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2B – Daily News – Thursday, April 15, 2010 Dolphins trade for Brandon Marshall Senators surprise Penguins MIAMI (AP) — Bill Parcells, who knows a thing or two about talented, temperamental receivers, decided Brandon Marshall is worth the trouble. Parcells and the Miami Dolphins also decided Marshall is worth two second-round draft picks, and perhaps even a contract extension making him one of the NFL’s best-paid pass catch- ers. Miami acquired the high-mainte- nance Pro Bowl wideout Wednesday for a second-round pick next week and another next year. He’s expected to soon sign the long-term deal he has been seeking for more than a year. ‘‘It’s good to be here, man,’’ Mar- shall said as he mingled with fans at the Miami Heat’s game against New Jersey. Marshall fills the Dolphins’ most glaring need: a go-to guy who will loosen up defenses for their potential- ly potent ground game and young, strong-armed quarterback Chad Henne. However, the former Central Flori- da star returns to the Sunshine State with plenty of issues. While he caught at least 100 passes each of the past three years and made the Pro Bowl the past two seasons, the Broncos were willing to part with Marshall because he became a chronic headache. He has a history of domestic vio- lence, clashed with coach Josh McDaniels and was summoned to the office of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. That didn’t dissuade Parcells, who had mixed results working with head- line-making receivers Terry Glenn in New England, Keyshawn Johnson in New York and Terrell Owens in Dal- las. The Dolphins’ Marshall plan is unknown, because the ever-secretive team didn’t comment beyond a brief news release. But he’s their biggest addition since Venus and Serena Williams, who added glamour to the team’s ownership group last year but failed to catch a single pass. Miami’s receiving corps wasn’t too productive, either. The Dolphins totaled two touchdown passes of 20 yards or more last season, fewest in the NFL. Speedy Ted Ginn Jr. has been a dis- appointment since Miami took him with the ninth overall draft pick in 2007. Ginn and the other wideouts — CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Chicago Bulls clinched the NBA’s last unclaimed playoff spot on Wednesday night, as Der- rick Rose scored 27 points and Joakim Noah added 21 points and 13 rebounds in a 98-89 victory over the Char- lotte Bobcats. Overcoming numerous injuries, internal strife, key trades and a horrible stretch early in the season, the Bulls closed the regular season with a three-game winning streak to beat out Toronto for the right to face Eastern Conference top seed Cleve- land. Brian Hartline, Davone Bess and Greg Camarillo — combined for only six touchdown catches last season while averaging just 11.7 yards per catch. ‘‘We need big playmakers,’’ gener- al manager Jeff Ireland said in Febru- ary. ‘‘We need players that make chunk yardage. We need players that score touchdowns. We need to get more production out of the wide receiver position.’’ Marshall provides production. Last year he caught 101 passes, including an NFL-record 21 in a loss at Indi- anapolis, for 1,120 yards and a career- high 10 touchdowns. Shortly after arriving in South Florida, Marshall attended the Heat game, sitting courtside in a Florida Marlins cap. He declined interview requests. A television crew ran up to Marshall dur- ing the first timeout after he and two acquaintances sat down across the court from the Heat bench, and a secu- rity guard was stationed nearby to keep other potential questioners away. Marshall spent much of the first quarter typing into his cell phone and chatting with a spectator. He smiled broadly after a basket by the Heat’s Dorell Wright midway through the opening half. New Dolphins defensive coordina- tor Mike Nolan, who was with Denver last season, is sure to have played a role in Miami’s decision to make the trade. It frees up the Dolphins to use the No. 12 pick in the draft on the defensive front seven, where help is also sorely needed. The Broncos, who pick 11th in the first round, have needs at linebacker and elsewhere, and they’ll now likely address receiver in the draft, too. Mar- shall’s departure leaves Jabar Gaffney, who had 54 catches for 732 yards and two TDs last season, as Denver’s top receiver. Before speaking at an asthma pro- gram at Denver North High School on Wednesday night, McDaniels suggest- ed the trade gave both Marshall and the Broncos a fresh start. ‘‘I’m pleased with how the whole thing went down. I’m happy and excit- ed for Brandon to have an opportunity to do something that he’s wanted to do,’’ McDaniels said. ‘‘And I’m also excited about the opportunities that we’re going to be presented here in the coming week with the draft and con- Needing a win or a Rap- tors loss to New York to get in, the Bulls quickly took it to the Bobcats, never trailing and leading by as many as 18 points. Tyrus Thomas had 16 points and nine rebounds against his former team, while Gerald Wallace scored 15 points and Stephen Jackson 14 for the Bobcats, who had already locked up the seventh seed in the East and a first-round matchup with Orlando. With former Bulls star and current Bobcats owner Michael Jordan watching from the end of the Bobcats’ tinuing to build our team and our ros- ter the way that we want to do it. ‘‘Again, this is something where the situation was what it was and I think we worked it the best way that we could so that all of us could kind of get what we were looking for.’’ The trade came three days after receiver Santonio Holmes was acquired by the Jets, Miami’s AFC East rivals. ‘‘All the great receivers are being traded,’’ Cincinnati’s Chad Ochocinco tweeted. ‘‘Santonio now Marshall, I love those guys, wow.’’ And there’s still division power New England, which has Randy Moss and Wes Welker, who is recovering from knee surgery. ‘‘Exciting about the direction we are taking can only get better!!!’’ tweeted Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis, who will be covering Holmes and Moss in games and Marshall in practice. The deal also earned three excla- mation marks from Miami cornerback Sean Smith. ‘‘We got B Marsh, thass my dude!!!’’ Smith tweeted. For the Broncos, the blockbuster trade was the second in as many off- seasons under McDaniels. Denver sent quarterback Jay Cutler to Chicago last April for Kyle Orton and draft picks. Marshall is the biggest trade acqui- sition by the Dolphins since running back Ricky Williams came to Miami in 2002 for four draft picks, including two first-rounders. Marshall signed his $2.512 million tender Tuesday to facilitate a trade. His final destination was a surprise, because the Dolphins had indicated lit- tle interest. In March, the Broncos slapped a first-round tender on Marshall. Teams were unwilling to part with a first- round draft pick as compensation, mindful that his resume included as many missteps as touchdowns. Because of Marshall’s legal record, he’s one strike from a yearlong sus- pension. He was suspended for the 2008 opener following a series of dis- putes involving a former girlfriend. Last summer, he was suspended by the Broncos for throwing a tantrum at practice during training camp, when he was unhappy with his contract and with the team’s medical staff. Bulls clinch final playoff berth with win bench, Chicago (41-41) players exchanged high- fives at the buzzer as they clinched its second straight playoff berth and its fifth in six years. They sure did it the hard way. Chicago struggled early adjusting to Ben Gor- don’s departure in free agency, including blowing a 35-point lead in a home loss to Sacramento. That led to reports that coach Vinny Del Negro was about to be fired as the Bulls once lost 10 straight. Then the Bulls traded John Salmons to Milwaukee and Thomas to Charlotte to clear salary cap space for this summer’s free agency class. Just when the Bulls appeared to be in good shape, a report surfaced Tuesday that Del Negro and Bulls vice president of bas- ketball operations John Pax- son got into an altercation after a game last month in a dispute over the number of minutes Noah played in his return from a painful foot injury. Not long after the Bulls released a statement downplaying the incident, the team came out with intensity the Bobcats could- n’t match. Scoreboard MLB West Division A’s Texas Angels Seattle East Division WL Pct GB Tampa Bay 6 3 .667 — Toronto 6 3 .667 — New York 5 3 .625 .5 Boston 4 4 .500 1.5 Baltimore 1 8 .111 5 Central Division Detroit WL Pct GB 6 3 .667 — Minnesota 6 3 .667 — Chicago 4 5 .444 2 Kansas City 4 5 .444 2 Cleveland 2 6 .250 3.5 ——— Wednesday’s results Oakland at Seattle, late Boston 6, Minnesota 3 Chicago 11, Toronto 1 Kansas City 7, Detroit 3 Los Angeles 5, New York 3 Tampa Bay 9, Baltimore 1 Texas 6, Cleveland 2 Today’s games Baltimore (D.Hernandez 0-1) at Oakland (Sheets 0-0),7:05 p.m.,CSNCA Texas (Harrison 0-0) at Cleveland (D.Huff 0-1), 9:05 a.m. Boston (Wakefield 0-0) at Minnesota (Liriano 0-0), 10:10 a.m. Los Angeles (Kazmir 0-0) at New York (Hughes 0-0), 4:05 p.m. Chicago (F.Garcia 0-1) at Toronto (Eveland 1-0), 4:07 p.m. Tuesday’s late result Seattle 3, Oakland 0 West Division National League WL Pct GB GIANTS 72 .778 — Arizona 4 3 .571 2 Colorado 4 3 .571 2 Dodgers 3 4 .429 3 Padres East Division American League WL Pct GB 63 .667 — 5 3 .625 .5 3 6 .333 3 3 6 .333 3 WL Pct GB St. Louis 6 2 .750 — Cincinnati 5 4 .556 1.5 Chicago 4 4 .500 2 Pittsburgh 4 5 .444 2.5 Milwaukee 3 5 .375 3 Houston 0 8 .000 6 ——— Wednesday’s results San Francisco 6, Pittsburgh 0 Chicago 7, Milwaukee 6 Florida 5, Cincinnati 3 Philadelphia 14, Washington 7 St. Louis 2, Houston 1 New York at Colorado, late Atlanta at San Diego, late Arizona at Los Angeles, late Today’s games Houston (Norris 0-1) at St. Louis (Lohse 0-0), 10:40 a.m. Milwaukee (Suppan 0-0) at Chicago (Zambrano 1-1), 11:20 a.m. Washington (Olsen 0-0) at Philadelphia (Happ 1-0), 12:05 p.m. New York (Pelfrey 1-0) at Colorado (De La Rosa 1-0), 12:10 p.m. Atlanta (T.Hudson 0-0) at San Diego (Latos 0-0), 3:35 p.m. Cincinnati (Harang 0-1) at Florida (Jo.Johnson 0-1), 4:10 p.m. Arizona (Haren 1-1) at Los Angeles (Kuroda 1-0), 7:10 p.m. Tuesday’s late result Pittsburgh 6, San Francisco 5 NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL Pct GB z-Lakers 57 24 .704 — x-Phoenix 53 28 .654 4 Clippers 28 53 .346 29 WARRIORS 25 56 .309 32 KINGS WL Pct GB y-Boston 50 32 .610 — Toronto 40 42 .488 10 New York 29 53 .354 21 Philadelphia 27 55 .329 23 New Jersey 12 70 .146 38 Southeast Division WL Pct GB y-Orlando 59 23 .720 — x-Atlanta 53 29 .646 6 x-Miami 47 35 .573 12 x-Charlotte 44 38 .537 15 Washington 26 56 .317 33 Central Division WL Pct GB z-Cleveland 61 21 .744 — x-Milwaukee 46 36 .561 15 x-Chicago 41 41 .500 20 Indiana 32 50 .390 29 Detroit Sunday: at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday: at Nashville, 6 p.m. Thursday, April 22: at Nashville, 5:30 p.m. x-Saturday, April 24: at Chicago, Noon x-Monday, April 26: at Nashville, TBD x-Wednesday, April 28: at Chicago, TBD Vancouver vs.Los Angeles Series Tied 0-0 Thursday: at Vancouver, 7 p.m., VERSUS Saturday: at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Monday: at Los Angeles, 7 p.m. Wednesday: at Los Angeles, 7 p.m. x-Friday, April 23: at Vancouver, 7 p.m. x-Sunday, April 25: at Los Angeles, TBD x-Tuesday, April 27: at Vancouver, TBD 27 55 .329 34 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division z-clinched conference ——— Tuesday’s late results Utah 103, Golden State 94 L.A. Lakers 106, Sacramento 100 Phoenix 123, Denver 101 Wednesday’s results Golden State at Portland, late Atlanta 99, Cleveland 83 Chicago 98, Charlotte 89 Dallas 96, San Antonio 89 Detroit 103, Minnesota 98 Miami 94, New Jersey 86,2OT Milwaukee 106, Boston 95 New Orleans 123, Houston 115 Oklahoma City 114, Memphis 105 Orlando 125, Philadelphia 111 Toronto 131, New York 113 Washington 98, Indiana 97 L.A. Lakers at L.A. Clippers, late Phoenix at Utah, late ENDOFREGULARSEASON 25 57 .305 32.5 Southwest Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia 7 1 .875 — Florida Atlanta 3 4 .429 3 WL Pct GB 5 4 .556 2.5 3 4 .429 3.5 Washington 3 5 .375 4 New York 2 5 .286 4.5 Central Division y-Dallas 55 27 .671 — x-San Antonio50 32 .610 5 Houston 42 40 .512 13 Memphis 40 42 .488 15 New Orleans37 45 .451 18 Northwest Division WL Pct GB 53 28 .654 — x-Utah x-Denver 53 29 .646 .5 x-Portland 50 31 .617 3 x-Okla. City 50 32 .610 3.5 Minnesota 15 67 .183 38.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division First Round (Best-of-7) (x-if necessary) WESTERN CONFERENCE San Jose vs. Colorado Series Tied 0-0 Wednesday: at San Jose, late Friday: at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Sunday: at Colorado, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday: at Colorado, 7 p.m. x-Thursday, April 22: at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. x-Saturday, April 24: at Colorado, TBD x-Monday, April 26: at San Jose, TBD Chicago vs. Nashville Series Tied 0-0 Friday: at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. NHL Phoenix vs. Detroit Series Tied 0-0 Wednesday: at Phoenix, late Friday: at Phoenix, 7 p.m. Sunday: at Detroit, Noon Tuesday: at Detroit, 3:30 p.m. x-Friday, April 23: at Phoenix, 7 p.m. x-Sunday, April 25: at Detroit, 11 a.m. x-Tuesday, April 27: Phoenix, TBD EASTERN CONFERENCE Washington vs. Montreal Series Tied 0-0 Thursday: at Washington, 4 p.m., VERSUS Saturday: at Washington, 4 p.m. Monday: at Montreal, 4 p.m. Wednesday: at Montreal, 4 p.m. x-Friday, April 23: at Washington, 4 p.m. x-Monday, April 26: at Montreal, 4 p.m. x-Wednesday, April 28: at Washington, TBD New Jersey vs. Philadelphia Philadelphia leads series 1-0 Wednesday: Philadelphia 2, New Jersey 1 Friday: at New Jersey, 4:30 p.m. Sunday: at Philadelphia, 3 p.m. Tuesday: at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m. x-Thursday, April 22: at New Jersey, 4 p.m. x-Sunday, April 25: at Philadelphia, TBD x-Tuesday, April 27: at New Jersey, 4:30 p.m. Buffalo vs. Boston Series Tied 0-0 Thursday: at Buffalo, 4 p.m. Saturday: at Buffalo, 10 a.m. Monday: at Boston, 4 p.m. Wednesday: at Boston, 4 p.m. x-Friday, April 23: at Buffalo, 4 p.m. x-Monday, April 26: at Boston, 4 p.m. x-Wednesday, April 28: at Buffalo, 4 p.m. Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa Ottawa leads series 1-0 Wednesday: Ottawa 5, Pittsburgh 4 Friday: at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. Sunday: at Ottawa, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday,: at Ottawa, 4 p.m. x-Thursday, April 22: at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. x-Saturday, April 24: at Ottawa, 4 p.m. x-Tuesday, April 27: at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Galaxy 3 0 0 9 5 0 Houston 1 1 1 4 3 4 Salt Lake 1 1 1 4 6 4 Seattle 1 1 1 4 4 3 Colorado 1 1 1 4 3 3 Chivas USA 1 2 0 3 2 3 QUAKES 11 0 3 2 4 FC Dallas 0 0 2 2 3 3 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Kansas City 2 0 0 6 5 0 New England 2 1 0 6 6 2 New York 2 1 0 6 2 2 Columbus 1 0 1 4 4 2 Philadelphia 1 1 0 3 3 4 Chicago 0 2 1 1 3 5 Toronto FC 0 2 0 0 1 6 D.C. FLORIDA—Designated RHP Jose Veras for assignment. Recalled RHP Chris Leroux from New Orleans (PCL). Optioned INF Emilio Bonifacio to New Orleans. Activated OF Brett Carroll from the 15-day DL. PHILADELPHIA—Placed SS Jimmy Rollins on the 15-day DL. Selected the contract of INF Wilson Valdez from Lehigh Valley (IL). ST. LOUIS—Placed C Jason LaRue on the 15-day DL. Recalled C Bryan Anderson from Memphis (PCL). National Basketball Association SACARAMENTO—Exercised a team option on F Carl Landry. National Hockey League ATLANTA—Fired coach John Anderson. Promoted general manager Don Waddell to team president. Named Rick Dudley general manager. 0 3 0 0 2 9 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. ——— Today’s game Philadelphia at Toronto FC, 5 p.m., ESPN2 DEALS Major League Baseball MLB—Named Dr.Gary Green medical direc- tor. American League BALTIMORE—Placed LHP Mike Gonzalez on the 15-day DL, retroactive to April 10. BOSTON—Claimed RHP Santo Luis off waivers from the Chicago White Sox and optioned him to Portland (EL). Transferred INF Jed Lowrie to the 60-day DL. LOS ANGELES—Optioned RHP Bobby Casseveh to Salt Lake (PCL).Transferred OF Chris Pettit to the 60-day DL. Activated OF Reggie Willits from the 15-day DL. Selected the contract of RHP Francisco Rodriguez from Salt Lake.Placed LHP Brian Fuentes on the 15-day DL, retroactive to April 6. MINNESOTA—Selected the contract of LHP Ron Mahay from Fort Myers (FSL). Optioned RHP Alex Burnett to Rochester (IL). TORONTO—Claimed INF Shawn Bowman off waivers from the N.Y. Mets and optioned him to Las Vegas (PCL). National League CHICAGO—Placed RHP Esmailin Caridad on the 15-day DL, retroactive to April 12. Recalled RHP Jeff Gray from Iowa (PCL). CINCINNATI—Released INF Aaron Miles. Assigned OF Wladimir Balentien outright to Louisville (IL). PHILADELPHIA—Recalled G Jeremy Duchesne, F Jon Kalinski, F David Laliberte, F Andreas Nodl, D Joonas Lehtivuori, D Kevin Marshall and D Danny Syvret from Adirondack (AHL). ST. LOUIS—Promoted interim coach Davis Payne to coach. VANCOUVER—Reassigned D Evan Oberg to Manitoba (AHL). Major League Soccer D.C.—Signed D Jordan Graye. National Football League NFL—TE Casey FitzSimmons announced his retirement. OAKLAND—Signed LB Kirk Morrison a restricted free agent tender. CINCINNATI—Re-signed CB David Jones. DENVER—Traded WR Brandon Marshall to Miami and 2010 and 2011 second-round draft picks. N.Y. JETS—Signed CB Drew Coleman to a one-year contract. WASHINGTON—Re-signed OT Stephon Heyer and DT Anthony Montgomery. College BUTLER—Announced sophomore F Gor- don Hayward will enter the NBA draft. PURDUE—Agreed to terms with football coach Danny Hope on a one-year contract extension through the 2014 season. Announced junior F JaJuan Johnson and junior E’Twaun Moore will enter the NBA draft. RUTGERS—Announced sophomore men’s basketball G Mike Rosario has been granted a conditional release and plans to transfer. SAN FRANCISCO—Agrees to contract extension with men’s basketball coach Rex Walters through 2015. WAKE FOREST—Named Jeff Bzdelik men’s basketball coach. WRIGHT STATE—Named Billy Donlon men’s basketball coach. PITTSBURGH (AP) — Erik Karlsson and Chris Kelly scored on power plays in the second period and the Ottawa Senators ignored their underdog tag and the Pittsburgh Pen- guins’ recent playoff success, surprising the Stanley Cup champions with a 5-4 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first-round series Wednesday night. Evgeni Malkin scored twice following penalties on Peter Regin, the first barely 3 minutes into the game, but the Pen- guins looked mostly flat and uninspired for long periods in beginning their bid to become the NHL’s first repeat cham- pion since Detroit in 1998. Sidney Crosby, who piled up 15 points in his final five regular-season games, had three assists but was held with- out a shot until getting two in the third period and the Pen- guins — seemingly unprepared for Ottawa’s defensive pressure — were held to a single shot during a stretch last- ing 21 minutes, 53 seconds. Ottawa constantly matched shutdown defensemen Anton Volchenkov and Chris Phillips against the Crosby line. The Senators, one of the biggest underdogs of the first- round qualifiers, went from being down a goal to being up 3-1 during that period as Regin, Chris Neil and Kelly scored. Goalie Brian Elliott gave up four goals on 21 shots in his playoff debut, but made several big stops on Alexei Ponikarovsky and Malkin in the second period as the Pen- guins pressed to tie it following Malkin’s second goal, at 10:22. Instead, the 19-year-old Karlsson restored Ottawa’s two- goal lead less than 3 minutes later, collecting a rebound of a shot from the left point by Matt Cullen that rebounded off Mike Fisher in front and wristing it into a wide-open corner of the net to make it 4-2. The Senators also got a fortuitous bounce on Kelly’s goal at 1:20 of the second that put them up 3-1. Chris Cam- poli was attempting to wrap the puck around the boards, but it took an odd deflection directly to Kelly close to the net with no defender near him. Kelly also had two assists. Pittsburgh made several more pushes, with Craig Adams scoring at 5:16 of the third after playing all 82 regular-sea- son games without scoring. He scored three goals during last season’s playoffs. Again, the Senators answered as former Penguins agita- tor Jarkko Ruutu accepted Neil’s giveback pass to beat Marc-Andre Fleury on a wrist shot at 9:40 of the third. Ruutu began the rush by controlling the puck along the boards and feeding it up ice. Fleury faced 26 shots. Alex Goligoski cut it to one goal again by scoring with 2:14 remaining, but the Penguins couldn’t tie it. Boucher leads Flyers in Game 1 NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Brian Boucher had 23 saves in his first playoff start in eight years and the Philadelphia Fly- ers beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 in Game 1 of their first- round Eastern Conference series Wednesday night. Big Chris Pronger and Mike Richards scored second- period goals as the Flyers rode the momentum of claiming the NHL’s last playoff berth on the final day of the regular season to yet another win over New Jersey. While the Flyers are the No. 7 seed in the conference, they won five of six games against the Devils in the regular season and second-seeded New Jersey had few answers in the postseason against a rock-solid Boucher. With the win, the Flyers grabbed home-ice advantage, heading into Friday night’s game in the best-of-7 series, which also will be played at the Prudential Center. The loss has to be a major concern for the Devils, who have been knocked out of the playoffs in the opening round the last two seasons. New Jersey gave its unhappy fans some hope when Travis Zajac scored on a somewhat flubbed slap shot that seemed to bounce in front of Boucher with 2:43 to play. Boucher, however, stopped Patrik Elias in close with about 10 seconds to go and the Flyers cleared the puck out of the zone on the ensuing faceoff. The Devils’ performance was so inept that their fans were booing the Atlantic Division winners at the end of the sec- ond period and near the end of a 4-minute power play early in the third period, an advantage that resulted in two shots. Boucher, who inherited the Flyers’ starting job because of injuries to Ray Emery and Michael Leighton, wasn’t overly tested. His best period was the first, when he stopped nine shots. The best of that bunch was a snapping glove save on a 25-footer by Ilya Kovalchuk and stops in close on Zach Parise and Zajac.