WPPA / T-102 SPORTS / Friday

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Tuukka Rask made 31 saves, and Mark Recchi,Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci scored second-period goals andthe Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-1 last night. TheBruins were without their best offensive player, Marc Savard, whomight miss the rest of the season after suffering a concussionSunday against Pittsburgh.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Brian Pothier's overtime goal gave theCarolina Hurricanes a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins lastnight. Eric Staal, Ray Whitney and Zach Boychuk also scored for theHurricanes. Matt Cooke, Jordan Staal and Bill Guerin scored for thePenguins, who had their post-Olympic winning streak snapped atfour.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Devoe Joseph scored 15 points to leadMinnesota to a 76-55 win over Penn State last night in the firstround of the Big Ten tournament. Colton Iverson scored 12 points,Damian Johnson scored 11 and Lawrence Westbrook added 10 for theGolden Gophers. Talor Battle, Chris Babb, Andrew Jones and DavidJackson scored 10 points apiece for Penn State.

NEW YORK (AP) - Luke Harangody came off the bench and hit threekey free throws in the final two minutes, helping Notre Dame holdoff No. 16 Pittsburgh 50-45 in the Big East tournamentquarterfinals last night. Harangody and Tory Jackson each finishedwith 12 points. Brad Wanamaker led Pittsburgh with 16 points.

NEW YORK (AP) - Lazar Hayward's 3-pointer gave Marquette thelead with 1:51 to play, and he clinched it with free throws with3.2 second left and the Golden Eagles beat Number 10 Villanova inthe Big East tournament quarterfinals yesterday. Marquette, thefifth seed, advances to face eighth-seeded Georgetown in thesemifinals tonight.

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - Joe Blanton led the PhiladelphiaPhillies to a 4-0 win over the Detroit Tigers yesterday, using amix of fastballs and changeups. Blanton has focused solely on thefastball-changeup combination in his first two spring starts beforehe incorporates breaking pitches into his repertoire.

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) - Tampa Bay catcher Dioner Navarro was hitby a pickoff throw during the Rays' 16-15 win over the PittsburghPirates yesterday and left the game with an injured left thumb.Navarro was hit when Jack Taschner threw over during the thirdinning.

NEW YORK (AP) - The Philadelphia Union's debut as Major LeagueSoccer's 16th team could be postponed after players overwhelminglyvoted to authorize the first strike in the league's history.Players have been pushing for greater free-agent rights and ahigher percentage of guaranteed deals in a new contract. A strikecould wipe out scheduled March 25th openers.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Philadelphia Eagles have signed widereceiver Chad Hall to a three-year contract. Hall last played atAir Force in 2007. The 23-year-old has spent the last two yearsserving as a second lieutenant at Hill Air Force Base in northernUtah.

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) - Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron Jamessays he's tired of watching basketball and ready to start playingagain. He missed two games after twisting his right ankle lastFriday against Detroit, but is likely to play at Philadelphian tonight.


NBA
Thursday's Games
Atlanta 105, Washington 99
Orlando 111, Chicago 82
Portland 110, Golden State 105
Friday's Games
L.A. Clippers at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Cleveland at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Indiana at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
New York at Memphis, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Denver at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
New Jersey at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Washington at Detroit, 8 p.m.
Utah at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Portland at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

NHL
Thursday's Games
St. Louis 2, N.Y. Islanders 1, SO
Montreal 5, Edmonton 4, SO
Toronto 4, Tampa Bay 3, OT
Boston 5, Philadelphia 1
Carolina 4, Pittsburgh 3, OT
Columbus 2, Atlanta 1
Detroit 5, Minnesota 1
Colorado 3, Florida 0
Calgary 2, Ottawa 0
San Jose 8, Nashville 5
Friday's Games
Pittsburgh at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Washington, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
N.Y. Rangers at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Los Angeles at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Nashville at Anaheim, 10 p.m.

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thursday's Games
( 1) Kansas 80 Texas Tech 68
(22) Georgetown 91 ( 3) Syracuse 84
( 7) West Virginia 54 Cincinnati 51
( 8) New Mexico 75 Air Force 69
( 9) Kansas St. 83 Oklahoma St. 64
Marquette 80 (10) Villanova 76
(14) BYU 95 TCU 85
(15) Tennessee 59 LSU 49
Notre Dame 50 (16) Pittsburgh 45
(21) Baylor 86 Texas 67
(23) Texas A&M 70 Nebraska 64
(25) UTEP 76 UCF 54


TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thursday's Games
(15) Texas 64 Missouri 59
(16) Baylor 72 Colorado 65
(20) Oklahoma St. 76 Kansas 69