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As of 11:45 p.m. (et)
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Some of the top teams from power conferences took to
the court Thursday in their repsective tournaments, but it was the lower
seeds in the Big East that stole the show in New York. Top-seeded Syracuse,
which ranks No. 3 nationally, fell to eighth-seeded and No. 22 Georgetown,
91-84. The Orange, who lost forward Arinze Onuaku to a right knee strain,
had never won the Big East Tournament as the top seed and may have
jeopardized their chances for a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Next up for the Hoyas are the fifth- seeded Golden Eagles of Marquette, who
topped No. 10 and fourth-seeded Villanova, 80-76. To start the nightcap,
Notre Dame made it 3-for-3 for the lower seeds, as the seventh-seeded
Fighting Irish beat second-seeded Pittsburgh, 50-45. No. 7 and third-seeded
West Virginia became the only higher seed of the day to win, as Da'Sean
Butler banked a three off the glass at the buzzer to thwart Cincinnati's
comeback attempt and lead the Mountaineers to an exciting 54-51 victory in
the nightcap.
In the Big 12, the top-ranked program in the land,
Kansas, took care of business with an 80-68 victory over Texas Tech in their
quarterfinal clash. It was the 2,000th win in the Jayhawks' storied history.
Next up for Kansas will be 23rd-ranked Texas A&M, which got by Nebraska,
70-64. In the night session, No. 9 Kansas State crushed Oklahoma State,
83-64, and No. 21 Baylor beat the struggling Longhorns, 86-67.
In the SEC, 15th-ranked Tennessee won its first-round
game, beating LSU, 59-49. Also in the first round, Alabama topped South
Carolina, 68-63. Later Thursday, Florida beat Auburn, 78-69, and Georgia is
currently in the second half against Arkansas in the final game on the
slate.
Also, eighth-ranked New Mexico survived a scare
against Air Force in a 75-69 final in the Mountain West quarterfinals.
The University of Connecticut and men's head
basketball coach Jim Calhoun are reportedly close to a contract extension.
Calhoun told ESPN in a prepared statement, through his agent Jeff Schwartz,
that the sides were close to finalizing a new contract. The network reported
it to be a four-year extension. Calhoun's six-year contract expires in June.
The 67-year-old, who guided the Huskies to a pair of national titles in 1999
and 2004, experienced health problems during an up-and-down 2009-10 campaign
and left the team for seven games. UConn ended the season 17-15, including a
lowly 7-11 mark in conference play. In his 24 years with the program, the
Huskies have gone 573-218. He also coached 14 seasons at Northeastern,
compiling a record of 250-137.
Norm Roberts is reportedly out as head coach at St.
John's after six seasons with the Red Storm. A New York newspaper cited
sources within the university as saying Roberts won't be back for the
2010-11 season. Roberts has a record of 81-100 at St. John's, and this
year's squad posted the most wins in his tenure with a mark of 17-15. The
Red Storm upended Connecticut in the first round of the Big East Tournament
on Tuesday before coming up just short in a 57-55 loss to Marquette in the
second round on Wednesday.
NFL
Pro football Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen died early
Thursday morning in California at the age of 69 after a battle with cancer.
Olsen was a two-time All-American at Utah State, playing both the offensive
and defensive line, and won the Outland Trophy as the nation's outstanding
interior lineman in 1961, then went on to star in the NFL for the Los
Angeles Rams. In 15 seasons with the Rams, Olsen was selected for 14 Pro
Bowls and was part of the famed "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line with
Deacon Jones, Rosey Grier and Lamar Lundy. He was selected as the NFL's
Rookie of the Year in 1962 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of
Fame in 1982.
The Cincinnati Bengals have re-signed defensive tackle
Tank Johnson, who recorded two sacks and 29 tackles in 14 games with the
club last season. The 28-year-old University of Washington product spent the
previous two seasons in Dallas, primarily as a backup nose tackle. He was
originally a second-round pick of the Bears in 2004 but was released by the
team in 2007 following numerous off-field issues, including an arrest for
violating probation on a gun charge, which also drew an eight-game
suspension from the league.
Willie Clark has been found guilty in the fatal
drive-by shooting of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams. A Denver
jury convicted Clark of the crime Thursday. He was convicted on all 21
charges, including a pair of counts of first-degree murder. The jury
deliberated over a span of three days. Clark will be sentenced April 30 and
he faces life in prison for the crime that occurred in the early morning
hours of January 1, 2007. Williams was 24 years old when he was shot and
killed near downtown Denver mere hours after the Broncos' 2006 season came
to an end.
BASEBALL
Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton has agreed
to terms on a two-year contract extension that will allow him to finish his
career with the franchise. The new deal will take Helton through the 2013
season and includes a provision that will defer a portion of his contract
over a 10-year period beginning in 2014. Helton is the franchise's all-time
leader in nearly every offensive category. The five-time NL All-Star is a
career .328 hitter with 325 homers and 1,202 runs batted in over 1,812
games. Last season, he batted .325 with 15 homers and 86 RBI in 151 games.
The New York Mets said shortstop Jose Reyes will not
participate in any baseball activities until his thyroid levels return to
normal. Reyes underwent additional blood tests this week after being
diagnosed with an overactive thyroid. In addition to rest, Reyes will have
to make changes to his diet. Doctors will also monitor his thyroid levels
through regular blood tests.
GOLF
South Africa's Charl Schwartzel posted a brilliant,
bogey-free, five-under 67 on Thursday to take the first-round lead of the
WGC-CA Championship. Schwartzel braved tough, windy conditions at the TPC
Blue Monster at Doral for the first-round advantage, when every other leader
got tripped up by the famed Blue Monster 18th hole. Robert Allenby, Vijay
Singh and Ernie Els are tied for second place, one shot back.
The Masters truly will be a tradition unlike any other
this April, as several media outlets have reported that Tiger Woods will
make his highly anticipated return to competitive golf at the season's first
major championship. Refuting an earlier New York newspaper report that
targeted Woods' return at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in two weeks,
several media outlets pointed to a season debut at Augusta National instead,
where Woods would be playing for the first time since the fall of 2009. His
early morning accident the day after Thanksgiving led to Woods admitting
marital infidelity. He has been in a self- imposed break from golf.
Next check of Sports News at 2:30 - 3:00 a.m. (et)
03/11 23:46:12 ET
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