KWBG Sports for January 24th

  BOSTON (AP) - The Boston Celtics held Orlando to a franchise-low in points by routing the Magic 87-56 despite playing without star guards Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo (RAH'-zhahn RAHN'-doh). Dwight Howard had 18 points and 14 boards for the Magic, who made just 16 baskets all night.

     CINCINNATI (AP) - Syracuse avoided its first losing streak of the season by bouncing back from its first defeat in 21 games to beat Cincinnati 60-53 last night. That's coach Jim Boeheim's (BAY'-hymz) 877th career win, moving him ahead of legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp into third place all time on the Division 1 coaching parade.

     DETROIT (AP) - The Detroit Red Wings are on the NHL's longest home winning streak in 36 years after beating St. Louis 3-1 last night for their 17th straight win at Joe Louis Arena. Pavel Datsyuk (PAH'-vuhl DAT'-sook) and Johan Franzen scored in the second period for the Red Wings, who've won seven in a row overall and lead the NHL with 67 points.

     NEW YORK (AP) - Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (oh-VECH'-kin) has been suspended for three games for a charging incident in which he launched himself to hit Pittsburgh defenseman Zbynek Michalek (zuh-BEE'-nihk muh-KAHL'-ihk) during Sunday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Penguins. Based on his average annual salary, Ovechkin will forfeit $154,677 for the three games he's out.

     NEW YORK (AP)- A New York Yankees mainstay for 17 seasons is hanging 'em up today. Catcher Jorge Posada (HOR'-hay poh-SAH'-dah), who helped the Yanks win five World Series titles, is retiring with a .273 career batting average with 275 home runs and 1,065 RBIs.

KWBG Sports for January 23rd

UNDATED (AP) - This year's Super Bowl will be a rematch of the 2008 title game when the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 17-14 to end the Pats' bid for an undefeated season. These two teams will meet in Super Bowl 46 in two weeks and oddsmakers in Las Vegas have installed the Pats early three-point favorites for the big game.

     SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Lawrence Tynes kicked a game-winning 31-yard field goal in sudden-death overtime to give the Giants a 20-17 win over San Francisco in the NFC championship for the Giants' fifth straight road victory in the playoffs. Devon (deh-VAHN') Thomas recovered his second fumble of the game when Kyle Williams muffed a punt to set up the game-winning kick.

     FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP)- The New England Patriots won the AFC title game by holding off Baltimore 23-20 when Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff missed a potential game-tying 32-yard field goal with 11 seconds left. The Patriots will be chasing their fourth Super Bowl trophy in quarterback Tom Brady and Bill Belichick's tenure in New England.

     MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (AP) - Five-time champion Serena Williams is out of the Australian Open, losing 6-2, 6-3 to unseeded Ekaterina Makarova of Russia on Monday. Williams had seven double faults and made 37 unforced errors that helped allow No. 56-ranked Makarova to notch one of the biggest victories in her career and advance to the quarterfinals.

     STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP)- Friends and colleagues are saying that the heartbreak and turmoil of Joe Paterno's 46th and final season at Penn State may have played a part in his death yesterday at age 85.  Paterno, a sainted figure at Penn State for almost half a century but scarred forever by the child sex scandal involving his one-time heir apparent Jerry Sandusky, won 409 games and leaves as the winningest coach in major college football history.

KWBG Sports for January 20th

MIAMI (AP) - LeBron James shook off flu-like symptoms to score 31 points, Chris Bosh scored 15 and the Miami Heat won their second straight, topping the Los Angeles Lakers 98-87.  Miami moved to 5-0 this season without Dwyane (dwayn) Wade, who missed his second straight game with a sprained right ankle after missing three games earlier this season with left foot soreness.

     BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - Harrison Barnes scored nine of his 27 points during a 19-0 second-half run and No. 8 North Carolina bounced back from a 33-point loss at Florida State with an 82-68 victory over Virginia Tech last night. John Henson added 16 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks for the 16-3 Tar Heels.

     PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Evgeni Nabokov (nah-BAH'-kahv) made 40 saves and the New York Islanders snapped a 13-game losing streak in Philadelphia with a 4-1 victory over the Flyers, who had beaten the Isles 23 of the last 24 meetings.  The victory was the Islanders' third in their last four games, and it marked the first time New York won in Philadelphia since April 7, 2007.

     LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) - Shreveport's David Toms and Colombia's Camilo Villegas (kuh-MIHL'-oh vih-JAY'-guhs) shot 9-under 63 to top a leaderboard after the opening round of the Humana Challenge at La Quinta in the event formerly known as the Bob Hope Classic. Bob Estes, Ted Potter Jr., Sang-moon Bae and Brandt Snedeker were one stroke behind.

     LOS ANGELES (AP) - A Los Angeles judge has ratified a binding agreement between outgoing Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his former wife Jamie McCourt in their divorce case. The settlement reached in November calls for Frank McCourt to pay his ex-wife $131 million by the end of April.

KWBG Sports for January 19th

 MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - After taking a tumble on the next-to-last point of the match, Serena Williams got up and whipped a backhand winner down the line to finish off her second-round match at the Australian Open and her 500th career win. Williams defeated Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (zah-lah-VOH'-vah strihk-KOH'-vah) 6-love, 6-4 to run her Australian Open winning streak to 16 matches.

     ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Tony Parker scored 25 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter and overtime, and San Antonio held off Orlando 85-83 in overtime despite 24 points and 25 rebounds by the Magic's Dwight Howard. Tim Duncan added 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Spurs also snapped a streak of 10 consecutive road losses overall, dating to last season.

     WASHINGTON (AP) - John Wall scored 25 points, Nick Young had 24 and Jordan Crawford added 18 to lead Washington to a 105-102 victory over Oklahoma City. That ends the Thunder's seven-game winning streak and gives the Wizards just their second win of the season.

     MOREHEAD, Ky. (AP) - The 12th-ranked Murray State Racers rallied from nine down with 13 minutes left to beat Morehead State 66-60 to improve to 19-0. Murray State and the top-ranked Syracuse Orange are the only two unbeaten teams in men's Division I men's basketball.

     DENVER (AP) - Jamie Moyer has agreed to terms on a minor league contract with an invite to the Colorado Rockies' spring training, pending a physical. The 49-year-old lefty didn't play last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow.

KWBG Sports for January 18th

 LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Freshman Anthony Davis scored a career-high 27 points and blocked seven shots to set a school season record in second-ranked Kentucky's 86-63 victory over Arkansas last night. The 18-1 Wildcats won their 10th straight overall and extended the nation's longest home winning streak to 46, including 45 straight at Rupp Arena.

     CHICAGO (AP) - Carlos Boozer scored 26 of his season-high 31 points in the first half in leading the short-handed Chicago Bulls to a 118-97 win over the Phoenix Suns. Chicago was playing without Derrick Rose for the second straight game because of a sprained left big toe.

     MIAMI (AP) - The Miami Heat roared back from a 14-point halftime deficit and topped San Antonio 120-98 in last night's NBA action. LeBron James led the Heat with 33 points and 10 assists while Chris Bosh had 30 points and eight rebounds.

     INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Indianapolis Colts are the latest NFL team in the market for a coach after they fired Jim Caldwell yesterday following their 2-14 season, the franchise's worst record in two decades. He's the third high-profile dismissal in the Colts' offseason housecleaning following vice chairman Bill Polian and his son Chris, the team's general manager.

     MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Defending champion Kim Clijsters (KLY'-sturz) has cruised into the third round of the Australian Open in 47 minutes, beating Stephanie Foretz Gacon of France 6-love, 6-1 on Wednesday. In men's play, second-seed Rafael Nadal (rah-fay-ehl nah-DAHL') breezed into the third round by straight-setting Germany's Tommy Haas 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

KWBG Sports for January 13th

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Rudy Gay scored a season-high 26 points and the Memphis Grizzlies beat New York 94-83 to end the Knicks' four-game winning streak. The Knicks played most of the second half without scoring leader Carmelo Anthony after he sprained his right ankle early in the third period.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brandon Jennings scored 27 points and Stephen Jackson added 25 to help the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons 102-93. Bucks coach Scott Skiles became the 39th coach in NBA history to reach 400 victories.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Austin Hollins scored a career-high 18 points to help Minnesota upset No. 7 Indiana 77-74 last night. Rodney Williams scored 14 points and Julian Welch added 10 for the Golden Gophers, who had lost four straight.

DETROIT (AP) — In the NHL, Pavel Datsyuk (PAH'-vuhl DAT'-sook) and Henrik Zetterberg scored in the shootout, and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Phoenix Coyotes 3-2 for their 13th straight home win. Jimmy Howard stopped 25 shots to earn his 100th career NHL win.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas Rangers President Nolan Ryan says he's confident of signing Japanese pitching sensation Yu Darvish by next Wednesday's deadline. The Rangers, who have won consecutive AL pennants, put in a record bid of about $51.7 million for the right to negotiate with Japan's best pitcher.

KWBG Sports for January 12th

 LOS ANGELES (AP) - In a game that had playoff intensity to it,
the L.A. Clippers handed the Miami Heat their second straight
overtime loss, 95-89. Chris Paul led the Clippers with 27 points,
11 assists and six rebounds.
   
     SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Kobe Bryant is on one of his scoring
tears. He has 88 points the past two nights with 40 of those coming
in last night's L.A. Lakers' 90-87 overtime win over Utah that ends
the Jazz's five game win streak.
   
     NEW YORK (AP) - Carmelo Anthony had 27 points and nine rebounds,
and the New York Knicks snapped the Philadelphia 76ers' six-game
winning streak, 85-79. Amare Stoudemire (ah-MAR'-ay
STOW'-duh-my-ur) added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks,
who've won four straight.
   
     PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Top-ranked Syracuse is 18-0 for the second
straight season. Dion Waiters scored 20 and James Southerland added
18 as the top-ranked Orange cruised to a 79-66 win at Villanova,
which has lost four of its last five to fall to 8-9.
   
     SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Baseball owners are expected to offer
Bud Selig (SEE'-lihg) a contract to stay on as commissioner another
two years during meetings today. That would keep Selig in office
until after he turns 80, and replace Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
as baseball's longest-serving commissioner.