KWBG Sports for March 2nd

 ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - There was a big comeback in the NBA last night as the Oklahoma City Thunder erased a 14-point deficit to hold on to beat the Orlando Magic 105-102. Kevin Durant scored 38 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter, and Russell Westbrook added 29.

     BOSTON (AP) - David Krejci (KRAY'-chee) completed his second career hat trick at 2:59 of overtime to give the Boston Bruins a 4-3 victory over New Jersey that finished their first season sweep of the Devils since 1985-86.  Tyler Seguin (SAY'-gihn) also scored for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who opened a three-point lead over second-place Ottawa in the Northeast Division and sent New Jersey to its fourth straight loss.

     PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) --Davis Love III shot a 6-under 64 and takes a two-shot lead into today's second round of the Honda Classic as the PGA Tour's Florida swing continues. Rory McIlroy is among eight golfers tied for second with Tiger Woods seven shots off the lead after his 1-over 71 yesterday.

     FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -Jason Varitek (VA'-rih-tek), who was the Boston Red Sox captain when they won two World Series titles, has retired at 39. He caught a record four no-hitters and played in three All-Star games and played 15 years with the Red Sox.

     NEW YORK (AP) - Negotiators for baseball players and owners still are working toward an agreement to increase the postseason field to 10 teams this season. The plan is to add a second wild-card team in each league, the two wild cards would meet in a one-game playoff with the winner advancing to the divisional playoffs.

KWBG Sports for March 1st

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Hines Ward will leave the Pittsburgh Steelers after accumulating 1,000 receptions for 12,083 yards and 85 receiving touchdowns in 14 seasons with the team. Steelers president Art Rooney II said on the team's website that Ward would be released sometime in the next two weeks. Ward helped the Steelers win two Super Bowls and three AFC championships while earning four Pro Bowl selections.

     LOS ANGELES (AP) - Sports Illustrated is reporting on its website that players and staff members from the past four UCLA basketball teams indicate that coach Ben Howland has lost control of the Bruins' program.  The report says SI spoke with more than a dozen players and staff members from those teams over the last two months and they outline a program where teammates have come to blows. It also says several players routinely used alcohol and drugs and one player intentionally injured teammates but received no punishment.

     CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard missed workouts again yesterday after a procedure Monday to remove an infection around his surgically repaired Achilles tendon. Howard had the original surgery in October and took part in workouts when camp opened. But he stopped after batting practice Saturday and left the team Monday to see the doctor who performed the original operation.

     GENOA, Italy (AP) - The U.S. men's soccer team has picked up a rare victory over a pesky soccer rival by beating Italy 1-0 in a friendly at Genoa. Clint Dempsey's goal in the 55th minute gave the Americans their first win ever over the Italians. The U.S. had been outscored 32-4 while going 0-7-3 in their previous 10 games versus Italy.

     CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - NASCAR has suspended crew chief Chad Knaus (kuh-NOWS') for six races and fined him $100,000 because Jimmie Johnson's car failed an inspection before the season-opening Daytona 500.  Johnson was docked 25 points and after his 42nd-place finish in the season opener and heads to Phoenix for this weekend's race with negative 23 points. Hendrick Motorsports says it plans to appeal the penalty, along with a six-race suspension handed to car chief Ron Malec

KWBG Sports for February 29th

 UNDATED (AP) - St. Louis Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff says the team is willing to trade the second overall pick of the draft but has not made any commitments. He says new coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead went to the NFL combine with an open mind. Quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III are expected to go 1-2 in the draft, and the Rams already are set at quarterback with 2010 first overall pick Sam Bradford.

     SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Ahmad Brooks has signed a six-year contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers. The 27-year-old linebacker became a regular starter for the first time in his six-year NFL career last season with the NFC West champions. He had 50 tackles, seven sacks and a forced fumble while becoming a key member of defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's top-ranked run defense.

     NEW YORK (AP) - The NFL has decided to move their season opener to Wednesday, September 5 to avoid conflict with President Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention the next night.  The Super Bowl champion New York Giants will host the opener against a yet-to-be determined team.  The league says it hasn't played a game on a Wednesday since September 1948, when the Rams faced the Lions.

     NEW YORK (AP) - The person who collected Ryan Braun's urine samples that tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone says he followed the collection program's protocol.  Dino Laurenzi Jr. says he stored Braun's sample in his basement in accordance with drug-collecting procedure because there was "no FedEx office located within 50 miles of Miller Park that would ship packages that day or Sunday."  Braun's 50-game suspension was overturned last week, and he contends at least five FedEx locations within 5 miles were open until 9 p.m. and there also was a 24-hour location.

     MONTREAL (AP) - Hockey Hall of Famer and 10-time Stanley Cup champion Jean Beliveau (zhahwn BEHL'-ih-voh) has had a stroke for the second time in two years and is being treated at a hospital. The 80-year-old Beliveau played his entire NHL career with Montreal and the Canadiens say he was admitted after being stricken Monday night. The team says Beliveau is "undergoing active investigation and treatments."

KWBG Sports for February 28th

 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Matt Kenseth was the winner of a Daytona 500 that featured 10 cautions and a red-flag that halted the rain-delayed race for more than two hours. Kenseth held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win the season-opening event for the second time in four years. The race was red-flagged on lap 160 when Juan Pablo Montoya lost control of his car and slammed into one of the jet dryers brought out during the seventh caution.

     LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Los Angeles Lakers say Kobe Bryant has a "nasal fracture" from the whack to the head he took from Dwyane (dwayn) Wade during Sunday night's NBA All-Star game in Orlando.  The team says on its website that a CT scan revealed the extent of the injury, and their star guard will be re-evaluated by an ear, nose and throat specialist when he returns to Los Angeles.

     NEW YORK (AP) - Kentucky and Syracuse are 1-2 in the men's AP basketball poll again. The 28-1 Wildcats got 63 first-place votes while the 29-1 Orange picked up the other two.  Third-ranked Kansas is followed in the poll by Duke, Michigan State, North Carolina, Missouri, Marquette, Baylor and Ohio State.

     FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - Boston Red Sox catcher and captain Jason Varitek has decided to retire and is expected to announce his decision Thursday.  Varitek spent his entire major league career with the Bosox, catching four no-hitters, winning two World Series, capturing a Gold Glove and being named to three All-Star games.

     CLEVELAND (AP) - The Cleveland Browns have signed linebacker D'Qwell Jackson to an extension that ESPN says is worth $42.5 million over five years. He was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next month. Jackson's 158 tackles were second most in the NFL last season.

KWBG Sports for February 27th

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant came away with MVP honors at the NBA All-Star game, scoring a team-high 36 points to lead the West to a 152-149 win over the East in Orlando.  Kobe Bryant added 27 points for the West while passing Michael Jordan as the career scoring leader in All-Star history.  LeBron James paced the East with 36 points and helped his team cut a 21-point deficit to one in the final seconds.

     DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - NASCAR officials hope to start the Daytona 500 today following yesterday's postponement due to rain. However, there's a possibility the race won't begin until tomorrow because even more rain is in the forecast.  The Daytona 500 has never been run on a Monday.

     COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - In men's basketball, Wisconsin was able to avenge a loss to Ohio State earlier this season while allowing Michigan State to earn a share of the Big Ten title.  Jared Berggren drained a go-ahead three-pointer with 31 seconds left as the 16th-ranked Badgers edged Ohio State 63-60 at Columbus. Berggren scored Wisconsin's final five points and finished with 18.

     UNDATED (AP) - The Vancouver Canucks have a two-point lead over Detroit in the NHL's Western Conference standings following a 3-2 overtime loss at Dallas. Pittsburgh won for the ninth time in 10 home games as Evgeni Malkin notched his 37th goal and had an assist in the Penguins' 4-2 win over Columbus. Martin St. Louis (mahr-TAN' san loo-EE') scored three goals and set up another as Tampa Bay downed the Devils 4-3 in New Jersey.

     MARANA, Ariz. (AP) - Hunter Mahan (MAY'-han) beat Rory McIlroy 2-and-1 to win the Match Play Championship. Mahan is the sixth player to win multiple World Golf Championship titles, and he moves into the top 10 for the first time in his career. McIlroy would have become the world's No. 1 golfer had he won the event.

KWBG Sports for February 24th

 NEW YORK (AP) - Major League Baseball is fuming about an arbitrator's decision to overturn National League MVP Ryan Braun's 50-game suspension, the first time a ballplayer's drug-related grievance has been nullified. MLB official Rob Manfred says baseball management "vehemently disagrees" with the arbitrator's decision.

     MIAMI (AP) - The Miami Heat cooled off Jeremy Lin last night en route to their eighth straight win, 102-88 over the New York Knicks. Lin had a long night, making just 1 of 11 shots, dishing out just three assists and committing eight turnovers in the final night of NBA action before Sunday's All-Star game.

     DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth won yesterday's twin 150-mile qualifying races for Sunday's Daytona 500. Stewart, the defending NASCAR champion who's 0-for-13 in the Daytona 500, joined Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle on the front row while Kenseth earned the fourth spot in the 33-car field.

     TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Reserve Andre Dawkins scored 22 points and freshman Austin Rivers added 20 to lead No. 5 Duke to a 74-66 victory over No. 15 Florida State last night.  The win keeps the Blue Devils tied with No. 7 North Carolina for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference while Florida State dropped a game behind.

     DETROIT (AP)-- The Detroit Red Wings' NHL record run of 23 straight home victories ended last night at Joe Louis Arena. Daniel Sedin (suh-DEEN') scored his second goal of the game with 15.4 seconds left in regulation and Alex Burrows had the only score in a shootout in the Vancouver Canucks' 4-3 victory that resulted in the Red Wings' first home loss since Nov. 3 against Calgary.

KWBG Sports for February 23rd

 MIAMI (AP)- The New York Knicks and Jeremy Lin are in Miami to play the Heat tonight in their final game before this weekend's All-Star break. Lin had an easy night with 17 points and nine assists as the Knicks reached the .500 mark last night with their ninth victory in 11 games, 99-82 over Atlanta.

     OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Russell Westbrook scored 31 points, Kevin Durant added 28 and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Boston Celtics 119-104 for their 11th straight home victory.  Kevin Garnett scored 23 in his return after a two-game absence but that wasn't enough to lift the Celtics, who were still without point guard Rajon Rondo (RAH'-zhahn RAHN'-doh) as he sat out the second game of a two-game suspension.

     CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago Bulls coasted into the All-Star break by routing Milwaukee 110-91 as Joakim (JOH'-kihm) Noah had 13 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the first triple-double by a Chicago center in roughly 35 years. Carlos Boozer scored 20 points, Derrick Rose and Luol Deng (LOO'-ul dehng) each added 16.

     ST. LOUIS (AP) -   ST. LOUIS (AP) - Brad Marchand scored twice and Tim Thomas stopped 30 shots to lead the Boston Bruins to a 4-2 win over St. Louis. That ends the Blues' team-record point streak at 21 home games.

     MARANA, Ariz. (AP) - Tiger Woods plays Nick Watney in the second round of the Match Play Championship today in Arizona after surviving a scare yesterday to rally late and beat Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (kuh-STAHN'-yoh) 1-up. Watney breezed past British Open champion Darren Clarke 5-and-4.