PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) - Two Rutgers basketball players on Mike Rice's team say the fired coach wasn't the abusive tyrant he appears to be on a widely viewed video that ultimately cost him his job."You can't let those individual moments define what he was," junior forward Wally Judge said during a telephone interview Thursday. "In my past two years, me being an older guy and being under other coach...

NEW YORK (AP) - The Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens and the team they beat, the San Francisco 49ers, each will make one national TV appearance during the NFL preseason this summer.The Ravens play the third of their four-game preseason schedule on Thursday night, Aug. 22, hosting Carolina on ESPN. San Francisco concludes its exhibition schedule with a home game against Minnesota on Sunday nigh...

A few years ago, I went to a college basketball practice with a friend. It seemed a pretty normal practice to me — you know, lots of running, lots of teaching, lots of sneaker squeaking. But as we walked out, my friend’s face was flushed and her jaw had dropped wide open. “I cannot believe that,” she said, and she seemed shaken by the experience. “What’s that?” “I cannot believe how vicious that c...

ATLANTA (AP) - Carmelo Anthony scored 40 points, Raymond Felton had three straight baskets in a key spurt, and the New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 95-82 on Wednesday night for their 10th straight victory.Anthony, coming off a 50-point effort against Miami on Tuesday, scored 24 points in the first half. He shot 17 of 27 from the field and was 5 for 6 from the free throw line.Felton sparked a...

Everybody knows that we don’t have much patience in America. Truth is, you probably didn’t even make it to the end of that sentence. We don’t have time to wait for anything. Give you an example: Right now, this minute, you can go on the interwebs and find at least a dozen NFL mock drafts. You’re probably thinking, “Are you crazy? A dozen? I could find 10,000 NFL mock drafts. It’s in three weeks. Y...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says he would consider drafting Baylor All-American Brittney Griner.Cuban told reporters before Tuesday night's game between the Mavericks and the Lakers that if Griner is the best player available, "I will take her."The 6-foot-8 Griner finished her college career as the NCAA leader in blocked shots and the second-leading scorer in women's colle...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Kobe Bryant had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in his 19th career triple-double, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks 101-81 Tuesday night in a key game for the two teams struggling to get into the Western Conference playoff picture.Dwight Howard had 24 points and 12 rebounds while hitting seven fourth-quarter free throws for the Lakers (39-36), who had lo...

Louisville guard Kevin Ware was released from an Indianapolis hospital Tuesday and is headed back to campus, two days after breaking his right leg during the Cardinals' Final Four-clinching victory.Ware had been at Methodist Hospital since sustaining the horrific injury Sunday during in the first half of Louisville's 85-63 win over Duke in the Midwest Regional. He underwent surgery to repair comp...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Although Shaquille O'Neal rarely finds himself speechless, he says he's thrilled beyond words to see his jersey in the Los Angeles Lakers' rafters.The Lakers planned a halftime ceremony Tuesday night to honor O'Neal. They'll hang his No. 34 jersey in the Staples Center collection including Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson.O'Neal is the sixth-leading scorer...

MIAMI (AP) - Carmelo Anthony released his final shot of the night then skipped backward, already knowing the outcome.The shot was good.For Anthony and the New York Knicks, the outcome was even better.Relying entirely on jumpers, Anthony tied his career high with 50 points and the Knicks won their ninth straight game, topping the injury-depleted Miami Heat 102-90 on Wednesday night."I felt good ton...

HUMBLE, Texas (AP) - Henrik Stenson didn't get the trophy at the Houston Open. He gladly settled for an invitation to the Masters.Stenson, who eight months ago was No. 133 in the world, closed with a 6-under 66 on Sunday in the Houston Open and was the leader in the clubhouse when the final round was delayed because of thunderstorms. D.A. Points closed with four pars and wound up with a one-shot v...

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Chris Bosh scored 23 points, including a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining, and the Miami Heat beat the San Antonio Spurs 88-86 on Sunday night with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and sitting out due to injuries.Ray Allen had 14 points, Norris Cole added 13 and Mike Miller 12 for Miami (58-15), which swept the season series with San Antonio (55-18). By earning the hea...

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - In one of the biggest upsets in the history of the NCAA women's tournament, fifth-seeded Louisville got a stunning 82-81 upset of defending national champion Baylor in the regional semifinals on Sunday night.Shoni Schimmel scored 22 points and Monique Reid hit two free throws with 2.6 seconds left to send the Cardinals to the win.Odyssey Sims scored 28 points and hit a pair of...

ATLANTA (AP) - An inspired Louisville squad vs. the surprising Shockers.A new group of Fab Wolverines vs. the stingiest zone defense in college basketball.After a weekend of blowouts and another upset, the Final Four is set.Top overall seed Louisville will face Wichita State at the Georgia Dome next Saturday, while Michigan takes on Syracuse in the other national semifinal. The winners advance to ...

HUMBLE, Texas (AP) - D.A. Points came back from a long rain delay and made four pars. The last one gave him a one-shot victory in the Houston Open and sent him to the Masters.Points closed with a 6-under 66 on Sunday, saving par on the last two holes at Redstone Golf Club to outlast Masters-bound Henrik Stenson and Billy Horschel. The final round was halted for nearly three hours because of storms...

The Kansas City Royals have been absent from the playoffs since the day Billy Butler was born. They've barely had a winning season in the last two decades. They've often lost 100 games in a year.And yet, buoyed by the best record in spring training, hope abounds - for the Royals, for most everybody putting on a big league uniform."There's no reason we shouldn't be better," said Butler, the Royals'...

With tears in their eyes and Kevin Ware in their hearts, there was no way Louisville was losing this game.Russ Smith scored 23 points, Gorgui Dieng had 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks and top-seeded Louisville put aside the shock from Ware's gruesome leg injury to beat Duke 85-63 on Sunday and earn a second straight trip to the Final Four.It will be some time before the Cardinals can celebr...

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -Barcelona will have midfielder Xavi Hernandez and defender Jordi Alba available for Tuesday's Champions League quarterfinal at Paris Saint-Germain, and the club says coach Tito Vilanova plans to be on the touchline.Barcelona said on Sunday that Xavi had recovered from a right leg muscle injury, while Alba's right leg had also healed in time.The Spanish leader also said that ...

Wichita State is headed to the Final Four, and these Shockers should be no surprise to anybody.Not after the way they held off mighty Ohio State in the West Regional final.Malcolm Armstead scored 14 points, Fred Van Vleet bounced in a big basket with 1 minute left, and ninth-seeded Wichita State earned its first trip to the Final Four since 1965 with a 70-66 victory over the Buckeyes on Saturday.V...

HUMBLE, Texas (AP) - Stewart Cink and Bill Haas wound up with a share of the lead Saturday in the Houston Open, and they have plenty of company.Cink is winless in 81 starts on the PGA Tour since beating Tom Watson in the British Open at Turnberry in 2009. He had a 4-under 68 and was tied with Haas, who had a 67. Steve Wheatcroft, who had to qualify for the tournament on Monday, had a chance to joi...