8A
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2007
>> FLORIDA 84, OHIO STATE 75
Gators win second straight championship
Gerrv Broome/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Florida's Joakim Noah, grabs a rebound against Ohio State center Greg Oden during their men's championship basketball game at the Final Four in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta Monday night. At left is Ohio State forward Ivan Harris.
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BY EDDIE PELLS ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA — A long, tough season ended with a Gator chomp again.
Mission accomplished for Florida.
The Gators were too much to handle once again Monday night, keeping their stranglehold on the college basketball world with an 84-75 victory against Ohio State for their second straight national championship.
Al Horford had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Taurean Green had 16 and Greg Oden's 25 points and 12 rebounds weren't enough to stop the Gators (35-5) from completing the quest they set upon when all the starters delayed their NBA plans for a try at another title.
Best athletic programs of all time, too.
They celebrated with the usual Gator chomps and took a chomp out of NCAA history, too — becoming the first team to repeat since Duke in 1991-92 and adding their name to the debate about the best teams
This win completes a 2007 championship-game sweep of the Buckeyes (35-4) in college's two biggest sports — men's hoops and football, Florida, a 41-14 winner in the football title game in January, remains the only program in history to hold both championships at the same time.
of all time.
Billy Donovan added another gold star to his resume, and figures to be making more than his current $1.7 million next season, whether he returns to Florida or bolts for a possible job offer at Kentucky.
The celebration looked much the same as last year. Lots of jersey tugging, jumping onto press row and Joakim Noah running into the stands to hug it out with loved ones.
Even with the same starting five as last year, this was more than just rolling the ball out there.
All season — including in the 86-60 victory over Ohio State in
December — the Gators have morphed into whatever kind of team they needed to be to win.
In this one, stopping Oden figured to be the key, but really it was more complex than that. The 7-foot freshman, who may be one-yearanddone with the NBA looming, stayed out of foul trouble and played most of the game — just what the Buckeyes figured they needed to have a chance.
Florida's focus, however, was more on stopping the rest of the team. Oden drew mostly single coverage when the ball went into the post. Donovan played a lot of zone and mixed his big men in and out, adding 6-10 Marreese Speights to the mix to give him five more fouls to play with.
That strategy worked well enough — well enough to win at least. Ohio State couldn't take advantage of any other matchups, especially on the perimeter. Ivan Harris was the only Buckeye to make a 3-pointer over the first 39-plus minutes of the game, and he finished 2-for-8.
》MLB
Royals win home opener
Kansas City Royals' John Buck, right, is congratulated by teammate David DeJesus after Buck hit a home run during a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox in the sixth inning Monday, in Kansas City. Mo. The Royals won their home opener 7-1.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ed Zurqa/ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — All those critics who said Kansas City overpaid for Gil Meche will be hard to find now.
In his first start since signing a five-year, $55 million contract, the right-hander outduelled a shaky Curt Schilling on Monday and pitched the Royals to a 7-1 opening day victory over Boston.
The right-hander, being counted on to improve the worst pitching staff in the majors, went 7 1-3 innings and gave one run on six hits, with one walk and six strikeouts. He walked off the field to a standing ovation from the crowd of 41,257.
It was the longest opening-day outing for a Royals pitcher in 19 years.
Shilling (0-1) lasted only four innings, his shortest outing in nearly 10 years. He gave up five runs on eight hits, with two walks and five strikeouts.
Now 1-3 in five career starts at Kauffman Stadium, Schilling had gone 281 starts since being lifted after 2 2-3 innings on May 22, 1997, against the New York Metz. The sixtime All-Star was in trouble from the beginning, forcing in a run in the opening inning with his first basesloaded walk since Aug. 7, 2005.
Scilling also had gone only two innings on July 18, 2001, at San Diego before a light bank blew and forced the game to be suspended. Randy Johnson took the mound when the game resumed the next day.
Mache was relieved by Joel Peralta after Dustin Pedroia singled with one out in the eighth.
Three of Meche's strikeouts came against Julio Lugo, the free agent shortstop the Red Sox signed over
the winter to add speed and pop in the leadoff spot.
Mark Grudzielanek went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs. The second baseman, who won his first gold glove last season, had an RBI single in the second inning and then put the Royals on top 5-1 in the fourth with a two-run double. He also scored twice, on Schilling's bases-loaded walk in the first and Mark Teahen's RBI single in the sixth.
Grudzielanek underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on March 5 and was initially expected to miss the first month or so of the season.
With his first pitch in the major leagues, Boston reliever Hideki Okajima gave up a home run to John Buck leading off the sixth, making it 6-1.
After David Ortiz RBI double put the Red Sox on top 1 in the top
of the first, Schilling found himself in big trouble in the bottom of the inning after Grudzielanek, Teahen and Mike Sweeney loaded the bases with one-out singles.
Rookie third baseman Alex Gordon, the Royals' most promising prospect since Carlos Beltran, fouled off several pitches before striking out on a 1-2 delivery.
Tony Pena $ ^{[1]} $ , acquired in a trade from Atlanta near the end of spring training and handed the shortstop job, hit two triples, tying a team record. He tripled in his first at-bat, scored the Royals' second run on Grudzielanek's single and tripled in the eighth off Joel Pineiro to make the score 7-1.
But then Ryan Shealy drew the bases-loaded walk, tying it 1-1.
Buck doubled and Pena walked before Grudzielanek's two-out double in the fourth.
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