Montgomery, Alabama –
NBA-ALL STAR GAME
Reunited in victory
PHOENIX (AP) - Shaq and Kobe were together again, and they
combined to lead the West to a 146-119 rout of the East in the 58th
NBA All-Star game. In case nobody believes they can play well
together, they each have the All-Star MVP award to prove it.
Shaquille (shah-KEEL') O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, who combined for
three NBA titles with the L.A. Lakers before their egos got in the
way, were named co-MVPs for the West. O'Neal had 17 points on 8 of
9 shooting. Bryant scored 27 points and also had four steals, four
assists and four rebounds in just 29 minutes. It's the third MVP
award for each.
This was the first time Bryant and O'Neal were on the floor as
teammates since the 2004 NBA finals. O'Neal was traded to Miami
that summer.
Amare Stoudemire (ah-MAH'-ray STOW'-duh-myr), rumored to be
traded in the next few days by Phoenix, added 19 points in what
might be his final game as a member of the Suns. Portland's Brandon
Roy added 14.
LeBron James scored 20 for the East. Paul Pierce and Dwyane Wade
added 18 apiece.
NBA-SUNS/PORTER
Embattled coach is dangling
PHOENIX (AP) - A person familiar with the decision says Phoenix
Suns Terry Porter will be fired Monday and replaced by assistant
Alvin Gentry. The Arizona Republic first reported the firing its
Web site Sunday.
Gentry has been a coach in the NBA for 20 years, including
interim head coaching stints with Miami and Detroit. He was head
coach of the Los Angeles Clippers from 2000 to 2003.
The Suns are one of the NBA's underachieving teams. They are
28-and-23, 13 and a-half games behind the L.A. Lakers in the
Pacific Division.
A source tells the AP that the Suns also are considering trading
All-Star Amare Stoudemire (ah-MAH'-ray STOW'-duh-myr), who had 19
points in the All-Star game.
NASCAR-DAYTONA 500
Short but sweet for Kenseth
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Matt Kenseth didn't win a NASCAR
Sprint Cup race all last year, but he has started off the 2009
season with a bang by winning the Daytona 500. Starting in last
place with a backup car, Kenseth was in front when officials called
the rain-shortened Great American Race with 48 laps left.
The victory ends a 36-race winless streak for Kenseth, who
passed Elliott Sadler six laps from what would be the end of the
caution-filled race.
Kevin Harvick ran second with A.J. Allmendinger
(awl-mehn-DING'-ur) third. The race endured eight caution flags in
the accident-filled Great American Race.
A tear-filled Kenseth calls winning the Daytona 500 "an
unbelievable feeling" and says it's great to jump-start the 2009
season with a victory.
Three-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch
were knocked out of the Daytona 500 in a multi-car accident started
by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Busch had led for 88 laps before the
accident, which came just after a restart with 75 laps remaining.
Kenseth did a great job avoiding that wreck and captured his first
Daytona victory.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-TOP 25 FINAL SCORES
BC stuns Duke...Cavs upset Tigers...Unlucky 13 for DePaul
UNDATED (AP) - Boston College has earned its first win over Duke
in 24 years with an 80-74 upset of the sixth-ranked Blue Devils.
Tyrese (TY'-rees) Rice scored 21 for the Eagles, who now have
beaten Duke and North Carolina in a span of six weeks. Joe Trapani
added 20 for the Eagles,
Reggie Jackson scored 15, including a jumper with 47.2 seconds
left that put BC up for good.
Kyle Singler scored 25 for Duke, which has lost three of four.
In other Top-25 action:
- Third-ranked North Carolina escaped a trip to Coral Gables by
beating upset-minded Miami 69-65. Ty Lawson scored 21 and sealed
the game with a big 3-pointer with 10.6 seconds left. The win
leaves the Tar Heels two games up in the loss column atop the ACC.
- Fifth-ranked Louisville routed DePaul, 99-54. Reserve Preston
Knowles scored 19 points for the Cardinals. That's the 13th
straight loss for DePaul, matching its worst losing streak ever.
- Clemson, the 12th-ranked team in the AP poll, fell 85-81 in
overtime to Virginia. Sylven Landesberg scored six of his 23 points
in overtime to lead the way for the Cavs, who snapped an eight-game
losing streak.
- Freshman Jordan Hicks scored a career-high 23 points and
Loyola of Chicago snapped a six-game losing streak with a 71-67
victory over No. 15 Butler. The Ramblers notched their first win
over a ranked opponent since a 75-71 victory at Butler two years
ago. The loss prevented the Bulldogs from clinching at least a
share of their third straight conference regular-season
championship.
- In a low-scoring tussle, No. 18 Arizona State won its 20th
game by beating Southern California 65-53. Derek Glasser scored a
career-high 18.
- Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis both scored 16 points and No. 22
Illinois held off Indiana's second-half rally for a 65-52 victory.
Indiana set a dubious school record. This is the first Hoosiers
team to lose 18 games in a season.
NHL-PENGUINS/COACH
Therrien fired as Pens push for the playoffs
PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Pittsburgh Penguins have fired coach
Michel Therrien (TEHR'-ih-ihn). Despite having some of the NHL's
best young talent, including star Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin,
the Penguins are languishing in fourth place in the Atlantic
Division with a 27-25-2 record. If the playoffs started today, the
Penguins would not qualify.
Therrien's firing comes a year after he led the team to the
Stanley Cup finals before losing to Detroit in six games. The
firing came a day after the Penguins blew a 2-0 lead in a 6-2 loss
in Toronto when the Maple Leafs scored five goals in the final
period.
Dan Bylsma, coach of the team's AHL affiliate in
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, will be interim coach with 25 games
remaining in the NHL season.
NHL-FINAL SCORES
Devils complete East-West sweep...Green's scoring streak ends at
eight
UNDATED (AP) - The New Jersey Devils completed a very successful
weekend that showed they can be a force come playoff time. In a
span of less than 48 hours, the Devils beat the top teams in both
the Eastern and Western Conferences.
Two days after blanking East-leading Boston 1-0, the Devils
posted a wild 6-5 win over West-leading San Jose. David Clarkson's
second goal of the game on a power play with 3:32 to play was the
game-winner for the red-hot Devils, who've won 13 of 15. Brian
Gionta (jee-AHN'-tah), Brian Rolston, Patrik Elias (EHL'-ee-ahs)
and Jamie Langenbrunner also scored for the Devils.
In other NHL finals:
- Mike Green's NHL-record goals streak for defensemen ended at
eight games, but Alexander Ovechkin (oh-VECH'-kin) scored three
times to give the Washington Capitals a 4-2 victory over the
Florida Panthers. Ovechkin leads the NHL with 41 goals.
- A short-handed goal by Mike Richards sparked a four-goal
second period, and rookie Claude Giroux had a career-best three
points in the Philadelphia Flyers' 5-2 rout of the sliding New York
Rangers. With the Flyers ahead 1-0 in the opening minutes of the
second period and down two men, Richards took a pass from Braydon
Coburn and scored on Henrik Lundqvist at 1:18. Richards leads the
NHL with five short-handed goals this season.
- Cam Ward made 36 saves for his third shutout in 10 starts, and
Eric Staal had a goal and two assists in the Carolina Hurricanes'
3-0 victory over Buffalo.
- Ilya Kovalchuk (EEL'-yah KOH'-vul-chook) scored three goals in
6:51 span of the second period to help the Atlanta Thrashers beat
the Anaheim Ducks 8-4.
- Jordan Leopold scored in the fifth round of a shootout to give
the Colorado Avalanche a 6-5 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
- Vancouver downed Montreal, 4-2. Henrik and Daniel Sedin
(suh-DEEN') each scored for the Canucks.
PGA-PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO AM
Monday play for the PGA
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) - Fourth round play in the AT&T Pebble
Beach National Pro-Am was postponed because of bad weather. Raging
wind that toppled a 40-foot pine and rain that formed puddles on
the green forced the PGA Tour to postpone the final round of the
event.
The last round will be played Monday. Dustin Johnson will start
the day in the lead by four shots. He stands 15-under par while
Mike Weir is in second.
CHAMPIONS TOUR-ALLIANZ
Goodes finishes first
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) - Mike Goodes finished one shot in front
of Fulton Allem to win the Allianz Championship. Goodes shot a
final round 6-under-66 to finish 15 under par. Allem also shot a
66. Bernhard Langer was third at 12-under.
TENNIS
Stepanek wins in San Jose
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Fourth-seeded Radek Stepanek won his
second ATP title this year, rallying to beat fifth seed Mardy Fish
3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the SAP Open.
Stepanik beat 2008 champion Andy Roddick in the semifinals.
CYCLING
Armstrong endures
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) - Lance Armstrong is still among the
leaders of the Tour of California after an opening day featuring
drenching rain, a flat tire, a minor crash and even the theft of
his time-trial bike.
Armstrong persevered through his profoundly gloomy day to finish
near the front of a grueling 107-mile stage. He led a chase group
that never quite caught up to the race leaders, including surprise
stage winner Francisco Mancebo of Spain.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)