GOLF-MASTERS
Spieth takes the lead
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) β No player has won the Masters in his first try since Fuzzy Zoeller (ZEH’-lur) in 1979. Jordan Spieth (speeth) has put himself in line to end that drought.
The 20-year-old Spieth and 2012 champion Bubba Watson are tied for the lead through three rounds at Augusta National. Spieth shot his third straight sub-par round, a 2-under 70 that leaves him 5-under for the tournament. He fared better on Saturday than Watson, who entered the round with a three-stroke lead before carding a 2-over 74.
Matt Kuchar (KOO’-chur) and Jonas Blixt are one shot back. Blixt is the only player besides Spieth to play all three of his rounds below par.
Miguel Angel Jimenez had the best round of the tournament, a 6-under 66 that leaves him just two shot back and tied for fifth with Ricky Fowler. Thomas Bjorn, Jim Furyk (FYOOR’-ihk) and Lee Westwood are three shots back and one ahead of Fred Couples, Justin Rose, John Senden and Kevin Stadler.
Reigning Masters champion Adam Scott had a tough afternoon, shooting a 76 to fall six strokes off the pace.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Hawks get playoff berth, drop Heat into a tie with Pacers
UNDATED (AP) β The Atlanta Hawks have clinched an NBA playoff berth while also doing the Indiana Pacers a huge favor.
Jeff Teague scored 25 points and Lou Williams had 18 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter as the Hawks beat Miami 98-85 to claim the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth. Atlanta picked up its third straight win despite the return of Dwyane (dwayn) Wade, who missed the Heat’s previous nine games with a sore left hamstring.
Wade finished with 24 points and LeBron James had a game-high 27, but the Heat fell back into a tie with the Pacers for the Eastern Conference lead. Miami and Indiana each have two games remaining.
In other NBA action:
β Monta (MAHN’-tay) Ellis matched his season high with 36 points and the Dallas Mavericks earned a Western Conference playoff berth by squeezing out a 101-98 win over Phoenix. Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 of his 23 points during a second-half rally after the Mavs fell behind by 13. Eric Bledsoe had 29 points for the Suns, who are a half-game behind Memphis for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff berth.
β The Los Angeles Clippers tied a franchise record with their 56th victory and picked up their club-record 33rd home win by beating Sacramento 117-101. Blake Griffin scored 27 points and Chris Paul added 17 points and 10 assists for the playoff-bound Clippers.
β James Harden had 33 points and 13 assists as Houston beat New Orleans 111-104 to stay ahead of Portland for the fourth seed in the West. Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverley combined for 33 points and both missed the Rockies’ previous eight games with injuries.
β Bradley Beal hit for 26 points and the Washington Wizards clinched their first winning season in six years with a 104-91 victory over Milwaukee. John Wall added 15 points and eight assists as the Wizards moved a step closer to clinching the sixth seed in the East.
β Charlotte was a 111-105 winner against Philadelphia behind Al Jefferson’s 29 points and 12 rebounds. It marked the sixth straight game Jefferson had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game.
β Kenneth Faried scored 24 points and pulled down 21 rebounds to lead Denver past Utah 101-94.
β Rookie Kelly Olynyk (OH’-lih-nihk) matched a season high with 25 points and Avery Bradley also scored 25 in Boston’s 111-99 win at Cleveland.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Cobb shuts down Reds
UNDATED (AP) β It’s been 27 years since the Milwaukee Brewers were this good this early in a season.
The Brewers have an eight-game winning streak and own the majors’ best record at 9-2 after beating the Pirates 3-2 in Milwaukee. Carlos Gomez hit a leadoff homer, but the Brew Crew blew a 2-0 lead before Jonathan Lucroy singled home the tiebreaking run in the eighth.
It’s the Brewers’ best start since a season-opening, 13-game winning streak in 1987. Milwaukee failed to sustain its momentum that season, playing five games under .500 the rest of the way to finish third in the American League East.
In other major league play:
β Brian McCann was hitting .158 before hitting his first two home runs for the New York Yankees in a 7-4 win over the Boston Red Sox. McCann was hitting .158 before hitting his first homer in the fourth. Carlos Beltran, Alfonso Soriano and Kelly Johnson also went deep as the Yankees scored all their runs on homers.
β Alex Cobb went seven innings and James Loney homered in Tampa Bay’s 1-0 victory over the slumping Cincinnati Reds. Cobb hasn’t allowed a run in his last two starts, going seven innings each time.
β Steve Lombardozzi tripled and scored on a single by David Lough in the 12th to lift Baltimore past Toronto 2-1. Orioles starter Bud Norris scattered five hits in seven shutout innings but received a no-decision after Colby Rasmus tied the game with a homer off Tommy Hunter with two out in the ninth.
β Ryan Raburn hit a tiebreaking, two-run single with two outs in the seventh inning, leading Cleveland to a 12-6 win over the White Sox. David Murphy hit one of the Indians’ three home runs and had a bases-loaded triple to help his team snap a three-game skid.
β Joe Mauer hit his first home run of the season and drove in three to pace Minnesota to a 7-1 win over Kansas City. Ricky Nolasco went eight innings to pick up his first win since signing a $49 million, four-year free agent contract.
β Josh Donaldson smacked a two-run homer in the first inning to put Oakland ahead to stay in a 3-1 win at Seattle. Winning pitcher Sonny Gray struck out nine while holding the Mariners to a run and five hits in seven innings.
β Justin Verlander collected his first two major league hits and pitched seven strong innings to lead Detroit’s 6-2 victory at San Diego. Torii Hunter and Austin Jackson each had two RBIs for the Tigers.
β Anthony Recker led off the 13th inning with a homer and John Lannan worked two perfect innings of relief as the Mets beat the Angels 7-6 in Anaheim. New York was one out from a 6-3 victory until Raul Ibanez (ih-BAHN’-yehz) hit a three-run homer off Jose Valverde.
β Jason Castro tripled in the 10th before Jose Altuve (al-TOO’-vay) lifted a sacrifice fly to give Houston a rare win over Texas 6-5. The Astros had dropped 12 straight to the Rangers.
β Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run homer and Zack Greinke (GREHN’-kee) improved to 3-0 by working into the sixth inning of the Dodgers’ 8-5 win at Arizona. Juan Uribe (yoo-REE’-bay) doubled twice and had a two-run single for Los Angeles.
β Freddie Freeman went 3-for-5 with a solo homer and two runs scored as Atlanta doubled up Washington 6-3. B.J. Upton also homered for against the Nationals, who are 1-4 against the Braves this season and 6-0 against the rest of the majors.
β Philadelphia beat Miami 5-4 on Jimmy Rollin’s walk-off homer with two out in the bottom of the 10th. Rollins finished with three hits and Chase Utley doubled twice to help the Phillies overcome two home runs by Giancarlo Stanton.
β Adam Wainwright saved a weary bullpen by lasting seven innings for St. Louis in a 10-4 win over the Chicago Cubs. Wainwright improved to 2-1 despite giving up a homer to Junior Lake on his first pitch and allowing six more hits and three runs.
β Tommy Kahnle (KAYN’-lee) and four other relievers combined for two-hit ball over six innings of Colorado’s 1-0 victory in San Francisco. The Rockies’ bullpen was outstanding after Brett Anderson had to leave the game with a bruised left index finger.
MLB-NEWS
Nats lose Zimmerman to broken thumb…Uehara, Latos hurting
UNDATED (AP) β Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is expected to miss four to six weeks after breaking his right thumb against the Braves on Saturday. Zimmerman got hurt diving back to the bag as he was picked off second base in the fifth inning.
In other major league news:
β Boston closer Koji Uehara (KOH’-jee yoo-ee-HAR’-uh) is still out because of stiffness in his right shoulder, and it’s uncertain when he will be able to pitch again. He sat out his second straight game against the Yankees after feeling discomfort prior to Friday’s win over New York.
β Reds starter Mat Latos has had an MRI on his sore pitching forearm, a new problem that leaves him unsure of the next step in his recovery from a knee injury. Latos was scratched from a rehab start in the minors this week because of elbow soreness. He threw on Friday but had to stop when his forearm became sore.
β The St. Louis Cardinals have given general manager John Mozeliak (moh-ZAY’-lahk) a two-year contract extension through the 2018 season. The Cardinals have been to the postseason four times in Mozeliak’s six years at the post, winning two National League pennants and the 2011 World Series.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Bruins win President’s Cup
UNDATED (AP) β The Boston Bruins have clinched home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. David Krecji (KRAY’-chee) scored twice and Patrice Bergeron (pah-TREES’ BEHR’-zhur-ahn) notched his 30th goal of the season as the Bruins claimed the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time in 24 years.
Boston will open the postseason against Detroit.
Anaheim has wrapped up the top seed in the Western Conference and will play Dallas in the first round.
The Ducks coughed up a pair of one-goal leads in the third period before Devante Smith-Pelly scored the only goal in a four-round shootout to complete Anaheim’s 4-3 win at Los Angeles. Smith-Pelly and Matt Beleskey both put the Ducks ahead, but the Kings knotted the score each time on goals by Anze Kopitar (AHN’-zhay KOH-pih-tahr).
In other NHL finals:
β Joe Pavelski became the fourth player in San Jose Sharks history with 40 goals in a season when he netted the first of his two tallies in a 3-2 win at Phoenix. The Sharks now prepare to host the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, while the Coyotes go home following a season-ending, seven-game losing streak that knocked them out of the playoffs.
β Mark Streit (stryt) beat Marc-Andre Fleury 2:10 into overtime to lift the Flyers to a 4-3 victory over Pittsburgh. The win assures Philadelphia of a matchup with the New York Rangers when the playoffs begin next week.
β The Rangers will have home-ice advantage for the Flyers series after earning a point in a 1-0 overtime loss to the Canadiens in Montreal. The Habs won it on Brian Gionta’s (jee-AHN’-tahz) penalty shot 2:04 into OT, putting them one point ahead of Tampa Bay for the third seed in the East. The Lightning have one game remaining.
β Columbus beat Florida for the eighth straight time as Ryan Johansen scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period of the Blue Jackets’ 3-2 decision over the Panthers. The Blue Jackets clinched the seventh seed in the East and will take on the Penguins in the conference quarterfinals.
β Nashville put together a five-goal third period to beat Chicago 7-5. Patric Hornqvist scored the tiebreaking goal with 58.2 seconds left.
β Jason Spezza (SPET’-suh) scored the game’s only goal and Craig Anderson stopped 27 shots for his fourth shutout of the season as Ottawa nipped Toronto 1-0.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Will Acton each had a goal and an assist in Edmonton’s 5-1 rout of Vancouver.
NHL-LIGHTNING-MALONE
Lightning’s Malone charged
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) β Tampa Bay’s Ryan Malone has been charged with DUI and possession of cocaine after a traffic stop.
Police say the Lightning left wing was stopped when an officer saw Malone’s SUV strike a curb after making a left turn from the center lane early Saturday.
The officer smelled alcohol on his breath and also found 1.3 grams of cocaine in one of Malone’s pockets, according to a police report.
COLLEGE HOCKEY-NCAA TITLE GAME
NCAA crown is Union-made
PHILADELPHIA (AP) β Union College has won its first NCAA hockey title by scoring three times during a 1:54 span in the first period of a 7-4 victory over Minnesota.
The Gophers led 2-1 until Mike Vecchione, Eli Lichtenwald and Daniel Ciampini scored for the Dutchman.
Colin Stevens made 36 saves for Union, which finishes the season 32-6-4.
NASCAR-DARLINGTON QUALIFYING
Harvick goes from pole to victory in Darlington.
DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) β Kevin Harvick has capped his biggest weekend at Darlington Raceway with his first Southern 500 victory. He started from the pole and passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. two laps from the end of the longest race in the track’s 65-year NASCAR history. Harvick led 239 of the 374 laps, seven more than planned, and became the first two-time winner in the first eight races of the season.
The race was extended by two tries at a green-white-checkered finish.
Hendrick Motorsports had the second and third-place finishers as Earnhardt finished just ahead of Jimmie Johnson.
Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle round out the top five.
BOXING-PACQUIAO
Pacquiao wins
LAS VEGAS (AP) β Manny Pacquiao won a unanimous decision in his rematch with Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas, avenging his 2012 loss and claiming the WBO welterweight title.
Pacquiao pursued and peppered the previously unbeaten Bradley around the MGM Grand Garden ring with an aggressive performance recalling the Pacman in his prime.
Judges Craig Metcalfe and Michael Pernick scored it 116-112 for Pacquiao, while Glenn Trowbridge favored the Filipino congressman 118-110.
