KWBG Sports for March 20th

 DENVER (AP) - The future of quarterback Tim Tebow (TEE'-boh) is in question after the Denver Broncos began negotiating a multiyear contract with free-agent Peyton Manning. The agent for the 36-year-old quarterback and four time NFL most valuable player spent yesterday working out parameters of a deal expected to be worth about $95 million over five years.

     UNDATED (AP) - There's a possibility North Carolina could have point guard Kendall Marshall at its disposal for Friday's NCAA tournament game against Ohio. According to his father, Marshall had a screw inserted into his broken right wrist a day after he was injured in a third-round victory. The school said Marshall's status was unclear for Friday, and his father said it's not impossible his son could play.

     CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - Bobby Cremins tearfully announced that he's retiring as head basketball coach at the College of Charleston. The 64-year-old Cremins revealed on Jan. 27 that he would miss the rest of the Cougars' season, and later said he was physically exhausted.  He led Charleston to 20 victories in each of his six seasons at the school after spending 19 years coaching Georgia Tech.

     CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. says second baseman Chase Utley is doubtful for opening day because of problems with both knees. The five-time All-Star second baseman originally was believed to have trouble with just his right knee. He left camp to see a specialist and hasn't appeared in an exhibition game this month.

     HOUSTON (AP) - Derek Fisher didn't stick around with the Houston Rockets very long. The Rockets have waived the point guard, and his agent says the team has negotiated a buyout of Fisher's contract. The move comes four days after he was acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers.

KWBG Sports for March 19th

 OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Elijah Johnson scored 18 points, including the go-ahead basket in the final minute, to help Kansas rally to beat Purdue 63-60 and advance to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament. Thomas Robinson added 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Jayhawks as they overcame a 10-point second half deficit and didn't lead until just over three minutes left.

     OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Russell Westbrook scored 28 and Kevin Durant chipped in with 26 as Oklahoma City rolled to a 111-95 win over Portland.  The Thunder shot 55.4 percent at home where they had lost three of their previous four after opening with a 17-1 mark in the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

     MIAMI (AP) - San Francisco free agent Alex Smith spent 5 1/2 hours at the Miami Dolphins facility trying to see if it might be a new home for his quarterbacking skills. The 49ers have been working to re-sign Smith, who's coming off his best season, but San Francisco has also shown an interest in free agent Peyton Manning causing Smith to look around.

     BRISTOL, Tenn.  (AP) - Brad Keselowski pulled away from Matt Kenseth on a late-race restart and went on to win NASCAR's Sprint Cup race at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Keselowski dominated the race, leading for 232 laps, and out-dueled Kenseth over the final third of the contest for his first win of the season.  

     FAYETTEVILLE, Ga.  (AP) - Award-winning Atlanta Journal-Constitution sportswriter Furman Bisher has died of a massive heart attack.  He was 93.  Bisher covered everything from Triple Crown races to major golf tournaments in 59 years at the newspaper.  He retired in 2009.

KWBG Sports for March 16th

 UNDATED (AP) - Top seeds Syracuse and Kentucky advanced to the third round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, while No. 12 VCU and No. 11 Colorado were the only double-digit seeds to win yesterday. The Orange trailed late in the second half before pulling out a 72-65 win over No. 16 UNC-Asheville before the Wildcats whipped Western Kentucky 81-66. The Rams moved on by downing fifth seed Wichita State 62-59, and the Buffaloes dispatched UNLV 68-64..

     ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Dwight Howard remains with the Orlando Magic after the center signed papers agreeing to waive the early termination option in his contract.  Howard had the option of ending his five-year deal in July and entering the open market, which prompted the Magic to shop him around.

     PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Portland Trail Blazers have fired head coach Nate McMillan and replaced him with Caleb Kanales on an interim basis. McMillan went 266-269 in six-plus seasons with the Blazers and was let go a day after a 42-point loss at New York. The Blazers have lost seven of their last 10 games to fall out of the Western Conference playoff race at 20-23.

     UNDATED (AP) - The Los Angeles Lakers swung a pair of deals just before yesterday's trade deadline. They acquired backup point guard Ramon Sessions and forward Christian Eyenga from Cleveland for forward Luke Walton and a first-round draft pick. The Lakers also sent veteran guard Derek Fisher and Jason Kapono (kah-POH'-noh) to Houston for forward Jordan Hill.

     NEW YORK (AP) - Sidney Crosby returned to action for the first time in more than three months and assisted on an insurance goal to help the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers 5-2. It was Crosby's first game since another bout with concussion symptoms forced him to the sidelines on December 5. Evgeni Malkin notched his team-high 39th goal and Matt Cooke scored twice as the Penguins won their 10th in a row to pull within four points of the East-leading Rangers.

KWBG Sports for March 15th

 NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Knicks rolled to a 121-79 rout of Portland in their first game under interim head coach Mike Woodson, who took over when Mike D'Antoni resigned Wednesday afternoon. J.R. Smith poured in 23 points and Steve Novak added 20 to help the Knicks end a six-game losing streak. The Knicks went 121-167 in three-plus seasons under D'Antoni and are tied with Milwaukee for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth.

     SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Dwight Howard had 22 points and 12 rebounds in what might have been his final game with the Orlando Magic, a 122-111 loss at San Antonio. Howard has told the team on the eve of Thursday's trade deadline that he won't relinquish the option to become a free agent after the season. Howard still insists he wants to remain with the Magic, but the team had been looking for assurances he wanted to stay longer.

     DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - Vermont and South Florida have moved into the second round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.  Four McGlynn came off the bench to score 18 points and Matt Glass added 11 as the Catamounts defeated Lamar 71-59. Victor Rudd contributed 15 points and South Florida allowed just 13 first-half points in a 65-54 win over Cal.

     DETROIT (AP) - Calvin Johnson now has the richest contract among wide receivers in NFL history after Detroit gave him an eight-year package worth up to $132 million.  His agent says the deal is worth $60 million guaranteed if Johnson plays through the 2019 season.  It is one of the richest deals in league history and tops by $10 million the eight-year deal Arizona receiver Larry Fitzgerald got last year.

     UNDATED (AP) - Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson has agreed to a five-year contract after catching 58 passes for 961 yards and four touchdowns last season.  Wide receiver Laurent Robinson has left Dallas for a five-year, $32.5 million deal with Jacksonville. And San Francisco has held onto Carlos Rogers by giving the defensive back a four-year package worth $31.3 million.

KWBG Sports for March 14th

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - Western Kentucky and BYU had to mount impressive comebacks to advance to the second round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. The Hilltoppers earned the right to face top seed Kentucky by storming back from 16-point deficit in the final five minutes to beat Mississippi Valley State 59-58.  The Cougars trailed by 25 points before downing Iona 78-72 to set up a BYU-Marquette matchup.

     SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Top seed Syracuse will be without one of its top players for the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Seven-foot center Fab Melo has been declared ineligible for the tournament, although university officials wouldn't elaborate on the infraction.  Melo averaged 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds while recording 88 blocks this season.

     UNDATED (AP) - Two college basketball coaches were shown the door yesterday. SMU has fired Matt Doherty after going 80-109 in six seasons with the Mustangs, including a 13-19 mark this year.  And Darrin Horn has been dismissed following four seasons and a 60-63 mark at South Carolina. The Gamecocks went 2-14 against SEC opponents this year.

     MILWAUKEE (AP) - The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired guard Monta (MAHN'-tay) Ellis, forward Ekpe Udoh (EHK'-pay OO'-doh) and Kwame (KWAH'-mee) Brown from Golden State for center Andrew Bogut (BOH'-guht) and forward Stephen Jackson, according to a person with direct knowledge of the swap. The trade gives the Bucks another shooter in Ellis after they pulled even with New York in the battle for the NBA's final Eastern Conference berth. Ellis is averaging 19 points and six assists this season, his seventh in the NBA.

     UNDATED (AP) - The Indianapolis Colts lost one wide receiver and kept another on the first day of the NFL's free-agent signing period. Reggie Wayne agreed to a contract with the Colts after Pierre Garcon left the team for a reported five-year contract with Washington.  The Redskins also worked out a deal with receiver Josh Morgan, wideout Marques Colston re-signed with New Orleans and the Chicago Bears acquired wide receiver Brandon Marshall from Miami for two undisclosed draft picks.

KWBG Sports for March 13th

 NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A person familiar with the situation tells the AP that prized free agent Peyton Manning will meet with Tennessee Titans coach Mike Munchak after visiting with Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin. He's already talked to the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals. NFL teams can begin signing free agents at 4 p.m. Eastern time.

     SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - After watching Randy Moss catch passes from head coach Jim Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback, the San Francisco 49ers signed Randy Moss to a one-year contract. The 35-year-old wide receiver was out of the league last season.

     CHICAGO (AP) - The Knicks' nose dive continues with a 104-99 loss to the league-leading Bulls in Chicago. New York is tied with Milwaukee for the eighth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference playoff race following the Bucks' 105-99 road win at New Jersey. It's Milwaukee's third straight victory.

     JUPITER, Fla. (AP) - Tiger Woods says the injury that forced him to withdraw during Sunday's final round of the Cadillac Championship isn't serious and he hopes to play next week at Bay Hill. Woods says doctors tell him he has a mildly sprained left Achilles tendon and he should be able to resume hitting balls late this week.

     INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) - Top-ranked Novak Djokovic (NOH'-vak JOH'-kuh-vich) defeated Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-3 to reach the fourth round of the tennis tournament at Indiana Wells, California. American men had mixed results, with No. 8 Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick knocked out, and John Isner (IHZ'-nur) winning.

KWBG Sports for March 12th

 NEW ORLEANS (AP)- Despite losing the SEC tournament final to Vanderbilt 71-64 yesterday, the Kentucky Wildcats have secured the No. 1 overall seed and top ranking in the South Regional of the 68-team NCAA Division I men's basketball field announced yesterday. Kentucky will play Thursday against the winner of Tuesday's Mississippi Valley State/Western Kentucky first round game.

     ATLANTA (AP) - Similarly, the North Carolina Tar Heels fell to Florida State 85-82 in the ACC tournament final but still snared the No. 1 seed in Midwest Regional.  The Tar Heels' first NCAA tournament action will come Friday in Greensboro, N.C., when they play the winner of the Vermont/Lamar first round game.

     UNDATED (AP) - Syracuse, which fell in the semifinals of the Big East tournament, nevertheless was rewarded with the top seed in the East Regional. The Orange open up Thursday in Pittsburgh against North Carolina-Asheville.

     INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The only No. 1 seed coming into the NCAA tournament off a victory is Michigan State. Tom Izzo's Spartans won their first Big Ten tournament title since their 2000 national championship season by knocking off No. 7 Ohio State 68-64 behind Brandon Wood's 24 points.

     DAYTON, Ohio (AP) --The 67-game NCAA tournament gets started with a pair of doubleheaders Tuesday and Wednesday night in the "First Four" games in Dayton, Ohio. BYU, a Sweet 16 team last year, plays Iona and Mississippi Valley State takes on Western Kentucky Tuesday night while Wednesday night's twinbill features Lamar vs. Vermont and South Florida taking on Cal.