Fox Dayton - Sports

Last Update on March 16, 2010 03:45 EDT

NBA-SCHEDULE

UNDATED (AP) -- Carmelo Anthony's 45 points couldn't stop the Denver Nuggets from ending their six-game winning streak Monday night.

Aaron Brooks drained a jumper with 2.9 seconds left to cap the Houston Rockets' comeback in a 125-123 win over the Nuggets. Denver led 104-93 with 10 minutes left before the Rockets erupted for 32 points the rest of the way.

Brooks paced the Rockets with 31 points and Luis Scola added 23 and 11 rebounds.

Houston also pushed the Nuggets four games behind the Lakers for the top spot in the NBA's Western Conference.

The Lakers expanded their conference lead by topping Golden State 124-121. Kobe Bryant atoned for his nine turnovers by scoring a team-high 29 points in the Lakers' third consecutive win. Pau Gasol added 26 points and nine rebounds to the win.

In Monday's other NBA action:

--Boston built a 29-point halftime lead before completing a 119-93 rout of the Detroit Pistons. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Michael Finley each scored 15 points, and Kevin Garnett added 14 and eight rebounds.

--Carlos Boozer scored 23 points and Utah halted a two-game skid by blasting Washington 112-89. Deron Williams notched his 35th double-double of the season, contributing 17 points and 11 assists.

--New Orleans ended a seven-game road losing streak with a 108-100 triumph over the Los Angeles Clippers. David West delivered 24 points in the Hornets' 13th consecutive win over the Clippers.

--New York picked up its second straight road win by downing the 76ers 94-84 in Philadelphia. Danilo Gallinari scored 21 points and Toney Douglas added 20.

NHL-SCHEDULE

UNDATED (AP) -- The Detroit Red Wings picked up a big victory Monday night as the defending Western Conference champions struggle to earn a Stanley Cup playoff berth.

Tomas Holmstrom scored with 1:19 left to push the Wings past Calgary 2-1. Johan Franzen set up both goals as Detroit moved three points ahead of the Flames in the battle for the final West playoff berth.

Jimmy Howard stopped 22 shots and was perfect after Craig Conroy tallied 1:47 into the game.

The NHL slate includes New Jersey's 3-2 triumph over Boston, which puts the Devils within two points of Pittsburgh Penguins for the Atlantic Division lead. Zach Parise put the Devils ahead 3-0 in the first period with his 32nd goal of the season after David Clarkson collected a goal and an assist.

Kristian Huselius scored a goal and had three assists as Columbus downed Edmonton 5-3. Antoine Vermette provided an empty-netter after setting up two goals.

NHL-OVECKIN SUSPENSION

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Washington Capitals will be without NHL-leading scorer Alex Ovechkin until Saturday. The left winger has received a two-game suspension from the NHL for his hit on Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell during Sunday's 4-3 comeback win over the Blackhawks. Campbell was launched into the boards by the impact, causing an upper-body injury that will force him to miss a three-game road trip that starts Wednesday night in Anaheim.

Ovechkin will sit out Tuesday at Florida and Thursday at Carolina.

NHL-STARS/MODANO

DALLAS (AP) -- Dallas Stars center Mike Modano is out indefinitely following an appendectomy on Monday.

The 39-year-old Modano holds the NHL career scoring record for U.S.-born players. He has appeared in 54 of the Stars' 68 games this season, scoring 13 goals and 26 points.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL-AP POLL

UNDATED (AP) -- The overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament is the unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press' final men's basketball poll of the season.

Kansas has spent 15 weeks on the top of the poll, matching the most time at No. 1 since Duke went wire-to-wire in 1991-92.

The other No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tourney, Kentucky, Duke and Syracuse, are second, third and fourth, respectively.

Ohio State is fifth followed by West Virginia, Kansas State, New Mexico, Villanova and Purdue.

A record 53 teams were ranked during the season. That's four more than 2007-08.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL-FIRED COACHES

UNDATED (AP) -- Charlotte has fired basketball coach Bobby Lutz after his 12th year was marred by a late-season collapse.

Lutz was promoted to coach after three seasons as an assistant and led the 49ers to the NCAA tournament in five of his first seven seasons. They haven't been back since 2005.

Charlotte lost seven of its final eight games this season to miss out on the NCAA tournament and the NIT.

Also:

--Iowa has fired basketball coach Todd Lickliter after a third straight losing season. The Hawkeyes finished 10-22 in posting their first 20-loss season. Lickliter's overall record was 38-58, and he had four years left on his seven-year contract, which pays him $1.2 million a year.

--Kirk Speraw is out after 17 years as Central Florida's basketball coach. It comes after a disappointing 15-17 season and ends one of the longest active tenures in the nation. Speraw's tenure included four NCAA tournament berths, the last coming in 2005.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL-NCAA TOURNAMENT

UNDATED (AP) -- The defending-champion Connecticut Huskies have drawn the No. 1 seed for the NCAA women's basketball tournament.

The Huskies were placed in the Dayton Region and will open against Southern at Norfolk, Virginia. UConn is the 10th team to enter the NCAA tournament unbeaten. Five have come away with the title, with Connecticut doing it three times.

Tennessee, Stanford and Nebraska have claimed the other No. 1 seeds.

WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL-AP POLL

UNDATED (AP) -- Connecticut is just the second women's basketball team to complete two straight seasons as No. 1.

The unbeaten Huskies are the top choice in The Associated Press poll for a 43rd straight time after receiving all 40 first-place votes from the media panel in the final poll. Louisiana Tech also pulled off the feat from 1980-82.

The 33-0 Huskies have been an unanimous choice in the poll for 35 straight weeks. They will be the No. 1 overall seed when the NCAA tournament field is announced tonight.

Stanford remains No. 2, followed by Tennessee, Nebraska and Xavier.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL-LEAVITT/USF

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Former University of South Florida football coach Jim Leavitt is suing the university over his firing.

Leavitt was dismissed in January over claims that he grabbed a player by the throat and struck him in the face.

Leavitt denies the accusations and claims in the lawsuit that the university's investigation was flawed and his reputation has been damaged. The action seeks to recover some of the $9.5 million left on his seven-year contract.

NFL-NEWS

UNDATED (AP) -- It took Mike Holmgren a week to overhaul the Browns quarterbacking corps. Cleveland signed former Pro Bowl quarterback Jake Delhomme to a two-year contract that the team made official Monday.

Derek Anderson was released last week and Seneca Wallace was acquired in a trade with Holmgren's old team, the Seattle Seahawks.

On Sunday, the Browns traded Brady Quinn to the Denver Broncos.

In other pro football news:

--Safety Roy Williams has agreed to a one-year deal to stay with the Bengals.

--The San Francisco 49ers have signed free agent quarterback David Carr to a two-year package.

--Inside linebacker Larry Foote is returning to the Steelers, signing a three-year contract after one season in Detroit.

--The Arizona Cardinals have agreed to terms on a three-year contract with outside linebacker Paris Lenon.

--Quarterback Bruce Gradkowski and Pro Bowl long snapper Jon Condo have signed their restricted free agent tenders and will return to the Oakland Raiders next season.

MLB-SPRING TRAINING

UNDATED (AP) -- Arizona Diamondbacks slugger Mark Reynolds says he's accepted a new contract after belting 44 home runs last season. Two people familiar with the talks said on Monday that the deal was worth $14.5 million over three years and includes an $11 million club option for 2013. Reynolds drove in 102 runs in 2009 but also struck out 223 times, shattering the mark of 204 he set the previous year.

In other major league news:

--The Los Angeles Dodgers have sent former Cy Young Award winner Eric Gagne to their minor league camp, stalling the closer's bid to make it back to the majors. The 34-year-old Gagne had a 20.25 ERA in three outings during spring training, allowing six runs and eight hits in 2 2/3 innings.

--Reliever Ron Villone has been released by the Nationals, who signed the veteran left-hander to a minor league contract last month. But Villone had a 16.20 ERA in three relief appearances covering 1 2/3 innings.

LEGAL-ANDREWS

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- An Illinois insurance executive who secretly shot nude videos of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.

Michael Barrett pleaded guilty in December to interstate stalking after prosecutors accused him of shooting the videos through hotel peepholes in three cities. He was sentenced in a federal court in Los Angeles after he made a tearful apology.

Barrett agreed to a 27-month prison sentence after pleading guilty. He's been given until May 3 to surrender.

SOCCER-BECKHAM INJURY

TURKU, Finland (AP) -- David Beckham's left Achilles' tendon was totally torn, and the doctor who performed the surgery says the England midfielder is expected to be out of action for about six months. That means the former England captain will be unavailable for the World Cup, which begins June 11.