Lundqvist among Hart Trophy finalists
NEW YORK, April 27 (UPI) -- Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin and Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos were named finalists Friday for the NHL's Hart Trophy.
The Hart Trophy is awarded each season to the league's most valuable player.
Lundqvist is the first goaltender to be a Hart finalist since 2007 when Roberto Luongo of Vancouver and New Jersey's Martin Broduer finished behind Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby in the voting.
Lundqvist had a career-high 39 wins and a career-best 1.97 goals-against average in 62 games this season. He had eight shutouts, third most in the NHL.
Malkin won the Art Ross Trophy, given for the most points in a season, after scoring a career-high 50 goals and assisting on 59 other scores. He had four games in which he had five points, the first player to accomplish that since 1995-96.
Stamkos scored 60 goals in winning the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy this season. He totaled 97 points and has 12 game-winning goals.
The Hart Trophy will be decided by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, who submitted their ballots at the end of the regular season. The top three vote-getters were named finalists.
The NHL awards are to be announced June 20.
'Moose' Skowron dies at age 81
NEW YORK, April 27 (UPI) -- Bill "Moose" Skowron, a six-time all-star over a 14-year major-league career, died Friday at the age of 81.
Skowron was diagnosed with cancer a year ago. He died at a hospital in Illinois, the New York Yankees said in a statement.
Skowron was selected as an all-star five times with the Yankees and once while with the White Sox in his native Chicago.
He was a World Series champions five times -- 1956, 1958, 1961 and 1962 with the Yankees and 1963 when the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Yankees in four games.
"Moose will always be remembered as being one of the key members of the Yankees' dynasties in the '50s and early '60s," said Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner.
"He was a winner in every sense of the word and someone the Yankees family cared deeply for. Baseball lost one of its finest ambassadors."
Skowron broke into the major leagues in 1954 with the New York Yankees and played with the Yankees for nine seasons. He also played for the White Sox, Washington Senators and Dodgers before wrapping up his career in 1967 with the California Angels.
He hit .282 over 1,658 games with 211 home runs and 888 runs batted in.
Delmon Young charged with hate crime
NEW YORK, April 27 (UPI) -- Detroit Tigers outfielder Delmon Young was arrested Friday morning outside a New York hotel and charged with a hate-crime-related assault, police said.
"Basically, there was an incident at the hotel [and] some anti-Semitic remarks," detective Joseph Cavitolo told the Detroit Free Press.
What prompted the 2:30 a.m. incident outside the Hilton New York on 6th Avenue was unclear, but Cavitolo said it began with a panhandler wearing a yarmulke and a group of four men, the newspaper said.
"They have a discussion and the panhandler leaves," after which Young exchanged words with the men and engaged in a physical confrontation, Cavitolo said without detailing what Young, 26, is accused of saying.
Young followed one of the men into the hotel and police were soon called.
The report said the 32-year-old victim was "knocked to the ground" and sustained an injury to his elbow but refused treatment.
Young, who was reportedly intoxicated, was sent to a hospital and was "being processed," Cavitolo said.
Young faced a misdemeanor charge of "aggravated harassment hate crime."
Tigers spokesman Rick Thompson had no comment on the incident, the Free Press said.
Simon moves on in Romanian tournament
BUCHAREST, Romania, April 27 (UPI) -- Top-seeded Gilles Simon rallied for a three-set victory in quarterfinal play Friday at the ATP tournament in Romania.
Simon, who won the event in 2007 and '08, got past Lukasz Kubot 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. Simon dropped his serve once in each set but had three breaks each in the second and third sets.
Fabio Fognini outlasted sixth-seeded Andreas Seppi for a 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4 win in a match that took more than 3 hours. Fognini forced Seppi into 17 break-point situations and was able to finish off eight of them, including four in the third set.
Seppi's loss left Simon as the only seeded player to make the semifinals.
In other matches, Matthias Bachinger stopped Daniel Brands 6-4, 6-1 and qualifier Attila Balazs posted a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 decision over Xavier Malisse.
Simon will take on Bachinger in the Saturday semifinals and Fognini goes against Balazs. Simon beat Bachinger earlier this year in their only previous meeting. Fognini and Balazs will meet for the first time in tournament play.
