity golf tournament Monday in Tampa, said in a statement issued by the Dolphins that his injury was minor.
"My wife and I were the victims in an unfortunate incident last night, but we are both fine," Taylor said.
Burns, who is white, faces charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, which police have also classified as a hate crime that would permit tougher penalties. Burns also is charged with obstruction for allegedly resisting arrest after the incident involving Taylor.
Burns was being held Monday on $10,600 bond at the Broward County jail. It wasn't immediately clear Monday if he had a lawyer to represent him.
Taylor, 31, has played nine seasons with the Dolphins and emerged as one of the team's best defensive players. Last season Taylor had 12 quarterback sacks among his 52 tackles. For his career, Taylor has 540 tackles and 92� sacks.
According to Davie police, Taylor and his wife, Katina, were on their way home from church Sunday evening when Taylor saw a red pickup truck backing up at an intersection in the path of his car. Katina Taylor is the sister of Zach Thomas, another starting Dolphins linebacker.
As Taylor attempted to pass, the driver of the pickup "intentionally swerved directly at Taylor" and caused him to run off the road.
The passenger in the truck, who wasn't charged, allegedly got out and started to bang on the hood of Taylor's trunk. The 6-foot-6, 255-pound Taylor then got out of his car and was confronted by the 5-foot-11, 168-pound Burns, who was allegedly yelling racial insults and threatening to kill Taylor, according to a police report.
After grabbing Taylor's shirt, Burns allegedly went back to his truck, got an "unknown metal object" and tried to stab Taylor with it. Taylor suffered a minor wound to his left forearm but declined medical treatment.
Both men then jumped back in the truck and took off, with Taylor following and dialing 911. He lost the truck in a trailer park but was able to identify Burns from a photo lineup that police provided.
Police located the truck and tried to arrest Burns as he walked out of a trailer home, but he resisted violently and then tried to kick out the rear window of a police car. Burns was eventually subdued using pepper spray and taken to jail.
Taylor has a home in Davie, which is also the location of the Dolphins' training facility.

2006-06-02T00:25:00.005-07:00

NEW YORK (AP) -- John Daly says he has lost between $50 million and $60 million during 12 years of heavy gambling, and that it has become a problem that could "flat-out ruin me" if he doesn't bring it under control.
Daly discussed his addiction to gambling in the final chapter of his autobiography, John Daly: My Life In and Out of the Rough, to be released next Monday.
He told one story of earning $750,000 when he lost in a playoff to Tiger Woods last fall in San Francisco at a World Golf Championship. Instead of going home, he drove to Las Vegas and says he lost $1.65 million in five hours playing mostly $5,000 slot machines.
"If I don't get control of my gambling, it's going to flat-out ruin me," he says in the book, co-written with Glen Waggoner and published by HarperCollins.
The book got the attention of PGA Tour headquarters, and commissioner Tim Finchem met with Daly on Monday at the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, N.C.
Finchem said the book does not violate PGA Tour regulations, although "it is clear that he continues to be concerned about and grapple with significant personal challenges."
"I have expressed to John the tour's concern for his well-being, as well as his ongoing need to uphold the image and standards of the PGA Tour," Finchem said. "While we will continue to enforce the regulations and policies of the PGA Tour, I have advised John of the tour's willingness to support him in his efforts to deal with his personal issues."
The two-time major champion wrote that he has spent the last 10 years paying off gambling debts with his sponsorship income, hustling appearance money and "running myself ragged doing corporate outings instead of spending time with my family and working on my game."
He recalled former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson telling him at a Tucson, Ariz., rehab center in 1993 that Daly would find something he loves as much as drinking, and that he would have to be careful.
"The people around me ... were hoping, of course, that the 'something' would be practicing golf. No such luck," Daly wrote. "What I found was gambling."
He said he owed $4 million to casinos in two years of gambling until he won the 1995 British Open at St. Andrews, his second major. That victory and the ability to get handsome appearance fees, enabled him to pay off the debt.
But the gambling continued.
Daly three-putted from 15 feet on the second playoff hole against Woods at Harding Park. He headed to Las Vegas and lost $600,000 within 30 minutes. He said he took out another $600,000 line of credit and lost that in two hours.
"And here's how my sick mind analyzed the situation," Daly wrote. "My sponsorship payments would be coming through in January, so I'd be able to pay everything off and get back to even by the beginning of the new year. Everything's fine. Everything's OK. No problema. Hell, yes, there's a problema."
Daly says he has taken more control of his life in the last six years.
"I'm off those ... medications. I don't drink JD [Jack Daniels] anymore. I don't beat up on hotel rooms and cars as much. Only gambling remains a problem," he wrote.
He said he plans to start at the $25 slots in the casinos and set a "walkout loss number," which would tell him it's time to leave.
"If I make a little bit, then maybe I move up to the $100 slots or the $500 slots, or maybe I take it to the blackjack table," he wrote. "It's their money. Why not give it a shot, try to double it? And if I make a lot, I can ...
"Well, that's my plan."
Daly has been one of the most popular figures on the PGA Tour since he won the 1991 PGA Championship as the ninth alternate. He has five PGA Tour victories and career earnings of $8.7 million.

2006-06-02T00:25:00.004-07:00

DURHAM, N.C. (AP)
-- A Duke University committee recommended Monday that the school's lacrosse team resume play next season, but said the team needs strict monitoring because of a history of problems tied to alcohol. "Although the pattern of misconduct in recent years by the lacrosse team is alarming, the evidence reviewed ... does not warrant suspension of the sport," a committee of seven faculty members wrote in a report. Duke canceled the highly ranked lacrosse team's season last month, following allegations that a black woman was raped and beaten by three white men at a team party where she had been hired to strip. A grand jury has indicted two players on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual assault, and District Attorney Mike Nifong has said he hopes to charge a third person. The report released Monday night did not consider the rape allegations, but instead focused on the behavior of the team during the past five years. It found that while the team performed well academically and athletically, "a large number of the members of the team have been socially irresponsible when under the influence of alcohol." "We looked closely but found no compelling evidence to support claims that these players are racist or have a record of sexual violence," said Duke law professor James E. Coleman Jr., who led the committee. The rape allegations led Duke to accept the resignation of coach Mike Pressler and begin several internal investigations, including the examination of the lacrosse program. The two players charged -- sophomores Reade Seligmann, of Essex Fells, N.J., and Collin Finnerty, of Garden City, N.Y. -- have been released on $400,000 bond and are scheduled to appear in court May 15. A third of current team members have been cited in recent years for offenses ranging from underage drinking to public urination. Neither Seligmann nor Finnerty was among them, although Finnerty was charged last year with simple assault in Washington, D.C. The report was released the same day Seligmann's attorney, Kirk Osborn, demanded Nifong's removal from the case, accusing him of using it to help his election prospects. Nifong faces a primary election Tuesday that could decide whether he remains in office. "They don't want to go up against me," Nifong said when asked outside court Monday about the defense request for his removal. He has denied any political motivation behind his investigation. In a statement released with the report, Duke President Richard Brodhead did not offer an opinion on the panel's recommendation, saying only that the report will "give us useful information as we consider the future of men's lacrosse at Duke in the weeks ahead." "The picture that emerges is complex, with players praised as respectful to employees who worked near the team, and criticized for their inability to learn from multiple citations for inappropriate behavior," Brodhead said. The report concluded that the disciplinary record of the lacrosse team was "noticeably worse" than other athletic teams at Duke, with a larger percentage of lacrosse players involved in alcohol-related incidents. But, Coleman said, "the conduct of lacrosse players did not differ from the misconduct of other Duke students who drink too much and unfairly impose upon their neighbors." The report also found that university administrators learned of the team's "extensive disciplinary record" in 2004, but except for the coach and the school's dean of judicial affairs, no one else at Duke "appears to have treated the lacrosse team's disciplinary record as a matter of serious concern." The coach's attorney said he would have no comment on the report. Defense attorneys have strongly proclaimed the players' innocence, often citing DNA tests they said failed to connect the accuser and the lacrosse players tested. Also Monday, Osborn asked the court to throw out the photo identifications made by the accuser, calling the police photo lineup "unnecessarily suggestive" because she was shown only photos of lacrosse players. He alleged that Nifong was improperly involved in the lineup and led police to violate their own policies. Osborn's filings also included evidence and affidavits supporting a timeline the defense says proves Seligmann was not at the party long enough to have committed the assault described by the 27-year-old woman, who attends a nearby university. In recent days, the defense has also attacked the accuser's credibility. Osborn's motions mentioned a 1996 rape allegation made by the woman, which did not lead to any charges, and a report she made in 1998, in which she accused her then-husband of threatening to kill her. Osborn's motion said she later failed to appear at a court hearing on the complaint, which was dismissed.

2006-06-02T00:25:00.003-07:00

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)
-- Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer scored the go-ahead goal on a brilliant play after Ilya Bryzgalov had kept the Mighty Ducks in the game.
Niedermayer's power-play goal with 5:37 remaining lifted Anaheim to a 2-1 victory Monday night over the Calgary Flames and forced Game 7 in their Western Conference playoffs.
"We played well tonight, but we had to. We had no choice," Niedermayer said. "Now all we've got is another chance to go back out there and play hard again."
Bryzgalov, who found out just before the game he would start in goal over Jean-Sebastien Giguere, stopped 21 shots, allowing only Stephane Yelle's first-period goal.
"I wasn't nervous. Definitely not. It's hockey," Bryzgalov said. "Why am I supposed to be nervous? It's a game."
His teammates noticed his attitude.
"Bryzgalov was very solid and he really played calmly," said Teemu Selanne, who scored the Ducks' other goal. "That really settled everyone on the team in front of him."
Even Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff complimented Bryzgalov.
"We had our chances to win, but their goalie did a very good job in making the stops that he had to," said Kiprusoff, who faced 30 shots.
Niedermayer picked up a rebound of a shot by Corey Perry and, rather than try a quick shot, sliced to his left behind the net. After circling the back of the goal, he slid the puck toward the crease, where it hit Rhett Warrener and skittered past the sprawling Kiprusoff.
"I knew their goalie was caught way out of the net, and I knew we'd have guys there," Niedermayer said. "I was just trying to get it out front and I got a little bit of luck there."
The final game of the series is Wednesday night in Calgary. In the first six games, each time a team lost, it bounced back to win the next contest.
I wasn't nervous. Definitely not. It's hockey. -- Ducks' Ilya Bryzgalov
"It didn't happen tonight and now we go to Game 7," Flames captain Jarome Iginla said. "It's been back and forth the whole series. We go home and we're willing to do whatever it takes."
Selanne tied it 1-1 in the second period with his second goal of the series. Skating into the left circle, Selanne took a pass from Andy McDonald and beat Kiprusoff with a slap shot to the stick side.
Giguere sat out the first playoff game, a 2-1 overtime loss by the Ducks in Calgary, because of a lower body injury. He said before Game 2 he had recovered from the injury.
But he gave up three goals on 18 shots before being pulled for Bryzgalov early in the second period of a 3-2 loss at Calgary in Game 5, and has allowed an average of 3.87 goals a game during the series.
Bryzgalov stopped all 19 shots he faced in that game.
Yelle got his first goal of the series midway in the opening period, scoring on a rebound.
Anaheim appeared to even it shortly afterward when Selanne backhanded a shot into the net, but the Ducks' Joffrey Lupul was called for goaltender interference, so the score didn't count.
Selanne predictably protested, and the replay did seem to show his shot already had gone in before Lupul made contact with Kiprusoff.
Notes: At No. 3, the Flames are the highest remaining seed in the Western Conference since No. 1 Detroit and No. 2 Dallas have been eliminated. ... Although Giguere has been a fan favorite, Bryzgalov received the loudest applause during the pregame introductions. ... Giguere was the playoffs MVP in 2003, when he was sensational for the Ducks as they made their first Stanley Cup finals. They lost to New Jersey in seven games.

2006-06-02T00:25:00.002-07:00

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- Ales Hemsky led the Edmonton Oilers to a place they haven't visited in eight years -- and sent the Detroit Red Wings to an all-too-familiar position on the sidelines.
Hemsky scored twice, including the winning goal with 1:06 remaining, to help the Oilers beat the Red Wings 4-3 in Game 6 Monday night and advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs for the first time since 1998.
In the last two seasons, Detroit lost in either the first or second round. This year was supposed to be different for the Red Wings, who had the best record in the league with 124 points -- 11 more than the next closest, and 29 ahead of the Oilers.
"A wild, wild game," said Oilers coach Craig MacTavish as Edmonton clinched a playoff series at home for the first time in 14 years. "And now we move on."
Hemsky got the winner by working a give-and-go with Sergei Samsonov after skating in from center ice.
"I just told myself to stay with it," said Hemsky. `It's amazing, a great feeling."
Fernando Pisani also scored twice for the Oilers in their four-goal third period.
"I haven't seen anything like that," Edmonton goalie Dwayne Roloson said. "The place erupted. It was unbelievable."
Roloson, who was a trading deadline pickup from Minnesota, is now an Edmonton hero after finishing the series with 211 saves.
Johan Franzen, Henrik Zetterberg and Robert Lang scored for the Red Wings.
The Oilers tied it 3-3 on a power play, when the puck deflected off Edmonton's Shawn Horcoff to Hemsky at the side of the net, where he whacked away. Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom pushed Hemsky into net, and the puck went in with it.
The play went under video review to determine if the puck was kicked in. After a lengthy delay, officials eventually awarded Hemsky the goal with 3:53 remaining. . "I literally thought the roof was going to blow off Rexall [Place]," said MacTavish. "My head is still ringing."
Franzen flicked in a rebound at 10:07 of the third to put the Red Wings ahead 3-2.
Pisani had deked Red Wings goalie Manny Legace and scored with a shot through the legs to tie the game 2-2 at 6:40 of the third.
"We're a good skating team," said Pisani. "We knew going into the third period our best hockey was yet to come."
Pisani also converted a rebound of Jarret Stoll's shot on a power-play at 2:56 of the third period as the sellout crowd began loud chants of "Manny" in an attempt to get Legace off his game.
I literally thought the roof was going to blow off Rexall [Place] -- Oilers coach Craig MacTavish
Detoit becomes the seventh No. 1 playoff seed to be bounced by a No. 8 team since the NHL's current playoff format was instituted in 1994.
"I am shocked we're in this situation," said Detroit's first-year coach Mike Babcock, who added neither the forwards nor the goaltending of Legace was good enough. "They found a way to win and we're going home."
The Red Wings controlled the second period, outshooting the Oilers 17-2. Steve Yzerman set up Lang's power-play goal to make it 2-0. Red Wings captain Yzerman sat out the previous two games with a nagging back injury.
Yzerman's point moved him ahead of Bryan Trottier into eighth spot with 185 career playoff points.
It was another disappointing postseason for the Wings, who have lost in the first or second round of the last three playoffs.Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images
"He's been a courageous competitor," said Babcock. "He probably shouldn't have played tonight, but he perceives this as his team and he wanted to lead them."
Zetterberg got the Red Wings a 1-0 lead late in the first period, when the Oilers outshot Detroit 15-10. The forward scored on Roloson six times this series.
"We didn't play like the No. 1 seed," Red Wings defenseman Mathieu Schneider said. "We put ourselves in a position where it could all be over early."
And it is.
Notes: The Oilers' last postseason victory was in seven games over Colorado ... Detroit finished the season with 124 points, 11 more than any other team. Edmonton had 95 ... The top two seeds in the Western Conference are now eliminated; Dallas previously fell to Colorado ... Hemsky had a game-high six shots on goal.

2006-06-02T00:25:00.001-07:00

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Clippers were a happy bunch after putting an end to a 30-year drought.
But there was a limit to their joy, since they believe there's a lot more they can accomplish.
Cuttino Mobley and Corey Maggette each scored 23 points, Elton Brand added 21 points and 13 rebounds, and the Clippers took command in the third quarter to beat the Denver Nuggets 101-83 Monday night and win the first-round best-of-seven Western Conference series 4-1.
Mobley pumped his fists repeatedly in the final minute, and his teammates waved at the Staples Center fans, who stood and cheered as the final seconds ticked off.
"We've got to keep winning," Mobley said afterward in a somewhat subdued locker room.
"I saw what we had in training camp," fellow newcomer Sam Cassell said. "This team was in a lot of games last year. They just didn't have guys to finish games."
They do now, in the veteran backcourt combo of Mobley and Cassell, but finishing wasn't an issue in the series finale.
The Clippers hadn't won a playoff series since 1976, when the team was playing in Buffalo and beat the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening round before losing to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The franchise moved to San Diego in 1978, then to Los Angeles in 1984. The Clippers are in the playoffs for just the seventh time in their 36-year history, only the fourth time since heading west, and the first time in nine years.
The four wins in these playoffs matched the total for the Clippers in their previous playoff appearances while playing in Los Angeles. The franchise was 13-22 in the postseason entering these playoffs, including 9-13 while playing in Buffalo.
"For the organization, it's a tremendous accomplishment," said third-year coach Mike Dunleavy. "It's been a long time since this has happened. But for me, it's the vision I had. My philosophy through it all is you have to defend to be good."
And defend the Clippers did, holding the Nuggets under 40 percent from the floor in four of the five games in this series.
"It's just a great feeling," said Brand, who played in 544 regular-season games before making his playoff debut April 22. "It's still kind of surreal. I might not appreciate it until we start the second round."
The Clippers meet the winner of the Lakers-Suns series. The Lakers take a 3-1 lead into Tuesday night's game in Phoenix.
Should the Clippers face the Lakers, it would be the first postseason meeting ever between Los Angeles teams in the NBA, NFL or major league baseball.
Cassell was one Clipper who made it clear who he'd like to face next.
"I was always a Laker fan -- Magic Johnson, James Worthy, my main man Norm Nixon," Cassell said. "Kobe Bryant's my favorite player. It would be the battle of Hollywood -- it would be great for the city."
Cassell and Chris Kaman scored 10 points apiece and Shaun Livingston had eight points and 14 assists for the Clippers. Maggette, Brand, Kaman and Livingston are making their postseason debuts this spring.
Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points, Greg Buckner added 20 and Andre Miller had 15 points, six rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets, who went 1-16 this season when scoring less than 90 points.
"We definitely kept him in check," Brand said of Anthony, who shot 8-of-24 Monday night.
The Nuggets were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year.
"This one hurts worse than the other two," Anthony said. "We have issues. I saw guys who did not want to be here and play in this game. We did not play playoff basketball in this series.
"I don't want to be like Kevin Garnett and take eight years to get out of the first round."
The Nuggets haven't won a playoff series since 1994.
"It's definitely disappointing and frustrating not to get out of the first round," said Denver's Marcus Camby, who had six points and 11 rebounds. "We had dreams of winning the championship."
The Nuggets shot 6-of-9 to start the third quarter while outscoring the Clippers 14-9 to draw within one point.
But that's as close as the Nuggets would get.
Maggette and Brand each scored six points and Mobley added four in a 20-3 run to finish the third period and start the fourth, giving the Clippers a 75-57 lead. The Nuggets shot 1-of-12 during the spurt.
The Clippers led by as many as 25 points in the final period.
The Clippers outscored the Nuggets 17-8 to finish the second quarter for a 46-40 halftime lead, and they were on top the rest of the way.
Notes: Clippers C Zeljko Rebraca was inactive for the game after feeling chest pains during warmups. He missed 50 games while playing for Detroit in the 2002-03 season because of an irregular heartbeat, and 24 earlier this season for the same reason. He said he wasn't concerned, adding: "Everything is under control." ... Brand, who scored all but three of his points in the

2006-06-02T00:25:00.000-07:00

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Chauncey Billups got sick of chasing T.J. Ford around the court. So he decided to make Ford do the chasing.
Billups scored 13 fourth-quarter points -- including a critical 3-pointer and six straight free throws down the stretch -- as the Detroit Pistons beat the Milwaukee Bucks 109-99 to take a 3-1 lead in the first round of the NBA playoffs Monday night.
"For me, after chasing him around the court, I wanted to make him play defense, too," said Billups, who scored 34 points and was 16-for-16 from the free throw line.
Ford scored 16 third-quarter points as the Bucks took a 76-74 lead into the fourth quarter. Billups called him a "tough cover."
But the Bucks' enigmatic point guard also had six turnovers -- equaling the output of the entire Pistons team -- and struggled to guard Billups.
Michael Redd said Ford didn't get enough defensive help from his teammates.
"T.J.'s smaller than him, so he tried to take advantage of that," said Redd, who led the Bucks with 33 points.
Although the Bucks stayed close enough Monday night to make evening the series seem like a real possibility, the Pistons now can finish off the Bucks with a victory in Game 5 Wednesday night in Detroit.
"There's no question it helps when you've been there," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "That's one of the reasons we didn't take many bad shots in the fourth quarter. We took some bad ones in the third, but when it came down to crunch time we moved the ball, got some open looks, got mismatches, got to the free throw line and did the things you need to do offensively."
Ford said the Pistons' experience came through when it counted.
"I think they know how to play with each other," Ford said. "They read each other. The big thing is with them, it doesn't matter who takes that shot."
Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter praised Billups' poise.
"We're always comfortable when Chauncey has the ball in his hands in any situation," Hunter said. "He's played in those situations."
The same can't be said for the ultra-quick but inconsistent Ford, who can unleash a thrilling drive to the basket on one possession, then throw a pass out of bounds the next time down the floor.
"That's what hurt us," Ford said. "We've got to protect the ball, go watch film and make adjustments."
The Bucks had taken an 86-85 lead on Joe Smith's jump shot with 5:52 remaining in the game. But the Pistons answered with an 8-0 run, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Billups and Richard Hamilton, to put Detroit ahead 93-86 with 3:47 remaining.
The Pistons led 95-90 when Antonio McDyess was whistled for a technical foul -- Detroit's second technical of the game -- with 2:42 remaining.
Redd thought it could have been a turning point.
"We've made a living on coming back on teams this season, so I'm thinking, 'Here we go again,"' Redd said.
Redd made the free throw and was fouled on the ensuing possession, hitting another two free throws to cut the Pistons' lead to 95-93 with 2:29 remaining.
"They fought," Billups said. "I give them a lot of credit. We had to grind it out."
Billups' free throws, combined with missed shots and mishandled balls by the Bucks, allowed the Pistons to put away the game. Milwaukee committed 16 turnovers.
"Two areas that were our biggest concerns going into the series were the free throw line and turnovers," Bucks coach Terry Stotts said. "This is the first game of the series where the turnover differential was substantial."
The Pistons led by as many as 15 in the first half, but the Bucks made a run as Rasheed Wallace was whistled for a technical foul, his second of the postseason, after complaining about a foul call in the second quarter.
Redd hit the free throw, and Toni Kukoc hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession. A fast-break layup by Charlie Bell cut the Pistons' lead to 44-38.
Notes: Wallace led the league in technical fouls with 19 in the regular season. He also was called for a technical in Game 1. ... Hamilton was fined $15,000 by the NBA on Monday for elbowing Redd in the mouth during Saturday's game. The league upgraded the flagrant foul from a penalty one to a more severe level two. "Hopefully, I can talk to someone," Hamilton said. "$15,000? I don't understand that one." ... The Bucks had nine turnovers in the first half, including five by Ford.

2006-06-01T00:25:00.002-07:00

NEW YORK (AP) -- Signs were posted in the New York Yankees' clubhouse Sunday reminding players to pack a coat or jacket for the chilly weather in Boston this week.
Johnny Damon could get an especially cold reception from the fans at Fenway Park.
The speedy center fielder is the first big star to switch sides in baseball's most bitter rivalry since Roger Clemens in 1999 -- and he at least made a two-year stop in Toronto first.
Damon, on the other hand, jumped right from the Red Sox to New York for a four-year, $52 million contract. He returns to Boston with his new team for the first time Monday night, and folks in Beantown are gearing up with T-shirts that read:
"Looked Like Jesus."
"Throws Like Mary."
"LOYAL Like Judas."
"Johnny B GONE!"
"I expect them to cheer what our team accomplished back then. Winning the World Series was pretty awesome," Damon said. "I expect them to boo the fact that I'm here. That I went over and that I'm playing with a team that truly needed me, truly wanted me."
A fan favorite all over New England from 2002-05, Damon sparked Boston's high-powered offense from the leadoff spot and helped lead its band of "idiots" to a World Series championship two years ago -- the first for the Red Sox since 1918.
With his long hair, quick smile and colorful quotes, he became one of the most famous people in a baseball-crazy city. Adoring girls and grateful fans followed him like a rock star.
But the love-fest likely ended the minute he left town to join the hated Yankees. George Steinbrenner's $200 million team is still the Evil Empire as far as Boston fans (and one or two Red Sox executives) are concerned, and the rivalry has been around a lot longer than Damon was.
"Everybody is different on how they feel," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "Some don't care. Some care a lot. He spent a long time in Boston. You can't throw that away. I'm sure it will be mixed ... who knows?"
Or, as Boston slugger David Ortiz put it: "It's going to be a little crazy out there tomorrow."
Despite some occasional struggles, Damon is off to a strong start in the Big Apple, and he's coming off a huge weekend against Toronto. He had three hits Sunday in a 4-1 victory over the Blue Jays, making him 6-for-9 in the past two games with two homers and six runs scored.
Batting leadoff in another power-packed lineup, Damon is hitting .312 overall with nine doubles, 22 runs, seven stolen bases and 13 RBIs.
Is he eager to prove the Red Sox made a mistake by letting him get away as a free agent?
"I'm not bitter at them at all. They made a decision. It was a business decision. I commend them for holding their ground and for believing what they believe in," Damon said. "I would just like to thank the fans. They were awesome. They don't deserve to have players keep leaving, but it's been a trend that's happened in Boston."
The Yankees lead the AL East by percentage points over Boston heading into the two-game series, the first of 19 meetings between the teams this season. They play eight times in the next 24 days.
"We've been there so many times. It never gets boring," New York third baseman Alex Rodriguez said. "We don't know them very well. They have a new cast of characters up there except for three or four guys."
Mike Mussina and Randy Johnson, New York's two best starters, are not scheduled to pitch in the series. Right-hander Chien-Ming Wang (1-1, 4.80 ERA) takes the mound Monday night against Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (1-4, 3.90). Shawn Chacon (3-1, 4.56) goes Tuesday night against Red Sox newcomer Josh Beckett (3-1, 4.50).
Boston just finished a 3-6 trip.
"Nobody's happy around here right now," Ortiz said Sunday in St. Petersburg, Fla., after a 5-4 loss to Tampa Bay. "We're coming out of a really bad road trip. We're better at home than on the road. Going home just puts you back on track."
Damon will find out quickly Monday night whether going back to Boston will be any fun at all.
"I hope they remember all the great things he did and helped bring them a world championship after 86 years. I know I would if I were a Red Sox fan -- but of course I'm not a Red Sox fan," Rodriguez said. "Everyone in the game respects Johnny Damon and recognizes that he's a great player and a leader. I just hope they remember that."
For now, Damon is looking forward to the experience.
"I made a lot of great friends there, a lot of lifelong friends," he said. "It's going to be special."

2006-06-01T00:25:00.001-07:00

CINCINNATI (AP)
-- The Houston Astros, eligible to re-sign Roger Clemens again starting Monday, plan to contact the agents for the seven-time Cy Young Award winner.
"This opens up a window of opportunity for us," general manager Tim Purpura said Sunday from Houston. "We have said that we are interested in getting Roger back. We would love to have him be a part of our team."
Clemens spent the last two seasons with his hometown Astros, winning the NL Cy Young Award in 2004 and the major league ERA title last year. He pitched for the United States in the World Baseball Classic in March and though he considers himself retired, he hasn't ruled out returning.
Houston, Boston, the New York Yankees and Texas are interested in signing the 43-year-old right-hander.
"We'd like to have him back, but he's not a factor in our ballclub," Astros manager Phil Garner said before Sunday's game against Cincinnati. "We planned our ballclub without Rocket. He told us in the winter that he shouldn't be a factor. We're not waiting for him. We're not holding back."
Under baseball's rules, teams can re-sign their former players who became free agents only through Dec. 7 (or Jan. 8 if offered salary arbitration), or starting May 1.
Clemens is tied for eighth on the wins list with 341 and second in strikeouts with 4,502.

2006-06-01T00:25:00.000-07:00

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)
-- Steve McNair's tenure with the Tennessee Titans could be over within the next 24 hours, according to his agent. Team officials don't agree, even though they gave permission for McNair's agent to talk with the Baltimore Ravens.
Agent Bus Cook said Sunday the team was considering releasing McNair or trading him to the Ravens, with something possibly worked out by Monday.
General manager Floyd Reese said a few hours later the Ravens indeed had discussed a trade with Tennessee. But the Ravens' offer was insufficient, and Reese said the talks died right there.
"Steve's a Tennessee Titan. That has not changed," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said.
Asked about McNair being released within hours, the Titans general manager had a short answer.
"That's not going to happen, no," Reese said.
The Titans drafted Texas quarterback Vince Young with the No. 3 overall pick Saturday as McNair's successor, and they already were looking for a way to reduce or shed the $23.46 million salary cap number the 2003 co-MVP is scheduled to count for in 2006.
Titans coach Jeff Fisher had called trade and release talks "unlikely." Baltimore coach Brian Billick said simply: "Stay tuned."
The NFL Players Association filed a grievance earlier this month when the Titans barred McNair from working out on their property, fearing an injury would make them liable for his entire salary-cap number. They are trying to schedule an expedited hearing before an arbitrator, but Cook said the grievance asked for McNair's release.
Talks on reworking McNair's deal have been nonexistent, but Reese said they now have time to discuss it with the conclusion of the draft.
"Now I think it'll be everybody's duty to sit down and see if we can get something done. I don't know if we can," he said.
The Titans hold all the leverage in this situation unless an arbitrator rules in McNair's favor and grants his release. McNair is under contract for 2006 at a salary of $9 million. That takes away incentive for teams to offer much in a trade.
Tennessee won't need salary cap relief until July when it's time to start signing Young and the other nine draft picks.
"I don't know how much it does to get someone released in August," Reese said. "Maybe it does."
The last time the Titans had a pay-cut showdown with a top player was in 2004 with running back Eddie George, the franchise's all-time leading rusher. He finally asked for, and received, his release a week before training camps opened in July.
Fisher said this situation is difficult considering all McNair has meant to the franchise, leading them to their only Super Bowl appearance and two AFC championship games.
"Steve has been around long enough to understand that you have to separate the business side from everything else. Steve has confidence in his abilities. Steve is not finished playing. He's determined to prove that he can play and play at a very high level," Fisher said.
"That's what he's living on right now, and the hope that this thing gets resolved."

2006-05-30T00:25:00.005-07:00

NEW ORLEANS (AP)
-- Chris Couch is on some kind of wild ride in the Big Easy.
When he arrived Sunday night, he got lost walking to his car in downtown New Orleans and asked a group of women for a ride. That turned into a "weird" situation, and they let him out in a seedy section of a town that made him so scared Couch ran barefooted for 20 minutes before ducking into a tattoo parlor to call the police.
Stranger still was the spot he was in Saturday.
One day after closing with two tough pars to make the cut on the number, Couch took on gusty conditions for an 8-under 64, which left him atop the leaderboard after a wacky, wind-swept day at the Zurich Classic.
The PGA Tour did not have records of anyone going from worst-to-first in the third round.
"I'm not sure I would have believed it," Couch said.
He finished at 12-under 204 and had a one-shot lead over Charles Howell III (66) and Joe Durant, the 36-hole leader was still warming up when Couch signed for his card.
Durant and the late starters got the brunt of gusts up to 30 mph and they paid for it. None of the final 16 players who teed off broke par, and Durant was happy to sneak in with a 73, a round that featured only five pars and a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole.
"It was very difficult from the very first shot," Durant said.
He had 115 yards to the first green and decided to hit a knockdown 7-iron. It never had a chance of reaching, and that's about the time Durant knew he was in for a long day. Three straight bogeys were followed by three straight birdies. A gust knocked his wedge down and into the water. Then came the birdie on the last hole, to get into the final group.
"I was trying to hold on more than anything," Durant said.
Dean Wilson (66) and Cameron Beckman (67), both early starters, were at 10-under 206.
Masters champion Phil Mickelson figured he would need a 64 to get into the mix, and all it took was a 68 marred only by a bogey from the bunker on the 17th. He was only three shots behind, along with six others.
"I thought anything under par would be a good round," said Mickelson, who teed off in the morning. "When I saw guys making birdies, I knew I had to make them, as well."
Couch, who turns 33 on Monday, has only led one other time on the PGA Tour, last year at the Western Open when he tied for 13th. He never imagined he would have such a good chance to capture his first victory the way his week started -- on and off the course.
Couch said he was drinking downtown when he got lost walking six blocks to his car. He saw some women who "looked normal," asked them for a ride and soon felt uncomfortable with where they were taking him. When he asked to be let out, he said another car pulled up, a man jumped out of the car and yelled, "What are you doing in this neighborhood?"
"I was scared in the part of town I was in," Couch said.
Couch lost his cell phone during the ordeal, unsure if he left it in the car or it was taken from him. Contrary to rumors that were swirling around English Turn, he said he was not robbed of any money. But he declined to say what was weird about being in the car.
"I was just uncomfortable -- that's as plain as I can tell you," Couch said. "I didn't like the situation, and I didn't like where we were going."
Even more bothersome were the stories he heard during the week -- that he was held up in front of an ATM machine, that he was robbed leaving a casino and one tale that he had been kidnapped and taken to Mississippi.
"I've been kidnapped every night and I'm playing pretty well," Couch said with a laugh.
It was a scary situation, although Couch said he tried to forget about it once the tournament got under way, and "I was more upset about the bogey on 18 than anything that happened Sunday."
The rest of his round was superb. He holed two long birdie putts on the front nine and attacked other flags with wedges, and he reached the island green in two on the par-5 15th. The only blemish was hitting into the bunker on 18th for his lone bogey.
"I had no expectations going out there," Couch said. "I knew it was going to play tough. I never thought about how many under (par) I was. I just wanted to get as many under as I could to give myself a chance for tomorrow."
The early starters were done when gusts up to 30 mph turned English Turn tough. The wind blew Michael Allen's ball as he addressed a putt on the 15th, turning par into bogey. David Toms, the local star because of the money he raised for Hurricane Katrina victims, was one shot out of the lead until struggling in the wind and dropping three shots for a 72.
Still, he was among 19 players within four shots of the lead.
Divots: Mickelson went with only one driver Saturday, although he trouble making up his mind. First, he told caddie Jim Mackay that with the wind, he probably wouldn't need the fade driver. Macka

2006-05-30T00:25:00.004-07:00

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -- Tony Stewart walked away unscathed from a frightening accident Saturday when his car flipped onto its roof during the Busch Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Stewart, the defending Nextel Cup champion, was running in third when he drove into Kenny Wallace's path and the two cars touched. The hit wasn't hard, but enough to send Stewart's car airborne.
"I take 100 percent responsibility for this one, I just drove in front of [Wallace's] nose," Stewart said. "I looked in that little side mirror and I thought I had enough room to get down, and I didn't. I just clipped him."
His Chevrolet landed on its roof near the start/finish line, and skidded several hundred feet toward the first turn. The car was also hit by rookie Danny O'Quinn, who couldn't avoid Stewart during the 10-second slide.
"All I saw was Stewart upside down," O'Quinn said. "I didn't really have anywhere to go."
It took medical personnel several minutes to get Stewart out of the car because it was upside down and at an awkward angle. Once out, he went to the medical care facility to be examined.
Stewart, making just his third Busch series start of the season, starts second in Sunday's Cup race.
"Anything will be better than this tomorrow," Stewart said with a laugh.

2006-05-30T00:25:00.003-07:00

OTTAWA (AP)
-- The addition of Martin Havlat to Ottawa's already dominant lineup was too much for the defending Stanley Cup champions, and it might prove to be the difference in the Senators' bid to claim their first title.
Havlat helped Ottawa finish off Tampa Bay in five games Saturday night, scoring a power-play goal in the second period and adding an assist in the Senators' 3-2 victory over the Lightning.
Peter Schaefer and Andrej Meszaros scored first-period goals and Ray Emery made 26 saves for Ottawa, which won the series 4-1 to advance past the first round for the fourth time in nine straight playoff appearances since 1996-97.
"That's the first step," said Havlat, who scored in every game.
One day after attending his mother's funeral, Wade Redden assisted on both Ottawa goals in the first. The Senators defenseman�-- who missed Game 2, Ottawa's only loss, following his mother's death from cancer -- was hugged tightly by his father, Doug, and his brother, Bart, in a hallway outside the team's dressing room.
"You could see he was at his best tonight, I know his mother wanted that," said Doug Redden, who was embraced by several other Senators, including injured goalie Dominik Hasek.
"Everybody's pretty proud, and obviously me, too," Wade Redden said. "To finish it off tonight, that was such a good feeling, and to have Dad and Bart down, that was a great feeling."
Evgeny Artyukhin and Brad Richards scored in the second for the Lightning, who twice drew within one in the period, but were unable to tie it.
"I just finished playing them and I don't really like them but they have a lot of good players," Richards said. "Someone like Wade Redden, I hope he gets a chance to win it, especially with all the things surrounding him. He showed what kind of athlete he was in going through all that. They've got a great team."
Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle was penalized for tripping with 3:34 left in the third with 20 seconds remaining on a Tampa Bay power play. The Lightning got their fourth and final man advantage with 55 seconds left, but failed to generate the equalizer as the 20,004 fans came to their feet with an explosive cheer when Ottawa cleared the puck out of its zone with less than 10 seconds remaining.
"We didn't win many one-goal games all year so we had to find a way to win one tonight, and we did," Senators coach Bryan Murray said.
Havlat had a goal in every game of the series. Limited to 18 games during the regular season because of a groin injury and a dislocated shoulder, the Czech right wing had 10 points during the five-game series.
"Marty Havlat's the best pick up after the trade deadline," said center Jason Spezza, who had an assist and also finished with 10 points, recording at least one in all five games. "When you get a guy that explosive and he's playing on arguably our third line, teams can't match up against three lines like we have it."
Dany Heatley had two assists to give the Senators three 10-point scorers in the series. Emery made his fifth straight start of the series for Ottawa, the top seed in the East.
"Different guys were expected to step up on different nights and I think that's what we had, depth in scoring," Spezza said. "Three of us had a series like that and the other guys were great. The puck didn't go in for everybody but the next series the puck will go in for other guys. It was great to have that success early, we're going to have a good night tonight and celebrate a little bit, then move on."
With Dany Heatley's two-point game Saturday, the Senators had three 10-point scorers in the series.Matthew John Paul Murnaghan/Getty Images
The Senators, who won for the fifth time in 13 playoff series, will face the lowest seed remaining among Montreal (seventh), Philadelphia (fifth) and Buffalo (fourth) once the first round is completed.
Tampa Bay veteran Sean Burke stopped 35 shots in his first playoff start since April 26, 2002, when he and the Phoenix Coyotes were eliminated from the playoffs by San Jose. Burke replaced John Grahame in each of the previous two games -- both losses -- in Tampa Bay.
"They were a better hockey club than we were," Burke said. "They played with more confidence, they played with more poise, and we're not going to sit here and try to convince everybody that we got the raw end of the deal. They beat us because they did things better than we did."
The Lightning fell in their first playoff series since becoming Stanley Cup champions in 2004.
"They played like that tonight, I have to say that," Murray said. "They got the goaltending, their best players played terrific for them, Danny Boyle on the back end was all over the ice, I thought Lecavalier, Richards and St. Louis, the people that have to play well for an organization like Tampa Bay played well for them and there was a lot of pressure throughout the game.

2006-05-30T00:25:00.002-07:00

NEW YORK (AP)
-- Without Patrik Elias, the New Jersey Devils were questionable to even make the playoffs.
Now that the Czech Republic star is on top of his game, the only question being asked is will anyone stop the three-time champions from hoisting the Stanley Cup again.
Elias scored two goals and assisted on Scott Gomez's power-play goal early in the second period that wiped out the Rangers' only lead of the first-round playoff series. That was enough to lift the Devils to a 4-2 win Saturday and a four-game sweep of New York.
"We put ourselves again in a good position to end the series," Elias said.
That wasn't the case for the first 39 games of the season when Elias was recovering from Hepatitis A, contracted during last season's lockout. New Jersey was 16-18-5 when the calendar turned to 2006, and Elias' teammates looked to him to help turn things around.
The Devils made up a 19-point deficit in the Atlantic Division and skated off with the crown on the final day when they won their 11th straight game.
"People don't realize when this guy is going, he's top five in the league," Gomez said. "He's that good."
Brian Gionta scored 4:30 into the third period with the Devils' third short-handed goal of the series after a terrible turnover by Petr Sykora, and Elias ripped in his fifth of the series, with 6:39 left to make it 4-1.
The Rangers scored only four times in four games, while yielding 17 goals.
New Jersey will have to wait to find out who it will meet in the second round, but will enter that series just as it did this one -- as the hottest team in the NHL. The workmanlike Devils stretched their winning streak to 15 games, tying the league mark for the longest run that spanned the regular season and playoffs.
Martin Brodeur made 31 saves and broke Patrick Roy's league record by playing his 137th consecutive postseason game. His 88th playoff win moved him into a third-place tie with Billy Smith and Ed Belfour on the NHL career list.
"It's pretty sweet for everybody especially in a season that the Rangers dominated all year long," Brodeur said. "It was a long time coming for the Devils fans. For myself it's been a long time, too."
The Devils, who turned sloppy Rangers play into goals throughout the short series, earned their third playoff sweep. They have won the Stanley Cup in the two other years they pulled off the feat.
New York was facing long odds at the start of the day, knowing that only two NHL teams have rallied to win a series after trailing 3-0. But things got much worse just 53 seconds in when team scoring leader Jaromir Jagr aggravated a serious shoulder injury and was forced out of the game.
The right wing, who posted team records of 54 goals and 123 points this season, went into the right corner in the Devils end when defenseman Brad Lukowich met him with a hit on the right shoulder. The force drove Jagr into the boards, leading with his left shoulder that is thought to be dislocated or separated.
"I was just playing the game," Lukowich said. "He was no target or anything."
Jagr crumpled to the ice and stayed down until he was assisted by New York's training staff. Jagr skated off, doubled over and with his left arm drooping, and headed straight down the tunnel to the dressing room.
"You lose a guy like him, it's not the same team," forward Martin Rucinsky said. "Throughout the course of the season, he took this team to a different level."
For the Rangers, it was a bitter end to a season that had so much promise but finished with a flameout in their first playoff appearance since 1997. New York led the Atlantic Division for most of the season but fell to third by losing the final five games. The Rangers enter the summer break on a nine-game losing skid.
"We started to feel insecure about ourselves in the last couple of games before the playoffs," said rookie goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who never recovered his game after a late-season injury. "Stepping into this series, we faced one of the best teams in the league. It was a tough challenge for us."
Jed Ortmeyer gave his team and the frustrated fans in Madison Square Garden a lift when he charged in to Brodeur's right and put in a rebound of his own backhander with 18.6 seconds left in the opening period.
It was his first goal in 38 games and snapped a stretch of 367 minutes, 23 seconds over 18 periods since April 13 when the Rangers last held the lead.
Elias made sure it was gone quickly. That made summer vacation come early for his seven countrymen in the Rangers' lineup.
"I'm happy with the way I played and happy to help this team out," Elias said. "I'm glad I'm the one Czech staying."
After putting New York in a hole with two goals and four assists in the Devils' 6-1 win in Game 1, he struck again one week later to help New Jersey knock out its Hudson River rival for the first time in four playoff meetings.
Gome

2006-05-30T00:25:00.001-07:00

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Leading off the eighth inning in a tie game, Albert Pujols was just trying to get something started.
Instead, he made history.
Pujols set a major league record with his 14th homer in April, sending the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday.
St. Louis manager Tony La Russa appreciated the timing of Pujols' shot. After NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter and All-Star Livan Hernandez locked up in a pitchers' duel, Pujols broke a 1-all tie when he connected off Jon Rauch (0-1).
"It's always a thrill to see history," La Russa said. "But to see it in a game situation like that adds a little more to the story we're all going to tell some time."
Jason Isringhausen walked the bases loaded in the ninth before retiring Nick Johnson on a comebacker for the save.
Jose Guillen homered for the Nationals.
Pujols had been tied with Ken Griffey Jr. (1997) and Luis Gonzalez (2001) for the most home runs in April at 13. The St. Louis slugger greeted Rauch by driving a 2-1 pitch an estimated 411 feet into the Cardinals' right-field bullpen for his major league-leading 32nd RBI, matching the team record for April set by Mark McGwire in 1998.
"I made a bad pitch and he hit it," Rauch said. "That's what he does. ... It was a bad location. It came back over the plate, right in the zone where he can hit it."
Pujols said he isn't concerned with individual achievements.
"I don't play for records -- I play to win games," he said. "It definitely was good today to hit it and at the same time to win the game."
And he is ready to turn the calendar.
"We have another month after tomorrow," Pujols said. "Hopefully, we'll get 16 more wins."
Johnson finished 0-for-5, dropping his batting average to .352. Isringhausen earned his seventh save in nine opportunities.
"I think what's great about it is you got Johnson, who's having a great year and hit the ball hard all day long, and he just kept his composure," La Russa said. "In that situation, you make one good pitch and the game is over. But you can't get careless."
Braden Looper (2-0) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win. The Cardinals set a club record for victories in April with 16.
"I made it interesting," Isringhausen said, "but at least there's a zero on the board."
Pujols and the rest of the St. Louis hitters were stymied by Hernandez. He allowed just three hits and one unearned run in seven innings.
Carpenter gave up nine hits in seven innings but only one run. The right-hander, who struck out three and walked one, has allowed just four earned runs in his last 35 innings.
"I did what I had to do to keep our team in the game," Carpenter said.
The Cardinals broke on top 1-0 with an unearned run in the first. With one out, Juan Encarnacion singled up the middle and advanced to second when Guillen dropped Pujols' fly to right for an error. Encarnacion scored on a sacrifice fly by Scott Spiezio.
Guillen, who snapped an 0-for-14 skid with a single leading off the second, tied the score in the fourth with a homer to left.
Notes: The Nationals franchise hasn't won a season series against St. Louis since 1999, when the Expos took five of nine meetings. ... Utilityman Damian Jackson was ejected with two outs in the third for arguing balls and strikes from the bench. ... RHP Zach Day, acquired on waivers Wednesday from Colorado, will start for the Nationals on Sunday. ... St. Louis' previous record of 15 wins in April was set last year. ... SS David Eckstein and Pujols are the only Cardinals to start every game. ... St. Louis RHP Jason Marquis was presented with his 2005 Silver Slugger Award before the game. ... Cardinals C Yadier Molina is hitless in the series (0-for-11).

2006-05-30T00:25:00.000-07:00

DENVER (AP)
-- Forget their lousy playoff history. These Los Angeles Clippers push back -- and win.
The Clippers ended a 13-year road playoff drought and moved within one victory of the franchise's first series win in 30 years by beating the Denver Nuggets 100-86 Saturday night.
Corey Maggette finished with 19 points and Elton Brand had 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead Los Angeles, which flustered Denver into five technical fouls and a few shoving matches while swaggering through the Nuggets on their own floor.
"It's a great feeling, but we can't get lackadaisical. We have to come out with some fight," Brand said. "I don't know what else to say. When we get to the second round, it will be like, 'Welcome to the party."'
The Clippers shot 62 percent in the first half and matched the offense with stifling defense in the second as the Nuggets continued to struggle from the floor.
"Without a doubt we didn't do much different other than really start out quick. It was a great team effort. I love it," Brand said. "Everybody was sharing the ball."
Denver shot 42 percent, the Nuggets' best effort in the series but not nearly enough to match the Clippers. Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Anthony was stunned after the loss, staring at the back of his locker with a towel draped over his head.
"This right here really hurts, to lose on our home court the way we did," Anthony said.
The Clippers moved ahead 3-1 in the best-of-seven series and can clinch Monday night back home in Los Angeles. The Clippers haven't won a playoff series since 1976, when as the Buffalo Braves they beat the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening round.
The last time the Clippers won a road playoff game was when they beat Houston 95-83 on May 1, 1993 -- before veteran point guard Sam Cassell even joined the league. The 36-year-old Cassell spent much of the game with an ice pack on his back on the Clippers' sideline, but waved towels and cheered his much-younger teammates on to a dominant victory over the dispirited Nuggets.
"They're not my concern. My only concern is about my ballclub," Cassell said. "We did an excellent job tonight."
"Ol' Pops" -- as Cassell called himself -- was no slouch, finishing with 11 points.
Chris Kaman, treated with IV fluids for a virus earlier in the day, scored 12 points and showed the Clippers -- who hadn't been in the playoffs since 1997 -- were hardly intimidated by the Nuggets, even in Denver.
Kaman thought Denver's Reggie Evans reached between his legs while going for a rebound and shoved Evans to the court at the whistle in the first quarter.
Denver's Ruben Patterson and Kaman were separated, but Patterson continued yelling and Kaman circled back toward Patterson before being led away again.
"This is great for this organization," Maggette said. "We have put in a lot of hard work to get here and it's great."
The Clippers had that swagger all night and outscored the Nuggets 50-40 in the paint. Shaun Livingston had 16 points and six assists and Cuttino Mobley finished with 12 points for the Clippers. Vladimir Radmanovic had 14 points, making four of five 3-pointers.
"It was great tonight, the guys were making shots from the outside, and our big men were in there passing out. That's a team effort," Maggette said.
Marcus Camby had 14 points and three blocks for the Nuggets, who held the Clippers without a field goal for the first 4:31 of the third quarter but struggled nearly as much from the floor. On one possession, Camby missed a layup and Anthony pulled down the offensive rebound, only to have his putback attempt also bounce off the rim. It was that kind of night for the Nuggets, who haven't made it past the first round since 1994.
"It's too early to go home," Camby said.
Any shooting droughts the Clippers had were short-lived. Los Angeles scored seven of the last 10 points in the third quarter and opened the final period by outscoring the Nuggets 9-1. Radmanovic opened the period with a 3 and Maggette followed with a jumper and the Clippers kept going from there.
Anthony had 17 points before fouling out in a dramatic way, grabbing Brand's foot and not letting go until several whistles later. Brand hopped a few steps on one leg to keep his leg muscles and tendons intact and had no hard feelings about the play.
Once Anthony finally released his leg, Brand said "It's all right" as he slapped Anthony's hand before the Nugget left the court.
Notes: The Clippers made 10 of their first 11 shots in the second quarter. ... Greg Buckner made Denver's first 3-pointer since Game 2 of the series when he hit from beyond the arc about 3 minutes into the game. ... Evans was called for a lane violation two straight times as Brand missed the free throw on a three-point play attempt. He finally hit the third and Maggette followed with another three-point play to put the Clippers a

2006-05-29T00:25:00.005-07:00

NEW YORK (AP) -- Olympic gold medalist Tim Montgomery was arrested Friday on charges he was connected to a multimillion-dollar bank fraud and money laundering scheme. A grand jury indictment unsealed in New York accused the star sprinter, his gold medalist track coach, Steven Riddick, and 12 other people of being involved in a conspiracy that deposited $5 million in stolen, altered or counterfeit checks over three years. Some of the money was laundered through two businesses owned by a New York couple accused of being behind the scam, according to the indictment. Montgomery, the former 100-meter world record holder who was banned last year from track and field after being implicated in the BALCO doping scandal, surrendered to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Norfolk, Va., on Friday morning and spent the afternoon in custody. Montgomery was released on $10,000 bond Friday evening. His attorney, Robert McFarland, did not immediately return a telephone message. Investigators accused Montgomery of being a lesser player in a scheme hatched by lead defendants Douglas Shyne and Natasha Singh. Shyne and Singh are accused of setting up sham businesses to take checks stolen from banks and either alter them or make counterfeit copies. Most of the checks involved accounts at large companies that didn't immediately notice the cash missing, federal agents said. Montgomery knew the Shyne and Singh family through an acquaintance, according to the indictment. The sprinter deposited three bogus checks worth a total of $775,000, prosecutors said. He is accused of helping his coach, Riddick, deposit others worth at least at least $905,000. Prosecutors said Montgomery picked up a $20,000 fee for his role. The case has been unfolding for months. A first round of defendants were indicted in August. Riddick, a 1976 Olympic relay winner, was arrested in February while attending a track meet in Arkansas and has been free on bail since. His attorney, Bryan H. Hoss, said his client is innocent and doesn't know Shyne or Singh. "Steve Riddick is an Olympic gold medal athlete who trains world-class sprinters, and he has no association with this New York crew," Hoss said. He declined to elaborate on how the sprinter and coach, both of Virginia, came to be mixed up in the case, but said of Riddick, "He did not know that these checks were fraudulent, and we expect that proof to come out at a trial." The arrest is the latest in a series of bad twists for Montgomery. The 31-year-old runner was banned from track and field for two years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport for doping based on evidence gathered in the criminal investigation of BALCO, the Burlingame, Calif.-based lab at the center of a steroid scandal in sports. Montgomery retired in December rather than wait out the suspension. He never tested positive for drugs, and maintains he never knowingly took steroids or any other banned substances. All of Montgomery's performances were wiped off the books as of March 31, 2001, including his world record dash of 9.78 seconds in 2002. Montgomery won his gold medal in the 400-meter relay at the 2000 Olympics. Montgomery also separated from Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones, the mother of his child. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Martin Ficke said the fraud investigation, which was unrelated to the BALCO probe, began in 2005 after a bank alerted authorities about one of the suspicious checks. Most of the other defendants in the case, a majority of whom are relatives of Singh or Shyne, have already been arrested and arraigned. Three people associated with the case have pleaded guilty, prosecutors said. A lawyer for Singh did not return a telephone call, and a lawyer for Shyne declined to discuss the case.

2006-05-29T00:25:00.004-07:00

LONDON (AP) -- Chelsea captured its second straight Premier League title Saturday with a 3-0 victory over second-place Manchester United, which lost star striker Wayne Rooney in the second half with an injury. William Gallas scored on a header in the fifth minute, with the other goals by Joe Cole in the 61st minute and Ricardo Carvalho in the 73rd. Chelsea, which needed only a point to clinch the title, won the championship with two games left. Rooney was carried off the field with 10 minutes to go with what appeared to be a serious foot injury. He went down after being challenged by Paulo Ferreira. With the World Cup only six weeks away, the timing is bad for the English team. "He's got a heavy knock," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "We will see when we get back to Manchester. We don't want to make any opinions at this stage, but he's in the right hands with the doctors we we'll have to wait and see." Cristiano Ronaldo lost the ball just inside his own half when he was tackled by Frank Lampard and United was forced to concede a corner kick. Lampard's cross was headed on by Didier Drogba and Gallas was unmarked in front of goal. Rooney was positioned to tie it in the 25th minute when he drifted past two Chelsea tacklers. He had only goalkeeper Petr Cech to beat, but he rolled the ball well wide of the post. A minute before halftime, he forced Cech to make a blocking save with a low, right-footed shot, and then John O'Shea headed too high after Chelsea failed to clear a corner. On the second goal, Cole turned past Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic and then left Mikael Silvestre behind before racing clear to shoot between goalkeeper Edwin van Sar and the near post. Twelve minutes later, it was 3-0. Carvalho won possession to start the move and the ball went through four passes until the defender collected a diagonal pass from Cole. He was unmarked on the left side of the United area and drove home a shot from 15 yards.

2006-05-29T00:25:00.003-07:00

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- The Navy quarterback accused of raping a female midshipman will face a court-martial in the case, the academy announced Friday. Lamar Owens, 22, faces the court martial after a military version of a grand jury review last month. The Savannah, Ga., native led Navy's football team to an 8-4 record this season and was the team's most valuable player. He is accused of raping the 20-year-old female midshipman in the academy's dorm. All 4,000 midshipmen live in Bancroft Hall. Owens' court martial means he will remain a midshipman until the case is resolved, said academy spokeswoman Deborah Goode. "The accused and his family have been advised that it is unlikely he will graduate on time," Goode said. If convicted of rape in a court-martial, a midshipman can face life in prison, though lawyers have said that punishment would be unheard of. Along with the rape charge, Owens is accused of conduct unbecoming an officer. Naval Academy Superintendent Admiral Rodney Rempt made the decision to order a court martial. The academy released a statement that said, "The American people expect the very best of all our midshipmen. ... "As prospective Navy or Marine Corps officers, midshipmen must set the example, and accusations such as these are contrary to all the Academy works to achieve." Also Friday, the Naval Academy announced a second, unnamed midshipman would go to special court martial for charges of indecent acts, indecent assault and conduct unbecoming an officer. A special court martial is less serious than a general court martial. Penalties for a special court martial are forfeiture, fines, restrictions or reprimands. Academy officials would not elaborate on the alleged behavior that caused the special court martial.

2006-05-29T00:25:00.002-07:00

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Los Angeles Lakers' strategy against Phoenix is to pound the ball inside on offense, and slow down the Suns' running game when they have the ball.
The Lakers worked the plan to perfection for the second game in a row, taking a 99-92 victory over Phoenix on Friday night.
Kobe Bryant had only 17 points, but all five starters scored in double figures in the Lakers' well-balanced offense, and they outrebounded the smaller Suns 53-34.
Lamar Odom had 15 points and 17 rebounds, Kwame Brown had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Luke Walton had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
"From the start of the series, we have just been playing extremely well and are moving the ball around really well," Bryant said. "We have just evolved into this from the start of the season. It has been a process.
"We are just playing so well together."
The victory gave the upstart Lakers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series. They beat the Suns 99-93 in Phoenix in Game 2 after losing the opener there 107-102.
Smush Parker added 18 points in the latest win, and Bryant, who went 6-of-18 from the floor, finished with seven assists and five rebounds.
"They were trying to outrun us and we are trying to pound them inside, so that is the way it's going to go," Walton said. "So far, we have come out on top in two of three. They are not going to change their style and we are not going to change ours."
The Suns' Steve Nash, reportedly to be named the league regular-season MVP, had 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting and dished off 11 assists. He also tied for his team's top rebounder, with seven, showing how weak the Suns were on the boards.
"I don't think we are believing in ourselves, and we're playing tentative," Nash said. "We gave up offensive rebounds and missed easy layups.
"We don't have the size inside to match up with them, but that doesn't mean we can't win the series."
The Lakers had 16 offensive rebounds to only three by the Suns.
"We're scrambling. Our defense is there, but second-chance points killed us tonight," said Shawn Marion, who led Phoenix with 20 points and had seven rebounds.
The game was close all the way, with the Lakers leading most of the time and the entire fourth quarter. The Suns cut it to 92-90 with 3:27 remaining, but then Walton and Parker scored to give Los Angeles a 96-90 lead with 2:20 left.
The Suns Tim Thomas left the floor late in the game with a sprained left knee, but the injury was not believed to be serious. His status for Sunday's contest was uncertain. He scored 18 points, 16 of them in the first quarter.
Bryant scored nine of his points in the fourth quarter, going 3-of-8.
Emotions flared a couple of times during the game, with some pushing and shoving after hard fouls, but no punches were thrown. The Suns' Boris Diaw was involved in both of the brief skirmishes, in the opening moment of the game, then again in the third quarter.
First, Walton clothes-lined Thomas while Thomas driving to the basket. When Thomas got off the floor, he began walking toward Walton, and players from both teams, including Diaw, began pushing from behind the two of them, with a domino effect that ended with several players in a heap.
Walton was called for a flagrant foul, and Diaw drew a technical for his role.
In the third quarter, Diaw had a shot blocked by Brown and was hanging on him when the Lakers' center tried to retrieve the ball. Brown thrust his arm up and Diaw went sprawling backward. Again, the players squared off, but the referees quickly restored order. Diaw was called for a foul, Brown a technical.
The Suns' Raja Bell was open for a 3-pointer with the third quarter ending but he hesitated and Bryant swatted the ball away to preserve the Lakers' 77-74 lead after three.
Nash was 5-of-6 from the floor and good on both 3-pointers to score 12 points in the third, and Marion had eight points. Bryant took only one shot in the quarter and made it.
Bryant had just six points in the first half on 2-of-9 shooting, and Nash was even colder, scoring only three points and missing six of his seven shots. Both Bryant and Nash did have five assists by halftime.
The Lakers were up 49-44 at the break, with both teams looking ragged in the second quarter after a crisp opening period.
Notes: The Lakers have won 11 of their last 12 at home. ... Los Angeles C Chris Mihm has aggravated his right ankle sprain and the ankle is swollen, coach Phil Jackson said. Mihm missed 17 of the last 18 regular-season games and hasn't played in the series against Phoenix.

2006-05-29T00:25:00.001-07:00

NEW YORK (AP) -- Steve Howe, the relief pitcher whose promising career was derailed by cocaine and alcohol abuse, died Friday when his pickup truck rolled over in Coachella, Calif. He was 48.
Howe was killed at 5:55 a.m. PDT about 130 miles east of Los Angeles, said Dalyn Backes of the Riverside County coroner's office. He had been in Arizona on business and was driving back home to Valencia, Calif., business partner Judy Welp said.
Toxicology tests had not yet been performed.
The hard-throwing lefty was the 1980 NL Rookie of the Year with Los Angeles, closed out the Dodgers' 1981 World Series championship and was an All-Star the next year.
But for all of his success on the field, Howe was constantly troubled by addictions -- he was suspended seven times and became a symbol of the rampant cocaine problem that plagued baseball in the 1980s.
During the 1992 season, he became the first baseball player to be banned for life because of drugs. An arbitrator reinstated him after the season.
In recent years, he owned an energy drink company in Arizona.
"I just saw Steve last winter when his son was pitching against my son," former teammate and Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Friday night. "Everything was looking up for him and he looked great. It makes you numb when you hear about a situation like this. He had a roller-coaster ride."
Howe was 47-41 with 91 saves and a 3.03 ERA with the Dodgers, Twins, Rangers and Yankees. His final season in the majors was 1996, and the Yankees released him in June.
A moment of silence was observed at Yankee Stadium before New York played Toronto on Friday night. Howe played for the Yankees from 1991-96.
"I wish more people knew Steve Howe the way I knew him," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "His struggles in life were well documented, but he always tried to fight through them and I will always respect that."
Two days after the Yankees let him go in 1996, Howe was arrested at a Delta Airlines terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport when a loaded .357 Magnum was detected inside his suitcase. He later pleaded guilty to gun possession and was placed on three years' probation and given 150 hours of community service.
Chicago White Sox coach Tim Raines played with Howe in that final year.
"You always get second chances -- third and fourth sometimes. And people really believed in him and that he'd eventually kick the problem. Unfortunately, it didn't happen for him," he said.
Howe tried a comeback in 1997 with Sioux Falls of the independent Northern League and retired after injuring his forearm. That August, he was critically injured in a motorcycle accident in Montana and charged with drunken driving; those charges were later dropped when prosecutors decided his blood test was improperly obtained.
"He was extremely talented, very confident on the mound and had an incredible arm," Scioscia said. "Obviously, he didn't reach his potential because of other things that crept into his life."
Said former Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda: "Steve played for me for five years and I thought the world of him."
Howe was suspended for the 1984 season by commissioner Bowie Kuhn for cocaine use. Howe was out of the majors in 1986 after a relapse the previous August with Minnesota.
Texas released him before the 1988 season because of an alcohol problem, and he did not pitch again in the big leagues until 1991.
"Howsie had some issues everybody knew about," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said in San Francisco. "Everybody who hasn't played with him didn't know what kind of teammate he was. What you hear about Steve is the drug stuff. ... He was kind of the captain of the bullpen out there."
Welp knew Howe for two years, and said he was doing well.
"His goal was to bring an all-natural energy drink to the United States," she said. "He was so giving, always trying to help people. He used to always say, 'I'm all about the underdog."'
Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow played against Howe in the NL West.
"When I heard it today, I thought 'What a life this guy had,"' Krukow said, his eyes red. "So many tragic things happened to him in a young 48 years. Maybe he's at peace. He was the nicest guy in the world but he had some demons, unfortunately."
When baseball began checking for steroids in 2005, Howe said he supported a testing program.
"I was one of the first to be fried and tried," he said then.
Yet Howe said he did not think the steroid problem was as big as some believed.
"For whatever reasons, holes have been dug by everybody, so you do what it takes to clear it," he said at the time. "A guy asked me one time, 'Well, how bad is the drug problem in major league baseball?' And I go, 'Go take a survey of your housewives, your doctors, your lawyers, your people down the street, and there you got your problem."'
Howe wa

2006-05-29T00:25:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK (AP) -- The parents of Southern California football star Reggie Bush received $100,000 in cash from investors in a sports marketing company that hoped to sign the running back, an attorney for the investors said in a letter obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune. Attorney Brian Watkins told the newspaper on Friday that Bush's parents, LaMar and Denise Griffin, asked for the money partly to resolve financial problems. Watkins said the money included an initial payment of about $30,000 to help start up the New Era Sports and Entertainment agency. Watkins said the money was disbursed throughout 2005 and was given on more than one occasion at the home of Lloyd Lake, an investor in the company and a documented gang member. Watkins described him as a longtime friend of the Heisman Trophy winner. Watkins described the $100,000 in disbursements in a letter dated Feb. 13 in which he asked David Cornwell, the Bush family's attorney, if USC should be included in settlement discussions. "We would not object to their [USC's] participation as we understand their wanting to be involved due to the fact this matter was ongoing during their Championship season of 2004 as well as the entire season of 2005, and any lawsuit filed might have an adverse effect on them," Watkins' letter said. USC spokesman Tim Tessalone said he was unaware of the letter and declined comment. The content of the letter was reported hours after the Houston Texans, who have first overall selection in Saturday's draft, passed on Bush and signed North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams. Watkins said earlier this week that Bush's parents didn't pay $54,000 in rent during the year they lived in a house owned by a sports marketing agency investor who wanted to represent the football star. The money dispute began after Bush signed with another agent and marketing representative, ending any chance of a deal with New Era. Bush's mother and stepfather had agreed to pay landlord Michael Michaels $4,500 in monthly rent when they moved into the Spring Valley house Michaels bought for $757,000 in March 2005. Michaels said the Griffins told him they eventually would pay him rent from Bush's earnings when he went pro. Also Friday, agent David Caravantes, who is under investigation by the NFL Players Association for his role in the housing arrangement, said he has had nothing to do with the Southern California star. Caravantes told The Associated Press he is unaware of the investigation, adding: "I have had no involvement with Reggie Bush. The truth will come out." Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFLPA, confirmed Friday that the probe of Caravantes has begun. Watkins, who represents Lake and Michaels, said Bush's family defrauded his clients out of $300,000 over 1� years using "the carrot" of Bush's future football career as an enticement. Bush, who signed with agent Joel Segal, said he believes the matter will be cleared up in a few weeks. "I've got to get back to football," he said. "My life is parallel to a horse race. They have blinders on to keep them from being distracted in the race and keep them focused on winning the race. That's kind of like my life. Focus on the goal, not the things coming at me from the side." Watkins sent the player's parents an eviction notice on April 3 and they moved out of the house last week. Bush has said his parents left because they found another place to live. Watkins said he plans to file a fraud lawsuit against Bush's parents and possibly Bush. David Cornwell, the Bush family attorney, did not return phone calls for comment. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement Friday, "Based on the information presented by Reggie Bush's attorney, our office has advised the attorney to consider referring these matters to law enforcement authorities." The NCAA is investigating whether the living arrangement violated rules prohibiting student-athletes and their families from receiving extra benefits from agents or their representatives.

2006-05-28T00:25:00.003-07:00

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The parents of Southern California running back Reggie Bush did not pay $54,000 in rent during the year they lived in a home owned by a sports marketing agency investor who wanted to represent the football star, the owner of the house told two newspapers. The landlord, Michael Michaels, said that Bush's mother and stepfather agreed to pay $4,500 in monthly rent when they moved into the Spring Valley house he bought for $757,000 in March 2005, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Friday. They didn't pay for the first few months but promised to pay when the Heisman Trophy-winner started earning millions of dollars after turning pro, said Michaels, who described himself as a real estate investor. Michaels' attorney, Brian Watkins, claimed that Bush was made aware of the situation and also promised to repay the debt when he turned professional, according to a report in Friday's Los Angeles Times. "Originally there was a rental agreement, but they never paid a dime," Watkins told the Times. "It was always, 'Don't worry, we'll pay you -- you can take it out of our profits."' Bush, however, did not sign with Michaels' firm, New Era Sports & Entertainment LLC, which Watkins said the running back's stepfather helped found. Relations with the family deteriorated and Watkins sent the player's parents an eviction notice on April 3, a copy of which he showed the Union-Tribune. Bush's parents, LaMar and Denise Griffin, moved out of the house last week. Bush has said his parents left because they found another place to live. Watkins said he plans to file a $3.2 million fraud lawsuit against Bush's parents and possibly Bush. The sum includes $300,000 in money that Michaels claims he and another investor, a documented gang member named Lloyd Lake, put into the business, plus punitive damages. Bush chose to turn pro after his junior season with USC and is expected to be the No. 1 pick in Saturday's NFL draft. Watkins and David Cornwell, the Bush family attorney, did not immediately return phone calls from The Associated Press late Thursday. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement Friday, "Based on the information presented by Reggie Bush's attorney, our office has advised the attorney to consider referring these matters to law enforcement authorities." Bush has denied knowledge of any deal with Michaels and has promised that details would emerge later that would explain the family's living situation. "I'm confident and I know what the truth is," he said Thursday at a pre-NFL draft appearance in New York. "I know for a fact that everything is fine and this is all blown out of proportion and there's more to the story than is being told right now." The NCAA is investigating whether the living arrangement violated rules prohibiting student-athletes and their families from receiving extra benefits from agents or their representatives. Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen said earlier this week that a Pac-10 investigation could start soon, but gave no specific time frame. USC could forfeit its 2005 Pac-10 football title if Bush is ruled ineligible, he said. Any violation could also put Bush in a precarious position with the organization that awards the Heisman Trophy; the award ballot states that the winner must be in compliance with NCAA rules. Heisman officials have said they will wait until the Pac-10 investigation is complete before deciding if any action needs to be taken. USC Coach Pete Carroll, reached late Thursday night, said: "I don't know the details of it, so I have no comment about it." According to Watkins, the scenario began when LaMar Griffin, Bush's stepfather, approached Lake during the player's sophomore season in the fall of 2004 with a proposal to form a sports management business. Watkins described Lake -- a documented gang member from El Cajon who is now serving time in prison for a probation violation -- as a longtime friend of the Bush family. Griffin and Lake teamed up with Michaels to form New Era, he said. Michaels was a close associate of Lake's, according to a 2002 FBI affidavit filed in support of arrest warrants for Lake and other accused San Diego gang members. At one point, San Diego-based sports agent David Caravantes joined the team, with the plan being that New Era would market Bush and Caravantes would represent him. Because Michaels is a member of the Sycuan Indian tribe, the group approached the tribal council in search of more investments. The tribe declined to join the venture, said Adam Day, Sycuan's assistant tribal manager. Around then, Watkins told the Times, the Griffins started asking for money. "They had some financial problems and couldn't focus on building the business," he said. The falling out between Michaels and Bush's family began when the player hired another marketing representative -- Mike Ornstein -- and another agent -- Joel Segal. The Bush controversy is not the only public relat

2006-05-28T00:25:00.002-07:00

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP)
-- Packers wide receiver Donald Driver has not asked for a trade or be released, refuting a national report, his agent said Friday.
"Neither of us has asked that question to the Packers," agent Jordan Woy wrote The Associated Press in an e-mail. "We have had discussions with the team about his contract."
Driver has two years left on a five-year, $11 million contract he signed in 2002.
ESPN, citing unnamed sources close to Driver, reported this week that Driver demanded to be traded or released if his contract wasn't restructured.
Driver led the team last season with 86 catches for 1,221 yards and five touchdowns, all team highs, while the Packers were devastated by injuries.
Driver, who made the Pro Bowl in 2002, again emerged as Brett Favre's favorite target after Javon Walker tore a ligament in his knee in the season opener. Walker has demanded a trade this offseason, while Favre decided to return for his 15th season in Green Bay.

2006-05-28T00:25:00.001-07:00

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- A jury might never hear about the rape allegations made to police 10 years ago by the exotic dancer who says she was raped last month by three Duke University lacrosse players, a prosecutor said Friday. District Attorney Mike Nifong said North Carolina's rape shield law lists "narrowly defined categories" under which evidence of an accuser's past sexual history is allowed as evidence. The court must hold a hearing to determine if the evidence meets those categories and to decide how it can be presented. "In short, the jury that decides this case may or may not hear the 'evidence,"' Nifong said. "The media are not bound by the same rules that govern our courts," he said. "Their decisions on what to report and how they report it (can) have a substantial impact on the ability of our system to effectuate justice. That impact is often positive. Unfortunately, it can also be negative." In the 1996 report, the woman claims she was raped and beaten by three men when she was 14 years old. Authorities said none of the men named in the report was ever charged with sexual assault in nearby Granville County, where the woman said she was attacked. Nifong's office contacted Creedmoor police Friday morning, seeking information about the incident report, said Mayor Darryl Moss. He and police Chief Ted Pollard said officials there are continuing to look for additional records, but have so far been unable to locate any other paperwork. Relatives told Essence magazine in an online story this week that the woman declined to pursue the case out of fear for her safety. A phone number for the accuser has been disconnected, and her father said Thursday night he remembered little about the incident except going with police to a home where he said his daughter was being held "against her will." The existence of the earlier rape report surprised defense attorneys in the Duke case, who have sought information about the woman's past for use in attacking her credibility. "That's the very first I've heard of that," said Bill Cotter, the attorney for indicted lacrosse player Collin Finnerty. He declined additional comment. Finnerty and fellow Duke player Reade Seligmann are charged with first-degree rape, kidnapping and sexual assault and face a hearing May 15. The accuser is a 27-year-old student at North Carolina Central University in Durham who told police she was hired to perform as a stripper at a March 13 party. Seligmann's legal team earlier this week filed a motion seeking her medical, legal and education records. The lawyers also asked for a pretrial hearing to determine if she is credible. Attorney Joe Cheshire, who represents a player on the team who has not been charged, said it was notable that authorities apparently decided not to prosecute the earlier case. "These are serious allegations, particularly for a person that age. In my mind, it would raise real issues about her credibility," he said. According to the Creedmoor police report in August 1996, when the woman was 18, she told officers she was raped and beaten by three men "for a continual time" in 1993. She told police she was attacked at an "unspecified location" on a street in Creedmoor, a town 15 miles northeast of Durham. Asked Thursday if she was sexually assaulted, her father said, "I can't remember." In an interview with the News & Observer of Raleigh, posted Thursday night on the newspaper's Web site, he said the men "didn't do anything to her." The report lists the names of the three men, but no other details. Durham police Officer Brian Bishop, who interviewed the accuser in 1996 while working on the Creedmoor force, said Thursday he had a vague recollection of the report. He said he could not remember any details. Reached Friday, Bishop said he could no longer discuss the case. Before Seligmann and Finnerty were indicted, attorneys for the players pointed to the accuser's criminal history when answering questions about their clients' legal troubles: The woman pleaded guilty to several misdemeanors in 2002.

2006-05-28T00:25:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK (AP)
-- Barry Bonds will have to wait until he passes Hank Aaron before baseball throws a party for him.
Major League Baseball is not planning any celebration for Bonds if and when he tops Babe Ruth's mark of 714 home runs, commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday.
"Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's record," Selig said. "We don't celebrate anybody the second or third time in."
Bonds has been the subject of steroids speculation for several seasons. The recent book Game of Shadows detailed allegations against him, and a federal grand jury is investigating whether he committed perjury when he told another grand jury that he had never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs.
Bonds hit his 711th homer Wednesday. His San Francisco Giants were off Thursday, and open a three-game series Friday night at home against Arizona.
Selig does not figure to be in San Francisco -- or in Milwaukee or Philadelphia, where the Giants play next week -- as Bonds nears Ruth.
"We celebrate new records, that's what we do. We're being consistent," Selig said during the Associated Press Sports Editors annual meeting with league commissioners. "There's nothing to read into that."
Ruth is second on the career home run list, trailing Aaron's total of 755. When Aaron broke Ruth's record in 1974, commissioner Bowie Kuhn was not in attendance. Kuhn's absence rankled many, including Aaron.
Bonds has been hobbled by bad knees, and missed most of last season.
"He's had a remarkable career. Whatever happens, happens," Selig said. "We're going to let nature take its course. Commissioners don't sit around and say, 'I hope this guy breaks it or not."'
Selig said he had read Game of Shadows but not seen Bonds on Bonds, the ESPN reality show about the slugger's life.
Selig said the book was among several factors that prompted him to launch a baseball investigation into steroids, headed by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell. There is no timetable for completing the probe.
Baseball's investigation, Selig said, is "not affected at all by the grand jury" looking into whether Bonds committed perjury.

2006-05-27T00:25:00.007-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Willie Randolph thinks Billy Wagner can get most anybody out, even Barry Bonds.
Wagner pitched to Bonds and gave up a tying ninth-inning homer. Chris Woodward then lined a go-ahead double in the 11th and scored on Jose Reyes' single to lift the New York Mets to a 9-7 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
"He's not the old Bonds, but he can still hit," Wagner said.
Bonds pinch hit and forced extra innings with his 711th homer, a two-run drive. He sent a 99 mph fastball from Wagner into the seats in left-center for his third homer of the year and second in as many games.
"He's still the best in the game to me but I liked our matchup because Billy's one of the best closers in the game," Randolph said.
It was Bonds' fourth career pinch-homer. Wagner became the 418th pitcher to surrender a homer to Bonds -- and blew his second chance save in the process. Bonds hadn't had a pinch-hit homer since Aug. 23, 2001, at Montreal.
"Especially off Billy, it's crazy," Bonds said. "I haven't hit a ball like that off him ever. Ever. ... It was a big boost for us because it tied the game. They came back and beat us. It shows what kind of team they are. We played good against them. Right now, they're probably one of the best teams on the East."
Bonds remained in the game to play left field in the 10th to chants of "Barry! Barry!" and looked like he had a hard time chasing down Woodward's double off Scott Munter (0-1), which scored Ramon Castro. Bonds hit a game-ending flyout in the 11th.
The 41-year-old Bonds is four homers from passing Babe Ruth for second on the career list and 45 away from breaking Hank Aaron's mark of 755.
"I haven't thought about that right now," said Bonds, whose tender right knee was helped by the warmer weather. "I'll think about it later."
Darren Oliver (1-0) got the final out in the 10th and worked the 11th for the win, and the Mets took two of three in the second series of their 10-game trip and opened a five-game lead on the Braves heading into a weekend series at Atlanta.
Pinch-hitter Julio Franco had given the Mets the lead with a two-run single in the eighth and then stole a base with still speedy 47-year-old legs. David Wright's RBI double scored Franco from second.
"I've told you guys I don't believe in age, I don't worry about age," Franco said.
Carlos Delgado splashed a home run into McCovey Cove for his ninth of the season, tying the franchise mark for the month of April that Dave Kingman accomplished in 1976.
While Franco became the oldest player in major league history to hit a home run last Thursday at San Diego -- and he's batting .400 -- he was only the second-oldest to steal a base, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Arlie Latham swiped a bag in 1909 for the New York Giants at age 49.
Moises Alou hit a tying single in the seventh for one of his two RBIs and three hits that also included a run-scoring double, spoiling a gutsy effort by Mets starter Brian Bannister.
Bannister hobbled home with the go-ahead run despite the pain of a strained right hamstring in the sixth that put the rookie pitcher in position for the win following five strong innings on the mound before the injury.
Bannister, who had followed his fourth-inning two-run double with another double, went 2-0 in his first four starts and had the lead again when he hurt himself running the bases.
He began limping as he approached third base on Kaz Matsui's RBI double and somehow made it home before falling to the ground after touching the plate.
Bannister, 2-0 over his first five starts, made it 4-3. He allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings, struck out two and walked one.
Bannister had to be helped off the field and left to a warm applause. He will be reevaluated Thursday.
"I felt it going to second and I slowed down," Bannister said. "I didn't think it was anything but when I got to third and planted, it grabbed. It felt like I was dragging a big weight behind me."
The Giants rejiggered their rotation to get Matt Morris back on the mound three days after he was ejected Sunday at Colorado after only eight pitches for plunking two of the five batters he faced, but he didn't have his best stuff.
Delgado's solo shot gave the Mets homers into the water for the second straight game after Cliff Floyd did it in New York's 4-1 victory Tuesday night. It was the 13th splash-hit homer by a San Francisco opponent. The Giants have done it 40 times -- 31 by Bonds.
Bonds was not in the starting lineup after playing a day after hitting career homer No. 710. After Thursday's off-day, manager Felipe Alou hopes Bonds will play both Friday and Sunday against Arizona -- and possibly Saturday, too.
Notes: Randy Winn ended an 0-for-17 slump with his first-inning single -- batting in the No. 3 hole for the first time this season instead of his regular leadoff spot. He singled again in the third. Winn batted third

2006-05-27T00:25:00.006-07:00

NEW YORK (AP)
-- Keith Jackson thinks this is the right time for him to retire. Jackson, widely regarded as the voice of college football, has decided to stop broadcasting games. "I'm finished with play-by-play forever," he told The New York Times, which first reported his retirement. Jackson spent some 40 years calling the action in a folksy, down-to-earth manner that made him one of the most popular play-by-play personalities in the business. "Keith Jackson is a man of great character and a legendary broadcaster. For decades, his unmistakable style defined college football for millions of fans," George Bodenheimer, the president of ESPN and ABC Sports, said in a statement Thursday. "While we hate to say goodbye, we understand his decision and wish him the very best." Jackson also announced he would retire after the 1998 season, but ended up continuing with ABC Sports. He said this time is different. "This is the perfect time," Jackson told the newspaper. "I don't want to get back into the pressure cooker of play-by-play and worry about travel. I don't want to die in a stadium parking lot." Jackson, 77, began calling college football games with ABC in 1966. He also worked NBA, NFL games and the Olympics, but was always best known for college football. An ABC Sports executive said they tried to keep Jackson, but respect his decision.

2006-05-27T00:25:00.005-07:00

DURHAM, N.C. (AP)
-- After losing to LSU in the NCAA tournament, Duke freshman Josh McRoberts said he would return to school for his sophomore season. After one month of consideration, McRoberts confirmed yesterday that he would come back for the 2006-2007 season. McRoberts says the chance to continue to improve his game under the guidance of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski factored into his decision. The Blue Devils lost four of their top seven scorers from last year's 32-4 team and would have been in a tough spot without McRoberts. Greg Paulus returns at the point and DeMarcus Nelson on the wing, but without McRoberts, the Blue Devils would have been without experience in the post. With Shelden Williams and former walk-on Patrick Johnson graduating and freshman Eric Boateng deciding to transfer, the other options in the post were fan favorite Jamal Boykin and incoming freshman Brian Zoubek.

2006-05-27T00:25:00.004-07:00

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) -- Durham Bulls outfielder Delmon Young threw a bat into the chest of the home plate umpire after being called out on strikes in the first inning of Wednesday night's game at Pawtucket.
Young took a third strike on a 1-and-2 pitch. When Young delayed leaving the batter's box, the umpire ejected him. Young then flipped his bat underhand. It sailed end over end and hit the umpire in the chest.
Pawtucket catcher Corky Miller said he didn't hear Young say anything to the umpire. "I heard the umpire say, 'You better get going,'" Miller said.
"It was hard to say what was going through his mind. Guys have emotions. But you try to learn how to control them. I'm sure as the bat left his hands he knew it was a bad decision," Miller said.
Young left during the game and wasn't available for comment afterward. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who selected Young with the first overall pick in the 2003 First-Year Player Draft, said they would have no comment until they review the situation.
Replacement umpires have been working all minor league games this season because the regular umpires are on strike. Bill Wanless, a spokesman for the Pawtucket Red Sox, said minor league teams are not releasing the names of umpires while the regulars are on strike.
"It's an unfortunate incident and there should be no place for actions like that in the game of baseball," the umpire said in a statement released by Pawtucket. "Any official should not be treated like that. He embarrassed himself and his teammates."
Young, 20, is the younger brother of Detroit Tigers outfielder Dmitri Young. He was voted the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' minor league player of the year last season and the 2005 minor league player of the year by Baseball America.
"It was unfortunate and until I speak with the organization and see what they have in mind, maybe I can comment on it later," Durham manager John Tamargo said. "It's a tough situation right now.
"I haven't spoken with [Young] and haven't gotten his side of it. We've had some problems with different umpires and it's tough. But I can't say any more."
According to International League policy, the umpire will file a report with president Randy Mobley on Thursday. Mobley will read it, interview parties involved in the incident and decide what penalty should be assessed.

2006-05-27T00:25:00.003-07:00

MILWAUKEE (AP)
-- The Green Bay Packers made their first major splash in the free-agent market this offseason, agreeing to terms with defensive back Charles Woodson on Wednesday.
Woodson's agent, Kevin Poston, said the Packers agreed to a seven-year deal for $52.7 million, including $10.5 million in the first year of the contract.
Packers general manager Ted Thompson declined comment.
Woodson's signing comes a day after Brett Favre told the team he would return to play the 2006 season. Favre previously urged the team to make a "statement" in free agency, similar to the signing of Reggie White in 1993.
The team lost out on its pursuit of kicker Adam Vinatieri and linebacker LaVar Arrington before finally landing Woodson.
Woodson, a four-time Pro Bowler, has played eight seasons for the Oakland Raiders, intercepting 17 passes in 106 games.
Woodson hasn't played a full season since 2001, and broke his right leg Oct. 23 against Buffalo. The Raiders declined to use their franchise tag on Woodson in February, making him an unrestricted free agent.
He won the Heisman Trophy at Michigan and was the fourth overall pick in the 1998 draft.
The Packers also announced signing free-agent defensive tackle Kenderick Allen, who played in 14 games last season for the New York Giants, recording 21 tackles, two sacks and two fumble recoveries.

2006-05-27T00:25:00.002-07:00

PHOENIX (AP) -- Just enough Kobe Bryant and a load of Lamar Odom have the Los Angeles Lakers even with the Phoenix Suns two games into the playoffs.
Bryant had 29 points and 10 rebounds, Odom scored 21 and the Lakers held off a late rally to beat the cold-shooting Suns 99-93 Wednesday night and square the best-of-seven series 1-1.
Game 3 is Friday night in Los Angeles.
Steve Nash had 29 points and Raja Bell 23 for the Suns, who shot 43 percent -- 34 percent in the first half.
Los Angeles led by as many as 17 points late in the second quarter and early in the third after Phoenix went nearly 7� minutes without a point.
"We've really struggled to be ourselves regardless of how they play us," Nash said. "We've got a little bit of I don't know if it's playoff anxiety or what. We really just need to get back to being ourselves."
The Suns excel at high speeds, and they were tentative and out-of-kilter, clanking shot after shot off the rim in the first half.
"For whatever reason, it looks like it's almost a weight on our shoulders or whatever," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We just need to get out there and run. We've got to bust through some barriers there for whatever reason."
Bryant's emphatic stuff with 3:13 left put the Lakers ahead 92-83. Nash was called for a foul on the play, but Bryant missed the free throw.
Bell scored six in a row, the last a 20-footer at the shot clock buzzer to cut the lead to 92-89 with 1:51 to play. But he missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it. Smush Parker scored inside and Luke Walton sank two free throws to put Los Angeles ahead 96-89 with 34.5 seconds to go.
"There were some dramatic plays down the stretch, and I thought our composure was not what I like," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "But we were able to sustain the effort and get a couple of terrific plays -- one from Smush and one from Kobe. I thought defensively it was our night, and that was the best thing about it."
Bryant finished 12-for-24 shooting after going 7-for-21 in Game 1.
"He stayed very well inside of what we're trying to do," Jackson said.
Odom shot 9-for-12, 3-for-5 from 3-point range.
"Lamar is a dangerous player," Bryant said. "There are not too many like him in the league. As a matter of fact, he's probably the only one in the league that size who can handle the ball, post you up and shoot the 3."
Phoenix went 7:22 without scoring while the Lakers reeled off 19 points to open a 38-22 lead on Jim Jackson's 20-footer with 6:17 left in the half.
The Suns went without a point from the 1:30 mark of the first quarter to 6:08 left in the second as they struggled from the perimeter.
While Nash was shooting 4-of-5 and scoring 15 points, the rest of the Suns were 2-for-20 before Bell rattled in a 20-footer cut the lead to 38-24.
With 3:02 left in the half, Bryant went to the bench with three fouls, two of them on offensive fouls drawn by Bell. The Suns cut it to 45-36 on Bell's' 3-pointer 2:16 before the break.
But Odom sank a 3-pointer, Kwame Brown converted a three-point play and Parker made two free throws after a flagrant foul against Brian Grant with 45 seconds to go to put Los Angeles up 53-36.
Bell's steal and layup at the buzzer made it 53-38 at the half.
The Lakers shot 58 percent in the first half, including 5-of-6 by Odom.
After Bryant's 20-footer to start the second half, Phoenix finally mounted a run, outscoring the Lakers 20-6 to cut it to 61-58 on Tim Thomas' 3-pointer with 5:25 left in the third. But Los Angeles scored the next six, four by Bryant, to boost the lead to 67-58.
Phoenix scored six straight, including two free throws apiece by James Jones and Shawn Marion, to cut the lead to 72-67, then Bryant's driving bank shot just before the buzzer put the Lakers up 74-67 entering the fourth.
Notes: Other than Nash and Bell, the Suns were 4-for-21 in the first half. The front line of Marion, Boris Diaw and Thomas was a combined 3-for-15. ... The Suns never have held a 2-0 lead in a playoff series against the Lakers in 10 tries. ... Los Angeles beat Phoenix for the first time in nine games when the Suns had Nash in the lineup. ... The Lakers' reserves outscored their Suns counterparts 21-4. ... Phoenix was 18-for-18 at the foul line and is 50-for-53 in the series.

2006-05-27T00:25:00.001-07:00

REUNION, Fla. (AP) -- Kelly Jo Dowd didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she did a little of both. With one swing of her 13-year-old daughter's driver, a mother's dream came true.
Dakoda Dowd opened play Thursday with a birdie in the LPGA Ginn Open, doing so while her terminally ill mother looked on, surrounded by friends and family. Wearing a pink shirt and black skirt, the teen teed off at 9:32 a.m., her first ball sailing down the left-center of the fairway.
Kelly Jo Dowd is fighting cancer for the second time in four years. She was given a clean bill of health after doctors believed she beat breast cancer, but she learned last year that she has terminal bone and liver cancer -- and, conceivably, only months to live.
"This is one of the best weeks of my life," Kelly Jo said Thursday before heading to the course. "It's such a warm feeling. It's almost like I'm walking and it's not really happening. I feel like a kid at Christmastime."
When Ginn officials learned Kelly Jo's wish was to see her daughter, who has won dozens of amateur tournaments, play against the LPGA's best, they made it possible with an exemption into the field.
Dakoda received a sponsor's exemption to play in the event near Orlando. Playing with pros Kate Golden and Tracy Hanson -- both at least 21 years older than the phenom -- she started on the 532-yard, par-5 10th hole. She arrived at the driving range 90 minutes earlier, clearly relaxed. After one wedge sailed long of her target, she playfully punched a cameraman standing nearby.
She chewed on her right thumbnail for a few minutes before teeing off, then hugged her mother and leaned her head back in relief that the wait was, at long last, over.
"I'm excited," Dakoda said after walking off the practice green and signing a few autographs before teeing off. "I feel like I'm going to Busch Gardens."
The Tampa amusement park is one of her favorite places. And she doesn't mind the spotlight, either.
"This has all been great," Dakoda said.
Through the attention generated here, the Dowd family hopes to raise cancer awareness and encourage women to be diligent in getting checked -- something Kelly Jo acknowledges that she did not do, instead waiting nearly a year before getting the breast lump that turned out to be cancerous examined by doctors.
Kelly Jo said countless strangers have approached her in the past few weeks, offering kind words and encouragement.
"I want to live as long as I can anyway," Kelly Jo said while Dakoda warmed up a quarter-mile away. "And now, after all these people and what they've done for me, I want to live harder and longer. God wants me here."
Virtually all of the top women's players -- sans Michelle Wie, who declined an invitation -- are at the Ginn and playing for $2.5 million, $375,000 going to the winner.
Even with the likes of Annika Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa, Natalie Gulbis, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel -- some of the game's most popular players -- in the field, some simply came to see Dowd. Cameras have followed her all week, and they were around her again Thursday.
She expected the intense attention.
"Once I step on the golf course, I'm totally focused on, 'OK, I want to do well,"' Dowd said Wednesday. "So hopefully I can try to focus."
Her game and concentration have both drawn high marks from the pros.
Dowd played in a practice round this week with Creamer and Sorenstam, and both emerged convinced of her potential.
"I don't know how she does it," Creamer said. "That's pretty remarkable. ... She's such a good kid. She's fearless on the golf course, she just steps up and hits it and hits it again. I couldn't even imagine what that whole family is going through."
Pressel understands that, on a number of levels.
Not only does she know what it's like to be the kid among golf grown-ups -- the 17-year-old has earned $101,354 in five starts so far this season -- but Pressel lost her mother to breast cancer in September 2003.
"It doesn't matter what she shoots at all," Pressel said. "You know, she's here to have fun and that's all that it should be."

2006-05-27T00:25:00.000-07:00

MILWAUKEE (AP)
-- Brett Favre certainly isn't the first star quarterback to have a difficult time deciding when the time is right to step aside.
Johnny Unitas and Joe Namath are considered prime examples of NFL legends who held on too long. And Favre's fellow Green Bay Packers icon, Bart Starr, includes himself on that list.
"In hindsight, I should have done it sooner," Starr said of his retirement from the Packers in 1971. "But I have no regrets."
Starr said he kept playing through chronic injuries out of loyalty to new coach Phil Bengtson, who was put in the impossible position of replacing Vince Lombardi.
The sentiment was nice, but the results weren't.
"My performance went downhill," Starr said from his office in Birmingham, Ala.
But Starr isn't drawing a comparison between the way his career ended and Favre's decision to return to the Packers next season, announced by the team Wednesday morning.
Favre is expected to participate in the Packers' first minicamp beginning May 5, general manager Ted Thompson said.
Starr doesn't think Favre, who turns 37 Oct. 10, is making a mistake.
"He's got as many good years left as he wants to," said Starr, who won five NFL championships and two Super Bowls with the Packers.
Favre threw a career-worst 29 interceptions last season, causing some to wonder if his skills were beginning to erode. But Starr said fans shouldn't read too much into the way Favre played last season as the Packers were beset by injuries and free-agent losses.
"Last year, no disrespect to anyone, he just didn't have a team around him," Starr said.
That's perhaps the most confusing part of Favre's decision to return. As he waffled on his football future this offseason, he all but demanded that general manager Ted Thompson improve the team by making a splash in free agency.
But beyond retaining their own key free agents, including running back Ahman Green and defensive end Aaron Kampman, and adding a few role players, the Packers generally had not been active in free agency.
That changed Wednesday night, when the team agreed to terms with defensive back Charles Woodson. But one free agent signing isn't going to turn around a 4-12 team.
So why did Favre come back?
"This is a decision that he and his family have to make," Starr said. "Outsiders can't understand everything that goes into it."
Favre began waffling on his future toward the end of last season, kicking off retirement speculation that is becoming a winter ritual in Wisconsin.
But the so-called "Favre Watch" grew to epic proportions in 2006 as Favre took nearly four months to make a final decision. Team officials were careful not to put public pressure on Favre, but the process wore on fans and the media.
"I've read in the media that people were frustrated with the length of time it took Brett to come to this decision," said former Packers coach Mike Sherman, now an assistant with the Houston Texans. "Last I checked, he hasn't missed any preseason practices or games yet in the 2006 season."
Sherman applauded Favre for his deliberate decision making.
"I'm sure his intent was to validate to himself that by coming back he was doing the right thing for himself, his family, the Packers and the fans," Sherman said in comments distributed by the Texans. "I'm sure he wanted to make with total certainty a commitment to the team physically, mentally, and emotionally. How can you question that process?"
Packers president and CEO Bob Harlan watched the Favre saga unfold on television with everybody else, but as the process dragged on, Harlan said he grew more confident Favre would return.
"Every time I would see him in his television interviews, it just looked to me like he had that desire to play," Harlan said.
"I think he's looking forward to it, and I think he's going to be ready."
Sherman said he spoke to Favre recently and came away convinced he still was committed to playing football.
"He put his heart and soul into this decision," Sherman said. "He wouldn't have decided to come back if he wasn't totally confident in his commitment and his future contribution to the Packers."
It is not immediately clear if Favre's commitment runs beyond this season, although he said in a newspaper interview last month he wouldn't consider playing beyond 2006.
"If I do play this year, it will be my last," Favre told the Biloxi Sun Herald. "There's no doubt about that."
Thompson said he and Favre did not discuss his plans beyond next season.
"We just got past this hurdle," Thompson said.
The message: Fans should enjoy it while they can.
Starr expects them to do just that.
"For someone who has displayed that kind of leadership, enthusiasm, guts and grit, so to speak, I would think that every single one of them is ecstatic," Starr said. "I'm sure they were high-fivin

2006-05-26T00:25:00.009-07:00

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Patrick Marleau is right where he wants to be: Outside the spotlight trained on Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo, yet still scoring big goals and leading the San Jose Sharks to important victories.
Marleau scored two goals and Vesa Toskala stopped 16 shots in the Sharks' 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators in Game 3 on Tuesday night, putting San Jose up 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
The Sharks went ahead on rookie Steve Bernier's first playoff goal late in the second period, and NHL goal-scoring champion Cheechoo also scored in the third as fifth-seeded San Jose moved halfway to the second round with its second straight hard-nosed victory despite no points from Thornton, the league's leading scorer.
They survived Nashville's latest impressive defensive game thanks to Marleau, the longest-tenured Shark who's thriving while centering a line with two rookies. Marleau shuns attention, but the Predators might be wise to turn some of their focus on Thornton over to the captain in teal.
"He's the captain, he's a veteran, and when you see him play like he's playing right now, you just have to follow him," said Bernier, Marleau's right wing. "It's tough to follow the way he plays, but Patty is leading the way for all the team."
As usual, Marleau had no interest in evaluating himself. He was much more impressed with San Jose's gritty game of offensive keep-away against Paul Kariya and the Predators, who have just two goals in the last 160 minutes since their three-goal first period in the series opener.
"We want to play them in their end and always have the puck and start making plays in their zone," said Marleau, whose Sharks outshot Nashville 40-17. "When we're successful, we get results like this."
Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff had three assists for the Sharks, who lost their final four home playoff games during their run to the Western Conference finals in 2004. Game 4 is Thursday night at the sold-out Shark Tank, with Game 5 back in Nashville on Sunday.
Cheechoo and Marleau both scored on shots that probably should have been stopped by Chris Mason, the Predators' backup goalie thrust into the playoffs two weeks ago when Tomas Vokoun was sidelined with blood clots. With Mason's inexperience finally showing despite his 36 saves, Toskala's steady play was even more impressive in both goalies' third career playoff starts.
Kimmo Timonen scored a short-handed goal in the first period for the Predators, who have done excellent work against Thornton despite a raft of penalties called for their defense on the Sharks' superstar.
"He protects the puck very well, but I'm starting to look at those penalties, and they're pretty weak," coach Barry Trotz said. "But they are penalties, if you want to go the letter of the law. On some of them, I'm not exactly sure what the rules are. They're different rules for him, I guess."
The Predators managed just nine shots in the first 35 minutes, but they were relentlessly physical with Thornton, who won his first scoring title this season with 125 points.
Nashville sent a defender after Thornton every time he touched the puck, never content to sit back watching out for his expert passes. Thornton couldn't exploit the defense's holes in his small windows of opportunity.
"He's the best player in the league, but we have a couple of lines who are capable of going at him," Nashville center Scott Nichol said. "We're just trying to take away as many of his options as we can."
But Bernier put the Sharks ahead with 1:12 left in the second period when Ehrhoff's shot ricocheted off defenseman Dan Hamhuis and went directly to the rookie wing, who flipped it home.
After the Sharks killed two Nashville power plays in the third period, Cheechoo scored on a shot near the blue line with 4:22 to play, slipping the puck through Mason's pads. But there was nothing cheap about Marleau's second goal just 67 seconds later: He split two defensemen and deked Mason to the ice before firing it home.
Nashville won the series opener 4-3 with four power-play goals, but San Jose tied it up with three power-play goals of its own in a Game 2 shutout.
Marleau tied it midway through the second period, skating unimpeded to the right circle and ripping a stoppable shot past Mason for his second goal of the series.
Notes: Former Sharks captain Owen Nolan, who still lives in the area and owns a local bar, attended the game. Nolan, who missed the season with injuries, hasn't announced where he'll play next year. ... Toskala was sharp, making an exceptional pad save on Nashville's 2-on-1 break late in the second period. Evgeni Nabokov, who has played in 34 postseason games for the Sharks, has been relegated to backup duty ever since getting a minor abdominal injury after his strong play at the Olympics. ... San Jose has outshot Nashville in all three games of the series.

2006-05-26T00:25:00.008-07:00

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- The Calgary Flames powered up on the power play to take the lead in their Western Conference series against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
The Flames scored three man-advantage goals in seven opportunities, and Chuck Kobasew and Robyn Regehr had the game's only even-strength scores Tuesday night in Calgary's 5-2 victory over Anaheim.
The Flames lead 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Thursday night, also in Anaheim.
The Ducks were 2-for-9 on the power play, including scoring once in the two times they had a two-man advantage. Anaheim goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere gave up five scores on 24 shots.
Five players scored for Calgary, and coach Darryl Sutter, asked who played especially well, said, "I don't think you can single out anybody. You can single out 27 minutes of special teams, and that's where it paid off."
He added, "If they are going to call this many penalties, it's going to put a lot of pressure on goalies during this series."
Twelve penalties totaling 27 minutes were called against the Flames, and 10 penalties for 23 minutes against the Ducks. Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 27 shots.
"Thank goodness our power play smartened up; it's a big part of our game," said Regehr, who gave the Flames a three-goal pad when he scored just 34 seconds after teammate Darren McCarty in the third period.
"There are a lot of penalties being called and we need to continue to improve on special teams," Regehr added.
Kobasew's goal at 15:34 of the second period snapped a 2-2 tie. Kristian Huselius had a goal and two assists for Calgary, and Daymond Langkow also scored for the Flames.
Rookie defenseman Francois Beauchemin provided all the Ducks' offense, becoming the first Anaheim rookie to notch two goals in a playoff game.
"I don't think we got our game going at all the whole night," Beauchemin said.
Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer said, "Being in the penalty box as much as we were is tough. But we've got to find a way to stay out and to do a better job of killing penalties."
McCarty scored his second goal of the series 4:59 into the final period, then Regehr quickly added his first.
Giguere said he needs to do a better job and, "As a team, we need to be better on the penalty kill. We need to stay disciplined and work harder as a group to kill penalties."
Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle, asked about Giguere's play, said, "I think he fit in with our hockey club. Tonight we weren't good enough."
Disappointed in the Ducks' performance, Carlyle said, "Is it the end of the world? No, they're up 2-1 in the series. The bottom line is we have to prepare ourselves for more of a team effort than we got from our group."
The first four goals came during power plays -- two by each team -- and included Beauchemin's second-period score with the Ducks holding a two-man advantage.
Beauchemin's second goal of the game and the series evened it 2-2 in the second period after Huselius had put Calgary ahead.
The teams traded power-play goals in the opening period, with Langkow getting the Flames on the board at 14:01.
Beauchemin then scored at 17:26 to end Anaheim's 0-for-12 drought on power plays during the series, one-timing a 50-footer past Kiprusoff.
Notes: The teams will return to Calgary to play the fifth game on Saturday night. ... Giguere sat out Calgary's series-opening 2-1 overtime victory because of an undisclosed injury. He returned to stop 22 shots in the Ducks' 4-3 win in Game 2. ... Langkow's first-period score was his ninth career playoff goal. ... The teams split their regular-season meetings 2-2.

2006-05-26T00:25:00.007-07:00

DENVER (AP)
-- Kenyon Martin was unhappy about his limited playing time in Denver's playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers. Now he won't be suiting up for the Nuggets at all.
The Nuggets suspended their forward indefinitely on Tuesday night for what they called detrimental conduct.
"This is an internal matter that we will deal with in-house," coach George Karl said in a statement.
Martin, who has been bothered by knee tendinitis all season, was dejected over his limited playing time in Game 2 Monday night, when he played sparingly in the first half and sat out the second half of Denver's 98-87 loss to the Clippers.
Martin didn't arrive on the Nuggets bench until several minutes into the third quarter and then sat with a towel over his head. He left the arena without comment, but teammate Ruben Patterson suggested Martin felt he could have played and was frustrated that he had been held out.
Hours before suspending him, Karl seemed miffed that Martin was upset over his benching.
"I will talk to him and see what's happening," Karl said Tuesday afternoon. "He told me and the staff at halftime that he couldn't go. Now, there's stuff filtering out that there's frustration there. We'll see."
Martin apparently banged his bothersome left knee in the first half while going against Elton Brand.
"He's got a heck of a matchup," Karl said. "The guy is a very physical player. I don't think people understand how big that man is. He's 260, maybe 270 pounds. I'm sure he not only hit Martin's knee, but probably hit a lot of other parts of the body."
Besides, "it's been a year of frustration for everybody," said Karl, who watched forward Nene go down for the season with a knee injury in the opener, then had to juggle his lineup all season with injuries to Martin and center Marcus Camby.
"We've always worked through it. We've always picked ourselves up," Karl said. "I trust this team is going to do the same thing on Thursday."
Before deciding to suspend Martin, Karl was asked why he wasn't giving him more minutes.
"Well, it is hard for me to visualize him actually playing 20 minutes of basketball again because he doesn't participate in practice very often. He just wants to play in the games," Karl said. "That philosophically doesn't make any sense to me. I think he has a big-time heart. I think he is a big-time competitor and he did a heck of a job in the second half against Brand for Game 1.
"Right now I evaluate all my players. I think Carmelo is going to go a lot of minutes, Andre [Miller] is going to get a lot of minutes, Marcus is going to get a lot of minutes. After that I have no idea who is going to get the minutes. It's the guy who earns the minutes and who plays the way we want him to play."
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is Thursday night at the Pepsi Center.
The Nuggets are accustomed to playing without Martin, who has been bothered all season by his surgically repaired left knee and began regularly sitting out games over the last month in hopes he'd be better for the playoffs, where he has traditionally stepped up his game.
He had six points and two boards in the Nuggets' 111-109 loss in Game 1, and was scoreless with one rebound in just under seven minutes in Denver's loss in Game 2.

2006-05-26T00:25:00.006-07:00

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Finesse and offensive skill will only carry you so far in the NHL playoffs. If the Ottawa Senators are going to shake their reputation as playoff failures, they know they have to be aggressive on defense, too.
Two nights after a third-period collapse at home revived talk about past postseason disappointment, the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference regained control of its first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning with an impressive 8-4 victory on Tuesday night.
The Senators showed why they were the league's highest-scoring team this season, but they also were more physical in taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup. Game 4 is Thursday night in Tampa.
"We said to ourselves we have to play hard and fight for every inch on the ice," Ottawa defenseman Zdeno Chara said.
Martin Havlat scored his third and fourth goals of the playoffs, and defenseman Wade Redden had a goal and two assists after missing Game 2 to fly to Saskatchewan to be with family following the death of his mother.
Antoine Vermette also scored twice for the Senators, who got another solid performance from goaltender Ray Emery. The rookie stopped 35 shots and again showed why Ottawa is confident it can go deep into the playoffs, even without injured goalie Dominik Hasek.
"It's a different game being up three goals in the first period. I thought we were flying out there," Emery said.
"That magic that a lot of these guys have, you could see it in the first and even in the third. When we got chances, we buried them."
The Senators have been one of the top two seeds in the East four times since 1999, but have yet to advance to the Stanley Cup finals. They entered this series as heavy favorites after sweeping four regular-season meetings and taking 17 of 20 games from the Lightning over the past five years.
"We played a little bit nervous and made some mistakes that burned us," Tampa Bay's Brad Richards said.
"But it's over with. We've had stinkers before and we'll have them again. It's how you rebound."
Paul Ranger scored twice and Martin St. Louis once for the Lightning, who trimmed a four-goal deficit to 5-2 on Ranger's unassisted goal just 20 seconds into third period. But any realistic chance to make it interesting faded when Tampa Bay's Chris Dingman gave the Senators a 7-minute power play by drawing penalties for instigating and fighting.
Dany Heatley and Chara scored during the stretch for Ottawa to make it 7-2. Tampa Bay came back with power-play goals by Ranger and Pavel Kubina, but by that time the game was well out of reach.
Heatley and Chara didn't make it to the end as they were part of a brawl with 2:17 left.
Heatley squared off in a fight with Nolan Pratt, and Chara locked up with Vincent Lecavalier. Ottawa's 6-foot-9 defenseman cocked his right arm and held it menacingly over Lecavalier, who was down on the ice, but restrained from throwing the big punch.
The melee, sparked by Vaclav Varada's boarding penalty against Tampa Bay's Ruslan Fedotenko, capped a physical game that featured 139 penalty minutes -- 79 for Tampa Bay -- five fighting majors, and seven misconducts.
"We were more passive in the first two games. We kind of laid back and allowed a lot of time and space for the skill players on their team to attack us," Ottawa coach Bryan Murray said. "I thought tonight we were quicker and tried to challenge more."
Despite winning Game 2 to even the series and end a nine-game losing streak against the Senators, Lightning coach John Tortorella insisted earlier Tuesday that the pressure to win the series remains on Ottawa because of expectations created by a stellar regular season.
The Senators answered questions about how they would respond by scoring three times in their first 11 shots, with Havlat finding the net for the third straight game and Redden and Patrick Eaves adding their first goals of the playoffs.
The Lightning were fortunate to only trail 3-1 after one period.
Tampa Bay has been putrid on the power play in the first three games of the series, going 4-for-23 with two of the goals coming in 5-on-3 situations, including St. Louis' shot that got through Emery late in the first period.
The Lightning yanked goalie John Grahame after Havlat's second goal made it 5-1 midway through the second period. Backup Sean Burke yielded goals to Heatley, Chara and Vermette in the third.
"They came out strong. They didn't seem to sit back and wait and see what was going to happen," Burke said. "When you play from behind against that team, it's going to be hard."
Notes: Ottawa C Jason Spezza had four assists. ... The Lightning were 3-for-11 on the power-play. Ottawa was 3-for-4. ... Redden's three points were a playoff career high. ... Tampa Bay LW Vinny Prospal, slowed by an upper body injury, was in the lineup. ... Ottawa C Chris Kelly, who left during the third period of Game 2 with an upper body injury, was

2006-05-26T00:25:00.005-07:00

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- The significance of the Oilers' double-overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings wasn't lost on Jarrett Stoll.
"It's big for everything," Stoll said. "We needed that win, and we needed it bad."
Stoll's goal 8:44 into the second extra period gave Edmonton a 4-3 victory over the top-seeded Red Wings and a 2-1 lead Tuesday night in their first-round playoff series. The goal ended the Oilers' third-longest overtime game and first home playoff game in three years.
Stoll fired a shot past Manny Legace after the Detroit goalie made a nice save on Sergei Samsonov to send the frantic crowd home happy.
"I thought I had the overtime winner in my glove," Legace said. "It must have just popped off my thumb."
The Oilers will look to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference series at home Thursday night. Detroit came into the 1 vs. 8 matchup with the NHL's best regular-season record at 58-16-8.
After Edmonton blew a 3-1 lead in regulation Tuesday, it hardly seemed likely the Oilers would pull this one out at the end.
The Red Wings were celebrating almost 15 minutes into the first overtime when they thought Jason Williams won the game with a low shot off the wing.
However, video replay showed that the puck slid under the side of the goal after Oilers netminder Dwayne Roloson bumped into it and caused it to lift up slightly.
"It is tough when you think you win," said Detroit's Kirk Maltby, who scored at 2:39 of the second overtime in the opening game of the series. "We were hoping if we got off the ice soon enough, they wouldn't review it."
Roloson finished with 18 saves in the first overtime, and 44 in the game.
"This is just great for the team," Roloson said. "Emotionally, it was a very draining game."
Jaroslav Spacek, Ryan Smyth and Raffi Torres scored in regulation for the Oilers.
Henrik Zetterberg had two goals, and Mathieu Schneider added another for Detroit.
Spacek opened the scoring 4:15 into the first period when he wired a shot past Legace, taking the noise level at the already loud arena to a new high.
The Oilers responded with continued pressure until Smyth took a penalty for goaltender interference, and Zetterberg made it 1-1 at 12:05 on the power play.
It didn't last long. Rookie Brad Winchester, who scored the winner in Game 2, worked the puck behind the net to Smyth and watched as he made it 2-1 with a quick wraparound goal.
Edmonton looked as though it had the game comfortably in hand when it took a 3-1 lead to the intermission thanks to Torres' goal early in the period.
But the Oilers came out tentatively in the final 20 minutes, and the veteran Red Wings made them pay.
Zetterberg made it 3-2 at 11:52 with Edmonton's Marc-Andre Bergeron in the penalty box. Williams faked a shot, stepped around a defender and sent a perfect cross-ice pass over to Zetterberg, who chipped it into the empty goal.
Schneider tied it just 18 seconds later by hammering a low slap shot past Roloson after Steve Yzerman won a faceoff back to him.
"We played a so-so first two periods," Legace said. "And we couldn't buy a goal in overtime."
Notes: Red Wings D Jiri Fischer, who collapsed on the bench during a November game due to a heart condition, made his first road trip since he was forced to stop playing. ... Edmonton LW Ethan Moreau missed a third straight game because of a groin injury. ... The previous home playoff game in Edmonton was April 19, 2003.

2006-05-26T00:25:00.004-07:00

MIAMI (AP) -- Ricky Williams will sit out another season.
The NFL suspended the troubled Miami Dolphins running back for one year Tuesday after he violated the league's substance abuse policy for the fourth time.
Williams met April 10 with NFL counsel Jeff Pash in an attempt to have the league overturn the test. He had been participating in the offseason training program at the Dolphins' complex, and he was there working out shortly before league announced that his appeal had been rejected.
"I'm disappointed with the decision, but I respect it," the 2002 NFL rushing champion said in a statement released by the team. "I'm proud of my association with the National Football League and look forward to returning to the Dolphins in 2007."
Williams also sat out the 2004 season after retiring shortly before training camp. He returned last year to play for new Miami coach Nick Saban.
Williams' previous positive drug tests were for marijuana, which he acknowledged using. The latest test apparently involved a substance other than marijuana and may have been related to his interest in holistic medicine.
Since his return last season, the NFL required Williams to undergo drug tests up to 10 times a month. He was in India studying yoga when news of his latest failed test surfaced in February.
Williams served a four-game suspension at the start of the 2005 season for his third violation of the drug program, then ran for 743 yards and averaged 4.4 yards a carry while sharing playing time with rookie Ronnie Brown.
Saban repeatedly has praised Williams' conduct and performance last season and supported him in the appeal process.
"This is a league decision, and we are disappointed in what it means for Ricky and the team," Saban said in a statement. "Ricky did an outstanding job for the Dolphins, not only as a player but also what he added as a person to the team's chemistry and to our overall success."
One sliver of good news for Saban is the timing of the decision: He now knows he's in the market for a running back in the NFL draft this weekend to back up Brown.
The suspension represents a financial blow for Williams, who owes the Dolphins $8.6 million for breaching his contract when he retired in 2004. His return last season was motivated partly by the need for a paycheck, and that may be a reason for him to return in 2007.
Attorney David Cornwell represented Williams in his appeal.
"We raised substantial and legitimate issues arising out of the application of the NFL's policy and program for substances of abuse," Cornwell said in a statement. He urged the players' union and ownership to "review the issues we raised on the appeal ... and restore the original intention of the NFL's policy to put equal focus on helping NFL players as is put on testing and suspending them."
Last season Williams laughingly described himself as weird and compared his career to a roller coaster. But he also dispelled his reputation as an aloof, selfish pothead, winning praise from teammates and winning the local media's annual postseason Good Guy Award, given to the player most cooperative with reporters.
Williams won the 1998 Heisman Trophy at Texas, and the next year, New Orleans Saints coach Mike Ditka traded his team's entire draft to acquire the running back. Williams wore a wedding dress for an infamous photo shoot with Ditka upon arriving in New Orleans, and the resulting backlash began to sour Williams' three-year stay with the Saints.
The Dolphins made their biggest trade in more than 30 years to acquire him in 2002, giving up two first-round draft picks, and he rushed for 1,853 yards that season.
Now his career could be over. If Williams does try to return next year, he'll be 30 years old and will have played a total of 12 games in the previous three seasons.
"Ricky is obviously disappointed," said his agent, Leigh Steinberg. "He'll need to work hard to get back to the league in 2007."

2006-05-26T00:25:00.003-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (AP)
-- Barry Bonds' personal trainer has been subpoenaed to testify before the federal grand jury investigating whether the San Francisco Giants' slugger committed perjury, the San Jose Mercury News reported Tuesday night.
In a story posted on its Web site, the newspaper reported that a spokeswoman for Greg Anderson's attorney confirmed that the trainer and BALCO coconspirator had received the subpoena.
The newspaper, citing a unidentified source close to the investigation, also reported that former Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative vice president James Valente was subpoenaed.
A phone message left with Anderson's attorney and an e-mail to Valente's attorney were not immediately answered.
Anderson and Valente both pleaded guilty last year to steroid distribution charges in the BALCO case. Bonds testified in December 2003 to the grand jury investigating that case and denied knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Anderson, who did not implicate Bonds in his plea deal last summer, is alleged to have provided Bonds with the performance-enhancing drugs from BALCO.
That prompted a new grand jury to start investigating Bonds for perjury charges. Giants athletic trainer Stan Conte and Bonds' surgeon, Dr. Arthur Ting, have already been called to testify in front of that grand jury.
According to excerpts of the testimony previously reported by the Chronicle, Bonds testified that he used a clear substance and a cream given to him by a trainer who later pleaded guilty in a steroid-distribution ring, but said he didn't know they were steroids.
Bonds told the grand jury that Anderson told him the substances he used were the nutritional supplement flaxseed oil and a rubbing balm for arthritis.
The substances Bonds described were similar to ones known as "the clear" and "the cream," two steroids at the center of the BALCO scandal. Investigators seized calendars that recorded schedules for Bonds' use of those drugs, as well as human growth hormone, clomid, insulin and other steroids, according to the Chronicle.
Bonds hit his 710th career homer Tuesday night and is five shy of passing Babe Ruth for second place all-time. Hank Aaron holds the career record with 755.

2006-05-26T00:25:00.002-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)
-- SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Xavier Nady hit a tiebreaking solo home run over Barry Bonds' outstretched glove in left leading off the seventh, and the New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants 4-1 Tuesday on a night Bonds connected for his 710th homer.
Cliff Floyd splashed a Bonds-like two-run homer into McCovey Cove in the eighth for his second career homer into the water and the 12th by a San Francisco opponent. The Giants have done it 40 times -- 31 by Bonds.
Steve Trachsel (2-1) pitched six strong innings and kept the Giants in check after allowing Bonds' second homer of the season and the slugger's first of the year at home, a drive starting the second.
David Wright and Kaz Matsui had two hits apiece for the Mets, who avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season. Billy Wagner worked the ninth for his fifth save.
Bonds sent a 1-1 pitch from Trachsel into the left-field seats for his first homer in the Giants' waterfront ballpark since last Sept. 18 against the Dodgers -- one of only two he hit at home last year in an injury-shortened season.
The 41-year-old Bonds, nursing a tender surgically repaired right knee and a swollen left elbow, grimaced noticeably as he limped around the bases after his homer. He arrived at home plate to chants of "Barry! Barry!"
He returned to play left field in the top of the third, waving several times to the cheering fans before tipping his cap in two directions.
Bonds, who has said in recent days his knee is hurting him, struck out on four pitches in the fourth, walked in the seventh and flied out in the ninth.
About an hour before the game he received a massage on his knee, which underwent three operations in 2005 and kept him out all but 14 games. He also briefly stopped his clubhouse card game in the afternoon to watch his television series.
Bonds, who hit his first homer of the year Saturday at Colorado, wasn't expected to be in the lineup for Wednesday's day game -- the finale of the three-game series with New York.
Trachsel, who allowed only two other hits, challenged the seven-time NL MVP and gave up his third career homer to Bonds, whose last seven homers at home have been solo shots. This one came a night after Bonds drew the 617th and 618th intentional walks of his career and went 0-for-1 with three walks in all.
Moises Alou drove in five runs following the intentional free passes in Monday's 6-2 win, giving the Giants 18 runs scored after Bonds' intentional walks this season.
Bonds is five homers from passing Babe Ruth for second on the career list -- which would give him the most homers by a left-hander -- and 46 away from breaking Hank Aaron's mark of 755.
Jamey Wright (2-1) allowed three straight base hits to start the game, including an RBI single by Paul Lo Duca. They right-hander followed by retiring 15 of the next 17 batters he faced.
Wright gave up four runs and 10 hits but didn't walk a batter and struck out four.
Notes: Randy Winn, the Giants' leadoff hitter, extended his skid to 0-for-17. ... Floyd also homered into McCovey Cove on Aug. 21, 2004, against Brett Tomko. ... Giants C Mike Matheny committed his first error of the season in the first when he tried to throw out Jose Reyes stealing second. He only had one error in all of 2005. ... Wright's second-inning pickoff of Matsui was the 45th of his career, best among active right-handers in the majors and eighth among all pitchers. Mets lefty Tom Glavine is next on the list with 50. ... Bonds' last seven homers at home have been solo shots.

2006-05-26T00:25:00.001-07:00

CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Washington Wizards got mad, then got even.
Angry at allowing LeBron James to dominate them with a triple-double in Game 1, the Wizards roughed up Cleveland's superstar and downed the Cavaliers 89-84 Tuesday night to tie their Eastern Conference series at a game apiece.
Gilbert Arenas scored 30 points, Antawn Jamison added 21 and Caron Butler was the primary defender on James, who wasn't the same after he got wrapped up by massive Wizards center Brendan Haywood in the first quarter.
"Actually, that wasn't the plan going in," Arenas said of Haywood's hack. "Brendan just decided he was going to give a hard foul to let him know he was there. For some reason, that just threw him off a little bit."
James got 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in his playoff debut, but he played like a mere mortal in his second postseason game as a pro.
He finished with 26 points on 7-of-25 shooting, and matched his career high with 10 turnovers. James also made some mental errors, including a costly one late when he made an out-of-bounds save under his own basket that was picked off by Arenas for an easy layup.
The Wizards, who returned to Washington after Game 1 to regroup, came up with all the right adjustments and snatched away Cleveland's home-court advantage.
"We destroyed ourselves in Game 1," Arenas said. "So we decided to come out and play better basketball."
The Wizards stopped James and also snapped Cleveland's 12-game winning streak at home. Instead of double-teaming the 6-foot-8 James, who dissected them with passes to open teammates in Game 1, Washington coach Eddie Jordan let Butler and Jared Jeffries guard him with no assistance.
"They had a great scheme by playing me 1-on-1," said James, whose 10 turnovers were a team playoff record. "I missed a lot of shots, layups that I usually make. They did a great job. I didn't come to play."
The series shifts to the Verizon Center for Game 3 in the best-of-seven series on Friday night.
Drew Gooden scored 24 points on 11-of-12 shooting and added 16 rebounds, and Larry Hughes had 16 points for the Cavaliers, who trailed 85-77 with 1:34 left following Arenas' gift layup and free throw.
A free throw by James and two by Gooden got the Cavs within 85-80, and Cleveland was still alive when Arenas missed an ill-advised 3-pointer.
Hughes' jumper made it 87-82, and James made two more free throws with 20 seconds left to pull Cleveland within three. Billy Thomas then missed a pair of free throws for Washington, and the Cavs looked as if they would get closer.
James rushed the ball up the floor, but instead of calling a timeout or trying a game-tying 3-pointer, he passed inside to a wide-open Anderson Varejao.
But as Cleveland's backup center was gathering himself for a shot, Arenas slapped the ball away. Varejao fouled Jamison, who made two free throws to ice it as the Wizards bounced back to knot what is expected to be a long series.
Arenas wasn't surprised James would pass up the shot.
"That's what he does," Arenas said. "He's a playmaker. He makes great decisions out there."
Getting nasty with James wasn't on the Wizards' drawing board, but it worked and they might as well stick with it.
"As long as it's not flagrant," Jordan said. "We're not the toughest team in the NBA, but tonight we brought it out."
Unable to slow James much in the opener, Washington decided to bang him around in the first half. The Wizards held him to just two points in the second quarter and Cleveland's star went 17:40 between field goals.
At one point, Cavs coach Mike Brown sat his superstar for 2:15 of the second quarter. During a timeout, Zydrunas Ilgauskas offered some advice to James, who was just 2-for-9 with zero assists and four turnovers.
"I thought he still played great -- 26 [points] and nine [rebounds]. That's a bad night for him?" Butler said. "That's unbelievable."
Down by 11 points early, the Wizards started to play rough with James. First, Jeffries wrapped him up on a drive and then Haywood committed a hard foul to stop another attack by James, who initially took exception to the second horse collar.
"Hard fouls are going to happen," James said. "But that's just playoff basketball."
Notes: Jordan downplayed an encounter with a profane fan, who yelled at Washington's coach as he left the floor at halftime. The Cavaliers released a statement saying they couldn't establish what happened and pledged their support of Jordan. ... James also had 10 turnovers on March 28, 2005, against New Orleans. ... Mark Price had nine turnovers on April 29, 1995, in a playoff game against New York. ... Brown, who led the club to 50 wins in his first year, received one first-place vote and finished eighth in coach of the year balloting won by Dallas' Avery Johnson. "He deserves it," Brown said. "A big-time coach, great team, terrific sea

2006-05-26T00:25:00.000-07:00

MILWAUKEE (AP)
-- The Green Bay Packers haven't reeled in any big-time free agents, but that didn't prevent them from pulling off their biggest offseason move of all: Convincing Brett Favre to return.
"The Green Bay Packers are very pleased that Brett has come to this decision, and look forward to a successful 2006 season," general manager Ted Thompson said in a statement posted on the team's Web site.
ESPN.com reported Tuesday night that Favre had told the Packers he will return to play this year.
The report said Favre informed Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy of his decision in a telephone conversation Tuesday morning.
Calls by The Associated Press to McCarthy and Favre's agent, James "Bus" Cook, were not immediately returned.
Worries about Favre's future have become an annual rite of winter for Packers fans, as the quarterback has contemplated retirement during the past several offseasons -- only to return each time.
This year apparently was no different.
In his most recent comments on retirement, made April 10 at his annual charity golf tournament, Favre said he wondered whether the team had improved enough in the offseason to justify coming back.
"I'd like to say I think we are better, but I don't know if we are," he said.
Favre said the team needed to make a "statement" similar to the signing of Reggie White in 1993.
But Favre, the NFL's only three-time MVP (1995-97), also said football is "in my blood."
As the Packers' season slid toward a 4-12 finish -- the team's only losing season under Favre -- the three-time NFL MVP said repeatedly that he wasn't sure if he would come back to play a 16th season.
The 36-year-old Favre, who threw a career-high 29 interceptions last season while playing for a team depleted by injuries and free-agency losses, said he wasn't sure he wanted to be part of what he saw as a possible long-term rebuilding effort.
He also claimed he wasn't sure if the team wanted him and his hefty salary to be a part of that effort. He hinted that the team's moves in free agency would play a role in his decision to come back. Favre also questioned his own motivation to continue playing.
Favre ranks second behind Dan Marino on the NFL's career list in touchdown passes (396), yards passing (53,615) and completions (4,678) and hold the records for most consecutive starts by a quarterback with 221 (241 including the playoffs).
Favre has led the Packers to six division crowns and a Super Bowl title, restoring success to one of the NFL's most famous franchises.
The Packers fired coach Mike Sherman after the final game of the season and replaced him with McCarthy, who was Favre's quarterbacks coach in Green Bay during the 1999 season. They also re-signed running back Ahman Green, who missed most of last season because of a knee injury.
But Favre continued to waffle in the offseason as the Packers struck out on high-profile free agents.
Sticking to Thompson's stated philosophy of not splurging for the sake of splurging in the free-agent market, the Packers lost veteran kicker Ryan Longwell to the division rival Minnesota Vikings and lost out in the bidding for a potential replacement, free agent kicker Adam Vinatieri, who signed with the Indianapolis Colts.
Linebacker LaVar Arrington spurned an offer from the Packers to sign with the New York Giants. The team continues to wait for an answer from defensive back Charles Woodson.
The Packers' two most high profile free-agent signings have been former St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Ryan Pickett and former Seattle Seahawks safety Marquand Manuel. The team also has re-signed fullback William Henderson and wide receiver Rod Gardener.

2006-05-25T00:25:00.007-07:00

HUNTLY, New Zealand (AP) -- Tiger Woods hunkered behind the wheel of his vehicle, its motor coughing noisily. One of the world's most visible athletes was suddenly unrecognizable under a flame-retardant suit, helmet and tinted visor.
On Monday, the world's best golfer became a celebrity stock car racer.
Woods, in New Zealand for the wedding of caddie Steve Williams, won the second of two celebrity stock car races on a dirt track in this small coal mining town 55 miles south of Auckland -- even after starting at the back of the field.
Woods was a designated "blocker" in the first race, which also included several full-time V-8 circuit drivers. He started on the outside of the first row for the race in this branch of motorsports where crashes are not only legal, but often encouraged.
His job was to prevent other cars from passing and reaching front-runners on his team, and Woods didn't finish among the leaders in the 12-lap race.
In the second of two celebrity races organized by Williams through his Steve Williams Foundation to raise funds to provide sporting careers for disadvantaged youth, Woods forced his way from the back of the grid to the front.
He took the lead on the sixth of 12 laps over a 400-meter oval, and, despite a crash into the wall which left his car sparking and tires smoking, he held on to win.
Woods had no second thoughts when Williams asked him to take part.
"I'm just so excited to be here," he said in greeting the capacity crowd of more than 7,000 that jammed the Huntly Placemakers Speedway. "Stevie puts his heart and soul into this sport and when Stevie asks me to do something, I'm there in a heartbeat."
Before the races, Woods said he expected to be involved in crashes but added his insurance was "taken care of."
Woods, who was driving a stock car in a race for the first time, warmed up for the race with another daredevil deed -- diving 440 feet from a cable car holding New Zealand's highest bungee jump Sunday.
Woods and Williams both made the jump from the Nevis Highwire near the South Island township of Queenstown, during a flying visit to the resort by helicopter and private jet.
The cable car is held by 1,247 feet of tension wires spanning the Nevis Valley, but the canyon's walls narrow to only 30 meters 98 feet at river level.
Jumpers free-fall for about 8.5 seconds, and the leap is regarded as one of the world's most daunting challenges for adventure tourists.
Woods was the best man at Williams' wedding on Friday to Kirsty Millar. His only previous visit to New Zealand was for the 2002 New Zealand Open golf tournament.

2006-05-25T00:25:00.006-07:00

AUSTIN (AP) -- Texas junior forward P.J. Tucker, the Big 12 player of the year, said Monday he will submit his name for the NBA draft but won't hire an agent in order to keep his college eligibility. "I believe the best thing for me at this time is to test the waters and see where I stand," Tucker said. Meanwhile, sophomore point guard Daniel Gibson told Houston television station KRIV Monday night he is planning to tell the NBA on Tuesday that he will make himself available for the draft but not sign with an agent. Gibson had said at the team banquet April 10 that he would return. "I've been back and forth, back and forth," Gibson told KRIV. "We sat down and weighed the pros and cons and our final decision was we should try it." Each player's decision allows him to return to college if he doesn't like his draft position. They have until June 18 to pull their names out of the draft, which is June 28. The burly 6-foot-5 Tucker led the Longhorns in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.1 and 9.5 rebounds per game, as Texas won a school-record 30 games and reached the Atlanta Regional final of the NCAA tournament before losing to LSU. In a statement released by the school, Longhorns coach Rick Barnes said his has "no problem" with Tucker's decision. "This is a good rule put in place for players to explore their draft position," Barnes said. Sophomore forward LaMarcus Aldridge has declared for the draft and is hiring an agent, which will make him ineligible to return. Tucker and Gibson are sitting on decisions that could have a huge impact on the program. If they return, Texas will be among the favorites to win the Big 12 championship. If they both leave, Texas enters next season without a single starter from a squad that won a share of the league crown for the first time since 1999. "Whatever happens, I'm looking at two pretty good choices," Tucker said. Asked if he believed he could be a first-round pick, Tucker said he didn't know. "A lot of different things could happen," he said. "It's just keeping all your options open. It's so early, you just don't know."

2006-05-25T00:25:00.005-07:00

HOUSTON (AP) -- Nomar Garciaparra was just looking to make contact against Brad Lidge in the ninth inning.
He ended up with his first big hit for his new team.
Garciaparra hit a go-ahead grand slam off Lidge for his first RBIs with the Dodgers, sending Los Angeles to a 6-2 win over the Houston Astros on Monday night.
"I just threw the barrel at it, tried to drive it," Garciaparra said. "Fortunately for me I got lucky and it went out for me."
Andy Pettitte held the Dodgers hitless until J.D. Drew homered with one out in the seventh to tie the score at 1. Lance Berkman's eighth-inning shot put Houston ahead again, but Lidge (0-1) couldn't hold the lead.
"Obviously, that was a tough inning for me," Lidge said. "My control wasn't there."
After Kenny Lofton tripled with one out, the All-Star closer walked Drew and Jeff Kent. Garciaparra then drove a 2-2 pitch to left-center for his sixth career slam and first since June 22, 2004, with Boston against Minnesota.
"I threw him two fastballs I thought were pretty good," Lidge said, "and then I threw him the third one and he was right on it."
Garciaparra was thinking small as he stepped into the box. He just wanted to avoid a double play and give Bill Mueller a chance to hit after him.
"Just get a ball I can drive and get it up in the air," Garciaparra said. "If you get the ball in the air, you get a guy in. If not, worse-case scenario, you've got a guy in Bill Mueller who will give you a good at-bat."
Garciaparra was playing in only his second game since returning from a brief minor league rehab stint. He missed the first 17 games of the season with a strained muscle in his rib cage.
Mike Gallo replaced Lidge and gave up an RBI single to Dioner Navarro.
Lidge had been 7-for-7 on save opportunities this year. It was his first blown save since he gave up Albert Pujols' mammoth home run in Game 5 of the NL championship series last October against St. Louis. Lidge also had two losses in the World Series against the Chicago White Sox.
During spring training, Lidge insisted he had shaken off those failures by the following day. He said he would do the same this time.
"If I was more concerned, it would be a bad problem," Lidge said. "Tonight, I'll be upset with myself. Tomorrow, I'll come back out and feel the same as I would if I had eight (saves) in a row."
Danys Baez entered for the Dodgers with two on in the bottom of the ninth and closed it out for his sixth save. He got Brad Ausmus on a fly ball before Adam Everett grounded into a game-ending double play.
The Dodgers snapped the Astros' three-game winning streak. Houston had won seven of eight.
Garciaparra's shot spoiled the strongest start of the season by Pettitte, who yielded just one hit in seven innings. He struck out five and walked three.
"I was putting the ball right where I wanted to, pretty much all night," Pettitte said. "It's just frustrating. You hate to let that one get away from us."
Berkman connected off winner Takashi Saito (2-0).
Saito relieved starter Derek Lowe, who was almost as good as Pettitte. Lowe gave up one run and four hits in seven innings.
Ausmus had three of those hits, including an RBI double in the second. Ausmus was 1-for-15 against Lowe before Monday.
For a while, it looked as though Ausmus' first hit would be enough for Pettitte.
He got some help from his outfielders in the second. Preston Wilson made a leaping catch on the warning track in left to rob Garciaparra of extra bases, then Willy Taveras chased down Mueller's deep fly to right-center.
With one out in the Astros' second, Jason Lane walked before Ausmus hammered Lowe's 2-2 pitch over Lofton's head in center. Lane scored easily as the ball rolled up Tal's Hill, the grassy ramp named for Astros president Tal Smith.
But after the second inning, Lowe almost matched Pettitte out for out.
The right-hander retired eight straight Astros before Ausmus led off the fifth with a double. Lowe stranded him there, striking out Pettitte between groundouts by Everett and Craig Biggio.
"You look forward to matchups like this," Lowe said, "then you look up and this guy's got a no-hitter going. It was a great game to win."
The Dodgers' frustration with Pettitte started to boil over in the sixth.
Navarro struck out looking leading off and Dodgers manager Grady Little bounced out of the dugout to argue briefly with plate umpire Mike Everitt.
Pettitte was unfazed, getting Lowe and Rafael Furcal to ground out. Lofton flied out leading off the seventh before Drew sent a 2-1 pitch just over the wall in right.
Notes: Taveras, who led all rookies with 34 steals last season, got his first of 2006 in the first inning. But he rounded second when the ball skipped by Furcal, then slipped getting back. Kent, backing up the play, threw to Furcal for the easy tag. ... The Dodgers failed to steal a base. Los Angeles enter

2006-05-25T00:25:00.004-07:00

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Ron Artest's reputation might have caught up to him at a terrible time for the Sacramento Kings.
The NBA suspended Artest on Monday for Game 2 of the Kings' first-round playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs.
Stu Jackson, the league's top disciplinarian, said Artest's elbow to Manu Ginobili's head in the series opener was egregious enough to warrant another suspension for the man who missed 73 games and the playoffs last season after one of the most infamous brawls in sports history.
But after their difficult playoff task got exponentially harder, the Kings suggested Artest was punished simply for being Ron Artest, possibly the most notorious player of his generation.
"You know with Ron's questionable past, they're going to look for a way to get him," said Bonzi Wells, who will get many of Artest's defensive assignments. "Whether it's minor or major, they're going to look at it in a different way."
The one-game suspension caught both Artest's teammates and the Spurs completely by surprise, because neither club thought the personal foul was even worthy of postgame comment, much less a suspension nearly 48 hours after the fact.
Artest was at the AT&T Center for practice Monday, but the focal point of Sacramento's midseason turnaround won't be in uniform Tuesday night when the Kings play Game 2 against the defending league champions.
"I talked to Stu Jackson, which was encouraging," Artest said in a brief, apologetic statement after his usual post-practice shooting workout. "There have been a lot of things that have happened in my career which [were] unfair. I support my teammates, and hopefully they'll win the game, and I'll be back Friday [for Game 3]."
The league cited Artest for his foul on Ginobili in the third quarter of the Spurs' 122-88 victory. Ginobili caught Artest's elbow in his jaw while attempting to run through the lane, and the Argentine star fell to the ground as Artest got a personal foul.
Though Spurs coach Gregg Popovich jumped off the bench to argue for a flagrant foul, Ginobili got right back up, and the game continued. Afterward, Ginobili said he wasn't injured on the play and didn't consider it particularly serious, while Popovich said he had no problem with Artest's aggressive style of play.
"I didn't even see the play, but it couldn't have been that bad," said Mike Bibby, who declared himself "amazed" by the league's decision.
"There was no flagrant foul or technical foul on the play. They look at things differently for certain people, you could say."
Popovich said the Spurs didn't even contact the NBA about the play, something many teams -- including the Kings -- will do for any questionable play, particularly in the playoffs.
Ginobili was shocked when he heard about the suspension after practice at the Spurs' suburban training complex.
"For us it's good, because he's a great player, but we don't have much to do with it," Ginobili said. "It didn't hurt me. I said it after the game. But the league (watches) everything we do."
Artest was injured on the game's opening possession when Ginobili inadvertently elbowed him hard in the face while driving to the hoop. Artest's feet flew out from under him, and he stayed down for several moments before jogging around the court in pain from a cut that required three stitches to close.
Ginobili alluded to the Kings' theory that Artest was being punished partly for his history of misbehavior and hard-nosed play, which also included aggressive shots to Tim Duncan and Tony Parker in Game 1.
Popovich wouldn't speculate on such ideas, instead finding a way to worry about how the absence of the Kings' emotional leader and defensive star actually could hurt the Spurs.
"Sometimes it can be your worst nightmare when a good player is out on another team, because everybody else can pick up their games," Popovich said. "We're not going to change a whole lot. I'm more concerned about the mental part of the deal for us."
Artest mostly guarded Ginobili in Game 1 and scored 16 points on 7-of-21 shooting. The Spurs routed Sacramento with a 41-point second quarter, taking a quick 30-point lead and turning the entire second half into garbage time.
Kevin Martin will move into the Kings' starting lineup at guard, with Wells moving to small forward. Martin probably will get the unpleasant task of guarding Parker, who burned the Kings for 25 points in three quarters.
Artest's defense made little difference while the Spurs scored 73 points in the first half of Game 1, making 68 percent of their shots and cruising to a 34-point lead. And perhaps his absence will inspire the passion that was missing in his teammates while San Antonio won Game 1 -- or perhaps the Kings are headed for an 0-2 deficit heading home.
"I think the Spurs are going to play the same no matter who's out there," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "Whe

2006-05-25T00:25:00.003-07:00

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Los Angeles Clippers played about as well as possible in the first quarter Monday night.
The Denver Nuggets never recovered.
Cuttino Mobley scored 21 points, Elton Brand had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and the Clippers beat the Nuggets 98-87 for a 2-0 lead in the first round of the playoffs.
The Clippers took command in the opening period, shooting 13-of-20 and committing one turnover in taking a 32-13 lead. The Nuggets shot 6-of-24, including 0-of-6 from 3-point range, and were outrebounded 15-10.
"We started off with great energy and focus," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said.
The Nuggets weren't closer than the final margin after that.
"The first quarter was big for us -- not only offensively, but defensively," said Sam Cassell, who had 13 points and 11 assists.
Added Brand: "It was the kind of start that we need to have."
Mobley and Cassell joined the Clippers this season, giving them a veteran backcourt to go with a young, talented frontcourt.
Mobley said he believes the Clippers are peaking at the perfect time.
"I hope so. I don't want to jinx us," he said with a smile. "We've got a lot of solid guys on the team. We jumped on them early, set the tempo."
The best-of-seven series moves to Denver for Game 3 Thursday night and Game 4 Saturday night.
"The great thing about the NBA is confidence comes in a one-game winning streak a lot of times," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "That's what we need -- a one-game winning streak."
They probably won't get it with another start like Monday night's.
"We came out flat in the first two games, and it's tough to play perfect to get back into the game," Denver's Earl Boykins said.
The Clippers, in the postseason for the first time in nine years, perhaps had a point to prove early in this game -- at least to themselves. They blew a 10-point lead in the last four minutes before winning the opener 89-87, and with seven of their 12 active players making their postseason debuts, there was a case for playoff jitters down the stretch.
There were no such problems in Game 2.
Teams taking 2-0 leads in the NBA playoffs have won 176 times in 186 opportunities -- 94.6 percent. So at least on paper, things look bad for the Nuggets, in jeopardy of being eliminated in the first round for a third straight year.
"We will not be overconfident," Brand said. "Sam and I will not let that happen."
The Clippers shot 47.5 percent to Denver's 34 percent. Los Angeles is 28-1 when holding the opposition under 40 percent this season.
"The defense was superb," Cassell said. "We've had a solid defensive team all year -- it's nothing new for us."
Corey Maggette scored 12 points and Chris Kaman and Quinton Ross each added 10 for the Clippers.
Marcus Camby led the Nuggets with 16 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. Carmelo Anthony, who played less than 61/2 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, scored all 16 of his points in the second half. Boykins, Greg Buckner and Andre Miller added 14 points apiece.
The Clippers scored the first six points of the second quarter, giving them a 38-13 lead after less than 15 minutes had been played. It was 56-34 at halftime thanks to Mobley's 3-pointer from about 35 feet away just before time expired.
Anthony scored his first nine points to spark a 16-6 Denver run to open the third quarter, cutting the Clippers' lead to 62-50. But the Clippers responded with a 10-2 spurt capped by Shaun Livingston's flying dunk and free throw, making it 72-52.
It was 75-59 entering the fourth quarter, and the Clippers scored the first seven points of the final period for a 23-point lead.
Anthony picked up two fouls in the opening 4:52 of play, and a third 90 seconds into the second quarter. He missed all four shots he tried in the first half.
"It's a bad hand you're dealt when your best player is in foul trouble and you're down 15 and 20 points," Karl said.
Notes: Clippers F Vladimir Radmanovic played despite his sprained left wrist, and had eight points and six rebounds in 21 minutes. He took an acupuncture treatment Sunday that lasted about an hour. "You can feel it right away -- big pain relief," he said. ... The Nuggets' first quarter and halftime point totals were their lowest of the season, and established Clippers playoff records. ... The Nuggets are trying to win a postseason series for the first time since 1994. They've lost 14 of their last 16 playoff games. ... The Clippers have won only one postseason series in their history -- 30 years ago, when the franchise was playing in Buffalo. They have home-court advantage in a playoff series for the first time ever. ... Denver's Kenyon Martin bruised his left knee early in the second quarter and didn't return. He played seven scoreless minutes. ... Ruben Patterson replaced Buckner in Denver's starting lineup and had just two points in 20 minutes.

2006-05-25T00:25:00.002-07:00

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)
-- A couple of fluke goals, with plenty of hard skating and swagger in between. The Carolina Hurricanes finally looked like the team that raced to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.
It still wasn't enough to beat Montreal.
"We stuck with the same plan, we kept believing," Canadiens center Mike Ribeiro said. "It was a great game to watch, I'm sure, for everyone."
Well, maybe in his locker room.
Michael Ryder scored 2:32 into overtime after Carolina rallied from three goals down to take the lead, and Montreal beat the Hurricanes 6-5 Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in the series. Game 3 is Wednesday night in Montreal.
Chris Higgins chased down the puck behind the net, then centered it to Ryder, who quickly ended the game with a slap shot.
"I just shot it, and it went in five-hole," Ryder said.
Alex Kovalev and Richard Zednik scored 36 seconds apart in the third period to give Montreal a 5-4 lead, but Cory Stillman forced the extra periods with a goal with 90 seconds left in regulation. With goalie Cam Ward on the bench in favor of an extra skater, Bret Hedican sent a pass across the ice to Stillman, who sent a one-timer in off the right post.
Ryder finished with two goals, and he, Jan Bulis and Radek Bonk all scored in the first period to give Montreal that commanding lead, forcing Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette to bench goalie Martin Gerber. Gerber has allowed nine goals on 34 shots in the two games.
"That was one of the plans, to challenge Gerber," Ribeiro said. "He was shaky first game. But a lot of times, when you change a goalie, the momentum switches sides."
Ward, a rookie, took over and played solidly enough to give Carolina the opportunity for a remarkable comeback aided greatly by a couple of penalties on the Canadiens.
"I just tried the best that I could to step in and help out as much as I could," Ward said. "Unfortunately, we fell a little short."
First, Matt Cullen got a fortuitous bounce off the skate of Ribeiro, and the puck skittered through goalie Cristobal Huet to make it 3-1. Then Rod Brind'Amour cut the margin to a single goal by scoring on the power play, seconds after a 5-on-3 ended.
Doug Weight gave him the pass right in front of the net, and Brind'Amour quickly poked it past Huet. Finally, Ray Whitney and Brind'Amour scored less than a minute apart early in the third period with the Canadiens again short-handed.
Alexander Perezhogin (hooking) and Francis Bouillon (delay of game) gave the Hurricanes another two-man advantage to start the period, and after Whitney's goal, Brind'Amour added another while Bouillon remained in the penalty box.
"Even though they took the lead, we stayed in the game," Kovalev said. "We did a lot of good things. We're definitely a better team when we keep the 5-on-5 game."
Whitney was back in the lineup after missing seven straight games with a groin injury. His goal came when he attempted a pass through the crease to Doug Weight, and Montreal defenseman Andrei Markov inadvertently knocked the puck in his own net with his stick.
When Brind'Amour beat Huet with a wraparound, the home team suddenly was ahead 4-3.
"They came back, but we never put our arms down," Ribeiro said. "We kept pushing."
Kovalev, the best player on the ice so far in this series, led the charge, getting his third goal in two games from a sharp angle. His shot was the third in quick succession against Ward, and this one found the top of the net.
"We had played such a great game, there was no reason to quit," Kovalev said. "We know how good we played, we know how many chances we got. It was about capitalizing on one of them."
Zednik sent a one-timer through Ward's pads following a nice pass from Perezhogin to give the Canadiens a 5-4 lead. Huet, who wasn't quite as sharp in his second postseason appearance as he was in the opener, did enough to make it stand.
He finished with 41 saves after stopping 42 of 43 shots Saturday night.
"It wasn't my best game," Huet said. "That was a great character from all the guys. For my part, I tried to be strong in OT and give the team a chance to win the game."
Ward, a 22-year-old who was the 25th overall pick in the 2002 draft, had 20 saves after replacing Gerber. Ward went 14-8 during the regular season, a year after he set franchise records at Lowell of the AHL for victories (27), shutouts (6), save percentage (.937) and goals-against average (1.99).
"I thought that under the situation, coming in off the bench like that, he did a good job," Laviolette said. "He came in and made some big saves, especially in the third period."
Notes: The Canadiens opened the series with a 6-1 victory Saturday night. ... Carolina D Aaron Ward left for several minutes after blocking a shot in the second period. Because the Canadiens held possession of the puck for a shor

2006-05-25T00:25:00.001-07:00

MIAMI (AP) -- Dwyane Wade arrived at the arena Monday night with a freshly shaved head, a first for the dapper superstar.
"It's the playoffs," Wade said of his new 'do. "I don't want to be worried about how I look."
Whatever the reason, Wade looked wonderful again for the Miami Heat.
Playing with a sore calf, Wade hit a spinning jumper with 1:04 left to halt a frantic Chicago rally, then blocked Ben Gordon's layup 38 seconds later to help the Heat beat the Bulls 115-108 to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series.
Jason Williams and Shaquille O'Neal each scored 22 points for the Heat, with Wade getting 21 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals. Miami held a 20-point lead in the third quarter and saw it trimmed to four with 1:15 left, but Wade's heroics down the stretch ensured the Heat wouldn't suffer an epic collapse.
"We played at a real high level again," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "Tremendous amount of energy, spirit and ball movement, but we didn't finish. That disturbs me and it should disturb our players after working so hard and playing so well."
Antoine Walker -- who played the first 40:20 without a rest, filling in for the suspended Udonis Haslem -- added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who also got 12 points from James Posey and 11 from Gary Payton.
Andres Nocioni led all scorers with 30 points -- on 13-for-15 shooting -- for Chicago. Kirk Hinrich had 17 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter for the Bulls, who will host Game 3 on Thursday night.
"We made it interesting again at the end," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said, "but pretty much got dominated again from beginning to end."
The Bulls allowed 111 points or more four times in the regular season. The Heat now have done it twice in this series, and shot 52 percent on Monday.
Walker scored off an offensive rebound with 8:12 left, giving Miami a 102-84 lead -- and a two-game series lead seemed all but certain.
Five minutes later, those prospects were precarious, at best.
"Any team in this league, when they're down 10 or 20, they're going to make a run no matter what time of the game it is," Williams said. "It's just part of their scheme. They never give up."
Hinrich hit three straight jumpers -- a personal 7-0 run -- to get the Bulls within 102-91 with 4:52 left, and he scored four more points in what was a 13-2 Chicago burst that cut Miami's lead to 104-97 with 3:00 left.
Wade found Walker for a layup at the 2:46 mark, and hit a jumper 59 seconds later to push Miami's lead back to 108-99. Once again, the Bulls weren't done: Hinrich scored, and after Wade missed from the same spot he'd hit from one possession earlier, Nocioni hit a 3-pointer with 1:15 left that got Chicago within four.
But Wade scored on the next trip, Nocioni threw the ball away on Chicago's next possession, and Miami could soon exhale.
"We're supposed to be a defensive team. We just didn't have it on that end tonight," Hinrich said. "It's not over. They took care of their home court. Now we have to go home and take care of our home court."
No one need remind Chicago how a 2-0 series lead guarantees little; the Bulls blew a two-game lead in the first round against Washington last season, dropping the next four games. But recovering is a daunting task; the Bulls have prevailed only once in 14 previous playoff series after starting with two losses.
The Heat have taken 2-0 series leads on five other occasions, and won them all.
"We have to go up there and try to get the first one," Wade said.
After Michael Sweetney hit two free throws with 5.4 seconds left in the half, the Bulls could have gone into intermission trailing by only seven.
Instead, in a flash, the margin was 11.
Williams streaked down the right sideline and made a layup with 1.2 seconds left -- leaving enough time for one more score. Wade intercepted Chicago's inbound pass and dunked just before the clock went to 0.0, giving Miami a 68-57 lead at the break.
Miami's lead reached 15, then its largest, after O'Neal and Wade had the opening two baskets of the second half. Nocioni had five points in a 7-0 burst that got Chicago within 72-64, but Wade spun in the lane and threw a lob for a one-handed O'Neal slam that got Miami's cushion back to 10 and ended the Bulls' run.
Posey and Walker hit back-to-back 3-pointers later in the third to start what became a 12-2 Miami run, with Posey capping it with a layup for an 89-69 lead, and the Heat entered the fourth up 95-76.
The margin, huge-looking at the time, wound up being barely enough.
"But we're ahead 2-0," Riley said. "That's what it's about."
Notes: Only 16 teams in NBA history have rallied from 0-2 deficits in a best-of-seven series. ... Nocioni hit six straight shots at one point, mostly jumpers. The streak ended on a missed 2-footer in the third quarter. ... The clocks stopped working wi

2006-05-25T00:25:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Former Southern California star Reggie Bush said there was nothing inappropriate about his family's living arrangement at a home owned by a man who reportedly sought to market him because they leased the house. "It's kind of funny how this whole story is getting blown out of proportion," Bush said in a live ESPN interview Monday. The Pac-10 said Sunday that it will investigate whether any NCAA rules were violated when Bush's family, including mother Denise Griffin, stepfather LaMar Griffin and brother Jovan Griffin lived in the Spring Valley, Calif., house while Bush was still playing for USC last season. Bush declined to say who paid the rent. The home was owned by Michael Michaels, who reportedly attempted to steer Bush toward signing with San Diego agent David Caravantes, and sought to handle Bush's marketing with a new firm he had founded, Yahoo.com reported Sunday. NCAA rules prohibit student-athletes and their families from receiving extra benefits from agents or their representatives. "When this is all said and done, everybody will see at the end of the day that we've done nothing, absolutely nothing wrong," said Bush, the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner. Bush chose to turn pro after his junior season with USC and is expected to be the No. 1 pick in Saturday's NFL draft. He eventually signed with a different agent and marketing firm; his agent, Joel Segal, and Mike Ornstein, who handles marketing, did not immediately return telephone messages left Monday by The Associated Press. Yahoo reported that the family moved out last weekend after questions over its ownership arose. Bush suggested that the timing of the move was coincidental. "That's the funny thing," he said. "We've been looking for a house for two to three months. Now that I'm in the position of buying my parents a house, we've even made a bid on another house, but it ended up being too steep for my pocket." Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen said Monday that a Pac-10 investigation could start soon, but gave no specific time frame. USC could forfeit its 2005 Pac-10 football title if Bush is ruled ineligible, he said. "I'm not a rules expert, but I think one of the available penalties would be forfeiture of games if you compete while ineligible," Hansen said at the Bowl Championship Series meetings in Phoenix. "I want to caution that that's a long way from where we are now. And I think all of us have seen that so often there are allegations made and when you get to the heart of the matter there' s nothing there." Any violation could also put Bush in a precarious position with the organization that awards the Heisman Trophy; the award ballot states that the winner must be in compliance with NCAA rules. Heisman officials will wait until the Pac-10 investigation is complete before deciding if any action needs to be taken, said Heisman Trophy Trust spokesman Tim Henning. The Trojans went 12-1 last season, losing to Texas in the national championship game at the Rose Bowl. USC coach Pete Carroll was on the road recruiting Monday and was unavailable for comment. The two-story house sits on a corner on a steep hill in an unincorporated area outside San Diego. The back yard is bare dirt and the pavement of the driveway apron is inscribed with the words "The Griffins '05."' San Diego County records show the 3,002-square-foot home has an assessed value of $339,394, including $99,394 for the land. State records showed construction was completed in early 2005 and Michaels purchased it for more than $757,000 in late March. In a statement to the AP on Monday, William David Cornwell Sr., attorney for Bush and his mother and stepfather, said the tailback had no connection to the house. "Reggie Bush was a full-time student at the University of Southern California and never lived in the house," Cornwell said. "As is the case with most 20-year-old college students, Reggie was not aware of personal or financial arrangements relating to his parents or their house. Mr. and Mrs. Griffin now realize that, given Reggie's profile, their personal decisions can reflect on their son." Bush did not answer a question about his relationship with Michaels. "There will be a later time for details," he said. "As of right now, it's still early and we don't want to get into all that."

2006-05-24T00:25:00.004-07:00

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Greg Maddux is turning back the clock for a team missing its offensive star and two of its best pitchers.
The four-time NL Cy Young Award winner, who turned 40 earlier this month, threw seven scoreless innings on Sunday to help the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-3. He has won his first four starts for the first time in his career, to go with a miniscule 0.99 ERA.
Maddux's big start is helping rescue a team that doesn't have Derrek Lee, Mark Prior or Kerry Wood.
"It's just amazing what he does because he's not throwing 94, 93 mph," outfielder Juan Pierre said. "You watch Greg Maddux, that's an art."
Maddux (4-0) held the Cardinals to five hits and also singled and scored, helping the Cubs avert a three-game sweep and win for the first time in three games since losing Lee for at least two months with a broken wrist. This is the first 4-0 start for Maddux since 2000 with the Braves when he needed six starts, and it's his first four-game winning streak since July 17-Aug. 7, 2004.
All month, Maddux has insisted that he's doing nothing different and not trying to fill the void.
"I wish I could explain it," Maddux said. "Personally, I'm just getting ready to pitch like I always have, I'm just catching a lot of breaks.
"Sometimes you catch a few breaks in this game, and right now I am."
Jacque Jones hit his second homer, and second against the Cardinals, leading off the fourth against Jason Marquis (3-1).
Aramis Ramirez, who entered the game in a 3-for-18 slump, hit a two-run shot into the visitor's bullpen beyond the left-field wall in the fifth.
Todd Walker batted in Lee's third slot for the third straight game and had two hits and three RBIs to raise his average to .408 for the Cubs, who completed a 5-4 road trip.
"It's nice to get a win without Derrek," Walker said. "We can start believing we can do it."
Albert Pujols, who had six RBIs the first two games of the series and entered with the major-league lead in homers (11) and RBIs (26), was 0-for-4.
Maddux, the only 40-plus right-handed starter in the major leagues, struck out four and his only walk came to the first batter he faced, David Eckstein. He threw a season-high 93 pitches and lowered his ERA 34 points, mastering the Cardinals for the second time.
"He's not coming with heat; he's never coming with heat," manager Tony La Russa said. "He's coming with a lot of intelligence and a great feel for pitching."
In two starts against the Cardinals, he's 2-0 and has given up one run on nine hits in 13 1/3 innings. Since turning 40 on April 14, he's surrendered one run on eight hits in 15 innings.
Marquis struggled for the first time in four starts this season while facing Maddux, his old mentor from the Braves. He left after the first three batters reached in the seventh, one on his fielding error on Pierre's sacrifice bunt and gave up seven runs -- four earned, and seven hits.
"I don't know if I struggled all day, I just got away from my game plan and left a few pitches up in the zone," Marquis said. "Some days the mistakes are going be hit out and some days you get away with them."
All four of Marquis' career starts against the Cubs have come against Maddux. He's 1-2 with a 3.90 ERA.
Pierre doubled to lead off the third, advanced on a sacrifice and scored on Walker's infield hit to give the Cubs the lead and Jones' homer in the fourth made it 2-0.
Pierre reached on second baseman Aaron Miles' fielding error on a routine grounder to start the fifth, leading to Ramirez' homer and a pair of unearned runs that put Chicago ahead 4-0.
The Cubs extended the lead to 7-0 in the seventh on Ronny Cedeno's RBI double and Walker's two-run single.
St. Louis got a run in the eighth on Hector Luna's RBI double off Roberto Novoa.
Gary Bennett's two-run double in the ninth ended Ryan Dempster's run of 32 consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run. Dempster, who has converted 23 straight saves, last gave up an earned run on Aug. 12, 2005, at home against the Cardinals in a streak that lasted 31 1/3 innings.
Notes: Cardinals reliever Brad Thompson had to make a quick jump to his side to avoid getting hit by a bat when Michael Barrett lost his grip while striking out in the seventh. ... The Cardinals haven't swept the Cubs at home since 2002. ... The Cardinals have sold out all nine games at new Busch Stadium, including paid attendance of 41,373 on Sunday.