Celtics, Lakers can get it done
LOS ANGELES, May 14 (UPI) -- The two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers may prefer the road, but they have a chance to clinch their NBA Western Conference semifinal series at home Tuesday night in Game Five against the San Antonio Spurs.
So, too, the Boston Celtics, who can win their Eastern Conference semifinal series when they visit Detroit. If they get a victory over the homestanding Pistons in Game Five, that series is over as well.
With Shaquille O'Neal bothered by a troublesome toe injury, Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to back-to-back wins in San Antonio over the weekend and a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Bryant had 11 points in the fourth quarter of last Friday's 99-89 victory, and 12 of his 28 in the final period, including, the winning basket with five seconds left, in Sunday's 87-85
win.
While Bryant carried the Lakers down the stretch, the Spurs collapsed, missing 15 of 18 shots in the fourth quarter on Sunday, including their last nine.
Despite being limited by the toe injury, O'Neal played 40 minutes and had 22 points and 11 rebounds.
If the Spurs win on Tuesday, Game Six is scheduled for Thursday at San Antonio. The winner will play the Sacramento Kings, who beat the Dallas Mavericks, 114-101, Monday to win that series, 4-1.
The Celtics can return to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1988 with a win at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
The Celtics have won three in a row since losing the series opener.
"We feel like we can close this series out (on Tuesday)," said All-Star guard Paul Pierce. "If we keep going like we have, I don't think there's a team in the NBA that can beat us."
On Wednesday, the New Jersey Nets will try to end their Eastern Conference series against the Charlotte Hornets in five games.
Game Seven in "Battle of Ontario"
TORONTO, May 14 (UPI) -- The "Battle of Ontario" comes to a winner-take-all conclusion Tuesday night when the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Ottawa Senators in Game Seven of their NHL Eastern Conference semifinal series.
The Maple Leafs are playing a Game Seven for the second straight series after posting a critical 4-3 victory on Sunday. They were pushed to seven games by the New York Islanders in the quarterfinals, but Alexander Mogilny scored twice and Curtis Joseph stopped 31 shots for a 4-2 victory in Game Seven on April 30. On Sunday, Mogilny scored the winning goal at 4:28 of the third period.
The Leafs bounced back from an early 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 advantage as defenseman Bryan McCabe scored his third goal of the playoffs and Gary Roberts tallied his sixth and seventh of the postseason.
Since the best-of-seven format was introduced in 1939, the Maple Leafs have gone 10-8 in Game Sevens, including a 5-1 record at home. Their only home loss in a Game 7 was a 5-4 setback to Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference finals on May 29, 1993.
Neither team has posted consecutive victories in this series. The Senators will be playing only their second Game Seven game in franchise history. In their first ever playoff series, they faced Buffalo in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals on April 29, 1997 and suffered a 4-3 overtime loss.
Ottawa is hoping to reach the conference finals for the first time while Toronto is aiming for its first trip since losing to Buffalo in 1999.
Whoever emerges will have just two days to recover before traveling to Raleigh, N.C., to play Carolina in the opener of the conference finals. The Hurricanes advanced Monday by routing Montreal, 8-2, to beat the Canadiens in six games.
Flyers name Hitchcock as coach
VOORHEES, N.J., May 14 (UPI) -- After a lengthy interview session with Board Chairman Ed Snider and General Manager Bob Clarke on Monday, Ken Hitchcock was named as the new head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers coach on Tuesday morning.
"This is a really proud moment for me. There is a feeling for me of coming home," said Hitchcock, who was an assistant coach with the Flyers from 1990-93.
Terms of the contract were not disclosed, but it is believed he received a multi-year deal worth close to $1.5 million annually.
With a payroll of $55.5 million, the Flyers were expected to reach the Stanley Cup Finals this season, but flopped in the playoffs, scoring only two goals in losing to the Ottawa
Senators, four games to one, in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
Now the Flyers have a high-profile coach in Hitchcock, who led the Dallas Stars to their first-ever Stanley Cup championship in 1999 and five straight division titles to match a star-studded roster which features Jeremy Roenick, John LeClair, Keith Primeau, Adam Oates and Mark Recchi.
"Ken was the best coach available and we consider him one of the best coaches in the National Hockey League," Clarke said. "He has been successful at every level right from kids' hockey on through to, and including, the NHL. We are very lucky to get a coach like Ken for our hockey club."
Hitchcock, 50, replaces Bill Barber, who was fired on April 30 amid player unrest after the disastrous showing against Ottawa.
Primeau, the team captain, publicly criticized Barber, claiming the coaching staff was not open to suggestions, and put the onus on the players to make the adjustments.
With Hitchcock, the Flyers will get a coach known for being a master strategist with an emphasis on backchecking and a strong work ethic.
"He's an ideal fit for us," said Primeau. "We all know the track record he had in Dallas. He is a system guy and we want to have a solid system we can play."
Hitchcock made comparisons between this veteran-laden Flyers team and the Stars club he guided to a Stanley Cup title in 1999 and a return trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2000.
That team included Brett Hull, Mike Modano, Joe Nieuwendyk, Derian Hatcher and Ed Belfour.
No surgery for Ramirez -- for now
BOSTON, May 14 (UPI) -- Boston Red Sox team trainer Dr. Bill Morgan, who is a hand specialist, said late Monday that superstar outfielder Manny Ramirez likely will not need surgery on his fractured left index finger.
The veteran cleanup hitter fractured the finger in a game against Seattle. He sustained the injury as he made a head-first dive into home plate and his finger got caught in the shin guard of Mariners catcher Dan Wilson.
Morgan performed a CT scan on the injured digit in Boston and it revealed that, for now, surgery is not needed.
"It [the CT scan] showed that the fracture was not significantly displaced and appears to be a non-operative situation," Morgan told MLB.com.
"However, it could displace if not treated properly so we have recommended he wear a splint that will actually allow some gentle movement of the joint near the [affected] index finger. The bone is going to require at least four to six weeks to heal, and my own feeling is that it's going to be that number of weeks regardless of the treatment."
Thanks in large part to his lethal bat, which has produced a .372 average with nine homers and 35 RBI, the Red Sox are 25-9, good for the best wining percentage in the game. But they will be hard-pressed to keep up that pace with Ramirez absent.
"We might not kill people like we have, but the way our pitching has been, we haven't had to score that many runs anyway," said first baseman Brian Daubach.
Ramirez was scheduled to travel to his hometown of Miami Tuesday to receive a second opinion from Dr. John Urive.
Soccer star Tab Ramos to retire
NEWARK, N.J., May 14 (UPI) -- Tab Ramos, one of American soccer's most storied figures, Tuesday announced he will retire at the conclusion of the Major League Soccer season.
"I really believe that now is the right time," said Ramos, the first player signed by the MLS at its inception in 1996. "This game has meant so much to me and been such an integral part of my life, and it always will be."
Ramos, 35, appeared 81 times for the U.S. National team, scoring eight goals. He made stops with clubs in Spain and Mexico before joining the American league.
The tough midfielder, who appeared in three World Cups, had been hampered in his twilight years by persistent leg injuries.
"I'd rather know that I left a year too soon than a year too late," he said.
Injuries, it seemed, were a part of life for Ramos. He tore his ACL twice and also suffered a fractured skull when the Brazilian Leonardo decked him in the second round of World Cup 1994 at Stanford Stadium.
Ramos, who was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, but grew up in the U.S., had his best overseas year with Tigres in the Mexican League in 1995-96, solidifying his reputation as the best homegrown player since Hugo Perez. At his prime, he was known among his colleagues as the most creative and dangerous American player.
Ramos will finish the season with the MLS' MetroStars before pursuing other career options.
"MLS will be forever grateful to the pioneering spirit of Tab Ramos," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "In addition to being the first player to sign with the league, Tab's devotion to developing the sport in the United States has served as an inspiration to us all."
Ramos made his announcement a day after American soccer was hit with some bad news ahead of the World Cup tournament.
Midfielder Chris Armas was ruled out of the World Cup and likely the rest of the MLS season after tearing his ACL in the 2-1 victory against Uruguay on Sunday.
Armas, 29, like Ramos, has battled through injury to become a vital member of the American team. He also seems to be snakebitten.
Twice before the 2000 Olympics and now he has torn his right ACL on the eve of a major international competition. He also was sidelined during Confederations Cup with a similar injury.
