National Sports: AP-SportsRightNow

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r s AP-SportsRightNow     04-09 1493
^AP-Sports Right Now<
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^Update on the latest in sports<
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^NCAA BASKETBALL-WOMEN‘S FINAL

     Lady Vols reach the Summitt one more time
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     TAMPA, Fla. (AP) _ Winning never seems to get old for the
Tennessee women‘s basketball team. The Lady Vols beat Stanford
64-48 for their eighth national championship under coach Pat
Summitt. That places her just two behind legendary UCLA men‘s coach
John Wooden on the all-time titles list in college basketball.

     Summitt says ``it‘s all about the team‘‘ in trying to deflect
attention from herself and onto her players. Candace Parker was
named the tournament‘s Most Outstanding Player despite playing with
an injured shoulder.

     Tennessee is the first repeat champion since Connecticut won
three in a row from 2002 to 2004.
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COLLEGE BASKETBALL-DRAFT

     Los Angeles report has UCLA‘s Love and Collison going pro

     

     LOS ANGELES (AP) _ UCLA All-American Kevin Love and teammate
Darren Collison reportedly will make themselves available for the
NBA draft.

     The Los Angeles Times, quoting unidentified sources close to the
players, reported they are expected to hire agents. That would mean
they could not return to play for the Bruins next season.

     Love, a freshman center, led the Bruins in scoring and rebounds.
Collison, a junior point guard, was a third-team All-American.
Through a UCLA spokesman, Collison is denying the report.

     UCLA coach Ben Howland has a news conference scheduled for
today.
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COLLEGE BASKETBALL-COACHES

     Golden Eagles program gets a Buzz...Belmont‘s Byrd gets
five-year extension
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     MILWAUKEE (AP) _ Buzz Williams has inked a six-year deal to
become the new basketball coach at Marquette, replacing Tom Crean
(kreen).

     Williams spent last season as an assistant to Crean, who left a
week ago for the Indiana job.
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     NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Belmont coach Rick Byrd is getting a
five-year contract extension and will remain with the school he has
led to three straight NCAA tournaments.

     With 541 wins, Byrd is one of 15 active Division I men‘s
basketball coaches with 500 or more career victories.
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NBA-FINAL SCORES

     Stayin‘ alive...Utah‘s ends Jazz home streak...Still tight in
the West
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     UNDATED (AP) _ Mike Dunleavy scored 28 points and the Indiana
Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks 112-98 to avoid elimination from the
Eastern Conference playoff race. A win by the Hawks would have
knocked the Pacers from playoff contention.

     The Pacers are two games behind the Hawks for the eighth spot
with four games left.
^

     In the rest of the NBA:

     -- Jason Terry scored 22 points, Josh Howard added 17 and the
Dallas Mavericks crept closer to a playoff berth with a 99-83
victory over Seattle. The Mavs have a two-game edge in the race for
seventh place in the West.

     -- Carmelo Anthony scored 36 points and the Denver Nuggets
routed the Los Angeles Clippers 117-99 to keep pace in the Western
Conference playoff race. Allen Iverson added 21 points, seven
rebounds and nine assists. The Nuggets and Golden State Warriors
are tied for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff berth.

     -- Golden State outscored Sacramento 140-132. Baron Davis led
the way with 33 points and nine assists.

     -- In a low-scoring tussle, Utah downed New Orleans 77-66. That
ends the Hornets‘ 11-game home winning streak. Mehmet Okur had 22
points and 17 rebounds.

     -- Boston won its seventh in a row with a 107-104 overtime
victory over Milwaukee Bucks. Kevin Garnett led the Celtics with
21.

     -- Amare Stoudemire (ah-MAH‘-ray STOW‘-duh-myr) had 28 points
and 11 rebounds and the Phoenix Suns beat the Memphis Grizzlies
127-113 despite playing without an injured Shaquille O‘Neal. Shaq
sat out with a right hip contusion.

     -- Jason Richardson scored 36 points and the Charlotte Bobcats
held off the Minnesota Timberwolves 121-119. Al Jefferson scored 40
for the Wolves.

     -- Wilson Chandler scored all of his 19 points in the first
half, and the New York Knicks built a huge lead and beat the
Detroit Pistons 98-94 in a game that didn‘t mean much for either
team.

     -- Kasib Powell scored a career-high 18 points in leading the
Miami Heat to a 95-88 victory over the Chicago Bulls. That ends the
Heat‘s seven-game losing streak.

     -- Portland surprised the L.A. Lakers 112-103. Brandon Roy had
23 points and 12 boards.
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^MLB-FINAL SCORES

     Red Sox keep Tigers winless...Mets lose final Shea opener
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     UNDATED (AP) _ Daisuke (DYS‘-kay) Matsuzaka struck out seven
over six and two-thirds innings and Kevin Youkilis drove in a pair
of runs as the Boston Red Sox won their home opener 5-0 over
winless Detroit.

     The Tigers, who have the majors‘ second-highest payroll, fell to
0-and-7. Kenny Rogers dropped to 0-and-2 giving up two earned runs
on eight hits and three walks over four and two-thirds innings.

     Tigers second baseman Placido Polanco made his first error since
July 1st, 2006. That ends his major league record errorless streak
at 911 chances and 186 games.
^

     In the rest of the AL:

     -- Jake Westbrook earned his first complete game since 2006 to
lead the Cleveland Indians to a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles
Angels. Travis Hafner hit a two-run homer off emergency closer
Justin Speier with two outs in the ninth inning.

     -- Ryan Sweeney hit a tiebreaking triple in the ninth inning,
and the Oakland Athletics ended the Toronto Blue Jays‘ three-game
winning streak with a 9-8 victory.

     -- Brian Bannister fanned six over five innings and Ross Gload
(glohd) drove in two runs as the Kansas City Royals won their home
opener 5-2 over the New York Yankees. Alex Rodriguez struck out
four times for only the fourth time in his major league career. The
Royals improve to 5-and-2 under new manager Trey Williams.

     -- The Baltimore Orioles continued their hot start by winning at
Texas 8-1. Aubrey Huff matched a career-high with four hits,
including a homer and drove in four runs as the O‘s improved to a
league-best 6-and-1.

     -- Erik Bedard got his first win for Seattle by pitching the
Mariners past Tampa Bay 6-5. He‘s 11-and-3 in 19 career starts
against the Rays.
^

     In the NL:

     -- The New York Mets lost their final home opener in Shea
Stadium just as they did when they opened the stadium in 1964. The
Philadelphia Phillies beat the Mets 5-2. A key error by Carlos
Delgado in the seventh inning led to Jayson Werth hitting a
tiebreaking single in the inning that capped the comeback.

     -- Ubaldo Jimenez overcame a shaky start and Matt Holliday hit
two run-scoring singles in the Colorado Rockies‘ 4-3 win over the
hard-luck Atlanta Braves. Each of the Braves‘ five losses have come
by one run.

     -- The St. Louis Cardinals are 6-and-2. Troy Glaus hit a two-run
double in the eighth inning to help the Cardinals beat Houston 5-3.

     -- Rickie Weeks singled home the winning run off David Weathers
in the 10th inning and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cincinnati
Reds 3-2.

     -- Arizona trounced the L.A. Dodgers 10-5. Doug Davis allowed
two runs in six innings while pitching two days before his
scheduled surgery for thyroid cancer. The D-Backs have won five
straight.

     -- Bengie Molina homered twice, including the game-winner in the
11th inning, to give San Francisco a 3-2 win over San Diego.
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^NFL-STOVER/UNION

     Stover wants Upshaw out
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     NEW YORK (AP) _ Veteran kicker Matt Stover of the Baltimore
Ravens has begun a campaign to replace Gene Upshaw as executive
director of the NFL Players Association by next March.

     In an e-mail to the union‘s executive board and player
representatives that was obtained by ESPN, Stover says he feels the
board ``must begin to prepare for a change in leadership
immediately.‘‘

     Upshaw‘s contract runs through 2010.

     March 2009 marks the beginning of the last year with a salary
cap if the contract is voided and could be a critical time in those
talks.
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NHL-PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

     Four games start ‘08 playoffs
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     UNDATED (AP) _ The NHL‘s second season starts tonight. Playoff
hockey is on tap at four sites:

     The Pittsburgh Penguins, who just missed the top seed in the
East, play host to Ottawa. The New York Rangers travel across the
Hudson to Newark to play New Jersey. Colorado visits Minnesota and
San Jose is home to Calgary.

     All first-round series are best-of-seven.
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MASTERS

     Woods has eye on fifth green jacket
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     AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) _ Four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods has
surveyed the famed Augusta National course and says, as usual, it‘s
in ``superb shape‘‘ for the first major of the season that starts
tomorrow. Woods, who has won eight of his last 10 tournaments, has
said that winning all four majors in the same calendar year is
``easily within reason.‘‘

     Ernis Els, one of Woods‘ major competitors this week, agrees.
Els says Woods winning the Grand Slam is ``definitely in his
reach.‘‘

     Masters festivities start today with the annual par-3 contest.
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     (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

     AP-NY-04-09-08 0632EDT<