CLEVELAND (AP) β LeBron James gets a chance to beat his former team as the Miami Heat visit Cleveland to play James and the Cavaliers tonight. The Heat are currently tied with the streaking Brooklyn Nets for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The Nets beat the Knicks 100-98 for their fifth straight victory last night.
NEW YORK (AP) β The Stanford Cardinal can win their second NIT title in four seasons with a victory over Miami tonight at Madison Square Garden. In Stanford’s 67-60 semifinal win over Old Dominion Tuesday night, the Cardinal raced out to 15-0 and 25-4 leads and never trailed.
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) β The first major of the LPGA season starts today in the California desert with the Ava Inspiration, the event formerly known as the Dinah Shore tournament. Last year, then-19-year-old Lexi Thompson won her first major title and fourth tour victory, beating Michelle Wie (WEE) by three strokes and becoming the second youngest major champion in LPGA Tour history.
HOUSTON (AP) β The last PGA Tour event before next week’s Masters tees off today in Houston. The Houston Open draws a fairly strong field with Texan Jordan Spieth (speeth), who finished second in last week’s Texas Open, along with Matt Kuchar (KOO’-chur), Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler, Martin Kaymer (KY’-mur), Hunter Mahan (MAY’-han), Lee Westwood and Ernie Els.
MONTREAL (AP)β The Montreal Canadiens can finish a three-game regular-season sweep of the Washington Capitals with a victory at Bell Centre tonight. While the Eastern Conference standings are tight and in a near-constant state of flux, if the playoffs started today, these two teams would meet in the first round.
