KWBG Sports for May 9th

 UNDATED (AP) - The Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers failed to close out their NBA first-round series by losing last night. Kobe Bryant poured in 43 points, but the Lakers trailed by 15 midway through the fourth quarter before falling to Denver 102-99. Atlanta also forced a Game 6 with an 87-86 win over the Celtics behind Al Horford's 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Chicago used Luol Deng's (LOO'-ul dehngz) 24 points to beat the 76ers 77-69 and set up a sixth game.

     INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Indiana Pacers are the first team to reach the NBA's Eastern Conference semifinals after Danny Granger scored 25 points in a 105-87 win over the Orlando Magic.  Darren Collison contributed 15 of his 19 points while the Pacers were outscoring the Magic 36-16 in the final period. The Pacers await either Miami or New York after winning a playoff series for the first time since 2005.

     PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Ilya Kovalchuk (KOH'-vul-chuhk) had a goal and an assist as the New Jersey Devils beat Philadelphia 3-1 to reach the NHL's Eastern Conference finals for the first time since winning the 2003 Stanley Cup. The Devils trailed until Bryce Salvador and David Clarkson scored 3:18 apart in the first period. Martin Brodeur (broh-DOOR') made 27 saves for the Devils, who next face either the New York Rangers or Washington Capitals.

     BALTIMORE (AP) - Josh Hamilton homered four times and had eight RBIs as Texas blasted the Orioles 10-3 in Baltimore. Hamilton's solo blast in the eighth made him the 16th player in major league homers to homer four times in a game, and the first since Toronto's Carlos Delgado in 2003. Hamilton also doubled to finish with an American League-record 18 total bases.

     NEW YORK (AP) - New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte is scheduled to make his season debut Sunday afternoon against Seattle in the Bronx. Pettitte retired followed the 2010 season and decided to make a comeback this spring, appearing in four minor league games.  Pettitte turns 40 next month and is 240-138 with a 3.88 ERA over a 16-year major league career.

KWBG Sports for May 8th

 UNDATED (AP) - Manu Ginobili (MAN'-oo joh-NOH'-blee) scored a team-high 17 points and the San Antonio Spurs advanced to the NBA's Western Conference semifinals with an 87-81 win at Utah. Ginobili hit consecutive three-pointers to ignite a 15-0 run that put the Spurs ahead 76-58.  And Chris Paul scored nine of his 27 points in overtime as the Clippers beat Memphis 101-97 to grab a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference quarterfinals.

     NEW YORK (AP) - New York Knicks guard Baron Davis suffered more than a dislocated right kneecap during the third quarter of Sunday's 89-87 win over Miami. An MRI performed Monday also revealed Davis tore both the ACL land MCL in the knee while also suffering a partial tear of the patella tendon. The 33-year-old Davis is expected to be out a year, putting his career in jeopardy.

     UNDATED (AP) - The Phoenix Coyotes beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 to reach the NHL's conference finals for the first time in franchise history. Derek Morris and Martin Hanzal scored second-period goals to support Mike Smith, who stopped 32 shots and blanked the Predators until Colin Wilson tallied with 5:59 remaining.  Brad Richards scored a power-play goal with 7.6 seconds left in regulation before Marc Staal's power-play tally at 1:35 of overtime gave the New York Rangers a 3-2 victory and a 3-2 lead over Washington in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

     NEW YORK (AP) - Philadelphia Phillies lefty Cole Hamels has received a five-game suspension from MLB for intentionally throwing at Washington rookie star Bryce Harper Sunday.  Hamels admitted after the game he tried to hit Harper as a "welcome to the big leagues" gesture. Harper stole home shortly after the play and later doubled off Hamels.

     NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Former Saints defensive lineman Anthony Hargove describes in a sworn statement how he was told by ex-Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and current Saints assistant head coach Joe Vitt to deny the existence of a bounty program to NFL investigators. In a document obtained by The Associated Press, Hargrove acknowledges that he acted on Williams' and Vitt's instructions to "play dumb" if asked whether he was aware of bounties being placed on former Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre (fahrv) or any other player. Hargrove is appealing the eight-game suspension he received from the NFL in connection with the bounty probe.

KWBG Sports for May 7th

  WASHINGTON (AP) --The Philadelphia Phillies cooled off Washington 9-3 to end the Nationals' four-game winning streak in a game in which the Nats also lost right fielder Jayson Werth, who suffered a broken wrist. Hunter Pence hit a pair of two-run homers to support left-hander Cole Hamels, who limited the Nats to one run on five hits over his eight innings.

     BOSTON (AP) - Chris Davis went 0-for-8 as a designated hitter, striking out five times and grounding into a double play, yet ended up the winning pitcher with two scoreless innings in the Baltimore Orioles' 9-6 win over Boston in 17 innings. The last time any position player wound up as the winning pitcher was May 25, 2011, when Philadelphia infielder Wilson Valdez threw one scoreless inning in a 19-inning victory over Cincinnati.

     NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Knicks ended the NBA's longest postseason losing streak with their first playoff victory since 2001, 89-87 over Miami. Carmelo Anthony poured in 41 and Amare Stoudemire (ah-MAR'-ay STOW'-duh-my-ur) had 20 points and 10 rebounds in his return from a cut hand as the Knicks head to Miami for Wednesday night's Game 5 down 3-1 in the series.

     BOSTON (AP) - Paul Pierce scored 24 points in 18 minutes and the Boston Celtics opened a 37-point third-quarter lead before coasting to a 101-79 victory over the Atlanta Hawks last night to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Celtics can finish off the Hawks in Atlanta on Tuesday.

     LOS ANGELES (AP) - The L.A. Kings continue to be the surprise team of the NHL playoffs. After beating top-seed Vancouver in five games, the eighth-seeded Kings completed a four-game sweep of No. 2 seed St. Louis 3-1 to advance to the Western Conference finals for just the second time in team history.

KWBG Sports for May 4th

 UNDATED (AP) - The Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder own 3-0 leads in the NBA's conference quarterfinals after both won easily last night. LeBron James scored 17 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter and Dwyane (dwayn) Wade finished with 20 points as the Heat stifled the New York Knicks 87-70. Kevin Durant poured in 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting, and Russell Westbrook added 20 points in the Thunder's 95-79 romp over Dallas.

     UNDATED (AP) - Drew Doughty (DOW'-tee) had a goal and two assists as the Los Angeles Kings knocked off St. Louis 4-2 to take a three-games-to-none lead in the NHL's Western Conference semifinals. Mike Richards notched the game-winning goal and had an assist to help the Kings get within one victory of their first trip to the conference finals since 1993. In Jersey, the Devils lead their conference semifinals series 2-1 after Alexei Ponikarovsky (pah-nih-kah-RAHF'-skee) scored at 17:21 of overtime to complete a 4-3 victory over Philadelphia.

     KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The New York Yankees are in the market for a new closer after Mariano Rivera tore the ACL in his right knee before last night's 4-3 loss at Kansas City.  The 42-year-old right-hander was carted off the field after twisting his right knee shagging fly balls during batting practice. Rivera is a 12-time All-Star and baseball's all-time leader with 608 saves.

     SAN DIEGO (AP) - The death of former San Diego Chargers linebacker Junior Seau (SAY'-ow) has been ruled a suicide. The San Diego County medical examiner's office says the autopsy has determined Seau died Wednesday of a gunshot wound to the chest. Seau's death follows the suicide last year of former Chicago Bears player Dave Duerson (DOO'-ur-suhn), who also shot himself in the chest.

     CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - There's a three-way tie for the lead heading into the second round of the PGA's Wells Fargo Championship. Stewart Cink (sihnk), Webb Simpson and Ryan Moore opened with 7-under-par 65s, one stroke better than Rickie Fowler, John Senden and three others. Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods each signed for 71s.

KWBG Sports for May 3rd

  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Jered Weaver pitched the second no-hitter in the majors in less than two weeks, striking out nine Minnesota batters and leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 9-0 win over the Twins last night. Phil Humber (UHM'-bur) of the Chicago White Sox threw a perfect game against Seattle on April 21.

     ATLANTA (AP) - There was a wild baseball game in Atlanta last night featuring a combined 28 runs and 36 hits. It ended when 40-year-old Chipper Jones swatted a two-run home run in the 11th inning as the Braves overcame Carlos Ruiz's seven RBIs to outlast the Philadelphia Phillies 15-13.

     WASHINGTON (AP) - In a triple-overtime thriller in the Nation's Capital, Marian Gaborik (MEHR'-ee-uhn GA'-bohr-ihk) scored at 14:41 of the third OT  and the New York Rangers outlasted the Washington Capitals in a 2-1 victory early this morning to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. The teams take a two-day break before Game 4 on Saturday in Washington.

     OCEANSIDE, Calif. (AP)- San Diego Chargers players and officials who knew Junior Seau (SAY'-oh) are stunned over his apparent suicide yesterday at age 43. Former Chargers general manager Bobby Beathard  (BEHTH'-urd) says he doesn't ever remember seeing the fiery 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker ever in a down mood and is baffled by the incident.

     NEW YORK (AP)- There's more fallout from the New Orleans Saints' bounty program in which players were rewarded for knocking out opposing players. Four players were suspended for various lengths with Saints defensive captain Jonathan Vilma drawing the heaviest penalty, an all-year suspension without pay.

KWBG Sports for May 2nd

   LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Los Angeles Lakers rode a 38-point effort from Kobe Bryant to beat Denver 104-100 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series. Lakers center Andrew Bynum had another big game with 27 points and nine boards.

     ATLANTA (AP) - The Boston Celtics rallied from 11 down in the second half to stun Atlanta 87-80 and even that NBA playoff series at a game apiece. The Celtics won without point guard Rajon Rondo (RAH'-zhahn RAHN'-doh), who was suspended for this game after bumping a referee in the series opener on Sunday.

     CHICAGO (AP)- The Philadelphia 76ers took advantage of the season-ending knee injury to reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose in Chicago to blitz the Bulls 109-92.  The Sixers shot a torrid 59 percent from the field with Jrue (zhroo) Holiday leading the way with 26 points, his career playoff high.

     NEW YORK (AP) - There was a minor baseball milestone reached in New York where Baltimore's Buck Showalter got his 1,000th victory as a major league manager in the Orioles' 7-1 win over the New York Yankees 7-1. Showwalter joins Dusty Baker, Bruce Bochy (BOH'-shee), Davey Johnson, Jim Leyland, Mike Scioscia (SOH'-shuh) and Bobby Valentine among active managers in the 1,000-win club.

     PHILADELPHIA (AP)- In the only NHL playoff game last night, Adam Larsson and David Clarkson scored their first goals of the postseason, and the New Jersey Devils rode a four-goal outburst in the final period in a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. That evens that Eastern Conference semifinals at a game apiece heading into Thursday night's Game 3 in New Jersey.

KWBG Sports for May 1st

UNDATED (AP) - The Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder each have 2-0 series lead in the NBA's conference quarterfinals, while Indiana and Orlando are deadlocked at a game apiece. Dwyane (dwayn) Wade scored 25 points and Chris Bosh added 21 in the Heat's 104-94 triumph over New York before Russell Westbrook poured in 29 points to lead the Thunder past Dallas 102-99. David West had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Pacers past the Magic 93-78.

     ATLANTA (AP) - The NBA has suspended Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo (RAH'-zhahn RAHN'-doh) for Game 2 of the opening-round series tonight in Atlanta, which likely will put Avery Bradley in the starting lineup. Rondo was punished for bumping referee Marc Davis with his chest after being assessing a technical foul in the final minute of Sunday's loss to the Hawks. The loss of Rondo will further deplete a Celtics lineup that has been playing without guard Ray Allen, who's been bothered by a sore right ankle.

     CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - The Charlotte Bobcats have decided not to renew coach Paul Silas' contract after the team finished 7-59 this season for the worst winning percentage in league history. Silas said he was promised a job in the organization by team owner Michael Jordan and said he's retiring from coaching.

     UNDATED (AP) - The Los Angeles Kings have taken a two-games-to-none lead in the NHL's conference semifinals, while the Washington Capitals head home after splitting two games in New York.  Anze Kopitar (AHN'-zhay KOH'-pih-tahr) scored twice while L.A. was building a 4-0 lead in the first period of a 5-2 win at St. Louis. The Capitals blew a 2-0 lead before Alex Ovechkin scored on a power play with 7:27 remaining to lead a 3-2 win over the Rangers.

     DETROIT (AP) - Detroit Tigers outfielder Delmon Young has received a seven-day suspension from Major League Baseball following his arrest in New York on a hate crime charge last week. The commissioner's office says the suspension is retroactive to Friday, the day Young was arrested after a late-night tussle at his hotel during which police say he yelled anti-Semitic epithets.