Off the wire
Posted on Friday, May 9, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Sports/225183/
BASKETBALL Bryant unanimous pick Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant added another honor Thursday to go with his MVP award, becoming the only unanimous selection to the All-NBA team. He was voted to the first team for the third consecutive season and sixth time in his career. He averaged 28. 3 points, 6. 4 rebounds and 5. 4 assists this season, playing in all 82 games. Joining Bryant on the first team were New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul, who was three votes shy of being a unanimous pick, along with Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. Garnett was a first-team pick for the fourth time, and James made his second appearance. Paul and Howard were first-timers. Garnett, the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, averaged 18. 8 points, a team-high 9. 2 rebounds and 3. 8 assists. Paul averaged 21. 1 points a game and a league-high 11. 6 assists and 2. 7 steals. James was the league’s leading scorer with 30 points a game. Voting was done by a panel of 127 sportswriters and broadcasters, with points being awarded on a 5-3-1 basis. Complete results on 9 C.
Junior college All-America point guard Bobby Maze, 6-3, 190 pounds, has signed a letter of intent to play at Tennessee. Maze transferred from Oklahoma last year to Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, where he averaged 20. 7 points, 6. 7 assists and 4. 5 rebounds per game and led his team with 55 steals. Maze said he has some classwork to complete to gain full eligibility. He visited Cincinnati last weekend and was scheduled to visit Kentucky this weekend. Maze said he plans to enroll in the first term of summer classes at Tennessee and play in the Pilot Rocky Top summer basketball league with other Vols players.
West Virginia University officials said Coach Bob Huggins was taken to a hospital in Charlotte, N. C., for precautionary reasons after tripping on a cone on the airport tarmac and hitting his head on the pavement. Athletic Director Ed Pastilong said Huggins had a bump on his head and never lost consciousness. Pastilong said Huggins and other athletic department staff flew to Charlotte on Thursday morning for a Mountaineer Athletic Club event. After Huggins got off the plane, he was checking his cell phone messages when he tripped.
TENNIS Roddick, Blake advance Andy Roddick and James Blake advanced to the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters, marking the first time in six years two Americans reached the final eight. Roddick silenced a partisan crowd with a 7-6 (5 ), 6-3 victory over Simone Bolelli of Italy, and Blake rallied past Fernando Verdasco of Spain 5-7, 7-5, 6-2. Top-ranked Roger Federer beat 6-10 Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (4 ), 6-3. The last time two or more Americans reached the quarterfinals in Rome was 2002, when Roddick and Blake joined eventual champion Andre Agassi. Roddick is playing his first tournament on clay this year and improved to 23-4. In the first-set tiebreaker, Roddick drew Bolelli to the net and sent a high ball to his backhand, setting up a winner to take a 4-3 lead. Bolelli fought back to 5-5, then netted two forehands to hand Roddick the set. Roddick broke Bolelli’s serve in the opening game of the second set, and cruised from there. Serena Williams, who is seeking her fourth consecutive title, got her 17 th victory in a row, ousting Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals of the German Open in Berlin. Top-ranked Justine Henin was upset by 17 th-ranked Dinara Safina 5- 7, 6-3, 6-1. Safina had never won a set off Henin in five previous meetings. Henin saved five match points while trailing 5-0 and 5-1 in the final set, but missed wide with a forehand to end the match. Defending champion Ana Ivanovic struggled past Sybille Bammer 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 and third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova lost to Alona Bondarenko 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.
HOCKEY U. S. wins in world play Zach Parise’s power-play goal with 8: 57 left broke a tie and gave the United States a 6-4 victory over Germany on Thursday night in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in a qualifying-round game at the world hockey championship. Parise put a shot over goalie Dimitrij Patzold for his second goal of the game. Dustin Brown scored an empty-netter with 1: 36 left. The United States grabbed a 3-0 lead on its first four shots in the opening 2: 52. Parise scored 26 seconds in, Patrick O’Sullivan scored at 2: 10 and James Wisniewski scored 42 seconds later. In the second period, the United States took a 4-2 lead when Jason Pominville banked the puck in off Patzold during a 5-on-3 power play. But Germany made it 4-3 about five minutes later then tied it 4-4 early in the third period.
BASEBALL Two shortstops out The Toronto Blue Jays placed shortstops David Eckstein and John McDonald on the 15-day disabled list Thursday, two days after both were injured in a 5-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Eckstein strained a right hip flexor diving for a ball. McDonald came on to replace Eckstein, but sprained his right ankle one inning later, catching a cleat and rolling over on his ankle as he went down to backhand a grounder. McDonald is hitting. 182 with no home runs and 1 RBI in 17 games. Eckstein is hitting. 246 with 1 home run and 12 RBI in 30 games.
Atlanta Braves reliever Peter Moylan will miss the rest of the season after having elbow-ligament replacement surgery Thursday. Dr. James Andrews operated on Moylan’s right elbow in Birmingham, Ala., after finding a bone spur had broken off and compromised the ligament, Braves spokesman Brad Hainje said. Moylan was 0-1 with 1 save and a 1. 59 ERA.
FOOTBALL Vick ordered to pay A federal judge ordered imprisoned quarterback Michael Vick to repay more than $ 2. 4 million to a Canadian bank for defaulting on a loan. The Royal Bank of Canada sued Vick in September, arguing his guilty plea to a federal dogfighting charge — and the resulting impact on his career — prevented him from repaying the loan. According to the suit filed in U. S. District Court in Newport News, Va., the loan’s terms specify that any employment change negatively impacting Vick’s income constitutes a default on the loan. Vick is serving a 23-month prison sentence at the U. S. penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., after pleading guilty last year to bankrolling a dogfighting ring. He was subsequently suspended indefinitely without pay.
HORSE RACING Safety committee formed The Jockey Club has commissioned a seven-member safety committee to review practices in the thoroughbred racing industry and recommend ways to improve the health and safety of the animals after the death of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby. The Jockey Club, which oversees the rules of thoroughbred racing, said the committee will meet May 14 in Lexington, Ky. The committee will review breeding practices, medication and the rules of racing and track surfaces. The group includes owners, breeders and veterinarians.