8B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY MAY 2, 2007
NHL
THURSDAY,MAY3,2007
Rangers even series with Sabres
BY IRA PODELL ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The Buffalo Sabres thought they had a tie game. Instead, it's their series with the New York Rangers that's suddenly all even.
Daniel Briere smacked the puck in the dwindling seconds of the third period Tuesday night. Henrik Lundqvist stretched his right pad as he fell forward and stopped the stuff attempt by the Sabres forward at the right post.
Or did he?
The Sabres said no. The replay officials said yes, or at least as far as they could tell. It all added up to a 2-1 Rangers victory, New York's second in a row on home ice, that deadlocked the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series 2-2.
"You guys can make your own judgment on it!" frustrated Buffalo
goalie Ryan Miller said. "Whatever we say is either going to get us in trouble or not even worth our time. The game is over. They made their ruling and we have to move on."
Game Five is Friday back in Buffalo. The Sabres know they'll have to make another trip back to New York for Game 6 on Sunday, something they couldn't have expected after taking a 2-0 series lead at home.
Lundqvist stopped Briere's shot just short of fully crossing the goal line with 17 seconds left. The Sabres got the chance to tie when Lundqvist nearly lingered too long following the puck behind the net.
Both teams had to wait out a lengthy video review for the second straight game.
"What were looking for is either confirm what the call is on the ice, or we have to have a conclusive picture of the puck being in the net," Bob Hall, the supervisor of officials
for the series said in a statement. "It's what we're looking for in this case because the on-ice ruling was no goal.
"We looked and looked and looked. No replay that we have seen shows it definitely crossing the goal line."
In the only other NHL game of the night, Anaheim took a 3-1 series lead against Vancouver with a 3-2 overtime victory. The other Western Conference semifinal resumes Wednesday when San Jose looks to grab a 3-1 advantage at home against Detroit. Ottawa will try to do the same against New Jersey in the other Eastern series.
On Sunday, Rangers defenseman Karel Rachunek lost a goal when league officials in Toronto used a replay to determine he kicked the puck in. The game went to double overtime, but a major controversy was avoided when the Rangers eventually won.
Julie Jacobson/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Buffalo Sabres' Chris Drury, left, tries to poke the puck past New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundvik's legs after teammate Daniel Brere tries to stuff the puck into the goal in the closing seconds of the third period of Game Four of the Eastern Conference semifinals Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Rangers won the game 2-1 to even the best-of-seven games series at 2-2.
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》 NBA
Eric Gay/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Denver Nuggets center Marcus Camby, right, scores over San Antonio Spurs defender forward Tim Duncan, left, during the first quarter of their NBA basketball first-round playoff game in San Antonio on Wednesday. The Spurs won 93-78.
SAN ANTONIO — Michael Finley set a San Antonio playoff record with eight three-pointers Wednesday night and the Spurs advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a 93-78 victory against the Denver Nuggets.
Spurs advance to semis
San Antonio closes out series with Denver in five games
Tim Duncan had 23 points and 12 rebounds and Tony Parker added 16 points and 10 assists for the third-seeded Spurs, who dropped Game One to the Nuggets at home before winning the next four in the first-round series.
had 21 points Wednesday,10 in the fourth quarter.
Anthony had 21 points in Game 5, while Steve Blake had 12 and Nene added 10. NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Camby had 19 rebounds.
Sixth-seeded Denver traded for Iverson in December to create an All-Star duo with Carmelo Anthony.
Denver has not won a playoff
"It was important for us to play 48 minutes. Every shot I took felt good and fortunately they went in tonight."
MICHAEL FINLEY
Spurs guard
It was a virtual repeat of 2005, when the Spurs lost Game One at home before winning the next four to eliminate Denver.
The Spurs will meet either the Los Angeles Lakers or Phoenix Suns in the second round. Phoenix, which led 3-1, hosted Game Five on Wednesday night.
"Stay with the concept," Finley said. "Stay with the team philosophy. As long as we do that, we'll be successful."
Allen Iverson struggled from the field for his fourth straight game after scoring 31 points in Game One. He was 6-for-22 from the field and
series since 1994, when they beat Seattle in a best-of-five to become the first No. 8 seed to knock out a No. 1.
Finley was 8-for-9 on three pointers while the Spurs finished 10-for-21 from beyond the
arc. He came into Game Five shooting nearly 41 percent from threepoint range during the playoffs, up from 36 percent during the regular season.
Duncan gave the Spurs a 37-27 lead when he drove to the basket for a dunk with 6.38 left in the half.
Denver chipped away at the deficit and Blake hit a three-pointer with 31.9 seconds left to give Denver a 45-44 lead. After Robert Horry missed a three-pointer at the other end for the Spurs, Blake hit another three-pointer off a pass from Iverson, who had six assists in the half, just as the quarter ended to put Denver up 48-44.
"Well. I was feeling it a little bit," Firley said. "Every shot I took felt good and fortunately they went in tonight.
Iverson missed his first six shots Wednesday. His first field goal came with 8:50 left in the second quarter and it brought the Nuggets within 30-25.
"It was important for us to play 48 minutes," he said. "They came out. They played hard. But we focused and that was the difference."
The Spurs opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run sparked by Finley's fourth three of the game.
After a slew of misses on both sides, Iverson's three-point play gave Denver a one-point lead. It was their last of the night as Francisco Elson hit the go-ahead dunk with 6:21 left in the third.
Denver's frustration was evident as Anthony was called for a personal foul for pushing Manu Ginobili, who didn't have the ball. On Denver's next possession he turned the ball over and ran back down the court shaking his head.
Horry, who sealed Game 4 for San Antonio on Monday in Denver off a three-pointer with 30 seconds left, hit a three to open the fourth quarter and his dunk with 9:43 left gave the Spurs a 70-61 lead.
Finley's fifth three-pointer with 1:30 left in the third put San Antonio up 61-55, and they went into the final 12 minutes up 63-59.
Finley hit his sixth three-pointer with just more than nine minutes to go and his seventh came halfway through the fourth quarter as the Spurs took an 82-71 lead.
PGATOUR
Woods reflects on father's death a year later
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In a couple of months, it will all change for Tiger Woods.
"This time last year was not a fun period in my life,"he said. "But now a year later, here I am, looking forward to becoming a father. Times have changed."
He prepared for the Wachovia
Championship by playing in a pro am Wednesday. The tournament starts Thursday, a year to the day after Woods' father died.
Woods skipped the Wachovia last year as Earl Woods' health deteriorated. On the eve of the tournament the man behind Woods's steely resolve and fierce competitive streak died of cancer.
Woods returned to competitive golf six weeks later and missed the cut at the U.S. Open. But Woods
recovered to win the British Open and PGA Championship and didn't finish worse than second in any other stroke-play event the rest of the year.
"But still, there are times when I thoroughly miss my dad," Woods said. "I just wish I could talk to him, hear his voice and ask him for advice on certain things. Basically, he was my best friend. Not only did I lose my father, but my best friend."
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