SPORTS
MONDAY, MARCH 13, 2006
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op store.
Weekend's wrap-up
Big 12 Tournament inspired physical contests
The Kansas guards were electric in the second half. Sophomore guard Russell Robinson scored 13 points on 5-7 shooting, dished out four assists and didn't turn the ball over once. His final stat line read 13 points, eight assists and four rebounds while also picking up two steals.
KANSAS 79 NEBRASKA 65
DALLAS — The victory on Saturday against Nebraska came in front of quiet crowd. Few of the Texas and Texas &M fans who were in attendance for Texas' victory earlier stayed for the game.
The game had little flow, with the two teams combining for 40 fouls and shooting 39 free throws. The victory was Kansas' third against Nebraska this season.
Robinson wasn't the only Kansas guard to have a solid game against Nebraska. Freshman guard Mario Chalmerns scored 18 points, had seven assists and grabbed six rebounds. Opposite of Robinson, Chalmerns did most of his damage in
Coach Bill Self said the Jayhawks' hot shooting was a key for his team jumping out to a big early lead.
the first half.
DALLAS — Both Kansas and Oklahoma State played physical basketball for the entire game. This was evidenced when sophomore guard Russell Robinson caught an elbow from Oklahoma State's JamesOn Curry, which created a gash above his left eye. He missed the next two minutes of the game while he was being patched up. The gash required seven stitches.
"That was obviously a huge factor when we weren't guarding like we normally guard, at least in my opinion, to get out to a lead because we made shots," Self said. "We didn't play a lot better than Nebraska, we just made shots. Certainly that cures a lot ofills."
Daniel Berk
"I knew it was an aggressive play on his part," Robinson said. "As soon as I saw the blood I said, 'oh man.' Luckily the trainer was able to get it patched up."
KANSAS 63 OKLAHOMA STATE 62
If Curry had not swung his elbows the play would have probably resulted in a steal, Robinson said.
Robinson may have only scored five points on two of 10 shooting, but it was the other things that he got done that helped his team to victory. Robinson had eight assists and had seven steals.
"He was great defensively," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "Russell is a competitor. He goes 2-of-10 and you could say he had the best stat line of the game."
The physical play summed up the game,with each team trying to do whatever it could to get an advantage.
"We needed to come here and have to fight and scratch and claw," Self said, "because we only had in league play, three games decided by single digits. We need to grind out some wins. That was a grind there."
Daniel Berk
Pierce leads Celtics to defeat Nuggets
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 9B Oopsie birdie
BOSTON — Paul Pierce scored 36 points, Wally Szczerbiak added 18, and the Boston Celtics snapped the Denver Nuggets' four-game winning streak with a 106-101 victory Sunday night.
Pierce, who has scored at least 30 points in 14 of 16 games, shot 15-of-23 to lead five Celtics in double figures. He also had four assists and three steals to help the Celtics win for the third time in four games and
After Delonte West missed a 3-pointer from the baseline with 1:12 left, Ryan Gomes stole Kenyon Martin's outlet pass. On the ensuing possession, Pierce made a 17-foot fadeaway jumper to extend the Celtics' lead to 104-101.
The Nuggets led the entire first half, but there were 13 ties and 17 lead changes in the second half. Pierce gave the Celtics the lead for good on a dunk from the baseline with 2:43 remaining.
end a three-game losing streak against the Nuggets.
The Nuggets went the final 4:35 without a field goal.
Carmelo Anthony then missed a layup on the Nuggets' possession, and Pierce iced the game for Boston with a bank shot from just inside the 3-point line.
West, who returned to the lineup after missing three games with a strained right groin, had 12 points and five assists. Gomes added 11 points and 11 rebounds and the Celtics improved to 9-5 with him in the starting lineup.
Jae C. Hong/The Associated Press
Boston trailed by as many as 12 in the first half, but went on a 13-4 run spanning both halves to close the gap.
The Associated Press
Tony Stewart drives his car through Turn 1 during Nascar Cup series UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas on Sunday, March 12, 2006.
Jimmie Johnson takes it to the wire
BY MIKE HARRIS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAS VEGAS — Jimmie Johnson took advantage of a laterra caution flag Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, catching and passing Matt Kenseth in a two-lap overtime sprint to the finish in the NASCAR Nextel Cup UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.
Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet surged past Kenseth's No. 17 Ford on the outside after the two sped side-by-side through the third and fourth turns on the 1.5-mile oval for the final time. The winner crossed by finish line 0.115 seconds _ about half a car-length _ ahead as he led a lap for the only time in the 271-lap event.
It was Johnson's second straight win here, but this one was a lot harder than 2005 when he led 107 laps.
"That was so much fun," Johnson said. "I knew if I could get to his outside and get around him I knew the car was going to drive good. I just, didn't want to push the issue. Then they had that green-white-checker at the end."
It appeared through most of the race that Kenseth was going to get an easy win after being handed a victory two weeks ago in California when front-runners Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart succumbed to late-race engine problems.
race scheduled to go 267 laps.
Kenseth, who won here in
That was so much fun.I knew if I could get to his outside and get around him I knew th car was going to drive good. I just didn't want to push the issue. Then they had that green-white-checker at the end."
Johnson is off to a great start in 2006, winning the Daytona 500 and finishing second in California before taking his 20th career win on Sunday. And he's doing it without crew chief Chad Knaus, banned by NASCAR for the first four races of the season after making unapproved modifications to Johnson's car in Daytona qualifying.
Jimmie Johnson
Nascar driver
After getting out of the car, Kenseth said, "Nobody likes to run second. We led all day. ... If I tried any harder, we were going to wreck. I just got beat."
Local boy Kyle Busch, who ran second to Johnson last year, finished third, followed by Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin.
A dejected Kenseth told him crew by radio his engine didn't feel strong for the restart, but he was able to hold off Johnson for a lap and a half after the green flag waved for the final time on lap 270.
2003 and 2004, led a race-high 146 laps and was out front and almost assured of victory before a collision between rookie Denny Hamlin and Kenny Wallace brought out the last of seven caution flags on lap 264 of the
"Sorry, you guys won a race and I lost it," Kenseth said to his crew. "Can't do no more, I don't know."
Steve Mitchell/The Associated Press
Stephen Ames of Canada falls backward and tumbles after making a birdie on the 18th green during the final round of Honda Classic golf tournament in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., on Sundav.
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
BY JOHN NADEL
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Team USA clinches opener Controversial call in eighth inning may have had critical impact 67 pitch ter a k
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Alex Rodriguez came through with the winning hit for the United States after Japan appeared to get the short end of a controversial call.
Rodriguez hit a bases-loaded, two-out single in the ninth Sunday to give Team USA a 4-3 victory in the opener of Round 2 in the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
Vernon Wells opened the ninth with his third hit, and Randy Winn sacrificed, but reached first when second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka drew an error for coming off the base while catching third baseman Akinori Iwamura's throw.
Kyuji Fujikawa threw out Wells at third on Michael Young's attempted sacrifice, and Derek Jeter was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Ken Griffey struck out before Rodriguez appeared to be jammed on a 1-1 pitch, but his grounder got past Fujikawa and Nishioka's sliding attempt behind second was unsuccessful.
The run was unearned because of Nishioka's error. Rodriguez went 2-for-5, making him 7-of-14 in the Classic.
An announced crowd of 32,896 attended the opener of Round 2. Mexico and South Korea were scheduled to meet later Sunday at Angel Stadium, where single games will be played Monday through Thursday to complete the second round.
Japan appeared to take a 4-3 lead off Joe Nathan in the eighth when Iwamura flied to the left with one out and the bases loaded. Nishioka beat Winn's throw home, and second base umpire Brian Knight ruled safe when Team USA appealed the play. But plate umpire Bob Davidson
overruled the call following a brief discussion with the other umpires.
It didn't seem Nishioka left early on the television replay, and Japan manager Sadaharu Oh argued to no avail.
Japan loaded the bases in the ninth on three walks before winner Brad Lidge, Team USA's sixth pitcher, struck out Hiyoshi Tamura to end the inning.
The fans began a "USA! USA!" chant for the first time in the game with one out and one on in the sixth, and Derrek Lee responded a few pitches
later by hitting a 3-1 delivery from Naoyuki Shimizu over the left-center field fence to tie the game 3-3.
Shimizu was called twice for going to his mouth while on the mound an automatic ball shortly before Lee connected. The first
came before a 2-1 pitch to Chipper Jones, who walked, and the second prior to the first pitch to Lee.
Japan robbed the Americans of at least three hits, with first baseman Michihairo Ogasawara and third baseman lwamura diving to keep grounders in the infield, and shortstop Munenori Kawasaki making an over-the-shoulder catch of a blooper hit by Ken Griffey.
Ichiro Suzuki, not known for his power, hit Jake Peavy's third pitch of the game into the right-field bleachers to give Japan a 1-0 lead.
Japan made it 3-0 in the second on a two-out, two-run single by Munenori Kawasaki, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup. Jones led off the bottom half by hitting a 3-1 pitch from Koji Uehara into the right-center field seats for his second WBC homer, making it 3-1.
Peavy, who worked three scoreless innings in Team USA's 2-0 first-round victory over Mexico, gave up three runs and five hits in five innings. He used
Euharah allowed seven hits and one run in five innings, using 75 pitches. The pitch count is up to 80 from 65 in the first round.
The Americans threatened in the first when Young reached base on second baseman Nishioka's throwing error, and Jeter beat out a bunt. But Uehara threw a called third strike past Griffey and Rodriguez grounded into a double play.
Young, who had three hits, singled to start the third, but Jeter grounded into a double play. Griffey and Rodriguez followed with singles and more.
tom of the inning.
hands and moved up on a wild pitch before Jones grounded to first.
Brian Fuentes pitched out of a two-out, two-on jam in the seventh by retiring Suzuki on a ground- to second, and Yasuhiko Yabuta fanned Rodriguez with a runner at third and two outs in the bot-
Japan robbed the Americans of at least three hits, with first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara and third baseman Iwamura diving to keep grounders in the infield, and shortstop Kawasaki making an over-the-shoulder catch of a blooper hit by Griffey.
Dontrelle Willis will start Monday night when Team USA faces South Korea, and Roger Clemens is scheduled to pitch Thursday for the Americans against Mexico.
The WBC semifinals will be played Saturday in San Diego, where the winners will meet for the championship of the inaugural Classic two days later.