Pittsburgh sweeps Carolina to advance to Stanley Cup
RALEIGH, N.C., May 26 (UPI) -- Maxime Talbot had a goal and two assists Tuesday to help Pittsburgh beat Carolina 4-1 for its second straight Eastern Conference title.
Ruslan Fedotenko, Bill Guerin and Craig Adams also scored for the Penguins, who swept the Hurricanes four games to none. Pittsburgh is the first team to reach the Stanley Cup Finals in consecutive years since New Jersey in 2000-2001.
Pittsburgh will play either defending champion Detroit, which leads 3-1 in the Western Conference finals, or Chicago for the Stanley Cup.
Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves in the win.
Eric Staal scored the lone Carolina goal and Cam Ward stopped 21 shots in defeat.
Iowa basketball starter transfers to Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark., May 26 (UPI) -- Jeff Peterson, who started 25 games for Iowa last season, has transferred to Arkansas, the Razorbacks program announced Tuesday.
In accordance with NCAA rules, Peterson will sit out all games this coming season but can practice with the team.
"Jeff Peterson is a very good addition to the Razorback program and we're excited to have him," said Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey. "He started in the Big Ten this year and had a good season. In two years, we'll be adding a guard who played in more than 50 games at Iowa and averaged more than 10 points as a sophomore."
Peterson previously told The (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Gazette he was frustrated at times during his two years at Iowa and that is why he left the school.
"It's just that whole atmosphere down there," Peterson told The Gazette. "I think it will fit me a little bit better. I think the main thing at the end of the day is I'm more comfortable and more happy."
Jackson, Lakers fined for public complaint
NEW YORK, May 26 (UPI) -- Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson was fined $25,000 by the NBA Tuesday for publicly criticizing referees.
The remarks, which also cost the Lakers $25,000, followed Monday's 120-101 loss at Denver in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.
The Nuggets made 37-of-49 free throws in the game, while the Lakers went 24-of-35 at the line. Afterward, Jackson said he was upset when LA's Luke Walton came across the lane and got hit in the throat by an elbow from Nene of the Nuggets.
Jackson said Walton given a technical foul after complaining about the hit.
"That kind of disparity we don't like in ball games," said Jackson during his post-game news conference. "That's not equal refereeing, and those are the things that change the course of games. We want the game to be fair and evenly played."
Serena, Dementieva, Jankovic win in French Open
PARIS, May 26 (UPI) -- Former champion Serena Williams, former runner-up Elena Dementieva and U.S. Open runner-up Jelena Jankovic won Tuesday at the French Open.
The second-seeded former world No. 1 Williams won 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 over Czech Klara Zakopalova, who beat Serena last month in Marbella, Spain. Zakopalova staved off five match points en route to winning the second set via tie break, and saved three more match points in the third set.
The 27-year-old Williams was riding a four-match losing streak heading to Paris, where she won thee French Open title in 2002 by beating her older sister Venus in the final. A 10-time major champion, Serena won last year's U.S. Open and this year's Australian Open.
Fourth-seeded Dementieva, the Olympic gold medalist, defeated South African Chanelle Scheepers 6-4, 6-3.
Fifth-seeded Jankovic, former No. 1 and two-time French Open semifinalist, defeated Czech Petra Cetkovska 6-2, 6-3.
Former French Open runner-up and former U.S. Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova posted a 6-1, 6-4 win over France's Claire Feuerstein.
