KWBG Sports for February 22nd

 PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The San Antonio Spurs' 11-game winning streak in the NBA came to a screeching halt last night in Portland. The Trail Blazers opened a 23-point halftime lead and led 103-65 after three quarters in downing the Spurs 137-97. San Antonio was playing its second game in two nights and rested stars Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.

     NEW YORK (AP)- "Linsanity" returns tonight to New York where the Knicks host the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden.  Jeremy Lin has people watching the Knicks in record numbers as the team reports its last two games were the highest-rated regular season events on MSG since the network began tracking household ratings in the 1988-89 season.

     NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Jordan Theodore scored a career-high 29 to lead Seton Hall to the signature win it needed for its NCAA tournament resume, a 73-55 victory over No. 9 Georgetown.  The Pirates shot 61 percent in improving to 19-9 overall and 8-8 in the Big East against a Georgetown defense that Hoyas coach John Thompson III called "atrocious."

     CHICAGO (AP) - In the NHL, Corey Crawford made 31 saves to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in a matchup of Central Division rivals.  Jimmy Hayes scored the tying goal in the second period and set up Marcus Kruger's winning score in the third as Chicago earned its fourth consecutive victory and ended the Red Wings' six-game win streak.

     MARANA, Ariz. (AP) - There are 32 matches scheduled today on opening day of the five-day WGC World Match Play Championship in the Arizona desert. Luke Donald, Martin Kaymer (KY'-mer), Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood are the No. 1 seeds in the 64-man event.

KWBG Sports for February 21st

 NEW YORK (AP) - Linsanity ran into reality last night at Madison Square Garden where the lowly New Jersey Nets upset the New York Knicks 100-92. All-Star Deron (DEHR'-ihn) Williams clicked for a season-high 38 points in outplaying Jeremy Lin, who still got 21 points and nine assists in a losing cause.

     SAN ANTONIO (AP) - The San Antonio Spurs remain the hottest team in the NBA with their 11th straight win, 106-102 over Utah. Tony Parker led the way with 23 for the Spurs, who've beaten Utah the last five times.

     DALLAS (AP) - Dirk Nowitzki (noh-VIHT'-skee) had 26 points and moved into the top 20 on the NBA career scoring list and the Dallas Mavericks beat the struggling Boston Celtics 89-73. That's the Celtics' fourth straight loss, and sixth in last seven games.

     CHICAGO (AP) -Derrick Rose's back problems appear to be in the past -and that's a very good thing for the Chicago Bulls. Rose scored 23 points in his return from a five-game absence due to back pain, and Chicago hung on to beat the struggling Atlanta Hawks 90-79 to climb even with Miami for best record in the NBA.

     PHOENIX (AP) - Manny Ramirez could be back in the big leagues this season. The soon-to-be 40-year-old Ramirez signed a $500,000 minor league deal with Oakland and could be eligible to play in late May, after he fulfills a 50-game suspension handed down by Major League Baseball for failing his second drug test.

KWBG Sports for February 20th

 NEW YORK (AP) - NBA sensation Jeremy Lin had another big day -- this time on the league's biggest stage before a national TV audience against the defending NBA champions. The Harvard product had 28 points and a career-high 14 assists in leading the New York Knicks to a roller-coaster 104-97 win over Dallas for their eighth win in nine games.

     OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Kevin Durant scored a career-best 51 points for the top performance in the NBA this season and Russell Westbrook added 40 double as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 124-118 Sunday night. Serge Ibaka had his first career triple-double with 14 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocks for the Thunder.

     MIAMI (AP) - The Miami Heat improved their NBA-leading record to 25-7 with a 90-78 win over Orlando for the Heat's sixth straight win. Dwyane (dwayn) Wade led the way with 27 while LeBron James added 25 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as Miami moved a half-game ahead of Chicago in the race for best record in the NBA and the Eastern Conference.

     DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle have put Roush Fenway Racing on the front row for next Sunday's Daytona 500 with the fastest times during yesterday's qualifying. The rest of the starting positions are determined through a pair of 150-mile qualifying races scheduled for Thursday.

     LOS ANGELES (AP) - Bill Haas captured his fourth PGA Tour victory by winning a three-way playoff against Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley to win the Northern Trust Open at storied Riviera Country club. Haas sank a 45-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to win it after Mickelson and Bradley sank lengthy birdie putts on the 72nd hole to force the playoff.

KWBG Sports for February 17th

 NEW YORK (AP) - Baseball Hall of Famer, 11-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove-winning catcher Gary Carter has died at 57, nine months after being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.  Carter spent most of his 19 major league seasons with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets and finished with a .262 average, 324 homers and 1,225 RBI.  He ranked fourth on the all-time list for catchers in homers, doubles and RBIs at the time of his retirement in 1992 yet had to wait six years of eligibility before he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.

     ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - The Pittsburgh Pirates have won their arbitration case with Garrett Jones and will pay the outfielder $2.25 million this year. The Pirates avoided arbitration with third baseman Casey McGehee (mih-GEE') by working out a one-year pact worth just over $2.5 million. Teams finished with a 5-2 lead in arbitration decisions this year, their 14th winning record in 16 years.

     CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago Bulls didn't need Derrick Rose to beat the Boston Celtics 89-80 last night. The Bulls blew a 16-point lead before Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng (LOO'-uhl dehng) each finished with 23 points to help Chicago improve to an NBA-best 25-7. Rose missed his fourth straight game due to back spasms

     UNDATED (AP) - The Chicago Blackhawks ended their season-worst nine-game losing streak by scoring four times in the first 10 minutes of a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. St. Louis is within three points of Western Conference-leading Detroit after T.J. Oshie (OH'-shee) provided a goal and an assist in the Blues' 5-1 win over the New York Islanders. Philadelphia spotted Buffalo a 2-0 lead before Max Talbot and Wayne Simmonds scored twice to lead the Flyers past the Sabres 7-2.

     LOS ANGELES (AP) - Phil Mickelson will carry a one-shot lead into the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.  Mickelson fired a 5-under-par 66 that included a 35-foot chip for birdie on the final hole. J.B. Holmes and Hunter Mahan (MAY'-han) share second, one stroke ahead of Jonathan Byrd.

KWBG Sports for February 16th

 NEW YORK (AP) - He didn't have the scoring touch he's had the past two weeks, but Jeremy Lin didn't need to score in leading the New York Knicks to their seventh straight victory, 100-85 over Sacramento. Lin dished out a career-best 13 assists to go with his 10 points, one of seven Knicks to score in double figures.

     TORONTO (AP) - Tony Parker had 34 points and 14 assists, and the San Antonio Spurs extended their season-best winning streak to nine games with a 113-106 victory over the Toronto Raptors. The Spurs have not lost since a 101-100 overtime defeat at Dallas on Jan. 29.            

     CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) - Harrison Barnes scored 23 points and No. 8 North Carolina rallied from an eight-point deficit in the second half to beat Miami 73-64. The Tar Heels, who came in leading the nation with 83.5 points per game, shot only 38 percent and went 5 for 18 from 3-point range.

     SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Jack Cooley scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half to lead No. 23 Notre Dame to a 71-53 win over Rutgers last night.  Cooley also had 18 rebounds for the Fighting Irish, who won their seventh straight game.

     BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) - "Monday Night Football" is downsizing. ESPN says analyst Ron Jaworski has signed a five-year contract extension to appear on other programming on the network and will no longer join play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico (the-REE'-koh) and color commentator Jon Gruden on Monday nights.

KWBG Sports for February 15th

TORONTO (AP) - Jeremy Lin canned a game-winning 3-pointer with less than a second to play and the New York Knicks rallied to beat the Toronto Raptors 90-87 for their sixth straight win. Lin, the NBA's first American-Taiwanese player finished with 27 points and a career-high 11 assists and had the season-high crowd of 20,092 in Toronto roaring as he hit the game-winner.

     INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Miami Heat are the first NBA team in 33 years to win three road games in three nights. LeBron James scored 33 and the Heat turned the trick in Indianapolis by beating the Pacers 105-90 to join the 1970 Milwaukee Bucks as the only NBA teams to win three road games in three nights.

     AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) - Tim Duncan had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs overcame a spirited Detroit rally to beat the Pistons 99-95 for their eighth consecutive victory.  Detroit trailed by 15 in the fourth quarter but came back to take the lead behind Ben Wallace, the veteran big man who set a record by appearing in his 1,055th career game - the most for an undrafted player since the NBA-ABA merger.

     FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - The upset of the night in college basketball goes to the unranked TCU Horned Frogs, who knocked off their first ranked team in five years. Hank Thorns scored eight of his 32 points in overtime in TCU's 102-97 win over 11th-ranked UNLV.

     DETROIT (AP) - The Detroit Red Wings own the NHL record with their 21st straight home victory, 3-1 over Dallas. The Red Wings, who have not lost at home since Nov. 3, broke the mark of 20 set by the Boston Bruins during the 1929-30 season and matched by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1976.

KWBG Sports for February 14th

 MILWAUKEE (AP) - LeBron James scored 35 points and the Miami Heat finally found a way to beat Milwaukee, using a third-quarter surge to beat the Bucks 114-96 last night.  Dwyane (dwayn) Wade scored 22 and Mario Chalmers added 13 for the Heat, who had lost their first two meetings with the Bucks this season.

     LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)-The second-ranked Syracuse Orange overcame a dismal 34.4 percent shooting night to nip Louisville 52-51, scoring the final six points of the game. C.J. Fair had 13 and Fab Melo added 11 for Syracuse, which had lost its last seven meetings with the Cardinals.

     WASHINGTON (AP) - Joe Pavelski had two goals and two assists in leading the Sharks past the Capitals 5-3 in San Jose's 16th victory in its last 17 games against Washington.  Washington has won only three of its last 11, a stretch that has dropped the Capitals out of first place in the Southeast Division and dropped them below the top eight spots in the Eastern Conference.

     DETROIT (AP) - NHL history could be made tonight in Detroit. The Red Wings can set the NHL record with their 21st straight road victory when they take on the Dallas Stars at Joe Louis Arena.

     TORONTO (AP) - "Lin-sanity" makes its first appearance north of the border tonight. Jeremy Lin, the hot-shooting guard out of Harvard who's averaging 26.8 points during the New York Knicks five-game winning streak and the NBA Eastern Conference player of the week, travels to Toronto tonight  as the Knicks visit the Raptors.