WPPA / T-102 SPORTS / Friday

BOSTON (AP) - The Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 7-5 on
Thursday night. It was Boston's third straight victory. Boston is
7-1-3 in the last 11 games.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Bill Cowher is back on the Steelers' sideline
for the first time since resigning as their coach four years ago.
Cowher, attending in his role as a CBS analyst, watched the
Steelers' final practice Thursday before their AFC playoff game
against Baltimore. It was his first official visit to their
practice site since he stopped coaching.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Competitively, no NFL rivalry is closer than
the Ravens-Steelers. Each of their last four regular season games
was decided by 3 points - a mere field goal's difference. Last
season, the Ravens won in Baltimore, the Steelers won in
Pittsburgh. This season, the Ravens won in Pittsburgh, the Steelers
won in Baltimore.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) - The Baltimore Ravens are playing their
best defense of the season, just in time for their playoff showdown
with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Heading into Saturday's game,
Baltimore is coming off two straight games in which it allowed only
seven points - including a 30-7 rout of Kansas City last week in
the wild-card round.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - The Buffalo Bills say former University of
Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt has met with the team looking to
return to the NFL. Wannstedt was forced to resign at Pitt last
month. He has an extensive background as a defensive coach, and the
Bills had trouble stopping the run in a 4-12 season. The Bills
would not discuss details of the meeting.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - A year after a disastrous last-place
finish in the Big Ten, Penn State has made waves with back-to-back
upsets of ranked teams Michigan State and Illinois. In
success-starved Happy Valley, that's big news, something the team
hadn't accomplished since the 1954 NCAA tournament. An even tougher
challenge comes Saturday, when the Nittany Lions visit Ohio State.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Joe Paterno says reports of his declining
health are greatly exaggerated. The 84-year-old Penn State coach
Thursday received the NCAA President's Gerald R. Ford Award at the
NCAA's annual convention. Paterno reiterated his plans to coach
next season, the final year of a three-year extension signed in
2008.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Drexel rallied to beat Old Dominion 62-57 on
Thursday night. Old Dominion led by as many as 12 points in the
first half and held a 32-24 lead at the break. Drexel opened the
second half with a 29-5 run to grab its biggest lead of the game at
53-37 after a free throw by Daryl McCoy with 6:09 to play.


NBA
Thursday's Games
Minnesota 109, Washington 97
Oklahoma City 125, Orlando 124
Denver 130, Miami 102
Friday's Games
Chicago at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Sacramento at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Dallas at San Antonio, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Cleveland at Utah, 9 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
New Jersey at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
Portland at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.

NHL
Thursday's Games
Boston 7, Philadelphia 5
Buffalo 3, Carolina 2
Ottawa 6, N.Y. Islanders 4
N.Y. Rangers 1, Vancouver 0
Florida 3, Nashville 2
Phoenix 5, Toronto 1
St. Louis 3, Los Angeles 1
Edmonton 5, San Jose 2
Friday's Games
Vancouver at Washington, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Columbus, 7 p.m.
Calgary at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
New Jersey at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
Colorado at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Thursday's Games
Minnesota 70 ( 8) Purdue 67
Stanford 58 (17) Washington 56
Friday's Games
No games scheduled


TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Thursday's Games
( 5) Tennessee 83 Florida 40
( 9) Michigan St. 63 (16) Iowa 60
(10) UCLA 58 Oregon St. 46
Boston College 78 (13) Maryland 69
(19) Kentucky 66 South Carolina 48
Georgia 59 (20) Arkansas 56
Northwestern 64 (24) Ohio St. 53
Friday's Games
No. 3 Duke at No. 21 Florida State, 6:30 p.m.
No. 4 Stanford at Washington, 10 p.m.
No. 11 North Carolina vs. N.C. State, 7 p.m.
No. 22 Miami vs. Clemson, 8:30 p.m.