Sports news 07 April 2008

Another NASCAR win for Carl Edwards
Los Angeles Times
He races to his NASCAR Sprint Cup series-best third win of the season, holding off Jimmie Johnson on a two-lap overtime sprint to the finish to win the Samsung 500.

Beckett: ‘I felt good’
Boston Herald
By Rob Bradford TORONTO – The pitching line didn’t tell Josh Beckett [stats]’s story yesterday. His words following his 2008 debut did.

Last-Second Score Lifts Tennessee
New York Times
John Raoux/AP By JERÉ LONGMAN TAMPA, Fla. – It was one of the ugliest game played this or any season, and Tennessee did not so much win against Louisiana State in the national semifinals on Sunday as it did survive.

Stanford women stop UConn, vaults into NCAA final
San Francisco Chronicle
No more tears, no more dog piles at center court, no more Geno Auriemma and the Connecticut Huskies.

Backcourt is front and center for Memphis
USA Today
By Marlen Garcia, USA TODAY SAN ANTONIO – Chris Douglas-Roberts gets teased relentlessly by his Memphis teammates for the unorthodox way he breaks down defenses.

Sox polish off sweep of Tigers
MLB.com
By Scott Merkin / MLB.com DETROIT — Sweeping the Tigers at Comerica Park shouldn’t be thrown into the category of unexpected news where the White Sox are concerned.

Raucous Protests Greet Olympic Flame
Washington Post
By BRYAN MITCHELL AP LONDON — Demonstrators grabbed at the Olympic torch, blocked its path and tried to snuff out its flame Sunday in raucous protests of China’s human rights record that forced a string of last-second changes to a chaotic relay …

Rockets clinch playoff berth with drubbing of Clippers
Seattle Post Intelligencer
Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) – Aaron Brooks tallied 18 points and four assists off the Houston bench, and the Rockets secured a playoff berth with a 105-79 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center.

NBA: LA Lakers 114, Sacramento 92
United Press International
SACRAMENTO, April 7 (UPI) — Kobe Bryant, Vladimir Radmanovic and Paul Gasol combined for 70 points Sunday, carrying the Los Angeles Lakers past Sacramento 114-92.

Keeping Score Woods’s Success Starts With Finishing Touch
New York Times
By MARK SWEENEY When Tiger Woods tees off in the Masters on Thursday, he will be in the all-too-familiar position of the heavy favorite.

Steady Play at Sony Ericsson Yields Unsung Russian’s 12th Career Title
Washington Post
By Amy Shipley KEY BISCAYNE, Fla., April 6 — So much for putting pressure on Roger Federer, the world’s top-ranked male tennis player.

Penguins denied top seeding with loss
Los Angeles Times
Biron stops 20 shots in the Flyers’ 2-0 victory, which leaves Pittsburgh second in the Eastern Conference behind Montreal. * at Philadelphia 2, Pittsburgh 0: Martin Biron stopped 20 shots in his second straight shutout and led the Flyers to a victory …

Padres’ Peavy denies using pine tar on hand
Los Angeles Times
By Dylan Hernandez, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer SAN DIEGO — Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt was handed a picture of Jake Peavy, the image showing a dark substance on the thumb, forefinger and middle finger of the San Diego Padres ace’s …

In Relief Pitching 101, Chamberlain Aces a Test
New York Times
By JACK CURRY Chien-Ming Wang was a few steps from the Yankees’ dugout, still soaking up the fading applause for holding the Tampa Bay Rays without a run into the seventh inning.

With Every Triumph, Ochoa Is More of a Major Player
Washington Post
By Leonard Shapiro RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif., April 6 — Lorena Ochoa said earlier this week she long ago had forgotten her weekend failures in the past two Kraft Nabisco championships.

Durant lifts Sonics over Nuggets in 2-OT affair
Sports Network
Seattle, WA (Sports Network) – Kevin Durant poured in 37 points, hitting a pair of three-pointers that forced two different overtime periods, and the Seattle SuperSonics put a dent in the Denver Nuggets’ playoff hopes by winning a 151-147 …

Texas assistant Ken McDonald to become coach at Western Kentucky
SI.com
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) -Ken McDonald spent most of his final season as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky in 2002-03 working inside a cramped trailer outside EA Diddle Arena while the university gave the aging facility a makeover.

Report: Houston vs Dallas – USA Major League Soccer
ESPN
Despite two goals by Kenny Cooper, the Hoops settled for a 3-3 tie with the Houston Dynamo on Sunday at Robertson Stadium when Geoff Cameron netted a goal in the 91st minute.

Devils Gain a Victory and Retain Home Ice
New York Times
Neither Devils defenseman Colin White nor Rangers center Martin Straka was in position to control the puck during the second period Sunday in Newark.

An Era Begins Without Walsh, but With a Supportive Thomas
New York Times
By HOWARD BECK The first home game of the Donnie Walsh era took place Sunday without Donnie Walsh, or his new employer James L. Dolan, or any overt sign that anything has changed at Madison Square Garden.