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2B – Daily News – Monday, April 4, 2011 Scoreboard NBA At A Glance By The Associated Press EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL Pct GB y-Boston 53 23 .697 — x-Philadelphia 40 37 .51913 1/2 x-New York 38 38 .500 15 New Jersey 23 53 .303 30 Toronto 21 55 .276 32 Southeast Division WL Pct GB y-Miami 54 23 .701 — x-Orlando 48 29 .623 6 x-Atlanta 44 33 .571 10 Charlotte 32 44 .42121 1/2 Washington 20 56 .26333 1/2 Central Division WL Pct GB y-Chicago 56 20 .737 — Indiana 35 43 .449 22 Milwaukee 31 45 .408 25 Detroit 26 50 .342 30 Cleveland 15 61 .197 41 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division WL Pct GB x-San Antonio 58 19 .753 — x-Dallas 53 23 .6974 1/2 New Orleans44 33 .571 14 Memphis 44 33 .571 14 Houston 41 36 .532 17 Northwest Division WL Pct GB x-Oklahoma City50 26 .658 — x-Denver 47 29 .618 3 Portland 44 32 .579 6 Utah 36 41 .46814 1/2 Minnesota 17 60 .22133 1/2 Pacific Division WL Pct GB y-L.A. Lakers55 21 .724 — Phoenix 37 39 .487 18 Warriors 33 44 .42922 1/2 L.A. Clippers30 47 .39025 1/2 FINAL Continued from page 1B this has been the natural progression since the NCAA started limiting scholarships and new NBA rules triggered a flood of players who would come to college for one year, then declare for the draft. ‘‘It’s as close to parity as there can be,’’ Calhoun said. ‘‘It certainly can occur in a tournament a lot more than it could playing a Saturday night, then Big Monday. It’s just the nature of things. ... The one-and-done thing, walk- ing the tightrope is a hard thing, a very difficult thing.’’ If anyone can say they’ve mastered it this season, it’s UConn. Led by Walker, the junior guard on the verge of becoming the best player to ever put on a Huskies uniform, Connecticut won five games in five nights against Big East competi- tion to win the postseason tournament. A remarkable accom- plishment in any confer- ence, but especially the Big East — the 16-team behemoth that placed a record 11 teams in the tournament this year. Maybe because of the gru- eling nature of its regular season, the Big East wore down and had a terrible showing, only moving two teams into the second weekend. But Connecticut is still standing, a testament to Walker’s playmaking abil- ity (he’s averaging 25.5 points during this 10- game winning streak) and Calhoun’s ability to adjust on the fly to the fatigue that has predictably set in. ‘‘Our code has been very simple: ’The hell with it, let’s just go play basketball,’’’ Calhoun said. ‘‘Well, we wouldn’t be doing all the things we did last night defensively to Kentucky if we just kind of rolled the thing out there. We worked very hard on it. But we worked on it in a different way.’’ Connecticut advanced to the final by holding the Wildcats to 33.9 percent shooting in a 56-55 victo- ry Saturday night. Butler, meanwhile, only needed two wins in four nights to capture the tournament title in the less-heralded Horizon League. Still, the Bulldogs are on a 14-game winning streak that began after los- WIN Continued from page 1B But Harvick might. Last year’s third-place finisher in the final Sprint Cup standings already has two wins and is in spectacu- lar shape for a berth in the Chase for the champi- onship. His two victories could be enough to ensure him at minimum a wild- Kings 22 54 .289 33 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division ——— Sunday’s Games San Antonio 114, Phoenix 97 Denver 95, L.A. Lakers 90 Sacramento 106, Utah 97 Boston 101, Detroit 90 Washington 97, Charlotte 91 Miami 108, New Jersey 94 New York 123, Cleveland 107 Toronto 102, Orlando 98 Houston 114, Atlanta 109 New Orleans 108, Indiana 96 Dallas at Portland, late Monday’s Games No games scheduled Tuesday’s Games San Antonio at Atlanta, 4 p.m. Charlotte at Cleveland, 4 p.m. Minnesota at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Milwaukee at Orlando, 4 p.m. Detroit at Washington, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at Boston, 4:30 p.m. Toronto at New York, 4:30 p.m. Phoenix at Chicago, 5 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Memphis, 5 p.m. Sacramento at Houston, 5:30 p.m. Oklahoma City at Denver, 6 p.m. Golden State at Portland, 7 p.m. Utah at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. NHL At A Glance By The Associated Press EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT GF GA x-Phil. 79 46 22 11 247 210 x-Pittsburgh 79 46 25 8 225 192 Rangers 79 42 32 5 223 190 N. Jersey 78 36 37 5 163 196 Islanders 79 30 37 12 220 250 Northeast Division GP W L OT GF GA ing their third straight back on Feb. 3. At that point, this was a team that had no guarantees it would even make the NCAA field. It looked nothing like the one that captured hearts as it made its run through last year’s tournament. In the final last April, Butler trailed Duke 61-59 with 3.6 seconds left when Gordon Hayward (now playing for Utah in the NBA) grabbed the rebound off an intention- ally missed free throw, dribbled four times to the halfcourt line and launched a shot at the buzzer. It hit the back- board, the inside of the rim and bounced out. It could have been the great- est finish ever in sports. It wound up as something less, though Stevens insists he walked away that night feeling like a winner. ‘‘Our guys played as well as they could have,’’ Stevens said. ‘‘They repre- sented themselves in an unbelievable manner throughout that whole game. That might be the reason why we had parades, too, even though we lost. It was remarkable the way people treated us even though we lost.’’ One win away from the pinnacle once again, the Bulldogs are talking about finishing the deal this time. They haven’t turned their backs on the heart- tugging story lines that help define them, but they don’t fall back on them, either. ‘‘There are some con- nections to us and ’Hoosiers.’ I understand that, and that’s nice if peo- ple want to make those connections,’’ senior for- ward Matt Howard said. Calhoun, trying to become only the fifth coach to win three NCAA titles, says he appreciates Butler as much as the next guy. He sees the slow, steady improvement of mid-majors such as Butler and figures there will be more tournaments like this one and more nights like Monday — where the small school and the big school are on even foot- ing. Maybe one of those days, the little guy will win it all. ‘‘I think it’s good for college basketball,’’ Cal- houn said. ‘‘I think if it starts around 2012, 2013, it would be a wonderful thing.’’ card in the new Chase qual- ifying rules, and could give his RCR team the luxury of racing aggressive the next few months. And to think, early in Sunday’s race, Harvick did- n’t believe he had a chance. His Chevrolet struggled mightily early, and he was a race-low 27th on lap 234 of the 500-lap race. But a 25- minute red flag to fix a wall damaged by a violent hit by y-Boston 78 44 23 11 235 184 Montreal 79 42 30 7 208 204 Buffalo 79 40 29 10 232 220 Toronto 79 37 32 10 213 240 Ottawa 79 30 39 10 183 243 Southeast Division GP W L OT GF GA x-Wash. 79 46 22 11 216 192 x-Tampa Bay79 44 24 11 235 232 Carolina 79 38 30 11 225 232 Atlanta 78 33 33 12 214 252 Florida 79 29 38 12 190 220 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L OT GF GA y-Detroit 79 46 23 10 255 231 Nashville 79 42 26 11 209 188 Chicago 78 42 28 8 246 214 St. Louis 79 36 33 10 232 229 Columbus 79 34 32 13 210 246 Northwest Division GP W L OT GF GA z-Vancouver79 52 18 9 254 181 Calgary 79 39 29 11 240 232 Minnesota 79 37 34 8 198 224 Colorado 77 29 40 8 217 273 Edmonton 78 24 43 11 186 256 Pacific Division GP W L OT GF GA x-Sharks 78 46 23 9 234 201 Los Angeles78 45 27 6 213 185 Phoenix 79 42 25 12 224 217 Anaheim 78 44 29 5 225 227 Dallas 77 38 28 11 210 221 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division z-clinched conference Saturday’s Games Boston 3, Atlanta 2 Tampa Bay 3, Minnesota 1 Detroit 4, Nashville 3, OT Los Angeles 3, Dallas 1 Toronto 4, Ottawa 2 Montreal 3, New Jersey 1 Carolina 4, N.Y. Islanders 2 Washington 5, Buffalo 4, OT Pittsburgh 4, Florida 2 A’S Continued from page 1B reached in the seventh inning. He stayed in the game after a mound visit by manager Bob Geren. ‘‘I think it was the yel- low jerseys. We distracted them,’’ Gonzalez joked. Oakland observed a pregame moment of silence to remember the victims of the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Open- ing-day uniforms worn Friday and autographed by Ichiro Suzuki and Matsui were auctioned off to aid the Red Cross, raising more than $10,000 between the two. Ellis’ RBI groundout in the fourth gave the A’s a 2- 1 lead. Kurt Suzuki helped set up the run, reaching on a one-out double when Mariners left fielder Mil- ton Bradley lost a fly ball in the sun. The same thing happened Saturday night Edmonton 4, Vancouver 1 San Jose 4, Anaheim 2 Sunday’s Games N.Y. Rangers 3, Philadelphia 2, SO Buffalo 2, Carolina 1, OT Detroit 4, Minnesota 2 St. Louis 6, Columbus 1 Tampa Bay 2, Chicago 0 Calgary at Colorado, 8 p.m. Dallas at Anaheim, 8 p.m. Monday’s Games Boston at N.Y. Rangers, 4:30 p.m. Los Angeles at San Jose, 7 p.m. Tuesday’s Games Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 4 p.m. Washington at Toronto, 4 p.m. New Jersey at Pittsburgh, 4:30 p.m. Chicago at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Ottawa, 4:30 p.m. Colorado at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Atlanta at Nashville, 5 p.m. Columbus at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Vancouver at Edmonton, 6 p.m. MLB American League At A Glance By The Associated Press East Division WL Pct GB Baltimore 3 0 1.000— New York 2 1 .667 1 Toronto 2 1 .667 1 Boston 0 3 .000 3 Tampa Bay 0 3 .000 3 Central Division WL Pct GB Kansas City 3 1 .750 — Chicago 2 1 .667 1/2 Cleveland 1 2 .3331 1/2 Detroit Minnesota 1 2 .3331 1/2 West Division Texas WL Pct GB 3 0 1.000— Seattle 2 1 .667 1 A’s 1 2 .333 2 when Ichiro Suzuki and center fielder Michael Saunders lost track of Daric Barton’s fly. ‘‘We weren’t making plays. Obviously the sun got us a couple of times, a couple of the balls dropped in there,’’ manag- er Eric Wedge said. ‘‘We opened the door for them and they took advantage of it. That’s going to happen at this level.’’ Langerhans also sin- gled for the Mariners, who head to Texas next to face the AL champion Rangers in a three-game series before returning to Safeco Field for their home open- er Friday against Cleve- land. Seattle’s lone break in the first 24 days of April comes Thursday. Seattle was trying to move to 3-0 for only the second time in franchise history — joining the 1985 team. The Mariners haven’t swept the A’s in Oakland since Sept. 17- 19, 2007, and have only three wins in their last 11 1 2 .3331 1/2 Los Angeles 1 3 .2502 1/2 ——— Saturday’s Games Chicago White Sox 8, Cleveland 3 Toronto 6, Minnesota 1 Kansas City 5, L.A. Angels 4 N.Y.Yankees 10, Detroit 6 Baltimore 3, Tampa Bay 1 Texas 12, Boston 5 Seattle 5, Oakland 2 Sunday’s Games Cleveland 7, Chicago White Sox 1 Detroit 10, N.Y.Yankees 7 Minnesota 4, Toronto 3 Baltimore 5, Tampa Bay 1 Texas 5, Boston 1 Kansas City 12, L.A. Angels 9, 13 innings Oakland 7, Seattle 1 Monday’s Games Detroit (Porcello 0-0) at Baltimore (Arrieta 0-0), 12:05 p.m. Minnesota (Baker 0-0) at N.Y. Yankees (Nova 0-0), 4:05 p.m. Seattle (Bedard 0-0) at Texas (Holland 0- 0), 5:05 p.m. Tuesday’s Games L.A. Angels at Tampa Bay, 3:40 p.m. Boston at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. Minnesota at N.Y.Yankees, 4:05 p.m. Oakland at Toronto, 4:07 p.m. Seattle at Texas, 5:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox at Kansas City, 5:10 p.m. National League At A Glance By The Associated Press East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia 3 0 1.000— Atlanta 2 1 .667 1 New York 2 1 .667 1 Florida 1 2 .333 2 Washington 1 2 .333 2 Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 3 0 1.000— Pittsburgh 2 1 .667 1 games at the Coliseum. Ichiro Suzuki finished his first three games at 5 for 12 (.417). The leadoff hitter broke Edgar Mar- tinez’s franchise hits record during Saturday night’s 5-2 win. After getting outscored 11-4 in the first two games of the series, the A’s gen- erated more offense from their upgraded middle of the order. ‘‘That’s more of the team that we should see every day,’’ manager Bob Geren said. Oakland tagged Doug Fister (0-1) for three runs — two earned — and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings. Fister lost three of his final four starts in 2010, includ- ing his last two. The A’s, who commit- ted five errors in Friday’s opener and one Saturday, had another in the series finale when Barton dropped Chone Figgins’ popup in foul territory in the first inning. ‘‘Our defense has been Chicago 1 2 .333 2 St. Louis 1 2 .333 2 Houston 0 3 .000 3 Milwaukee 0 3 .000 3 West Division WL Pct GB Los Angeles 3 1 .750 — San Diego 2 1 .667 — Arizona 1 1 .500 1/2 Colorado 1 1 .500 1/2 Giants 1 3 .250 2 ——— Saturday’s Games Washington 6, Atlanta 3 Chicago Cubs 5, Pittsburgh 3 San Diego 11, St. Louis 3 San Francisco 10, L.A. Dodgers 0 Philadelphia 9, Houston 4 Cincinnati 4, Milwaukee 2 N.Y. Mets 6, Florida 4, 10 innings Colorado 3, Arizona 1 Sunday’s Games Cincinnati 12, Milwaukee 3 N.Y. Mets 9, Florida 2 Atlanta 11, Washington 2 Philadelphia 7, Houston 3 St. Louis 2, San Diego 0 Pittsburgh 5, Chicago Cubs 4 Arizona at Colorado, ppd., snow San Francisco 5, L.A. Dodgers 7 Monday’s Games Atlanta (Beachy 0-0) at Milwaukee (Narveson 0-0), 11:10 a.m. Arizona (Enright 0-0) at Chicago Cubs (Wells 0-0), 11:20 a.m. Pittsburgh (Morton 0-0) at St. Louis (Lohse 0-0), 5:15 p.m. Tuesday’s Games Arizona at Chicago Cubs, 11:20 a.m. San Francisco at San Diego, 3:35 p.m. N.Y. Mets at Philadelphia, 4:05 p.m. Houston at Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m. Washington at Florida, 4:10 p.m. Atlanta at Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m. Pittsburgh at St. Louis, 5:15 p.m. L.A. Dodgers at Colorado, 5:40 p.m. stinking up the field and the clubhouse,’’ Crisp said. NOTES: Gonzalez threw 116 pitches, fourth- most of his career. ... RHP Josh Lueke made his major league debut when he relieved Fister in the sixth, then RHP Tom Wil- helmsen made his first big league appearance in the eighth. ... Mariners closer David Aardsma, recover- ing from hip surgery, threw a 30-pitch bullpen session and let it go toward the end of his out- ing with no problems. It was his third bullpen. ... These teams will play 16 more times this season, with the A’s visiting Safe- co Field for the first time from April 21-24. Oak- land took the 2010 season series 13-6. ... The A’s and their fans raised more than $65,000 in all for Japan, which included $1 from each ticket Sunday. Suzu- ki’s uniform sold for $6,015 and Matsui’s went for $4,555. Stanford falls short in semifinal INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Four straight trips to the Final Four for Stanford. No titles. Tyra White’s layup with 3 sec- onds remaining gave Texas A&M a 63-62 win over the Cardinal in a national semifinal Sunday at Con- seco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Stanford wasted a 31-point effort by Nnemkadi Ogwumike, which included a layup with 9 seconds remaining that gave Stanford the lead. White scored 18 points and Danielle Adams added 16 for the Aggies (32-5), who snapped Stan- ford’s 27-game win streak and outscored the Cardinal 19-8 down GOLF Continued from page 1B earning his second green jacket. The Houston Open became the run-up event to Augusta in 2007. While many top players, includ- ing Woods and world No. 1 Martin Kaymer sat out this week, Mickelson saw no disadvantage in coming here and trying to win. Anthony Kim won last year and finished third at the Masters. ‘‘I think it’s nothing but a plus to be able to gain some momentum,’’ Mickelson said. ‘‘especially given that I haven’t had the results and the scores that I wanted earlier in the year. It gives me a little bit of momentum.’’ Verplank, meanwhile, needed a victory just to get to Augusta. The 46-year-old Verplank, with his sore left wrist wrapped in black tape, would’ve become the fifth- oldest champion in the last five Martin Truex Jr. gave the No. 29 crew a chance to regroup, and Harvick steadi- ly climbed through the field. ‘‘We were terrible, no other way to put it,’’ said crew chief Gil Martin. ‘‘The red flag was actually a good thing for us because our team was able to almost be at halftime, and we went to the bottom of the pit box, six or seven of us together, and we thought about what we the stretch. Stanford entered the game averag- ing 79 points per game, but the Car- dinal (33-3) played the game at Texas A&M’s plodding pace. Stan- ford committed a season-high 22 turnovers and matched its lowest point total of the season. Stanford lost in the national championship game in 2008 and last year. It lost in a 2009 semifinal. The Cardinal had a chance to win after White’s basket, but Sydney Col- son intercepted Stanford’s long inbounds pass and the celebration was on for the upstart Aggies. Stanford’s Jeanette Pohlen, who scored 11 points and was hurt in the years. His wrist is weakened by a degen- erative bone condition, and it affect- ed his grip Sunday. He was making only his fourth start this year. ‘‘It’s nice that I hadn’t forgotten how to play,’’ he said. ‘‘If you’re hurt, you don’t have a ton of confidence in your body. It’s hard to have confi- dence in anything.’’ Verplank earned $519,200 for fin- ishing second, and moved into 14th on the career money list ($26.741 million), passing Retief Goosen and Stuart Appleby. He plans to play in San Antonio in two weeks and at Hilton Head in three. ‘‘That would be ideal,’’ he said, ‘‘but I mean, this is the first time I’ve played two weeks in a row. I hope that I can be ready to play in another week.’’ By the time Mickelson and Ver- plank teed off Sunday, the wind was blowing as hard as it had all week- end. Mickelson ignited a roar from the could do.’’ They got Harvick up near the front as the action intensified following a restart with 29 laps left in the race. Busch was leading when Earnhardt pulled ahead with 20 laps to go with a pass that brought everyone in the grandstands to their feet. Harvick closed quickly, then pulled onto Earnhardt’s bumper with four laps to go, final seconds, couldn’t get up from the bench to congratulate the Aggies. Texas A&M coach Gary Blair went to the bench and put his arm around her, followed by the rest of his team. Adams hit a baseline jumper with about 10 minutes left to cut Stan- ford’s lead to 42-41, but the Cardinal responded. A 3-pointer by Pohlen put the Cardinal ahead 52-44. Back-to-back 3-point plays by White and Adams cut Stanford’s lead to 54-52, setting up the final back and forth of the Cardinal’s season. Ogwumike shot 10 for 15 from the field, but her teammates shot 13 for 31. huge gallery on No. 1, chipping in from behind the green for birdie. He hit errant drives on Nos. 2 and 3, then birdied the par-3 seventh to start his charge. Verplank kept pace for a while, with birdies on Nos. 8, 10, 12 and 13. ‘‘I was birdieing every other hole,’’ Verplank said, ‘‘and I couldn’t pull away from the guy.’’ Lefty tried to use his length advantage over Verplank on the 319- yard 12th, driving onto the front of the green, 66 feet away. He two- putted from there for his fourth straight birdie and his 16th in 30 holes. They both birdied the par-5 13th, but Verplank three-putted on No. 14, leaving Mickelson alone at the top. Mickelson three-putted the par-5 15th, but then widened the gap for good on the 16th green. ‘‘All in all,’’ Mickelson said, ‘‘this was one of the best weeks I’ve had in a long time, as far as seeing the shot and being able to hit it.’’ and made his pass in the second turn. Earnhardt tried to get the lead back, but conceded as they rounded the fourth turn. Harvick then sailed away for his second consecutive victory. Earnhardt later battled the conflicting emotions of being disappointed at falling short and celebrating anoth- er strong run. ‘‘I’ll probably think about it a million times what I probably could have done differently,’’ he said. ‘‘If I know what’s best for me, I should probably have a good attitude about what happened today and proba- bly go into the next race and use it as momentum and confidence, like any other good driver would do, instead of worrying about, you know, how close we came.’’