Sports - Page 23

Wladimir Klitschko successfully defended his IBF heavyweight title Saturday night, dropping Ray Austin with a flurry of left hooks and stopping the American challenger in the second round. The Ukrainian knocked down Austin 87 seconds into the round with at least three left hooks. The American climbed to his feet but referee Eddie Cotton stopped the fight. More Info...  

Latest news and information from the world of sports. LAS VEGAS – David Ragan could have a bright future in the No. 6 car – with the key word being 'future.' More Info...  

Roy Williams angrily pounded the scorer's table hoping to get the attention of his players -- not the referee. North Carolina never trailed Saturday during their 71-56 victory over Boston College in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. But Williams is never content when the Tar Heels are playing sloppily. More Info...  

Greg Oden spread out his arms and let out a primal scream. It was time to celebrate. His highlight-reel dunk pretty much punctuated another victory for Ohio State and sent the Buckeyes to the finals of the Big Ten tournament. Oden went crashing through the lane, rising high over Carl Landry and David Teague to slam in a missed shot, giving the Buckeyes a late 11-point lead Saturday in their 63-52... More Info...  

Concerned about damage to his reputation, Evander Holyfield will conduct an inquiry to clear his name after he was linked to a nationwide investigation into the illegal sale of steroids and human growth hormone. "While I'm fairly certain I know how my name came up, I don't want to say anything more until I have all the facts, which I hope is just a matter of a few weeks," Holyfield said in a... More Info...  

Chris Simon stepped onto the ice at Nassau Coliseum, dressed in his New York Islanders jersey for perhaps the final time this season. The occasion was team picture day, but the rugged forward barely mustered a smile. Simon was suspended indefinitely Friday by the NHL, one day after his vicious two-handed stick swing to the face of New York Rangers forward Ryan Hollweg. More Info...  

Kansas coach Bill Self got a glimpse of the Brandon Rush he wants to see for the Jayhawks to make a postseason run. Rush scored 16 points and ignited Kansas after an uninspired first half, lifting the second-ranked Jayhawks past Oklahoma 64-47 Friday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament. "When he is aggressive, he gives us a whole different dimension because he can get an easy basket... More Info...  

An Atlantic Coast Conference title is about the only thing missing from Roy Williams' resume as a head coach, and he concedes it would be real sweet to win one this weekend. "Everybody always acts like I poo-poo the ACC tournament because there is that thought process: You play people for nine weeks, why do have to play them all again in three days? More Info...  

Jamont Gordon scored 26 points, including a tying 3-pointer after Kentucky squandered a chance to win in regulation with a lane violation, and Mississippi State took advantage for an 84-82 overtime victory Friday in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament. Kentucky (21-11) overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half and led 75-73 when freshman Jodie Meeks stepped to the line... More Info...  

Running back Dominic Rhodes is going from the Super Bowl champions to the team that posted the worst record in the NFL last season, after agreeing Friday to a two-year contract with the Oakland Raiders that could be worth up to $7.5 million. "I just want to come in and help this team win," Rhodes said. More Info...  

Greg Oden took a half to get acclimated. Once he settled in, he became the force on offense that No. 1 Ohio State needed for its 15th straight victory. "This is my first go-around in these type of tournaments, so I just feed off the guys that have been there before," the Buckeyes' prize freshman said Friday when his second-half play powered a 72-62 win over Michigan in the Big Ten quarterfinals. More Info...  

Latest news and information from the world of sports. PHOENIX – The A's Bobby Crosby attributes his string of injuries to bad luck, not bad bones. More Info...  

On the losing end twice against UCLA after owning first-half leads, California nearly let it happen again. This time, the Golden Bears got an extra five minutes and finished off the Bruins. Ayinde Ubaka scored eight of his career-high 29 points in overtime and California stunned fourth-ranked UCLA 76-69 in the Pac-10 tournament quarterfinals Thursday night. More Info...  

LSU women's basketball coach Pokey Chatman said Thursday she won't coach in the NCAA tournament, and The Times-Picayune of New Orleans reported on its Web site the resignation was prompted by the school's discovery of inappropriate conduct between Chatman and one or more players. Assistant coach Bob Starkey, who will take over the team for now, declined to say whether he was aware of any improper... More Info...  

Major League Baseball announced its $700 million, seven-year agreement with DirecTV on Thursday and said the deal contains a provision that allows its "Extra Innings" package of out-of-market games to remain on cable television if the other incumbent providers agree to match the terms. The president of one of those providers, iN Demand's Robert Jacobson, immediately said those terms were... More Info...  

Cliff Kresge nearly holed out from the fairway twice with a wedge in hand, so when his 5-iron from 184 yards headed toward the flag Thursday, his caddie instinctively said, "Go in this time." And it did It was one of two eagles for Kresge, who was 8 under through 11 holes until a few errant drives down the stretch made him settle for a 6-under 65 and a two-shot lead in the PODS Championship, the... More Info...  

Tennessee starting quarterback Erik Ainge has injured his knee and will miss the rest of spring practice, coach Phillip Fulmer said Thursday. Ainge has a partially torn meniscus and is will likely have surgery later this month. The Volunteers started spring practice Feb. 22 and will have next week off for spring break before resuming practice March 20. More Info...  

For at least one day, Miami's troubled season was forgotten. Jack McClinton scored 17 points, Brian Asbury added 12 and the undermanned Hurricanes upset No. 17 Maryland 67-62 in the opening round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Thursday. The 'Canes may have been short a few bodies -- they dressed eight scholarship players because of injuries and a suspension -- but they outhustled and... More Info...  

Willis McGahee likes to refer to himself as the NFL's best running back. Let's see how he does replacing Jamal Lewis in Baltimore. The Ravens acquired McGahee in a trade with the Buffalo Bills on Thursday, a day after Lewis signed with Cleveland. In exchange, the Bills received third- and seventh-round picks this year and a third-rounder next year. More Info...  

After breezing through the first half, the Georgetown Hoyas weren't expecting to sweat it out against Villanova in the last few minutes. "I'm glad our guys held on," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "It was coming too easily. We just had to refocus." Roy Hibbert scored eight of his 14 points in No. More Info...