Lakers win in a sweep
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., June 13 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles Lakers staked out a special place in basketball history Wednesday night, riding a typical effort from Shaquille O'Neal to complete a four-game sweep of New Jersey, 113-107, that brought them their third consecutive NBA championship.
It was the seventh sweep in a league final and gave Phil Jackson his record-equaling ninth title as an NBA coach.
With Michael Jordan as the centerpiece, Jackson coached the Chicago Bulls to six championships in the 1990s. And now with O'Neal and Kobe Bryant creating as overpowering a combination as the NBA has ever seen, the Lakers first survived a thrilling, seven-game duel with the Sacramento Kings and then brushed the Nets aside with relative ease.
"They are a team for the ages," NBA Commissioner David Stern said during the award ceremony, "as they get better before our very eyes."
For the second straight game, New Jersey had the lead in the fourth quarter, but the Nets could not prevent the Lakers from producing the vital surge.
O'Neal hit 12 of 20 shots from the field, 10 of 16 from the line, claimed 10 rebounds and scored 34 points in being named the NBA Finals MVP for the third straight year. He joins Jordan as the only players to capture the honor three times in a row.
Bryant scored 25 points while making seven of 16 shots from the field and nine of 11 from the line.
The Lakers made 11 of 19 shots from three-point range while hitting 52 percent of their shots overall.
The Nets were led by Keynon Martin, who scored 17 of his career-high 35 points in the first period.
New Jersey went on a 19-3 run in the opening quarter to grab an 11-point lead. But Los Angeles caught up four minutes deep in the second period and fought off the Nets the rest of the way.
Argentina heads to sidelines
MIYAGI, Japan, June 13 (UPI) -- The face of international soccer underwent another shocking change Wednesday, one that forced a World Cup powerhouse to the sidelines for the second straight afternoon.
Prior to the start of the sport's premier event, France and Argentina were the most popular picks to win it all. Now both are gone, Argentina seeing its World Cup trip come to an end Wednesday when it was held to a 1-1 tie by Sweden. France, the defending champion, was eliminated Tuesday without scoring a single goal.
While the heavyweights were fading away, spots in the round of 16 were being battled for in dramatic fashion with Paraguay putting together an amazing comeback Wednesday to secure a berth that seemed destined to go to South Africa.
If South Africa had advanced to the second round, it would have marked the first time in World Cup history that two African nations had done so. Senegal moved into that stage of the tournament Tuesday.
Paraguay's advancement, coming thanks to a goal in the 84th minute by Nelson Cueves against Slovenia, allowed South America to avoid the embarassment of seeing four of that continent's five teams eliminated prior to the second round.
Argentina joined Uruguay and Ecuador among those who had been eliminated while Paraguay joined Brazil for the knockout portion of the tournament.
Brazil, Germany, Spain and Italy are now the teams favored to battle for soccer's top prize, although Italy has yet to qualify for the second round.
To make the second round, Argentina had to have a victory Wednesday over Sweden. But the Swedes scored first on a free kick by Anders Svensson in the 59th minute. Argentina, needing two goals the rest of the way to advance, could manage only one. In the 88th minute substitute Hernan Crespo drove home the rebound off a penalty kick, which was saved by Magnus Hedman.
It marks the first time in 40 years Argentina has failed to advance to the second round.
"We feel for the people of Argentina," Batistuta said. "Being unable to pay the debt to them makes us feel bad. We did everything we possibly could. There was nothing left inside of us."
Wednesday's outcome left Sweden with five points in Group F and Argentina with four. And when England also played to a 0-0 tie with Nigeria in that group, the English earned their fifth point to ensure Argentina's elimination and their own advancement.
U.S. Open begins Thursday
FARMINGDALE, N.Y., June 13 (UPI) -- The 102nd U.S. Open begins Thursday with Tiger Woods trying to capture the second leg of the Grand Slam.
For the first time, the national golf championship will be played at Bethpage State Park's Black Course.
As usual, Woods is the favorite heading into a major tournament. He has won seven of them, and an eighth would put him halfway to the elusive Grand Slam, something that has never been accomplished.
While Woods already has earned the "Tiger Slam" by claiming all four majors in succession over a two-year period. No one ever has won all four in one calendar year.
Kim gains revenge against Yankees
NEW YORK, June 13 (UPI) -- Steve Finley hit two homers and drove in five runs and Byung-Hyum Kim closed the game with two scoreless innings and four strikeouts Wednesday to give the Arizona Diamondbacks their first win in six tries at Yankee Stadium, 9-5.
Arizona beat the Yankees in seven games in last year's World Series, but lost the middle three games here. In two of the losses, Kim gave up game-tying, two-out, two-run homers in the ninth as well as the winning home run by Derek Jeter in the 10th inning of Game 4.
Nursing a 7-5 lead, Kim was called on by Arizona manager Bob Brenly for a two-inning save Wednesday and struck out the side in the eighth, victimizing Bernie Williams, Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada.
Finley provided Kim with more breathing room in the ninth inning, hitting a two-run homer off reliever Steve Karsay.
Heavy rain started to fall in the bottom of the ninth and the clouds appeared ominous for Kim, who walked Robin Ventura and allowed a single to Alfonso Soriano to start the inning. But Kim brushed off the raindrops and struck out rookie Marcus Thames and retired Shane Spencer on a game-ending double play grounder to second.
Other interleague results: Florida 13, Kansas City 5; San Diego 2, Baltimore 0; Oakland 8, Milwaukee 0; San Francisco 6, Toronto 3; Boston 7, Colorado 5; Montreal 2, Detroit 1 in 10 innings; Philadelphia 7, Cleveland 3; Los Angeles 4, Tampa Bay 2; Atlanta 3, Minnesota 2; Texas 10, Cincinnati 4; Chicago White Sox 2, New York Mets 1.
In the National League, Houston nipped the Chicago Cubs, 5-4.
Muckler signs on as Ottawa GM
OTTAWA, June 13 (UPI) -- John Muckler, a former coach of the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers and former coach-general manager with the Buffalo Sabres, Wednesday signed a three-year deal as general manager of the Ottawa Senators.
He will be at the NHL Draft in Toronto later this month, but will not assume the GM position until July 1.
The 68-year-old Muckler replaces Marshall Johnston, who announced last month he would step down as general manager when his contract expires on June 30.
Muckler was a general manager in Buffalo from 1993-97 and earned NHL executive of the year honors in 1996-97.
He last worked in the NHL as coach of the Rangers from 1997-98 to 1999-2000, but failed to lead them into the playoffs. However, he coached the Edmonton Oilers to their fifth Stanley Cup title in 1990 after serving as an assistant under Glen Sather on the previous four Cup winners.
Burnett signs with Dolphins
MIAMI, June 13 (UPI) -- Rob Burnett became the latest member of the Baltimore Ravens to depart Wednesday, signing a two-year contract with the Miami Dolphins.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
New England, Miami's AFC East rival, had also expressed interest in Burnett.
Burnett, who turns 35 in August, is a veteran of 12 NFL seasons, the first six of which were spent with the Cleveland Browns, and the last six with the Baltimore Ravens after the franchise relocated.
The 6-4, 270-pound Burnett had the most productive season of his NFL career in 2000 when he amassed 97 tackles and 10 1/2 sacks in helping the Ravens win Super Bowl XXXV. That year, the Ravens' defense set an NFL record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game season.
Nickerson goes to Packers
GREEN BAY, Wis., June 13 (UPI) -- The Green Bay Packers Wednesday solidified the middle of their defense, signing five-time Pro Bowl linebacker Hardy Nickerson.
Terms were not disclosed for Nickerson, who was released by Jacksonville earlier this month in a salary cap move.
Nickerson, 36, reportedly chose to sign with Green Bay rather than the Philadelphia Eagles. With the Packers, Nickerson is expected to start at middle linebacker.
