WPPA / T-102 SPORTS / Thursday

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Tim Thomas stopped Scott Hartnell on a
second-period penalty shot and finished with 41 saves for his
NHL-leading fifth shutout of the season in the Bruins' 3-0 victory
over the Flyers last night. It was the first meeting between the
clubs since May when the Flyers rallied from a 3-0 series deficit
to beat the Bruins in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Matt Schaub watched Michael Vick in awe as
his backup in Atlanta, learning from one of the NFL's biggest
stars. When the Texans visit the Eagles tonight, it'll be a reunion
for the two quarterbacks. It also will be a homecoming for Schaub,
who played high school football 22 miles west of the Linc at West
Chester East High.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward has lashed
out at the NFL for what he calls its hypocritical stance on many
issues, including player safety. He says the league suddenly is
emphasizing player safety only because it wants to expand to an
18-game season.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Much-fined Steelers linebacker James Harrison
believes he is being targeted by the NFL for his hard hitting. He
doesn't plan to change the way he plays, even if coach Mike Tomlin
suggests he should. Steelers player representative Ryan Clark has
contacted the NFL Players Association to complain about the
league's treatment of Harrison.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger missed
only a few snaps in practice despite a sprained right foot that
requires him to wear a protective boot away from the playing field.
Roethlisberger missed only a dozen or so snaps yesterday after
being fitted with a reinforced shoe that stabilizes the foot yet
allows enough movement to play.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Pirates have signed right-hander Fernando
Nieve, infielder Andy Marte and catcher Dusty Brown to minor league
contracts. All have received invitations to the Pirates' major
league spring training camp. The Pirates previously invited minor
league relievers Justin Thomas and Sean Gallagher to spring
training.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - A person familiar with a Pennsylvania
billionaire's interest to buy the Buffalo Sabres tells the AP that
team owner Tom Golisano has not yet made up his mind on whether to
sell the NHL franchise. The person confirmed that Terry Pegula is a
candidate to buy the Sabres, and added that Golisano is giving the
offer "serious consideration" but has not yet made a decision.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pitt's Ashton Gibbs scored 22 points, Gary
McGhee wore down smaller Duquesne with 12 points and 13 rebounds
and Number 3 Pittsburgh beat its city rival 80-66 last night in the
first basketball game in the Consol Energy Center. Bill Clark and
Damian Saunders scored 20 points each for Duquesne.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Jordan Williams had 15 points and 11
rebounds and Maryland overcame a slow start in a 62-39 win over
Penn State last night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Talor Battle
had 21 points for the Nittany Lions in what was billed as the
school's biggest nonconference game since the Jordan Center opened
in 1996.


NBA
Wednesday's Games
Atlanta 112, Memphis 109
Oklahoma City 123, New Jersey 120, 3OT
Toronto 127, Washington 108
Boston 99, Portland 95
Miami 97, Detroit 72
Orlando 107, Chicago 78
New Orleans 89, Charlotte 73
Dallas 100, Minnesota 86
Houston 109, L.A. Lakers 99
Denver 105, Milwaukee 94
Utah 110, Indiana 88
L.A. Clippers 90, San Antonio 85
Thursday's Games
Miami at Cleveland, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

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

NFL
Thursday
Houston at Philadelphia, 8:20 p.m.

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Wednesday's Games
( 1) Duke 84 ( 6) Michigan St. 79
( 3) Pittsburgh 80 Duquesne 66
(14) Memphis 78 Arkansas St. 71, OT
(17) San Diego St. 69 Saint Mary's, Calif. 55
UCF 57 (18) Florida 54
(19) Texas 76 Lamar 55
(21) BYU 77 Creighton 65
(22) Purdue 58 Virginia Tech 55, OT
(24) UNLV 82 Illinois St. 51
Thursday's Games
No. 4 Kansas vs. UCLA, 9 p.m.
No. 9 Missouri at Oregon, 11 p.m.
No. 11 Baylor vs. Arizona State, 7 p.m.


TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Wednesday's Games
( 2) Baylor 76 (16) Notre Dame 65
Lamar 99 ( 9) Tennessee 55
(11) Oklahoma 94 Sam Houston St. 45
(12) Georgetown 65 Richmond 64
(25) Michigan St. 72 (15) Florida St. 64
(21) Georgia 70 Southern Miss. 53
Bowling Green 79 (23) Vanderbilt 68
Thursday's Games
No. 1 Connecticut at South Florida, 7 p.m.
No. 4 Xavier vs. Southern Cal, 7 p.m.
No. 5 Duke at Wisconsin, 8:30 p.m.
No. 6 Ohio State vs. Virginia, 7 p.m.
No. 10 West Virginia vs. Elon, 7 p.m.
No. 14 North Carolina vs. No. 18 Iowa, 7 p.m.
No. 22 Maryland at Purdue, 6:30 p.m.