NBA
HORNETS BEAT PACERS, MAINTAIN WEST LEAD
The story of how the West was won may depend on how West plays. David West, that is. The fifth-year forward from Xavier scored 35 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead the New Orleans Hornets past the Indiana Pacers 114-106 in Indianapolis on Tuesday before a paltry crowd of just over 10,000 fans.
With the win, the Hornets stay on top of the Western Conference with a record of 48-21. New Orleans got their six-game road trip off to a good start with the victory. They now face Cleveland, Boston, Toronto, Orlando, and Miami before getting back to New Orleans on April 4 to face New York.
Chris Paul was his usual MVP-candidate self, scoring 31 points and handing out 14 assists.
The Pacers got 26 points from Danny Granger and 17 from both Mike Dunleavy and Shawne Williams.
OTHER NBA SCORES
Portland 102, Washington 82
Utah 128, Charlotte 106
Dallas 103, LA Clippers 90
Chicago 103, Atlanta 94
San Antonio 107, Orlando 97
PLAYOFF WATCH
* Washington is now just a half game in front of Philadelphia for fifth in the East.
* Utah remains 2.5 games behind New Orleans in the West-in fourth place.
* Dallas moves to a game and half in front of Golden State-seventh in the West. Nipping at both of their heels is Denver.
* Atlanta's loss leaves them hanging onto eighth in the East by just a half game over New Jersey. Indiana is a game and a half behind the Hawks. Chicago is another half game behind the Pacers.
NBA NOTES
* Chris Webber has called it a day. After 15 years and one attempted comeback, the former University of Michigan star is walking away from the Golden State Warriors. It's that knee again. Webber's mobility and ability to jump has been severely limited in recent years because of a chronically injured left knee-and he hurt it again recently. The 35-year-old C-Webb ends his NBA career with 17,182 points and 8,124 rebounds in 827 games. Webber's outside interests, of course, will continue with his departure from the NBA. Among his ventures are the Chris Webber Foundation and his growing collection of artifacts from African American history. Find out more about Webber at www.chriswebber.com.
* Does it matter to the fine people of Oklahoma that if the Seattle players re-settle in Oklahoma City and begin playing as the Oklahoma City Whatevers, the team's star player is a guy who attended . . . can we dare say it . . . the University of Texas? Is everybody in OKC OK with that?
MLB
A'S BEAT BOSTON IN GAME TWO OF JAPAN SERIES
The Oakland A's won't have to take that long plane trip home while wallowing in the doldrums of an 0-2 start to the season. Riding the bat of Emil Brown and the arm of Rich Harden, the A's beat the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday 5-1 to earn a split of their two season-opening games in Tokyo.
Brown did the offensive damage with a three-run home run in the third inning off started and loser Jon Lester.
The Sox picked up their lone run in the sixth inning when Manny Ramirez hit a home run.
The two teams will resume their four-game series next Tuesday when Boston travels to Oakland.
NHL
PENGUINS SECURE PLAYOFFS; SEEK TOP SPOT IN EAST
The Pittsburgh Penguins secured a playoff spot with a 2-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, and closed within one point of the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
Ryan Malone scored the game's first goal, on a power play, to give netminder Marc-Andre Fleury all the offense he would need. Fleury stopped 31 shots to earn his fourth shutout of the season.
Marian Hossa added an empty-net goal for the Pens late in the third to close out the scoring.
Pittsburgh trails Montreal by just one point in the East, and both teams have five games to play in the regular season.
OTHER NHL SCORES
Ottawa 6, Buffalo 3
Tampa Bay 3, Florida 1
Boston 6, Toronto 2
Nashville 3, Columbus 0
Calgary 3, Vancouver 2
Detroit 2, St. Louis 1
Phoenix 5, San Jose 4 (OT)
Philadelphia 2, New York Rangers 1 - OT
Washington 3, Carolina 2 - OT Shootout
FACT OF THE DAY
NHL CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Regular season ends April 6
EAST
Montreal 96
Pittsburgh 95
Carolina 88
New Jersey 91
Ottawa 91
NY Rangers 89
Philadelphia 88
Boston 86
Wannabes
Washington 84
Buffalo 81
Florida 81
WEST
Detroit 108
San Jose 100
Calgary 90
Anaheim 94
Dallas 89
Minnesota 89
Vancouver 86
Colorado 86
Knocking on the door
Nashville 84
Edmonton 83
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE: MIKE SWEENEY, designated hitter, Oakland A's
BIO NOTE: Sweeney moved over to Oakland during the offseason after playing for 13 years with the Kansas City Royals.
RECENT NEWS: On Wednesday, Sweeney got his first hit as a member of the A's (the 1,399th of his career) and scored on a three-run home run by Emil Brown.
FAITH QUOTE: "Are you looking for something to fill that void that only Christ can fill? Are you looking for something besides success and pleasure to give you the happiness that has always seemed elusive? Are you wanting to know you are loved just for who you are and not because of any accomplishments or accolades? Trust Jesus as Savior."
-Sports Spectrum magazine
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
BRACKET REVIEW
Sports Spectrum asked you which team you thought would win the NCAA tournament. Your top picks were North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, and Memphis-all of whom are still in. The first upset for our readers was Duke, which got the fifth most votes-but is now watching from the sidelines. Next was Georgetown, who is also done for the season. Among the write-ins, the two that you chose who are still alive are Xavier and Wisconsin. The question for this week has to do with Major League Baseball's starting the season several time zones away. So far, it's not proving to be a very popular move.
WOMEN'S SWEET 16 COMPLETE
Eight more teams earned their way into the next round of the NCAA women's D-I basketball tournament on Tuesday.
Greensboro Regional
Old Dominion 88, Virginia 85
UConn 89, Texas 55
Spokane Regional
Maryland 76, Nebraska 64
Oklahoma City Regional
Notre Dame 79, Oklahoma 75
Tennessee 79, Purdue 52
Duke 67, Arizona State 59
New Orleans Regional
Louisville 80, Kansas State 63
North Carolina 80, Georgia 66
WHO HAS TWO?
It's a busy time for schools that have two teams in the Sweet 16-both the men and the women's teams vying for a national basketball title. Here's a look at who has two:
North Carolina
Men: No. 1 in the East Regional
Next game: Washington State, Thursday
Women: No. 1 in the New Orleans Regional
Next game: Louisville, Saturday
Louisville
Men: No. 3 in the East Regional
Next game: Tennessee, Thursday
Women: No. 4 in the New Orleans Regional
Next game: North Carolina, Saturday
Tennessee
Men: No. 2 in the East Regional
Next game: Louisville, Thursday
Women: No. 2 in the New Orleans Regional
Next game: Oklahoma State, Saturday
Stanford
Men: No. 3 in the South Regional
Next game: Texas, Friday
Women: No. 2 in the Spokane Regional
Next game: Pittsburgh, Saturday
THE PEOPLE'S BUSINESS
Gas prices continue to skyrocket. The Iraqi situation begs for an endgame strategy. The economy is in the dumpster. Social security is sick and Medicare is on life support. The deficit is in numbers we can't comprehend. So members of Congress have turned in a 109-page report on whether or not Roger Clemens lied. How about a 109-page report on how to deal with the problem of illegal immigrants? Or a 109-page report about how to replace our fuel needs with a source that won't deplete itself? Or a 109-page report on suggestions for restoring a lagging economy to its former robust self? And then, if there's time, a one-page report on letting baseball police itself.
SPRINT CUP STANDINGS
With five races in the books, here's a look at the leaders in the Sprint Cup standings. Next up for the NASCAR guys: Martinsville's half-mile track in Martinsville, Virginia and the Goody's Cool Orange 500. The NASCAR circuit, as is tradition, takes Easter weekend off. Good for NASCAR.
Driver | Points | 2007 finish
1. Kyle Busch 782 5
2. Greg Biffle 752 14
3. Kevin Harvick 749 10
4. Jeff Burton 745 8
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 686 16
6. Kasey Kahne 674 19
7. Tony Stewart 656 6
8. Ryan Newman 635 13
9. Clint Bowyer 606 3
10. Kurt Busch 605 7
Other notables:
Matt Kenseth 11th
Jeff Gordon 14th
Carl Edwards 16th
Sam Hornish Jr. 35th
INSIDE SPORTS SPECTRUM
Do you read Sports Spectrum magazine? If you do, you'll be able to identify the following athlete featured in the March-April edition of the magazine.
WEDNESDAY'S SPORTS SPECTRUM FEATURE
WHO IS THIS PERSON?
* He played for FC Dallas in 2007 in MLS
* He was the Dallas Defender of the Year
* He moved from MLS to a Norwegian league in 2008
WHO IS THIS PERSON?
TUESDAY'S SPORTS SPECTRUM FEATURE
WHO IS THIS PERSON?
* He played basketball for Belmont
* He had a shot at the game-winner against Duke
WHO IS THIS PERSON? JUSTIN HARE
SPORTS SPECTRUM RADIO
SS DAILY INTERVIEW
To hear today's interview, go to the Sports Spectrum radio home page. It can be found at www.sport.org.
THE WEDNESDAY GUEST
JEREMY FOSTER, sports anchor, Houston, Texas
Texas is a football state. Everyone knows that. So what is with all the basketball stuff coming out of the Lonestar State? Houston Rockets reel off 22 straight. The Spurs continue to aim high. Dallas is struggling but has built a contender with the Mavs. And then there's college-Texas and Texas A & M. Baylor's women were just eliminated on Monday. Foster talks about Texas hoops.
