OBIT-DEAN SMITH
College great dies
UNDATED (AP) β One of the most successful coaches in college basketball history has died.
Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith passed away Saturday night at 83. The former North Carolina bench boss had health issues in recent years, with the family saying in 2010 he had a condition that was causing him to lose memory.
Smith won two national championships with the Tar Heels along with an Olympic gold medal. His only losing season was his first, and he left the game in October 1997 having surpassed Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp as the winningest coach in Division I men’s history with 879 in 36 seasons.
Smith led the Tar Heels to 13 Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championships and 11 Final Fours, winning NCAA titles in 1982 and 1993.
Former Tar Heel Michael Jordan called Smith the most influential person in his life other than his parents. In a statement on Twitter released through his business manager, Jordan said Smith was “more than a coach β he was a mentor, my teacher, my second father.”
T25-MEN’S SCHEDULE
Maryland loses to Iowa
UNDATED (AP) β Just two top-25 men’s basketball teams were in action on Sunday, and both were involved in Big 10 games.
Aaron White scored 17 points and Adam Woodbury matched a career high with 16 as unranked Iowa dominated 17th-ranked Maryland 71-55 in Iowa City. Peter Jok also matched a career high with 15 points for the Hawkeyes, who opened the game on a 22-3 run and dealt the Terrapins their third straight road loss.
Freshman D’Angelo Russell recorded his first collegiate triple-double by delivering 23 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds to lead No. 20 Ohio State to an easy 79-60 win at Rutgers. Jae’San Tate added 20 points and Keita Bates-Diop had 14 in the Buckeyes’ fourth win in five games.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Cavaliers, Thunder romp at expense of LA teams.
UNDATED (AP) β The NBA’s two Los Angeles teams have had better. One tied a franchise mark for consecutive road losses, while the other suffered its worst loss since last year.
Kevin Love scored 32 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers won for the 13th time in their last 14 games by drubbing the Lakers 120-105. Love made five 3-pointers in the second quarter and two more in the third as Cleveland opened a 26-point lead.
LeBron James finished two assists shy of a triple-double, contributing 22 points and 10 rebounds before resting in the fourth quarter. Kyrie Irving chipped in 28 points and 10 assists for the Cavs, who dealt the Lakers their team record-tying 10th straight road loss.
The Clippers absorbed their worst loss of the season as Kevin Durant scored 29 points to lead the Thunder to a 131-108 win over Los Angeles. Russell Westbrook had 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists as Oklahoma City climbed back over .500.
The Clippers announced before the game that Griffin will be out indefinitely because of a staph infection in his right elbow.
In other NBA action:
β Mike Conley had 21 points and six assists as Memphis handed Atlanta just its second loss in 23 games, 94-88. Marc Gasol (gah-SAHL’) finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who were tied at 86 with 3:24 left before going on an 8-0 run.
β LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24 points and Damian Lillard added 23 in Portland’s 109-98 triumph at Houston. The Trail Blazers blew a 17-point lead and won despite James Harden’s season-high 45 points for the Rockets.
β James Johnson scored a season-high 20 points and Toronto denied Gregg Popovich his 1,000th career coaching victory by downing San Antonio 87-82. DeMar ReRozan provided 18 points to help the Atlantic Division leaders improve to 8-2 versus the Western Conference.
β Pau Gasol (pow gah-SAHL’) dunked in the rebound of Derrick Rose’s missed layup with 9.4 seconds left to lift Chicago past Orlando 98-97. Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 27 points, and Gasol finished with 25 and 15 rebounds.
β DeMarcus Cousins capped his 28-point, 12-rebound performance by draining a 19-footer at the buzzer to give Sacramento an 85-83 triumph over Phoenix. Cousins bailed out the Kings after they blew a 14-point lead in the final period.
β Indiana picked up its third straight win by beating Charlotte 103-102 on George Hill’s jumper with 4.9 seconds left. C.J. Watson had 22 points and helped the Pacers rally from a 21-point deficit in the second half.
β Nikola Pekovic scored 29 points and Kevin Martin added 24 to lift Minnesota to its third straight victory, 112-101 over Detroit.
NBA-ALL STAR GAME
Lillard replaces Griffin
NEW YORK (AP) β Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard has been added to the All-Star team in place of Clippers forward Blake Griffin, who needs surgery for a staph infection in his right elbow. Lillard is averaging a career-high 21.6 points, 6.3 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.49 steals this season.
It is the second All-Star nod for Lillard, who also played in the game last season.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Lightning, Predators top conferences…Isles regain division lead
UNDATED (AP) β The Tampa Bay Lightning have regained sole possession of the first place in the NHL’s Eastern Conference, while helping the Nashville Predators climb back to the top of the Western Conference standings.
Brian Boyle scored twice and Valtteri Filppula (val-TEHR’-ee FIHL’-poo-lah) had a goal and two assists as the Lightning downed Anaheim 5-3. Tampa Bay hung on after Ryan Callahan’s third-period goal put the Lightning ahead 5-1.
The Ducks fell to 1-1-1 on their five-game road trip, leaving them one point behind the Predators.
Nashville pulled out a 3-2 victory over Florida as Filip Forsberg tied it on a power play with 4:43 left in regulation before scoring the winner in a shootout. Carter Hutton stopped 34 shots to help the Predators win for the fourth time in five games.
Nashville also tops the Central Division by four points after second-place St. Louis was beaten 4-2 by Chicago. Marian Hossa (HOH’-sah) snapped a 2-2 tie with 8:41 remaining and added an empty-netter as the Hawks completed a 4-3 road trip to stay eight points behind Nashville.
Montreal’s 3-1 win over Boston puts the Canadiens in a second-place tie with Detroit in the Atlantic Division, two points behind Tampa Bay. Dale Weise (wees) and Max Pacioretty (pash-uh-RET’-ee) each had a goal and an assist to support Carey Price’s 34-save effort in the Habs’ seventh victory in nine games.
The New York Islanders have reclaimed the Metropolitan Division lead, one point ahead of Pittsburgh and three in front of Washington.
Travis Hamonic (HAM’-uh-nik) set up goals by Anders Lee and Mikhail Grabovski while the Isles were building a 3-0 lead in a 3-2 triumph at Buffalo. Colin McDonald also scored for the Islanders, who outshot the Sabres 31-10 and finished 2-1-0 on their three-game road trip.
The Capitals’ three-game winning streak is over after Wayne Simmonds scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period of Philadelphia’s 3-1 triumph at Washington. Caps left wing Alex Ovechkin (oh-VEHCH’-kihn) scored his 33rd goal off Ray Emery, who faced just six shots after replacing an injured Steve Mason midway through the game.
The Rangers had a chance to tie Washington for third in the Metropolitan Division until Ales Hemsky (AL’-ehsh HEHM’-skee) scored 62 seconds into overtime to push Dallas past New York 3-2. The Blueshirts trailed 2-1 until Chris Kreider scored a power-play goal with 1:20 left in regulation.
In other only other NHL game, Winnipeg was in an 0-4-2 freefall until Dustin Byfuglien (BUHF’-lihn) and Matthieu Perreault (PEHR’-oh) each had a goal and two assists to lead the Jets’ attack in a 5-3 win over Colorado. Byfuglien collected his points in a four-goal second period that allowed the Jets to move a point ahead of Calgary for seventh in the West.
NHL-ISLANDERS
Grabner heads to IR
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) β The New York Islanders have placed forward Michael Grabner on injured reserve. It was not immediately clear what Grabner’s injury was after he played in a 2-1 loss at Boston on Saturday. He has five goals and seven points in 18 games.
MLB-REDS
Reds avoid arbitration with Frazier
CINCINNATI (AP) β All-Star third baseman Todd Frazier and the Cincinnati Reds have agreed to a two-year, $12 million contract to avoid arbitration. Frazier has hit .258 with 73 homers and 235 RBIs in four major league seasons.
Closer Aroldis (ah-ROHL’-dihs) Chapman is the Reds’ only unsigned arbitration-eligible player.
PGA-FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN
Day wins in a playoff
SAN DIEGO (AP) β Jason Day won the PGA’s Farmers Insurance Open in a four-man playoff, sinking a par putt on the second extra hole at Torrey Pines.
Day and J.B. Holmes each made birdie on the 18th in the playoff, eliminating Scott Stallings and Harris English. Day closed with a 2-under 70 for a 9-under total. He’s No. 4 in the world rankings following his third PGA victory.
LPGA-BAHAMAS CLASSIC
A rookie wins for the women
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) β South Korean rookie Sei Young Kim won the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic for her first LPGA Tour title. She holed an 8-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff with countrywoman Sun Young Yoo and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn.
The 22-year-old Kim shot a 1-under 72 in the completion of the delayed third round and closed with a 68 to match Yoo and Jutanugarn at 14-under 278.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Goydos gets the win
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) β Paul Goydos won the Champions Tour event in San Diego, the first full-field event of the year. Goydos shot a final round 3-under-69 to finish 12-shots under par, one in front of Gene Sauers. Three players wound up two shots off the lead at 10-under, Fred Funk, John Huston and Michael Allen.
NBA-KNICKS-DOLAN
Dolan no fan of critical fan
NEW YORK (AP) β Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan might want to work on his public relations skills.
An MSG spokesman has confirmed an email in which Dolan responded to an angry Knicks fan by wondering if the man is an alcoholic and telling him to root for the Nets instead.
The father of filmmaker Aaron Bierman had written Dolan, saying he was a Knicks fan since 1952 who was tired of Dolan’s management of the team and urging him to sell. In his response, Dolan told Bierman “You most likely have made your family miserable. Alcoholic maybe. I just celebrated my 21-year anniversary of sobriety. You should try it. Maybe it will help you become a person that folks would like to have around.”
Dolan ended his response by saying to “start rooting for the Nets because the Knicks (don’t) want you.”
The email originally appeared Sunday on Deadspin.com.
