<h4>Holding on tight to slow LeBron </h4>
The Detroit Pistons' Rasheed Wallace fouls the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James on a drive to the basket during a first-round playoff game Tuesday in Cleveland.
BROSSARD, Quebec – Montreal coach Bob Gainey appealed to Canadiens fans to stop booing the U.S. national anthem.
Gainey said fans who booed during “The Star-Spangled Banner” before Game 3 of the NHL playoff series with the Boston Bruins should find other ways to voice support for their team.
“I feel like there’s a confusion there with our fans,” Gainey said Tuesday. “They feel like booing the anthem is supporting our team, in that the anthem represents the Boston team.
“And I think if they could separate those two things, then we could respect the anthem of the United States of America and they could still participate loudly in whatever way they want to disrupt the Bruins.”
Boston leads the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series 3-0 and can complete a sweep with a victory Wednesday night.
Many fans booed the U.S. anthem at the Bell Centre on Monday night, even though others tried to drown them out with chants of “Go Habs go.”
Rudd signs with ASU
Power forward Victor Rudd has signed with Arizona State.
The 6-foot-7 product of Sylmar, Calif., joins fellow players Trent Lockett, Demetrius Walker and Ruslan Pateev in ASU’s 2009 recruiting class.
Rudd played at Van Nuys High School in southern California as a junior and for Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., as a senior. While at Findlay, Rudd averaged 16.6 points and a team-high 8.6 rebounds per game.
Rudd considered Arizona.
The Arizona Republic
Cards mess up scheduling
GLENDALE – The Arizona Cardinals violated terms of their University of Phoenix contract by scheduling their final home game in the upcoming season one day before the Fiesta Bowl.
The Cardinals’ and Fiesta Bowl’s contracts with the operator of the Glendale stadium require 48 hours between the games. But in the schedule released last week, Arizona’s final game is Jan. 3 at home against Green Bay.
That’s one day before the Jan. 4 Fiesta Bowl.
The Fiesta Bowl has sought written assurance that the problem won’t be repeated. Now the two sides are in discussions about what to do regarding this season’s conflict.
“We want to carefully approach the thing because, first and foremost, we want to protect the interests of the Fiesta Bowl,” Fiesta Bowl president and CEO John Junker said from Pasadena, Calif., where he is attending BCS meetings.
The problem occurred when the Cardinals failed to notify the NFL of the conflict that would occur if Arizona played its final game at home.
Cardinals spokesman Mark Dalton said Tuesday that meetings are planned with representatives of the Fiesta Bowl, Arizona Tourism and Sports Authority and the stadium’s contracted operator Global Spectrum to see what can be done.
Options could include moving the Cardinals’ game to Saturday or playing the NFL game Sunday with the Fiesta Bowl banners and other special bowl setups in place.
The Associated Press
Perry in bad shape in S.C.
CHICAGO – Former Chicago Bears defensive lineman William “The Refrigerator” Perry is in serious condition at a South Carolina hospital.
The Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune report the 46-year-old Perry was hospitalized more than a week ago to deal with complications from Guillain-Barre (gee-LAN’ bah-RAY’) syndrome, a chronic inflammation disorder of the peripheral nerves.
Aiken Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Melissa Summer declined to give additional details Tuesday.
Symptoms include weakness or tingling in the legs, which may spread to the arms and upper body.
A woman who answered the phone of Perry’s nephew Purnell Perry said Perry was doing “fine,” and “much better.” She declined to give her name.
The Associated Press
Coach K unsure of return
NEW YORK – Mike Krzyzewski still doesn’t know if he will return to coach the U.S. Olympic team.
If not, he’s left plenty of ideas for whoever replaces him.
Krzyzewski’s new book, “The Gold Standard, Building a World-Class Team,” details much of what he did as the first coach of the U.S. national team program, culminating in the Americans’ victory over Spain to win the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics.
“In the military, you’d say you write an after action report, so the commander after you would know what it’s like,” Krzyzewski said Tuesday.
“Well, the book serves as an example for what we did over a three-year period and the reasoning behind it. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to do a book.”
Krzyzewski wrote the book with his daughter Jamie Spatola, and they signed it Tuesday at the NBA Store – where all copies sold out.
The Associated Press
QUOTABLE
'My first foul Thursday night is going to put him on his back. I guarantee it.'
ERICK DAMPIER,
Mavericks center, on what Dallas needs to do to slow San Antonio's Tony Parker (left) in the NBA Playoffs
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SPORTS SOUND-OFF
Fans debate return to NCAA Tournament
Re: Can UA make 26th straight NCAA Tournament?
• Wise comes back. Arizona places in the top five of the Pac-10. Then the Wildcats win the Pac-10 Tourney! Even if they don’t win the tourney, I like their chances. GUERT
• Enthusiasm is not justified. We have no idea what Miller and all those assistant coaches will come up with in the Pac-10, which is a lot tougher than where they are accustomed to.
Oregon will be a LOT better under their new assistants and the guys coming in. Washington will be terrific. ASU might still be tough. UCLA is always a rugged win. USC has the manpower. Cal under Montgomery will be much better than last year. Stanford should be a lot better than last year’s midlevel performance.
So the only questions are Washington State under a new coach and Oregon State’s new players melding into a competitive team with a coach who is yet to be a winner.
On paper, the Wildcats are third from the bottom, just above OSU and WSU. 867
• 867 . . . Oregon, Washington, UCLA, Stanford and USC may all be better. So will Cal. Washington State and Oregon State can be expected to dip. However, let’s not forget the growth of the existing Arizona players. Fogg, Lavender, etc.; all those guys will be improved too.
I believe in the number 26. 3829
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ON THIS DATE
1945: The Toronto Maple Leafs edge the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 to win the Stanley Cup in seven games.
1947: The Philadelphia Warriors, behind Joe Fulks’ 34 points, beat the Chicago Staggs 83-80 in Game 5 to win the first Basketball Association of America title.
1962: The Toronto Maple Leafs capture the Stanley Cup in six games with a 2-1 triumph over the Chicago Black Hawks.
1993: Chris Bosio pitches a no-hitter as the Seattle Mariners beat the Boston Red Sox 7-0.
1993: The Pittsburgh Penguins’ 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils extends their NHL playoff record to 14 straight wins.
1994: Shannon Miller wins the women’s all-around title for the second straight year at the World Gymnastics Championships in Brisbane, Australia. The last woman to win consecutive all-around titles was Ludmilla Tourischeva of the Soviet Union in 1970 and 1974.
1994: Michael Moorer outpoints Evander Holyfield to win the IBF and WBA titles and become the first left-handed heavyweight champion.
2000: The Suns-Spurs playoff opener ties an NBA playoff record for fewest points. Phoenix beats San Antonio 72-70. The 142 points tie the record set by Atlanta and Detroit on May 12, 1995.
2003: Minnesota and Vancouver become the first teams since 2000 to come back from 3-1 series deficits and win. The Wild take Game 7 in Colorado on Andrew Brunette’s overtime goal for a 3-2 win. The Canucks oust St. Louis with a 4-1 win.
2006: New Jersey scores a playoff-record five power-play goals in its 6-1 win over New York.
2006: In Berlin, Germany, Wladimir Klitschko stops Chris Byrd in the seventh round of a one-sided fight to gain the IBF heavyweight title.
2007: The Boston Red Sox tie a major league record by hitting four straight home runs in a 7-6 win over the New York Yankees. Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek connect in a span of 10 pitches during the third inning against Chase Wright.
2008: John Smoltz of Atlanta becomes the 16th pitcher in major league history to reach the 3,000-strikeout plateau in the Braves’ 6-0 loss to Washington.